XLV.                                             Heartbreak Weather

      Odessa wasn't an angry person. It took a lot to be able to light a fire inside her. Her mother raised her to be a forgiving person and to always see the good in people. That's how her parents raised her. That's what people loved about her. They loved her heart. Anger was an emotion she tried avoiding. But she couldn't avoid this. No matter how hard she tried her mind couldn't shake the thought of Robby and his friends attacking Eli, striping away his identity and source of confidence. It felt personal. Eli was one of the most important people to her and for her loved ones, she would climb mountains for them no matter how hard the journey was. And now, the sweet and innocent was gone and a fire had lit inside her.

She swung open the door of the Cobra Kai dojo. Everyone's eyes turned to her and Kreess stopped talking. "Miss Beaumont,  we're in the middle—"

Her scornful blue eyes spotted who she was looking for and she ignored Kreese. She stormed on the mat. Robby looked at her. "Odessa, what are you—"

He was interrupted by her giving him a powerful shove backwards. Everyone look a step back, feeling startled.  "Hey,  what's your problem?" Said Kyler.

She sent him the harshest glare she could produce. He immediately stepped back and shut his mouth. She looked back at Robby and shoved him again. "What the hell is wrong with you, huh?"

"What are—"

"Are you that pissed off at me that you had to take your anger out on someone else? Or do you hate Eli that much and that was your revenge?"

They immediately knew she was talking about what they did to Eli. Robby and Tory's eyes caught each others before he looked back at her. "We did what we had to do." He stated firmly.

Her eyes filled with frustrated tears and she threw her hands up. "Had to do what? Prove that your even more of an asshole? Prove that you're all a bunch of bullies? And for what? For this?" She waved her hands around the dojo.Everyone stood there silently and listened,  including Kreese and Silver. She glared at Robby again and pointed to Kyler and Tory. "You know, I expected this from them. But you? For some reason in my stupid little head I believed that there was still a part of you that was good. That loved and cared about me enough to back off and leave me and my friends alone until the tournament. But I was wrong, wan't I?" She let out all at once. All she felt was hurt and betrayal.

Robby stayed quiet, not daring to say anything. He shoulders moved up and down as he breathed heavily.  All eyes were on them, his friends standing close by.  She stepped closer to him and pointed a finger in his face. "You of all people should know what it feels like to feel lonely and like the whole world is against you.  That's what you told me, right? That all your life people have let you down? What do you think he's been through his entire fucking life?  It's not just about his hair. You stripped away his identity, his source of self esteem, and the one thing he's never had in his whole life because assholes like you—" she looked at Kyler. "Have made him feel hopeless. And you know what? You don't know him like I do. He's a amazing person and all you've did is destroy him!"  She shouted at the end. 

Deep inside, Robby felt guilt. Her tear filled eyes made him want to reach out and grab her and tell her he was sorry. But on the outside he appeared like he didn't care.  LHe had no remorse or sympathy for what he did.  Al he cared about was winning the fight and he felt like he already had. 

She looked him dead in the eyes. "I hate you."

Instantly, he shook his head. "No, you don't—"

"Don't fucking talk." She shoved him again. "You have no right to speak to me. I hate you." She looked at everyone else.  "I hate all of you and you're gonna get what's coming to you because i'm going to make sure of it. I never want to see you again." She spat at him again and stormed out of the dojo, her presence lingering in the room, making it feel heavy.

Robby stood froze in his spot with eyes staring at the door. Tory stepped forward and looked at him. "You okay?"

But he said nothing. Kreese and Silver looked at each other. "Okay everyone, let's get back to work." Silver announced.

But as hard as Robby worked, what she said and the betrayal in her eyes was all he felt in his bones and he knew he lost her for good. 

Odessa stood with Miguel and Johnny outside at the soccer field. They were looking for another girl to join their team. At first she didn't know how to feel about, seeing as she was so used to it just being her and Hailey, but after the new rules of the All Valley tournament came out, having three girls gave them a begged chance at winning.

""Are you going to tell me why your hand's wrapped up?" Asked Miguel, referring to her bandaged hand.

She held it up and looked at it. "Oh, uh. . . I might have punched a hole in my door."

"Why?"

She shook her head.  "I'd rather not say."

He looked at her for a second but decided not to push it any father. "Okay. . . Anyway,  this is it. This is where most of the girls' teams practice." He said to Johnny. "Are you sure you'll be able to convince them?"

"Please. When I went to this school, the only thing I was better at than karate, and I was pretty good at karate; was taking to chicks." Johnny replied. "Watch and learn, you two.  Watch and learn."

The pair watched him walk away and make his way to the track. Odessa crossed her arms. "Think this'll work?"

Miguel shook his head. "Definitely not."

