Like A Phoenix ➳ Cobra Kai

Eyes Wide Open (35)

An hour passed since Kat blacked out. What felt like an eternity overcast by the blaring music coming from the outside.

Everything hurt. Kat awoke to a pounding headache followed by waves of nausea. The young girl picked up the blanket she slept with and walked outside. Like a dog chasing loud cars, Kat was drawn to the music.

Even though she drank too much, Kat was still incredibly observant of her surroundings, as well as those around her. She moved close to the in-ground pool and watched as the water flickered between each color of the rainbow. As she was unaware of the source of the flashing lights, Kat looked around.

She froze in place. Across the pool, on the other side was Miguel and Sam kissing. Kat grimaced at the sight and turned to leave through the side of the house. This time, the sight was worse than before, as Kat's eyes grazed the blurred figures in front of her, she saw an uncanny giant red mohawk illuminating in the moonlight.

A lot happened all at once, and Kat felt like death. She couldn't hold it anymore. If she didn't scream or throw up in the next minute, she would run to the top of the two-story house and fall to the ground.

Her eyes watered at the sight of Hawk kissing another girl, and how Miguel kissed Sam even though he's with Tory. If Sam still has feelings for Miguel, then why is she leading on Robby?!

"I can't do this anymore," Kat sobbed. She wobbled away from all of the drama, still clutching the fuzzy blanket around herself, she found a dark corner of the living room and rocked back and forth.

In her mind, Kat could recall almost every fucked up speech said by her stepfather. "Remember, Katherine. It's human nature to cry, but don't let anyone else know that you are a weeping failure." And she didn't.

She sat in the corner of the large living room and held the fuzzy blanket over herself like she did as a child. Kat's mom always told her, "if you're afraid of something, act like a blanket will protect you from even the scariest of monsters. When you don't have a blanket, close your eyes and go to your happy place."

Kat didn't know what her happy place was anymore. She considered dying in the corner alone until the blood-curdling sound of police sirens beamed from the street and pierced the safety of her fuzzy blanket. "Oh, fuck!"

Without a second thought, Kat sprung from the floor and bolted down the street. It was like any fatigue or dizziness she once felt dissipated upon hearing the police sirens. There was no doubt in her mind that being underaged and drunk would ruin the rest of her life indefinitely.

She ran until her legs bucked, and her body shook with fright. Thankfully, she was far enough from Moon's house to be considered as a potential guest in a house filled with drunk teens.

The young girl sat on a large rock towards the end of an unknown street. While the houses were nice and well kept, she was nervous about being alone in an unfamiliar location.

Who has a car, is sober, isn't pissed at me, and is someone I can tolerate? Kat thought.

"Demetri," she mumbled, dialing his number.

"I-I didn't know who else to call. I'm shit-face drunk right now and I don't know where I am." Kat shakily said.

He sighed. "I'm on my way. Send me your current location."

Kat paused before responding, "I'm so fucked up right now. How do I know where I am?"

"Share your current location with me. I'll find you. Don't move!"

She did as told and waited for Demetri. It didn't take long for him to show up since he fled the scene of Moon's house. "Hop in."

"You have no idea how relieved I am that you are here. I should've never come to this fucking party. I-"

He shook his head. "No, you don't have to explain yourself. I said some fucked up stuff about Eli, and now I'm scared he might kill me. You're not alone."

"I guess we are in this together then?"

"You might not be Eli, or even a guy, but you can still be my binary brother."

Kat sighed. "I have a bad feeling about tomorrow. I don't know what but I feel it coming."

"Hey, don't think like that. Do you want to stay at my place? I'm sure my grandpa wouldn't mind."

She nodded.

Demetri sighed, then spoke up. "I know you're drunk, but now I'm curious. What is your gut feeling about? Does it involve me?"

She nodded again. "I can't explain it, but it's an intuitive feeling I had when my brother died. It's a weird superstition I get sometimes. I wish I knew what it was..."

"Well, humans can't play god. It's best to forget about it and sleep off the heavy stuff. Yeah?"

Kat winced. "Did you know about that?"

"I think everyone knew how shit-faced you got. Plus, you reek of alcohol."

She began to fidget with the fitted cloth around her wrists while avoiding eye contact with Demetri. "I can't help but wonder something, and maybe you can enlighten me..."

Blinking more than a few times, he clutched the wheel of the car. "And what's that?"

"Did you stick around the neighborhood for me? After everything that happened, you knew I would call you for help."

Demetri breathed a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I mean-I was worried, y'know? It's a total dick move to abandon a friend in need. Oh, and an aggressive drunk friend, at that," he added.

"Thank you, and I just want you to know that regardless of what happens between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, I still value our friendship. I hope one day Eli will come back, not Hawk, but Eli..."

He scoffed. "I know Eli's in there somewhere. It's still him! The same kid I grew up with-only now, he's a different person."

"I know I should move on, but I can't. You know him better than anyone. Is there anything that can bring the sweet, chivalrous, loving Eli back?"

Demetri stayed silent for a brief moment while thinking, then, it clicked. "In his mind, he changed for you, and to avoid being bullied. Now, he is the bully. So, I think you should remind him of when you were together. I can try too, but it's not the same."

Kat nodded. "Everything is a mess. I can't play god, right? I wish I could fix people like my mom, but I can't..."

The car came to a stop. "This is the part where I tell you that anything is possible," Demetri exhaled.

The young girl grabbed her loose items in Demetri's car, then stumbled towards the front door of her house.