╔.𖥸. .════════════════╗

𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬

chapter seven
plans change . . . and
people change

╚════════════════. .❀.╝

TO CELEBRATE COBRA Kai's victory at the All Valley, or more specifically Miguel's victory, the entire dojo plus Alyssa, Moon, and Demetri had gathered at a local restaurant to have dinner together. Alyssa sat next to Demetri in a booth with Eli and Moon across from her, a plate of nachos sitting on the table.

Aisha had stood up, pointing her phone at herself to take a video for her Instagram story. "So, you might be wondering what a team does after they win the championship. The answer?" Aisha moved out of the frame and zoomed into the plate of nachos on the table. "Victory nachos!"

All of them started to cheer in response to that. Alyssa smiled and raised up her glass of water, clinking it with Moon's across the way.

Aisha pointed her phone back at her face. "It was supposed to be a round of drinks, but the waitress was not feeling Hawk's fake ID."

"Hey, don't talk about that," Eli whispered, his eyes slightly wide in panic. "My parents follow you."

"Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Moskowitz. Anyways, until next time, no mercy, bitches."

Alyssa let out a small laugh as Aisha slid in the booth next to her. "Great cover up, dude."

Aisha nudged her shoulder, laughing along with her. "Shut up, Ally."

"I gotta say, it's nice to be at a victory party," Demetri admitted, picking up a nacho loaded with toppings from the plate.

"Yeah, except you had nothing to do with the victory," Eli protested, reaching across the table and snatching Demetri's nacho, eating it instead.

"Well, then I consider it a belated party for the coding competition we won at computer camp. Remember? Demetri and Eli, Binary Brothers."

Alyssa giggled at the song and how Demetri moved his arm like a robot, Aisha and Moon laughing along too. She had remembered the two boys rushing up to her the day they returned, practically spewing stories in her face before she had told them to slow down. The most prevalent of the stories was how they had indeed won the coding competition, and then they sang this whole elaborate song about being Binary Brothers.

Eli leaned across the table, his facial expression showing that he wasn't playing around. "Hey, cool it with the nerd shit, huh?"

Alyssa felt her own heart drop at that, but she decided to move the conversation along at how Demetri's face fell. "Well, my victory is Moon telling me she can teach me how to do a cartwheel. Because when I do, it's literally over for everyone."

Eli scoffed. "How does knowing how to do a cartwheel make it over for everyone?"

"Because if I can learn how to do a cartwheel, that means I can get good enough to learn how to do a backflip, and that's badass." Alyssa picked up a nacho from the plate and narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you know how to do a cartwheel?"

"No," Eli replied, snatching her nacho from her. "But I can kick and punch, which is arguably better."

"Yeah, maybe for you." Alyssa then frowned. "And hey, my nacho."

Moon let out a small laugh and picked up a chip that had every topping, holding it out across the table for Alyssa. "There. Hurry, before he steals it."

Alyssa took the nacho. "Moon, I love you. I think you should fucking date me instead."

"You know what? I agree, Ally."

"And there's my actual victory," Alyssa stated, looking at Eli teasingly. "Your girlfriend liking me more than you."

Eli rolled his eyes as Alyssa ate her nacho. "Lys, come on."

"No, it's okay. You don't have to admit that I pull more girls than you, I already know."

"Hey, where's Miguel?" Moon asked, cutting through their conversation. "His wings are getting cold."

All of them looked over to the other side of the restaurant. Sitting in the bar area was Miguel by himself, staring down at his phone. Even from so far away, Alyssa could see the saddened look on his face.

"He's pretty hung up on Sam," Alyssa answered. "I'll go talk to him."

"I'll come, too," Eli offered.

Alyssa blinked at him as she slid out of the booth, Aisha standing up so she could go. "Sure. Whatever you want."

Moon stood up to let Eli out of the booth. Together, Alyssa and Eli started to walk through the restaurant towards Miguel, their shoulders occasionally brushing against one another's.

"You do not pull more girls than me, by the way," Eli insisted as they walked through the restaurant.

Alyssa raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that."

"El Serpiente, there you are," Eli began when they got closer, settling himself down in one of the chairs.

Alyssa sat herself in the other empty chair. "Honey, don't look so glum. You just got first place."

"She blocked me," Miguel responded, longingly staring down at his blank phone screen.

"So what happens when you get blocked?" Eli questioned. "You counterpunch. Except maybe don't actually hit her this time."

Alyssa swiftly kicked his shin from underneath the table. Eli hissed in pain and looked up at her incredulously, only to be met with Alyssa's wide eyes and a warning glance on her face. Totally uncalled for.

"What, too soon?" Eli voiced.

"Very," Alyssa confirmed.

"Look, all I'm saying is don't give up."

"It's no use," Miguel replied sadly. "I blew any shot I had with her."

"What did I tell you the day of the tournament?" Alyssa inquired. "In situations like these, girls need time. I may not know Sam that well, but I can see she still cares about you. She'll come around."

