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

ÉLODIE SAT AT THE EDGE of Miguel's bed, scrolling through Spotify as Miguel showed her the karate moves he'd been learning from Johnny. She was half paying attention but was more occupied with carefully selecting the music.

"Dude this next song... an all-time favourite," she exclaimed, a twinkle in her eye as she watched Miguel pause to smile before regaining his focus as she looked up properly at what he was doing with a teasing smile, "You really are a beginner."

"Hey! Like you'd be any better," he scoffed, continuing to make excessive noise that could be heard over the music as he punched the air, "I'm learning."

Élodie laughed, standing up to stand just behind him, watching his posture and the structure of his moves, "I'm well trained in karate, Miggy," she licked her lips with a giggle, using his mother's nickname for him as she leaned up and adjusted his arm to a better positioning, "And stop making so much noise. They're going to think we're having sex or something."

Miguel blushed pink, dropping his hands and turning to face her, unsure whether he was more taken aback by the fact that she knew karate, or that she was comfortable enough in their friendship already to even reference the notion of them having sex, even as a joke.

"Miguel? Élodie?"

"We'll be right there. Almost finished!" Miguel replied, still panting from how hard he'd been pushing himself. Élodie snorted, "Way to make it worse!"

They exited the room quickly, sitting down at the table alongside Miguel's grandmother, tucking into the incredible smelling food she'd prepared.

Just as they were finishing up, the door swung open, Carmen walking in with a smile, "Hey guys... Mmm, it smells good in here!"

She smiled warmly in Élodie's direction as she noticed her, before uttering something in Spanish that Élodie couldn't understand, directed at her mother. She sat down, eyes flickering between the two teenagers.

"I'm sorry l'm late again. Things are crazy at the hospital."

"It's okay, you're short-staffed," Miguel shrugged, "But we saved you some food."

"It was delicious," Élodie beamed, stacking her empty plate atop Miguel's as his grandmother began to clear up, "Would you like any help?"

She simply shook her head, so Élodie nodded and returned her attention to Miguel and Carmen at the table.

"So, did you guys decide what you're going as for the Halloween dance?" Carmen asked, carefully watching the pair's interactions with each other. They may have only just met, and so far only seemed to be friends, but they hadn't even noticed how close they were sat, or that their arms were skin-to-skin.

"Well, I was thinking Deadpool, but the costume's a little pricey," Miguel shrugged, and Élodie nodded, "I was thinking wonder woman but I have the same problem."

"Well, how much are they?" Carmen asked softly, not wanting her son — or his newfound friend — to be disappointed.

"Oh, it doesn't have to be Deadpool," Miguel shook his head.

"You want a Deadpool costume? We'll make you a Deadpool costume."

His grandmother muttered something in Spanish, causing Carmen to laugh, and Élodie felt a warm smile spread to her face at the family's interaction. She envied the close-knit family, though she was thankful for her grandmother, who she'd be visiting after dinner.

"I'd better go, if that's alright? Thank you so much for having me... dinner was lovely! But I have to visit my grandmother before I go home, and she'll be worried if I'm too late," Élodie rose from the table.

"Miguel can walk you if you'd like, sweetheart?" Carmen offered, almost as though encouraging them to have more alone time.

"It's okay, Carmen, but thank you so much," Élodie replied, gathering her things, "She lives in 106."

"Oh, you should have invited her for dinner too, then!"

"Next time, mom," Miguel laughed, knowing that Élodie needed to go, "See you soon, El!"

As the door slammed shut behind her, Carmen gave Miguel a knowing look, "Do you have a crush on her, Miggy?"

He rolled his eyes, "What? No! Of course not... She's a friend, that's all."

"Nonsense," his grandmother scoffed in Spanish, and Miguel shook his head, "She's pretty, obviously, but she's just my friend, okay! Besides, there's another girl I kinda like."

"Hmm," Rosa Diaz hummed, not believing him for a second.

———

The next day at school passed as slowly as always, but Élodie was grateful for the company of Miguel, Eli and Demetri. Eli seemed to come out of his shell a little more when he was talking to her, and this didn't go unnoticed by his best friend.

"You don't have a crush on Élodie, do you?" he questioned Eli as they sat down for lunch, neither Miguel or Élodie having arrived yet, "Because it's totally obvious, man."

"N-no, I don't," Eli stuttered, caught by surprise at the question, "She's just really nice, that's all, you know we used to be friends and— she doesn't care about my lip, and stuff."

"Yeah well you guys seem really comfortable already," he squinted, unconvinced, "Be careful. I don't want you getting hurt. She's probably got the hots for Miguel, or something."

Élodie and Miguel sauntered over moments later, trays in hand, and sat in the same seats they had the day before. Élodie was right by Eli again, her eyes immediately meeting his for a moment before he looked down with a blush, "Hey guys."

Counsellor Blatt's voice suddenly sounded through the cafeteria and Élodie rolled her eyes immediately, mumbling under her breath, "I've been back two days and I'm already fed up of her voice."

