Always Been You- Eli Moskowitz

Chapter 34- Drive In

The next morning felt heavier than the last, and Michelle noticed it long before the dojo ever came into view. The walk there had always been routine—familiar sidewalks, the same cracked pavement, the quiet hum of the neighborhood waking up—but today every step felt slower, like something unseen was dragging behind her and refusing to let go. Her hands were shoved deep into the pockets of her hoodie, her shoulders slightly hunched against more than just the morning chill, and her mind wouldn't stop replaying the same moment over and over again. Kreese's voice. Calm. Controlled. Deliberate in a way that made it worse.

"One of the leaders."

Not the leader.

Not even something that sounded equal.

It didn't sit right. It didn't feel right. And the more she turned it over in her head, the clearer it became that this wasn't just a promotion or some twisted reward. It was something else entirely. Something calculated. Something designed to put her exactly where Kreese wanted her—off balance, uncertain, and just aware enough to know she was being tested without fully understanding how.

By the time the dojo came into view, Michelle slowed slightly, her steps losing their rhythm as her eyes lifted to the Cobra Kai sign above the door. It looked exactly the same as it always had. Bold. Unapologetic. Unmoving. And yet standing there now, it felt different. Like it wasn't fully hers anymore.

Her jaw tightened.

No.

She pushed the door open without giving herself another second to think.

The sound hit her immediately—gloves smacking against pads, feet squeaking against the mat, Kyler's voice cutting through everything else like he had a personal vendetta against indoor volume control. It was familiar. Grounding, even. On any other day, it might've steadied her.

Today, it didn't.

Her eyes scanned the room out of instinct, and the second they landed on him, everything inside her went rigid.

James.

He was leaning casually against the wall like he'd always been there, like yesterday hadn't happened, like he hadn't walked back into her life and torn open everything she'd spent so long trying to bury. His posture was loose, relaxed in a way that felt almost mocking, and the worst part—the part that made something hot and sharp twist in her chest—was the way his eyes were already on her.

Like he'd been waiting.

That same faint smirk pulled at his mouth the second she met his gaze, subtle but intentional, like he already knew exactly how this was affecting her.

Michelle felt the reaction rise instantly—anger, sharp and immediate—but she crushed it just as fast.

Instead, she rolled her eyes like he wasn't worth the effort, like he didn't get to have that kind of power over her, and walked straight past him without a word. Her shoulder brushed close enough to make it clear it wasn't accidental, but she didn't break stride, didn't slow down, didn't give him anything else.

If Kreese thought she was going to crack in front of everyone—

He was going to be very disappointed.

Or worse.

Satisfied.

That thought lingered longer than she liked as she dropped her bag near the edge of the mat and lowered herself down, immediately stretching like everything was normal. Like nothing had shifted. Like she was still completely in control. Her movements were sharp, precise, a little too deliberate to be truly relaxed, but anyone who didn't know her well enough might've missed that.