Agony of Desire ; Cobra Kai

78 ― the need to be the best.

❝ you don't know what it was like. ❞

―

CHAE LAUGHED WHEN SHE ENTERED THE BACKYARD OF MIYAGI-DO.

When Hawk had texted her the night before saying that he was dyeing his mohawk, the very last thing that she was expecting was to see him sporting the American flag spiked on top of his head. From the moment she laid her eyes on it, she couldn't stop laughing. The more she looked at it, the more she laughed. Hawk stared at her, a pout on his face.

"You hate it..." Hawk said with a disappointed sigh.

"It's so bad," Chae replied, continuing to laugh. "You have a literal flag on your head."

"Dude, what did you do to your hair?" a voice spoke, followed by a chuckle.

Chae turned around to see Decha standing behind her. Achara followed close behind him, her eyes wide and glued to Hawk's hair.

"Yeah, go 'Merica!" Decha teased him, raising his fist in the air and doing his best country accent.

Achara laughed, shaking her head. She was finally able to look away from Hawk's hair long enough to join in on the teasing. "Hey, maybe we should start calling you Eagle instead of Hawk."

Hawk crossed his arms. "You guys are so mean."

"We are not mean." Chae shook her head. "We are speaking the truth but also messing with you. I hate to say it, but it's kind of cool in a weird way. But only a little. Not a lot."

A small spread on Hawk's face. "You know what? I'll take it. Thanks, Chae."

Chae smiled back at him. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. Hawk looked down at her, a pink tint forming on his cheeks. Chae just rocked back and forth on her heels, looking up at him with a soft smile. Decha opened his mouth to tease them, but Achara gripped his forearm tightly and started to pull him away.

Johnny's voice sounded through the backyard, asking them to fall in. The Miyagi-Do students gathered in front of the sparring deck where Johnny and Daniel stood. Decha claimed a spot next to Demetri, with Hawk to his right. Chae was next to Hawk.

Achara stood next to Sam. The two girls shared a smile with each other before they faced the front. Miguel was beside Achara, watching the interaction before he turned his head to look at his senseis. Ever since the boys night, his mind had been lingering on the possibility of still being in love with Achara. It was all that he could think about despite how many times he tried to will himself to stop.

"The Sekai Taikai is coming," Johnny spoke, walking between the rows, pulling Miguel from his thoughts. "It's time for us to pick our nine most badass fighters."

"And there are no easy decisions," Daniel continued, walking past the front row. "We know you all wanna go to Barcelona."

"Some of you think you're shoo-ins," Johnny continued. "That you're at the top of your game, and that nothing or no one can stop you."