About Coyote Creek, we cool?
We were enemies for a day, but Cobra Kai for life.
"Order numbers 13 and 14 are up." Miguel and Hawk grabbed their trays from the Panda Express counter and walked over to find a table at the center of the food court in the mall. It had been a whirlwind of a day at the dojo, and both of them agreed some cheap Chinese food would do them some good.
"It's so wild that Sensei Kreese is actually gone," commented Hawk, pushing a straw through the lid of his Diet Coke. The reality of that still didn't feel real to him, it was almost like living in a weird dream. He'd expected to show up to practice and have everything be status quo. He was actually hoping for some normalcy after the night he'd had previously. Instead, they'd been told that Sensei Kreese would never be coming back to Cobra Kai. Even though he understood that a skilled karate student needed to learn how to adapt, Hawk didn't like sweeping changes like that. It reminded him of how little control over his life he really had. "What do you think happened between him and Sensei Lawrence?" he asked Miguel, knowing sometimes his friend and Sensei talked about stuff in more detail in private.
The other boy shrugged, swallowing a spoonful of rice. "He wouldn't tell me anything in particular, so you know as much as I do." All Sensei Lawrence had told them in class was that Sensei Kreese's methods were old and outdated, and that he didn't have their best interests at heart anymore, so Sensei had told him to hit the road. Miguel could hazard a guess, however, at what specifically had been the catalyst for their teacher kicking his own sensei, the very founder of Cobra Kai, out. "But I think Sensei didn't like Sensei Kreese teaching us to never show mercy."
"That thing again, huh?" asked Hawk, biting down on a piece of orange chicken with an irate huff. Sensei Lawrence was getting really confusing with his whole "sometimes we should show mercy" change of heart. Things used to be simple: strike first, strike hard, no mercy. Black paint on a white wall. Hawk had understood the words, he lived by them. Now it was becoming all muddled, with all of this shades-of-grey talk. Sensei Lawrence was a good teacher, but he wasn't exactly eloquent at explaining himself sometimes. When, exactly, were they supposed to show their opponents mercy? Sensei never specified. "Sounds like he's just setting us up to get our asses kicked," he said, almost blasphemously.
Miguel shook his head, coming to their Sensei's defense. "No, he'd never do that. You didn't see how upset he was after I kicked you in the face."
Arching a skeptical eyebrow, Hawk asked, "Why would that make him upset?" This was the same man who'd unleashed aggressive junkyard dogs on them. Eli had puncture wounds from the dog bite on his posterior to prove that Sensei Lawrence wasn't exactly the worry-himself-over-his-students-getting-hurt type. It wasn't that Hawk blamed him, he knew Sensei Lawrence did what he did to make all of them tougher. What, had things suddenly changed?
"You were already down," pointed out Miguel, pushing his sesame chicken around his plate with his fork. "Sensei Kreese told me to finish you off. I didn't have to do that. I think that's what Sensei got so upset about. I mean, he's tough but he's fair. What Sensei Kreese told me to do was pretty harsh, considering I'd already taken your headband."
Hawk swallowed a sip of his drink and countered with, "So what? You had to finish the fight. I lost, I deserved it." If there had been any part of him that thought maybe Sensei Kreese would show him any preferential treatment, it had been kicked out of him that day at Coyote Creek. But Hawk didn't condemn Sensei Kreese for that, he didn't hold his actions against him. The King Cobra had stressed to him how the world was ruthless and unforgiving, and the importance of coming out on top at all costs. It wouldn't have been fair if Sensei Kreese had held Miguel back from finishing him off. He had to learn his lesson. It was important that it sink in. That was worth a sore jaw. Next fight, Hawk would just make sure he didn't lose.
"I don't know, man, maybe you just had to have heard the way he said it." Miguel bit his lip in uncertainty, recalling the cold, callous manner in which Sensei Kreese had given him the order. Finish him. And he'd been so swept up in his own victory at the time, so frustrated by Hawk's erratic behavior against Miyagi-Do, he'd had no problems obeying it. And that worried him, made him see what Sensei Lawrence was getting at with his misgivings towards Sensei Kreese's methods. "It really didn't bother you at all, me showing no mercy like that? You aren't the least bit angry?" he asked his friend.
