LXXXI. Heartbreak Weather

All of the boys watched nervously as Odessa and Hailey sparred. Eli and Grayson catch each other's awkward gaze from only feet away from each other. "What do we do if this doesn't work?" He asked Oliver and ducked under his long arm.

"Uhhhh," Oliver trailed and threw another punch, Eli blocking it and kicking his foot into his chest. "Worst case scenario, we lock them in a room together. An empty room, of course."

Eli jumped when Oliver came down with a leg sweep. While he was still down, Eli kicked him square in the shoulder. "Maybe getting their anger out today will make them feel better," he spoke hopefully.

"We'll see. Wonder how Hammy's feeling."

Demetri hooked his ankle around a distracted Grayson's leg and he took him down. "Alright Gray, you're kind of boosting my confidence right now and we know that never happens. I need you to focus please."

Grayson groaned and raised himself back up. "I know man, I'm sorry. I just feel like an idiot." He rocked back and forth on his heels and threw two punches, Demetri boxing them his forearm and wrist. "It's hard when your girlfriend is also one of your best friends."

"Yeah, I understand." Demetri did a high punch and Grayson managed to hit him under his arm, then kicking him in the ribs. "Girls are complicated."

"You're telling me, brother."

With a short huff, Odessa threw a high punch and Hailey blocked it, the blonde using her other hand to punch her in the side. Hailey hissed and she did a side kick. Odessa moved out of the way and quickly kicked the back of her leg that was still on the ground. Hailey fell to the ground and sighed loudly. "You're thinking too hard."

"Thanks."

Odessa almost rolled her eyes. She held out her hand. Hailey took it but avoided eye contact as she came back up. The two girls stood there awkwardly. The blonde threw her hands up. "Why are we still doing this?" She finally let out.

"I don't know," Hailey mumbled, still avoiding eye contact as she watched the others fight and train.

"Is this really what our friendship boils down to? Fighting over something so stupid that we can't get past it?" Odessa continued, aged striking her light features. "We're not just bets friends, Hailey. We're sisters. You seriously want to ruin a sisterhood?" When she didn't get a response, she scoffed. "Whatever." She mumbled and stormed off.

Hailey watched her walk away and slowly, the guilt she was feeling on the side crept upon her face. She licked her lips and stared down at the ground.

Deciding it would be best if she trained on her own, Odessa sparred with the punching bag. Her blonde ponytail whipped around her head a she threw forceful punches into the bag. She huffed and first did a front kick, then a side kick, and finally did a spinning roundhouse kick. Am I being too nice again? Am i not angry enough? She kept asking herself. Odessa was very aware that she had the ability to get angry but she hated it. She hated being angry. She wasn't made to be this angry.

But she wanted to go Spain so badly. She yearned for it. She was working hard for it. Winning a stop in the top nine would mean proving to everybody that said she couldn't do it than she can.

"Try not to break your foot would ya, Barbie? You're one of the handful of kids I need to actually be in this tournament," Johnny announced himself and walked into the platform.

Odessa huffed. "Yeah? How are you guys going to determine that?" She questioned and moved her hair out of her face.

"Uhhh, we haven't decided that yet. Still trying to figure out if your dad should be apart of the decision."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why wouldn't he be?"

Johnny blinked. "Well, you're his daughter."

"Sam and Anthony are Daniel's kids," she pointed out, her hands settling on her hips.

"Well, yes, but—"

"Robby's your son. You're basically Miguel's dad—"

"Okay, okay, okay. I get it. We'll figure it out." He interrupted her. "You don't need to worry about that right now. All you need to focus on is showing us your best."

Odessa swirled her tongue around and her mouth and across her teeth.

"Do you want this?"

"I want this."

"Good," Johnny replied and patted her shoulder. "Keep going, kid."

Odessa blew air out of her nose and she looked around. She saw Sam practicing her kata on the sparring deck. She stepped off the platform and walked toward the deck. "Hey, Sam."

Sam opened her eyes. "Hey, Dess," she grinned.

"Could I borrow you for a minute? I'm learning a new move and I need a partner."

"Yeah, of course." She walked off the sparring deck. "You didn't ask Hailey?"

"Uhhh, it's complicated right now." She muttered and the girls walked to an open spot in the backyard. "Okay. So, uh, we kinda just spar like normal and if you could find a chance to try and leg sweep me, that would be great."

Sam's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Um, okay. Sure."

"Good." The two girls began to fight. Odessa shuffled on her feet through the first punch. Sam came in and punched her under her raised arm. Odessa went in next with a high side back and then Sam ducked down, pressing her hands to the hard ground and she went in for a leg sweep.

Odessa took the opportunity and did a high jump. As Sam came back up and faced her, she was met by Odessa's foot and she stumbled back as the blonde spun around, mixing her other leg and she landed back on the ground. "Holy shit, Odessa." She gasped.

