╔.𖥸. .════════════════╗

𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬

chapter twenty-eight
where pink meets purple

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ALYSSA WAS LEANING against one of the walls in the lobby of the school before first period. She was waiting for Eli and Demetri to get here, and she was absentmindedly scrolling through her phone when a familiar presence appeared in front of her.

"Hey," Eli greeted.

"Hi, E," Alyssa replied, closing out Instagram. "What's—"

However, when she looked up at him, her jaw literally dropped. Eli's hair was no longer red, and his mohawk wasn't separated into spikes like it usually was. Instead, it was now sticking up all together, and it was purple. The purple was a deep shade yet vibrant at the same time, and it matched the purple shirt he was wearing perfectly.

Holy shit, he looked good. It was taking all of her self control to not push him up against the wall and kiss him forever.

Oh. She didn't mean to say that.

"Eli," Alyssa breathed out, staring up at his hair, her heart beating fast against her chest. She straightened up and put her phone in the back pocket of the jeans she was wearing. "Oh my God. No. Way."

He let out a low laugh. "You like it?"

"I love it." Alyssa took his face in her hands, moving around his head to see his hair from different angles. "It looks so pretty."

"Okay, okay, Lys." Eli gently pushed her hands away, laughing even more at how she was moving his head around a lot. "I think we get it."

"Oh, there you guys are," Demetri announced, and the two turned to see him walking up to them, holding an iPad. "Look. I found the guy who was at the dojo yesterday."

As they walked in the lobby, he showed them his iPad. He had pulled up an article about someone named Terry Silver, and sure enough, the picture matched.

"Vietnam vet turned businessman," Demetri stated. "Had a few ups and downs, but still turned out pretty rich. Not much dirt, other than some toxic waste scandal in Borneo back in the eighties."

"Jeez, sounds like a Renaissance man," Eli commented. "How'd you even find out his name?"

"I took a picture at the dojo, then found an old facial recognition beta test and tweaked the code to make it compatible with HEIC."

Alyssa blinked. "What the fuck did you just say?"

Yasmine then walked up to them with Moon right behind her, staring at Demetri hungrily. "I love it when you talk nerdy."

"You are both the first and my favorite person to say that," Demetri told her.

Yasmine giggled at him before leaning forwards, capturing her lips with Demetri's. Alyssa shook her head, trying to get the image out of her mind.

"Oh God, it still burns," Alyssa said, looking away from Demetri and Yasmine to Moon. "Hey, Moon."

"Hi, Ally," Moon replied. "The pink still looks incredible by the way."

She smiled. "Thanks."

Moon then saw Eli's new hair. "I — I like the new hue. Purple's the color of the crown chakra, you know? It symbolizes enlightenment."

Alyssa nodded. "Yeah, because that's the look he was going for. Right, E?"

"Yep," Eli answered. "Enlightenment."

Moon, however, had a knowing glint in her eyes. "Did you know that it's also Ally's favorite color?"

Hey, Lys, your favorite color's still purple, right?

Alyssa's mouth slightly opened in shock and she slowly looked up at him, only to see Eli's cheeks were flushed the lightest shade of red. There was just no way he dyed his hair her favorite color.

"Is it?" Eli asked, obviously trying to play it off. "Didn't realize."

Moon nodded, obviously not buying it whatsoever. "Right."

With one last kiss from Demetri and grabbing his butt — for whatever reason in the middle of the hallway — Yasmine sauntered off.

"Later guys," Moon voiced, following after the blonde with a slight laugh.

Alyssa pointed up at Eli. "You—"

"Do not say a word," Eli threatened. He then walked up to Demetri and slung an arm around his shoulder. Alyssa followed him, her eyes still wide and filled with stars. "All right, no offense, but I have no idea how you pulled that off."

"Neither do I," Demetri agreed. "I guess I was just myself, and somehow that worked."

"At the top of the list of things I didn't want to see today was Yas grabbing your ass, and yet, it happened," Alyssa revealed. "You guys are gross."

Demetri scoffed. "Oh, you're one to talk. I have to deal with you and Eli eye-fucking each other all the time and not doing anything about it."

"What?" Alyssa and Eli chorused.

"Ally's especially bad today. I think it's because you dyed your hair purple."

Alyssa walked ahead, her face burning a bright shade of red. "I'm not talking about this with you."

"Is that so?" Eli teased, slinging his left arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his side, making her face become even more warm. "Huh. I should've gone purple earlier."