Johnny stood between two girls on the track team and jogged with them. "Teen girls wanted. You gotta be under eighteen or it's a no-go." He tried handing out fliers for the tournament but the girls widened their eyes and quickly ran away. 

Odessa and Miguel joined him on the track. "Uh, Johnny. . . No offense, but you sound like a sex trafficker."

He firmly nodded. "Yeah. Noted."

They watched him walk up to a group of girls sitting on the metal benches. "Let me guess, posting photos on Facebook? You know what photos look rad? A photo of you kicking someone in the face." He advertised.

Odessa leaned her forehead on Miguel's bicep and groaned out of frustration.

He continued going up to more girls and trying to sell the dojo but all of them found him creepy and denied.  Odessa was starting to get worried at they wouldn't find anyone. Johnny had Miguel take off his flannel and he was now pouring baby oil into his cupped hands. "Trust me, the chicks are gonna love this."

"Hey, too much!" Miguel complained.

"Yeah, we want him to look appealing, not like a fried egg." Said Odessa.

"You gotta get in to every groove. It's about molding highlights to emphasize curvature." Johnny informed like an expert.

Miguel rolled his eyes and lathered his arms with the oil. He was in fact glistening. Odessa stood on the side as Johnny walked up to two girls on the soccer team.  "Hey, ladies, wanna work up on a real sweat? Try Eagle Fang karate. . ."

But they ran away. Odessa sighed and jogged up to him. "Hey, try telling them we have hot guys at the dojo. It might work." She suggested.

He gave her a confused stare. "You want me to lie?"

She tiled her head to the side.

"Okay, yeah. Fair enough."

She stood back on the side as he walked up to another girl.  ". . . and the best part is we have a whole stable of hot young dudes, like my man Miguel over here."  Johnny motioned to Miguel.

They looked over at Miguel standing in his oiled down grey tank top, his arms glistening from sweat and oil.  He flexed his muscles and twisted his upper half to the side, posing like a body builder. Odessa tiled her head and looked at him. "Since when did your muscles get that big?"

"Shut up."  He muttered,  putting on a face to try and sell the girl to join.

"You like what you see? He's not even in the top five."  Johnny said to the girl. "We got babes and everything. Whatever floats your boat."

Odessa mentally clapped for his mention of LGBTQ. 

"I'm asexual." The girl stated awkwardly.

"All right, he's a sexual, too." Johnny motioned to Odessa. "So is she! Check them out. Total studs."

That didn't work either. The girl jogged away and Odessa secretly took a picture of Miguel standing there covered in baby oil with an annoyed look on his face.  When he heard the sound of her camera, he glared at her. "Do you enjoy annoying me?" 

She smiled.  "It makes my heart happy."

"I don't get it. I thought girls today were supposed to be tough," Johnny said as they walked away. 

Odessa scoffed. "We are tough. But when an old man we don't know walks up to us and starts saying stuff like you gotta be under eighteen, what are we supposed to do?"

Miguel pointed at her. "She had a point. Have you not watched the news?"

"Hey, Miguel. Hey,  Dessi." Moon greeted and walked up to them with her pom poms in hand.

"Hey, Moon,"  she smiled.

"Apparently some perv was creeping on the track team so we're gonna practice inside. Be careful,  Dess."

Johnny awkwardly looked away.

Moon smiled at them. "What are you guys going here?"

"We're just recruiting for our new dojo." Miguel responded.

"Eagle Fang karate." Added Johnny.

His eyes went wide when he got an idea. "You should join,  actually," Miguel suggested.

"really?" Said Moon. She smiled again. "Okay, yeah,  sounds like fun!" Her mood quickly backtracked. "Wait, do. . . do I have to hit anyone?"

"Hell yeah, you do."  Johnny replied with enthusiasm.

"Oh no, then i'm out. I can't do the whole physical aggression thing." She backed out and their faces fell again. "But you guys should ask my ex."

Odessa raised a brow. "Piper?"

She nodded. "Yeah. She's the best athlete in school and she's not afraid to get into a fight."

The three looked at each other. "Sounds like the badass babe we've been looking for." Johnny stated.

Odessa cringed. "Oh god, please stop calling them babes." She begged.

"Yeah, you might want to take a different approach with her," Moon agreed. "Want some pointers?"

"Yes,  please."

Oliver parked his Jeep outside of Eli's house. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Eli probably doesn't want to see anyone right now."

Demetri waved his hand. "We've been best friends all our lives. Trust me, I know him. And besides, we need him!"

They got out of the vehicle. "So, what's your plan, exactly?"

Oliver watched Demetri search around the potted plants and gnomes that Mrs. Moskowitz had decorated on their front yard. He lifted one of the flower gnomes and held up a key. "This!"

He raised his eyebrows. "Break into his house? That's your plan?"

