 ( chapter fifteen )
THE CHOICES THAT CHANGE EVERYTHING.

Charlie sat in a tattoo parlor with Hawk as he changed the color of the mohawk on his back tattoo from blue to red. She'd gone with him to change his hair color as well, the boy now sporting a red mohawk to match the tattoo change. It wasn't the only tattoo he'd gotten, but he wanted Charlie to wait till the end to see the other one.

She thought the red looked good, even if it was a bit of an angry color. She thought he'd look good with any color in his hair.

"There you go, brother." Hawks tattoo artist, Rico, spoke, letting the boy know it was done. "Thanks, Rico." Hawk nodded, sitting up. "See you soon, man." The older man just replied.

Charlie stood at that, smiling as she caught sight of the new tattoo that also found its way onto his chest. He'd asked Charlie to draw anything on a paper days before, only to now have her exact drawing on his chest with her name right under it.

She'd drawn three dragon flies with stars around them almost dancing between each other. She was shocked he'd put something so random on his body, just for her. "Did you really put that on your body? For me?" Charlie questioned, smiling lightly as she made her way in front of him.

"Of course I did." The boy replied, smirking lightly. Charlie just wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, pulling the boy toward her and kissing him. He was quick to kiss back, leaning into it before the girl pulled away.

"You ready to go?" Hawk wondered, wrapping an arm over the girl. She just nodded, watching as he turned to two boys in Cobra Kai, Mitch and Chris. "Hey, asshole twins. Grab my bag. We're out."

———————

Charlie found herself between Moon and Tory as the girls all sat together at a table, Aisha on the other side. Charlie had asked Moon to join the dinner as well, figuring it was a good time to hang out with both her Cobra Kai friends and her best friend.

"Oh, my God. Yasmine has the same bikini as me." Moon laughed, staring at Yasmine's new Instagram post. Charlie looked over her shoulder, laughing at the image as well. "That's crazy. She saw you wearing it too. Maybe you're her muse."

"Tell her she can stay in France." Aisha spoke, rolling her eyes. Charlie noticed Tory put her hand in her water, pulling out an ice cube before aiming it right at Miguel and throwing it. "Hey." Miguel sighed, looking her way.

"Oops. Must've slipped out of my hand." Tory smiled, frowning when she realized he was far more focused on whatever was on his computer. "Hit him in the face next time." Charlie smirked, laughing as Miguel looked up just to send her a look.

Charlie quickly tuned the two out, very aware of the fact that Tory was flirting with Miguel. It was honestly nauseating to watch anyone flirt with the boy, but Charlie was sadly getting used to it at this point.

Hawk then moved to walk by the girls table, stopping for a moment to kiss Charlie on the head before walking toward Chris and Mitch. Charlie was still pissed he'd treated Demetri the way he did, but she'd already given him an earful and figured he knew her stance.

"Hey, what's his deal?" Tory wondered, leaning toward Charlie as she stared at Miguel. Charlie looked up, narrowing her eyes at the boy for a moment before shrugging and turning to Tory. "He's strange. He'll probably tell you if you ask."

Tory just nodded, eyeing the boy again. "Yeah, but what's his deal. Like, if you're not dating him... is someone else?" Charlie shook her head lightly. "Single. I'm just not sure he's completely over his ex, honestly."

"Who's his ex?" Tory wondered, now facing the girl. Charlie didn't know how to respond, knowing the truth wasn't much better than not knowing when it was obvious Tory and Sam wouldn't be friends anytime soon. "Char, can you come look at something for me real quick?" Miguel suddenly questioned, facing the girl.

"Yeah, totally." Charlie nodded, quickly standing up. She turned to Tory, smiling. "Wanna join? I'm a little scared to see what's on his computer alone." Tory chuckled, shaking her head. "You go ahead. I kinda have a plan I'm working on."

"Okay." Charlie laughed, a bit confused but figuring the less she knew the better. She swiftly moved beside Miguel, looking at his computer. "What."

"Hello to you too." Miguel chuckled, looking toward the girl. "Hello boy I drove here and have spoken to since we've been here." Charlie deadpanned. "That's fair." Miguel laughed, looking back at his computer. "Okay, so... I've got this thing I'm making for Sam and... I just want to see what you think."

"I'm scared." Charlie spoke, watching Miguel hit play. "It's not done yet." He advised, watching as Charlie watched his photo and Sam's appear inside a heart before the video stopped. "I want to break the heart and then put it back together with an octopus, since it's kinda our thing. I'm just not there yet. What do you think?" Miguel wondered.

"It's very sweet, Diaz. But are you sure you should be doing this? Maybe it's time to move on." Charlie frowned. She didn't want to see him or Sam get hurt again and she was worried that's all this would do. "But I want her to know I miss her." Miguel replied.

"Text or call, then. I don't know... if you're dead set on this then I think it's very sweet, but the choice is yours." Charlie finished, patting the boy on the back. "Okay. I'll think about it. Thanks, Char." Miguel smiled.

"Course." Charlie smiled back, messing up the boys hair before jumping away when he went to smack her with a laugh. She moved to her spot again, looking over Moons shoulder once more as she continued to stalk Yasmine.

