Cochlear | A Cobra Kai Fanfiction

38

"Yes, you're a nerd, but you know what? You're the nicest, most loyal person I know. Your heart is like a freakin' Huffle-fluff and your brain is a Raven or whatever. I'm not you're friend because your a millionaire or the next famous Instagram model, but I'm your friend because you're smart, funny, and too damn cute for your own good!"

She couldn't stop there even if she wanted to, hand still over his mouth as she pointed out random features, gesturing wildly and ranting about how he wasn't some troll like he thought.

"You're tall which is not bad! You have the figure of a model and you have a unique face shape that I would kill to have on my walkway." She hadn't meant for it to become a hiss or come out so angry, but she ignored the way Demetri seemed to flinch at her words, not even pausing to check on the boy. "I went once to get my nails painted the color of your eyes one time because of how much I liked looking at them, but then I realized they change colors too often for me to pick one!" She paused at the wide eyes looking at her feeling a sense of embarrassment wash over her at the admission.

"T-that's a different story though, w-what I'm trying to say is stop the freakin' self hate." A self deprecating smirk fell over her face as she chuckled and she thought about bringing him closer to show him just how much she wanted to look at him. Her fist tightened in his shirt and she jerked him forward, cutting his balance off, before shoving him backwards with a huff. "You got Yasmine and trust me. The bitch wouldn't even look at you for longer than five seconds if you weren't at least attractive."

She didn't know what to make of the silence as Demetri stared over at her nearly frozen in time. She regretted some of what she said, but all of it was true. Honestly, she was afraid of his reaction and considering running upstairs and locking her door.

"Do—?"

Ding dong.

Jesse took the escape for what it was, running over to the door and collecting the food thankfully before entering the living room once again. She swallowed as Demetri looked over at her and she held up the food for show.

"Hungry?"

"...yeah."

If they were any smarter or any older they would have addressed the underlying issues embedded within their recent reaction, but instead they ate their chicken and rice while sending underhanded insults at each other that neither really meant. They fed off of each other's words and creativity, smirking and scoffing at the other's comments. Eventually they found their hands on controllers and started a battle royale on the Switch which ended with Demetri staring at the screen with wide eyes as Jesse screeched in happiness.

Even though he had learned her secret, somehow she still won the majority of their battles no matter what character he picked.

And he left with happiness in both teen's hearts, neither commenting on his hat had brought him to the Park residence for what may be the first and last time, but both leaving with exactly what they needed. Even Kyler said nothing about it, having access to the same camera feed that she did. He only walked in and ate his food, pushing on his sister's head a little too harshly in retaliation.

Overall, the night had set her in high hopes for the coming week. She picked up Demetri that next morning, smiling in embarrassment at the way his mother fussed over her at the table with a big plate of eggs and eggs in front of her. And although she had left with a red face, her heart was warmed by the woman's time and words that only came don't worry.

"So, am I about to walk into a battle ground?" Jesse asked as she fixed up her make up in her small mirror, not really wanting to leave the warmth of the car from her parking spot. Next to her Demetri shrugged, eyes scanning the visible parking lot for trouble.