Demetri sent him a look. "Babe, you know me. The ideas keep coming as I go along. Now, come on."

The pair walked into Eli's house and Oliver followed him downstairs into the basement. They saw Eli sitting on the couch with his computer on his lap. The hood of the grey hoodie he was wearing was pulled out his head. "Where the hell have you been?"  Demetri announced himself.

Eli looked up and narrowed his eyes. "How'd you guys get in here?"

"Uh, your mom's left the key under the flower gnome since kindergarten."

"I just drove him here." Said Oliver with his hands raised.

"You should really think about increasing the security given, you know, the karate war."  Demetri continued with his dramatics.

"But that's not the important thing right now."

"What's so important?" Eli asked in annoyance.

"Didn't you hear? The All Valley has separate gender devisions! I mean, do I look like Miyagi-Dos best hope at defeating Robby Keene? I mean, Mr.  Larusso says that anyone can be the hero, but i'm not Batman. I'm more like Alfred." Demetri pointed between Eli and his boyfriend. "You guys are Batman!"

The two boys narrowed their eyes at each other. "We don't watch DC, babe. We're Marvel people." Oliver told him.

"Oh right. . . forget Batman. You're. . . the Hawk,"

"Yeah, not anymore." Eli muttered and took his cap and hood off, revealing his shaven head. "So. . ."

"Your hair looks great, dude. Looks at us repen the buzzcut look." Oliver boasted, trying to cheer him up, and he ran his hand along with own shaven red hair.

But Eli shook his head. "Everyone at school knows what happened. It's embarrassing." He spoke somberly.

"Trust me, if anyone said anything, they'll have to go through me. I've got s streak of breaking people's noses." Oliver said with a proud smirk.

"We know," said Demetri, referring to his latest fight at school. He looked at his friend. "Besides, it'll grow back."

"It doesn't matter. I ruined my reputation, talked a big game, and then just proved I was an asshole. To Dess,  to Miguel, Oliver, Gray, Hailey. . ." He looked at Demetri. "And especially you. I got what I deserved."

Demetri quickly went and sat by him on the couch. "Hey, I forgave you, remember?" He reminded him.

Eli only frowned.

"We all did." Oliver added. "And we don't care if you have mohawk, or a mullet, or pigtails. Okay? It doesn't matter. We need you. Miyagi-Do needs you."

"I'm not going back to miyagi-do."

"Well, that's great. You're choosing Eagle Fang over your best friend," Demetri grumbled.

"I'm not going back to Eagle Fang either, alright!" Eli said loudly, making them looked surprised. "I-I'm done with karate. . . I quit."

The boyfriends looked at each other. Oliver didn't know what to say. He was usually good at convincing people to do things but Eli was hurting. He didn't want to push him any farther. But Demetri knew him better than anyone. He wouldn't give up on him. "You can't quit."

"I already told you I made up my mind." Eli shrugged and continued to play video games on his computer.

"Hey, you're the one that got me into karate,  remember? I mean, I was perfectly happy playing Dungeon Lord after school, but you put me in a situation where I had to join a dojo. And you know what? It was the second best thing that ever happened to me." Demetri declared.

Eli looked his way for a brief second. "What was the first?" He asked, feeling curious.

His eyes shifted to Oliver, who was still standing with his arms crossed, and the red head smiled.

"I got stronger, gained confidence, got the person of my dreams. . . and so did you."

Thinking of Odessa, Eli looked away from his computer. "No, I didn't," he disagreed. "I fucked everything up with her. Odessa deserved better."

"You didn't fuck everything up," said Oliver. They looked at him. "Okay, well. . . You kind of did, but, come on. Odessa's so in love with you. She's never going to not love you." When things for quiet, he finally came and sat on the couch. "And you know what? For a while, I hated you, too. I was pissed off at you. But this one—" he looked at Demetri. "—Somehow convinced me to be a little more forgiving. So, you're not alone in this. We got your back.

Demetri quickly nodded. "Exactly! Hell, I'm actually excited about the All Valley tournament. I never thought i'd say that. But it's not going to be as exciting if you're not there."

Eli stared at his friends, sadly, but still didn't say anything. He went back to his video game. By this point, they were desperate. Thinking of one last thing, Demetri huffed and dig into his pocket. "Okay, you're gonna make me do this." He shut Eli's computer.

"Excuse me. . ."

Oliver scooted closer. Demetri pulled up a YouTube video on his one. Eli sighed when he saw what it was. "I thought you said you deleted this."

"Oh, I say a lot of things, which tends to be a polarizing attribute of mine." 

"You don't say." Oliver muttered to himself.

Demetri started the video. It was a video of him and Eli singing their Binary Brothers song in weird costumes. Oliver bursted out in laughter. 

"Demetri and Eli, binary brothers. One or a zero,  we'll be your hero. Binary brothers. Binary brothers." 

