VIII.                                               Heartbreak Weather

      When Odessa didn't see Eli at school, she thought the worst. She could talk all day and try to cheer him up but at the end of the day, Eli felt what he felt and how he was feeling was embarrassed. Self conscious. Like he was a loser. She wished she could do more. Odessa walked to her next class with Oliver standing talk by her side. "Are you going back to the dojo?" He asked her.

Odessa shook her head. "I'm not sure. What he did to Eli was terrible. He's a grown man and Eli's just a kid."

Oliver agreed. "That's very true. And while I love you and Eli, I think he's hot as fuck and I don't mind the demanding."

She looked up at him in disbelief. "You and your daddy issues concern me."

He scoffed as they entered their next class. "Like you're the one to talk."

Odessa stood in the dojo chewed on her thumb nail. More students came through the door but she looked specifically for one who hadn't shown up yet. The class seemingly was getting smaller and smaller. "Three more absences, sensei." Miguel informed their Sensei when he came out of his office.

"Bunch of pussies." Aisha said with a sneer.

Hailey jabbed her thumb at Odessa. "She made me come."

"No, it's my fault," Johnny stated, making them all look surprised. "I've called you names. I've humiliated you. Some of you I've hit. And for that. . . I don't apologize!"

Odessa closed her eyes and slapped her forehead.

"So close." Grayson muttered.

"Cobra Kai is about strength.  If you're not strong enough on the inside, you can't be strong on the outside. And right now, you're all weak. And I know that because I was you." They looked shocked again. "I use to have no friends. I use to be the weirdo kid.  Not that weird,  I hooked up with babes and all—but the point is, I wasn't always the badass Sensei I am today. Just like a cobra, I had to shead my loser skin to find my true power and you guys will too."

Hearing the bell chime on the door, Odessa instinctively turned her head and had to do a double take. Her jaw hit the ground. Eli came walking into the dojo but it wasn't Eli. His brown hair was now a tall, spiky blue mohawk. His sweater was replaced with a zip up jacket. He wasn't cowering with nerves. He was smirking with confidence.

What the actually hell?

"Holy shit." Hailey and Grayson gasped while Oliver whistled.

Miguel looked at his friend with wide eyes. "Eli, what happened?"

"I'm flipping the script," Eli answered with his voice low and deep.

Odessa's mouth went dry and she blinked her eyes at a rapid pace.

"Wait, are you the kid with the lip?" Johnny asked as he got closer with amazed eyes. "Nice cut, bro. You see that? Doesn't matter if you're a loser or a nerd or a freak. All that matters is that you become badass!"

"Dude, that's so fucking cool." Oliver whispered loudly as he cousins stop checking out the mohawk.

"Hawk, fall in!" Johnny ordered, declaring the boy's new nickname. He turned to Oliver. "Benson, snap your friend out of it before she gets drool on my mat."

Snorting, Oliver yanked Odessa's ponytail and she snapped out of her daze. Eli smirked at the way her face turned red from embarrassment.

"Fear does not exist in this dojo, does it?"

"No, Sensei!" Eli answered with confidence.

"Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it?" Johnny
asked as he stood before Aisha.

"No, Sensei."

"Defeat does not exist in this dojo, does it?"

Miguel shook his head firmly. "No, Sensei."

Johnny turned his back to them and stood in front of the mirror. Odessa's eyes caught Eli's in the mirror and she looked away quickly, making him smirk again, his confidence growing. "Class, are you ready to learn the way of the fist?" He yelled.

"Yes, Sensei!"

After training ended, they sat on the ground to put on their shoes and Grayson and Oliver were busy gawking over Eli's new hair. "Dude! you look so badass!" Grayson swore in amazement.

Odessa tied the laces of her shoes. She was still amazed at his transformation. She really didn't know what to say. Eli came and sat beside her. "What do you think?"

All she could do was give him a thumbs up.

Hailey rolled her eyes. "She thinks you look hot."

Odessa quickly flared at her. "Hailey!"

Eli smirked but his heart started beating fast on the inside.

