𝖫𝗈𝗏౿ᑲ𝗈ოᑲ -𝖤ᥣꪱᜒ 𝖬𝗈ડƙ𝗈⍵ꪱᜒ𝗍ʑ

2.5

A knock on the door made Miguel stand up from the couch, next to his sister. When he opened the door, he said nothing, so now Hazel was curious. "Who's that?" She raised an eyebrow, trying to look.

"Hey, kid. We're having dinner," Johnny said, gesturing with his hands. Hazel did as he said and followed him after she put on some lip gloss and fixed her hair.

Both Johnny and Miguel rolled their eyes at her actions; her brother was used to it. "What?" she looked at them, crossing her arms.

"Nothing. It's just that sometimes I forget that you're such a girl," Johnny answered with a shrug.

They sat in the restaurant eating in silence as the twins waited for Johnny to start a conversation.

"Good?" he asked, eating with his mouth full of food. "Yeah," Miguel nodded, not meeting his gaze, and Hazel just looked at Johnny, wondering when he would get to the point.

He started rambling about the secret to making a perfect hamburger. He looked at the two kids and saw that they were waiting for him to actually talk.

He was nervous. Hazel could sense that he wasn't the best at conversations. Lucky for him, her and Miguel weren't either.

"See that building over there?" Johnny asked the two kids; they nodded. "The hospital?" Miguel asked.

Johnny nodded. "That's where Robby was born," he explained. "February 4th, 2002. It was a Monday," he met both of their gazes.

"His mom was in labor for 17 hours," Johnny said. "Damn, poor woman," Hazel said with a low voice, widening her eyes. "Must've been crazy," Miguel continued.

"Yeah, I'm sure it was," Johnny whispered. Hazel immediately caught the fact that he wasn't there, and he was disappointed in himself for that. "I wasn't there," he sighed, struggling to find the words. "My mom had just died, and I was a real mess. I never knew my father, so she was all I had."

"Next thing I know, I'm gonna be a dad. It scared the shit out of me," he made eye contact, making sure they followed his monologue. "So instead of being there, I was down here, soaking up the booze from a three-day bender, trying to get the courage to walk across the street. But I never got there."

Hazel looked at him with compassion. He could see both points of view: Johnny's, where his mother had just died, and he was too depressed to do anything, but she could see Robby's too, abandoned by his father, thinking that his father hates him and wished he was never born. Hazel understood that part too well. She had been there too.

The three of them looked at each other for a while before Johnny could continue. Just now, Hazel saw that Miguel had tears threatening to drop from his eyes too. The twins related too much to Robby.

"I failed my kid since his first day in the world. And I've been failing him ever since," Johnny too was starting to get emotional.

Miguel shook his head. "Sensei, this is personal stuff you don't have to tell me," he tried to reassure him. Hazel nodded in agreement. "It's okay."

"No, I... I should've told you this a long time ago," Johnny's voice broke. "It's one of the most painful things in my life."

He took a deep breath. "And one of the best things has been teaching you two, and I want you both to know that no matter what, I promise I'll always be by your side."

"Thank you," Miguel answered. Hazel was too emotional to answer; she was trying not to let the mascara go off her lashes while she sniffed. "Thanks, Sensei. You've ruined my perfect makeup," Hazel rolled her eyes, trying to act annoyed.

"Oh, Hazel... Uhm, I'm sorry for being rude to you, uh- I was just angry. I'm really sorry," Johnny said.

Hazel nodded. "No worries," she whispered.

They got a text from Aisha saying that Miyagi-Do was going to do a sort of demo at the All Valley Fest.

-

Hazel felt anxious. The thought of stepping out there, interrupting something someone had poured all their sweat into, and then putting on a show in front of thousands of people made her shake visibly. It happened every time she had to speak in front of others. She felt a body against her back and two hands on her waist. She relaxed when she realized it was only Eli.

"Hey, princess. Are you okay?" He asked, planting a kiss on her forehead. Hazel just nodded and turned around to face him. She played with his hair for a while. She loved his hair when it wasn't styled into a mohawk, but sadly, now it was. Nonetheless, she still enjoyed running her fingers through it. "Don't lie to me, please," he begged, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"I'm just anxious, you know..." she whispered, holding the back of his neck.

Eli sighed, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers. "I know. I told you, when you're feeling like this, you come to me," he said, distancing himself slightly to look into her eyes and play with her hair.

"You were talking to Moon. I didn't want to interrupt," she tried to explain, which was true, but she also felt embarrassed. It was embarrassing enough that he knew about her panic attacks; he didn't need to actually see her having one.

"Then you should've interrupted me. No matter what," Eli reassured her. Hazel nodded, smiling. They looked at each other, mesmerized, for a few minutes.

"Look at you, you're getting all FIRE, and you'll forget about me," Hazel said dramatically, intending it to sound sarcastic, but it was also true. She tended to use sarcasm to express things she really thought.

Unfortunately for her, Eli knew her too well to think it was just sarcasm. "Nah, I'd be the dumbest person on Earth to leave a princess like you for any girl," Eli said, noticing her big fear of abandonment. He assumed it was because she never knew her father, as he abandoned her mother before she and Miguel were even born. He kissed her at first it was gentle then it became more intense. Just when he was about to intensify it someone interrupted their moment.

"Love birds! Stop the procreation and let's go," Johnny yelled, making them separate from each other, and Hazel's face reddened.

At the Valley Fest, Miyagi-Do was trying to publicize their dojo. "Cobra Kai!" Hazel shouted as they ran down the aisle in two perfect lines, chanting their dojo name as they went. The spotlight found them, and as they passed, the crowd started to follow them. "What the hell is going on here?" Daniel said, watching them pass. A banner dropped above the opposite stage with the Cobra Kai logo. The students moved in perfect sync. "Cobras show them what real karate looks like!" Johnny said, standing on the side. They started sparring, some hitting the ground as others got the better of them, and the crowd cheered loudly. At the end, Miguel and Hazel were the last ones standing. It was Johnny's idea; he said because they were equally good, it needed to be both of them.

Hazel and Aisha were blindfolded as they kicked and punched through boards. Eli pulled Demetri onto the stage and handed him a board. Demetri held it away from him at head level, his eyes squeezed shut. Hazel clapped when he did that.

Miguel laced his hands together and gave Eli a boost as he kicked through the board. They threw some Cobra Kai merchandise into the crowd.

Johnny walked onto the stage, five cement slabs in front of him, raised off the ground. "Cobras light it up!" He shouted. Two boys walked over, one putting lighter fluid on the slabs and the other lighting them on fire. Johnny looked at them before punching through them. The crowd went wild and started chanting Cobra Kai as the students joined their Sensei on the stage again.

Hazel was so proud; she wouldn't trade anything in the world for what she has now.