𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄. the boy who could fly

JIEUN TOSSED AND TURNED ALL NIGHT. THE INSOMNIA WAS still just as worse ― watching your father being murdered will do that to you ― or the more likely culprit to her sleeplessness was the undeniable pain she felt throughout her body from training with Tory.

The sun peeked through the cracked open blinds. Though, that's not what woke her. It was the constant thudding on the bedroom door. Throwing the blanket off her, she jumped up. She learned that she needed to find out who was on the other side before welcoming them in. Yesterday she thought it was the nice employee and instead it was Ben; Satan himself.

Continued pounding on the door had her more furious than concerned. "I'm coming," she huffed with heavy steps as she crossed the floor. Without caring about her appearance, she ripped the door open. "What the hell is your problem?" It's Ben. He's standing there with folded clothes in his hands ― her clothes, only, they were clean.

"Get your ass dressed. It's your first day of school." He shoved them to her chest.

"It's like six in the morning. I don't usually leave until seven thirty."

Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he gives a tight-lipped smile. "Because, you little shit, I'm taking you to school today." His blue eyes bored into hers and behind that tough guy facade, she saw familiarity. The reflection of her eyes was in his, but more than that, she could see pain. A life full of trials and tribulations. Hiding, and being hidden. Isolation and darkness. With desperation to break free.

She knew that feeling. His life here was no different. There were secrets in these walls, and if they could talk, she was sure they'd tell her to run like hell. He turned around and walked away.

Tossing the clothes into the bedroom, she crossed her arms over her chest, "fucking asshole."

Sweeping away any thoughts that slithered into her mind, she grabbed her clothes off the floor and got into the adjoined bathroom. She set them down and pressed her palms to the cold marble vanity and looked in the mirror, barely recognizing the girl staring back at her.

Once she was cleaned up and dressed, she headed downstairs where she found Ben waiting for her. He's slouched back on the couch in the waiting room with his hands on his knees. His jaw ticks in a fury. "'Bout damn time."

"Listen. You woke me up and started barking orders. You're lucky I'm even down here right now. I should be sleeping until the very last minute."

He pushed himself up off his knees and stands up. "You should be thanking me, what if no one woke you?" He walked quickly toward the door, and she followed. Catching up to him, he steps aside and then opens it for her.

He closed the door and they walk down the stairs toward a car that is waiting for them. A man dressed professionally in a black suit stands beside the open back door. "I thought you said you were taking me?" She questioned as Ben nodded to the driver.

He slid in first and she stood there wondering if she dared get in this car with him. Against her better judgment, she gets in. The driver closes the door and she looks at Ben, awaiting his response. "You don't know how to drive?"

When he doesn't respond, she lets it go.

They pull up at West Valley High, Ben remained silent the entire drive, even when she asked him what were his plans for the day. Once the driver shifts into park, his door opened then closed. As she turned her back from him, she heard the flick of a lighter and the sound of a cigarette crackling as it was lit.

"That's a disgusting habit," she snarled, turning towards him, he leaned forwards to draw in a drag.

A cruel sneer formed on his face and he leaned forward, eyes bearing straight into hers, "in this life, lung cancer is the least of my worries."

She spotted a black pistol to his left and a belt with knives on the seat. There's a box of bullets that peeked under the driver's seat. His hand reached to grab the gun. With his eyes on her, he takes it and shoves it under the seat. "Don't get any ideas."

"Are you out of your damn mind?" She asked, leaning back against the shelf. "We are on school property."

"For like two minutes before you leave." He said point-blankly.

She rolled her eyes. "Are you not gonna say goodbye?" He doesn't answer, just takes another puff of his cigarette. "Or a 'good luck on your first day back in school'?" No response. "Nothing?" Still no response.

He was so cold, so emotionless, and serious. Her eyes dart up to meet Ben's. "I won't leave until you say it."

There's a subtle tick in his eye and the corner of his mouth lifts just barely, and she knew she got him.