She glared in between Demetri and Eli as they laughed at her. "I hate both of you."

"That's not what you—"

"Do not even think about finishing that sentence." Alyssa's eyes suddenly set on the curly-haired figure of Sam leaning against the lockers, and she let out a breath of relief. "Samantha LaRusso, my favorite person in the whole wide world. Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

Sam's eyes narrowed suspiciously at her. "What do you want?"

"Please get me away from these two, more specifically the one with the purple hair." Alyssa moved forwards, but Eli merely pulled her back into him with the arm that was wrapped around her shoulders. "Help."

"Als, later," Miguel stated. "Yo, you guys won't believe this. Sensei got drunk and went on a Twitter rant."

Demetri took his phone. "I believe everything except for the part where he knows how to tweet."

Alyssa peered over to Miguel's phone. Displayed on it was a series of tweets from Sensei Lawrence.

"It looks like he and Sensei LaRusso are gonna have a rematch," Miguel continued.

"Did he say hashbrown instead of hashtag?" Alyssa questioned, tilting her head in thought. She then let out a small giggle. "That's kind of funny."

"Wait, so they're really gonna fight?" Eli inquired.

"Apparently," Sam responded. "We should've seen this coming."

"Who does he even think he's tweeting to?" Demetri asked Miguel. "You're his only follower."

Miguel shrugged. "I don't know. He seems serious about it."

"So this is real?" Eli questioned. "Sensei and Sensei are gonna throw down?" All of them hummed in agreement, and Eli got a big smile on his face. "That's awesome!"

"I think your definition of awesome is very different from ours," Alyssa voiced. Seeing that he was distracted now, Alyssa walked forwards out of his embrace and linked her arm through Sam's, starting to drag her down the hallway. "Anyways, I'm stealing Sam away. See you guys later."

"Alyssa," Eli called after her in a taunting voice, dragging out the last a in her name — he knew exactly why she was leaving. "This isn't over."

She glanced back at him for a moment. "Don't talk to me. Don't even look at me. I'm ending this right now."

Sam slightly laughed and looked over at Alyssa as they turned the corner. "What was that all about?"

Alyssa let out a deep breath and shook her head. "I'm going to die. That boy is going to be the absolute death of me, I swear."

"Girl, you've got it bad."

"Tell me about it. But can you blame me? Did you see the purple? Dear God."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

IT WAS NIGHT time when all of them gathered at the dojo for the Sensei versus Sensei fight. The students all buzzed about in a crowd by the sparring deck. Chris was filming the whole thing, his phone attached to a selfie stick. Sensei Lawrence had just arrived and went up on the sparring deck, but Alyssa, however, was more worried about something else.

Her and Eli texted a lot. Of course they did. He was at his tattoo appointment right now — it was a sort of a tradition for him to change the hair of the hawk tattoo on his back to whatever hair color he had at that moment. Eli had promised her he would make it back in time for the fight, but he wasn't showing up, and he wasn't answering her texts.

"He still hasn't texted you back?" Demetri questioned, noticing her agitation.

Alyssa shook her head. "No. I don't want to me one of those crazy people, but this . . . it doesn't feel right. His tattoo appointment should've ended a while ago, I mean, he was just getting the hawk's hair reshaded purple. And he was so excited to see the Sensei versus Sensei fight. You heard it at school." Alyssa sighed. "Maybe it's all in my head, but I can't help but feel like something's gone wrong."

"I'm sure everything's fine."

She locked her phone and put it in her back pocket before crossing her arms across her chest. "I hope you're right."

Once Sensei Lawrence got his own Eagle Fang gi on, he stood on the sparring deck, facing Sensei LaRusso. Miguel and Sam then went up on the sparring deck, each holding a red and white flag.

"Face us," Miguel instructed, and the Sensei's did. "Bow."

"Face each other," Sam continued. "Bow."

Both of them got in their fighting positions. Alyssa glanced in between them. It was the first time they were properly fighting like this since that one All Valley tournament. She could only imagine the adrenaline coursing through their veins.

"Ready?" Miguel stated.

"Fight!" Sam exclaimed.

Sensei Lawrence attacked first with kicks, which Sensei LaRusso blocked. He punched multiple times, and Sensei LaRusso blocked all of them except for one, which hit him in the stomach.

Sam raised her red flag. "Point, Lawrence."

"Sensei Lawrence strikes first!" Chris announced.