"Cyberbullying is no laughing matter. Sending a cruel message to someone online can be just as hurtful as saying it to their face. I'm not gonna name names, but the other day a mother called me up because her son was crying after some kids online made fun of his facial deformity." She announced, and almost immediately all eyes fell on Eli.

Élodie tutted, watching Eli reach up to cover his face and look down at the table, embarrassed. She reached out her hand, taking his away from his mouth and clutching it tightly as she brought it down to the table, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I don't know what you're all staring at," she snapped, eyes scanning the nearby tables full of judgemental stares, "You think it's funny calling him ugly because of a small mark on his lip? Well, I guess you won't mind being called ugly when I've broken your nose and left more than a little mark."

"Ooh Stormy's back and getting feisty," a voice whistled, and her jaw clenched at the comment.

"Fuck off."

Counsellor Blatt looked appalled for a moment, "But today, our goal here is to make this school a safe space for all students. So none of this arguing please!"

"You know, if you're sick of getting bullied, my karate dojo's looking for recruits," Miguel suggested to Eli, whose heart was still racing at the fact Élodie's hand hadn't left his even as she yelled at the other students.

Demetri laughed sarcastically, "Yeah, right, you hear that, Eli? A little karate training and you're gonna kick some major ass."

"I hear your tone Demetri, and I can't say I like the implication that he couldn't totally kick ass," Élodie smirked in Eli's direction, causing the boy to sit up a little straighter, a smile on his face too.

"I'm serious, Demetri, all right? My sensei's the real deal, and I'm sure I could get you guys discounts." Miguel retorted, unimpressed by their lack of enthusiasm.

Élodie rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand once, before pulling it away and resting her chin in her palm, "I'd hardly call Johnny the real deal as far as senseis go. He's incredible at karate, yes, but I'd probably be a more compassionate teacher."

"You know karate too?" Eli spoke up, his voice a little quiet as his hand still tingled from Élodie's touch.

She nodded, chuckling a little, "I train with Johnny's sworn enemy, actually. Well, I used to..." she trailed off, eyes wandering in Samantha LaRusso's direction briefly (Miguel's eyes had hardly left her), before snapping back to the conversation, "But I might come and see what your lessons are like, actually."

"As enticing as that sounds, I think we'd rather spend our afternoons playing Crucible Control than getting hit in the face." Demetri huffed.

"Oh, and one last thing," Counsellor Blatt's voice grated again, "While we're all looking forward to the Halloween dance, let's make sure our costumes are culturally sensitive."

Élodie rolled her eyes as she continued, "For example, instead of "sexy nurse," maybe try "gender-neutral hospital employee.'"

"That makes it all the more tempting to come in something as revealing as possible," Élodie pushed food round her plate as she laughed, "But I haven't got a clue what I'm going as right now."

Eli glanced up at her, eyes bright, "I can't wait to see what you wear."

———

Élodie entered the auditorium with Miguel at her side, gently tugging the skirt of her dress down that it covered her legs more as the wind had swept the skirt up a little.

"Oh, skeleton, classic. Nice," Demetri complimented Miguel, before glancing over at Élodie and gulping, "And Wonder Woman?"

Eli's eyes were fixed on her too, awestruck.

"The outfit didn't quite go to plan but, yeah, supposed to be." Élodie blushed, looking down and then glancing between the boys around her as she became acutely aware of the length of her skirt.

"You look... wow," Eli turned crimson as he complimented the brunette girl before him.

Miguel smiled, pleased with his skeleton costume, "I like your sorcerer costume," he told Demetri.

"Sorcerer? Please. I'm a necromancer. Didn't you see "The Amulet"?" Demetri looked disgusted by Miguel's ignorance regarding the nature of his costume, which made Élodie stifle a laugh.

"So are you a regular doctor, or...?" the group's attention suddenly fell upon Eli.

"Plastic surgeon. I fix lips." he looked down at the floor as he so often did, but his confidence seemed to grow as his gaze met Élodie's. Demetri rolled his eyes at the sight of this, taking note to mention again to Eli later how obvious his crush was.

"Cute," Élodie beamed, "Your face on show would be better, though. Maybe I'll catch the surgeon on his lunch break, eh?"

Eli blushed, and Demetri fake gagged as Miguel just looked confused.

Later that evening, Élodie took a slurp of punch as the boys stood beside her, miserably staring at a group of girls on the dancefloor, "This is great fun, guys, you really know how to party."

"Let's ask the dragon queens to dance," Miguel encouraged, suddenly gaining confidence again.

"We'll be leaving Élodie alone, then," Eli pouted, which Élodie could see until he flipped his mask back over his face, "She can come too," Miguel shrugged.

"Chivalry isn't dead, then," Élodie grumbled jokingly, "I'm kidding, as long as you save me a dance."

Eli just blinked, his cheeks blushed pink.

"Slow your roll, we got time."

