𐙚˙ ༘ ⋆｡ ˚( DECODE ! )
❛ DELETED MESSAGES ❜
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT !

"THIS IS THE WORST THING THAT COULD'VE HAPPENED TO US." Johnny exclaimed, his voice laced with frustration as he looked down at the letter detailing the tournament's new changes. His eyes narrowed at the words printed on the page, "Skills competition, bullshit. Kata isn't karate; it's dancing. What's this crap about a girl's decision? Thought they were all about women's lib."

Charlie stood nearby, arms crossed, her head tilting in Johnny's direction with each word that spilled from his mouth. "They ought to man up and take a punch like the rest of us."

Johnny shook his head, and put the letter away from his face before pointing towards his daughter, "At least we know you'll have the girl's division in the bag."

"I, uh . . . " Charlie hesitated. She straightened slightly, the thought forming in her mind. Sure, she was confident enough to reach the finals on her own, but a backup would be helpful if things went sideways, "I think I'd feel more confident if we had another girl on the team."

"What?" Johnny's eyes widened, "You already know you can beat them, we don't need any more girls."

"And what if I get injured?" Charlie shot back, using her hands to gesture, "You'd double your chances of winning the girl's division if we had another female student."

Johnny fell silent, his brow furrowing as he contemplated her words. After a moment, he relented, "Fine. Do any of you know any girls?"

A silence settled over the group, each member exchanging sheepish glances. Johnny sighed, shaking his head, "Of course you don't know any girls."

Then, an idea sparked in his mind as he turned back to Charlie. "What about that blondie who always hangs around? Ally or something?"

"Alyssa. And she said she didn't want to do karate anymore," Charlie replied firmly, her tone leaving no room for negotiation which she knew Johnny would try have at, "I'm not asking her. She's done with it, and I'm not going to drag her back into this."

Bert raised his arm for a suggestion, "There's this girl from the debate team."

"Debate team?" Johnny raised an eyebrow, a mocking grin creeping onto his face. "We need killers, not more nerds. All right, go run some laps. Maybe it'll jog your memories."

As the group began to jog, Charlie and Miguel lagged behind. Johnny called out after them, "Try not to breathe too much; there's some black mold in the corner."

"Look, sensei. I-i know things got heated at miyagi-do, but with these new changes, I think having Sam on our team would really help." He began, before looking at his best friend, "It would help Charls too. Maybe if you could talk to Mr. Lar-"

"I have nothing to say to him," Johnny interrupted before Miguel could get his word in, "We're better off without him. It's time for us to take care of our own business. We'll find another girl, don't worry. All right, now get running."

With reluctant nods, Charlie and Miguel turned to face the others, before following after them.

【☆】★【☆】

CHARLIE APPROACHED HAWK'S HOUSE. It had been far too long since she was last here, and the silence that greeted her was deafening. He hadn't answered any of her texts or calls, or shown up to school.

She propped her bike against the wall and bent down, fingers brushing against the cool concrete as she retrieved her key from under the flower gnome. She hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the empty street, before leaving Demetri's key there, just in case he decided to drop by.

Charlie unlocked the door, and stepped inside. She moved through the rooms, her footsteps soft against the floorboards, searching each space — upstairs and down — but he was nowhere to be found. Then, a sudden realization struck her. The basement. It was the one place they always hung out and the one place she hadn't checked yet.

Her feet lightly tapped on the stairs, and she caught sight of the boy sitting on the sofa, his head snapping up at the sound of her approach.

"Eli, what are you doing?" she asked, settling into the cushions beside him. He kept his head down, his hood pulled low, as if shielding himself from her gaze.

"I can't go out. Everyone will see me like this," he murmured.

"E—" she began, her voice gentle, but the moment was shattered by loud footsteps.

"Where the hell have you been?" Demetri's voice boomed as he stormed into the room, arms raised in exasperation.

Charlie placed a hand on her chest, feeling her heart race. "Meat, you scared me," she breathed, relief flooding through her as she placed her attention back on Hawk.

"Demetri, how'd you even get in here? Charls already used the key," Hawk replied, his tone flat but eyes flickering with curiosity.

Demetri held his own key up in the air, "Uh, your mom left a key for both of us under the flower gnome since kindergarten." He tossed the key back at Hawk. Charlie followed suit, passing hers over as Demetri continued, "But that's not important right now."

Hawk's brow furrowed with concern. "What's so important?"

