Molly had always loved the idea of prom. She dreamt of the perfect dress, the perfect hair, and the perfect date. She pictured slow dancing and the anticipation of who would be crowned prom royalty, and tonight, all of that was finally happening.

Sure, this was only junior prom and she'd have another one next year, but Molly still couldn't wait for this night. She hardly paid attention to her academics or karate the week leading up to it even when Johnny brought a new girl, Devon, into Eagle Fang—who Molly adored.

Molly sat at her vanity, checking her makeup when the doorbell rang.

She turned towards her bedroom door, her eyebrows furrowing, considering she didn't have a date, so no one should be coming over. Molly could hear her moms squealing in excitement from the living room, and she slowly walked out of her room towards them.

"Molly! Do you have a date you didn't tell us about?" Molly's mom, Janice asked in excitement as her other mom, Keira, ran to the door.

Molly laughed at the question, her gaze fixed on the door, wondering who it was. "If anything, one of you got me a date and didn't tell me." She laughed out, and Janice sighed, smiling at her daughter nonetheless and wrapping an arm around her shoulders when she got close enough.

The two of them watched as Keira opened the door to reveal Miguel in his suit and tie, with Johnny standing beside him.

"Miguel! Johnny! What a nice surprise!" Keira said as Molly and Janice joined the three at the door.

"And Miguel, you look very handsome." Janice added, and Miguel smiled bashfully at the compliment, nodding his head towards her.

"Thank you, Janice." Miguel muttered as Molly, still confused, looked between Johnny and Miguel with a scrunched face. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked and Miguel started to walk in as if it were his own home, Johnny trailing in after.

"Sensei insisted he get photos of us." Miguel explained, using his thumb to gesture to Johnny. Johnny nodded in agreement, his pointer finger dancing between Miguel and Molly. "Need my star students to get a photo together before prom."

Molly felt a smile fight its way onto her face. Since she didn't have a date and the only friend of hers that also didn't have a date was her ex, Molly was worried she'd never get the chance to take prom photos.

She forced herself not to practically jump in excitement as she pointed to her room. "Okay, let me just grab my shawl." Molly said, her smile radiating her excitement.

She quickly ran into her room, grabbed her shawl to complete her look, and hurried back into the living room for photos. Molly skidded to a stop beside Miguel, catching her breath with a smile.

"Looking snazzy, Miguel." She breathed out, and Miguel chuckled, his head dipping as he smiled down at his best friend beside him. "Why, thank you. And you look beautiful, Molls. Hawk's gonna love it."

As he turned back to Johnny, Molly's eyes widened. She gulped, her throat feeling dry all of a sudden before she spoke. "Hawk's... Hawk's not my date."

Miguel either didn't seem to notice or care about the panic in Molly's voice and just smirked, his eyes turning back to look at her. "He can be..." he muttered teasingly.

Molly opened her mouth to speak, but Johnny clapped his hands loudly as Janice walked up beside him with a camera in hand. "Come on! Let's get some photos. Pull out the most badass poses you've got! Hold up your fists!"

Molly and Miguel rolled their eyes, fighting back their smiles as they stood back to back, their fists raised as if they were about to fight.

"God, this is so stupid." Molly muttered loud enough for only Miguel to hear. He snickered, leaning his head back closer to Molly's as the pictures started to be taken. "Luckily, if he posts these, we're his only two followers on... everything." Miguel said through his smile.

After a couple more poses, Johnny clapped again, signaling to Molly and Miguel that they were done. He pointed to Miguel before gesturing to the front door behind him. "Awesome! Okay now, Diaz, we've gotta go."

Miguel nodded, turning to Molly as Johnny walked right out. "I'll see you at school." Miguel said and Molly smiled as Miguel started to walk out. "See you at school."

...

Molly spent the first thirty minutes of prom getting snacks and punch—which, surprisingly, wasn't spiked—and helping Bert and Mitch muster the courage to ask girls to dance. The two of them insisted that Molly had become like a sister to them, and they didn't want to dance with her.

Across the room, she could see Demetri and Hawk standing off at their own table, looking over the dance. Molly didn't want to go over there yet, worried she'd accidentally spoil Yasmine's surprise for Demetri.

But as her eyes looked at the two boys, it was as if Hawk could feel someone's eyes on him. He turned his head, and his posture straightened when their eyes met. The air seemed to knock out of his lungs. She looked absolutely beautiful, and he cursed himself for never sending that prom text.