Reaching into the pocket of his black leather jacket, he pulled out a phone and handed it to her. "Here. I put in only my phone number." She takes the phone from him and gave him a reluctant stare. "Don't call me unless it's an emergency. I don't do small talk."

With that, he opens his door and gets out. Instantly, hers swings open and the driver is waiting for her on the other side. "I hope you have a horrible first day of school." Ben heaved.

"Well, it's something." She grumbled.

"Oh, and your grandmother should be back by the afternoon, she wanted to keep your old house."

"Are you serious?" There was a shake to her voice, no matter how strong she tried to sound. "After what happened there?"

His left brow lifted as he stared at her over his lit cigarette. "Maybe that's her way of saying goodbye." Apparently, she stood there thinking too long because Ben snuffs his cigarette out on the asphalt and shook his head. "It was either that or she was going to take you back with her."

Jieun nodded, waving one last goodbye to her temporary caretaker and the driver.

About five minutes passed and Ben still didn't leave, concerning some of the school staff. "I think she's safe, sir," the driver told him, letting out a sigh of relief as Ben nodded.

"Just making sure." He pushed himself up and walked to his side of the car.

The driver gave him a sly grin, not noticeable to Ben as his back was facing him, "got attached?"

Ben huffed, "shut up."

The intercom whistled with a woman's voice. Jieun sat in a chair next to Moon as she fiddled with the control panels of the broadcasting room, she and Moon took AV Tech as an easy A, plus morning announcements had its perks; not being in class was a major one.

"― and finally, as we embark upon another academic year, it's important to remember to be tolerant and accepting of all of our peers, regardless of ― hey, what..." Moon and Jieun looked toward each other as the commotion from the intercom sparked an interest. "You're not supposed to be in here!"

The intercom squealed, then silence, followed by a familiar voice. "Samantha LaRusso," Jieun said nothing, anticipation overtaking her. "You know what you did, and now you're gonna pay for it." Low ooh's were heard around her, "I'm coming for you, bitch!"

The bell rang, "Shit ― shit!" Jieun hurried around to the door, threw it open, and ran out to find Tory, who was looking at Sam with an evil expression, both circling around each other.

"I saw what you did at the party." Robby showed up next to her, which made Jieun want to shift but instead continued to stare at the two girls. "You kissed Miguel."

Jieun let out a low whistle, followed by a deep breath. She felt her heartbeat speed up as Sam struggled to defend herself.

Then, without warning, Tory strikes first.

Jieun did nothing but watch them fight, and continued when Robby stepped in, then Miguel.

She felt some discomfort, not because Tory had started to use her moves, but because she didn't feel ready to step in and show off her own skills. So, she kept a close eye on her rival; yet she knew Tory didn't need any help from her.

Apparently, "there is an unwritten rule in martial arts," Ben told her. "You always let the two fight, they need to know who's the last one standing. Never insert yourself unless absolutely necessary."

So she did just that.

Sam's standard of fighting was nowhere near the level of Tory or Jieun's.

But what she lacked in ability she made up for in determination.

The two continued to attack with techniques commonly used. As they did, Jieun carefully analyzed the effectiveness of particular tactics. It was easy to tell which ones were from Miyagi-do and Cobra Kai.

"Should we do something?" Aisha's heart was beating rapidly, "should we step in?"

Jieun shook her head, "Tory's got this."

Aisha gave a confused look, "Tory? Aren't you closer to Sam?" Jieun whistled at that, which made Aisha furrow her eyebrows tighter. "Wait, what happened to you two?"

"I don't think this is the right time." She replied, wincing at the crash of bodies hitting the lockers.

Aisha dismissed it with a shake of her head, "whatever, I think we should help Sam." Jieun gave a half-hearted smile, "c'mon what she did can't possibly be that bad."

"Yeah, she actually said some unforgivable shit," Jieun had lost count of how many times Tory swung Sam to the lockers, "listen," Aisha bent down to hear her better, "I think we let them duke it out. See who's the winner."

