❝ cyndi lauper said it herself. ❞

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JULIANA LEANED UP AGAINST THE PARK BENCH.

Behind her, Miguel sat with Demetri and Aisha. Juliana watched Hawk and Bert as they sparred in front her as she simultaneously listened to Miguel as he told them about seeing Sam with another boy at her house.

Demetri was trying to get Miguel to eat something, telling him that he was overreacting.

"I'm not overreacting, dude," Miguel responded. "I know what I saw."

Hawk said as he kicked Bert in the face and then walked over to the bench. Juliana stepped on front of Bert and offered him her hand. She helped lift him up from the grass. Bert mumbled a quick thanks.

Juliana smiled at him. "No problem."

"All right, so you saw her eating dinner with some chode," Hawk told Miguel.

Juliana furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Isn't chode a word for a man's—"

"It's probably just her brother or something," Hawk said quickly before Juliana could finish her sentence.

Miguel shook his head at him. "No, dude. Brothers don't look at their sisters like that."

"Depends on what part of the country you're in," Demetri said, staring straight ahead.

Juliana smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand, causing him to turn and look at her. "What was that for?"

"Look, I just don't want what happened to Sensei to happen to me," Miguel spoke.

"All right, so you go over to this kid and beat his ass, so he doesn't have the chance," Hawk told him.

"Or, and here's a thought...you can just ask Sam about it instead of jumping to conclusions Juliana suggested. "Maybe it's nothing, but maybe it's something. You won't know until you actually talk to her."

"Juli's right," Demetri agree as she shook his head. "Don't listen to Eli."

"It's Hawk."

"Yeah, whatever," Demetri tilted his head in Hawk's direction before speaking to Miguel again. "The fact is, Sam's given you no reason not to trust her."

"Yeah, I guess you and Juliana are right," Miguel sighed.

Oh!" Aisha exclaimed. "That little bitch!"

Juliana turned her head, her eyes wide as Aisha's sudden outburst.

"What?" Miguel asked.

"You know that video I posted of me breaking that board?" Aisha asked.

"Yeah," Miguel nodded.

Aisha held out her phone. "Look what Yasmine commented."

"Oh, shit," Miguel said.

Juliana looked over Miguel's shoulder, reading the comment on Aisha's phone.

'Impressive...can't believe the belt made it around ur waist,' the comment read.

Juliana scoffed. "What a biotch."

Their heads turned to her; their eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Juliana looked around at them.

"What?" she questioned. "I don't like the way the actual word sounds..."

Aisha shook her head, chuckling at her before glancing back down at her phone. "I gotta do something."

"How about we kidnap her and have my boy Rico tattoo 'bitch' on her face?" Hawk suggested.

Juliana turned to him, her brows furrowed, and her eyes squinted. When he turned to look at her, Juliana shook her head.

"Calm down, Hawk," Demetri replied.

"All right, I hear how you're saying it, and I don't like it," Hawk responded.

Juliana rolled her eyes. "Both of you quiet." She turned back to Hawk. "And maybe come up with some ideas that don't involve illegal activity?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Aisha spoke. "I've got a better idea. Look."

Aisha held her phone out in front of Miguel again. Juliana leaned in closer so that she could see.

"Yasmine's throwing a birthday party at the Canyon later?" Miguel asked.

"Not if we strike first," Aisha stated.

Juliana exchanged glances with Miguel, Hawk, and Aisha. They smiled at each other as they nodded their heads.

"Hell, yeah," Hawk grinned.

Juliana looked at Demetri. He didn't seem to be too thrilled about it.

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Before heading to the Canyon, the group stopped at the mini-mart next to Cobra Kai to stock on snacks and drinks for the party.

"All right, be sure to stock up good," Aisha told them. "I'm inviting everyone. VIP only my ass."

Juliana made a bee-line for the candy aisle. She grabbed a package of the Sour Patch Watermelon candies from off the shelf. She didn't care about anything else and watched as the others began to grab snacks from the shelves.

Demetri leaned over the aisle. "I still don't understand how we're gonna buy alcohol,"

Hawk scoffed. "Oh please. Never underestimate the power...of the Hawk."

Juliana brows scrunched together. "You? You've got to be kidding."

"Watch and learn," Hawk replied.

Hawk grabbed the snacks from the group, holding them in his arms and walking up the counter. He put them down and then walked over to the freezer. Juliana watched him closely as he opened the freezer and grabbed a case of beer. Juliana leaned up the shelf and crossed her arms as he grabbed the Sour Patch candy from her hands. She followed him with her eyes as he confidently walked up the checkout counter.

Juliana hadn't even noticed that the others had migrated to the other side of the store. She joined them, keeping her eyes on Hawk as the interaction with the cashier began to pan out.