"Nope," said Hawk, and resumed to eat more of his orange chicken. Whether or not it bothered him was irrelevant. He didn't understand why Miguel wanted to make such a big deal out of it. He didn't hold any grudge against his friend for winning, and he didn't know why Miguel would feel conflicted over it. In fact, he had been elated that Miguel had reached out at the dojo earlier that day and made sure things were cool between them. Eli had worried himself ragged all morning over whether or not Miguel was going to hate him over vandalizing Miyagi-Do and stealing the medal of honor, and he was relieved beyond measure that his friend hadn't dumped him too.
Hawk could be angry at so many things. He was angry at all the bullies in his life for leaving him so resentful and bitter. He was angry at the students of Miyagi-Do for what they'd done to him and his dojo. Sometimes it felt like he was aimlessly angry at the whole world, for how unfair and merciless it could be. He even was angry at himself, maybe more than anyone else. But not at Miguel. He could never be truly angry at Miguel.
Because Eli remembered the day way back when in the library when Kyler had grabbed him, and how Miguel had told the jock to leave him alone. It was the first time anyone had stood up for him. Hawk would never forget that. He loved Miguel, and would do almost anything for him. No way he'd let one bad day come between them.
If Miguel kept chewing his bottom lip like that, he was going to tear the skin. He ended up confessing, "Well, I gotta admit, I felt pretty shitty afterwards. I mean, not about taking the medal back, but about kicking you in the face. Sorry about that."
Hawk smirked. "What, you telling me you didn't enjoy it? Not even a little?"
His friend allowed himself a slight chuckle under his breath. "Alright, just a little, the tiniest bit, really only like this much," said Miguel, holding up his hand to pinch his thumb and forefinger together to show how much he'd enjoyed it, but the smile on his face showed he meant no malice by it. "In my defense, you were kind of being a jackass."
"So see?" Hawk returned, scooping up another spoonful of rice. "No need to feel bad. Besides, you shouldn't feel guilty anyway. It's not like you actually hurt me. You kick like a total bitch." Laughter erupted from both boys at that, each flicking a bit of food at the other's face in jest, giving some levity to their conversation. It felt good for them to be able to laugh with each other again.
"Oh ho, so that's how it is?" chuckled Miguel, forking the rest of his food over to the center of the plate. "Alright, alright, I'll remember that. Next time I have to kick your ass? No guilt. None. Zilch. Cero. Deal?" He raised up his cup of Coke to Hawk at the question, leaving him to decide whether or not to toast to that.
Hawk's smirk curled higher, and he picked up his soda and clanked it against his friend's. "Deal." They both took a sip, each hoping they'd never have to have a serious fight again. Hawk was glad the awkwardness from Coyote Creek could finally be put behind them now.
Still, mulling over it, Hawk found he really was going to miss Sensei Kreese. The old man had given him special attention, where even Sensei hadn't. And even more so than Sensei Lawrence, the King Cobra had taught him that he had no one to truly rely on but himself, and that he had to do everything necessary to protect himself from real world harm, not just win karate tournaments. Sensei Lawrence had taught Hawk to fight, but Sensei Kreese had taught him how to survive. How could such a valuable lesson be against his best interests?
Sensei Lawrence wasn't the type of man who'd tell Hawk if he asked about it, although part of him wanted to at least try. He'd probably just put him back on mat-scrubbing duty for a whole month instead, or even make him clean the toilet with his tongue just for having the audacity to ask. So whatever it was that made Sensei Kreese so allegedly dangerous to be around, Hawk guessed he'd never find out.
From Miguel's pocket, his cellphone pinged, and he pulled it out to check the text message that just came through. Hawk saw a half-goofy, half-embarrassed grin spread over his face. Eating the last piece of orange chicken, he asked him, "What? Your girlfriend send you something?" It was nice that Miguel was in good spirits more regularly now that he was going steady with Tory. Hawk should've congratulated him for making that move. Tory was an alpha. She was a much better catch than Sam. And she seemed to make Miguel happy, so that was a plus.
"Nah," answered Miguel as he texted back. "It's my mom, she's just checking up on me. Forgot to let her know I was coming out here. You know how moms are."
"Yeah," replied Eli, who started fumbling with his fingers self-consciously. He'd barely been able to look at his mother since he'd made her cry. Eli wanted to talk to her, to apologize, to let her know he never meant to hurt her like that. He wanted to be a good son. But Hawk kept his distance. He valued his independence too much. Part of being a man meant putting some much-needed distance between himself and a mother who could be too protective, too cloying, too emotional. Hawk wasn't five-years-old anymore. His mom just needed to understand that.
Another text came through, and Miguel asked, "Hey, you mind if we stop by the Wal-Mart before you drop me off? Mom wants me to pick up a couple things for my Ya-Ya, since I'm already out."