"Tory's kicking Sam's ass."

As the debate about what was wrong or right heated, Jieun simply wanted to lie down and rest. In response, she shrugged, final a confirmation for Aisha as she pushed her way through the crowd and started yelling 'stop fighting' just before getting herself into her own battle.

Then, Tory pushed Sam into Jieun ― taking her out of her thoughts and eyes filled with fury as she fell to the ground.

"Jiji..." Sam whimpered, "I didn't ― she pushed me." Jieun's intimidating scowl forced her to avert her eyes toward her feet. "And... and about that night ―"

"I don't care about that anymore." She snapped. "What was that you said?" She clicked her tongue. "Oh, right. We aren't friends anymore. So I have no remorse for what I'm about to do."

Jieun raced toward her and threw a heavy front hard punch, which Sam evaded ― but she failed to see the following two-punch combination.

There was a thud on her forehead and suddenly Sam was on her backside listening to the crowd cheering wildly. Through watering eyes, she looked across to Tory, who just bared her teeth and clenched her fist. Sam clambered to her feet and made her way back in front of Jieun.

Again, Jieun rushed at her, but aware of her tactics, Sa, retreated faster than she advanced and she was chased near the stairway of the school. She continued to run as the crowd booed.

Overcoming her fear and the natural inclination to retreat, Sam rushed forward to finish Jieun off. Determined to meet her halfway, Sam punched as hard as she could, feeling the impact travel down her arm ― Jieun had rammed her with the full weight of her body, knocking Sam to the ground.

She slammed a fist into Sam's stomach and another into her chin. Hearing a sickening impact amid groans from the crowd.

Drawing strength from the crowd, Jieun felt totally at home. Conceitedly, she felt surprised that Miguel and Robby had not only survived each other but were performing better than she had anticipated.

Sam and Jieun continued to feint attacks, Jieun using a style of fighting in which she planted herself on one spot, head slightly tilted to one side, almost trance-like, like a gangly carnivorous insect waiting to strike at its prey with lightning speed. Almost like a scorpion.

Suddenly, Sam pushed herself to do another attack and when it drew no response she followed up with a punch, which Jieun finally responded with a roundhouse kick to the head that slapped Sam hard on the side of her face.

To the side, Miguel and Robby stood, panting as they took a small breather, finally noticing the fight between Sam and Jieun.

There were many, even amongst Miguel and Robby, who wanted Jieun to take it down a peg or two. A great roar went up as Tory took over.

From behind Jieun, Miguel made no attempt to hide his amusement; the fight only lasted about a minute. And if this were a tournament, Jieun would've easily scored three full points, the last kick she did had an excessively powerful force that folded Sam as if she were made of paper.

Miguel made a mental note to ask where the hell did she learn how to fight like that; all her excuses to not join Cobra Kai were now invalid to him.

Back on the sidelines, Jieun had an unnerving look to her, she had won, and it had tasted strangely sweet at that moment, different than soccer wins.

A few minutes later, Jieun shot her eyes upward toward the tops of the staircase. Heart-shattering at the view.

Gravity took over Miguel, and Jieun felt like her innards were being replaced by some kind of black hole.

She shut her eyes, began to totter backward, and stumbled.

Miguel lay there. Jieun suddenly took on a pale look, as if she'd been painted with whitewash ― even her lips were barely there. She felt like she could crumble like a puppet suddenly released of its strings.

She went running up the stairs towards him. She staggered backward, her mind swirling, her breaths shallow.

She clapped her hands over the forming bruises on Miguel, fear lacing every inch of her.

Her eyes raced for the culprit, and Robby Keene stared down at the scene. He opened his mouth to speak but found he could not.

And before anyone could threaten the teenager, Sam Larusso yelled. "Robby what did you do?!"

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄

jiji beating up sam we love to see it

cant wait to start s3 when robby finally cut his hair oh my god

much love,