"What's next? A tattoo?" Asked Oliver.

He shrugged casually. "We'll see."

"C'mon, let's go get something to eat." Hailey demanded and the group of friends, plus Aisha, started to leave the dojo. Eli walked by Odessa's side and threw his arm around her shoulder, something he would never think of doing before, and it shocked her to the core. But she smiled because she liked it.

When Thalia opened there front door, she did not expect to see a teenage boy with a mohawk standing outside. Seeing Odessa's mom, Eli's EJ's went wide. "H-Hi, Ms. Reid." He stuttered and cursed himself in his head. Stop stuttering like a fucking loser!

"Hi,"  Thalia greeted back cautiously. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Eli. I'm a friend of Odessa's. I was hoping she was home."

The blonde woman smiled. "Oh, you're Eli." She realized and opened the door wider. "Come on in. I'll show you to her room."

Almost sighing in relief, Eli entered the home and looked around. He followed Thalia down the hallway until they stopped at Odessa's door. Thalia knocked on it. "Dess?" She said softly.

"Yes?"

Thalia opened the door and smiled at her daughter. "There's an Eli here to see you."

Eli smirked to himself. When he walked into the room, Odessa sat up in her bed and her eyes went wide. Thalia left them alone with the door open. "Hey, Dess." He said to the girl while trying to keep his nerves at bay.

The blonde's face turned red. "H-Hi." He stuttered.

His light blue eyes looked around her bedroom. He's never been in a girl's room before. Her walls were a lilac purple with posters and vinyls hanging on them along with multiple printed out pictures of her,  Oliver,  Hailey,  and Grayson.  "I like your room."

"Thank you." Odessa said and shifted under the purple bed covers.

"I'm guessing purple is your favorite color?"

"You are correct."

It was really awkward. Eli could try to act cool all day but the truth was, he'd never even stepped foot in a girl's house before, let alone one that he liked. He wasn't experienced and he didn't want to make a fool of himself.

Eli sat down on her bed. "You barely said anything to me today." He mentioned.

All Odessa could feel was nerves. She messed with her fingers on her lap. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I guess I'm still in shock with the whole transformation."

"So, tell me," he started to say and leaned closer to her. "What do you think?"

She observed him through her eyelashes. Her mouth went dry. He was really close to her. "Do you like it?"

He nodded. "I do. But I care about what you think. I only care about what you think." He was doing it on purpose because he could see the effect he had on her. It only boosted his confidence.

Odessa nodded and sucked in a breath when he reached a hand up and tucked her hair behind her ear, trailing his fingers down to her jaw. "I really like you, Odessa." He whispered because of how close they were.

"You do?" She asked with a growing smile.

"Yeah, I really do. I have for a while now I was just too scared to tell you. But I'm not anymore." It went silent between them for a little while as they both seemed to scared to make the next move. There faces were only an inch away from each other and if one leaned in, their lips would be touching. "Can I try something?" He whispered with his eyes trailing down to her lips.

She nodded immediately.

Eli grabbed her hand. "If you don't like it just tell me, okay?"

There was an eruption of butterflies in her stomach as he ever-so-carefully leaned into her and placed his lips on hers, not moving until she was okay with it. Odessa closed her eyes and sealed their lips together. His hand got lost in her hair. Her eyelashes fluttered against his cheek. It was so different from the other kisses had. It wasn't forced. It wasn't pressured. It was gentle.

Odessa's hand wrapped around the back of his neck and she pulled him closer to her. Eli felt like he was in a dream. He's thought of this moment over and over again in his head and now it was real. She was real. He never felt like this before.

When they pulled away, Odessa kept her eyes closed while trying to process the moment and Eli watched her carefully, taking in the way her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks and how her natural pink face was flustered red. He twirled a piece of her blonde hair around his finger while patiently waiting for her to say something.

Odessa finally opened her eyes and stared into his. "Was it okay?" She whispered, needing his validation.

Eli chuckled and nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah, it was. More than okay."

She grinned. "Good. . ."

"Are you okay?"

She smiled brightly. "More than okay."