"Is he seriously buying alcohol right now?" Demetri asked Juliana, pretending to read a magazine.

Juliana nodded. "Looks like it. He's a little overconfident is you ask me."

Demetri nodded in agreement before he glanced back down at the magazine and then back up at Hawk. Juliana gave him a look of confusion as he pulled a fake ID out of his back pocket. When and how did he that?

Juliana blinked a few times in disbelief when the cashier actually handed the ID card back and let Hawk pay for the alcohol. Hawk turned around, giving Juliana a smug smile as if to say that he proved her wrong.

"Told you I could do it," Hawk whispered to her as they left the mini-mart.

"Where'd you get a fake ID anyway?" Juliana asked.

Hawk shrugged. "I know a guy. Why? You want one?"

"Maybe," Juliana said, smiling at him.

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Juliana stood next to Hawk on the beach at the Canyon. The beach was flooded with Cobra Kai members and the people that they had invited—all the people that Yasmine would never even think of inviting.

When she saw Yasmine standing at the top of the hill with Moon, Kyler, and Brucks, Juliana nudged Hawk in the arm. As he turned to look at her, Juliana nodded her head in their direction.

"Looks like Wannabe Barbie isn't too happy we crashed her party," Juliana said, staring directly at Yasmine.

Yasmine made eye contact with her. Even with the distance between them, Juliana could see the anger in Yasmine's eyes. Steam might as well have been blowing out of her ears. Yasmine was seething, and Juliana had a feeling that it would only get worse as the night went on.

Moon began to walk down the hill and Yasmine hesitantly followed her. Juliana took a sip from the red solo cup in her hand, turning around and looking at Demetri who stood a few feet behind her.

"Are you okay, Dem?" Juliana asked him.

Demetri nodded. "Oh...yeah. You know, the whole party scene isn't really my forte."

"I get it," Juliana responded. "Parties have never really been my thing either. But at least we got back at Yasmine."

"Yeah..." Demetri looked down at the ground.

Juliana had spent enough time with Demetri to know that there was something off about him. She placed her hand on his arm, causing him to look at her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Juliana asked.

Demetri nodded his head again. "I am. Promise."

There was no way that Demetri could tell her what was really on his mind. He couldn't tell her that he was jealous and nervous because Hawk was planning to ask her out. He couldn't beg her to say no. Demetri didn't think there was anything he could do to stop Hawk from asking.

Juliana sighed. "Okay. I'm going to go refill my drink and walk around for a bit. If you need anything, just come find me."

Demetri nodded and gave her a small smile. Juliana returned it before walking away from him. She refilled her drink and talked to some of the other partygoers before she made her way back to Hawk. By that time, the sun had set, and darkness began to cover the sky.

Juliana found Hawk sitting on a log by the campfire. She took a seat next to him, taking a sip of her drink before smiling at him.

"Hey," Hawk greeted her. "Where have you been?"

"I've just been walking around talking to everyone," Juliana told him. "Moon actually came up to me and said she'd love it if we could be friends."

Hawk raised an eyebrow. "Really? What'd you say?"

"I said I'd think about it," Juliana answered. "Even though she apologized to Aisha for everything, she still had a part in it, you know? She still stood back and laughed at Aisha...at you."

Hawk nodded. "Yeah."

Juliana took another sip of her drink as she stared into the fire. Hawk continued to look at her, admiring the way the fire lit up her face and reflected in her eyes.

"Juliana?" Hawk spoke up, causing Juliana to turn to look at him. "I wanna ask you something."

"What is it?" Juliana asked.

Hawk gulped and took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out with me? Like...on a date. As, um, boy—boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Juliana's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Wh—what?"

"Do you to go on a date with me?" Hawk repeated, this time more confident. "And be my girlfriend?"

Juliana didn't respond, sending a shockwave of panic throughout Hawk's body. "You can say no if you want to. It's completely okay. I understand if you don't like me that way and—"

"That's not it," Juliana cut him off. "I was just surprised is all."

Hawk felt relieved. "So does that mean you will?"

A smile spread across Juliana's face as she nodded her head. "I would love to go on a date with you and be your girlfriend."

Juliana had never seen Hawk grin bigger than he had in that moment. She smiled back at him, bringing her cup up to her mouth and taking a sip of her drink. When she swallowed, she lowered her cup. Hawk's gaze never left her. Juliana gave him a soft smile.

Before she even had the chance to realize what was happening, they were both starting to lean in closer. When their lips were a mere inch from touching, Juliana paused. She gulped and then tilted her head to the side.

