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𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬

chapter fourteen
this is looking like a contest
of who can act like they care
less

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THE SUMMER WAS drawing to a close, and Alyssa could confidently say that it was the most disastrous summer of her life.

Sure, she had gotten back into karate and was actually getting really good at it, made new friends that truly reminded her that she wasn't alone (Sam, of course, at the top of her list), bonded even more with Demetri, and turned seventeen, but the most pivotal moment of her summer was one that wasn't exactly the best. That argument with Hawk outside of Cobra Kai where all of the years of the friendship they had built came tumbling down had turned Alyssa's summer into an absolute shitshow, and she was still reeling from the effects of it.

Going back to school meant seeing Hawk for the first time since their fight and him destroying the dojo, and even though she was strong, she knew that he was her one weakness, whether or not she liked to admit it. She was mentally preparing herself for when that day would come, because right now, she wasn't exactly sure if she would handle it well.

Alyssa laid on her stomach on her bed, her laptop opened in front of her. She was currently on FaceTime with Sam and Moon, and Sam was in the midst of telling them about how her date with Robby had gone. The two had went to the roller rink for eighties night, only for it to be the place where Miguel's new girlfriend, Tory, worked. Miguel showed up and tried to talk things out with Sam, but then Tory knocked Sam over as she skated by, and Sam attacked back. In short, the date did not go well.

"And then we got kicked out of the roller rink," Sam finished.

"Miguel never told me he had a new girlfriend," Alyssa replied, slightly frowning. "I'm sorry, Sammy, she shouldn't have done that to you."

"I just don't understand what Miguel sees in her."

"Well, at least you both moved on, right?" Moon asked.

Sam sighed. "Yeah."

"Hey, why don't you two come over later? My mom's out of town. You can bring your karate friends."

"You're throwing a party?"

"Yeah," Moon answered with a giggle. "It should be wild."

Sam glanced away from her screen for a second. "I gotta go, but I'll think about it."

She then hung up, leaving Alyssa and Moon alone.

Alyssa gave Moon a tight smile. "I'm not really a party girl, but it does sound fun. It would be nice to get my mind off of some things."

"Whatever your decision is, just let me know," Moon responded. "No pressure."

"Thanks, Moon. Talk to you later."

Alyssa then hung up the FaceTime call, shutting her laptop. She let out a deep breath and rolled over onto her back, staring at the ceiling. Her phone then went off, and she rolled her head to the side for a moment, catching sight of it by her leg. She reached over and grabbed it, lifting it up to her head.

It was a text from Sam. All it said was We're going.

Well, her thinking was definitely quick.

Alyssa pushed herself up off of her bed and wandered to her closet. She opened up her closet door, only for her eyes to set on one very specific item. On a hanger was Hawk's hoodie — well, one that he had worn before he was Hawk. She pushed away the hurt in her chest and ripped the hoodie off of the hanger, throwing it into the depths of her closet.

She pulled out an oversized dark green and white flannel, a white cropped tank top, a pair of jeans, and white Converse, honestly deciding to call it a day. Comfortable, but cute. Also a lot of room to move around in in case anything went wrong, but what could go wrong?

(Alyssa would soon come to learn that things would go very, very wrong.)

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ALYSSA HAD PARKED her car up the street from Moon's house, only because Moon's house was extremely crowded. She walked up to the house, followed by Demetri (who was holding a board game), Chris, Little Red, Abe, Frank, and Nate, only to see that Sam and Robby had just arrived. Alyssa had driven with Demetri while Chris took the rest, so basically, the whole dojo had just met up.

"There's a lot of people out here already," Chris commented.

"Yeah, I guess Moon must have invited other kids from school," Sam said.

"I only brought Trivial Pursuit," Demetri complained. "If I'd known there'd be this many people, I would've brought Balderdash."

Alyssa glanced at him. "I don't really think this is the type of party where people play board games, Dem."

"Well, you should've told me that."

She raised her hands in surrender. "When I said party, I just assumed you knew what I was talking about."

They walked into the house. Music was blasting and people were crowded around every inch of Moon's house, red solo cups in hand. Alyssa glanced around for a moment, but she immediately stopped in her tracks once her eyes set on the people directly in front of her.