His laughter turned into wheezes and he nearly collapsed off the couch. When it was over, Oliver held his hand over his heart to calm himself down. "Oh my god, that was the greatest thing i've ever seen. And I watched Hailey try to start the dryer with Grayson in it." Tessa leaked from his eyes and he laughed again.

"Why are you showing me these?" Eli asked out of embarrassment.

"Because this is who you are." Demetri stated.

"A loser?" 

He shook his head. "My best friend. I know you think that mohawk defined who you are but it didn't. Not to me. Eli, Hawk. . . hell,  call yourself Cornelius for all I care. None of that changes the fact that you're my binary brother. Whether you're number one or a zero."

The heartfelt speech made Oliver smile. It wasn't very often that Demetri was serious about anything, but he loved Eli. They had their obstacles but their friendship was stronger than them. Oliver patted Eli's knee. "Just think about it, bud. We'll still be here no matter what."

They left the basement and walked outside to Oliver's Jeep. Demetri felt him grab his hand and he paused. He turned around and saw him smiling. "Everything okay?"

Oliver only tugged him forward and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Demetri blinked and slowly smiled. "What was that for?"

"Being a good friend. Having a good heart. Being able to see the light in a dark situation. . ." He named off. He smiled at him again. "You're just really great."

Later that night, Odessa somehow ended up at Eli's, too. She walked, actually, because they didn't live that far from each other. She needed to clear her head. But her mind was full of him. She couldn't shake him off. Mrs. Moskowitz led her to his room. "It's good to see you again, honey." Said the woman with a smile.

"You too, Mrs. Moskowitz." She smiled back.

When his mom walked away, Odessa lightly knocked on the door and leaned her forehead against it. "Go away, mom!" She heard him say. She breathed out a laugh through her nose. Twisting the door knob, she slowly walked into his room.

"Mom, I said—" Eli started but stopped when he saw who it was. His face softened. "Dess."

"Hi." She gently spoke. She leaned her back against the wall by his door. Her hands pressed to her back.

"What are you doing here?" He asked quietly. He sat up from his bed. He was wearing the same hoodie from early and it was covering his head.

"I don't know." She spoke honestly. "I feel like I just needed to be here."

He still didn't understand.

"I can't stop thinking about you," she continued with a shake of her head. "About everything that's happened. What happened to you. . ."

Eli's expression softened slightly. He looked down at his bed covers.

Hesitant, Odessa walked over and sat with him. Eli lifted his head again and his eyes widened ever so slightly. The blonde reaches forward and pulled the hood off of his head. He sucked in a breath. She eyed his buzzed hair. Her hands brushed against it, making him shiver, and her fingers lingered. "I'm just glad so can touch your hair without feeling spikes." She joked.

He cracked a smile but didn't laugh. He noticed the bruises on her hand. "What happened to your hand?" He asked and grabbed it, observing it.

"Oh, um. . ." She paused. "I punched a whole hole in my door."

He looked concerned.

"I went to Cobra Kai and confronted Robby. Yelled in his face. I told him I hated him." She explained.

Eli frowned. She looked devastated. He knew how hard it was for her to do that, because she didn't hate Robby. They had something. You can't hate somebody that you used to love. Not really. "I'm sorry. You didn't have to do that."

She looked at him again. "Of course I did." She declared. She pursed her lips again. "Oliver told me that he and Demetri came by earlier."

He nodded.

"I'm not going to try and convince you to come back to the dojo. For a while, I didn't want to go back to karate. I understand how you're feeling. Maybe not to an extent, but, I know what it feels like to have given up." She spoke to him softly. "But Oliver and Demetri are right. It doesn't matter what hair style you have, or how what you look like, you're still Eli. You're still that same person that walked into math that day and asked me how my day was. You're the same person who told Hailey that Kyler was insulting me. You're the same person who made me believe I'm more than just a girl who's reputation got ruined. My helped me find my own confidence. And as much as you think yours is gone, I want to help you get it back."

Eli's throat tightened and he bit the inside of his cheek. He still didn't know what to say. He felt that how he used to be a year ago, the day he saw her in the cafeteria and she spoke to him so kindly that it left him speechless. They've been through so much and at the end of the day, she was still here.

"Do you want to come with me to my next therapy session?" She offered after a long silence.

He looked shocked. "What?"

"I have a session tomorrow. Dr. Carmichael allows set ins. I think it would be good for you."

He shook his head. "N-No, I can't. Your therapy is for you. I don't want to intrude—"

"You're not interrupting anything." She interrupted. "You don't even have to talk if you don't want to. You can just be there with me. I promise,  it's more comforting than it seems. It's helped me so much."

Again, his throat tightened and felt like it was burning. He gave her a small nod and she smiled at him.