Demetri's eyes widened, "Didn't you hear? The all valley has separate gender divisions. I mean, do I look like miyagi-do's best hope at defeating Robby keene?" He waved his hands dramatically. "I mean, mr. LaRusso says anyone can be the hero, but I'm not Batman. I'm more like Alfred, you're Batman."

He pointed emphatically at Hawk, who simply stared back with confusion. Demetri rolled his eyes. "Oh right, I forgot, you're not a dc guy. Whatever. Forget Batman; you're the hawk!"

"Yeah, not anymore. So . . ." Hawk pulled down his hood, revealing a buzzcut that had been fixed up. The uneven patches were gone, and only a bit of hair remained.

In that moment, Charlie didn't even care that hadn't forgiven him yet. She leaned closer, and her hand rested on his shoulder, rubbing it soothingly. "Hey, at least it looks better than the last time we saw it," Demetri chimed in, glancing between them, eliciting a weird look from Charlie.

"Everyone at school knows what happened. It's embarrassing." Hawk's voice trembled as he shook his head, his gaze falling to his lap like a heavy weight he couldn't lift.

Charlie tilted her head, urging him to meet her eyes. "So what?"

"Who cares what they think?" Demetri added, "Besides, it'll grow back." He tried to offer comfort, but each word felt like it was lost against the towering wall Hawk had built around himself.

Hawk's shoulders slumped, "It doesn't matter. I ruined my reputation, I talked a big game and it just proved I was an asshole. To Miguel, to my friends, and especially you two. I got what I deserved." With each confession, his voice got quieter, softer, fragile like a small child.

Charlie felt her defenses begin to crack. She didn't want to care before, but now a flicker of empathy stirred within her. "We're not mad about that anymore."

"We forgave you, remember? And we don't care if you have a Mohawk, or a mullet, or pigtails, Miyagi-do needs you." He threw his hands out in the air to get his point through but Charlie just shot him a puzzled look.

The realization that their team would face off against their friends felt like a distant echo, overshadowed by the need to be cobra kai.

"I'm not going back to Miyagi-do," Hawk declared.

Demetri now had a annoyed expression plastered all over his face, currently caring about the wrong thing, "That's great. You're choosing eagle fang over your best friend."

"Demetri." Charlie interjected with a warning tone. Deep down, she didn't really care which dojo he chose. In the beginning - she had, but only because it was where she could see him most of the time. But now, as their friendship slowly mended, the dojo felt less important. Right now, Hawk needed support, not a lecture about karate.

"I'm not going back to Eagle Fang either, alright? I—I'm done with karate, man. I quit." Hawk's declaration hung in the air, leaving them both speechless.

Demetri's features softened, giving way to the disbelief as he sank into the sofa beside Charlie. He stared blankly ahead, "You can't quit," he finally murmured after a few minutes.

"I already told you, I've made up my mind," Hawk replied, his eyes glued to the screen of his laptop.

Concern knitted Charlie's brows together as she turned to Demetri, her expression a mixture of worry and determination. Hawk had always been passionate about karate, and now the cobra kai's had ruined his confidence that much that it drained that passion.

"Hey, you're the one that got me into karate, remember?" Demetri attempted a different approach after seeing the concern on her face, "I mean, I was perfectly happy playing dungeon lords after school, but you put me in a situation where I had to join a dojo."

Charlie shot him a warning glance once again, her eyes pleading for him to tread carefully. This wasn't the kind of help she had envisioned.

"And you know what?" Demetri pressed on, his brows raising, "It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I got stronger, gained confidence, got the girl of my dreams . . . even if she ends up leaving me for some hot aussie dude she meets down there."

A small laugh escaped Charlie's lips, but she quickly stifled it, allowing Demetri to continue. "Hell, I'm actually excited about the all valley Tournament. I never thought I'd say that. But it's not gonna be as exciting if you're not there."

Charlie nodded slowly in agreement, "We want you there."

Hawk, however, continued to ignore them, his focus remaining on the laptop. "Okay, you're really going to make me do this," Demetri said, breaking the silence.

He scooted closer on the sofa, bumping into Charlie and gaining a weird glance from her. "Come on, scoot up," he urged.

She followed his instructions, moving closer until she was pressed against Hawk, with Demetri on her left Then, he draped an arm around their shoulders,

He pulled out his phone, the screen lighting up with the familiar document of the Binary Brothers' video.

