The cafeteria noise faded into the background as Harper navigated the relatively empty hallway to her locker. Her eyes prickled with tears as she tried to reign in her emotions and steady her shaking hands. The weight of her encounter with Kyler settled heavily on her shoulders. She took a moment to collect herself, reminding herself it was the only way to make Kyler back off even though it drew unwanted attention towards her. Again. Once she collected her books for her afternoon classes, Harper slammed the locker door harder than intended. Turning around, she jumped when she noticed Demetri standing behind her, anxiously shifting from one foot to the other. She offered him a small, hesitant smile. Uncertain whether he was passing by or wanted to talk.

"Uh, hey," Demetri said with a nervous smile. "I wanted to check on you after, you know, the whole Kyler thing. I kinda saw what happened back there. It was pretty intense."

"I think the whole school saw," she said with a heavy sigh, wishing that she could go back to being the invisible foster kid that no one paid any attention to. At least then, when she made a mistake or something royally messed up happened, it wouldn't be spread around the whole school.

He nodded, bringing a hand to the back of his neck as he watched her. "So, uhm, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll live," Harper said, nodding. "But thanks for checking in."

They stood there in an awkward silence as their conversation died out. It was like they were two strangers passing by in the halls, their summer friendship never having existed. Harper questioned whether she should say something to break the tension. The apology she'd been holding on to felt heavy, and she wasn't sure if saying it would even make a difference at this point.

Harper shifted on the spot before adjusting her bag. When it didn't appear as if either of them would say anything else, she let out a quiet sigh in the hope of them fixing the friendship that she'd broken. It should be on her to talk but what could she say? Apologize for the hundredth time and hope it would magically fix everything? The fear of saying the wrong thing troubled her because what if he brushed it off? Or worse, what if he told her it was too late to fix anything? That uncertainty paralyzed her. Rather than try, she opted for walking away because it was the only logical thing she could think of. It was cowardly but she'd used up all her bravery in her lifetime.

"Are we okay?" Demetri asked, stopping her from taking another step. "Or are we still in fight mode? Because you know how much I hate fighting, especially with friends."

Harper shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I want us to be okay."

Fidgeting with the strap of his backpack, he gave her an awkward smile. "So do I. The last few weeks sucked, Harper. I hated us not talking and avoiding each other."

"Yeah, I hated it, too," she agreed quietly, not realizing how much of an impact her small group of friends made on her life until they were gone. She remembered the hurtful things that were said to her and her eyes hardened. "But are you sure you want to be friends with a hypocrite and a liar?"

"I never called you that," Demetri said with a pained wince. "I mean, not directly but I guess I never defended you either which, you know, wasn't great."

"It wasn't. I expected my friends to have my back."

"You know how I get when things get complicated. I panic. And that week everything just went to shit. Miguel ended up in the hospital, Sam needed to get stitches after fighting with Tory and then we found out you were keeping this big secret from us. I mean, you trained with Eli of all people, and… it was like a betrayal. He treated us like his personal punching bag all summer and then to hear that you weren't just training with him but actually liked him hurt. A lot. It was like you didn't trust us enough to tell us."

"Because I was scared! I'm not trying to make excuses but it's not like I planned on ever getting involved with him. It just happened." Harper sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "And I wanted to tell you so many times but I was scared that everyone would hate me. And look where that got me."

"I don't hate you. I was just mad," Demetri said, his expression softening. "You know I'm not great at this whole friendship thing. After Eli turned into an alpha jerk and pushed me away, I didn't think I'd actually have any friends until you, Sam, and Robby came along. So when I found out you'd been keeping this huge secret from me, it sucked."

Harper nodded understandingly because she knew how special and rare friendships were. How her whole life, she believed friendship to be some unachievable dream. Then she came here and not only found a family who loved her but friends who stuck by her side despite all of her flaws. And instead of holding onto that, she went behind their backs and lied. She'd broken their trust because she fell for the wrong guy. And rather than face up to what she'd done, she lied because she was too much of a coward to tell them the truth.

"For what it's worth, I'm really sorry. You know, for lying and everything," she said.

"I know. I'm sorry, too. I should've stood up for you or let you explain but I didn't." He shifted uncomfortably as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. "So, are we okay? I mean, can we go back to being friends and not avoiding each other?"

Relief washed over her and she nodded perhaps too enthusiastically. She was afraid that it made her appear too pathetic but she couldn't help it. "I'd like that."

Demetri's smile brightened. "Okay, good," he said with a sigh of relief.

Harper returned the smile and felt lighter than she had in weeks. She had her friend back but knew that it would take work to fully get his trust back. Nevertheless, it was a start. A good start. But the weight of the situation wasn't lost on her. Even with Demetri's smile easing some of the tension, she couldn't help but feel as if something could go wrong. Add to that the nagging doubt that whispered that it wouldn't be so simple to fix things with Sam and the others, and she felt the anxiety all over again. That dark and heavy cloud of isolation continued to hang over her as did the reality that her friends still resented her.

"Just give it some time, okay? Sam and the others will get over it eventually," Demetri said as if reading her mind.

"I hope so," Harper said with a sigh. "I miss them."

Demetri bumped her arm, smiling. "You've got me now. I'm on your side so I'll try to talk to them."

Harper returned the smile, hoping that this whole fight with her friends would come to an end.

"So, you and Eli are…"

"I don't know," Harper sighed, shrugging. That was another relationship that confused the hell out of her, about where they stood.

"But you were with him the other day," Demetri pointed out, throwing a bemused look her way.

Harper nodded as she readjusted her bag, doing her best to navigate the maze-like hallway as it filled up with more students. Some were in a hurry to get to class while others acted like they had no better place to be. "It's complicated, Demetri. I promised myself I would stay away from him after everything that happened. You know, not just the fight but how he treated you guys. Because I couldn't be with someone who treated my friends like shit, but then he showed up at my house to check on me and we ended up hanging out. I really needed a friend that day and, I don't know, Hawk was there for me. But it's so much more complicated than that because-"

"You still like him, don't you?" Demetri asked quietly.

"Is it bad if I say yes?" Harper sighed, hating how her already complicated life continued to get more tangled. "I know that's messed up but I just… I saw a glimpse of the guy that you were friends with, you know? The one who would crack jokes when he saw I was having a bad day and make me laugh so hard that I forgot about how shitty everything was. And he had this way of remembering these tiny little details that made me feel seen. Like I wasn't just some invisible foster kid. And he listened. Like really listened without making me feel like I was being judged." A faint smile tugged at her lips at those memories of when Hawk left his Cobra Kai personality behind. But those memories were replaced with less happy ones. Because it felt like a constant push and pull – a battle between the guy who made her feel safe and the one who was capable of cruelty when his Cobra Kai persona took over. "But then when he was around his friends, it's like he became someone completely different. Aggressive and dark and like he always had to prove something. I don't know, that part of him scares me."

Demetri nodded as a look of nostalgia passed over him. "I get it. I remember how he was before Cobra Kai when he was just Eli. Shy, geeky, really into comics. We'd spend hours talking about superhero theories and arguing about which superpowers are the best. But then he joined Cobra Kai and changed. That Eli just disappeared, and he turned into this angry person who thinks he has to be tough just to survive."

Harper nodded, a quiet sigh escaping her lips. "Yeah, I know. That's what's making this whole thing so frustrating. Like I've seen both sides of him – the guy you described and the one who's constantly trying to prove something to the world. Like the tougher he is, the less people will mess with him. I don't know."

"I still think the real Eli's still in there somewhere," Demetri told her with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah." Harper wanted to believe that because she'd seen the good parts of him, the version of him who was a decent person. But, at the same time, she couldn't ignore how he hurt the people she cared about.

"Look, just promise me you'll be careful around him. I'm not saying he'd hurt you because it actually looks like he likes you but… he did turn against me and we've been friends since like kindergarten."

Harper promised him she'd be careful because she saw how easily Hawk turned on those around him. While she hoped she wouldn't be subjected to that kind of hatred, she was also prepared. And if she was smart, she would stay away from him despite this invisible force field that kept pulling them together. It was easy to focus on the good parts, on who Hawk was when they were together but she would be stupid and naive to turn a blind eye to his Cobra Kai alter ego. Despite her feelings, Harper had to be cautious.

Not just to protect her heart but to not make another mistake that would get Demetri and her friends to hate her. Again.

It was a fine line she was walking on and one slip in the wrong direction would erase all the progress she'd made.

"It's a mess but I'll figure it out," Harper told him. "I think I'll just focus on fixing things with you guys first. I missed us talking, even if you do ramble on and on about sci-fi stuff and comics that I don't understand half the time."

Demetri smiled at the light teasing. "You know you secretly love my nerdy rants."

"I tolerate them," Harper told him with a laugh.

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

The first day back was over, signaled by the final bell as it rang sharply in the air. Harper closed the locker door and struggled with the books and notebooks that refused to fit nicely into her bag. On top of the makeup work she had yet to finish from her suspension, the teachers had piled on even more work. How she would ever catch up on anything was a mystery to her but she was determined to make it work. She had to make it work. Failing wasn't an option even though she was always pathetically behind.

It had been an eventful day packed into just eight hours. The encounter with Kyler still lingered in her mind — his unwelcome flirts and aggressive touches replaying like a bad memory. Harper put him in his place but at the cost of gaining another enemy and the unwanted attention of the entire school. Now the gossip about her went beyond the school fight or her stint in juvie; she was now the girl who'd stood up to Kyler Park. People were already whispering about her being a poor foster kid who had a history of trouble, but today's incident had cranked the rumor mill up another notch.

She'd always stayed in the shadows, overlooked by everyone except for that summer. The constant judgment and whispers wore on her, making her question if she'd ever truly escape her past.

And she hated it.

The only good thing that came out of that day was her reconciling with Demetri. Their friendship wasn't nearly as strong as before but they would get there. Her other friends were still giving her the silent treatment but she was determined to win them over. To show them just how sorry she was for going behind their backs and lying.

Outside, the late California sun cast long shadows across the school grounds. Students were eagerly heading towards the buses that lined up in front of the school while others walked towards the parking lot, eager to get away from teachers and rules. Harper lingered back, realizing she was stuck waiting as Lucas was her ride. The crowd thinned, and the weight of her day pressed heavily on her shoulders.

Her eyes landed on Johnny who leaned against his car. His posture was tense as he scanned the parking lot with a sense of urgency. A conflicted expression crossed his face as he looked up and spotted her. In a few strides, he caught up with her and looked even more weary than she first imagined.

"Hey, kid," he said gruffly, running a hand down his unshaven face. "You haven't seen Robby anywhere, have you? Or talked to him? I checked all his usual spots but I can't find him anywhere."

Harper frowned, unable to meet his eyes as she shook her head. It was another lie that she was forced to tell even if it was for the greater good – or so she told herself. Her stomach twisted into knots as the guilt gnawed at her. "Sorry, no. I haven't seen him since the school fight." She kept her voice even, though a slight tremor betrayed the unease beneath her words.

"Damn it," Johnny said with a heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I thought maybe you'd have some idea. I'm getting worried, you know? It's been weeks since he disappeared."

"Sorry I can't be more help," she said softly.

"This was a long shot anyway. But you'll let me know if you hear anything?"

Before Harper could respond, Hawk approached with a dark look aimed at Johnny. "What the hell are you doing here?" The sharp edge in his voice was hard to miss.

Harper tensed at the hostility between them, sensing a confrontation brewing. "He was just asking if I'd seen Robby. He's still missing."

"Good," Hawk muttered with a satisfied smirk. "Robby's hiding out like the coward he is. Couldn't even own up to what he did to Miguel."

Harper shot him an agitated look, sensing the tension ready to spill over. "I'll let you know if I hear anything, okay?" Her tone was tight, hoping to diffuse the situation.

Johnny slowly looked away from Hawk, his expression tense but he nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay. Thanks," he said with a resigned sigh before walking away.

Harper turned to Hawk and interrupted whatever he'd been about to say. "What's your problem with Johnny? He's your coach."

"It's sensei, not coach. How do you still not know that?" He asked with a sigh.

"Sensei. Coach. Yoda. Whatever. What the hell was that about?"

His anger simmered just below the surface as he watched Johnny drive away with disdain. "Everything that happened was his fault so we voted him out of Cobra Kai."

"You what?" A chill gripped her, icy and unsettling. "That's a mistake, Hawk. A really, really big mistake."

"No, it's not. Johnny made us weak when he suddenly cared about showing people mercy. He wasn't the right choice. Not anymore."

"But Kreese is?" Harper asked incredulously, shaking her head. "He's manipulative and he's ruthless. He'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants no matter who gets hurt. All he cares about is winning."

"You don't know him, foster. Yeah, he's tough but he's teaching us how to be strong and-"

"He's teaching you to be a violent bully. There's a difference."

Hawk frowned, a glimmer of doubt flickering in his eyes before it vanished. For a split second, Harper thought she got through to him, but his loyalty ran too deep.

"Look," Harper said, taking a deep breath as her pulse quickened. "I just don't trust him, that's all. And he already thinks that I'm a distraction for you so maybe we should just-"

"What are you talking about?"

"Kreese told me that. A few weeks ago," Harper said, quickly explaining her run-in with him.

"Are you sure you heard him right? I don't think he would've said that," Hawk said.

"I know what I heard," Harper said, replaying that day in her mind. The words echoed in her memory, a chilling reminder of his true nature. "Kreese said I'd regret it if I didn't stay away from you. That he'd make both of our lives hell."

"I just don't think he'd go that far," Hawk insisted, his voice laced with doubt. "Why would he talk to you and not me?"

"Because this is all a part of his sick game!" Her voice cracked with frustration as she ran a hand through her hair. The desperation bled through as she tried to make him see the truth. "He threatened me to make sure you stayed focused and didn't get distracted."

"Kreese wouldn't go that far. He's trying to rebuild Cobra Kai, and that means he wouldn't waste his time with petty threats." His expression softened as he looked down at her though his eyes remained guarded. "But you're not a distraction, foster. You never were."

Harper nodded, forcing a smile, but it felt hollow. The mask barely covered the ache in her chest. His refusal to believe her gnawed at her, widening the rift between them. It hurt that Hawk couldn't see the kind of person Kreese really was. Every time she tried to explain it, it was like running into a brick wall. But Hawk's loyalty to Kreese was so strong that it blinded him to reality. Unable to see past the dark facade, he would do whatever Kreese said. No questions asked. Kreese had his students completely brainwashed, and there was nothing she could say or do to make him see that.

Harper glanced over at Lucas, who was in the middle of a conversation of his own. But as soon as he saw them talking, he gave her a pointed look that conveyed his disappointment.

"Anyway, I gotta go." As she turned to leave, Hawk's hand on her wrist stopped her. The contact sent a jolt through her, warmth mingling with nerves. It made her stupid heart feel things that she probably shouldn't.

"Wait up," he said, his grip firm yet gentle as he tugged her back. His gaze softened as he looked down at her. "I saw what happened at lunch with Kyler. You sure you're okay?"

Harper forced a casual smile before nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Kyler was just being his usual annoying self but it really wasn't that big of a deal. I handled it."

Hawk narrowed his eyes at her attempt to seem unbothered. "I know you handled it but that doesn't mean it wasn't a big deal. I saw how uncomfortable you were the whole time with him. You shouldn't have to put up with shit like that."

"Seriously, it was nothing I couldn't handle," she said with a shrug. She hated admitting how unsettled she'd actually been, preferring to brush it off like it was nothing. "I've known guys like Kyler my whole life, and I've dealt with a lot worse."

"That doesn't make me feel better, you know," he muttered, his voice tinged with frustration.

Harper appreciated his concern but stuck to her defense mechanism of downplaying the situation. It was easier to pretend she wasn't affected, even though she knew it only showed how broken she really was. Because the walls started cracking the moment she moved in with the Hudsons. The moment she started to make a life for herself here.

But Hawk wasn't buying it. He saw right through her, which terrified her.

Tilting her head, she nudged him playfully. "Come on, Hawk. I'm still standing, aren't I?"

His expression didn't lighten in the slightest despite her attempts to play it off. "Yeah, you're still standing but just because you can handle something doesn't mean you should have to. And I hate that you keep acting like it was nothing."

Harper let out a sigh. "Fine. It was horrible, okay? Kyler was trying to prove something to his friends so he was overly flirty and touchy and it was annoying," she confessed but kept her tone light, refusing to add to the panic that she'd felt in that moment. "Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Next time he tries something like that, I'll handle him. Or anyone else who messes with you."

"So, what," Harper teased, "you're going to defend me against every annoying guy in school now?"

"If that's what it takes."

Harper smirked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you were going to play the part of my knight in shining armor."

"More of a dragon slayer but, yeah. Something like that," he said with a smirk.

Harper couldn't help but laugh. "You're ridiculous."

"Yeah, but you love it," he shot back.

Before Harper could respond, Lucas walked over. His expression was one of concern and disapproval as he glanced between them. "Harper, we need to go," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Harper sighed but nodded.

"I'll see you around," Hawk said with a hesitant look at Lucas.

Lucas led the way toward the faculty parking lot but Harper couldn't help but glance over her shoulder. A small smile tugged at her lips as she caught Hawk's gaze in the distance and he returned the smile. Deep down, she knew it'd be best if she tried to keep her distance emotionally. Their back-and-forth relationship was a complicated one, leaving her more confused with every interaction.

It was obvious they shared a genuine connection, and it was something that Harper valued. Sometimes, it felt like Hawk was the only one who understood her. He could see through her tough exterior and knew when she was bullshitting her way through life. It was as terrifying as it was comforting. But she had no idea where they stood. They'd broken up but continued to find their way back to each other. And it didn't feel like they were over despite their disagreements.

Harper settled into the passenger side of Lucas's car and sighed as a wave of confusion washed over her.

"You know I don't like you hanging out with him, right?" Lucas asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Yeah, I know," Harper said with a guilty smile.

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

I hope you guys liked this chapter! Definitely let me know what you think. I'd appreciate some faves, follows and comments.