"Sure, no prob," answered Hawk, ceasing his nervous fidgeting, pushing his heavy thoughts to the back of his mind.
Miguel put his phone back into his pocket and took another gulp of his drink. "Mmm, but first let's stop by Spencer's. Tory and I got a date on Friday at the roller rink where she works. It's 80's night, and I need to pick up a certain style of glasses for my costume. I figure either Spencer's or Hot Topic will have them." Miguel's face then perked up, like a lightbulb went off in his head. "Oh hey! Why don't you come?"
"You inviting me out on your date? Didn't realize Tory would be okay with threesomes, but I'm down for it if she is," joked Hawk with a suggestive wink.
Miguel snorted back a laugh and shook his head. "No, I was actually thinking maybe you could meet someone new there," he said, taking the last couple bites of rice left on his plate. "If you need costume ideas, I bet you could pull off a Lost Boys look. A lot of girls really love that movie, apparently. You're pretty pale, you'd make a good punk vampire."
Hawk appreciated his friend's attempt to get his mind off of Moon, but he had to admit, "Thanks, but I can't. My parents got me on a strict 8 o'clock curfew the rest of the week."
Miguel gave him a sympathetic look. "That sucks, man. What happened?"
"Long story," dismissed Eli, downing the remainder of his drink. He was in no big hurry to tell Miguel about how he'd made a fool of himself getting stoned off his ass and how he'd landed in hot water with his parents because of it. Oh well. Maybe it was for the best. If he wasn't grounded, then he might have found himself being roped into going to the 80s party, and faced the formidable prospect of trying to find a new girlfriend.
Watching while Miguel finished off his Coke, Eli almost reached out to him for advice on how to get over Moon. How did his friend finally cut his heartstrings for Sam so he could give himself over to Tory? How could he take a risk like that, to be all vulnerable for someone again? He knew for a fact that it hadn't been easy for Miguel. Had he also felt so raw inside it was almost unbearable? Just what was the magic balm that soothed it?
He almost asked. Almost. Hawk, of course, kept his mouth shut. He couldn't ask Miguel a question like that. He especially wasn't in a place to say anything about mourning lost girlfriends, considering all the ribbing he'd given Miguel over his previous pining for Sam. If he hadn't been there and offered any sympathy when Miguel had been mopey, why did he deserve any? He didn't.
Fuck that noise. They were guys. And guys didn't talk about broken hearts. That was sissy shit.
And Hawk was no sissy.
He's your friend.
He's a fucking nerd! And he'll always be a nerd.
Loud giggles attracted Hawk's attention back to where Moon and her new girlfriend Piper were cuddling together in a chair, being openly and tenderly affectionate with one another. Eli's heart became heavy once more as it took beat after steady beat. The black cloud of melancholy hovered over him again, blocking out any good mood he'd just allowed himself by slipping into nerd talk with the boy sitting beside him on the couch.
Demetri gave him an empathetic glance. "I'd give up, man," he told him consolingly. "She's moved on."
The sound of his voice grated on Hawk's nerves, but he tried to keep his cool. He shouldn't make a scene, for Moon's sake. It was her house, after all. And he didn't want to acknowledge the validity of his friend's words, how painfully truthful they were. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Moon had moved on. She got to move on, leaving Hawk feeling listless and sullen.
Hawk looked to his only source of comfort, his Cobra Kai training, for advice. What had Sensei Lawrence taught them about girls? Never give up. Never stop pursuing. "Defeat does not exist," he muttered, taking another sip of beer from the red cup he'd been nursing.
He still had a shot. He could win Moon back. How, though? If she was with some other dude, Hawk could just go up and challenge him, kick his ass, prove he was the alpha, the better man. How was he supposed to compete against a girl? He didn't know how to fight against an enemy like that. God, what would Sensei Lawrence say if he found out Hawk lost his girlfriend to another chick? He'd probably call him a pussy, a wangless loser, a ballsless nerd. It was embarrassing to think about.
"There's that winning attitude that pushed her away in the first place," pointed out Demetri, frustration plain in his voice. Hawk glared at him from the corner of his vision, but just silently took another drink of beer in response. So Demetri was blaming him? If Demetri hadn't posted the one-star Yelp review, none of this would've happened in the first place. Eli had to convince himself that was the case.
