╔.𖥸. .════════════════╗

𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬

chapter sixteen
still got scars on my back
from your knife

╚════════════════. .❀.╝

ANOTHER SLEEPLESS NIGHT.

Alyssa sat up in her bed, rubbing tiredly at her eyes. She was completely exhausted. All the thoughts in her head had been keeping her up, playing on repeat like a broken record.

The cold metal of lockers and how much it hurt. A stinging lip. Her ring slicing against skin. Sore muscles. Footsteps slapping against the floor. Hiding in a dark room. An aching heart. Shattered glass. The sound of a body hitting the railing.

It had been two weeks. Two weeks since the fight at the school. Two weeks since she had relentlessly punched and kicked Hawk. Two weeks since Robby kicked Miguel off of the balcony and ran away, not having been seen since. Two weeks since Miguel had been placed in a coma and was currently still fighting for his life.

Two weeks since Alyssa's life had lost all sense of normalcy, if she ever had any since Cobra Kai came back to the Valley.

Alyssa pushed her covers off of her, goosebumps rising on her skin from the cold air off her house. She walked into the bathroom and dreaded what she would see when she looked in the mirror. Sure enough, dark circles and bags were underneath her eyes from her lack of sleep and from the amount of stress she was under. She looked like a mess, and she felt like a mess, and she found herself wondering if things would ever get better, because the past fourteen days had felt like absolute hell.

She wanted to stay in bed like she had been doing a lot lately, but it was the first day of school back since the fight. Alyssa got ready for the day, curling her hair a little bit and putting on a pretty blue dress layered over a white t-shirt. She put on her makeup, which made her look a little more alive, but if anyone really looked at her up close, they would probably still see the tiredness behind her eyes.

If she was being honest, her neck felt completely empty without the A necklace she had given to Hawk since she had worn it for so long. She had tried to wear others, but nothing really felt the same. Nevertheless, she put on a gold necklace with a small butterfly charm.

Alyssa grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She walked down the stairs to an empty house — her mom always had the night shifts at the hospital but had been staying longer to look over Miguel, knowing that it would probably make Alyssa feel just a little bit better. Alyssa usually drove her little brother to school, but at the insistence of her mom to let Alyssa do her own thing for a while, Jackson had taken the bus.

She put her lunch in her backpack and got her car keys from the counter. Alyssa locked her house behind her and got into her car, settling her backpack down on the passenger seat. She let out a deep breath as she turned her car on.

You're going to be okay, Alyssa told herself. Fake it till you make it.

She stopped to get a coffee on the way to school, knowing that with how exhausted she was, there was absolutely no way she would be able to keep herself going without caffeine. Alyssa sipped the sugary drink as she pulled into the parking lot of the school, feeling a sense of uncomfortableness rise up within her.

Alyssa parked her car and got out, staring up at the school. The last time she was here had been way less than ideal, and being back felt like a punch to the stomach. Alyssa glanced around for a moment and suddenly noticed how much people were actually there, and her mind spun for a moment. The amount of people reminded her of the crowds that just stood there and watched as people got thrown around.

She reached into her backpack, pulling out her headphones. Music could at least help a little bit in controlling her mind. She put her headphones in her ears and shuffled a playlist on Spotify. Instantly, Bad Blood started to play.

How fitting.

"'Cause baby, now we got bad blood, you know it used to be mad love, so take a look what you've done, 'cause baby, now we got bad blood."

She sighed and locked her car behind her, walking up to the front of the school. There was a line outside for some reason, but when Alyssa got closer and peered through the doors, she saw that there were security guards inside checking people's bags. Well, that was new. However, it was necessary, considering Tory brought a literal weapon into school and used it to cut Sam's arm open.

"Now we got problems, and I don't think we can solve 'em, you made a really deep cut, and baby, now we got bad blood."

Alyssa put her bag down on the table and allowed the security guard to check it. It only took about a minute because she had absolutely nothing in there. Once he was finished with it, he pushed it towards her on the table. Alyssa took it back and put it over her shoulder. She walked away from the table, but immediately stopped in her tracks.

"Did you have to do this? I was thinking that you could be trusted. Did you have to ruin what was shining? Now it's all rusted."

