Forbidden Things || Cobra Kai

140 Cool Cobras

Eli held Penelope's hand as they walked down the small but steep hill through the woods. They were on their way to the fence outside of the zoo's reptile house, sharing small talk as leaves crunched under their feet. The walk from the parking lot to the fence wasn't long but Penelope couldn't help wishing it was longer. As she slid the short distance to level ground, heels digging into the dirt, she knew who awaited them at the end of their walk.

When she reached the bottom, hand still clutched in Eli's - who was a few steps ahead of her, she took a moment to regain her balance before smiling at her boyfriend. She kept hold of his hand as they carried on walking, seeing their destination in the distance.

Their conversation wasn't of much substance, only about the holiday break and what plans they had, but as they grew closer to the quiver of Cobras, Penelope grew silent. Eli similarly grew quiet as they got closer. As she watched him, his face changed and became less soft. His jaw tightened, his eyes were suddenly dark sapphires pressed into their sockets, and his lips were pursed into a hard line. He looked like a hardened leader, though Penelope didn't mind the shift so much.

Four Cobras stood under a tree, a few drinking beers out of a backpack on the ground. The guys shoved each other, joking around as they waited for Hawk. As she watched them, Tory rolled her eyes. They landed on the couple as they approached the group and she crossed her arms over her chest, giving them a strange look; it seemed like she wanted to be angry, but something was holding her back from showing it in full. Instead, she huffed and put her nose up, staring them down.

"What's she doing here?" she asked.

Hawk glared at her, squeezing Penelope's hand for a brief moment, almost as if the question would somehow tear her away from him. "I invited her. You got a problem with that?"

She stared at Hawk, then cut a brief look at Penelope. Then she spied their joined hands and took a deep breath before settling her eyes on Hawk. "She isn't a Cobra, so she shouldn't be here."

"Well, she's here whether you like it or not. So either stay or leave," he seethed. He took a step toward Tory, but Penelope held onto his hand. It was a small tether, keeping him from throwing nastier words at the other girl. He turned to Penelope and licked his lips, simmering his anger. Then he called over his shoulder, "Do whatever you want, but she's staying."

"I don't get it," one of the guys said. "If she's not one of us, why is she even here?"

As Penelope finally gave them a good once-over, she realized she didn't know who they were. They must be some of the recruits Eli was talking about the other day. They were all tall but each had their defining features. The one who'd spoken was a young Asian boy about their age, who held a beer can and brought it to his lips as if he were in his natural state. He eyed Penelope up and she realized she didn't feel comfortable with him looking at her like she was just some girl, a piece of meat.

He almost reminds me of-

She cut herself off, pushing the thought away. Instead, she just looked away from him and chose to look at her feet.

Hawk answered the boy's question. "She's here because she's my girlfriend, you fucking dumbass."

His voice was held nothing but vitriol but it was his words that struck Penelope. Sure, they'd called each other boyfriend and girlfriend when they were together, or it was all in subtext, but she'd never heard him tell someone else about them. She'd never heard him talk about their relationship like that to others. It made her heart light up, even though the way he said it was a little rough.

"Jeez, man, just calm down," the boy said, appearing to sweat under the pressure in Hawk's voice.

"Shut up and give me a beer," Hawk demanded.