Sitting there on the couch were the members of Cobra Kai. And most notably, the one that shook Alyssa down to her core — Hawk.

And suddenly, like a tidal wave, every emotion hit Alyssa all at once.

Anger. Frustration. Sadness. Relief? Honestly, Alyssa overall was just confused, and really didn't know how to feel. If only if she knew what her heart was telling her. She had kept telling herself that it wasn't until school started that she would see him, yet here he was. No warning, no preparation, no nothing.

Once the rivaling dojos saw each other, glares instantly appeared on all of their faces, and the tension in the room grew to an all-time high. Like they were opposite ends of a magnet, Alyssa and Hawk both looked at each other. She expected him to smirk, or do something, but his gaze was just stone-cold. Alyssa was the first one to look away, looking down at her hands and twisting a ring around her finger absentmindedly.

The sliding door then opened, and with it came a very familiar voice. Alyssa glanced up for a second to see it was Miguel with who Alyssa could only assume was Tory. Miguel seemed to freeze at the sight of Sam — obviously — but then he saw Alyssa. He gave her a small smile and lifted up his free hand in greeting. Alyssa gave him a small wave in return before Tory said let's go, and her and Miguel disappeared somewhere else into the house.

"Sam, Ally!" Moon called, appearing in front of them. "I'm so glad you came. The kegs are out back, drinks are in the kitchen, and the vegan pigs in a blanket just got out of the oven."

"Moon, you never said anything about inviting Cobra Kai," Sam stated.

"Well, I figured with summer ending and school starting back up, we could stop all the fighting and be friends again."

"It's wishful thinking."

"Sam, trust me," Moon insisted. "Get rid of all this negative energy. Clear your chakras and have some fun."

Moon then walked away to go talk to some more people. Alyssa frowned. She knew what happened between her and Hawk — they weren't friends. Alyssa wasn't sure that they really would be again, not unless he got over whatever God complex he had.

Alyssa looked at Sam. "She's optimistic."

Sam sighed. "Tell me about it."

"Um, I'm going to go grab a water, but I'll see you two in a bit."

Alyssa then wandered off towards the kitchen, pushing her way past the crowds of people. She grabbed a red solo cup and started to fill it up with water — yes, she did check if it was water. Alyssa's eyebrows knit in thought as she watched the stream of water go into her cup. She couldn't believe that Moon didn't tell her that Hawk was going to be here. Moon was always a yay friendship sunshine and rainbows kind of girl, but that couldn't really be applied in this situation. Hawk had literally attacked Alyssa and Demetri at the mall and destroyed their dojo.

"Why is it that every time I find you, you're always death-gripping a cup?" a very familiar voice questioned.

Alyssa turned around, shutting off the water. Standing there was none other than Cam, his hair still styled up into a quiff. His green eyes were even more pretty in the daylight, shining brighter than they had back at the canyon party. He was smiling at her brightly as well. If Alyssa was being honest, she had totally forgotten about their whole interaction at the canyon party because of everything that had happened. But now that he was back in front of her, it all came rushing back.

"Cam," Alyssa voiced, a smile overtaking her features. "Oh my God, hi."

"Hey, Ally," he replied. "It's been a while." He glanced around the room. "I thought you said you weren't a party girl."

"Oh, I did. And I'm still not, but . . . you know, summer's ending, so." She shrugged. "How've you been? Sorry that we haven't talked since the canyon, things have been . . . hectic."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Uh, I've been good. Training started up for football again, so I'm pretty busy." Cam paused for a second again. "And pretty sore."

Alyssa let out a small laugh, resting her back against the counter. "I can definitely relate. I've been doing karate all summer."

"You do karate? That's so cool."

"Yeah, it's kind of new. I really like, it though." She took a sip of her water. "So, football? You know, I should've guessed. You look like a football player."

He tilted her head at her. "Thank you?"

"It's a compliment, don't worry," Alyssa reassured him. "You're on the school team?"

"Yup. Me and the whole team were invited because Moon's a cheerleader."

