╔.𖥸. .════════════════╗

𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬

chapter twenty-nine
the only exception

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PUNCH. PUNCH. PUNCH.

Alyssa's eyes were narrowed in concentration as her fist made contact with the punching bag. Demetri was holding it for her, but it still moved around a lot as she continued to hit it. For the past couple of days, she had been nothing but the empathetic girl, trying to focus on being there for Eli. But at karate practice, she could be angry all she wanted in the forms of punches and kicks.

"Easy, Ally," Demetri said, staring at her in concern. She stopped for a second and looked at him, breathing a little heavily. "Save some for Cobra Kai."

"Yeah, if we're ever actually allowed to stand up to them," Sam stated bitterly from the side.

Alyssa's eyes flashed with anger. "She's right. Those fuckers messed with my boy and I can't do anything about it, and it's killing me."

Demetri raised an eyebrow. "Your boy?"

She punched the punching bag once more before dropping her fists with a sigh. "You didn't see Eli that night, Dem. I've never seen him so vulnerable before . . . at least, not since the whole Hawk transformation. He trusted me enough to let me see him like that. I had to control my rage for his sake when I saw the bruise around his neck from him literally being strangled, but since he's not here right now, I'm letting it out."

"It looks like you're three seconds away from a complete mental breakdown."

"Yeah, seems about right."

"Hey, everyone," Sensei LaRusso announced as he walked out of the house. "Gather around. I have news." All of them moved to stand near him, and Alyssa crossed her arms across her chest as he displayed a piece of paper. "The All Valley committee just announced big changes for the tournament."

"What kind of changes?" Sam asked.

"Well, see for yourself. It's a whole new ball game."

He handed the piece of paper to Sam. Alyssa peered over her shoulder to read everything. Sensei LaRusso was right — this was way different from the last All Valley tournament Alyssa had seen.

"They're introducing skills competitions?" Demetri questioned.

"Yep," Sensei LaRusso answered.

"Kata, board breaking, weapons display?"

"And there's gonna be a separate girls' division," Sam voiced. "So that means . . ."

"There'll be two All Valley champs," Sensei LaRusso confirmed.

"Wait," Chris cut in. "So what does that mean for the bet with Cobra Kai?"

Ah, yes. The bet. That one day at the dojo where Kreese and Silver showed up, the dojos made a bet. Whoever lost the All Valley against the other would have to stop teaching.

"There's a Grand Champion trophy for whichever dojo wins the most points," Sensei LaRusso explained.

"All I know is the girls' division is either mine or Ally's," Sam stated confidently, handing the paper back to your dad.

"Hell yeah," Alyssa agreed with a wide smile, reaching up a hand and letting Sam high-five her. "More likely yours, though."

"But imagine you and your pink hair winning? Iconic."

"Well, that just leaves the skills and the boys," Sensei LaRusso added. "I'm counting on you guys."

"Who?" Chris inquired. "Us?"

"Yeah, we're a bunch of Rudy's," Demetri said. "I mean, sure, we're good for the occasional inspirational moment, but we're not exactly center mat material."

"We were much better off with Miguel and Hawk."

"Yeah, or he who shall not be named." He looked at the other boys. "Rhymes with Dobby."

Alyssa crossed her arms a little tighter as a new surge of anger flared up inside of her. Robby — the same one who had cut off Eli's hair. She wasn't sure how she would react if she saw him again, but all she did know was that it wouldn't be pretty.

"Look, I know you're missing some of your friends," Sensei LaRusso began. "And of course I wish Robby was here. But it's time to put the past behind us, all right? Don't worry." He lifted up the paper and pointed at it. "By the time the tournament comes around, you're gonna realize this was the best thing that could've happened to us."

"Shame," Alyssa commented. "I would've loved to punch Robby across the face."

Demetri blinked down at her. "I think you've become more spicy since dying your hair."

"Yeah, but what can I say? The pink sparks a new fire in me."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

ELI HAD ASKED for space. After what he had just gone through, it made sense that he needed some time. But when he didn't show up to school or to karate practice — which Miguel had told her — Alyssa was starting to get very worried. Not to mention that he wasn't answering anyone . . . well, his phone was still broken, but even the house calls that Alyssa made hadn't been answered.

This is what Alyssa and Demetri called the Eli intervention — enter his house, figure out what the fuck was going on his pretty little head, and figure out a solution. So that's where they were now. The two walked up to the house together, just like old times.

"So, what you're saying is we have to bring him back to the confidence he had when his hair was red, but minus all the arrogance and his ego being too big," Alyssa said. "That's . . . not going to be as easy as it sounds, Demetri."

