little bird // r.keene

xv. do they know?

Wren and Tory groaned as they flopped onto the grass hill right beside the city. They had spent all afternoon trailing up the path, both of them needed some space after what happened at the club. Aisha would have joined them but she got a lift home with her mom and her dad was already waiting for them both.

But neither Wren or Tory had such requirements so chose their old favourite spot, Hargrove Hill. They used to hang out there when they were kids every now and again but it was as if nothing had changed. It still had the same Birds Eye view of the city which now had it's glistening lights reflecting in the sky as millions of stars came out to shine.

"Well, you were right about Sam..." Tory thought out loud, both girls lying on their backs, gazing up at the sky side by side, "What a bitch." Wren couldn't help but laugh at Tory's words.
"I rest my case." She told her, sitting up and extending her arms out behind her to rest on her palms, propping herself up. "I've missed this." She sighed, taking a long deep breath of the night's cool air, letting it fill her up.

"Yeah, me too." Tory agreed, remaining lying down and folding her hands over her stomach. "So... Who's Robby?" Wren groaned at the question, "I was wondering why you ditched me and Aisha for the beach... Common, who is he?" Tory watched as Wren rolled over on the grass, pretending to play dead as she lay face down, her limbs sprawled beside her.

"I know he's a boy..."
"No shit."

"But is he a pretty boy?" Tory prodded and Wren rolled over again, this time reaching for her bag, she pulled out the box of cigarettes they stole earlier that day and lit it in one smooth motion. "Oh, he must be a very pretty boy if you need to smoke for him to be the topic of conversation." Tory giggled.

"Can you shut the fuck up please?" Wren moaned, plucking the cigarette from her lips before throwing the box and Tory who laughed as it hit her. "If you must know, he's a good friend of mine." Wren said simply, moving over to sit back next to Tory, who was sat up now as she lit her cigarette.

"How good is a 'good friend'? When you mentioned him earlier I thought the princess was going to do a flip, she's gotta be jealous of something." Tory asked, handing Wren back her lighter.

"I'm not actually what she's jealous of... She's never really liked me that much I don't think. When she and Miguel dated, she didn't like the fact that me and Miguel were already friends. Now she's got a thing for Robby and she hates my guts!" Wren exclaimed, waving her hand in the air for dramatic affect.

"But she still asked you to join her dad's dojo?"

"Yeah, I think Mr LaRusso needs students badly and if I were to join, he reckons more kids would follow just because I'm the champion... It's what they all think, Kreese too, he told me." Wren explained, taking a long drag and making sure to exhale slowly, trying to diffuse her frustration.

"Well, shit. Sounds like you got options left right and centre, Evans." Tory tried to joke but Wren didn't laugh, she only provided a sad smile because the truth was... That was the last thing she wanted.

Wren wouldn't leave Cobra Kai, even after everything. She wanted to learn and get better. She wanted to fight and compete.

But she wouldn't be a puppet on a string. Not now, not ever.

"Does Sam have anything to be jealous of?" Tory asked after a moment of silence between them, where the only thing audible was the distant sound of sirens wailing from afar, down in the bustling city below.

Wren thought about the question for a moment and she couldn't help but wonder what she thought Robby would say if he was asked the very same question.

They were friends. Best friends. Right?

"Oh my god..." Tory suddenly said, catching Wren's undivided attention as she looked at her over her shoulder.
"What?" She asked, her voice serious.

"You hesitated!" Tory laughed, before taking another drag.
"I did not!" She tried to defend herself but Tory was right, she hesitated. Shit. "It's just- It's complicated... Robby and I, we look after each other." Wren told her and Tory knew it ran so much deeper than that, she had seen Wren's smile when she came back from the beach earlier that afternoon.

"Wren?" Tory asked gently, lowering her cigarette just as Wren took another long drag. "Can I ask you something? You don't have to... It's a yes or no question is what I'm trying to say." And Wren knew, based on how delicate Tory was being, what the question was going to be.

"Yes and no." She answered in a small voice, "Robby, Miguel and Hawk know Rue's name but they don't know what happened to her... None of them do, or at least they don't know I'm connected." Wren swallowed, taking another drag, she exhaled before she continued talking, "They all know I have a friend in juvie now, thanks to Hawk. He and Miguel followed me one day after training... They don't know Will's name or what he did either." Wren explained and Tory nodded along.

"Are you- are you going to tell them? Tell them what happened, I mean?" Tory asked gently and Wren gave her a warm, sad smile.
"I don't know Tory... They know I'm hiding something, Hawk has for a while, he thinks I don't trust him and it drove him away. But whenever I- I want to but the words... they, they just get stuck. I'm worried if I do, they'll treat me differently..." Wren confessed, "Which is the last thing I want but also I'm so scared that if I get it all out I'm just going to slip back to how bad I was right after it happened. I don't want that either." She finished, pressing her palms to her eyes as if trying to wake herself up and Tory reached out, but instead of touching Wren's arm lovingly, she stroked Wren's head.

"No matter how mad Hawk gets that you won't tell him..." Tory whispered, "Never forget that you don't have to if you're not ready. Rue was yours Wren, her memory is yours and Will's to cherish. You were both her favourite people... It's okay that she's still one of yours even though she's gone..." Her words stirred something in Wren and she suddenly felt strangely at peace. Tory was right, Rue would always be one of her favourite people, she would always be with her and Will. "But Wren," Tory added and Wren looked at her over her shoulder, only now coming to realise she had let a few tears slip, which Tory could see as they reflected the light of the city before them. "Please don't slip away again. Please." There was a certain edge in Tory's voice and Wren remembered lying in bed in those dark days after Will's sentencing, staring at the ceiling. Listening to people knocking on the door below but Wren didn't move.

Her mind had been too busy running off into dark corners and coming back with reasons why she should have been-

Wren pushed away the thought and gave Tory a small warm smile at the slight curve of the corners of her mouth.

"I won't." Wren agreed.

"Promise?"
"Promise."

"I wish you guys could have been friends." Wren uttered, leaning into Tory's touch. "I think you would have liked each other."

"Yeah, I think we would have too."