Lost in Hollywood

Good Things

Hawk stared at the contents of the fridge with growing desperation.

Milk? No. A half-eaten turkey sandwich from a couple of days back? No. Mom's awful chia pudding leftovers? No. That shit is gross as fuck.

He knew he should eat something - they had trained hard at the dojo, it had been a long day - but his stomach was a tight bundle of anxiety, sending nauseous waves throughout his system. There was absolutely nothing in the fridge he wanted to eat.

He couldn't stop thinking about the look on Sky's face when she had left the dojo, a glimpse he had caught of her just before she stepped into her car, thinking no one was looking - like she would burst into tears any moment. These past couple of days there had been a sadness surrounding her like a dark cloud, and instead of getting better, she'd been even more quiet and distant than before. He just wanted to make her happy, to see her smile, but every smile she'd given him lately had been sad and strained, half-hearted at best.

There had to be something he could do to make her happy. To make her smile again. He had thought that Valentine's Day would do the trick, but—

It was tomorrow. Tomorrow! And he still had no fucking clue of what to do to make it the most special Valentine's Day of Sky's life.

It didn't help that he had spent all day listening to Demetri as he went on and on about his plans, first in the school and then at the dojo. He was going to take Yasmine to have dinner in a super nice restaurant, one of Yas' favorites, then on a romantic walk on the beach where he'd give her a wonderful gift - a pair of heart-shaped earrings Sky had helped him pick for her, and all that would be followed by a romantic evening at Yasmine's place - her parents were out of town - and Demetri had had high hopes of how that evening would go.

It wasn't that Hawk wanted to be a shitty friend. He had provided all the advice he could, but the bigger Demetri's plans grew, the crappier they made him feel. It was fucking killing him that he couldn't offer those same things to Sky.

She deserved a three-course meal in a fine restaurant too, and beautiful jewelry. But the only thing Hawk could afford of what Demetri had planned, was the walk on the beach - and without the dinner or the gift, a walk was barely a date at all, it was just a walk, so fucking lame and boring that it would quickly turn their first date into their last.

If only he had more money—

A fierce hate for his dad filled Hawk's chest, taking his breath away. Wasn't it enough that Dad had broken Mom's heart and ripped apart their family? Did he have to ruin Hawk's love life too? It was depressing as fuck. How was he ever going to get anywhere with Sky now that his monthly allowance was cut to zero, and he still hadn't even found a job?

With a desperate groan, Hawk slammed the door of the fridge. He'd been staring into it for minutes, without being able to decide if he wanted to eat anything. The anxiety was turning his stomach into knots, completely ruining his appetite.

Sky was probably expecting something amazing, something like the things she had helped Demetri plan for Yasmine. What was she gonna say when she realized Hawk could afford nothing? And knowing that Cody was a rich bastard, made things a thousand times worse. Hawk could only imagine what kind of gifts he had gotten for Sky, what kind of dinners he had organized. Real Champagne, probably, just for starters. And here he was, the only thing he could offer Sky was a fucking Gatorade, if he was lucky.

Hawk slumped against the fridge, leaning his back against its door, and hid his face in his hands.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck—" he groaned into his palms. "What the fuck am I gonna do?"