"True to the motto painted on his former dojo wall, and carved into his very being," Mitch added. He then noticed the look Chris was giving him. "What? I'm trying to capture the spirit of the — the thing."

"Score one-oh Lawrence," Miguel said as the Sensei's got back in their fighting positions. "Ready?"

"Fight," Sam demanded.

This time, Sensei LaRusso made his advances on Sensei Lawrence. He then blocked all of Sensei Lawrence's hits before jumping up, his foot making contact with his stomach.

Miguel raised his flag. "Point, LaRusso."

It was evident to Alyssa that both Sam and Miguel hated this. Honestly, Alyssa did, too. The only way they could really win against Cobra Kai was if they worked together, but their already fragile alliance was crumbling apart at the seams.

Eli would've loved this, though. Watching a fight? Sign him up. Alyssa glanced back towards the path, but as per usual, there was nothing. Her heart slightly sank as she turned back towards the sparring deck, where the Sensei's resumed to their fighting positions again.

"Score is one-one," Miguel voiced. "Ready?"

Sam brought her flag down. "Fight!"

Sensei Lawrence sprung forwards and kicked, but Sensei LaRusso dodged it. He threw kick after kick and punch after punch, which Sensei LaRusso all blocked. While Sensei Lawrence was distracted with kicking, Sensei LaRusso punched him right in the stomach.

"Hell yeah!" Chris shouted. "Two-to-one. LaRusso takes the lead."

"All he has to do is score one more point and LaRusso is the winner," Mitch said.

Alyssa chewed the inside of her cheek nervously. Now, she did have some bias, considering Sensei LaRusso had been her Sensei longer than Sensei Lawrence. He was the one who she confessed all that shit about Eli too — yet Sensei Lawrence taught her how to be tough, and even managed to knock some sense into Eli that day at the school. In short, she was conflicted. She didn't really want this fight to happen in the first place, anyways.

Miguel walked up to them again. "Score is two-one LaRusso. Ready?"

"Fight!" Sam exclaimed.

Sensei Lawrence struck first. With all of the punches and kicks came Sensei LaRusso's blocks. Sensei LaRusso then struck his hand down right in the crook of Sensei Lawrence's arm and hit his shoulder. His arm immediately went limp.

"What the hell, man?" Sensei Lawrence demanded.

Even with a limp arm, he managed to block Sensei LaRusso's advances with a kick. Sensei Lawrence jumped up and basically wrapped his legs around Sensei LaRusso, bringing him down to the floor. He then lifted up his foot and kicked him right in the stomach. The crowd went wild . . . well, except for a select few. Alyssa was included.

Miguel raised his flag. "Point Lawrence!"

Sensei Lawrence glared at his opponent. "Got any more dirty tricks up your sleeve?"

"I'm not the one who fights dirty," Sensei LaRusso responded.

"Score is two-two," Miguel stated.

"Next point wins," Sam added — it really all came down to this.

"Ready?"

"Fight!"

Sensei Lawrence ran forwards and kicked, but Sensei LaRusso quickly got out of the way. He threw a couple punches, which Sensei LaRusso blocked. Sensei LaRusso then grabbed his shoulders and pushed him to the side, but Sensei Lawrence tucked himself into a roll and landed on his knees. Sensei LaRusso kicked at the same time as Sensei Lawrence tried to sweep his legs. As he got up from the ground, Sensei Lawrence blocked a kick and a couple punches. Sensei LaRusso then ran straight into one of the pillars, making Alyssa wince.

He quickly ducked underneath a kick from Sensei Lawrence. The two of them did nothing for a moment, just kind of standing there and glaring at each other. Finally, Sensei LaRusso blocked some punches from Sensei Lawrence. The two went back and forth with advances and blocks until ultimately they struck each other at the same time and both fell to the ground simultaneously.

Miguel raised his flag. "Point Lawrence!"

Sam did so, too. "Point LaRusso!"

Miguel looked at her. "Are you sure?"

Sam stared at him. "Are you sure?"

"Check the replay!" Demetri insisted as the Sensei's got up.

Chris nodded and turned back around. He went back to the video as all of them gathered around. Just like how Alyssa had seen it in real life, both of the Sensei's hit each other and fell at the same time. There was really no way to decipher who had actually won.

"Go to another angle," Sensei Lawrence instructed.

Chris blinked at him. "There is no other angle."

"Don't you guys have another phone?"

"Hawk?" Miguel began.

