In My Blood (Eli Moskowitz/Hawk FF) (Cobra Kai)

Chapter 1: Free Falling

CHAPTER 1:

Zelena's POV

Miguel's bright red fabric slides abruptly through my line of vision when my body forcefully knocks into his to remove him momentarily from the fight. Harsh pressure heavies my chest and the sheer momentum of it knocks my remaining breath from my lungs. The jealousy and hurt in Robby's eyes dissipates, his mouth gaped like a fish out of water the moment I go flying backward due to my loss of balance. But then I realize the second my eyes see the high ceiling of our two story high school and feel the lack of support from the railing, that the disappearance of emotion from Robby's face was not caused by his foot making contact with my chest. But caused by the direction and momentum my body had started flying through the air at.

For a second the blood in my veins go ice cold while fear infects every single centimeter of my body from the tips of my toes to the last cell in my brain. A scream rips from someone's throat, echoing eerily among the halls that went silent at the heart-breaking noise. It brings my conscience back from the grip of fear, awakening this very real part of me that I'd been falsifying for so long- peace. My eyes close, a deep inhalation filling my lungs via my nose when my back collides with the stiff, cold metal of the staircase's handrail. A shaky exhalation flattens my lungs though my conscience goes black the following nano-second.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Third Person POV

Silence consumes the hallways of West Valley High, all eyes falling on the unconscious and unmoving body of fellow student Zelena Bloom. Disbelief and horror fill every gap possible wall to wall, ceiling to floor, every single conscience in the building. Tory had shouted her name, Sam had directly asked Robby what he did and everyone had collectively begun to move closer to the seemingly frozen student.

The officer who radioed for an ambulance attempts to keep everyone back who had gathered on the staircase opposing Zelena's body. But then something changes in the air. Something changes in every student and faculty member as they stare down at the girl they taught or shared classes with or had seen in the hallways, talking among everyone rather respectfully as if she had been their friend all along.

Miguel reaches her first, pushing past the students nearing the railing of the second floor just to see their fellow peer laid out like a movie. He kneels on his left leg, his hands going to grab hers but he hesitates, recalling in an emergency evacuation drill once that they had said to never move an injured body after a bad collision. Especially if they aren't moving or are stiff because it could further their current damage. And in this case, as he had watched her back smack against the railing, it could very well mean any movement could paralyze her.

Hawk shoves through the crowd of students, finding the hushed voices after the loud chants and running footsteps to be concerning and unnerving. He rounds the corner with his eyes upward, remembering the direction his fellow Cobra Kais had taken the fight, only to find the crowd with their eyes cast downward. He follows the direction and for a moment his racing heart slows to a much more normal pace when he sees Miguel hovering over someone. But the following second, he notices the pair of well worn navy blue Converse and the burnt orange pair of pants he had seen walking by him this morning in the hall. Tears begin to well behind his eyes, but he clenches his jaw tightly, willing them back until he is absolutely certain his suspicion is correct.

He walks forward further, each step revealing more and more of the body until his eyes fall upon her face. The welling tears grow and grow, streaming down his face as part of his old self resurfaces for a brief moment. He walks up the steps but then collapses on her right side. His eyes roam every inch of her face, just as he used to, when he notices a gash near her left temple. Blood dribbles from it, so he instinctively reaches out to wipe it away. A hand grasps his wrist and in grief he yanks his arm back, only to find Miguel's hand held up defensively. "The slightest movement without the right equipment can further the damage. I know you want to just physically support her- but you can't. Not yet. Not now." Miguel explains, lowering his hand in hopes the message had reached his fellow Cobra.

Tory moves in front of the officer, ignoring his command to stay back because, as always, she is drawn to Zelena. Even in this moment, even unconscious and untalking, her spirit seems brighter and more beacon-like than the blonde had ever known. She too kneels, but at the step where her head lies ignoring the onlookers who watch as the transfer student releases a sob. As promised, Zelena had kept Tory's words and stories a secret and even guided her to a place where she believed she could make progress to become the woman she wanted to be. 'This is my fault. I started this fight and I didn't stop when it got out of hand.' The thought flitters through her mind and riddles her with guilt. Her arms wrap around herself, her hands clutching onto the olive material of her quarter sleeve to hold on to what's left of her sanity.

Demetri moves away from the crowd, feeling enclosed when his eyes fall upon his two old friends and the new bad girl in town kneeled around someone. He watches as Sam runs down the steps and the tears glistening on her face speaks volumes especially when he too notices the pair of Converse he's seen floating around his and Eli's house for the last five years. "Wha-what happened?" He whispers, feeling a pain in his chest he had never felt before. Fear grips him, but the pain takes severe hold of his being and clutches his heart. It squeezes and squeezes worse than it had when Eli abandoned him.

An officer presses his hand to Hawk's chest as he approaches, causing him to lean back into the railing not that it was hard to do when his world had just begun to crumble and his legs could no longer carry the weight of anything. Everyone watches as the uniformed officer lays his two fingers against the exposed part of her neck. He feels the ever so light thump against the skin- a pulse. He withdraws his hand silently, though everyone stares at him with great expectancy of revealing the result. "Well? Does she have a pulse?" Hawk nearly yells, finding his way out of the sadness and into the anger brought with denial.

Normally at such aggressive outbursts, the officer would have ignored the call and continued to make way to the entrance, but he knows at the end of the day- these are just kids. Kids who got into it because they are emotional. And a good kid ending up in the middle of it. The lack of bruising and blood on her face compared to those kneeling around her suggested so. He locks eyes with the kid, nodding while speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. "She has a pulse. It's weakening. But it's there." Hawk nods back once, accepting the outcome for what it is and the little hope dangling before him.

The officer turns his head and addresses the group in front of him, "We need a clear path to this student. I urge all teachers to take the students into the theater or the cafeteria so we have enough space to work. The ambulance should arrive very soon. Clear out!" He moves through the crowd, parting it like Moses in the red sea. The frazzled students glance around for the teachers who are murmuring to one another.

And in a matter of moments, cops begin to push the students further away from the scene with paramedics filing in right after, equipped with a gurney and their bags for this situation. The couple of extra cops who aren't standing crowd control rush up the steps and escort the brusied and bloodied sat around the girl. For a moment Hawk wriggles in the cop's grasp, irritating the cop until he realizes his eyes are trained on the student sprawled on the staircase. "Quit fighting." The cop murmurs, earning the defeat of his arrestee who he tugs backward one step at a time until they get to the bottom of the staircase. "You can watch from here, but if you try to get any closer, I'll have to escort you outside." Hawk nods firmly, standing still and even moving a tad bit farther behind the swirl of the staircase railing to ensure he's out of the way.