Like A Phoenix ➳ Cobra Kai

I Came, I Saw, And I Left (28)

Back at the comic book store, Eli sighed with defeat. He moved back to stand with his minions from Cobra Kai. "I am asking nicely, and I only do that once. Take the yelp review down."

"No! I'm not going to risk my journalist integrity by removing the truth, the people should know." Demetri challenged.

Without a second thought, Hawk pushed Demetri into a row of comic books behind him. "As I said, I only ask nicely once." He reiterated with a scowl.

"I know who you really are, Eli. You can act all big and bad, but you're just a scared little bitch." Demetri exclaimed.

Hawk raised his fist to swing it towards Demetri, but Kat got caught in the crossfire. She grabbed onto his tightened fist with an open hand. "Is this who we are, Eli?"

"It is now. Hold her!" He instructed his two broad goons.

Kat swung her hand into the crevasse of the taller kid's neck, and sucker-punched him in the gut. He fell down with a grunt and whined about the burning sensation. Meanwhile, the other kid went to grab Kat with more confidence, only to be kneed in the groin.

"Why are you protecting the enemy, Kat? It's obvious you're not a Cobra Kai. Admit it." Hawk bellowed.

She laughed in response. "You first," Kat replied, hurling a pointy comic book at Eli, which cut his cheek.

"Game on, princess." Hawk hissed.

With a tight fist, Demetri positioned himself into a fighting stance. "I know who you really are, Eli." He gruffly said before getting kicked down by another one of the Cobra Kai goons.

Demetri took one last look at his flustered friend Kat, then sped off at lightning speed from the comic book store. "You'll never take me alive!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Oh, fuck." Kat breathed, patting the back of her head with irritation. "Uh, cashier? Two of these," she remarked in a hushed voice towards the only worker in the story. Kat threw down a fifty and took off with two copies of the new comic book Catwoman, in an attempt to catch up with Demetri.

For a brief moment, Eli—no, Hawk's nose flared, as the veins from his forehead became more pronounced. Kat was defending that wimp? What the actual fuck! "You two," he pointed at the bigger kid, Chris, and the other, Mitch, "you find Demetri and bring that pussy back to me, but don't you dare harm a single hair on the blonde. Got it?" The Cobra Kai kids nodded and ran in the direction of both Kat and Demetri.

The more Kat's sandals skid across the mall's tile floor, the more she felt the shooting, aching pains in her legs rubbing against her cloth-like beach cover-up. Jesus, at this rate, I might have a cameltoe! With a slight frown, she kicked off her sandals and hiked up her sheer dress to run faster. "Demetri! Wait—" She screamed.

At Spencers across from the Comic Book store, Tory and Aisha left the store, a dick-shaped lollipop in both of their hands, looking at the chaos ensue. "Should we do something?" Aisha asked, taking a lick of her lollipop.

"Nah, why don't we wait at the food court for Kat?" Tory insisted. To this, Aisha nodded.

While Aisha and Tory left for the food court, unbeknownst to them, the chaos followed close behind.

At the food court, Demetri quaked with anxiety. He looked at his surroundings for Robby and Sam, who he considered to be significantly better fighters than he was. "Uh, Robby? Sam?" His voice shook.

As the Cobra Kai gang saw Demetri standing alone, and appearing as vulnerable, they swooped in, like predators finding their prey. Hawk, the leader of the mob, scoffed at Demetri. "You could've joined Cobra Kai if you weren't such a pussy," he scowled.

In a shaking breath, Demetri exclaimed, "Well, at least I'm not an asshole!" Behind him, he heard footsteps approaching fast, as two large figures grasped onto his slender arms, ultimately restraining him from running away again.

"You're dead meat," Hawk fumed. He moved closer to Demetri with a tight fist, but before he could strike, Sam, Robby, and Kat came to his aid.

Sam jumped on the shoulders of one of the goons from Cobra Kai, and roundhouse kicked the another who latched onto Demetri. In return, Demetri managed to flee behind Sam, cowering away from the bullies.

In the lamely lit area of the food court, Kat emerged from the beaming neon lights of a nearby Pizza Hut. As Kat walked barefoot on the cold tile flooring, she threw her back to the side with a grunt. "What is the fucking point? Why are we even doing this?!" She screamed with frustration. "Whatever, I'd love nothing more than to serve your ass on a plate sunny side up." Kat chuckled as a sinister smile screeched across her delicate features. She took a deep breath. Don't hurt anyone. Don't hurt anyone. They don't know what they are doing...

Kat shuddered with a slight grin. "Stop," she mumbled under her breath, to which nobody heard.

"I don't want to hit a girl," Hawk's eyes darted between Kat and Aisha. "But, if I must..." He grinned.

Robby inched closer to the fight. "Don't worry, you won't have to." He remarked, positioning himself into a fight stance. With a slight nod, the kid behind Robby attempted to hold him back as they once did with Demetri.

But, without much effort, Robby shook the kid off and elbowed him in the face. Not long after, Hawk lunged his foot in the direction of both Robby and his friend, but all together missed Robby and kicked into his larger friend.

"Man! That's the second time this happened," Chris whined while laid out on the mall floor.

While Sam whooped a few of the Cobra Kai student's asses, Kat observed her surroundings and took a deep breath. As much as she wanted to support her friends, she felt her blood boil. Kat knew she had major anger issues, and once confronted with danger, it spirals into something more bloody and vindictive. This time, she wouldn't allow her dark side to emerge. Not yet.

With a sheepish smile, she took one look at her friends, who avidly fought nail and tooth with their opposing dojo, took her tote bag of things, and walked outside.

Kat pulled out her phone to dial Aisha. Ring. Ring. Ri— "Kat? We were going to the food court, but some teenage assholes started some brawl or something over there. I don't know the details, but I'm sure it involved you, right?" The girls laughed on the phone.

"It did. I think it would be best if we left now." Kat admitted.

On the opposite end of the call, Aisha and Tory went silent for a few seconds. "No worries. We'll find you on the opposite side of the mall. Do you know where Dave and Busters is?" Aisha asked.

"I-I do. Yeah, I'll meet you guys there." Kat said with a shaky voice. The memories she shared with Eli were buried treasure, and yet, she still loved him.

Kat walked with a slight limp towards Dave and Busters. She passed near the ongoing fight between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do with a bittersweet nod.

In the front half of Dave and Busters stood Tory and Aisha, still sucking on their folic-shaped lollipops as they waited anxiously for Kat.

"Miss me?" Kat asked, slinging her tote bag across her shoulder. While intending to divert her eyes from the neon lights and prizes behind the girls, she wanted, even for a split second to remember her first date with Eli.

She gave in, and looking at the prize wall that stretched behind the dazed worker was the wolf, stuffed in all of its glory with dazzling blue eyes, and the cutest smile. He was always supposed to come back to me. Kat grimaced at the unwelcome reminder of losing Eli.

"Is something wrong, Kat?" Aisha asked. As she turned around to follow the direction of Kat's eyes, she remembered their first date. It was magical for her friend, so much so, that they talked about it almost the whole night. "Oh..."She breathed.

Tory cleared her throat to diffuse the tension. "Uh, what about food now? I could get us a pizza from my job?"