SLUT!

The word was painted on the door of her locker with red, huge, angry letters, like a scream that echoed in the hallways.

It felt like a punch in the face, the pain was sharp, piercing and sudden, and Sky froze on her feet for a couple of agonized heartbeats. The key in her fingers was trembling. Some people were laughing and pointing at her, and somewhere behind her eyes, she felt the tears, burning as they threatened to break free.

"Who did this?" Cody asked, his voice suddenly void of all emotion.

His words broke the spell. Sky drew in a sharp breath and struck the key in the lock, opened the door, and stuffed her books in the locker. She took her time searching for the ones she'd need next, to win a moment before she had to answer.

SLUT!

Her hands were still trembling, her heart was ticking in her throat. Stupid, so fucking stupid. She should have been used to this by now, so why did it hurt so much? Why did she even care? Why was she so embarrassed that Cody had seen that word, as if he didn't already know that it was true?

"Cobra Kai," she muttered, not looking at him. "Or if I had to be more specific, Kyler."

There was a short, heavy silence.

"Kyler?"

"Yeah, well, he never misses an opportunity to slut shame someone." Sky found her Macbeth and her math book and picked them up, took another deep breath to regain her cool.

"He's giving you a hard time?"

Letting out a sigh, Sky closed the locker. It was hard not to look at the SLUT! painted on the door as she locked it, but somehow she managed and turned her back to the lockers.

"He's always been a jerk. But— I might have gone to their dojo and told them they are a bunch of cowards and assholes. Kyler didn't like it."

"Shit, Sky—" Cody groaned silently, running a hand through his hair. "Why would you do that?"

"They beat the crap out of you. I had to do something."

"You shouldn't have. Now they're gonna come after you."

Sky glanced at Cody as they started walking away from the lockers - she wanted to get far away from the red, painted word on the door. There was nothing she could do about it now, but that didn't mean she had to stand next to it and hear how people laughed at her.

"Don't worry about it, I can handle it," she assured, but Cody didn't seem convinced. He looked like he wanted to say something, but then didn't and the moment of silence grew between them. Sky could see that he wasn't happy about the fact that she had gone to the dojo, but to be fair, it was none of his business. She wasn't going to apologize for standing up for him, even if it somehow hurt his manly pride.

They reached the lobby, and Sky stopped walking, leaning her back against the wall next to some potted plants, hugging her books against her chest. The hall was rather crowded, a lot of kids were just hanging out and talking, waiting for the bell to ring and force them to their classes and no one paid any attention to Sky or Cody, which was great.

She didn't want to think about the word painted on the door of her locker, but there it still was, at the back of her mind, like a never-ending scream. She didn't want to think about the messages she'd received from some anonymous Instagram accounts, telling she'd pay for what she had done, that sluts like her got what was coming for them.

The Cobras could threaten her all they wanted to. It still had been the right thing to do to confront them about what they had done to Cody, and she would do it all over again if she had to.

Sky glanced at the boy standing next to her. The bruises were almost gone, but she had a feeling he had put on some concealer or foundation to cover what still remained. He looked good, better than good, he looked beautiful in his burgundy hoodie and his low- hanging jeans, his dark hair a bit messy, strands of it falling to his forehead in a way that looked carefree but was probably carefully planned. The relief of seeing him back in school, back like this, filled Sky's chest, taking her breath away.

She would never forget the way he had looked on that bed when she had found him in his room a week ago. The sight of his bruised face and bleeding lips was carved into her soul with a burning hot iron, and she knew she would never forget it.

It would become one of those images she would keep seeing for the rest of her life. Like Kat lying on the cold floor, blood dripping down her chin—

"So, movie night today?" she asked to get something else to think about, anything else. Her voice sounded thin in her ears, but Cody didn't seem to notice.

He let out a sigh and leaned on the wall next to her.

"I'm in," he replied, and the hardness of his features melted into a soft smile. "What should I bring? Pizza? Popcorn? Or do you have a sweet tooth?"

