Hot For Sensei

Chapter Forty-Three

Ivy went to school the next morning refreshed and ready to take on anything. She was determined to make it through the entire school day after what Johnny had said, and her reward would be getting to see her best friend afterwards. After the security check, she walked into the school confidently.

Hawk was in the lobby again with some other cobras. She walked past him before they could lock eyes, but he followed her, not wanting to be ignored. She pretended not to notice, walking to her locker and opening it to switch out some books, Hawk's gaze bearing on her the whole time. When she closed her locker and turned to leave, Hawk acted and nudged her into the lockers, caging her in between his strong arms. She didn't fight back, she just stared at him, which made him as uncomfortable as she wanted it to.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for yesterday." His voice was low, "I was only teasing. I didn't think you'd get so upset."

"I'm not upset. You wanna be a little shit, you go right ahead." She shrugged.

"Ivy, can we just stop this, please? I miss you, really." He pleaded in barely a whisper.

"You can have me back the minute you abandon Kreese and his bullshit zombie army." She said firmly, but her heart was sinking at the look in his eyes.

He opened his mouth to speak, but swallowed his next words, choosing instead to lean forward and press his lips to hers. She didn't fight it. Instead, she closed her eyes and kissed him back, desperate for the fireworks he always gave her. But this time was different. Though she felt that the love was still there, there were no fireworks, only a sour undertone that reminded her that she wasn't kissing Eli. Gently, she placed a hand on his chest to push him back, and he obeyed, looking into her eyes sadly.

"That's your only freebie. Next time you try that, we're going to throw down." She warned him plainly.

"I'm not going to fight you." He shook his head.

"As long as you listen to Kreese, you're fighting me." She kept his gaze.

"I don't understand why you're so mad. Kreese is Cobra Kai. He knows what it takes to win, and he knows what has to be done to conquer our enemies. His leadership is what we need to succeed. He's not a pussy like Johnny." Hawk explained firmly.

Ivy went to raise her hand, but she quickly stopped herself. Her words would hurt more than a slap anyways.

"You ever insult Johnny in front of me again and you'll have a bigger problem than that lip." She growled, choosing her words carefully. She needed to keep her boundaries, but she didn't want to hurt him too much, "The only enemies you have are Kyler and Brucks, remember them? Miyagi-Do isn't our enemy, they're just a bunch of kids learning a different type of karate. Tory is the reason that Miguel got hurt. And for the last fucking time, Kreese doesn't care about you. He's grooming you to be like him because he's too weak to fight his own battles. He's using you and the rest of them for his own agenda. Wake the fuck up."

"And what does any of that have to do with you?" Hawk rose his eyebrow, annoyed, "He hasn't done anything to you."

"Why do you have to be so stupid?" Ivy let out a frustrated sigh, placing a hand on his cheek, "He took my soulmate from me. This isn't you, Eli. You're not an alpha male bully. You're the badass that flipped the script and got stronger so that he could fight the bullies. What Kreese wants you to be is the farthest thing from who you really are, and this breaks my heart, because I'm afraid that one day I really will lose you."

For less than a split second, Ivy caught a lightness in his eyes that was Eli, and she tensed, wishing she could grab him and bring him back. But before she could even truly register what she saw, the darkness in his eyes returned, and Hawk was back. He pushed away from the wall, seeming to be suddenly sickened by her.