Harper stepped through the familiar gate of the Miyagi-Do dojo, a sigh escaping her lips as she realized that she was the first to arrive. In her rush to be on time, she was now too early and was left alone with thoughts that started to run rampant through her mind. It took everything in her to quiet her thoughts but even then a few trickled in. Whispering to her about how bad of an idea it was to start anything with Hawk.
What had started as self-defense training had changed into friendship. Now the friendship that never should have been had grown into something more.
The whole thing was a horribly bad idea.
If she was smart, she'd put an end to it right away but she didn't want to. She was selfish. She wanted to see where this could go despite the challenges they would face. After weeks of sneaking around, she was confident they'd somehow make it work. That it was worth the risks.
If it didn't end in a disaster first.
Please shut up, she thought with a sigh.
The sound of footsteps scattered her thoughts and she welcomed the happy distraction. Something to give her solace from her overthinking mind. That is until she saw who entered the backyard.
John Kreese strode into the backyard like he belonged there.
"What are you doing here?" Harper asked, instantly on the defensive. While they'd never met before, she'd heard enough stories to know who he was.
He regarded her with interest, the false smile never leaving his face. "I'm looking for Daniel LaRusso."
"He's not here. But I'll tell him you were looking for him."
"Oh, there's no need," Kreese said casually, stepping across the backyard until he stood before her. "I'll wait."
"Great," Harper muttered with a sigh.
"This will give us a chance to talk, Harper." Seeing the look of surprise on her face, he chuckled as he lit up a cigar. "Oh, I know all about you. It's really such a shame what you've been through," he said with a sad shake of his head. "In and out of foster homes your entire life, always looking for a happy ending that never comes."
Arms crossed over her chest, Harper leveled him with a glare that she doubted scared him. But she refused to show her fear and stood her ground.
"I'm sure being in the system made you resilient. Tough. And it made you fight for what's yours, right?" The words were more of a statement than a question. A point made to show that he knew who she was. "There's no doubt that juvie played a big part in your life. You were in there, what, two times already?"
It was a little unsettling how he knew so much but she had no doubt that most of it was by word of mouth. People liked to talk. Especially about a girl who didn't belong.
"What's your point?"
"My point," Kreese said as he puffed the cigar, blowing the smoke in her direction, "is that I think you'd be a perfect fit for Cobra Kai."
Harper let out a humorless laugh that was part cough due to the smoke.
"I'm serious, Harper. I've seen a few of your training sessions with Hawk, and you're really good. Impressively good." His smile widened at the look of surprise that crossed her face.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"But I think that you do. I know about your… friendship with Hawk. How long did you think you two could sneak around without me finding out?"
Harper refused to answer. Refused to acknowledge his suspicion because she had no doubt he'd use it against her.
"You can deny it all you want but we both know it's true." He puffed on his cigar, letting the seconds pass by dramatically. Blowing out the smoke, he fixed her with a look. "But the offer to have you join stands. We could use someone like you on the team. You know, I think you might be just as good or maybe even better than some of my students."
It was hard to figure out if he was being serious or not. There had been an underlying tone of anger at her training with Hawk but his request to have her join Cobra Kai seemed genuine. But it was completely absurd to her. To think that he believed she would agree made the entire thing more ridiculous.
"There's no way in hell that I'm joining your cult."
"A cult," he repeated with an unsettling smile. "That's a good one. Let me ask you this, Harper. All of this training that you've been doing with Hawk, what exactly do you think you've been learning? Because from where I stand, it's Cobra Kai."
The cold realization of his words hit her with a full force. Deep down, she'd known this all along. Known that she'd been learning Cobra Kai for the last several weeks. Having it pointed out hit differently because it made it true, something Harper had been trying not to think about.
"Doesn't matter. The answer's no."
"Fine," Kreese said somewhat reluctantly. "But since you're not joining, there is something that I want from you."
"Figures," Harper said with a halfhearted sigh.
"I want you to end this with Hawk. You see, Harper, you're a distraction, and I can't let my best fighter be distracted by someone like you. So I need you to end whatever it is that's going on between you two so he can focus on what matters because, let's face it, it's not you."
"And if I don't?" Harper asked, mentally kicking herself for pushing the topic.
"Well, let's just say that your secret won't stay a secret for much longer. Imagine how your friends would react if they find out you've been lying to them for weeks. Going behind their back, learning Cobra Kai and being friends with someone they hate," he said. "I can promise you that life won't be easy for either of you once the secrets are out. I'll make sure of that."
At the underlying threat, Harper kept her mouth shut.
"You have one week to put an end to this. After that, it's out of your control. And trust me, I'll know."