"Or she won't," Eli cut in, making Alyssa look at him with a facial expression that just screamed seriously?. "You're the champ now. You can get any chick in the Valley you want. You're like Drake." He punched Miguel's shoulder lightly. "Enjoy it."

Alyssa shook her head with a sigh as Eli walked away, going back to their table. "Don't listen to him, he's being stupid."

"I'm not sure I wanna be Drake," Miguel admitted.

"Oh, you're not. Not at all. You're more like . . . Taylor Swift when she put out 1989. You may have changed, but you're still cool."

"Als, I don't know what that means."

Alyssa stood up, placing a hand on Miguel's back. "You, my friend, have to listen to Debut, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, and 1989 in order for you to understand what I'm talking about. We could also listen to reputation, but I'm alluding more to the transition from Red to 1989."

Miguel stood up as well, and Alyssa kept her hand on his back comfortingly as they slowly walked back to their table. "Which album is the saddest one? That's what I need right now."

"Red. I'll play All Too Well on the ride home, don't even worry about it. I've got your back."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

ALYSSA KNOCKED ON the door of the house she had been at countless times before, shivering slightly in the chilly air of the night. Growing up together, Demetri and Eli always spent a lot of one-on-one time with each other, so they made an effort to spend one-on-one time with Alyssa. Every Thursday, without fail, Alyssa and Eli would get together to watch a movie. Even with Eli's whole Hawk transformation, it was still something he prioritized.

Or, well, at least he used to.

There was no response for a second. Alyssa reached up, playing with the end of one of her French braids as she waited. There seemed to be no stirring inside, which was strange. Alyssa had texted Eli yesterday confirming that they were still on, and he had said yes, so . . . where was he?

"Just wait, I'll only be a minute!" Eli's voice echoed from inside, making Alyssa retract her hand from the door as she went to knock again. The door opened to reveal Eli, but his face turned confused when his eyes set on her. "Lys."

"Hey," Alyssa replied, offering him a small smile. "Before you protest, I really think you should agree to watch High School Musical 2 tonight. It's the ultimate summer movie—"

"What are you talking about?" Eli interjected.

Alyssa let out a small laugh, slightly taken aback. "What do you mean what am I talking about? It's movie night."

Eli said nothing, and just continued to stare blankly at her. Alyssa felt panic creep up in her chest. To a stranger, it would seem like a minor thing, but the thought of Eli forgetting something that they had done for so long . . .

"Movie night?" Alyssa tried. "A Thursday night tradition? We have one every week?"

Eli tilted his head. "It's Thursday?"

Alyssa blinked at him, her voice lowering and a frown appearing on her lips. "You forgot."

"Sorry, but Sensei told us that we have to watch a movie called Over the Top."

She could practically feel the cracks in her heart. Not only did he forget their movie night, he was having a whole other movie night with other people. His dojo, specifically. The very same dojo that was practically pushing him away from Alyssa and Demetri.

Eli sighed when he noticed the saddened expression on her face. "Come in, Lys. You're not in Cobra Kai, but you can still watch."

She gave him a tight smile, pushing down her feelings for now. "No, it's okay. I don't want to intrude on your . . . team bonding. I'll just go hang out with Demetri, or something."

"Yo, Hawk, who's at the door?" Miguel's voice said. He then appeared in the doorway, and his gaze brightened once his eyes set on Alyssa. "Ally! Hey, I didn't know you were coming."

"Hi, Miguel," Alyssa replied softly, pulling at the sleeves of her sweatshirt in effort to ground herself when she felt her mind start to spin. "Uh, I'm not. I just came to see if Eli had something of mine, but he doesn't, so . . . I was just leaving."

"Oh, are you sure? We're watching this movie—"

"It's fine," Alyssa cut in. "Um, I'll see you two later."

"Lys," Eli said quietly as she turned around to walk down the steps. "Lys, hold on."

"It's cool," she voiced, glancing over her shoulder. "Bye."

It was definitely not cool. It was totally not cool. The sound of the front door of Eli's house shutting rang through Alyssa, and she walked back to her car in the street, her heart sinking quite literally all the way to her stomach. She blinked back the tears that pricked at the back of her eyes, not really wanting to cry at the moment.

Alyssa pulled her phone out of the pocket of her sweatshirt, opening up her contacts. Her thumb hovered over Demetri's contact for a moment. As much as she loved Demetri, she wasn't sure that his sarcastic comments or long rambles about something she didn't understand would be good for her. Sure, he would understand the whole Eli changing thing, but . . . feeling hurt by a boy as a girl was something she could really talk to another girl about.

And she knew one person who knew what it was like to be hurt by a boy. Alyssa stared down at her contacts for a moment, and after a moment of hesitation, she pressed on the newest contact in her phone and lifted it up to her ear.

"Hello?" Sam's voice echoed from her phone.

"Hey," Alyssa responded. "Um, I'm sorry for calling you so out of the blue."

"It's totally fine. What's up? Is everything okay?"

