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School bus !!

KENNY WAS DISTANCING HIMSELF FROM ELIANA AND SHE COULDN'T FIGURE OHT WHY. He wouldn't talk to her, and if she tried to, he would only speak with short sentences.

When she entered the bus, she headed to the seat beside Kenny but he refused to move his bag so, she had to sit behind him.

She blasted her music, not noticing the group of boys behind her picking on Kenny. Throwing food at him and calling him names.

Eventually, the bus stopped at the corner of a street, and Anthony stood to exit the bus.

He stopped at Eliana's seat and softly shoved her shoulder to grab her attention. "You coming?"

She stares for a moment, before standing and grabbing her things while Anthony watched her closely.

She looks to him and waits for him to move. "Take a picture, LaPusso! It'll last longer." The stupid Thompson boy yells to the pair and it snaps Anthony out of his trance.

He stuck his middle finger to his 'friends' and cleared his throat before walking to the front and out the bus. Eliana following close behind.

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Diaz apartment !!

The front door was slowly opened and Eliana stepped inside, quickly looking around the kitchen and living room. She confirmed it's respectable look, and she moved to let Anthony in.

"Um, are you hungry?" She turned to the boy. "We have chicken nuggets or... hot pockets." She gestured to the kitchen awkwardly.

Anthony's face lit up and the sound of his favorite snack. But he hesitated to accept, and eventually said no.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, no, I- I had a snack in last period. I'll be good." He stumbled over his lie. He hadn't eaten since lunch and even then he didn't eat the full meal.

Eliana nodded and mumbled something before leaving the boy alone in the room, tossing her bag onto her bed and grabbing her VHS tapes.

When she comes back, she finds Anthony sat on the couch, staring into nothing.

She places the stacks of VHS tapes and grabs 2 cans of soda, offering one to Anthony. She thanked her quietly and she turned on the TV, putting in the first VHS and sitting on the cushion beside to Anthony.

Not too close, but not on the entirety different side of the couch. The movie started and the pair watched as the intro played out.

Not even 20 minutes later, Miguel rushed into the building loudly. Greeting Eliana and then shutting his door. The kids look to each other for a bit and then continue watching the movie.

Then, Miguel's bedroom door slowly opened and Eliana winced while tugging on Anthony's shoulder. "Get down." She whispered.

"What?" Confused.

"Get down." Her tone was slightly harsh but quiet. And the boy leaned closer to her, lowering himself to be invisible from the back of the couch.

Miguel stepped into the living room. "Did you bring someone over?"

"No." She didn't turn around, her eyes fixated on the TV.

"I thought I some hair."

"You came in pretty fast."

Anthony was getting tired. His upper body was hovering and it tired him. He tried to keep himself up and his arm slipped, causing his head to fall onto Eliana's leg.

She glanced down at him and he looked to her, about to raise himself up. She covered his mouth and held him down and turned away to face Miguel.

"Okay." Miguel backed into his room and got dressed for practice. After walking out his room, he questioned his sister. "You're not going to practice?"

Eliana, glancing at Anthony and covering her face, shook her head. "No. I, uh, asked Johnny to let me stay home earlier cause I hurt my.. ankle."

Miguel nodded and left the building, Eliana let go of Anthony and he shot up. He coughed dryly and Eliana pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them.

"Sorry."

"Why couldn't you let him see me?"

"You're a boy. And, unfortunately, I can't just have a friend that's a boy over." She chuckled and rested her face against her knees, muffling her words. "It's suspicious to Miggy."

Anthony laughed along, smiling and looking to Eliana for a few seconds then continues watching the movie before she could notice.

They watched lots of movies, a list of Eliana's favorites and a couple of movies they found in the TV stand.

If you asked Anthony about the last few movies, he couldn't tell you the plot. He made sure to pay the mat attention he could to Eliana's picks, listening to when she laughed, when she agreed with a character, or when she made a comment on the story.

By the time they had gotten to the extra movies, his mind was on Eliana. The girl he'd liked since he first talked to her in 4th grade.

That day in math class, the kids had a number to color coloring page. The kind that hid the correct color behind a simple math equation.

A young Eliana approached Anthony and asked to borrow a few colored pencils from his box of crayons, colored pencils, and markers.

"Excuse me." She waved sheepishly. "Do you mind if I use your green and blue colored pencils?"

He had never been struck with beauty before then(according to him). But he believed she was out of his league. He believed she was way too good for him and therefore was too scared to ever ask her out.