Harper didn't want to give him the satisfaction of agreeing to his terms. She wanted to tell him to go to hell but she was also scared of his earlier threat. Scared of her secret getting out, scared of what he would do if she didn't follow his order. Not just to her but to Hawk. Luckily for her, she didn't need to reply because the doors of the dojo opened and Daniel stepped out.
His smile faltered upon seeing who Harper was talking to. He raced down the porch steps and stood between the two of them. "Harper, give us a moment."
"But-"
"Please," Daniel said, nodding towards the dojo.
Sighing, Harper reluctantly walked back towards the house. The tension in the air was palpable even when she was a few feet away. Instead of going into the dojo like she promised, she hovered just out of view, her ears trained on the unpleasant conversation between Daniel and Kreese though she could only grasp a few words here and there.
"Soldiers," Daniel said with a shake of his head. "They're kids."
"We were all kids once. You may think you got the best of Johnny Lawrence but I promise you, this time, I won't let him lose," Kreese said.
"Lose what?" Daniel asked, exasperated. "This isn't war."
"Sure it is. War never ends. Peace is just…the lull between battles," Kreese said. "Did you really think you could attack Cobra Kai and there wouldn't be any consequences? You better hope that your students are ready. Because I promise you, ours will be."
At a loss for words, Daniel stood there silently.
"Tell Harper it was nice meeting her. Oh, and of course my regards to Mr. Miyagi."
The gate shut a moment later but the threat hung in the air.
"Are we really in some kind of a war with Cobra Kai?" Harper asked, abandoning her hiding spot.
"Harper," he said with a heavy sigh. "How much of that did you hear?"
"Not much," she lied with a shrug. "But what was all of that about? What did he mean by us being ready?"
"Nothing that you need to worry about," Daniel said calmly. "Kreese is my problem. I'll take care of it."
"But it sounds like this involves all of us, not just you," Harper said, refusing to be told that it's nothing. "Look, I know I'm not technically in Miyagi-Do but my friends are so if Cobra Kai is planning something, I need to know. I want to help."
Daniel looked at her sadly and it was obvious that the conversation with Kreese weighed heavily on his mind. "I know but…," he started but was interrupted by the sound of voices. Sam entered the backyard with Robby and Demetri, oblivious to the unpleasant conversation from a few minutes ago. "Please don't mention this to them."
Harper opened her mouth, her eyes wide at what he was asking of her. "I can't lie to them. They have to know."
"And they will but I'd appreciate it if you could keep this to yourself for now. Please."
Harper pressed her lips into a thin line. "Okay," she grudgingly agreed.
"Hey, Harper!" Sam said cheerfully.
Harper forced a smile as she turned to face her friends. "Hey," she said, trying to keep her tone light despite feeling weighed down by everything she couldn't say. It took everything in her to keep from telling them everything, from exposing all the ugly truths that she hid.
"You're still coming over for lunch after practice, right?" Sam asked.
Having forgotten she'd agreed the other day, Harper let out an inaudible sigh but nodded.
"You guys might have to go without me because between this heat and practice, I don't think I'll be alive," Demetri said, a look of trepidation crossing his face about the next couple of hours.
"You'll be fine," Robby said with a laugh.
Demetri shook his head. "I don't- "
"Alright guys, let's get started!" Daniel called everyone to stand before him despite not everyone being present. It had been an intentional move on his part to keep Harper from bringing up Kreese's visit.
With a sigh, she parted with her friends and took her spot on the stairs where she watched as the lesson began. Despite the high temperature that continued to climb as the morning went on, Daniel worked his students harder than ever. And Harper had a feeling that it had more to do with the looming karate war than anything else.
Practice went by in a blur as did lunch with her friends. They sat in Sam's living room but Harper was zoned out for the majority of it. Her mind was elsewhere, preoccupied with complicated thoughts. She sipped her drink, offering a nod here and there but was otherwise lost to the present.
"- later this week. Harper?" Sam nudged her, expectantly waiting for an answer to whatever the question had been.
"Uhm, yeah. Sounds good," Harper said, mustering up enough enthusiasm into her voice that hopefully made it seem as if she was actively involved in the conversation.
An amused smile stretched across Robby's face. "You're not paying attention at all, are you?"
"What are you talking about? Of course I am!" she said but one look at her friends told her they knew she hadn't been listening. "Okay, fine. I guess I'm not. Sorry."
"What's going on with you? You've been weird all day," Sam said.
"I'm…." Harper started but stopped herself from saying fine. "I just got a lot on my mind."
"Like what?" Sam asked casually, taking a sip of her drink.
Like I think I might be dating Hawk, Harper wanted to say if she didn't think it would completely destroy their friendship. Instead, she went with the other truth. "Kreese was at the dojo this morning."