"I thought you said you deleted these," Hawk remarked, with an annoyed expression.

"Oh, I say a lot of things," Demetri replied, a sly grin spreading across his face as he met Hawk's gaze, "Which tends to be a polarising attribute of mine."

He pressed play, and the room filled with the familiar tune. The video showed the duo in weird costumes, and singing along to the song. From her spot behind the camera, you could hear Charlie's laughter. As the video came to its end, it captured the moment when Eli and Demetri pulled her into the frame, awarding her the credit she deserved for filming. To this day, she still has that screenshot hung on her wall.

"Dude, why are you showing me these?" Hawk questioned, his expression shifting as he turned away from the screen.

Demetri followed suit, his gaze locking onto Hawk now, "Because this is who you are."

"A loser?" Hawk shot back.

"Our best friend," Charlie corrected.

"I know you think that the mohawk defines you," he stated, leaning back in his seat, "But it doesn't. Not to us. Eli, Hawk, hell, you could call yourself Cornelius for all we care. None of that changes the fact that you're my binary brother. Whether you're number one or a zero."

Charlie's hand found its way to the back of Hawk's neck, fingers softly rubbing the skin there, an intimate gesture that made his heart race. She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper, filled with sincerity. "You're beautiful, mohawk or no mohawk."

A flush crept up his cheeks, warmth spreading through him as he stole a glance at her face. Behind her, Demetri wiggled his eyebrows at the boy, a playful smirk on his lips. Shaking his head, Hawk returned his focus to Charlie, a grateful nod passing between them.

【☆】★【☆】

HAWK SAT ON HIS BED, a mix of emotions swirling within him. He couldn't pinpoint the reasons that had compelled him to this moment — why his fingers danced over the screen with urgency. Each letter he typed felt like a thread, ready to snap at the slightest hint of rejection. The fear of her turning him down — or worse, ignoring him entirely — loomed in the back of his mind like a dark cloud.

Yet, despite it all, an fire burned inside him. Charlie had called him beautiful, left a voicemail filled with longing, and even assaulted her own brother for him. And he couldn't shake that feeling.

With a frustrated groan, he buried his face in his hands, and let the uncertainty have its moment. Just as he hesitated over the message, Demetri snatched the phone from his grasp, ready to take matters into his own hands.

"No, wait!" Hawk's heart raced as he lunged to reclaim the phone, "What if she doesn't feel the same? What if she's not ready to take that step with me again?"

Demetri rolled his eyes dramatically, exasperation clear in his posture. "Are you serious? You two might as well be wearing blindfolds! You want each other so badly, but you're just sitting here, wasting time."

Hawk paused, the truth of Demetri's words washing over him. His head nodded slowly, and glanced down at the message, the words staring back at him like a challenge. Taking a deep breath, he made the decision to hit send before shutting off the phone and tossing it aside, awaiting her reply.

Meanwhile, across town, the phone lay abandoned on the kitchen counter, where Charlie was not. She was still in the shower. The only one to hear the notification was her aunt, Ellen, who stood in the doorway, arms crossed, eyes narrowing at the screen.

As she read the message from Eli, a surge of anger coursed through her veins. How dare he confess his love after everything he had done? The thought made her stomach churn. She had heard of Charlie's pain, and the last thing she wanted was for her niece to be hurt like that again by someone so unworthy.

Glancing toward the bathroom as she heard the water shut off, Ellen felt an idea appear in her head.

She quickly grabbed the phone, her heart racing, and entered the passcode Charlie had entrusted to her years ago. To her relief, it still worked. Her hand trembled as she pressed down on the message and took a breath.

She took one last glance towards the bathroom before deleting Eli's words without hesitation. Charlie deserved the very best, and he was far from that.

The bathroom door swung open, and Charlie walked out, her hair wrapped in a towel. She sensed the tension in the air and narrowed her eyes at Ellen's stiff demeanor.

"Everything okay?" Charlie asked, forcing a smile, but Ellen's expression remained unreadable.

"Everything's perfect. Just as it should be."

✧  •   •  𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚  •  •  ✧ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

lmaooo sorryyy 😓 aunt ellen is now my least favourite person.

hate miscommunication trope but it'll be worth it trusttt

also i apologise if the last part sounds all rushed and that they should have more scenes together before he says something like that - i just really want to get them together or close together at least before the tournament and prom

please comment and vote !