"No, no," Miguel groaned as one of the girls began walking away with a boy dressed as the Eleventh Doctor, "Shit. We just lost one to Doctor Who."

"Hey," Élodie nudged him, "Can you blame her? A+ costume choice... although Tenth would be more up my street..." she trailed off, mind consumed with Doctor Who for a moment before she returned to reality. Eli sent her an understanding smile, mentally cursing himself for not coming dressed as the Tenth Doctor.

Miguel puffed out his chest a little, wounded by Élodie's comment, and the other two boys just looked shy again. She took another large gulp of her punch, sighing into her cup.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Eli said quietly, to which the others nodded.

Demetri placed down his cup, "Yeah, me too. That punch is going right through me."

Élodie shrugged, "I'll wait out here... I'm gonna go say hi to Aisha, okay?"

The boys wandered off as she found Aisha at the food table, "You okay, Aish?"

Aisha nodded but continued eating the chips she'd been snacking on. Élodie glanced up, noticing Yasmine smirking, her phone in hand. She'd snapped a video of Aisha just before Élodie got to her, and within seconds everyone in the room's phones began to grab their attention as the video reached their phones.

Élodie watched the video, fury coursing through her veins, "Ignore them, Aish," before storming in Yasmine's direction to give her a piece of her mind, "You might think you're all high and mighty, but you're pathetic. I hope you know that, Yasmine. Shit-on-the-bottom-of-my-shoe pathetic."

Her eyes caught those of a very on-edge looking Sam for a moment, but she didn't wait long before turning on her heels and heading for the bathroom where her friends had gone.

"Go on, storm off," Yasmine crossed her arms over her chest, "Temper, temper, Stormy."

"Stop it, Yas," Sam huffed, but this wasn't enough. She'd changed, and that was easy for anyone to see.

As Élodie approached the locker room, she bumped into a frightened-looking Demetri and Eli, desperately sprinting away, "Guys? What's going on?"

"Kyler... They..." Eli panted, but immediately she realised what was going on and headed directly for the bathrooms, not caring that it was the boys' as she stormed in.

"Oh look! The bum's not here to protect you, but Stormy over here is. What're you going to do, princess, shout at us?" Kyler taunted as he glanced up at her, before throwing another fist at a battered-looking Miguel.

"Get the fuck off him, you pricks!" she spat, readying herself to fight back. There were only three of them, and she was certain she could take them on, but she mentally cursed herself for the length of her skirt — it was hardly combat-suited.

With a run-up, she forced a kick to one of the boys' chests, swinging her elbow into another's chin and finally flicking her palm into Kyler's face and sending him forcefully into one of the lockers, panting.

Just like that, in one sweep she'd taken them out. Looking down, she saw Miguel's impressed, though incredibly bloody, face staring up at her, "Wow."

She shook her head, amazed that his primary concern was being impressed by her as opposed to the fact he was so injured.

Behind her now stood Eli and Demetri again, apologetically looking over her shoulder at their best friend who they'd left to fend for himself. She drew in a sharp breath as the bullies began to get up, "If you fucking touch him again, or any of us, remember how easily I can take you assholes down, okay?"

The bullies slowly rose to their feet, scrambling out of the room with angry frowns on their faces as they clutched their aching sides.

Just before he left, Kyler paused to eye Élodie up and down, "So, whore, which one of them are you pity-screwing to get you so defensive? Might want to make your mind up, eh? Kid with the freaky lip or 'Rhea? Or you could..." he paused to cough up a little blood from his bloodied mouth, before licking his bottom lip, "Make better choices.... I'm sure your fiery temper's good for something."

The way his eyes flickered from her head to toe sent chills down her spine and caused Eli's hand to shoot up to the base of her back, gently caressing the skin of it with his fingers as if that was the most normal and natural thing for him to do. Élodie tried to ignore the goosebumps raising at his touch, putting it down to the adrenaline.

"In your dreams, douchebag," she scoffed, but his eyes fell on Eli's hand on her arm and he smirked, "Lip it is I see, princess? Oh 'Rhea, don't look so disappointed. She might pity fuck you too if you ask nice enough."

And with that, he was gone, that same ugly smirk on his smug face.

"You... wow..." Miguel spluttered as he struggled to stand up, his friends helping to his feet now as he coughed a little, but Eli's hand still rested on the base of Élodie's back, practically sending electricity coursing up her spine.

At that moment, Johnny Lawrence entered the room, his face immediately twisting in concern at the sight before him.

"What the hell happened here?"

─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────
AUTHOR'S NOTE !
this was a lot longer than i intended but i prefer
doing it episode by episode as it gives me more
structure, which i think is why i've been more
motivated to write more but — i hope you enjoy
anyway, this has been so so fun to write & edit:-)

who do you ship élodie with so far? i like not
having one set love interest but i think you can
tell who i like her with most — although that
doesn't necessarily mean things will turn out a certain way, there's a lot in store. x