"What?" Demetri asked with a cough as he choked on his water.
"Are you serious? He just walked right in?" Robby asked.
Harper nodded, feeling a strange relief from having said that. If only she could tell them everything else that troubled her. "Pretty much, yeah. He showed up a couple minutes after me."
"My dad didn't say anything. Why didn't he say anything?"
"I don't think he wanted you to know. At least not yet. He kinda asked me not to tell you but… you guys need to know," Harper said, firmly believing that.
"What's so bad that my dad didn't want to tell us?" Sam asked.
"I think Cobra Kai is planning something. Some sort of attack. Kreese called it a war and said how we need to be prepared for it because they will be. That's honestly all I heard but it sounded like a big threat."
"So that's why my dad was so hard on us today," Sam realized.
"Looks that way, yeah," Harper said with a sigh.
"Great. Because I'm not worried enough about getting attacked by Eli and his friends now I need to worry about some secret attack that's coming." Demetri sighed.
"Don't worry, Demetri, we can handle them," Robby said.
"Yeah. We've dealt with them before," Sam agreed.
"No, you handled them. I ran at the first sign of danger," Demetri said. "If there's some fight coming then I'm dead. Literally. I don't even stand a chance."
"You'll be fine," Harper assured him.
Demetri laughed but shook his head. "How can you say that? You've seen me at practice, Harper. I'm terrible even after months of training. There's no way I can handle myself without ending up in the hospital."
Harper frowned at how negatively his mind worked but she saw his point. Although he tried really hard, he barely improved. He struggled with the mere basics of it but she didn't think it was because he was incapable of learning. Something held him back.
"I'm terrified all the time," Demetri continued. "Even at practice! I-I freeze up and I can't even defend myself because I can't remember the moves. My mind goes blank so I stand there and panic. And then I get hit."
"But you'll get there. You know that we'll help you," Sam reassured him but he shook his head all the same.
"You just need to-"
"I need to what, Harper? Be brave? Stop worrying so much and try harder?" Demetri asked with a scoff.
"Yeah," Robby said as if that was the most obvious answer.
Harper started to agree but stopped because that wasn't what Demetri needed to hear. Constant encouragement wouldn't work on him. Biting her lip, she tried to think of something that would help. Something that would push him to get better and not live in constant fear. Her eyes lit up as a thought popped into her head. "No. I think you need to use your fear."
"What's that supposed to mean? I already do that."
"Not really. I mean, you get scared and panic but what if you used your fear to anticipate the attacks? Think of your fear as an anchor instead of a weakness."
"Do you really think that'll work?" Robby asked skeptically.
"Yeah, I do," Harper said. "And giving into your fear is the best defense mechanism sometimes. Instead of always being on the defensive, sometimes it pays to strike first."
The three of them exchanged an incredulous look at her choice of words.
"I didn't mean it like that," Harper said quickly. "I just… I don't know. It worked for me whenever I landed in a really bad foster home. I was tired of being scared all the time so I used that fear to help me through all the bad times." And there were a lot of bad times. Years of them. Her hand went to the thin scar on her forehead; one of the cruel reminders of the last few years. She'd been abused physically and emotionally but allowing that fear to paralyze her would've been the end of her.
Thinking of the past wasn't something she liked to do often. Mainly because the memories were bad and brought her back to those dark times that she tried to bury. But sometimes she needed to remember because, despite all that she'd gone through, it made her stronger. More resilient to life's cruel hand.
She smiled softly as if to say that she was okay with her past. That they didn't need to pity her or give her that look.
"Just give it a try, Demetri. Maybe it'll help," Harper said.
Demetri considered their words, looking more than a little unsure. After a moment, he sighed and nodded. "Okay. Sure. Why not? What do I have to lose except for my life?"
Harper smiled, hoping that her idea could work. That it could benefit him into getting better and more confident.
It was only midafternoon but Harper was exhausted from the events of that day. The day had started off on a positive though confusing note and then got increasingly frustrating as it went on. The emotions of that day were too high, too disconnected. Joy, fear, confusion and anger flowed through her, making it difficult to focus on just one feeling.
She wanted to focus her energy on the good of that day. Even if the surprise kiss confused her, it brought a rare smile to her face. She wanted this to work but whether they'd be able to do this without everything falling to pieces still remained to be seen.
And while their friends were none the wiser to their secret friendship, something told her it wouldn't stay that way for a while.
Which led her to her newest problem: Kreese. The threat hung over her like a dark cloud, ready to burst and strike her down without a moment's notice. Not only did he find out but he threatened to expose them if Harper didn't end the relationship.
You're a distraction. Kreese's words echoed in her mind. And as much as she hated to agree with him, perhaps he was right.
Harper sat back against the couch cushions with a heavy sigh. Absent-mindedly, she played with the bracelet that was safely back around her wrist and tried to channel her mom. Tried to think of the advice Nora would've given Harper had she not been ripped from her life so many years ago.
But she was on her own.
The only person who could offer her advice was herself.
Harper pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes but it did little to settle the thoughts in her mind. They screamed at her, each one louder than the last.
The truth was, she didn't want to give up her friendship with Hawk. Over the last several weeks, she'd come to enjoy their training sessions, their conversations and even their occasional fights. Despite his reputation, he pushed her to be a better version of herself and she hoped that she did the same for him.
For two people who were complete opposites, they worked well together.
She smiled at the thought of what they could be. Two unlikely kids who struck up a friendship despite being on opposite sides of a war. A war that threatened to break what they'd built.
"I thought you could use a drink. It's iced hot chocolate. Perfect for a hot summer's day and when you need a little pick me up," Olivia said as she extended an ice cold glass to her, one that Harper eagerly took.
"Thanks." She took a sip of the sweet drink, wishing it could magically solve all of her problems.
"Want some company?"
Harper nodded, moving over to make some room on the couch.
"I see that you found your bracelet," Olivia noticed, gently touching the delicate rose gold chain with a smile. "It's beautiful."
Harper smiled, her eyes flying to the piece of jewelry she'd thought was lost forever. "Yeah. My friend had it. Or found it but I just got it back this morning."
Olivia nodded. "Sounds like a good friend," she commented, pausing to take a sip of her own drink. Over the rim of the glass, she quietly studied Harper. "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"
"How do you know something's bothering me?"
"Oh, you just have that troubled look on your face."
Harper sighed, tracing the condensation that trickled down the glass. Of course she wanted to talk. She wanted to confide in someone and have someone know the secrets she'd been harboring for the past few weeks. Mostly, she wanted someone who wouldn't judge her or hate her after finding out the truth. It wasn't revealing the secrets that scared her so much as it was the aftermath of doing so.
"You know that I'm here if you want to talk. You can trust me with anything," Olivia said gently, interrupting her internal battle.
Harper started to talk but stopped before she could say no, remembering that she'd promised to trust not only Olivia but Lucas. But she was so fiercely independent from having been on her own for so long that she sometimes forgot she had people she could confide in. Letting out a sigh, Harper nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."
Smiling, she moved a lock of Harper's hair behind her ear. The gesture was so motherly that it took everything in Harper not to break down. "So what's going on? Did you get in a fight with your friends?"
"No, not exactly," she said, pausing.
Having said she wanted to talk, Harper took a moment to collect her thoughts. Put them in some sort of order that wasn't the jumbled mess it was currently in. She looked down at the rich iced chocolate as if it would give her the courage to talk or magically make a manuscript appear that she could read from. But it did neither, and she was on her own. Taking a breath, she started to talk.
She struggled between keeping the details at a minimum and revealing the whole messy truth. When the little bit of information failed to explain anything, she knew that the only way to make Olivia understand was to tell her everything. So she divulged all the details save for Kreese's threat. Once she started to talk, she found that she couldn't stop. It was a relief to fully open up but it was mainly a relief to have someone she could talk to, someone she could trust that wouldn't judge her too harshly.
"And that's the whole story," Harper said with a helpless shrug. "I messed up. And I'm sorry for lying to you again and keeping things from you again but… I really thought I had this under control."
"I think you always knew that lying wasn't the right choice. One lie always turns into another until you can't tell it apart from the truth."
"Yeah, I know. I never wanted everything to get so complicated. I mean, me and Hawk were never supposed to be friends and now…. How do I tell my friends that the one person they hate the most is someone I've been hanging out with? How do I tell them that I like him when all he ever did was make their lives hell? I'm such an idiot thinking I could do this."
"You're not an idiot, Harper," Olivia said. "You made a mistake but I think you can fix this just fine."
Incredulous, she looked at Olivia. "How? If I tell my friends, they'll hate me but if they find out from someone else, they'll hate me even more." Harper shook her head, feeling even more confused and angry with herself.
"I don't think they'll hate you. They'll definitely be hurt by the secrets you kept from them but, if they're really your friends, they'll forgive you," Olivia told her.
"I hope so."
"I can't tell you what to do but I think you already know the answer."
Harper knew Olivia was right. The answer had always been there but it was something she'd avoided at all costs. "I just… I don't know if I can do this."
"Of course you can. I trust that you'll do the right thing."
"The right thing feels impossible."
Olivia laughed lightly, agreeing. "Doing the right thing doesn't always mean it'll be easy or painless. It takes courage to do something that scares you but you've got this."