"Sure it will be," Demetri insisted.

He knocked on the door, but alas, no answer. Demetri then lifted up a gnome figurine on the porch and picked up the key, inserting it in the door.

"No, it won't be," Alyssa argued, brushing past him when he held the door open for her. "Like I said, you didn't see him. He's crushed. It's going to take some time for him to bounce back."

"And that's why we're here," Demetri continued, leading the way through the house towards the direction of the basement.

He opened the door and descended down the steps. Alyssa followed after him, and the sight she was immediately met with made her frown. Eli was sitting on the couch with his laptop, wearing a hat along with the hood from a sweatshirt on top of it.

"Where the hell have you been?" Demetri demanded.

"Way too harsh, let's tone it down," Alyssa scolded. She then gave Eli a small smile. "Hi, baby."

"Demetri, Lys, how'd you even get in here?" Eli asked.

Demetri held up the key. "Uh, your mom has left the key under the flower gnome since kindergarten." He threw the key at Eli. "You should really think about increasing the security given, you know, the karate war! But that's not important right now."

"Yeah, what's so important?"

"You," Alyssa replied.

"Ally," Demetri stated, making her go quiet. "Didn't you hear? The All Valley has separate gender divisions. I mean, do I look like Miyagi-Do's best hope at defeating Robby Keene? I mean, Mr. LaRusso says that anyone can be the hero, but I'm not Batman. I'm more like Alfred. You're Batman." He then paused for a second. "Oh, right, I forgot. You're not a DC guy."

"Shame," Alyssa commented. "Grant Gustin is really hot as Barry Allen."

Demetri hit her shoulder. "Whatever. Forget Batman, you're the Hawk."

Eli pulled off his hat and took down his hood, revealing the buzzcut. "Yeah, not anymore, so."

"Hey, at least it looked better than the last time I saw it."

"Everyone at school knows what happened. It's embarrassing."

"Who cares what they think?" Demetri protested. "Besides, it'll grow back."

"It doesn't matter," Eli responded. "I ruined my reputation, I talked a big game, and then just proved I was an asshole. To Moon, to Miguel . . ." He looked up at them, his blue eyes big. "And especially you two. I got what I deserved."

"If you think you deserved this, you're wrong," Alyssa said. "You did not deserve to be assaulted. And did you forget that we both forgave you?"

Demetri nodded in agreement. "And I don't care if you have a mohawk, or a mullet, or pigtails, Miyagi-Do needs you."

"I'm not going back to Miyagi-Do," Eli revealed.

Demetri sighed. "That's great. You're choosing Eagle Fang over your best friend and . . ." He gave a look to Alyssa, who shrugged — they didn't have a label, honestly. "Your something."

"I'm not going back to Eagle Fang either, all right!" Eli exclaimed, and Alyssa froze, her heart sinking. "I — I'm done with karate, man. I quit."

Alyssa and Demetri shared a look. This was worse than she thought.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed in the pocket in her leggings. Alyssa pulled it out to see it was an incoming call from Sam. Sam knew that she was at Eli's right now, so whatever she was calling for must've been important.

"I'll be right back," Alyssa told them. She walked off into the bathroom and shut the door behind her, leaving the two boys alone as she answered the call. "Hey, Sammy."

"I know you're at an intervention right now, and I'm sorry," Sam responded. "But Ally, you won't believe this. Tory's at my house right now."

Alyssa's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah, I know. She came here because she wants to go back to school, but my parents have to sign it. I mean, doesn't she have some nerve showing up at the house she literally broke into asking for forgiveness? I would rather not have my face almost get torn off again. And my mom let her in willingly! This is such bullshit."

Alyssa didn't know how to really feel about that. Tory, in so many ways, had ruined Sam's life. One of those ways including literally breaking into her house and causing Sam to not even feel safe in her own home for a while. And her mom had just let her in, like that? If it was Alyssa, and her mom had let in the one person who had done so many horrible things to her, Alyssa wasn't sure if she would forgive her mom.

She leaned against the counter. "Did she say why she wants to come back to school?"

"I don't know," Sam replied, and Alyssa glanced back at the door when she heard the boys talking. "I don't know what to do, Ally."

"Are you okay, though? I can only imagine how you felt seeing her in your house again . . . you know, after she destroyed it."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just . . . angry." Sam sighed on the other end. "I'm sorry, I just needed to talk to someone."

Alyssa smiled a little, even though Sam couldn't see her. "It's okay. You can always talk to me." A knock then sounded on the bathroom door. "Hey, I've gotta go. Keep me updated, yeah?"

"You'll be the first I come to. Good luck with Hawk, by the way."

