Always ~Cobra Kai~

9 | Twin Code

Maria walked the halls of her school, avoiding Kyler and his goons at all costs. That's why she was late to the library where her, her twin, Eli, and Demetri we're going to study together. But the only person she'd tell that to was Eli, and she'd tell him later that night.

"Sorry, I'm late." Maria said as she took her seat, placing her bag down on the ground beside her.

"It's okay," Demetri said, not looking up from his history notes.

"We didn't even notice you weren't here," Miguel teased.

"Thanks, Miggy." Maria shot him a fake smile.

"I noticed you weren't here, babe." Eli said from across the table.

Maria briefly thought of Connor, but tried (and failed) to push all thoughts of him into the trash can of her mind. "Thanks," She blew him a kiss from where she sat.

Demetri started to fake throw up, retching and gagging up a storm. Maria couldn't help but remember her 'fertilizing the bushes' moment, which lead her to think about Connor. God, this boy had worked his way into her life and he wasn't leaving.  

"So, no more karate?" Demetri asked after a few moments of silence.

"I guess so," Miguel and Maria say in unison. They immediately look at each other in shock, they haven't done that since they were little.

"If you guys start doing that, I'm going to go insane." Demetri said, looking in between the twins who's eyes were still locked on each other.

"I thought that was kind of cool." Eli shrugged, continuing on his English essay.

"Thanks, babe." Maria gave him a sweet smile that made Eli practically melt in his shoes.

"It's probably for the best, anyways," Demetri speaks up, talking about karate again. "It was starting to boost your confidence,"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Miguel inquires, confused.

"No," Demetri rolls his eyes as if this is supposed to be obvious to the Diaz twins. "What has confidence ever gotten somebody other than a black eye and their backpack thrown in the trash?"

"Uh," Maria said sarcastically. "A girlfriend?"

Eli smiled at her. "I thought it was kind of cool how you stood up to Kyler."

"Yep," Maria flexed her arms and then pointed to her twin. "That's my brother."

"Are you insane?" Demetri scoffed again, before leaning in like he was going to tell the most interesting story ever. "Let me ask you, what's the best superpower?"

"Super strength." Miguel said confidently.

"Wrong," Demetri answered without hesitation.

"Super brains?" Maria inquired.

"Wrong," Demetri repeated, but then he turned back to Maria. "Wrong-ish,"  The dark haired boy then continued his rant. "Invisibility."

Maria scoffed. "Why would I want to hide all this?" She motions to her face.

"Good question." Eli whispers.

"Anyways," Demetri continued. "Invisibility is right. A close second would be super speed. To run away fast."

"Run away from who?"

Maria and her friends immediately started packing up. "We were just leaving," Miguel assured.

The boys and her stand up, preparing to skedaddle, when Kyler grabbed ahold of Eli, the boy closest to him. The Asian boy grips his face roughly, examining the scar on his lip that Maria is in love with.

"Oh shit, look at this shit, man!" Kyler says to Brucks. "What girl would ever kiss this shit?"

Maria spoke before she could stop herself. "I would,"

"Oh yeah, I saw you two at the dance Friday." Kyler laughed knowingly, flinging Eli away from him.

"Let me show you what a real man can do, baby." He drawls, stepping closer and closer to Maria.

"Don't touch her!" Eli, Demetri, and Miguel all say at once.

Kyler looks around at the four outcastes before a knowing look spreads along his face. "Oh, damn, baby. You got both these guys workin' for you. You're so easy and desperate you're willing to fuck the nerds."

Maria doesn't even have time to respond as her brother pulls her backward out of the library.

★★★

Someone knocked on her bedroom door, and Maria sat bolt upright. "Uno momento!" She called, running to the mirror that laid on top of her dresser.

She wiped away her tears and rubbed her face. She plastered on a fake smile and decided it looked real enough. "Come in!"

Maria threw herself on her bed as Miguel entered. "Can we talk?" He inquired.

"About what?" She tried to make her voice sound innocent.

Miguel closed the door behind him. "About what happened in the library today. With Kyler." Maria turned away from her brother so he couldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes. "Maria, I know you were crying. I can see it on your face."

He knew her too well. "What is there to talk about?" Maria snapped. "The most popular guy in school thinks I'm desperate and easy and fucking two guys at the same time. He's going to tell that to everyone."

"No he won't -"

"Yes he will, Miggy!" Maria's crying again. It's the first time she's cried in front of her brother in a long time. "He'll tell everyone, and they'll all think I'm a slut."

"Hey, everyone thinks that Demetri and Eli are nerds," Miguel tried to lighten the mood, but his sister glared at him.

"That is not the same thing, Miggy." She barked.

"I'm sorry," Miguel whispered. "But I know you're not telling me things, Maria. I thought we told each other everything." Maria stared at her bedspread. This was true. "What about the Twin Code?"

The Twin Code was something they came up with when they were preteens. It had three rules. 1. You tell each other everything, 2. No one's allowed to make fun of one but the other, 3. You stand up for each other. They lived by this for about three years, but then they began growing out of it, even though they still lived by the rules.

Maria looked up at Miguel, and his eyes immediately softened. "How about this, I tell you something and then you tell me something, deal?"

Maria nodded, and so, after about two hours of confessions, they now knew everything about the other once again.

★★★

Okay, so I have a twin brother and we came up with the Twin Code when we were like, 10, and it was the best thing we ever did.
So more Miggy in this chapter, WE LOVE YOU MIGGY!!
But anyways, don't forget to vote and comment your thoughts and suggestions!

Question: what's your favorite movie? And not karate kid.