"Oh my gosh, that's right. I totally forgot she was on the cheer team."

Cam nodded. "This gives me a little bit of déjà vu, if I'm being honest. Finding you alone with a water cup at a party."

Alyssa shrugged again, because honestly, he was right. "My friends — or, well, my dojo — are all around here somewhere. I'm sure if I looked hard enough I'd find some, but why would I look for them when I'm talking to you?"

His cheeks flushed a light shade of pink, and Alyssa grinned, her heart soaring again. "I guess you're right." He then cleared his throat, his voice raising as the music in the house got a little louder. "Well, Ally, since we got interrupted last time . . . do you want to dance? You can show me all the moves you've still got up your sleeve."

Alyssa giggled a little. "I have absolutely no moves. The twirling's all I had."

"No way." Cam nodded his head in the direction of the living room, and Alyssa followed him out, walking by his side. "The twirling was beautiful. You sure you joined dance instead of karate?"

"You truly flatter me too much, Cam."

They went out into the living room. Cam offered his hand out to her again, and Alyssa rolled her eyes fondly, taking it. He lifted their hands above his head and Alyssa spun herself around slowly.

Hawk then looked up, away from Demetri talking about his nerd shit. Standing right in his line of vision was Alyssa, with . . . him. The same guy she had met that night at the canyon party. He was looking down at her and she was looking up at him, the two of them laughing while holding hands. Instantly, his blood started to boil. Hawk hated that she looked good, and that he still thought of her in a way that was more than friends even though she was supposed to be his enemy. And fuck, he hated that she was laughing with him.

Anger. Rage. Fury.

So he stood up and poured his beer right over Demetri's head.

The crowd inside the room immediately started to ooh. Alyssa's head snapped over, only to see Hawk standing over Demetri. Demetri was completely covered in beer and he flung some off of him, staring up at Hawk in disbelief. Alyssa's eyes widened and she scoffed, letting go of Cam's hand. Oh, no fucking way.

"That's what I thought," Hawk commented, throwing his empty cup at Demetri. "Still a pussy."

"What the hell's your problem?" Alyssa demanded, marching up to the two with Cam trailing after her. Her mind was screaming at her, because this was the first thing they would be saying to each other since that night. "What is wrong with you?"

"Got a problem, Sweetheart?" Hawk asked.

"Yeah, I've got multiple, actually. And at the top of the list is you calling me Sweetheart." Alyssa took Demetri's arm in her hand and pulled him up. "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up."

She glared as harshly as she could at Hawk before dragging Demetri over to the kitchen. Alyssa glanced around for a moment before finding some paper towels. She grabbed the roll and started to rip some off, handing a couple to Demetri.

Alyssa wiped some of the beer off of his face. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Demetri answered shortly.

"Demetri." She placed her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her. His eyes softened a little bit at how concerned she looked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied. Alyssa gave him a disbelieving look. "Really, I am. I just . . . I'm gonna go clean up in the bathroom."

He grabbed the rest of the paper towels Alyssa had ripped off and walked away. Alyssa watched him leave, her heart sinking all the way to her stomach. This was honestly such a disaster. She regretted agreeing to come.

"Not much luck with the dancing, huh?" Cam questioned.

Alyssa let out a sigh of frustration, reaching up and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm so sorry, Cam."

"It's fine, seriously. Don't worry about it." He glanced in the direction of the living room for a second. "What was that all about? I thought you said that guy was one of your best friends."

Alyssa got a pang in her chest from that. She put her hands on the counter and slowly pushed herself up to sit on top of it. Cam leaned against it besides her, looking up at her worryingly. Alyssa crossed her ankles together and put her hands on her lap, absentmindedly twisting the bracelet Sam gave her around her wrist.

"You're right, I did say that, but . . . things have changed," Alyssa admitted. "Like, a lot. Now, he's my nothing."

Cam frowned. "I'm so sorry, Ally."

She shook her head. "Don't be sorry, it's not your fault." Alyssa stopped twisting her bracelet, the silver moon glinting back at her. "I know that people changed, but I just never thought he could change that much."

