Always ~Cobra Kai~

12 | Princess

There was a struggle to line up, but after they had Maria was prepared to begin karate practice. "Fighting positions!" Sensei yells, and the students do as he says, some not as well as others. "Jab punch!" The new studnests messily shoved a fist forward. "Wait 'till I say go," Sensei reminded, being surprisingly patient. "Hiya! Hiya! Hiya!"

Maria continues making impeccable punches in between her brother and Aisha. Sensei weaved through his new studnests, giving them tips and questioning their motives. Maria only really paid attention to what he was saying when something he said caught her immediate attention.

"Hey, Lip!" Maria looked back at Eli, she knew sensei was talking about him.

He's always like this, Eli. Don't take it personally.  Maria wanted to speak, but she couldn't.

Eli looked around the dojo as if he was confused about what sensei had said. "Yeah, you, the one with the freaky lip. Who do you think I'm talking about?" Maria bit the inside of her cheek to keep from stepping in.

Eli still said nothing, looking anywhere but at sensei. Maria saw his hand twitch, he was resisting the urge to cover his face. "Uh, excuse me, Mr. Lawrence?" Maria's eyes snapped from her boyfriend to Demetri, who was clearly not holding his tongue like Maria.

"Sensei Lawrence!" Aisha corrected from beside her.

Demetri continued as if he hadn't heard her. "You really shouldn't make fun of peoples physical appearance."

Maria closed her eyes, hoping this was all her imagination. "Is that so?" Sensei countered, proving Maria that this scenario was very much so happening. "So, I'm not supposed to metion his lip at all?" 

"Well, yeah." Demetri spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Everyone dropped their gazes to the floor, even Eli. Maria wanted to run over and hug him right then, but she knew she couldn't.

"Maybe that's what they teach you in school, but this is the real world." Sensei said with a sense of finality. "You can't expect people to do what they're supposed to." The blonde haired man waited for Demetri to argue again, but he stayed quiet. "Alright. Hear that, Lip? If you can't handle people making fun of you, how are you going to handle an elbow to the teeth?"

"By calling the police." Demetri answered sarcastically. Part of Maria wanted to laugh at her friends bluntness, but most of her wanted him to shut the hell up.

"Dude, knock it off." Miguel whispered harshly from beside Maria.

"What?" Demetri scoffed. "He does realize the Nazis lost the war, right? Why should I be scared of him? Because he has a snake on his wall? We're paying him. He works for us. It's not like he can actually hurt us."

Maria scoffed. This boy was comparing her sensei to the Nazis? If you asked her, she'd say that was racist. 

But she knew she didn't need to butt in now. Sensei could handle himself.

Everyone backed up, forming a circle around Demetri, as sensei walked towards hims slowly, like a hunter stalking it's prey. Maria caught Eli's eye from across the dojo.

Are you okay?  She mouthed.

Eli shrugged in response, and that was answer enough. He wasn't okay, but he was used to it.

"Are you done?" Sensei inquired, staring Demetri down. "Hit me."  The dark haired boy looked at sensei in disbelief. "Go ahead, hit me. Strike me right here." He pointed to his cheek.

Demetri sighed dramatically before getting into a fighting position. He threw a lousy punch, and sensei smacked his fist away aggressively. "Harder." He commanded.

Demerit sighed the same way he did before and threw a slightly stronger punch. But sensei smacked it away again. "That all you got, princess?" He shouted. Demetri looked around, embarrassed, but swung again.

This time, sensei grabbed his arm and put it in a lock before flipping him over. Maria winced at the sound Demetri's back made colliding with the mats.

As Demetri slowly sat up, breathing a little heavier, sensei wandered to the front of the dojo.

"Let that be a lesson to all of you." He said sternly.

★★★

Maria was slipping out her window to head to Eli's like she did every night. He'd left karate today without speaking to her, and he hadn't answered when he'd called a few moments ago. Part of her was screaming that he was fine and that she'd see him tomorrow, considering it was Friday, but the rest of her was demanding to know where he was.

Eli no longer locked his windows because of Maria. She started speaking as soon as she'd climbed inside.

"Eli, I'm sorry about sensei, he's always like that, trust me." She said. "You didn't answer my calls, so I didn't know what was up, sorry for showing up un -"

The familiar sensation of his lips on hers succumbed her, and Maria moaned in approval against his lips.

They continued kissing until Eli's door opened, in which case they jumped apart.

"Jesus Christ!" Demetri yelled, dropping the bag of chips he held in his hands. They flew to his face, covering his eyes. "S-sorry."

Eli looked at Maria with a bright red face, and she could only assume the same for herself. The Ecuadorian girl walked over to Demetri. She moved his hands down from his eyes and stepped back towards Eli, pecking his cheek.

"Didn't realize you had company." Maria apologized.

"It's okay, you can stay if you want." Eli grabbed her hand before she climbed back out the window.

"Sure, I'll just third wheel. It's my favorite thing." Demetri said sarcastically.

"Suck it up, buttercup." Maria replied with her own sarcasm.

"Plus, I want to watch The Other Guys." Eli added.

"Okay, okay, fine. Can you call Miguel or something so I'm not the third wheel, at least?" Demetri inquired, begining to pick up the chips he'd scattered.

"Yeah, I'll see if he can come." Maria answered with a chuckle.

An hour later, Maria sat on Eli's bed with his arm around her, watching as Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell argued time and time again. Demetri sat on the floor, claiming that it was better for his posture and Miguel sat at the foot of the bed, leaning against the wall.

Maria wished she could stay in this moment forever, but she knew things like this never lasted. It would end, and even if they tried to recreate this moment, it would never be the same again.

★★★

Oh my God, I'm so excited! I have so much planned for this story, it's not even a joke. I really hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I love writing it. Be sure to vote and comment your thoughts and suggestions!

Question: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?