Fuck the whole situation, thought Hawk. He didn't need Moon. Let her be with Piper. Hawk was Cobra Kai. All chicks wanted to date a Cobra Kai. He could score any number of hot babes, he could easily find a new relationship for himself. No, in fact, fuck relationships at all. He didn't have to stoke that fire, he didn't have to put himself on the line for a chick only to risk being burned again. The Hawk would just be a player. Get with as many babes as he wanted, but no strings attached. Use them and lose them. Sensei Lawrence had been all about that single's life, maybe he had the right idea.
Once bitten, forever shy.
It felt like a cobra had pumped venom into his heart and was now eating it whole, and Eli couldn't do anything to stop it. He tensed irately when Demetri put a friendly, comforting hand on his shoulder. Jesus Christ, couldn't this guy read a room and realize where his company wasn't wanted? "I think you need a healthy dose of inner peace," said Demetri. "It's worked for me."
Was that Demetri's goal by opening up with all that talk about Doctor Who? Get Eli's guard down by bringing up something he knew would get his attention (he was well aware of how much Eli hated Moffat's run on the show), weasel his way through a crack in the wall of repression Hawk had erected around his geeky interests, and then go in with his shade at Cobra Kai, with his Miyagi-Do hippy bullshit?
What was Demetri trying to say? That Miyagi-Do had brought him inner peace, while Cobra Kai had brought Eli nothing but misery and discord? That Miyagi-Do had taught him to love himself as he was, while Cobra Kai made Eli hate himself more than ever before? That Miyagi-Do had made him happy, while Cobra Kai left Eli feeling constant aimless anger?
It was the "snake in the grass" comment all over again. That figured. Those Miyagi-Do types were always sneaky and underhanded in their fighting style. They lured you in, then delivered an illegal crane kick to your face when you least expected it. Mr. LaRusso had taught Demetri well, but Hawk wasn't going to fall for it. He was too vigilant for that.
"Oh yeah?" asked Hawk with a mean smile.
"Yeah!" Demetri answered amiably, none the wiser to the malice behind his friend's smirk. That friendly look dropped from his face, however, when Hawk then stood up and tipped his cup of beer over Demetri's head, drenching his hair and shoulders with the drink. Demetri's mouth hung agape, his eyes wide in disbelief over how his efforts of reaching out had suddenly turned sour.
Hawk waited a second, expecting Demetri to stand up and fight. He wanted his friend to do it: to get angry, to hit him. He was itching for a fucking fight. But Demetri just looked up at him incredulously, the hurt plastered clear all over his face, in shock over what Eli had done. "That's what I thought," scoffed Hawk, shaking his head and tossing the empty cup contemptuously at Demetri's lap. "Still a pussy."
Leaving Demetri behind on the couch to towel the alcohol out of his hair, Hawk walked over to a keg, grabbed a clean cup, and poured himself another drink. He downed it in four large gulps, letting it soothe his nerves, then poured himself another. It felt like he had jagged bits of broken glass in his gut, cutting him up from the inside. And he didn't know why.
Demetri should've just minded his own damn business. Hawk didn't ask for his company. He hadn't wanted it. He didn't converse with traitors, if he could help it. And all of that nonsense about inner peace, what a chickenshit. Inner peace didn't protect someone when a bully had them in their sights. Demetri hadn't changed at all. He still avoided all conflict. He was too much of a nerd to grow a damn spine and stand up for himself. What the hell had Hawk ever seen in him?
Maybe it was the boy who'd approached him in kindergarten, Eli recalled against his will, aided by the amber liquid going down his throat. He'd kept to himself. He'd always been shy, the other kids were put off by his lip, and he hadn't earned himself any favors by developing a speech impediment that would lead to a second surgery. So, during recess, he'd been alone, writing stories down in his notebook. They were the sort of crude narratives only a five-year-old could imagine, but they made him happy. He'd been into Teen Titans then. He really wanted to be Robin. The leader of the team was so sure of himself, so brave, so fearless. Everything Eli wasn't.
Demetri had sat down beside him on the playground, out of nowhere, and peered into his notebook. Suddenly he'd started going off about how he really liked Teen Titans, too, and he was really sad that the show had ended. His favorite was Raven, he said, because she could astral project and cast spells, plus she was an empath. Eli had just watched him silently as Demetri talked all recess about his love for the show, he knew it forwards and backwards just like he did. And, when he offered to let Eli read his own fanfiction, the two cemented their friendship from that day onwards.
God, they'd been such nerds….
