eleven

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ignore the fact that I kinda mess with the timeline of their little back room, but whatever. It's always been in use ;)
I mess up the timeline a lot, just moving around some weeks. It's okay

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『 eleven 』

NATALIE HAD NO INTENTION of returning to Cobra Kai that summer. 

It had been two weeks since the All Valley. Kyler and his gang had stopped tormenting her and her friends. She had done her part in the tournament. She had yet to get attacked on her walks down sidewalks. Until that, or anything happened, she had no incentive to go back. She was waiting for any one of her friends to give her the motivation to return. They had yet to. 

Her daily summer routine went the same way every day. Just like clockwork. 

Wake up at nine to transform herself into a person. Work at ten, video chat at home with either Aisha, Kate, or Miguel at three. Listening to Demetri's daily rant at four. Free time after dinner with whatever friend would have her. Doing whatever their hearts desired for the evening. Curfew at ten. 

They went to beach parties, went to four movies in one day, and pulled all nighters to binge entire six season shows in one sitting. Kate let herself get dragged to half the stores in the mall for Natalie to shop her heart out. Miguel invited her to his house one Sunday evening to finally meet his mom and grandma. 

All of these things were much more enjoyable than kicking wooden planks and getting punched for an hour every other day. 

Every day, she checked in with Theo to see if he wanted to hang out. Not even an extravagant date, but just an afternoon together. She saw him once over the span of the entire two weeks. He answered every third call of hers. Her texts to him were read, but left ignored. She made sure he was okay, even going to his sister to make sure there weren't problems at home. He was perfectly fine, according to her. 

That was, until one Tuesday evening when she found him at an Applebee's. 

It was the one night a week the family tolerated each other for dinner at a restaurant. Leila had even invited Hawk's mom. Terrible decision, and she wisely opted out. It was a very eventful night. 

Everything was going smoothly. This was the first day since the tournament Hawk and Natalie hadn't had any sort of fight. Their parents were joking and acting genuinely interested in their kids lives. She actually wished Hawk's mom was there to enjoy it with them. 

It was just after they had ordered when Natalie spotted Theo at the other side of the restaurant. He was making out with a random girl, one she had never before seen in her life. That was probably for the better. She watched them across the building for a solid minute, subtly fleeting her eyes away from the table every ten seconds. Every time she looked back over there, she hoped they were done. 

They never finished. It got worse and worse. 

His hands became immersed in her bright red hair. They were compacted into the corner of the booth. Waiters were taking the long route to their tables to avoid passing them. People around them sent disgusted glares at the public displays. 

They weren't being very subtle. 

Hawk noticed the white knuckles gripping the side of her appetizer plate. He followed her train of sight, and found the exact people she was focused on. 

"Oh, shit..." He muttered, standing up. 

Natalie almost shattered the plate in her hand when she got up to confront that boy. Their parents turned around in their booth to see what was going on. Hawk grabbed her arm and muttered into her ear, "Do you want me to beat his ass for you, or let you get a few punches in before I put him in the emergency room?"

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