𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍

thirteen

『 thirteen 』

THE WEATHER WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE over the next couple weeks. Immaculate, cloudless skies. Perfect temperatures for every type of outfit. No one's fancy beach set ups were ruined by rough winds. Even the tides cooperated. All was very surprising for the end of June in the valley. 

Moon had invited a few people to an afternoon at the beach one of those days. Everyone was a friend, and ninety percent of them were popular. It was intended to be more of another party than a casual get together. 

The only downside of being Moon's friend: the parties. There was no way to get out of them. 

It ended up only being a party only consisting of her new boyfriend: Hawk, Natalie, Demetri, and a few from her lunch table. Kyler had originally intended to show up, but backed out at the last minute after hearing Miguel may be attending as well. 

The first hour was slow. There was only one activity the group of them could come up with that would be enjoyable for everyone. Volleyball. 

Natalie and Demetri played on a team against Hawk and Moon. She was better at the sport than she remembered. She hadn't played volleyball in nearly a year, but it seemed to be like riding a bike. It became second nature. 

It was Demetri's turn on serving. Hawk crouched in anticipation to make the next move. Demetri had the ball positioned, ready to hit... and it went straight into the net. Hawk sighed and straightened his back. 

"Right, uh... mulligan, send it back," Demetri called, rubbing his forehead. 

"There aren't any mulligans in volleyball," Natalie reminded him, retrieving the ball herself. 

"Says you." He moved to the sidelines. "Water break."

Two girls their age walking past saw the Cobra Kai towel he had picked up to wipe his sweat. They stopped for a second. Natalie tilted her head, easily predicting the train wreck their interaction was about to be. They were both significantly pretty girls. 

"Cobra Kai? You guys were in the All Valley, right?" One of them asked. 

Demetri looked at the towel and decided to go with it. "Uh.. yeah! The All Valley, the rumble in Receda. Yes, we certainly did," he said, leaning against the net's post. 

Hawk and Natalie exchanged a look. The girls smiled. "Cool. We're gonna go for a swim, but maybe we could play with you later?" The other girl offered. 

"Most def!" He said. "Uh... that means 'most definitely'."

The girls giggled and walked away. Moon walked over to the water bottles. "Look at you, player!" She laughed. Natalie sat on the sand. 

"It'd be nice if you actually earned the Cobra Kai cred you love to take. When are you actually gonna sign up?" Hawk demanded. 

Demetri smirked, watching the girls leave. "I don't know. I'm kinda enjoying the gain without the pain."

Miguel walked up to them. "Hawk."

Hawk smiled and gave him a high five. "Hey, there's the man!" He said, but his face fell at Miguel's sullen expression. 

"Hey, no. We're not doing this today," he told him. Demetri sat next to Natalie on the ground. "It's a beautiful day, the beach is packed with babes. It's time to stop sulking about Sam."

"It's not about Sam. It's about Sensei," Miguel muttered. 

Hawk sucked in his breath. "Is this about his rap sheet? My mom read it online. Personally, I think it makes him more bad ass-"