Alyssa's head snapped up from looking at Chris' phone. Concern immediately shot through her veins and she stepped down from the platform. Eli was walking towards all of them, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket and his hood up. That wasn't what jarred her, though. It was the fact that there were tear tracks on his cheeks. He looked absolutely shattered.

"Eli?" Alyssa breathed out.

"Shit, Eli, what happened?" Demetri inquired.

He then pulled his hood down, and Alyssa's mouth fell open in shock and she suddenly felt all of her breath leave her. Where his mohawk used to be was . . . nothing. Well, there were still some tufts of purple hair, but other than that, his mohawk had been completely cut off.

Alyssa's feet moved before her mind did. She walked up to him, reaching up and taking his face in her hands. Eli didn't meet her eyes. All he did was lean down and put his head into the crook of her neck, wrapping his arms around her waist in effort to get closer to her. Alyssa rose up onto her toes and put her arms around his neck, placing one hand on the back of his head. She held him close, her thumb absentmindedly running back and forth across the middle where his mohawk once was.

She hadn't held him like this in a while. It was something she wished she never had to do because she hated seeing Eli cry.

"Who did this?" Sensei Lawrence inquired.

"Cobra Kai," Eli answered with a muffled voice because his head was still in her neck, making Alyssa clutch onto him tighter, trying to remind him that she was here.

"Kreese and Silver did this. They need to pay."

He pulled back from her. Alyssa let her hands trail down, resting them against the sides of his waist. Eli merely reached up and pulled the hood back over his head. He put his hands, which were trembling a little, back in his pockets. Alyssa ran her hands up and down his sides comfortingly, and Eli let out a shaky breath, letting his forehead fall onto the top of Alyssa's head.

"Jesus, Johnny, please," Sensei LaRusso protested. "Kreese tried to kill you last time. What, you wanna fight them both?"

"Damn right, I do," Sensei Lawrence replied. "Look what they did."

"Dousing the fire with gasoline, that's your answer? Why am I not surprised?"

"Sensei, stop," Miguel pleaded.

Sensei Lawrence stared at Sensei LaRusso. "You still think your way is the only way. You were so proud when they pulled their little sprinkler prank the other day. But if they stood their ground and kicked some ass like I taught them, this never would've happened."

"And if they fight every time they're provoked, where does that lead?" Sensei LaRusso argued. "Back to the hospital? Or to jail? Come on, just because you spent your share of time in both—"

"Enough, dad," Sam swiftly interjected.

"What?"

"Johnny's right. It doesn't matter how many times we stand up to Cobra Kai, if we don't strike back, they're gonna keep coming at us."

"And you were worried about my influence on your kids?" Sensei LaRusso asked. "Is this what you want, Johnny? To have my daughter and the rest of my students acting like you?"

"Yeah, well you don't have to worry about it anymore," Sensei Lawrence revealed. "'Cause we're done."

"Works for me."

"Eagle Fang's, let's go." He then turned to the two behind him. "Let your girl go, Hawk. Come on."

Alyssa did not want to let him go whatsoever. However, Eli was the first one to pull back from her, although a bit hesitantly. Alyssa looked up at him as her arms fell back to her sides, trying to meet his eyes. However, he averted her gaze and just placed his hand on her waist for a moment as a goodbye. Eli turned around and followed after Sensei Lawrence with the rest of Eagle Fang.

She watched him go, her heart sinking all the way to her stomach. First off, all that shit Sensei LaRusso said, he was not right. How could he just stand back and let this happen? There was no way that Alyssa was leaving well enough alone. Cobra Kai was going to absolutely pay for this . . . but her main concern right now was Eli.

"I've never seen him like that," Alyssa admitted.

"You mean you've never seen him that upset?" Demetri questioned.

"No, I mean I've never seen him so broken." Alyssa looked up at Demetri. "The look on his face . . . he's not just upset, he's traumatized." She looked at the others. "Sensei LaRusso, with all due respect, I can't just do nothing about this. Throwing punches is one thing, but being forced to do something without giving consent is another. They . . . they assaulted him."

Sensei LaRusso sighed. "Ally, I know you're upset—"

"Upset?" she repeated, anger rising up within her. "No, I'm not just upset. I'm really fucking mad. This has to end."

Tory had called her Bubblegum because of her pink hair, trying to make her seem not threatening to others. But as she stormed out of Miyagi-Do, her pink hair flying behind her, nobody dared to get in her way, because the look on her face was absolutely murderous.

•─•°•❀•°•─•

I can't believe the purple only lasted like two minutes BRING IT BACK