"Yo, blondie, that was awesome!" Johnny yelled from across the yard where he stood with her Daniel and Christian.

Odessa grew a proud smile.

Sam rubbed her cheek but she still looked shocked. "When did you come up with that?"

"The other day in your dad's dojo. Kinda took inspiration from my cheer days," Odessa explained and tucked her loose strands of hair behind her ears.

"That's great. I think if you keep working on it, it'll definitely be enough to get you into the top nine."

"Let's hope. . .do you remember when we were kids and we talked about going to Paris?" She recalled and grew another smile.

Sam laughed when she remembered. "Oh my gosh, yes. And you had a Paris themed birthday because we knew there was no way we could go.

Odessa giggled. "My mom made my cake into the Eiffel Tower."

"We were thirteen. Now look at us, having the chance to go to Spain. Almost a full circle moment, I'd say," Sam said with a genuine smile.

"Oh, most definitely." She grinned back.

Odessa and Eli walked down the hallway together holding hands. "This whole tournament thing is stressing me out," she voiced and pointed at her forehead. "I'm getting stress pimples. I haven't had those since sophomore year."

Eli observed her forehead and hummed. "Don't worry, they're small. You can hardly see them."

She grinned shortly. "Speaking of which," she said and let go of his hand, seeing as how she was holding books in her other one, and her fingers brushed against his scar. "It's faded a lot. You can hardly see it's there," she repeated and her grin spread.

Eli smiled warmly. "Thanks. I'll admit, sometimes I forgot it's even there. Never thought that would happen."

"It's cause you have more important things to think about now," she told him and leaned forward, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Like how you and me are going to get to spend our anniversary in Barcelona."

"Three years," he said and sighed endearingly. "I'm still shocked you wanted us to keep up with it after everything that happened."

Most couples would agree that after breaking up for a long period of time, you start over, but Odessa was different. Their journey was something she held close within her and to throw it all away would be a dishonor to everything they worked so hard for. So she kept their timeline going. "Well, I'm proud of us. Look how much we've grown over these years. I think we deserve to claim those three years," she explained in a soft voice, her eyes scanning his face. "Don't you?"

Eli smiled warmly again. "Of course I do. It's been the best three years of my entire life."

The couple kiss again until they were rudely interrupted. "Hey Mr. and Mrs. Moskowitz!" Oliver yelled, causing them to break apart and he threw his long arms over their shoulders. "Or should I say Sir and Lady Liberty."

Odessa chuckled and Eli rolled his eyes. "Don't be talking too much shit. You still gotta get your tattoo."

"Please don't remind me. I already made the appointment," Oliver mumbled. He dropped his arms.

Demetri spotted them down the hall and quickly joined their group. "Alright, top ten talk. Who's in?" The red head asked and grabbed his boyfriend's hand.

"Obviously Dess and Eli are no brainers," Demetri claimed and they all turned a corner of the hallway. "Ol, you're obviously in. There's really only seven spots that are up for grabs."

"Yeah, and it's one of them's yours for the taking," said Eli, pointing at his chest.

"Yeah baby, quite selling yourself short. Of course you're getting a spot."

"I appreciate the support, but I ran a statistical analysis. And while there is an 18% chance you're right, the smart money is on either Kenny, Grayson, or Hailey."

Odessa chewed on her tongue and slid her arm around Eli's torso. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

Oliver sighed endearingly. "Ah, I love your nerd talk. It's so sexy."

"It's obvious who the spots should go to," said Eli and he started to count on his fingers. "Me, Dessi, Demetri, Oliver, Hammy, Miguel, Hailey, Robby, Sam, and Kenny,"

"I think that's a great list." Odessa agreed with him.

"Hmm, I prefer to focus on something actually achievable. Getting into MIT. Early Action decisions come out any day now, you know."

Oliver released a loud groan. "Please don't talk about college around me. I'm still dealing with the fact you're gonna be a 6 hour plane ride away from me."

"I can always stow you away in mine as Eli's dorm room."

Odessa glanced at Eli and watched his face fall as Demetri talked about MIT. She squeezed his torso.

Oliver sucked in air through his teeth. "As much as I would love that, Berkeley already accepted me," he explained. He looked at his blonde friend and grinned. "Less than an hour away from each other."

"If I get in. I have t even turned in college essay. Me or Miguel," Odessa explained with a sigh.

"Nope, there's no if talk. You will get into Stanford," Demetri declared, pointing his finger at her. "Even if I had to do some weird as manifestation on you."

"Yeah babe, of course you're getting into Stanford. They'd be dumb as shit to not accept you." Eli encouraged.

She smiled at them. "Thanks guys. I really hope so. . .okay, no more college talk before I start crying."

"Awww, we're all growing up!" Oliver said sentimentally and wrapped his arms around her and Demetri.

