Hot For Sensei

Chapter Seventy-Two

Ivy stopped Johnny outside of his apartment the next morning to try and make him understand why she was doing what she was about to do. He immediately jumped to the conclusion that she thought he would, but she took great care in assuring him that she hated Daniel with a passion and would never join Miyagi-Do, she was just tagging along to support Eli. He was pretty angry about that too, since Eli had been one of his first and best students, but he knew that Dimitri would never stand a chance against Robby, and that both sides needed all they could get to tip the scales in their favor against Cobra Kai. She still apologized to Johnny, even though their decisions made perfect sense, and they parted ways with a tense understanding.

The plan for the day was simple. They were going to go to school as normal, keeping their noses out of trouble, and then they were going to head over to Miyagi-Do to make Eli's big debut, something only he, Ivy and Dimitri knew about. Miguel had his own plans though, and he cornered Ivy at her locker before lunch.

"Hey...I really need to talk to you." He mumbled, fidgeting with his fingers.

"Sure, what's up?" she asked, closing her locker.

"I know...I know you said you're out..." he struggled through a sigh, "But I really need you to come back."

"Because of the gender divisions..." she mimicked his sigh.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" he rose his brow.

"Dimitri came to recruit Eli for Miyagi-Do since they didn't have a strong male competitor." She explained.

"So that's where he's been." Miguel grumbled, and she could tell he felt betrayed.

"No, he's been hiding and moping at his house until Dimitri came yesterday and gave him a much needed kick in the ass." She shrugged to defend Eli.

"I suppose someone had to do it." Miguel shook his head, still angry.

"Yeah, though I'm kind of ticked he didn't listen to me this whole time." Ivy looked to the floor, "But they are best friends, so I guess it makes sense."

"And you're my best friend, meaning we should stick together. So will you come back, please?" Miguel watched her sadly, "Johnny and I really need a female competitor, and you're our queen fighter."

She crossed her arms and leaned up against her locker, biting her lip in thought. He had said these same things to her when she had first backed out, but they didn't really need her then, so it was easier to refuse him. Now the gender divisions were putting on the heat, and they needed her badly. The thought of disappointing Johnny hurt her, but she still couldn't give in. She had stakes in both Dojo's now, and she couldn't join one without hurting the other, no matter how much she wanted to help Johnny.

"No, I can't. I'm sorry." She bit her lip harder to keep her resolve, "Not when my best friend is on one side and my boyfriend is on the other."

"But Ivy, we have no chance without you." Miguel pushed, his eyes pleading, "Please."

"Don't you think I want to fight?" she half shouted, "We were supposed to go all in together and take out Kreese! But now everyone is everywhere because of this stupid feud, and I can't win either way!"

"Maybe we can convince them to reconsider...maybe enough time has passed that we could try again..." Miguel frowned, knowing the truth of her words.

"No, we can't. You know we can't." she shook her head firmly, though she felt like the walls were closing in around her, "I'm sorry, Migi. I love you, but I can't help you. Not this time."