Cam pushed himself to sit on the counter next to her, their shoulders pressing up against each other's. "If it's any consolation, that was a total dick move." He placed his hand on her knee, right where the rip in her jean was, and her skin ignited at his touch. "Anyone with that kind of personality doesn't deserve you, Ally."

Alyssa gave him a small smile, her cheeks flushing. "Thanks."

When the sun went below the horizon and the stars started to dot the black sky, Alyssa and Cam could still be found in the kitchen. They hadn't tried dancing again, deeming it bad luck because someone always managed to interrupt them. So, they just talked in the kitchen. They were talking about everything and nothing at the same exact time, and honestly, it was really nice. It was like they were in their own little bubble. Alyssa was currently laughing about something Cam had said when the upturn of her evening suddenly downturned again.

"Excuse me," Demetri's voice said, echoing from the living room. "I'd like to make a toast."

Alyssa stopped laughing and looked towards the living room, her eyebrows knitting in confusion. "Demetri?"

"To Eli Moskowitz."

Her eyes widened. "Shit."

Alyssa slid off of the counter and hurried back into the living room. Demetri was standing up on the stage that the DJ had been on, holding the microphone in one hand and his cup in the other.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Demetri continued, throwing the apparently empty cup to the side carelessly. "Some of you might know him as Hawk. But underneath that crazy clown cosplay and whatever type of Manic Panic he dumps in his hair, he's still good old Eli. My binary brother. Well, he was my binary brother. You know what he is now? A real zero."

Alyssa crossed her arms across her chest uncomfortably, looking up at Cam. "This isn't good. Like, at all."

"All right, that's enough, Demetri," Hawk protested.

"Don't let that angry red hairdo fool you," Demetri said. "He's a big softie. We watched every Harry Potter movie together, and he bawled like a baby into Ally's shoulder when Dobby died."

Alyssa did indeed remember holding him while he did that. Her face felt warm from the memory, or maybe from second-hand embarrassment. All she knew was that even though Hawk might've deserved this, she had to put a stop to it, because it would not end pretty for any of them.

"Dem, knock it off," Alyssa insisted over all of the laughter and how Demetri was imitating sobbing, ignoring the way Hawk's gaze burned into the side of her face. "I'm serious, stop."

In true Demetri fashion, he didn't listen to her.

"In the words of Eli's hero, Steve Jobs, I've got one more thing," Demetri revealed. "Have any of you heard of sleep enuresis?"

"Demetri," Alyssa scolded, because even she could admit that he was taking it too far. "No."

Hawk stared at Demetri. "Don't."

"That is the medical term, of course," Demetri voiced. "In the King's English, it's good old-fashioned bed-wetting." The crowd laughed. "And Eli here is a pro."

"Demetri," Alyssa repeated, more sternly this time. She took a step forwards and Cam grabbed her wrist gently to stop her. Alyssa absentmindedly shook it off and got closer to the stage. "Do not make me come up there."

He ignored her once again. "My mom even had a special air mattress for sleepovers. And she called it . . . Eli's waterbed."

The crowd exploded into more laughter.

"Demetri!" Alyssa shouted, making him blink from the loud tone of her voice. She stepped up onto the stage and ripped the microphone out of his hand, not even caring about the feedback. "That's enough."

"Ally, come on—" Demetri began.

"No, Demetri, you took it too far."

He scoffed. "You're seriously still protecting him?"

Her face burned a bright shade of red. "No, I'm stopping you from stooping to his level. You shouldn't have done any of this. And, if anything, I'm protecting you, because you're going to get your ass beat."

Hawk started to walk up to the stage. "You're a corpse!"

Alyssa gestured to Hawk. "Wow, would you look at that. Exhibit A."

Chris quickly stepped in front of Hawk. "You're gonna have to go through me."

"Stay out of it, traitor," Mitch, a Cobra Kai, argued.

"Hey," Robby cut in, stepping to stand by Chris' side. "Don't touch him."

Aisha narrowed her eyes at him. "Or what?"

"Guys," Moon interjected. "Stop. We're friends."

"Ooh, I smell a rumble!" an older man exclaimed excitedly, who looked very out of place at a high school party.