She couldn't exactly see Hawk anymore, but she just assumed he went to the bathroom or something. She was terribly wrong.

———————

When she heard what had happened at the mall she heard it from two people. Demetri and Sam. Charlie was just in shock, not understanding how Hawk could do that to Demetri of all people. And over a stupid yelp review no one would even look at.

She was more than pissed, so when Hawk asked her to meet outside Cobra Kai, she was ready to give him a peace of her mind.

Charlie paced outside the building, only stopping when she saw the red-haired boy walked toward her with a black eye. "What did you do?" Charlie frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. She wanted to hear him say it. To hear him explain how he could do that to the one person who'd always been there for him.

"He posted a horrible review of Cobra Kai on yelp so I went to get him to take it down." Hawk frowned, staring at the girl. "You beat your best friend up over a fucking yelp review? Seriously?" Charlie scoffed, running her hands through her hair.

"You don't get it, Char. He joined Miyagi-Do." Hawk defended. "Who gives a shit what dojo he's in? He's your best friend." Charlie shot back. "He's a fucking nerd! And he'll always be a nerd." Hawk shouted, getting just as pissed as the girl was. He thought she'd be on his side, or at least listen to what he had to say.

"Do you know how fucking scary you sound right now? Like can you hear yourself?" Charlie wondered, moving away from the boy. "This... these things you're doing... this isn't the guy I like. I'm not dating a bully."

"What are you saying?" Hawk frowned, stepping toward the girl. "I'm saying we're done." Charlie frowned, moving toward her car. She suddenly felt pressure on her wrist, turning around to see the boy holding onto her. "Hey! We're not done." Hawk snapped.

"Get your hands off me." Charlie snapped back, yanking her arm away. "This means forever!" Hawk spoke, taking his shirt off to reveal the tattoo he'd gotten. "You made the choice to get that, not me. Deal with it." Charlie spoke, biting down hard on her cheek to stop herself from crying.

He grabbed her again, holding onto the girls hands "Charlie, fucking hell... don't do this over some loser!" Hawk almost begged, though his voice never lowered as he shouted in her face. Charlie just glared at him, pulling her hands away before moving to open her car door. "Don't contact me again. We're done."

She quickly got in, pulling away as fast as she could as the boy screamed, "Hey! Hey! Fuck!"

She drove off, not even looking back as she sped away. Charlie felt like sobbing, hating that she finally found a guy she truly liked just for him to turn around and become a bully.

Charlie pulled into a random parking lot, parking the car before placing her head on the steering wheel as she let tears fall down her face. She only looked up when she heard her phone ring, immediately assuming it was Hawk ignoring what she'd just said about not contacting her. "What the fuck do you want now?"

"Charlie?" She heard Demetris voice ring out, sudden worry suddenly evident in his voice. He was just calling back to explain what he'd meant by the cryptic message he'd sent earlier in the night, but now he was just worried. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else." Charlie spoke, trying not to sound upset.

She didn't want Demetri thinking anything happened because of him or that she'd broken up with Hawk because of him. None of it was his fault.

"Are you okay?" The boy wondered, tone softening as best as he could. He'd never really been the type to be able to handle other people's emotions, but he was willing to try for the girl.

"Mmm-hmm." Charlie replied, biting down on her lip as tears welled in her eyes again. "Do you want to... come over and talk about it?" Demetri wondered slowly. "It's totally okay if not, I just thought—"

"Yeah, sure. Text me your address. I'll be there soon. Bye." Charlie replied, cutting the boy off from his rant. She hung up the phone, plugging in the address once Demetri sent it before making it to his house.

Once she was there Charlie quickly knocked, Demetri immediately opening the door. "Hi. Uh, come in." He moved out of the way, allowing the girl inside before leading her to his living room. "My parents are out right now, so feel free to talk at a regular volume." The boy explained.

"Um, okay." Charlie replied, taking a quiet seat on his couch. Demetri sat down as well, sitting on the exact opposite side of the couch from the girl. He wanted to give her space, but he was starting to worry it was an awkward amount of space.

"I, uh... I broke up with Hawk." Charlie admitted, ripping as her nails as she stared forward. "You did? You didn't have to do that." Demetri frowned, immediately feeling guilt as well as fear. He didn't want Hawk coming at him again or blaming him for the girl leaving, even if now he was thinking it was his fault.

Charlie just sat there silently, thinking.

"Did you do that because of me?" Demetri asked after a moment, just needing to know. Charlie turned to him at that, eyes softening. "I did it because of him."

She took in a breath. "Demetri, you're not to blame for what happened at the mall. He chose to attack you and because of that I chose to end things with him. I'm not going to date someone who treats the people I care about like that. Not now not ever." Demetri nodded slightly, actually believing her. "Thanks, Char."

Charlie moved closer to the boy at that, pulling him into a hug it was obvious they both needed. Demetri slowly hugged back, holding onto the girl tight. He'd made jokes about being into her, but he truly cared for the girl more than she'd know. And what she did for him tonight, he'd never forget it.