People, so many people, immediately stopped and stared at her. Groups of girls even started to whisper and point, giggling amongst themselves. Alyssa sighed and adjusted her backpack strap on her shoulder, turning up the volume a couple times on her headphones to drown everything and everyone out.

"Did you have to hit me where I'm weak? Baby, I couldn't breathe. And rub it in so deep, salt in the wound like you're laughing right at me."

She walked further into the school. Alyssa glanced over at the steps, but once she did, her heart rate increased. Miguel's body had slammed onto that staircase, and she had sat there in horror, staring at the place where it once laid. She forced herself to look away and kept her head down, wandering into the hallways. Alyssa didn't really need to go to her locker, but she didn't know where else to go at the moment.

"Oh, it's so sad to think about the good times, you and I . . ."

A hand was suddenly placed on her shoulder. Alyssa jumped a little bit and turned to see who the culprit was, only to see it was Chris. Demetri and Nate were there, too.

Chris raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry, Ally. Didn't mean to scare you."

Alyssa took her headphones out, pausing her song. "Don't worry about it." She started to walk with them again, the three of them just basically aimlessly walking the halls before the first ball. "How'd you guys sleep? I didn't."

Demetri frowned. "Again?"

"Yeah, it's bad." Alyssa took a sip of her coffee. "I think I should invest in some melatonin."

Nate blinked at her. "Drugs?"

"Yes, Nate," Alyssa said. "I'm doing drugs."

"Have you heard from Sam?" Chris asked.

Alyssa shook her head. "Not this morning, but I'm sure we'll see her later."

They basically did a big circle, ultimately ending up back in the lobby. On their way, they passed three girls, all who immediately took notice to their group.

"Hey, Demetri," one of the girls greeted, smiling prettily up at him.

"Someone knows who I am," Demetri said, stopping to turn around to watch them walk away. Alyssa slightly laughed at him. "A human female."

Chris hit the back of his hand against Demetri's chest. "You're famous now, Meat."

Alyssa shook her head in amusement and turned around. However, the person she was met with made the smile immediately fall off of her face and annoyance run through her veins. He was standing right in front of her with Mitch and Bert by his side, practically towering over her with how much his ego had grown. Alyssa would've normally sighed and looked away from him, but not after what happened. This time, she stared right up at him, her eyes cold. Hawk stared right back at her with a glare that rivaled hers.

She wasn't sure how she was going to react when she saw him again. Glaring instead of just completely breaking down was arguably better.

"Got something to say?" Mitch demanded, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Yeah," Chris replied, holding up the textbook that he was carrying. "Check out my new Lit book. There's a lot of hard-hitting shit in here, you know what I mean?"

Hawk's eyes slid from Alyssa back to Demetri. "All this security isn't enough to protect your scrawny ass."

"I don't need security," Demetri insisted.

Alyssa rolled her eyes, honestly tired of all of the shit. "Do you ever stop being a constant headache? You're literally giving me a migraine, and quite honestly, I think I'm losing braincells." She paused and took a sip of her coffee, willing it to give her strength. "I would really like it if you would just stop talking, or I can give you another cut on your cheek, if you'd like."

"Really?" Hawk countered. "Or would you just run off and cry again?"

Alyssa narrowed her eyes at him, a pang of hurt going through her chest, but she completely ignored it. "Crying doesn't make you weak, Eli. And I would gladly be an asshole and bring up all of the times that you cried in front of me, but I'm not going to because I don't want to stoop to your level."

Hawk's jaw clenched in anger before his eyes set on what she was holding in her hand. Without any warning, Hawk reached forwards and snatched the coffee cup from her grip and took a sip, contemplating for a moment. Alyssa watched him incredulously — he had just stolen her coffee! But then she noticed the slight lip gloss mark on the corner of his lip from her cup, and she smirked, an idea popping into her head.

"You know, if you wanted to kiss me so bad, you could've just said so," Alyssa told him, crossing her arms across her chest. "I bet that's what you fantasize about, right? But it's just a little desperate trying to indirectly do that by drinking from the cup I've had my lips on, don't you think?"

Hawk's face flushed a light shade of red and his grip tightened on the coffee. Alyssa continued to smirk up at him, deep satisfaction settling inside of her. He might've put on such a tough-boy act, but Alyssa knew how to get under his skin.

"Everything all right here?" Counselor Blatt interjected, obviously noticing how they were all glaring at each other.

"Oh, we're all buddies here," Demetri responded, patting his hands against Hawk and Mitch's chests. He pushed his way in between them and threw his arms around their shoulders. "Isn't that right, fellas?"

Hawk hit his chest. "Yeah."

Counselor Blatt put her hands on her hips. "Don't you all have somewhere to be?"

"Yes, Counselor Blatt," Bert agreed.

Mitch threw Demetri's arm off of him and walked away. Hawk brushed past Alyssa, who still watched him in the same satisfaction.

She gave him a sickly-sweet smile. "Keep the coffee. I hope it makes you think of me."

Alyssa then walked off with Demetri, separating from Chris and Nate to head towards their classrooms.

Demetri looked down at her. "Dude, he looked pissed."

Alyssa shrugged. "Ending men is my favorite past time." She then noticed the familiar figure of her best friend in front of her. "Oh, hey, there's Sam."

Sam was standing there in the lobby, staring at the stairs with her hand clutching onto the railing. Demetri put a hand on her shoulder, and Sam gasped, turning to face Demetri defensively. Alyssa frowned at that.

"Woah," Demetri let out. "Easy there, Captain Marvel. Same team, remember?"

Alyssa frowned. "Everything okay, Sammy?"

Sam glanced around frantically, breathing a little heavy. "I have to go." She reached out and took Alyssa's hand. "Will you come with me? Please."

She nodded immediately. "Yeah, yeah, of course." Alyssa looked up at Demetri. "You gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Demetri answered.

Alyssa allowed Sam to pull her out of the school. In the past two weeks, the two of them had grown way closer, depending on each other more than ever. If Alyssa wasn't at her own house during the day, she was probably at Sam's (or Demetri's.) They were pretty much keeping each other above water.

"What's going on?" Alyssa questioned when they stopped by Sam's car. She squeezed Sam's hand momentarily. "Where are we going?"

"Miyagi-Do," Sam replied, turning to Alyssa, her blue eyes big and sad. "I — I couldn't do it, Ally. The staircase, it—"

"I know," Alyssa cut in softly, because Sam had experienced way more traumatizing things on that staircase. "And the stares."

Sam shook her head. "It's too much."

Alyssa nodded. "I'll go to Miyagi-Do with you, because honestly, being back here is not fun. We can talk more when we get there, okay?"

Sam seemed to let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

She then offered Sam a very small smile. "Do you want me to pick up some food?"

"Please?"

"You've got it."

Alyssa left Sam at her car and went back to her own. Her mom would definitely be upset over her not being at school, but she would most likely understand.

She stopped by In-N-Out and got some food and two milkshakes — a chocolate for her, a vanilla for Sam. Once she had everything and paid, she went back to Miyagi-Do. Alyssa walked into the familiar dirt lot while carrying the bag and the drink tray. It was strange being back here. Karate had stopped since the school fight.

Alyssa walked into the backyard to see Sam sitting on one of the decks in the yard. Sam looked up from her lap and saw Alyssa with the food. Alyssa sat down next to her, and the two opened up the bag, starting to eat the food Alyssa had got with their respective milkshakes.

"Did you sleep last night?" Sam inquired, eating a French fry, after a couple minutes of them eating in silence.

"I wish I did," Alyssa voiced. "My mind won't let me." She looked over at Sam. "Would you like to discuss my fucked up sleep schedule more, or would you like to tell me what made you leave school?"

Sam stared down at her milkshake cup. "The guilt's eating me alive, Ally. My sleep schedule is also bad because I can't stop thinking about it. I mean, the fight—"

"No way," Alyssa stated firmly. "Sam, listen to me. None of this is your fault. Yeah, okay, you fucked up. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, and you and I both know you did. You kissed Miguel and he kissed back while the two of you were dating other people. But Tory was the one who decided to start the fight instead of talking about it. What were you supposed to do? Just stand there defenseless?"

"Maybe we just shouldn't have gone to that party at all."

"Tell me about it."

Sam let her head fall against Alyssa's shoulder. "Life's too complicated."

"I wholeheartedly agree," Alyssa commented. "Whoever said life was easy peasy lemon squeezy was a pathological liar. Because it's actually difficult difficult lemon difficult."

Sam's eyebrows knit in thought. "Difficult difficult lemon difficult?"

"I said what I said, Samantha."

"Sam?" a familiar voice then rang out. "Ally?"

Alyssa turned and Sam picked her head up. Standing on the porch by the dojo was Sensei LaRusso.

"Dad?" Sam began. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you two doing here?" Sensei LaRusso countered. "Is Robby with you?"

"No. Have you heard from him?"

"No, I was just out looking for him. I — wait, w-why aren't you both in school?"

Sam paused for a moment. "I thought I was ready. But then . . . everybody was staring at me. I just had to get out of there. So . . . I came here. Ally came with me, but she went to In-N-Out first. And I brought Ally with me because she understands."

Sensei LaRusso sat down on the deck next to Sam. "I get it. Believe me, I've been in enough fights to know."

"It's different when you're a girl," Sam insisted. "I mean, even if you win, you're not cool or tough. They think you're crazy."

Alyssa nodded in agreement, taking a sip of her milkshake. "True."

"And then I think about what Miguel and Robby are going through, and I just . . ." Sam trailed off, her voice breaking. Alyssa frowned and put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it comfortably. "I feel so guilty."

Sensei LaRusso shook his head. "It's not your fault. All this started before you were even born. If not for me and Johnny, there wouldn't have been a fight in the first place. This is my fault."

"I thought we were the good guys," Sam admitted.

"We are. That's what's most important. But there's one thing I do know for sure, and that's . . . that you can't run away from your problems." He sighed. "And I can't run away from mine." He looked at Sam. "Come here."

Sensei LaRusso extended his arm out, and Sam sunk into her dad's side, resting her head on his shoulder. Alyssa softly smiled at the two of them. She had always loved the bond between Sam and Sensei LaRusso. It often reminded her of the relationship between her and her mom.

"You too, Ally," Sensei LaRusso encouraged.

Alyssa gasped quietly. "Oh my God, a LaRusso family hug? You shouldn't have."

She set down her milkshake and put her arms around Sam's waist, hugging her tight and putting her cheek against Sam's bare shoulder. Sensei LaRusso placed a hand on the top of Alyssa's back and brought the two girls closer to him.

And there they sat, forgetting about their problems for a very short amount of time, embracing each other underneath the sun.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

ALYSSA WALKED INTO the school the next day. This time, her headphones weren't in, and she wasn't alone. Sam was right behind her.

They moved through security and allowed their bags to be checked. Alyssa offered a tiny smile to the security guard and got her bag back, putting it over her shoulder. She waited at the end of the table as Sam got her bag checked. Once that was done, the two moved a little further into the school.

Suddenly, they noticed a group of girls standing in the lobby. They were whispering and giggling amongst each other, their gazes on Alyssa and Sam, but mostly Sam. Alyssa scoffed at them. They weren't even trying to hide it. How pathetic.

Alyssa looked at Sam. "I'm with you."

Sam squared her shoulders back and walked right up to the girls, determination etched into her features. "You wanna say something, say it to my face." At once, they immediately shut up, their smiles falling off of their faces. "That's what I thought."

Alyssa nodded in impressment as Sam walked back up to her. "Damn straight." They then paused in front of the staircase, and Alyssa felt the same tingle of fear like she had yesterday, but she wasn't going to let it deter her this time. "Ready?"

Sam then reached back, taking off the purple jacket that she had. She lifted up her arm and displayed the three scratches running down her arm that she had gotten from Tory. Sam glanced over at Alyssa and nodded once. Together, the two of them climbed the stairs together.

Maybe they hadn't won the entire war against their fear, but they at least won the battle. It was a start.

•─•°•❀•°•─•

BAD BLOOD IS ON FULL BLAST

oh boy am I READY to write them during this season 🫶🏻 they're in their tension era your honor

hawk would listen to chase atlantic he just would