𐙚˙ ༘ ⋆｡ ˚( DECODE ! )
❛ SOCCER FIGHTS ❜
CHAPTER FOURTY !

CHARLIE ADJUSTED HER KNEE-HIGH SOCKS WITH HER FREE HAND, taking a seat beside Demetri on the bench. Though she couldn't participate given the cast, she still had to follow the dress code.

Her gaze fixed on Alyssa, who was talking with Moon a couple feet away from her. The two girls began laughing, causing Charlie's face to break into a grin.

"These gym shorts pinch in all the wrong places." Demetri grumbled.

"Come on, have a little school spirit." Sam chimed in as she pulled up her own socks.

"Oh yeah, go mountain lions!" Demetri sarcastically exclaimed, before pretending to roar.

Suddenly, there was a commotion as the Cobra Kai students made their way through the crowd, causing Charlie to shake her head in disapproval. Her smile quickly faded, and she looked down at her lap.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asked, patting Charlie's shoulder when she noticed. The girl just nodded, offering a smile instead of speaking.

Demetri, however, didn't take his eyes away from them, "I wish we could do something about those cretins."

"We can," Sam assured him.

"How?" Demetri turned to face her, "Counselor Blatt will give us detention just for breathing near them."

Sam glanced around, not spotting the woman anywhere, "I don't see her anywhere, so you? Besides, what's a soccer game without a little physical contact? They think were doormats, let's prove them wrong."

The group nodded in agreement, except for Charlie, who seemed to be contemplating the situation. Sam addressed her directly, understanding her hesitation, "You don't have to be on board with this, Charlie. We understand."

"No, it's fine," she quickly dismissed her doubts with a wave of her hand. "Go for it. Good luck."

Sam nodded, wearing a determined smile, and led the group onto the field.

Charlie leaned back on the bench, her eyes fixed on their every moves. She observed as the match unfolded, with Sam already making her moves against one of the Cobra Kai students.

A chuckle escaped Charlie's lips as she watched the brunette step on the boy's torso, making him slam his fist into the ground with frustration.

Then, she watched as Hawk scored his first goal, celebrating with a yell. He noticed Charlie watching him and despite her words earlier, he winked at her, attempting to lighten the tension between them.

However, she simply looked away, she meant what she said.

Pulling out her phone, Charlie sent a text to Robby, telling him that she would visit later and that she couldn't answer his call right now.

Demetri caught up with Hawk and started jogging alongside him. "She loved you, you know."

"What'd you say?" Hawk asked, confused.

"Oh yeah, she told me," Demetri continued, "You had it all: a great friendship and the hottest girl in school. But you ruined it by becoming a loser!"

Charlie stifled her laugh behind her hand as she watched Demetri push Hawk slightly and crouching down to swipe him off his feet.

"I guess that's why the Europeans call it football," Demetri quipped, looking down at the boy now sprawled out on the floor.

Throughout the game, both Miyagi Do and Cobra Kai managed to get blows in and Charlie turned away each time Hawk tackled one of the miyagi do's to the ground.

And Finally, with a blow of the coach's whistle, the game came to an end. "You know what? That's it! Everyone to the principal's office now!"

【☆】★【☆】

CHARLIE WALKED THROUGH THE GATES OF THE JUVENILE CENTRE, before walking inside the building. Her eyes brightened when she spotted Robby, but her joy quickly washed away when she saw Kreese standing up from his table.

Refusing to let him pass without confrontation, she stepped in front of him, "What the hell are you doing here?"

The man maintained his composure with a small smile, "Just offering some guidance to a troubled kid in need."

"Well, I can handle that. Stay away from him, okay?" She knew it was a long shot, but she couldn't afford to show any weakness. If Kreese sensed her vulnerability, she would crumble.

"You're always welcome back at the dojo, you know." Kreese replied with a a dismissive shrug, completely ignoring her warning, "Could use a fighter like you."

"Yeah right," Charlie laughed and walked away, stealing one last glance to make sure he was leaving.

She sat down in the seat Kreese was previously sitting in before leaning forward when she knew the man was gone, "What did he want?"

Robby shrugged nonchalantly, "He rambled on about dad and some kid, then told me to strike first or something. Why? Do you know him?"

"Yeah, he used to train us." A wave of frustration washed over her as she tried to get through to her brother, "But, Robby, you can't listen to him, alright? He's a manipulative jerk who puts toxic thoughts in your mind. He's done it to so many people, including Eli."

Robby's brow furrowed, "I thought that was dad."

"Yeah, well, dad started it, and Kreese just made it ten times worse," Charlie clarified, shaking her head, "Anyway, moving on. How have you been?"

"Good," Robby replied simply, offering no further details, much to Charlie's expectation.

"Good?" Charlie chuckled, "Just good? Is that kid still giving you a hard time?"

Without hesitation, Robby shut her down. "Nope," he insisted, though Charlie could sense the lie in his words.

Concern ran across her face, as she placed her hand on his, disregarding the warning glances from the guards, "Robby, what did they do?"

"Nothing, Charls. They're just talk," Robby explained, trying to ease her worry.

Charlie managed a small smile. "Are you sure?"

He nodded, trying to change the subject. "Is Miguel still in the hospital?"

"No, actually. He's being released today," Charlie beamed, recalling her conversation she had earlier with Carmen, "his mom said that he'd be free after his physiotherapy."

He wanted to feel happy but guilt still weighed heavily on the boy so he just sent her a small smile, "That's good."

"By the way, Sam has been asking about you," Charlie revealed, which wasn't a lie - the girl had told her about how Robby was ignoring her messages so asked Charlie to talk to him for her.

Robby's ears perked up with interest. "She has?"

"Yeah, she's sorry about how everything went down. She feels guilty about how things ended between you two," Charlie relayed, her curls bouncing as she spoke, "She also wishes you'd write back."

A smile tugged at the corners of Robby's lips as he looked down. "Yeah, okay."

✧  •   •  𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚  •  •  ✧ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

just a short one because I wanted to put the whole arcade fight into one chapter so it wasn't as confusing.

I hate saying soccer instead of football it feels so weird 😭

please comment and vote !