She hung up her phone and put it back in her pocket. Alyssa turned around and opened the door to see Demetri standing on the other side.

"I've tried everything I can," Demetri said. "Maybe your pink hair can do some magic."

Alyssa let out a deep breath. "I can certainly try."

Demetri nodded. He then waved goodbye to Eli and headed back up the stairs. Alyssa walked out of the bathroom and went up to Eli. She placed her hands on her hips as she stared down at him. Eli had averted his gaze to his hands.

"So . . ." Alyssa trailed off. "You gonna look at me or not?"

"Sorry," Eli mumbled, finally looking up at her.

"I know you said you quit karate, but I'm not sure if I believe you. Now, whatever decision you make, I'm with you. No matter what, I'm in your corner. But Eli, you love karate. I see it with my own eyes whenever we're at practice. Other than video games, it was one of the passions you truly found."

"You don't get it. It's different."

Well, it was clear she wasn't getting anywhere with that route.

"Okay, I'm gonna give you two options," Alyssa said. "You can be sad, and I'll sit here and watch you play your game to keep you company. Or, you can come with me, and I'll take you somewhere where you could potentially get happier."

Eli stared at her for a second. "Where do you want to go?"

Alyssa smiled wide and extended her hands out to him. "Come on. Up." Eli took her hands in his and pulled himself up. Alyssa then let them go and picked up his hat, placing it backwards on his head. "Here, take your hat."

Eli raised an eyebrow. "I don't normally wear my hats backwards."

"You look hot," Alyssa told him truthfully. "But you also look like a frat boy, and now I'm have conflicted feelings." She then took one of his hands again. "Now, come on."

She led him up the stairs and back outside. Eli locked the door and put the spare key back under the gnome. They then got in Alyssa's car, and she started to drive it down the street. The car was quiet as she drove, with soft songs playing in the background as Eli stared out the window. Alyssa didn't push him to talk or anything — he would if he wanted to.

Finally, Alyssa pulled up outside one of the ice cream shops near them. It was one that her, Demetri, and Eli used to frequent when they were kids, riding their bikes over in the warm summer air. Since then, Alyssa had shown it to Miguel, and Sam, and basically the rest of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang until it became their spot. But she hadn't been here with just Eli in a while.

Eli got out of the car and stared up at the familiar building. "I thought you said ice cream was reserved for cheering up Sam."

Alyssa got out as well and locked her car. "Oh, I did. But I also said I can make an exception for you."

She extended her hand out to him as an invitation. Eli immediately took it, finding comfort in how they fit together. They went inside and ordered — a chocolate milkshake for her, chocolate chip cookie dough in a cup for him. Alyssa paid before Eli even had a chance to think about it, and starting to indulge in their ice cream, they went back outside and found a vacant bench.

Neither of them spoke for a while, just enjoying their ice cream and each other's presence. But what Alyssa really wanted to say was itching inside of her. She glanced over at him and his backwards hat. He was so evidently battling with himself on the inside, and she wanted nothing more than to give him peace.

"Okay, I may be extremely biased, but I just want you to hear me out, okay?" Alyssa began cleared her throat and straightened up. "You've been in Cobra Kai. You've been in Eagle Fang. And you've got a little taste of Miyagi-Do, but . . . you haven't fully put yourself in Miyagi-Do."

Eli's eyebrows knit in thought. "You think I should join Miyagi-Do?"

Alyssa nodded, giving him a soft smile. "I do. Miyagi-Do has taught me a lot about balance, which is something I think you're missing. And not just in karate."

"What do you mean?"

She took her sip of her milkshake. "Well, before karate, you were Eli. The shy, sweet kid. And then karate came around, and you were Hawk. Literal definition of an asshole — no offense. But after leaving Cobra Kai, I've noticed you've been . . . stuck. Like you don't know whether to be Eli or to be Hawk. I think that maybe learning about balance in Miyagi-Do can help you figure out the two sides of your personality."

Eli blinked for a moment. "Sounds like you've thought this out."

"Yeah, well . . ." Alyssa shrugged, her cheeks turning pink. "I think about you a lot."

Little did she know that she was quite literally the only thing on his mind. If that one night had gone differently, he would've gone to Miyagi-Do straight after his tattoo appointment and walked up to Alyssa, asking her the one question that had been burning in the back of his mind ever since he found out about the event. And right now, even though she was trying to convince him to come back to karate and join the dojo she was in, he thought it was the right moment.

"Lys," Eli called. "Would you maybe want to go to Prom with me?"

And suddenly, just like that, an explosion of butterflies erupted inside of her. Going to prom with him sounded like an absolute dream.