Hawk took his drink and tracked down the other Cobras, hoping their company would lift his spirits some; if they didn't, maybe the beer would. Aisha, Bert, Mitch, and the others were all congregated in one area, avoiding interactions with the Miyagi-Do students as much as possible; what the hell had Moon been thinking when she invited them over?
Aisha was telling the group about how Tory had just lost a drinking contest against Sam. Hawk was upset he missed that, although he was mad on behalf of Tory. It sucked to lose to Miyagi-Do, he knew that from first-hand experience. And Miguel was nowhere to be found, either. Hawk assumed him and Tory must have found themselves somewhere private and were probably making out or something. That was good for Miguel, but sucked for him. He really could've used some advice from his friend right about then.
Whatever. It didn't matter. Hawk committed himself the next hour to try and enjoy the company of the other Cobras, to will himself to relax to the music playing.
Until the music abruptly stopped. Suddenly, a voice carried through the room over a microphone. "Excuse me!" It was Demetri. When Hawk and the other Cobras turned around to look, he saw that the other boy had taken the stage in front of the whole party, one hand holding the microphone, the other a blue cup. Holding up the cup in Hawk's direction, he declared brazenly, "I'd like to make a toast: to Eli Moskowitz!" All of the partiers looked at each other in a moment's confusion, murmuring to one another over who, exactly, was Eli Moskowitz? Hawk frowned deeper, mistrusting of Demetri's intentions. What was he up to now?
Seeing the mass bafflement among the audience, Demetri clarified, "Oh. I'm sorry, some of you might know him as Hawk." Hawk's face pinched at the scornful way Demetri said his name. He knew he'd been right before. Demetri had never been supportive of his transformation, he couldn't even say his name without the acid practically spraying off his tongue. In his typical sardonic way, Demetri said, "But underneath that crazy clown cosplay, and whatever type of Manic Panic he dumps in his hair, he's still good old Eli. My binary brother."
What was this display about? Was Demetri trying to prove to Hawk that he did actually have balls by poking fun at his mohawk? "Well, he was my binary brother," continued Demetri, leveling a hard look directly across from him at Hawk. "You know what he is now? A real zero!" He held up his fingers and thumb pressed together in an oval to illustrate his point, earning some chuckles from the crowd for his math humor.
Hawk bristled at the sound of the other teenagers laughing. His ears flushed red, but his face remained hardened. So what, was this gonna be some sort of roast? From Demetri, of all people? He'd better save the nerd from embarrassing himself. "Alright, that's enough, Demetri," he told him.
Dismissing him, Demetri assured the partiers, "Don't let that angry red hairdo fool you. He's a big softie." Hawk's free hand that wasn't holding his drink curled in a fist as that elicited more laughter from the audience, and he saw the way they began to look over at him. Was that Demetri's plan? To try and ruin his cred, the rep he'd built up in Cobra Kai? "We watched every Harry Potter movie together!" Demetri exclaimed. "And he bawled like a baby when Dobby died." He conjured up some jeering, fake sobs for good measure, to give the other kids an idea of how it had gone down, practically rubbing his mockery in Hawk's face.
Hawk's patience was rapidly reaching the end of its limits. This was how Demetri was going to get his revenge? Of course he wouldn't fight him like a real man. He'd choose to wield embarrassment as a weapon, instead. He knew just how sharp that blade of ridicule could be. It summoned pitiless snickering from the group and directed it to a single target. It got Eli's heart thumping in his chest, it got his skin heating up, it sent a primal panic directly into his brain that warned him he needed to fight or escape. Currently, however, he could do neither. He was stuck at the center of all of this, all eyes on him.
With a scowl, he turned to the nearest Cobra, Mitch, and said, "Alright, if he doesn't shut up, I'm going to shut him up."
Mitch gave a tiny shake of his head. "Remember what Sensei said about showing mercy."
Hawk took a deep, fuming breath, and tried to keep that in mind. He had to honor his Sensei's wishes. Even though the stares aimed at him were like hot lasers burning into his body, and their chortles felt like coals raking across his skin, leaving him raw and bleeding. It conjured up memories of all the previous times he'd been made the object of teasing; countless. Eli tried repeating Sensei Lawrence's new lesson in his head over and over: sometimes Cobra Kai shows mercy, sometimes Cobra Kai shows mercy, sometimes Cobra Kai shows mercy….
On the stage, Demetri raised a forefinger. "In the words of Eli's hero, Steve Jobs, 'I've got one more thing'," he said. Raising his eyebrows inquisitively, he asked the crowd, "Have any of you heard of sleep enuresis?"