He didn't want to be rejected. That was one of his worst fears, to be embarrassed like that. So, he decided he wouldn't risk it. Until Kenny came into the picture.

The sight of Kenny and Eliana laughing and joking around angered him. Since then he's been trying to get along with her. He didn't want to lose her to that dork, Kenny.

He wouldn't let that happen.

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Eliana's bedroom !!

Johnny and Daniel are fighting. Johnny spam tweeted to all his 2 followers about their fight. The followers being her and Miguel.

Yet, somehow everyone at school was talking about it. 'Who's even telling these kids about it?' She thought, utterly confused.

She laid on her side, completely covered in her blanket. She texted with her new buddy about their hang out the day before, and the movies they watched.

She giggled at the jokes Anthony made. Poking fun at the plot and some of the exaggerated acting in the horror movies they watched.

Her music played from her phone speakers, Saliva Palth fading out as the song ended. And a voice counted to 4, starting an acoustic guitar playing a nice melody.

Eliana sang along to the music. "Chilled in the kitchen of a city tomb. The light would flicker like a violent womb. The night was thicker than a smoky fume. Eliza waited in her room."

She softly sang, and as the second half of the song played later on, she dozed off. Her eye lids feeling heavy and she thought, 'The fight isn't until tonight. I have time for a nap.'

She texted Anthony to tell him she was falling asleep so he wouldn't think she was ignoring her.

The gore was still good tho and you could tell it was fun to make

Yeah

Sorry I'm getting itred

I'll text you when I wake up?

Sure

Sleep well or wtv

She tapped on the last message, picking the heart reaction after a teeny-weeny pause. She plugged her phone into it's charger and let the music play, lulling her to sleep.

For the first time in a long time, Eliana easily drifted to sleep.

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Miyagi-Do dojo !!

Eliana watched Johnny walk up to the sparring deck. Daniel had gotten them before anyone else, she knew this because her and Miguel were the first of the students to arrive, and he was waiting patiently.

Chris tried to have a small interview with Johnny before the fight but was ignored.

"What are all the kids doing here?" Johnny asked Daniel after stepping onto the deck.

"That's what happens when you broadcast your life all over social media."

Johnny briefly looked to the teens watching, Eliana, Miguel, and Sam in front. All the others around them watching through Chris' phone screen and talking with each other.

"Alright, look, maybe there's a better way."

"There is." Daniel spoke calmly and quietly while his eyes darted around the environment. All the greenery around him and the sounds of water flowing filled the usual emptiness of the night. "You just won't admit it."

Johnny smiled, shaking his head. "Don't you think you might be wrong... about anything?"

Daniel sighed, "What are we doing here?" He tossed his arms up, gesturing to the general location.

"You wanna rehash your entire baseless argument from last night in front of these kids?"

"No." The blond's face was serious. As serious as Eliana acted in school. "I want what's best for them."

"What's best for them is Miyagi-Do. And if fighting you is the only way I can get there, then let's just get this done."

Daniel sounded tired. Absolutely done with this bickering. Eliana was glad he seemed to be as over this rivalry as she was. She hated that these old men couldn't get over their history together and just get along.

"Alright, LaRusso. Let's finish this."

It started like any professional fight. Sam was in charge of Johnny's score and Miguel was in charge of Daniel's, to avoid favoritism.
The men bowed to the referees, then to each other, and fought.

Johnny scored the first point, striking Daniel in his left rib.

"Sensei Lawrence strikes first!" Chris announced into his phone.

"True to the motto painted on his former dojo wall, and carved into his very being." Both Chris and Eliana looked to Penis Breath, confusion and a bit of anger etched onto their features.

"What? I'm trying to capture the spirit of the- the thing."

Daniel scored the second point, kicking Johnny in his gut. And another. He punches Johnny on the side of his torso.

"Hell yeah! Two-to-one. LaRusso takes the lead."

"All he has to do is score one more point and LaRusso is the winner."

No one exactly knew the stakes of the fight, but everyone was super hyped to see how it would finish. After they watched Daniel ready himself with unfamiliar movements, the fight began.

At first, it looked like Daniel would win, kicking Johnny's arm to numb it. But was ultimately hit , and Johnny scored a point.

He stood up, holding his arm in pain. And Daniel the same, holding his stomach.

"Got any more dirty tricks up your sleeve?"

"I'm not the one who fights dirty."

The tie-breaker. The last fight. It lasted longer than the others, and there was a moment where it looked like Johnny might win. Then, it looked like it could be Daniel.

Suddenly, the men striked at the same moment. Johnny hit Daniel's face with his fist and Daniel kicked, both ending up on the floor.