Their lips met, pressing against each other. Juliana wasn't entirely sure if she knew what she was doing. She had never kissed anyone before and neither had Hawk. Naturally, the kiss was an uncoordinated mess. But it didn't seem to matter.

Juliana pulled away first, a smile on her face as she felt her cheeks heat up. She quickly turned away, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing. But she didn't need to because Hawk was blushing too. Both of their cheeks were a deep shade of pink.

Juliana noticed Demetri approaching them. He still carried that off putting look in his eyes and his posture. Juliana was more convinced than ever that there was something bothering him.

"Hey, Juliana!"

Juliana turned her head at the sound of her name, seeing Aisha waving her over. She gave Hawk and Demetri both a smile before she stood up and started to run in Aisha's direction. When she got closer, she noticed Moon standing beside her.

"Hey, what's up?" Juliana asked.

Juliana felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. She tilted her head or the side to see Hawk standing next to her. She turned back to Aisha and Moon, noticing the looks of confusion of their faces.

"Wait, hold up," Aisha said, pointing between the two. "When did this happen?"

"Oh, um, quite literally two minutes ago," Juliana replied.

"I totally called it," Aisha responded. "I knew it was just a matter of time before you got together."

Moon smiled brightly at them. "You two are adorable!"

Juliana chuckled nervously as she stared down at the sand. She felt Hawk pull her closer.

"Hey!"

Juliana quickly looked in the direction of the voice, seeing Yasmine marching up to them.

"You think it's funny crashing my party?" Yasmine asked.

"It's not really your party 'cause we were here first," Aisha snapped back.

"Yeah, well, I know you and your little karate gang think you're cool," Yasmine glanced at Juliana Hawk before looking back at Aisha. "But we all remember who you really are. You're just a fugly bitch, and your friends are all freaks. Come on, Moon. Let's go."

Juliana clenched her jaw. She glared at Yasmine; her eyes narrowed.

"No, I'm staying," Moon replied. "I apologized to Aisha for what we did, and you should too."

"Whatever," Yasmine shook her head. "You deserve them, Moon."

Yasmine began to walk away, bumping into Aisha as she pushed past her.

"Hey, Yasmine!" Aisha shouted after her.

Yasmine whipped around quickly. "Huh? What?"

"Let me help you to your car," Aisha said.

She grabbed Yasmine by the underwear and began to pull it up. As Aisha lifted her in the air, Yasmine's feet dangled above the sand. Yasmine yelped in pain.

Juliana's jaw dropped as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.

"No mercy, bitch!"

Aisha released her grip and Yasmine fell to the ground. Everyone started it laugh at Yasmine's expense. She looked around in embarrassment before stumbling away.

"Oh my god," Juliana said in disbelief.

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It was late when Juliana arrived home. She quietly opened the front door of the house and carefully closing it as to not make a sound. When she started to ascend the stairs, the living room was instantly lit up by the lamp on the end table. Juliana turned around, seeing both her parents sitting on the couch.

Juliana smiled awkwardly at them. "Hi."

"Where were you?" Silvia asked her daughter. "You were supposed to be home by ten."

"I lost track of time," Juliana told her. "I'm sorry."

Silvia sighed. "First joining karate. Then dying your hair, and now coming home so late that you have to sneak in so that we won't know?"

Juliana blinked at her. "I said I was sorry. Why are you yelling at me?"

"I'm sorry for yelling, but Juli, this isn't like you," Silvia responded. "I understand that you're a teenage girl and you're finally becoming confident again after what happened back home. But changing who you are in order to do it?"

"Changing who I am?" Juliana questioned, crossing her arms. "Just because I dyed my hair blonde and started doing karate doesn't mean I'm changing myself."

"Juliana..." Nicolás started to say.

Juliana cut him off. "Cyndi Lauper said it herself. Girls just wanna have fun."

She didn't let either of her parents get another word in before she walked up the stairs and entered her room. She flung herself backwards onto her bed and sighed.

She closed her eyes and tried to think about something other than her parents. Her mind immediately gravitated to Hawk and the fact that they shared their first kiss. The fact that he was her boyfriend. Juliana couldn't help but smile, grinning from ear to ear.

But then she thought of Demetri. Her smile quickly faded as images of the sad expression that he had on his face the entire night. The way his shoulders slumped. The look on his face as he approached her and Hawk after their kiss.

Juliana shot up quickly, a realization hitting her. She knew exactly what Demetri's behavior was all about.

— EMILIA'S NOTES

hellloooooo!!

okay so juliana and hawk are dating. and poor demetri is sad...

also i meant to publish this yesterday but my internet is being slow & wattpad wasn't letting me add gifs for whatever reason.

anyway, let me know what you're thinking! don't be a ghost reader! i love reading your comments.