Sky glanced down at her sneakers and bit her lip. She did have a request in mind, but it had nothing to do with pizza or popcorn. The truth was that she was out of pills - she had taken the last one not thirty minutes ago, there was an English class coming, and the thought of being in the same room with Hawk, maybe having to talk to him, had simply been too much. The effect of the drug was on her like a soft veil, making all this a bit more bearable - had she not been high, seeing the SLUT! on the door of her locker, would have caused her to seriously freak out. Now it only ached like a bad tooth.

But the pill bottle was empty now, and that thought was enough to cause anxiety even through the sweet OxyContin haze.

"Now that you ask…. I'm actually… all out of pills," she kept her voice low so that they wouldn't be overheard. "Could you bring me more? I'll pay, of course."

Cody's smile disappeared and a shadow fell on his face as if someone had turned off the lights. He turned his eyes away and leaned the back of his head on the wall. His Fjällräven backpack was hanging from his fingers, his grip on the straps was suddenly hard.

"Ah. So that's why you wanted me to come over."

"No!" Sky replied, a bit sharply. "I mean— I just thought—"

She felt embarrassed, her cheeks turned hot. Why was Cody making this so hard for her? He knew she was using. Hell - he had been the one to sell her that half a bottle, so it should hardly surprise him that she needed more.

"It's okay," he said stiffly. "You don't have to pretend that you want to spend time with me. We can skip the movie and do the business tomorrow at school if you wish."

"Don't be a jerk," Sky snapped. "If I didn't like spending time with you, I wouldn't have spent the whole last week at your place."

At that Cody turned to look at her, he swallowed hard before turning his eyes away again. A deep blush raised to his high cheekbones, the color matched the dark wine of his hoodie.

"I'm sorry. I do appreciate everything you did for me." He hesitated for a short moment. "I— I don't know what's with me today."

"So, our movie night still on?"

"If you want to," He sighed. "And fine, I'll bring you what you asked, but Sky—"

"What is it?"

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, turned his eyes to his expensive-looking sneakers, and let his backpack fall to the floor. "About the pills. We need to talk. I– I've been thinking—"

Whatever he'd been about to say, was cut in half as a voice Sky would have known anywhere, echoed in the hallway, easily cutting through the general noise.

"Ginger!"

No way!

Sky swirled around, and there he was, Sensei Lawrence in his black denim jacket and a pair of faded jeans straight from the 80s, walking closer to them with long, determined strides, Miguel in his tow. Sky's heart swelled, and she let out a happy squeal. She almost threw her arms around Sensei's neck, but managed not to - thinking it would draw way too much attention to them.

It was just so good to see him, smiling and looking like himself again and not as he had been after the school fight when he had seemed to be walking around without his soul, nothing but an empty shell of a man.

"Sensei! Oh my God, what are you doing?" she asked with a laugh. "I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be here."

"Recruiting students," he replied and stuffed a leaflet into her hands. "I've got a new dojo."

Sky's eyes widened. She knew Miguel had been training with Sensei, but she had thought it had only been to help with his recovery.

"A new dojo?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be the most badass dojo in town. You in?"

"I— I don't know," Sky replied, completely baffled. "I mean, I'm not supposed to– I really can't get hit in the head again. And I— I just don't know."

Her cheeks heated, and she looked down. It was a wonder no one had found out about her using drugs yet, but she had no illusions - if she tried to do karate while being high, it would take Sensei less than a minute to notice that something was off. And then there would be Hell to pay.

"Are you okay?" asked Miguel with a frown, noticing her burning cheeks, the look on her face.

Sky's glance snapped up, she brushed her hair behind her ear.

"I'm fine," she forced a smile on her lips. "Just surprised, that's all. I had no idea there was a new dojo."

"Please tell me you're gonna join," said Miguel. "You don't even have to fight or compete if you have concerns about your head. It's not a problem - you can still train with us. It'll help with that leg, and with your balance. Look what training with Sensei has done for me. I never would have gotten off that wheelchair if it wasn't for him."