The crowd erupted in cheers, quickly dying down to hear whose point it was.

"Point LaRusso!"
"Point Lawrence."

Sam and Miguel looked to each other, asking the same question.

"Are you sure?"

"Are you sure?"

Demetri pointed to Chris' phone. "Check the replay!"

Everyone crowded around Chris to watch the video, only seeing the same sight. Both men falling and hitting the ground on the same second.

"Go to another angle."

Chris looked to Johnny, who suggested it, "There is no other angle."

"Don't you guys have another phone?"

Everyone was looking between the two until Miguel spotted his friend walk into the dojo.

"Hawk?" He pushed through all the teenagers to get to the hooded boy.

"Shit. Eli, what happened?" Demetri questioned while the Diaz siblings made their way towards Eli, concern plastered on their faces.

He pulled off his hoodie to reveal his signature hairdo was gone. His mohawk had been shaved off, right down the middle. With only the edges of what was once there visible. The smallest amount of vibrant purple tips cut unevenly. It was a tragic vision.

Eliana gasped, her hands lifted up to her mouth and she shared a sad look with her brother. There were tears in his eyes. Johnny moved everyone out of the way to approach Eli.

"Who did this?"

"Cobra Kai." He was destroyed. Stripped of his confidence. Eliana didn't understand how he could look so different in a day.

She saw him just the day before, she complimented his new hair color and happily wished him a good day before she watched his car back out of the apartment parking lot. He offered to drive her to school but she politely refused.

He was happy. He was smiling. And now... he was shattered.

"Kreese and Silver did this. They need to pay." Any idea of peace flew out Johnny's mind.

Daniel was quick to shut him down. "Jesus, Johnny. Please." Johnny turned to face Daniel. "Kreese tried to kill you last time. Now you wanna fight them both?"

"Damn right, I do." He tossed his arm up in Eli's direction, "Look what they did."

"Dousing the fire with gasoline, that's your answer? Why am I not surprised?"

"Sensei, stop." Miguel pleaded in a soft tone.

Eliana sighed and stepped forward. "This isn't the time for you two to argue." Only to be completely ignored.

"You still think your way is the only way." Johnny's head shook. "You were so proud when they pulled their little sprinkler prank the other day."

Eliana gave Miguel a puzzled look but he waved her off. How much did she miss?

"But if they stood their ground and kicked some ass like I taught them, this never would've happened."

"And if they fight every time they're provoked, where does that lead?" Daniel threw his arms around while he spoke. "Back to the hospital? Or to jail?"

The anger in both their voices was evident, and Eliana could understand both points of view. But she couldn't deny the facts.

Daniel had to accept that not every solution could be solved by kindness and and a calm conversation. And Johnny had to accept that not every solution could be solved by straight violence.

If they could both accept that they could be wrong.

"Enough, Dad." Sam stepped in front of her father, getting closer to Johnny.

"What?"

"Johnny's right. It doesn't matter how many times we stand up to Cobra Kai, if they don't strike back, they're gonna keep coming at us."

Daniel looked from his daughter to Johnny, disappointed and furious. "And you were worried about my influence on your kids."

Johnny swallowed, you could tell he felt some kind of remorse by the look on his face. For what? No one but he could tell you.

"Is this what you want, Johnny? To have my daughter and..." Daniel was out of breath, "The rest of my students acting like you?" He took deep breaths.

"Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about it anymore. Cause we're done."

They held eye contact. "Works for me."

She felt selfish for this, but Eliana couldn't help but think about what this meant for her. Who would train her?

"Eagle Fangs, let's go." Johnny turned to walk out, and paused to look back. He waited for Miguel to start walking, which clued Eliana to follow him.

They didn't talk too much anyways, but she feared that staying with Miyagi-Do might drive a wedge between them.

They walked out the dojo, and Eliana quickened her pace to walk with Eli.

"I'm sorry for your hair." He nodded in acknowledgement to her.

His voice was low, and sad. "It's alright."

"I could help you fix it?" He thought for a moment and nodded his head.

Eliana smiled softly at him. She had cut her own a few times, and knew her way around a pair of scissors. But she planned on asking Hawk for something else after she was done with him.

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Dylan speaks !!

Not to be that person but I would really appreciate votes and comments, reading and replying to comments are my favorite part of publishing stories and I js love interacting with you guys and hearing your opinions on my writing and stuff like that :)

This chapter actually took me all day to write but I think it came out pretty good so, totally worth the back pain imo