Alyssa looked up, glancing at Eli's house momentarily. "Are you busy right now?"

"No," Sam revealed. "Do you want to hang out?"

She inwardly took a breath of relief. "If you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all. I'll send you my address."

"Thank you," Alyssa said sincerely. "I'll see you in a few."

"See you."

Alyssa hung up and got in her car. She put in Sam's address that she had sent in the maps and started her car, her phone instantly connecting to the Bluetooth. Alyssa didn't put on any music and drove away from Eli's house, driving in silence besides the directions that were being told to her.

After a couple of minutes, she pulled up outside a decent-sized house. It was pretty with its white stucco and red shingles. Alyssa walked up the path to the front door, playing with her keys. She was honestly a little nervous — after all, her and Sam had never hung out by themselves yet, they were just acquaintances. Alyssa let out a deep breath as she reached up and knocked against the door.

Sam's face appeared as the door opened, smiling brightly. "Hey, Ally."

"Hi," Alyssa responded, entering the house when Sam stepped aside to let her in. She kicked off her shoes by the door, glancing around for a moment. The house was even prettier inside than it was outside. "Thanks for letting me come over. Sorry it was so last minute."

"No way, don't apologize." Sam started to walk further into the house, and Alyssa followed. "I'm glad you called. I was actually thinking about calling you right before you called me."

Alyssa blinked in shock. "Really?"

"Yeah," Sam confirmed. She sat down on the blue couch that she had led Alyssa to, and Alyssa sat next to her, crossing her legs underneath her. "I was remembering what you said about calling you anytime, and I was feeling pretty down, so . . ."

"Huh," Alyssa commented. "Maybe we're just in sync."

Sam laughed a little at that. "Yeah, maybe." She then gestured to the table, which had two pints of ice cream and spoons sitting on it. "Speaking of feeling down, you sounded pretty upset on the phone, so I thought we could have some ice cream."

Alyssa looked at Sam seriously. "You are my hero." She leaned forwards and took a pint of ice cream and a spoon, opening up the lid. "So why are you feeling down?"

Sam sighed and spooned some ice cream into her mouth. "I went to go see if Aisha wanted to hang out earlier, but she said that her and the Cobra Kai's were watching some movie. She invited me to come, but with Miguel, I just . . . couldn't."

Alyssa nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry about that whole thing, by the way. Miguel and I are pretty close, and I'm not lying when I say he's still pretty hung up on it, too." She pointed her spoon at Sam. "Tell him I said that to you and I'll hunt you down."

"Like you could," Sam countered teasingly. "I've always loved your and Miguel's friendship, by the way. You guys are like siblings."

"If anything, he's the annoying younger brother and I'm the cool older sister."

"Oh, definitely," Sam agreed. "Okay, your turn. What's upsetting you?"

"Eli," Alyssa explained. "Or Hawk. Whatever."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "The guy with the mohawk?"

"That's the one." Alyssa paused, staring down into her ice cream. "It may seem stupid, but he forgot about our movie night that we have every week and is instead watching a movie with the dojo." She waved her spoon around in emphasis. "The thing that Aisha said she couldn't hang out with you for."

Sam shook her head. "That's not a stupid thing to be upset over."

"But it's not just that," Alyssa continued. "Like, he's . . . changing. At first, it seemed to be a good thing. He dyed his hair — or, well, I dyed his hair, he got a tattoo, he gained some confidence, he learned how to fight, and he's pretty damn good at it. But he's stopped being the boy I used to know. Like, him before wouldn't talk so threateningly to Demetri — our other friend — and he for sure wouldn't have forgotten something that we do every week."

"I told Miguel that I don't recognize him anymore at the tournament," Sam revealed quietly. "Is this sort of the same thing? You don't recognize him?"

Alyssa absentmindedly mixed her ice cream around, her eyebrows knit in thought. "Whenever I used to look at him, I saw everything. I knew who he was, I knew what we were . . . and now I just see nothing. There's still little moments where I see the old Eli shine through, but they're becoming nonexistent."

"I'm really sorry, Ally."

Alyssa groaned and leaned her head back against the couch. "Gabriella Montez was so right when she said that whole thing about acting like someone you're not will pretty soon make you become that."

Sam nodded and hummed in agreement as she ate another spoonful of ice cream. "Ah. High School Musical 2. A classic." She looked over at Alyssa. "Wanna watch it and scream embarrassingly loud to all of the songs?"

Alyssa felt a small smile creep onto her face, and she rolled her head over to look at Sam. "I thought you'd never ask."

•─•°•❀•°•─•

THEY ARE MAROON THEY ARE THEY ARE THEY ARE

oh I am not ready to write them falling apart

anyways did I make ally and sam become besties because I love sam and think she's overly hated . . . yes. yes I did

also ALYSSA IS PANSEXUAL! I just wanted to make that very clear <3 also miss jodi said on her birthday stream that she was pretty pansexual and I didn't want to erase that :)