"I'm sorry you guys broke up." Demetri spoke after a moment, both parties pulling away slightly. "Thanks." Charlie sighed, facing forward again before leaning toward the boy, her cheek resting on his arm as she brought her knees close to her chest.

Demetri just slowly wrapped his arm around her, bringing the girl into a side hug as she just continued to stare forward silently.

It was sad. Charlie could have seen herself loving Hawk. Like, really loving him. But it just wasn't meant to be.

———————

Charlie had been thinking a lot about where she stood as the ever growing karate drama seemed to be never ending. She thought about the way Hawk grabbed her when he was upset and the way she'd never truly been able to defend herself from anyone unless she was running away.

And then she began thinking that maybe it was time to change things.

So even though she hadn't gotten any sleep and her eyes were still red and puffy from crying, Charlie found herself outside the LaRusso home to catch the three Miyagi-Do participants before they left for the dojo.

She knocked quickly, wrapping her arms back around herself after. She knew she was a mess and she knew it was all her own doing, but breakups were never easy.

Robby was the one to answer the door, looking at the girl worriedly the second he looked her way. "Hey, are you okay?" The boy wondered cautiously. "Uh, yeah. Is Mr. LaRusso home? Or Sam?" Charlie wondered, looking down toward her feet.

Robby had never seen her so broken down.

"Yeah, they're here. Come on in. We were just about to leave." Robby spoke softly, moving out of the way. Charlie walked into the house, standing near the door as Robby shut it. "Robby, who's at the—" Mr. LaRusso spoke, cutting himself off before he noticed the girl. "Charlie? What's wrong?"

The girl didn't answer, only moving toward the man and wrapping her arms around him. He instantly hugged back, holding his daughters best friend worriedly. He sent Robby a glance, one the boy only replied with his own worried look.

"S—Sorry." Charlie spoke, pulling away quickly and taking a few steps back. "I, uh, I came to see if you guys are still looking for new members." The girl explained, wiping her eyes slightly. "Of course, but... Charlie are you sure you want to do this? You can let us know when you're feeling better." Mr. LaRusso spoke. He wouldn't pry, knowing she'd tell him when she was ready like always.

"No. I— I want to learn to fight." Charlie decided, cementing her decision with her words. "Okay." Mr. LaRusso nodded. "Come with us today and watch, okay? Just to understand the process."

"Okay." Charlie replied, gaze suddenly connecting with Sam's. She didn't know how long the girl had been standing there, but by the worried look on her face it was obviously long enough.

Sam was quick to dart toward Charlie the second their eyes met, pulling the girl into a tight hug. Charlie hugged back, finding she'd been giving and receiving a lot of hugs in the last 24 hours. "We broke up." Charlie spoke quietly, hoping only Sam could hear.

Sam just hugged her tighter, wrapping her arm around the other girls head as she kept her close. "I'm sorry. I think you did what was best."

"Thanks." Charlie replied, pulling away. "Okay, I'm ready to see how you guys roll." Charlie decided, nodding to Mr. LaRusso. "Okay." He replied. "Then let's go."

When they got to Miyagi-Do, it was, to put it nicely, a wreck. There was spray paint, toilet paper, and destruction all around. Charlie was shocked by how it looked and based on the way the other three were looking at it, it wasn't exactly a design choice.

"Come on." Sam decided, pulling Charlie behind her for the two to check around the outside while Robby and Mr. LaRusso checked the damages inside.

It was heartbreaking. Mr. LaRusso didn't deserve this place that meant so much to him to get destroyed. There was just no reason for it.

The two girls went around the dojo, seeing the destroyed punching bags and even plant pots, as well as a huge rock was tipped over.

"Let's go see if anything happened out front. Maybe whoever did this left behind a clue." Sam frowned, trying to hold her sadness in. Charlie just squeezed the girls hand, following with her.

She had her suspicions, especially with the black and red spray paint used. But her suspicions were only confirmed when they noticed Mr. LaRussos yellow car, now spray painted to say "Cobra Kai NEVER DIES!!"

"Dad!" Sam yelled, hoping to alert her dad to come outside. It worked and the man ran out with Robby on his tail, stopping in his tracks when he saw what had happened.

Charlie watched as he placed his hand on the car, the vehicle very obviously holding deep sentimental value to the man. Suddenly he grabbed the door handle, getting into the car and just driving off furiously.

"Mr. LaRusso?" Robby wondered, watching. "Dad? Where are you going?" Sam called after her dad, but he never answered before disappearing past the grounds.

Charlie pulled Sam into her, the other girl hugging her friend instantly and nervously. "They stole the Medal of Honor." Robby exposed, looking to the two sadly.

Charlie frowned, staring forward. Cobra Kai was turning into a place for bullies and thief's, and Charlie wanted nothing to do with them.

AUTHORS NOTE!
crazy shit going down in this here chapter

charlie and demetri moment cause bffs <333
charlie and daniel moment cause found father <333

charlie joined miyagi-do 👀 crazy shit is gonna keep happening now!!! so excited to get to the end of the season that chapter is gonna be BIGGGGG