Cold Hearted ⭒ Cobra Kai

1.5.0

Chapter Five: Johnny Lawrence

"I had to get out all alone and figure it out on my own and I know what I really want now. Can't stop me, can't break me, what don't kill me, gon' make me, shoot for the stars, no safety."

~Elevate by DJ Khalil~

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Revised: July 3, 2022

Warnings: abuse, domestic violence, sexual harassment/assault, language, violence, and other mature themes

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Zion's POV

My week has been hell. I'm still living out of my car, I have bruises all over my body, and the rumor about me and Walker has only grown out of control.

I'm eating lunch in the corner of the janitor's closet; I want to be away from everyone. I can't even go into the cafeteria. I know everybody will make fun of me or give me ugly looks. I know the teachers won't do shit. I know I don't have the mental capacity or physical strength to stand up to them.

I've witnessed all the bad looks today. When I went to the bathroom, someone wrote "Zyon is a cumslut" on the stall door. They didn't even spell my name correctly, yet it still bothered me. I'm not leaving this tiny room.

A knock comes at the door and I set my lunch to the side to crawl over and open it.

"Eli? How did you know I was in here?"

"I used to sit in here last year. It's nice. I had a feeling you'd be here," he explains. "C-Can I come in?"

I nod and scoot back to make room because I trust Eli, unlike almost every other person in this school.

He closes the door and we sit in awkward silence for a minute before he speaks. I can hear the fluorescent light above us humming in the silence.

"I heard the rumor," he begins.

"Oh, God, of course you did," I set my head in my hands.

"I know it's not true. I saw you hurt Walker."

"And I would do it again," I mutter.

"I'm not sure what's going on between you and all of them, but I can guess it isn't good. I've seen the looks and the tense body language you have when they're in the room. I just want you to know that you've been there for me and so I'm here for you."

My heart melts. "O-Oh, thank you, Eli."

It's silent as I take in the close proximity we have to each other.

"You know, Miguel's mom let him do karate again," Eli says what he must have found out in my absence. "I don't know if it's for me, but you should try it. You were awesome the other night."

He believes in me even after I've given him every reason to be disappointed in how much of a coward I am. 

"Eli, can you keep a secret?" I ask. He nods. "Um, okay, so as much fun as it is and as much as I would love to learn to defend myself properly, I can't take karate because I can't afford it."

"Oh," he says after a moment.

"My mom," I sigh, "is living off of my dad's will and spending it on our trash apartment and her alcohol addiction."

I don't want to live a lie anymore. At least, not with Eli. I feel like I can trust him.

"She... She kicked me out the other night and I just didn't know what to do and so now I'm homeless and broke and all I have is my car and I feel like my world keeps collapsing more and more since my dad died."