Forbidden Things || Cobra Kai

12 Tough Cookie

The rich smell of sugar and chocolate filled the kitchen, making the room warm and fuzzy. With her hair pulled back, Penelope washed the bowls and utensils she used while a tray of cookies baked in the oven. She couldn't help but move to the music playing from the radio, the host swearing they were playing the best summer hits, but she wasn't really paying attention. It was just noise to have on in the background while she worked anyway.

She was so used to the music and short commercials, it shocked her when it was nearly shut off. She turned around, only to find Frankie standing by the radio, her hand on the volume dial. Penelope gave a small wave before turning back to the sink. She was almost done with the dishes, so she saw no point in pausing.

"Hey," Frankie said, walking over. She leant on the counter to the right of the sink and watched Penelope quietly, crossing her arms over her chest.

It was like that for a moment longer before she spoke. "So, Hawk..."

Penelope stopped scrubbing for a moment, processing that simple opening. It was so vague yet packed so many implications into it all at once. She glanced at Frankie, raising a gentle brow as her eyes became curious and shy. Her cheeks grew pink at the mere mention of his name, which caused her to quickly look away and start washing again.

"You seem to really like him," Frankie continued casually. There was an undertone of curiosity that she was trying to hide, but was unable to mask it like she could with anyone else. "So, do you like him as more than a friend?"

At this, Penelope quickly shook her head. Her pink ponytail bobbed and swayed back and forth erratically.

"Oh, well, that's a lie," Frankie laughed, but it was a little dry and humorless. She focused her attention on her cousin's face, which was still pink and glowing in the sunlight coming in through the window. "Why do you like him?"

Penelope kept her eyes on the task in front of her, finishing up the last few utensils before placing them in the drying rack. She quickly toweled her hands and moved on to the pantry, pulling out a jar of Nutella.

"I'm serious, I wanna know," Frankie said, moving to follow her around the kitchen. She wasn't going to let it go, especially now that she could see Penelope was avoiding answering the question in any capacity. "Because I really don't get it."

Throwing her a questioning look, Penelope had to wonder where all of this was going. Usually, conversations about boys or girls were centered around Frankie, not herself. Having that kind of attention thrown onto her, it made her feel as though she was under a spotlight, which made her stomach turn uncomfortably. She gave a quick shrug before turning to the oven and checking on the cookies.

"Well, I don't like him."

She wasn't surprised by that. Even before they moved to California, Frankie wasn't someone a lot of people got along with, or rather she didn't get along with a lot of people. Either way, Penelope had known that wasn't going to change when they got to LA, in fact she had expected it to get worse. However, she was pleasantly surprised to find Frankie got along well with the girls they had met. Moon and Aisha were turning out to be great friends and Tory...

Well, Penelope wasn't shocked by Frankie's friendliness towards Tory.

She attempted to sign to Frankie, but a confused and hard look overcame her features as she tried to read them. Penelope stopped and pulled out her phone, typing as fast and clearly as she could. "You don't like anyone."

Frankie shrugged, as if that statement were run of the mill and didn't hold much weight. "That's not true. I like a few people."

"So what's different about Hawk?" the automated voice asked. In the warmth of the yellow kitchen, it was grating and cold. As the phone sat nestled in Penelope's hands, she wished the voice sounded at least a little more human and compassionate.