Odessa felt herself getting emotional and she hid her face in Eli's shoulder. The boy laughed and kissed the top of her head. "Alright, I have to get to AP Chemistry," she announced and unraveled herself from her boyfriend. "I'll see you lovely boys at lunch."

"Love you," all three of them said and she smiled, walking through the crowded hallway to get to her class.

Already sitting at his desk, Robby saw her walk in and he smiled. "Hey, Dess."

"Hey Swayze," she replied with the same smile. She sat beside him and put her bag on the floor, her blonde hair falling in front of her shoulder. "How's your day been so far?"

"Pretty good. Tory and I think we have a good shot at making top ten. Y'know, along with you, Miguel, and Sam."

Odessa grinned. "You think so?"

Robby nodded. "Yeah. I mean, we obviously have the credentials. It would kinda suck if we didn't."

"No, I agree." She reached into her backpack and pulled out her notebook. "It's such a great opportunity, especially for all of us that are thinking about college."

The boy quieted down at that. Robby looked down at his desk and tapped his pencil.

This silence was telling. Odessa frowned. "What?

"Umm. . ." Robby hesitated. "I'm actually not considering college."

Her frown deepened. "Really? Why not?"

He looked at her like it should've been obvious. "I'm not exactly equipped for college," he said with a slight laugh. When she didn't laugh, he stopped. "I couldn't get in even if I tried. Too much blood on my hands."

"That's ridiculous. You've turned your life around since then. You deserve to go to college just like any of us," Odessa stated and moved her hair off her shoulders just for it to fall right back.

Robby pursed his lips. "I just don't see it happening." He muttered, more to himself than her.

The blonde eyed him for a couple seconds. As class began to start, Odessa leaned over. "Don't count yourself out just yet, Robby Keene." She whispered before paying attention to the teacher.

He grew a smile.

Odessa should've known none of the Senseis would be able to come to a decision about the top ten, so she wasn't really shocked to see that they brought in a fourth party. She just didn't expect it to be the man who almost got them killed at Silver's house. "Dad, are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked her dad while eyeing the man who stood on the sparring deck with Johnny and Daniel.

"It wasn't my first choice, but, I trust Johnny and Daniel," Christian assured. He pulled a face. "Well, sometimes."

Odessa chuckled. "Whatever. Do you think I have a shot at making top ten?"

He scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I've never seen someone right as good as you."

She grinned.

"Did you know that I was the first Cobra Kai All Valley champion?"

Odessa's eyes grew wide. "Wait, what?"

Christian nodded with a hum. "All Valley 1981. I was sixteen. Greatest moment of my life," he reminisced with a ghost of a smile.

"H-How did I never know that?" She said while still in shock.

"Cause Johnny won the next two years," her dad with a playful grin. "That's why I get so nostalgia when I see you fight. You're just like me."

Odessa watched his face change as he reminisced his younger days and she smiled softly. "Well, maybe I can continue the legacy."

Christian looked down at her and smiled, his eyes proud. "That would make me so happy, baby girl."

"Alright, line up!" Johnny yelled with a loud clap.

The father and daughter followed behind everybody and Christian joined the senseis on the starting deck. Odessa stood between Eli and Anthony with her hands behind her back. "Please welcome our guest for the weekend, Sensei Barnes!" Said Daniel.

"Isn't that the guy at the Silver house fight?" Eli whispered.

"Silence!" Barnes yelled making them go silent.

Odessa and Miguel caught each other's eyes and hers widened.

Johnny hummed. "I like this guy," he whispered to Christian.

"During my years as the Tournament Terror, all I wanted to be was in the Sekai Taikai," Sensei Barnes began, speaking a lot more calm. "But I blew my chance. I am here to ensure that you maximize yours." He walked off the deck and stood in front of them all. "Everyone I know who has participated in this has horror stories. This thing is intense. Unpredictable. People have died — move!"

Odessa flinched at his sudden shout and she gave her father a crazed stare, to which Christian just shrugged.

"Who's ready for that?"

"To die?" Grayson questioned. His eyes widened when Barnes got in his face. "To win. Sorry."

"I will do to you what the Sekai Taikai will do," Mike continued and walked away, leaving Grayson still wide eyed. "I will surprise you with events. I will push you to your limits. And if any of you delicate flowers feel like going to your senseis and crying, don't."

Oliver quietly scoffed. "Please, I don't cry."

"I've been given full authority for these eliminations," Barnes said as he walked through the row of kids. He stopped at Odessa and paused as he was about to keep taking. He kept looked between her and Christian. "Your daughter?" He questioned.

The blonde man smiled and nodded.

He looked at her again. Odessa smiled nervously.

"Uhh, selections. Let's keep this positive," Daniel quickly butted in.

"You came to me. The deal was my way or the highway."

"That makes me nervous," Hailey whispered.

Apparently it made the other senseis nervous too.

I swear this song was made for them: