─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────
──EPISODE SIX

                 "WHY DID I LET YOU talk me into this?" Demetri groaned as they all stood in the Cobra Kai dojo, surrounded by peers, "This goes against everything I stand for. It's like extra gym class for no reason!"

"Let's just give it a chance. You saw the fight. Miguel kicked ass." Eli replied, the nerves clear on his face, and Élodie instinctively took his hand in hers.

"I think Eli's gonna kick ass," she stated matter-of-factly, to which Demetri scoffed, "Of course you do."

Élodie went to snap back, but was interrupted by Johnny starting the class. "Okay! Today we begin... Quiet! Face front!" he yelled as the class continued to chatter amongst themselves at first.

"Nice shirt," Johnny glanced at Demetri, who seemed briefly pleased with himself, "Thanks."

"I'm joking. It sucks," Johnny deadpanned and Élodie bit her lip, "Word of advice: If you got shit for teeth, don't smile. My God, makes me feel like a virgin just looking at you," his eyes scanned the entire room, insulting more kids, and Élodie's hand clasped tighter around Eli's as she felt his nerves radiate from him.

"When I look around this dojo, I don't see Cobra Kai material. I see losers. I see nerds. I see a fat kid with a funny hat with his tits popping out. But in my short time as a sensei, l've also seen some miracles," he glanced in Miguel's direction, "So maybe there's some hope for you yet. First I need to see where you're at. So everybody, fall in!"

The whole room looked perplexed, and Élodie rolled her eyes, "It means line up," she mumbled to the boys at her side who nodded, before Johnny shouted this out to the class anyway.

Everyone went to file into one line, and Élodie could see the frustration on his face as she dragged Demetri and Eli to properly form a line as he'd wished, "No, not... not line up in a line. Lines. Get in lines. Like these guys," he sighed.

The next few minutes felt like torture as Johnny started the class off, Élodie feeling silly as she'd only intended to spectate, not take part. But Sensei Lawrence had insisted she should join this first class just to show the new kids what was what.

Johnny wandered the room, eyeing up every student as he shouted for them to punch. He seemed frustrated with the lack of... talent... in the dojo, but he tried to remain hopeful.

Glancing from Élodie to Eli, he furrowed his eyebrows, "Hey, Lip."

Eli stopped to look up at him, clearly uncomfortable. Élodie turned towards him, sending him a reassuring smile as Johnny continued, "Yeah, you. The one with the freaky lip. Who do you think l'm talking to?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Lawrence," Demetri interjected, irritated by the Sensei's unnecessary harshness.

"Sensei Lawrence."

"Okay. You really shouldn't make fun of someone's physical appearance." he told him sternly, and Élodie drew in a sharp breath as Eli looked like a deer in headlights at the attention on him all of a sudden.

"Oh, is that so? So l'm not supposed to mention his lip at all?" he scoffed.

"Well, yeah."

"Yeah, maybe that's what they teach you in school, but in the real world you can't expect people to do what they're supposed to do. Right? You hear that, Lip?" Élodie sent Johnny a glare, and he noticed this and huffed, "Look, If you can't handle someone making fun of you, how are you gonna handle an elbow to the teeth?"

Demetri broke off into a rant about Johnny not having the power over them he was trying to exude, and Élodie mentally scorned his loud mouth. He was so damn stubborn.

"You done?"

"What?"

"Hit me," Johnny prompted, earning a panicked look from the tall boy who'd just given him a piece of his mind, "Go ahead, hit me. Strike me right here."

Demetri threw a feeble punch, and Johnny was unphased, "Harder," another attempt at a punch, "Is that all you got, princess?"

Within seconds Demetri was slammed to the ground and as the dojo gasped in shock, Élodie's phone chimed with a text asking if she was still coming into work today. She cursed under her breath, whispering to Eli that she had to go. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, telling him she'd call him later, and slipped out of the dojo before Sensei Lawrence could notice.

When she arrived at LaRusso Auto, out of breath from rushing, she couldn't see Robby at first. Maybe they'd let him finish early as it was his first day? She shrugged this off, sauntering over to where Anoush and Louie stood laughing.

Suddenly, before she could speak, the engine of the Porsche 911 in the centre of the showroom roared to life, and she heard gasps from the customers as her eyes met those of Robby Keene, who suddenly looked panicked.

"Woah," Daniel LaRusso had come running in from his office, "What the hell is the matter with you? Starting a car in a crowded showroom? What are you, out of your mind? What were you thinking?"

Robby glanced over at Louie and Anoush, and Élodie pieced it together that this had to be their doing, "Ask them," she snapped, as Robby got out of the car, slamming the door behind him and shouting, "Screw this!" as he stormed out of the building.

Élodie followed him out, feeling guilty that they'd obviously set him up to look bad, "Robby, wait up!" he didn't, but Mr LaRusso had followed them out too, and as he caught up to Robby and placed his hand on his shoulder, the boy turned and squared up as if to fight him.

"Ease up. I surrender." Daniel put his hands up, but the scowl on Robby's face went nowhere, "You don't have to fire me, okay? I quit."

"Hey, Robby. It's Robby, right?" Robby nodded as Élodie reached their side, observing the interaction, "Come here. Right? Robby, you're gonna break your thumb there."

Élodie couldn't help but laugh a little, earning a confused glance from Robby, "What?"

"Make a fist," Élodie shrugged as Daniel glanced at her now too, "She's right, kid. Make a fist. If you're gonna punch your boss, you gotta make a tight fist. Thumb around the outside underneath... squeeze the knuckles... extend the hand straight out."

Robby punched his hand at his request now with a perplexed look on his face, and Élodie nodded, impressed, as Daniel looked impressed too, "Listen, I'm sorry for calling you out inside. All right, that's on me. I should've heard your side of it."

"You're not the only one with a temper around here," Élodie interrupted, tongue in cheek as she gestured to Daniel, "Not that I can say much... Sorry I wasn't here soon enough to stop them, If I'd known--"

"It's okay," Robby still looked confused, "Well, thanks."

"So, Robby, where you from? You from around here? You graduate at West Valley?" Daniel asked, curious.

"Uh, no. I live up in North Hills. It's not as nice as this," his eyes flickered to Elodie, who'd spent plenty of time at his home in the brief while they'd been together.

"I grew up in Reseda," Daniel told him, "Before that, Newark, New Jersey, so I know a thing or two about that."

Robby's face flashed with confusion, "Wait, really? Figured your family came from money."

"Yeah, well, I guess things aren't always what they look like, right? I'm gonna head back inside and announce the 'sorry you almost got killed' sales event," he laughed, "Go take a break, kid, and I'll see you soon Élodie. You know you don't have to work as hard or often as you do!"

"Gets me out of the house," she shrugged, feeling Robby's curious eyes on her, "But thanks, Mr LaRusso. See ya soon."

———

The next day at school was uneventful, besides the stares Élodie and Eli received. He'd not yet asked her to be his girlfriend, but the deal was pretty much sealed and Élodie was proud walking into school with him... she liked him more than she'd even realised previously.

She'd chosen not to attend that evening's Cobra Kai session, opting to catch up on school work as she was already falling behind. Eli had promised to call later, to help her a little, and just to talk to her because he'd miss her cheering him on.

"I stood up to Sensei a tiny bit, today," he bit his lip as he told her this via facetime, and she beamed proudly at him, "But he said all this stuff about how I need to do something if I want to be cool... said I need to 'flip the script' or something."

Élodie rolled her eyes, "Eli, you've just gotta be more confident in yourself. You don't need to actually change anything."

He shrugged, trying to hide the blush at her compliment, "I know, Ellie," now it was her turn to blush at the nickname he had now started to call her, "But maybe he's right. Anyway, I'm not gonna tell you what I'm doing, I want it to be a surprise."

"Oh god," she laughed a little, raising her hand to her mouth as she shook her head, "It's nothing super drastic, is it?"

"I'm not telling you," he smiled, and she felt her heart swell at the sight, "You'll see."

Élodie drew in a sharp breath, pulling a teasing face of concern at the boy, "I don't know whether to be intrigued or worried."

"Relax, babe," he grinned, a pet name he'd never used before but one that sounded nice coming from him, "Anyway what're you up to?"

She shrugged, "Been working on homework, heading over to see grams in a bit, and maybe I'll pop in to see Miguel," she smiled, before becoming aware of the wary look on Eli's face at the mention of her going over to Miguel's house.

"You don't need to look so nervous, Eli," she reassured him, "He's my friend... and yours. Just gonna say hi while I'm literally on his block. I'll pop by yours on my way back if you'd like?"

"Well before you go, if-if you want, you could have dinner at mine? I'm going... uh... to 'flip the script' after dinner," he suggested, appearing nervous as though he expected her to say no, "My mom would be happy to pick you up..."

Élodie bit back a ridiculously wide grin as she nodded, "Of course, Eli. I'd love that. But I'll catch the bus, it's okay."

"No, don't," he shook his head with a smile, "We'll be there in fifteen."

And with that, he hung up and got on his way.

———

"He said something about 'flipping the script'," Élodie told Miguel as they approached the Dojo the next day, "I don't know what he meant, but it doesn't look like he's here yet," she shrugged, and Miguel nodded in agreement, "It can't be anything that bad."

"Anyway, how's the whole... Sam thing?" she nudged him, wiggling her eyebrows, "I forgot to tell you, I put a good word in for you, by the way."

His eyes widened, "You did? Nothing has, uh, changed. I do wanna ask her out though."

"Just do it, dumbass," she teased with a smile, licking her bottom lip, "She's bound to say yes... hey, you can double date with me and Eli," she winked.

"Are you guys like... together now?" he asked curiously, knowing they'd spent the evening together the previous day, and Élodie just looked deep in thought for a moment before replying, "Not officially... he hasn't asked but I guess we may aswell be."

They entered the dojo, and Johnny's eyes brightened when he saw them, "You changed your mind about actually joining Cobra Kai, Marshall?" he asked, and Élodie pouted as she shook her head, "Sorry, Sensei, just here to show support. Nothing better to do," she joked, elbowing Miguel's side again.

They went over to Aisha, chatting idly with her for a few minutes before being told to get in line by Sensei Lawrence. Élodie shuffled over to a chair in the corner, noticing a text from Eli simply saying, "Almost there, princess."

Butterflies swallowed her stomach whole at that particular pet name.

"Three more absences, Sensei," Miguel told him, a serious expression on his face as Aisha growled, "Bunch of pussies." this made Élodie laugh.

"No, it's my fault," Johnny replied, "Since you joined Cobra Kai, I have been hard on you. I've called you names... I've humiliated you... Some of you I've hit," he wandered the front of the dojo as he spoke, "And for that, I don't apologize. Cobra Kai is about strength. If you're not strong on the inside, you can't be strong on the outside," Élodie rolled her eyes at his speech, fake gagging in Miguel's direction and causing him to have to choke back a laugh.

"And right now you're all weak. And I know that because I was you. I used to have no friends. Used to be the weirdo kid. Not that weird; I still hooked up with babes and all," he shrugged, and Élodie scoffed, earning a swift glare from Sensei Lawrence before he continued, "The point is, I wasn't always the badass sensei I am today. Just like a cobra, I had to shed my loser skin to find my true power. And you guys will too."

The bell chimed, signalling someone had entered the dojo, and Élodie was awestruck at the sight of Eli in the doorway, a confident smirk on his face and most importantly a blue mohawk atop his head.

"Eli, what happened?" Miguel questioned, eyes snapping to Élodie for a second to gauge her reaction before looking back over at his friend.

"I'm flipping the script," he smirked, winking in Élodie's direction. She was confused, where had this sudden confidence appeared from?

Sure, she was pleased to see him appear more sure of himself but what was this drastic change of appearance for?

"Wait, are you the kid with the lip?" Johnny looked momentarily shocked, "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. Hawk... Fall in."

As Élodie watched Eli join the class, she couldn't help the fear bubbling in her stomach.

She hoped this wasn't going to change things too much, but something told her she had a storm coming.

─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────
AUTHOR'S NOTE !
thanks for reading! i know the timings are off
cos the robby scene would've been while she
was at school but ... let's pretend not hahaha.
sorry this is so choppy & stuff, just wanted to
have élodie in a bit more of the actual stuff!

i love writing élodie and eli scenes but i'm so
excited to show you all how things progress w
the growth of cobra kai & the birth of hawk and
all that jazz !! let me know what you think <3