Molly smiled at Hawk, raising her hand to give him a small wave. Hawk's face burned in response, and he raised his hand to wave back, his gesture much shyer than hers.

Demetri turned his head to see who Hawk was waving at, and his eyebrows shot up when he recognized Molly. He exchanged glances between his two friends before smirking.

"Molly!" he called out, making Hawk's head whip around to face him, eyes wide and jaw dropped. Demetri ignored Hawk's shock, waving Molly over.

Molly was about to take a step toward Demetri and Hawk when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket—yes, her dress had pockets, and she loved it.

She stopped walking and read over Yasmine's text telling her she was about to walk in and wanted a buddy.

Looking up from her phone, Molly glanced back at Demetri and Hawk before heading toward the gym exit to meet Yasmine.

Demetri and Hawk sighed at Molly's retreating figure. "Nice going, Eli. You scared her away." Demetri scoffed, pointing dramatically at Molly as she left the building.

Molly found Yasmine a hallway away from the gym. The blonde was in a beautiful red dress and when she saw Molly? she squealed in excitement, running towards Molly.

"Omg, you look beautiful, Molly!" Yasmine hummed. It was the softest Molly had ever heard her speak. It was as if she were singing.

Molly smiled at Yasmine's compliment as Yasmine grasped her hands in excitement. "Thanks, Yas. You look amazing." Molly replied, and Yasmine squeezed her hands as a thank-you before glancing nervously in the direction of the gym.

She looked to Molly, licking her lips nervously. "How's Demetri?"

Molly looked in the direction of the gym and even though she couldn't see Demetri, Molly nodded, turning back to Yasmine. "He's good. He was standing in a corner with Hawk."

Yasmine let out a relieved breath, her head dropping slightly. "So he's not dancing with any other girls in there, right?" She asked, slowly looking back up to Molly.

Molly looked at Yasmine as if she were crazy, a small smile growing on her face. "Are you kidding me? That boy is obsessed with you. There's no way he'd be out there dancing with someone else that wasn't you."

Yasmine took a moment to absorb Molly's words before nodding, her expression softening. Molly realized just how much Yasmine liked Demetri. She was nervous for this night. Molly smiled, squeezing Yasmine's hands.

"You ready to go see your boyfriend?" Molly asked and slowly, Yasmine started to smile. It was as if a switch flipped in Yasmine, her confident self coming back in seconds and she and Molly walked back towards the gym.

As they entered, Molly glanced toward where she had last seen Demetri and Hawk, smiling when she spotted them still at their table, neither of them noticing them yet. Yasmine's eyes followed Molly's and she immediately started walking toward them, pulling Molly along since they were still holding hands.

"Demetri." Yasmine sang as she and Molly got closer to the boys.

Demetri and Hawk turned at the sound of Yasmine's voice, and Demetri's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw her. "Oh, my Jessica Rabbit! W-What are you doing here?" He cheered, reaching out for Yasmine's waist as she let go of Molly's hands.

Yasmine set her hand on Demetri's shoulders. "I just flew in."

Demetri was practically starstruck, struggling to find his words. "W-What about your dad's wedding?" He stammered. Yasmine rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'll get back in time. You're more important. I even flew economy plus, which is total shit. The seats don't even lie flat." She said, looking to Molly and Hawk to include them in the conversation.

That was when Demetri finally registered that Molly had walked over with Yasmine. His eyebrows scrunched up, but he was still grinning wildly. "You knew about this?" asked, looking between the two girls.

Molly smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. "She had to run it by somebody," she replied casually.

Demetri turned back to Yasmine, his face red in blush and his smile to big to wipe clean. "You even went to my friends for their opinion? Wow. You really do like me, huh?" He asked and Yasmine hummed, grabbing the collar of Demetri's shirt and pulling him in closer. "Oh, you have no idea. Come on, let's go dance."

"Yes, my queen." Demetri  replied instantly. As Yasmine began to tug him away, he turned back to Hawk and Molly, who were left alone at the table. "I-I gotta, you know." He said as if he were dreading leaving but they all knew he was ecstatic to dance with Yasmine.

He then pointed back and forth between the two of them, gesturing them together. "You two! Dance!"

