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Kalina stood between Hawk and Miguel in the middle of a wrecked car lot, her father stood on top of a car drinking from his can. "You've trained hard. You've gotten stronger, tougher, faster. You've done your best. You're ready for this tournament, am I right?" Johnny asked the Quiver of students. "Yes, Sensei!" They all responded in unison. "Wrong! You're best ain't shit! If you want to win the All-Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, you gotta give me better than your best," Johnny exclaimed to the class.

"Which is why from now on, you're gonna get my worst," Johnny informed them making Kalina sigh. "You understand?" Johnny asked. "Yes, Sensei!" They all chanted as one. "Are you losers?" Johnny questioned. "No, Sensei!" Kalina shouted with everyone. "Are you nerds?" Johnny asked next. "No, Sensei!" In unison, one fearful cobra. "Are you sure?" Johnny asked. "No, Sensei/Yes, Sensei," The class chanted no while Kalina chanted yes.

They started off running through large tires before smashing glass windows on cars to control their anger. They even walked across a board for balance, Kalina keeping her focus throughout the day while helping the others with their training. "You want to win, you gotta be hungry. You guys hungry?" Johnny asked as he handed them some beef jerky. Kalina's eyes widened as she looked at her father knowing exactly what was about to happen, the girl ─ before Johnny did anything ─ already booked it.

"Why is Kali running?" Miguel asked right before Johnny whistled, a few dogs came running towards them. Kalina had pulled herself up safely onto a car, she watched as everyone scattered throughout the car lot. "Eli!" Kalina shouted with her hands cupped over her mouth. The boy was almost cornered but at the sound of Kalina's voice, he managed to turn in time and rushed towards her. Kalina reached out her hand, throwing the jerky to the ground before pulling Hawk up.

The two tumbled, Hawk, catching her waist before she fell off of the car. The two of them were panting from running, the dog was quick to lose interest after having some jerky and went off after some others. "Are you alright?" Kalina asked Hawk as she looked up at him, the teen was admiring the way her eyes shone despite the pink tint on her cheeks from running. "Yeah, I'm great," Hawk answered as he let his touch on her waist linger; he was happy to have some time for just the two of them. Hawk was excited for their date, he had it all planned out knowing what she liked.

"So, uh, you just gonna lay there over me or are we gonna sit up?" Kalina asked Hawk, the boy shrugged. "I don't mind the position actually," Hawk said before he brushed her hair out of her face; he really wanted to kiss her. "Until my dad sees," Kalina forewarned the boy causing his eyes to widen and move away from her which made her laugh. "Relax, Eli. My dad knows I can handle myself so he doesn't do the whole 'threatening' thing," Kalina informed him as she sat up, crossing her legs; truthfully, her dad's never been sober enough to play the role of a dad.

Kalina looked around and noticed that the class had scattered towards the other side of the lot, so she took a moment to enjoy the peace and quiet. "Why do you still call me Eli?" Hawk asked genuinely. Kalina looked at him and let her eyes wander, moving from his eyes to his nose to his cheeks to his scar and finally his lips, which he licked at that moment, before looking back up at his eyes. "Because it's a part of who you are, it's the person I met first and the person I lo... became friends with," Kalina smiled before pulling out her phone after it buzzed.

She chuckled at the screen which caught Hawk's attention, "What?" Kalina looked up at Hawk with an amused smile. "Uh, 'Metri sent me a funny joke. We have this little competition to see who can send the funniest jokes, most of them are terrible puns but so far, I'm in the lead but I think that's 'Metri giving me extra points," Kalina explained noticing the way Hawk's jaw clenched, his eyes hardened and the way his fists clenched at his sides; jealousy burning through him.

"What's wrong, Eli? You seem mad and I'm not understanding why," Kalina asked with a concerned look on her face. "Of course, you don't. You don't see it, do you?" Hawk snapped at her making her cower down slightly. "God... How can you be so damn stupid?!" Hawk seethed out causing Kalina's eyes to water. Her mind flashed back to her mother's harsh words along with many others, she never expected Eli ─ Hawk ─ to snap at her so harshly.

"Forget the date, Hawk," Kalina replied before jumping off of the car, ignoring the pinch in her ankle from the impact before she ran off. Hawk was frozen in place as he watched her run off, he saw the glossy eyes and realised how harsh he came across, he had no right to snap at her like that and now he had lost the date he was planning for. "You're an actual idiot," Johnny's voice sounded from behind Hawk, the boy turned quickly to him and Miguel, both glaring at the boy who gulped fearfully. They knew how badly being called stupid affected the girl.

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Robby held Kalina in his arms as she silently cried into his chest, her cheek was still stinging from the red handprint that lay upon her pale skin. "It's okay. She can't hear you cries anymore," Robby whispered to his younger sister. "S-she... thinks I'm stupid..." Kalina whinpered. "She's wrong, Kali. You are pretty, smart, and you'll do great things one day. Never let anyone tell you otherwise," Robby expressed to his sister, she sniffled before looking up at him with puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "Really?" Kalina asked him in a soft voice. "Really, really," Robby promised her before she wrapped her arms around him.

Despite the distance between Robby Keene and Kalina Lawrence, they would always have each other's back through anything. Without Robby, Kalina would never have gotten to where she is nor would she have been so willing to never give up on their father no matter how terrible of a dad he was and still could be. Kalina just appreciated that he had stuck around, something she always said to Robby. But Robby worries about Kalina, he just wants to protect his twin with everything he is which is why he checks in so often. And hearing about the boy who made her cry made it very angry; only agreeing to leave Hawk alone per her request.

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Kalina was in the Dojo wearing her Gi, throwing some harsh punches into Benny the dummy. Her knuckles burned in pain from the constant hits but she didn't back down, even with Miguel watching her cautiously. Miguel had told off Hawk for his behaviour but at the same time, he understood the boy's perspective 'cause if Kalina wasn't like a sister to him, then he'd want to date her too. Which is why Miguel wasn't surprised that Hawk and Demetri had crushes on the blonde beauty, but he wasn't gonna let either of them hurt her.

She shouldn't be stuck between two best friends, Miguel knew that wasn't her true intention but it had happened, not that she was at fault; as far as he knew. Miguel just hoped that Hawk would apologise for calling her stupid, something she was constantly referred to by her birth mother which took a heavy effect on the blonde. "Whoa! Okay, okay... That's enough," Johnny carefully pulled the dummy away from his daughter's harsh jabs.

"Save some for the tournament," Johnny softly grabbed his daughter's wrist to look at her hands, the older Lawrence sighed at the small breaks in the skin causing it to bleed. "Why are we the only ones here, Sensei?" Miguel asked Johnny knowing that Kalon didn't want to talk about what happened, she had already explained to Demetri what happened and even he was upset with Hawk's words.

"'Cause let's face it, you two are the only chance I got at winning this thing," Johnny answered Miguel who smiled smugly, Kalina attempted a smile but it was more awkward. She was hurting over Hawk's words, she thought back to their moment before his decision to 'flip the script' and she was wishing she convinced Eli to stay. "So what? We're your best students?" Miguel asked in a teasing manner. "Don't flatter yourself. Kalina is," Johnny answered, getting a proper smile from Kalina.

Miguel walked over to his phone while Kalina pulled a bandage from her bag, wrapping it tight around her knuckles before walking into the office for some ice. "You're dating a LaRusso?" Johnny asked the boy as Kalina walked back out with ice on her knuckles. "Yeah, why? Is something wrong?" Miguel asked Johnny, the older Lawrence looked to Kalina who shrugged innocently as she pulled a chocolate bar from her bag.

"We need to talk," Johnny told him before looking to Kalina with a raised brow. "Alright, I'm leaving. I know where I'm not needed," Kalina threw her bag over her shoulder and made her way towards the door, she waved to the two before walking outside. She made her way towards home, she locked herself in her room and curled up under her blankets where she spent the night overthinking whether or not she overreacted to Hawk's words and pretty much everything else.

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Rosemary Speaks

What do you think? Did she overreact?
I would've been the same honestly...
I'm really pumping the updates for this story, wow!

See you in the next chapter!