Cody glanced at Sky at the mention of her injuries, and a worried frown fell on his face. Sky decided to ignore it. They had never talked about the school fight because Sky didn't want to talk about it, it was none of his business - and it reminded her too much about Hawk. But she had gathered that Cody knew. Everyone knew she was the slut who had ended up kicked down the stairs and fallen into a coma. Besides, Cody must have noticed her limp, the scars on the side of her head under the hair that was still short.

"A new dojo?" She asked, glancing from Miguel to Johnny. "Does it have a name?"

"Still working on it," Johnny shrugged.

"Come on, I know you want to join," Miguel's smile was wide and genuine as always. "And then you can help us to come up with a badass name."

Sky shifted on her feet and hugged the books tighter against her chest. In front of Miguel, she felt her resolution weakening. She had turned down Sam's offers about training in Miyagi-Do a dozen times, not just because of the drugs and the heartbreak that made concentrating on anything nearly impossible, but also because that just didn't feel right. Sam's dad was really nice, but Sky didn't feel connected to him the way she had always felt connected to Johnny. Johnny knew what it was to be on rock bottom, he knew how hard it was to climb back up from there. He understood Sky in a way very few adults did, without making a fuss about it, and for that, Sky would always love him. Suddenly she realized how much she missed the days when she had started training in Cobra Kai, it felt like she was missing a part of her soul. Johnny had made her believe she could get better, that she still had fight left in her. He had believed in her, enough to make her the champion, she had fucking won the All Valley—

But Hawk said he let me win, so it doesn't really count, does it?

That thought was sudden and heavy, so painful it knocked the air out of her lungs. She pressed her lips together, folded the leaflet in two, and stuffed it into the pocket of her pleated skirt.

"I'll think about it," she said, not meeting Sensei's eyes.

"Good, you do that," Johnny replied with a sharp nod and then turned his eyes to Cody, who was still leaning on the wall next to her, silently observing this exchange of words. "And who are you? Ginger got a new boyfriend? You look like a nerd, but it doesn't matter. Miguel was a nerd too until I turned him into a badass."

Cody let out a dry laugh and ran his fingers through his dark hair, pushing it off his forehead.

"Cody Bishop," he said. "Not her boyfriend, and not a nerd. And not interested in karate."

"You sure? Maybe there is a fighter somewhere behind that girly face, huh? Why not give it a shot?"

Something flashed in Cody's eyes and the line of his jaw turned hard. He took the flier Johnny slammed in his hands, but didn't read it, just folded it and stuffed it into the back pocket of his jeans.

"Because that's just what I need," he noted dryly. "More violence in my life."

Something in his tone was sharp and Sky glanced at him, but there was a mask of calmness on his face, it revealed no emotion. He leaned on the wall, with an almost mellow demeanor, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's not violence - it's badassery!" Johnny grinned, earning an eye roll from Miguel. "Havenhurst and Magnolia, tomorrow at four. You too, Ginger."

"I said I'd think about it," Sky replied.

Johnny replied with a smile and a thumbs up. "I'll see you there, then. And don't be late!"

With that he started walking away, clearly positive that he had managed to recruit them. Sky bit her lip - she really didn't want to let Sensei down, but—

"I'd better go with him—" said Miguel with an apologetic smile, glancing at Johnny over his shoulder. "Sky, please, come tomorrow. It's gonna be great. And you too—" he turned to Cody. "I heard what the Cobras did to you. Maybe it's a good idea to learn some karate so that you can defend yourself if they try something again."

Cody's eyes turned hard, his only answer was a shrug, and then Miguel was walking away from them, taking a couple of running steps to catch up with Johnny. Sky could only watch in disbelief at that sight. The difference to the Miguel she had seen only a couple of weeks ago, sitting hopelessly in a wheelchair, was striking. Now he was walking, running, looking exactly like he had before.

Sky still couldn't run. Walking the stairs was a struggle. She had begun to think that she might never recover - but to be honest, with everything that had been going on lately, her brain injury seemed like the least of her worries.

"Are you going to join?" Cody asked with a soft voice, turning his eyes to her.

"I don't know," Sky replied. "I guess I'll have to think about it."

Thanks to the awesome people Who are still reading this fic. Your support means the world to me.