Eli's entire body froze. A large lump formed in the back of his throat as every single one of his muscles felt like they contracted at once. Not that. Anything but that. "Don't!" he found himself practically pleading.
His old friend smiled at that, knowing he'd finally found a way to hurt Hawk, just like he'd been hurting him practically all summer. It was a smile that almost seemed to ask, who's the pussy now? So, shrugging off the plea, Demetri explained to the group, "That is the medical term, of course. In the King's English, it's good old-fashioned bed-wetting!" He winked and shot a finger-gun at Hawk, clicking his tongue as he said, "And Eli here is a pro."
The others guffawed harder and crueler than ever. Eli couldn't move. His chest tightened so much that his suddenly quick, shallow breaths struggled against his constricting ribs. They were all laughing at him, all of their mocking fingers and voyeuristic gazes were locked onto him. They didn't see Hawk, the cool, badass karate student from Cobra Kai. They were seeing Eli, the pussy nerd who still wet the bed. Demetri had pulled off the mask like a magician, showing everyone the truth to who he really was: someone worthy of ridicule.
The sounds of the laughter from all sides made Eli's head spin. They'd all heard. The students from Miyagi-Do, Robby, Chris, Nathaniel. His friends from Cobra Kai, Aisha, Bert, Mitch, Nichols, Red, Stingray. Had Miguel heard? Oh God, Moon and her new girlfriend had heard, too. They'd heard it all. Eli was mortified. So this was what complete and total humiliation felt like? It was nothing like he'd imagined it would be; it was so much worse. How would he ever live this down?
As if that wasn't enough, Demetri took his chance to rub salt in the fresh wound. "My mom even had a special air mattress for sleepovers," he added, fastening his stare on Hawk. With his voice as sharp as a barb, he told everyone, "And she called it 'Eli's waterbed.'"
The blood pumped in his ears so loudly that he couldn't even hear the roar of mocking laughter anymore. Eli couldn't handle it, he couldn't bear all of the gawking, the pointing, he couldn't endure the overwhelming shame of being outed publicly as a bed-wetter. He wasn't strong enough. All of those karate lessons, and he wasn't strong enough.
Eli wasn't. But Hawk was.
Hawk took the proverbial blowtorch and burned Eli's nerves off completely, so he wouldn't feel pain anymore. Then his insides became ice cold, his heart brittle with frostbite. The wrath stirring in there was no longer a fire, but an freezing storm, a frigid chill that creeped its way up his spine and through his limbs, returning to him his movement. Whatever lingering bit of love Eli still retained for Demetri, any remorse he felt for how he'd treated his friend, froze over. And the last piece of Eli that resisted the fury of the Hawk surrendered to its ferocity entirely.
Hawk would protect him.
Nobody was ever going to hurt him again.
The cold fury that chilled Hawk's heart took over his body. No more just standing there and taking this. No more hesitations. No more regret. The only thing Hawk regretted was going his whole life without defending himself. He should've done it sooner. He'd do it now. He had to stop this enemy. Sensei Kreese was right. Even people who preached inner peace bullshit like Miyagi-Do didn't show mercy. No one in the world did. So neither would he. "Screw mercy!" Hawk snapped, shoving his cup into Mitch's hands. His avian glare latched onto Demetri, and he declared, "You're a corpse!"
It didn't matter that the other Miyagi-Do students immediately jumped in to protect their teammate. Even if the other Cobras didn't also step forward to back him up, Hawk was sure that he would have had no problem then cleaving through all of them, and even dozens more, if it meant he could make his way over to Demetri. He didn't care how many broken noses and smashed teeth he needed to leave in his wake, all Hawk could focus on was getting his hands on Demetri and making him pay the humiliation he'd put him through a hundred-fold; except he'd be dishing the retribution out with his fists.
The only thing that kept a full-on brawl from erupting in Moon's house between the two dojos that night was that someone had called the police on the party for its loud noises and underage drinking. Blue and red lights suddenly flashed from the windows, and sirens wailed, alerting everyone to the immediate threat, that they all had to get out of there right then or else risk being arrested. Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai alike scattered, putting off their feud for another time.
But even as he was being pushed out by the mob as they scrambled to escape the house, Hawk locked eyes with his enemy. "Demetri, you got lucky!" he spat out. It was almost worth getting caught by the cops if he could get his revenge right then and there, but he would have to wait. With a manic grin, he warned his old friend menacingly, "I'll see you in school!"
