Out of Place [Cobra Kai OC x Robby Keene]

97 - I Love You

I sit with the second place trophy in my lap. I changed out of my gi into some black shorts, my little dragon top, and Robby's green Vans jacket. My cheek hurts a lot. I haven't put any ice on it. I need to, but I'm afraid that if I do, it'll go numb and I won't be able to feel... anything. Pain is better than nothing.

Second place... I should be proud of myself. Deep down I know that I should've won. But somehow it's like that makes it all worse... this is the second year in a row that I've come second because my opponent played dirty... it hurts to know that no matter how hard I try, Cobra Kai will always come out on top because of things I can't control. I gave practically everything I had that wouldn't hurt anybody and I still lost... just like last year... it just... stings... it hurts worse than my cheek. It's even worse than last year, because even though Miguel played dirty, there was only one thing that could've been counted as a point deduction. No... this time, I scored two points on my opponent. I could've won two times over. I came so close... I should've won... I should've won...

Silent tears roll down my cheeks. I don't know what happens now... I don't know how to fix this... I somehow manage to tear my eyes away from the trophy to look out at the place before me. I should've known that I'd end up here at some point or another. It's where I always come back to... after the big fight at school, I should've gone to the hospital, but I came here... I came here after the appeal to get our tournaments back... my first kiss happened just out in the front... it's where I've found my balance... made memories... trained for months... only to fail...

The gentle sounds of the night fill my ears, almost as if to comfort me. The sounds of cars driving is distant, but still present. Leaves rustle in the trees, whispering sweet nothings back to the wind. If I listen hard enough, I can hear the water from the koi pond. As I take in a deep breath, the faint smell of wood and grass fills my nose, joining the background noises in their effort to soothe the pain I can't even feel the full effects of.

Piercing through the sounds of the night, something new fills my ears... but the sound itself isn't new... no... it's a sound I haven't heard in months... it's the sound of Robby's footsteps...

"Park... I figured you'd be here," he says, confirming what I already knew to be true. I don't look back at him. I don't need to... and I think if I do, I'll break down, and everything will come flooding in at once.

"And I figured it was you... I had your footsteps memorized for a long time..." I say, voice hushed with tears and the effect of silence, "but they changed..."

The footsteps advance towards me until he sits down right next to me. Then silence. It's not tense. It's not necessarily comfortable either. It simply... is. The two of us exist together on the deck just outside the doors leading outside into the yard. I know we're thinking about the exact same things. All the time we spent here together... the time that we were apart... our first kiss... and everything in between that's led to us sitting here... in silence.

"I should've listened to you..." Robby says, breaking the silence, "you tried to help me and I pushed you away. You were the only person who was there for me and I brushed you off. You've always been here for me, even when Silver was corrupting me, even when I lost my way and blew you off when you tried to help me. All you wanted was what was best for me and for me to not get hurt and I treated you like absolute shit..."