Alyssa set down her milkshake cup next to her on the bench. Eli looked at her with a sinking heart, thinking that she was about to let him down gently, but that was definitely not the case. Alyssa reached over and threw her arms around his neck, pressing multiple kisses to his cheek. For the first time in days, Eli laughed in a way that could only be caused by her and allowed her to kiss his cheek over and over again for a moment.

"Okay, okay," Eli cut in, ducking his head away from her lips. Even though he didn't want her to stop, he need a confirmation. "I take it as a yes?"

She smiled softly. "I would love to go to Prom with you, E." Alyssa leaned over and pressed one more kiss to his cheek before dropping her arms from around her. "It's a date, handsome."

Date. That word ignited something in his stomach, and before he could help himself, he reached over and kissed her cheek instead. Alyssa giggled at it, and as her cheeks turned the same soft shade of pink as her hair, he knew that the decision he was about to make was going to be the right one.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

SO MAYBE HER pink hair could do magic, because Eli had actually agreed.

The boys of Miyagi-Do had been called to the dojo to practice together. Sam had asked Alyssa if she wanted to spar inside of the house, and Alyssa had said yes. So now, Alyssa was going there . . . but, she had to make a stop first, which was seeing Eli join Miyagi-Do.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Alyssa questioned as they walked through the dirt lot of the front of the dojo. "Because Miyagi-Do was just a suggestion. You can do whatever you want, don't let me pressure you into doing anything."

"Don't lie to me, you wouldn't have given up," Eli replied.

"I'm going to call that fighting for what I believe in."

"I would've gone with stubborn, but okay."

They walked into the backyard together, only to see the boys of Miyagi-Do all in their gis. Demetri and Sensei LaRusso were on the sparring deck while the others gathered below to watch them. Alyssa hung back a little and watches as Eli got closer to the sparring deck. He glanced back at her for a second, and she gave him a soft smile.

Sensei LaRusso trailed off from what he was saying when he noticed him. "Well, look who decided to come back." He walked down the steps of the sparring deck. "It's good to see you, Eli. Or is it Hawk?"

"Oh, doesn't matter," Eli admitted. "I'm just here to do what I can to help out the team."

"That's good. The more help, the better. But first, you need a gi."

Demetri approached Eli and brought him into a bro-hug. "Good to have you back, man."

The others gathered around him, welcoming him back and whatnot. Alyssa watched fondly before Demetri came up to her.

"How did you convince him?" Demetri inquired.

Alyssa shrugged. "Sensei Lawrence doesn't call me Fairy Princess for nothing. You were right about my pink hair having magic. Or maybe he just likes me better than you."

"You know he likes you more than anyone else."

She grinned. "As he should. I'm entirely likeable." Alyssa laughed a little at the expression on Demetri's face and brushed past him, going up to Eli. "Hey, I promised Sam I would spar with her inside, so I have to get going. Have a good practice. I'll see you later."

"Lys," Eli stated, making her stop in her tracks. He paused for a moment. "Thank you."

She gave him a small smile. Alyssa didn't say anything, but she did place a hand on his shoulder, pressing up onto her toes and planting a kiss on his cheek. Eli's face flushed slightly from it, and Alyssa's smile widened. She then turned back around, heading towards the house with her heart feeling like it was about to burst out of her chest.

"Samantha," Alyssa practically sang, stepping inside the house to see her best friend stretching on the mat. "I've just dropped my something off to join Miyagi-Do, and now, as a very proud something, I'm here to spar."

Sam laughed a little at her. "You and Hawk still haven't made anything official yet?"

"Nope." Alyssa glanced back over her shoulder for a moment in the direction of the sparring deck, where Sensei LaRusso was handing Eli a gi. "He's got a lot on his plate right now. I'm just letting us be what we wanna be. Call it what you want, if you will." She then paused for a second, her excitement rising up within her. "But he did ask me to Prom."

Sam gasped and stood up from the mat. "No way."

Alyssa nodded rapidly. "Yeah, yesterday. He's my date, I have a date, and it's him!" Her eyes then widened. "We have to go dress shopping, like, ASAP."

"Absolutely. Tomorrow?"

"Sign me up. Hey, what color would go with my hair to actually make me look like a fairy princess?"

•─•°•❀•°•─•

the next chapter . . . hehehehe 🤭

anyways I HATED that girl who said "taylor we didn't fight to get tickets for your tour just to hear shake it off" . . . miss ma'am, who is WE 🤨 I'M GONNA BE SHAKING IT THE FUCK OFF SPEAK FOR YOURSELF BESTIE