Suddenly, red and blue lights started to flash from outside, along with the sound of sirens

"Demetri, you got lucky," Hawk told him, a psychotic smirk on his face. He went to get closer to the stage, but Robby and Chris pushed him back. "I'll see you in school!"

Alyssa dropped the microphone carelessly on the ground and turned around, walking briskly out of the house and trying to fight her way out of all the people running from the cops. She left Cam, Demetri, and pretty much her whole dojo behind. Cam probably ran with his football friends, Chris and Sam could drive the rest, and she didn't even want to deal with Demetri right now. Call her selfish, but all she wanted to do was get out without anyone holding her back.

Unfortunately, someone held her back, because the universe was clearly never on her side.

Alyssa had just pulled her car keys out of the pocket of her flannel, but when she looked up, a very familiar person was leaning against the drivers side door of her car with their arms crossed. She stopped in her tracks, feeling her heart stop momentarily. Hawk looked up at her, and Alyssa sighed. Well, there was really no way to avoid this.

"What?" Alyssa complained, continuing to walk up to her car, but still keeping some distance from him. "What could you possibly want? I don't know if you've noticed, but there are cops around, and I swear to God if you get me arrested right now, I'm going to kill you."

Hawk rolled his eyes. "Chill. You're not going to get arrested."

"Then what are you doing? Because if you're looking to have another argument, I would not like to help you with that. Honestly, I'm so tired. I'm just so tired. If you want an argument, can't we, like, do it on the first day of school, or something? I don't have the energy right now."

"Did you know?" Hawk inquired, completely disregarding what she just said. "That Demetri was going to do that?"

"Obviously not. The fact that you think that I would agree to him doing that is astounding to me." She sighed. "Listen, you and I can have this talk later, maybe when we're not, oh, I don't know, running from the cops. We can even have a screaming match on the staircase before first period, if you'd like. It would cause for a great first day back story. But, just for right now, can you please just move?"

"Why'd you stop him?"

Alyssa blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Demetri," Hawk told her. "When he was saying all that shit about me. You tried to get him to stop."

She crossed her arms. "I think you should know by now that I don't take shit from anybody. Demetri took it too far, so I tried to put an end to it." Her voice then got a little quiet. "And even after everything, and as much of an asshole as you are, there's still a part of me that still cares about you."

Part was an understatement. She still cared for him with every inch of her being, which just made her hopelessly confused, because she shouldn't.

In short, Alyssa was a mess.

"Which is kind of fucked up, considering you trashed my dojo and stole Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honor," Alyssa continued with a scoff. "I can't believe Miguel apologized to me for your actions."

"I finished the fight," Hawk insisted, almost smugly.

Alyssa stared at him incredulously. "You started the fight."

"The fight wouldn't have happened if you and Demetri joined Cobra Kai."

"The fight wouldn't have happened if you hadn't resorted to violence." She then raised her eyebrows at him. "And since you believe that I started all of this, the next time you have a problem with me, say it to my face. Don't run and go trash my dojo just because you're mad at me."

Hawk didn't respond this time. He just continued to stare at her, his gaze settling stone-cold again. Alyssa held onto her keys a little tighter, her heart sinking even further, if that was even possible.

"Okay," Alyssa let out. "You know what, Eli? Just forget it. I don't even know why I bothered even trying with you right now considering that you didn't hear me the last time we talked." She nodded her head in the direction away from her car. "Now run back to your other Cobras before I kick you into oblivion."

Hawk shook his head. "Like you could."

Alyssa raised an eyebrow. "I could. I would show you, but once again, I'm tired. So move."

Begrudgingly, Hawk pushed himself off of her car. He walked past her, the top of his arm brushing against her shoulder. The touch was so familiar that it made a shiver go up Alyssa's spine, but she ignored it and unlocked her car, sitting in the drivers seat and turning her car on.

And as she drove home in silence, Alyssa had absolutely no clue how much even more of a disaster the first day of school would be.

•─•°•❀•°•─•

THE STORY OF US IS JUST SO THEM IT JUST IS

I love making that hawk dumped his drink on demetri's head because he saw alyssa and cam together canon 🤩🤩🤩