𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑! ━ cobra kai

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 : showstopper

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 : 3.8k

━━━━━━━━━━

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 electric thrum of summertime. Surfers glided along the crashing waves, kids eagerly chased each other through the shallow tide, and the seagulls squawked in unison with the chatter and laughter that could be heard floating from each cluster of people lining the seashore. It was a perfect day to be out and everyone seemed to be taking advantage.

Even Gwen was in a good mood as she, Moon, Eli, and Demetri took up real estate on either side of a beach volleyball net. Nothing—not even her jealousy over the new couple—could put a damper on Gwen's love of a competition. Sometimes, it felt as if the challenges, no matter how small, were the only thing that would get her through each day. If she framed the exams, the cheer routines, the list of chores at home as competitions to be won, then she could always relish in the feeling of accomplishment afterward.

Today's challenge?

Annihilating the boys in a game of volleyball. And so far, with Demetri on the opposing team, it didn't seem like it was going to be too fucking hard.

Gwen's two, thick braids swung in front of her as she leaned forward, her hands propped against her bent knees. "C'mon, Demetri! We don't have all day!" she called out to him. The three of them had been waiting for him to serve the ball for an unnecessarily long amount of time and the beating sun overhead was starting to make her feel feverish.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm working on it, okay?" he grumbled, staring intently at the ball in his hand. "I'm almost ready..."

"You do know it's not gonna grow wings and fly over on its own, right?" she asked, only slightly joking. Gwen could feel a bead of sweat trickle down her temple, her limbs growing heavy with the heat.

"Obviously I know that!"

Gwen's hands lifted in surrender. "Just checking."

Then, with an abrupt swing of his arm and a heavy-handed smack, the ball finally went zooming through the air... and then straight into the net. It was over so quickly that Gwen didn't even have enough time to flinch out of her starting position. They all watched in rooted disappointment as the ball dropped to the ground with a dull thud, the sand not even gracing it with a puttering bounce afterward.

"Uh... Mulligan, send it back," Demetri requested sheepishly, his hands on his hips.

"There's no mulligans in volleyball," Eli reminded him with a roll of his eyes.

But Demetri was undeterred, if his scoff told them anything. "Says you." And then he was wandering off the informal, likely uneven court with three, confused pairs of eyes following him. "Water break!" he announced, abruptly.

Gwen's back straightened as she let out an annoyed groan. "You cannot be serious, Demetri," she huffed, her eyes narrowing at him as he chugged from his water bottle.

"Dehydration is very serious, Gwen. Deadly, even!" he retorted, plucking Eli's towel from the ground to wipe at his sweat-beaded brow. The neon tones of the Cobra Kai logo printed on the cloth easily caught the attention of two, noticeably not ugly, girls that had been strolling past. They even slowed to a stop in front of him, slow smiles building on their faces.

"Cobra Kai?" The girls peeked at each other. "You guys won that karate tournament, right?"

Demetri lowered the towel and nervously glanced around, just making sure there wasn't anyone else they could have been talking to. "Um..." But when he was only met with the incredulous stares of his friends, he uneasily carried on. "The All-Valley? The Rumble in Reseda? Yes, uh..." He leaned a shoulder against the volleyball net's post. "We, uh... We certainly did."