little bird // r.keene

xv. a new man.

Wren showed up early the next afternoon. She debated about turning around twice on her walk to the dojo but decided to give it another shot. But if Lawrence tried another-

She swallowed the thought. She wouldn't let him get a rise out of her. Not again. Wren had been trying to control her anger, Will was right, she was an angry kid. But coming back to the city you grew up in will get-

She swallowed that thought too and pushed the door open. Miguel was on the mat setting up an exercise for when the class started. He looked up and broke into a smile, he looked a little surprised to see her and he opened his mouth but Lawrence got there first.

"Oh- it's you I thought I kicked you out." He said from the small doorway at the back of the dojo, leading into what she guessed was his small office.

Wren felt a thousand comments flood her head:

You didn't kick me out, I left.

If that's your idea of kicking someone out?...Seen better.

Fuck off.

But she simply sighed- be the bigger person, Miguel had told her.

"Are you done whining or can I explain myself?" She snapped. Shit.

"Are you always this bitchy or am I just lucky?" He asked, crossing his arms as if to make himself look bigger.

"You must really want a broken nose, old man." She sneered, taking further steps into the room.

"Old man?" He looked horrified.

"Alright- alright. Can you both just calm down?" Miguel asked, putting himself between the pair as if breaking up a playground fight. "She's here because I asked her to be Sensei, I think Wren could be a strong member of Cobra Kai."

Johnny looked between the two teens and seemed to consider this, making it clear to Wren that he valued Miguel's opinion.

"Those bruises you got on your face." Lawrence said, pointing his finger to his own face, "How did you get'em?" Wren looked from her feet and then back to the man, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Got jumped-" She kept her answer short, his eyebrows shot up, he didn't expect that to come out of her mouth, "Believe me, it wasn't my idea. Why?"

"They're the first things I noticed about you yesterday when you walked in with Miguel and Li-Eli." She watched as he stopped himself from calling him Lip. "It's good, shows you're a fighter, it intimidates opponents as well." She remained silent, "Is that why you came yesterday? To defend yourself if it ever happened again?" Lawrence asked and Miguel had never really seen him be so delicate with his word choices before.

"That and- well, when I was younger I was diagnosed with IED." She told them both, her words even and flat.

"IED?" Johnny asked, looking to Miguel for clarification but the boy shrugged.

"Intermittent Explosive Disorder." She explained, "It means I got angry- easily. And I got violent. I was impulsive and aggressive..." Wren explained, " And I hated every second of it." She hadn't told anyone that in two years, it felt good. She looked from Lawrence to Miguel then back to Lawrence.

"I've gotten better- but I just have a, a short fuse is all. I told a friend of mine about this place and he told me it might be a good idea. A way to channel all those... emotions." She swallowed and she nearly jumped out of her skin when a few more kids walked through the door. Her eyes darted to the clock- 4:00, the class was about to start.

When Wren turned her head back Johnny was an arm's length in front of her and had a small smile plastered on his face.

"Welcome to Cobra Kai." He said and she nodded and took off her shoes, taking her place on the mat.

Everyone stood with their hands behind their backs and faced the front of the dojo. Wren couldn't help but look over both shoulders behind her since she was in the front row and scan for Eli, to her and Miguel's disappointment she was yet to spot him or Demetri.

"Three more absences, Sensei," Miguel told him and Johnny continued to pace.

"Bunch of pussies." Another girl snapped, Wren knew her name was Aisha but they had never spoken even though they were in a few of the same classes at school.

"No, it's my fault." He replied, calmly. "Since you joined Cobra Kai, I have been hard on you." Lawrence raised his voice, talking to the whole class, "I've called you names. I've humiliated you. Some of you I have hit." They all remained silent.

"And for that, I don't apologize. Cobra Kai is about strength." He spoke and stopped pacing right in front of Wren, she had had her eyes trained on the floor but once his feet entered his line of vision she slowly railed her eyes up to meet his.

"If you're not strong on the inside, you can't be strong on the outside. And right now, you're all weak." She clenched her jaw. "And I know that because I was you." Her shoulders softened at those words.

"I used to have no friends. Used to be the weirdo kid." He gestured to a small boy with glasses, "Not that weird. I still hooked up with babes and all, but... The point is, I wasn't always the badass Sensei I am today. Just like a Cobra, I had to shed my loser skin to find my true power. And you guys will too."

The door opened and Lawrence looked over, "Welcome to Cobra Kai." He said, Wren looked over and she broke into a wide smile.

"Eli?" She asked, her smile growing wider.

"Eli, what happened?" Miguel asked and Eli smirked, Wren could practically see the newfound confidence radiating off him and the bright blue that laced his mohawk.

"I'm flipping the script." He said proudly, she noticed his voice was no longer timid or shy.

"Wait. Are you the kid with the lip? Nice cut, bro." Jonny pointed at him, "You see that? Doesn't matter if you're a loser or a freak. All that matters is that you become a badass." He paused, "Hawk. Fall in."

Hawk kicked off his shoes and sauntered over to Wren's side as the rest of the class simmered into light chatter.

"You're late," Wren smirked up at him, with the added height of his new haircut, Hawk towered over her.

And with a flash of a small smile, Hawk leaned in and snaked his arm around her waist- pulling her gently towards him. Her sharp intake of breath showed her surprise and Hawk lowered his face to hers and kissed her gently.

Hawk pulled back as quickly as he had leaned in. Not a peck, it had more than that- his lips had been soft and sweet. Wren opened her eyes and looked up to see his blue eyes already gleaming down at her.

"I've wanted to do that since I met you." He told her and Wren felt a flush run to her face.

"Well, then you won't mind doing it again then." And he did.