Molly laughed at Demetri's semi-dramatic exit exit and turned to Hawk. He shoved his hands into his pockets, glancing around nervously before meeting her gaze.

Yes, Molly was checking Hawk out. She'd never admit it, but he looked incredibly handsome in his suit. A soft smile crept onto her face when their eyes locked, and Hawk quickly looked away, scratching the back of his neck anxiously.

He coughed, attempting to cover his nerves. "You, uh... you look really beautiful, Molly."

Molly's cheeks flushed at the compliment.  "Thank you." She whispered, her smile getting wider as she spoke. "You look really good too, Hawk." Molly said, turning to face him completely.

His eyes darted up to meet hers, and Molly's heart raced as she glanced toward the dance floor, watching the couples dance to the music. The nervous energy bubbling inside her was starting to eat away at her, and before she could overthink it, she turned back to Hawk to ask him to dance.

But as she opened her mouth to speak, Hawk made a mistake. A huge fucking mistake.

His eyes drifted just behind Molly, watching as two more people entered the gym.

Hawk's entire demeanor deflated, his expression shifting into a mix of anger and disgust. "What the hell..." He muttered, his words dying out as fast as they left him mouth.

Molly's eyebrows furrowed, her lips twisting into a confused smile as she turned toward the entrance. She immediately felt her heart drop when she saw Robby, walking into prom with Tory on his arm.

The room seemed to tilt. Molly felt like she was sinking, her heart beating so hard it hurt. How could Robby be here with her, knowing Tory had deliberately broken her ribs and wrist? He had listened to her relive the trauma she fought so hard to forget.

Robby and Tory scanned the room, their eyes eventually landing on Molly. His expression shifted, just slightly, but Tory's remained unchanged. She locked eyes with Molly, a dark and unreadable smile curving her lips, as if she knew exactly what she was doing.

Molly blinked, fighting to keep her face blank as she stumbled away from Hawk and hurried out of the gym, her vision blurring.

The music faded the further she went down the hallway. The colder air in the hall made it even harder to catch her breath as she sank to the ground, wrapping her arms tightly around her knees. She couldn't tell if she was overreacting—maybe she was, maybe she wasn't—but she couldn't control this.

She could hear a pair of loud and fast footsteps getting louder. People coming towards her.

It wasn't until Miguel and Sam crouched to her height that Molly knew who they were.

"Molly?" Miguel asked and Molly just shook her head as she looked back and forth between the two. "What is she doing here? What is he doing here? With her?" Molly rambled, trying to catch her breath through her words but it was no use.

Miguel and Sam exchanged confused glances before Sam spoke up. "Molly, Tory has been back at school for the passed week." Sam said and Molly's eyes widened.

"What? How?" Molly asked and Sam worriedly shrugged, she had never seen Molly react like this around Tory yet. "My... My mom signed off on it."

A burning sensation flared in Molly's throat, threatening tears. She shook her head frantically, struggling to find words. "What about my moms? Tory gave me stitches too! She broke my fucking ribs!" Molly stammered, her voice rising with each word.

Sam's heart sank at Molly's panic. "I thought... I thought that if I was okay with it, you'd be too." Sam admitted guiltily.

Miguel turned to Sam, eyes wide with disbelief. "Sam!" He scolded. Sam turned to Miguel, shaking her head desperately. "I didn't know it was this bad!" She whispered, even though Molly could still hear her.

Miguel sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, letting his head drop. When he opened his eyes again, they fell on Molly and he frowned. Miguel turned back to Sam, nodding his head back to the dance. "You go back out there. I've got this."

Sam glanced between Miguel and Molly, then shot a reassuring smile at Molly before standing up and walking back into the gym.

Once Sam was gone, Miguel moved to sit beside Molly instead of across from her. "Hey, look, Molly, it's gonna be okay." He whispered, seeing her struggle to hold back tears. How could Tory show up tonight, knowing how much her presence affected Molly? Even if they weren't friends anymore, they were at one point and she still did this to her.

"I know it sucks. Your ex going to prom with the one person who hurt you most. It's the same thing happening to me—Tory is here with Robby." Miguel said and Molly sniffled, turning to face him.

Miguel shifted to sit directly in front of her, shaking his head. "And it hurts. That someone who used to care for you would go be with the one person who ruined your life. But you can't let them win. You can't let them ruin your night." He took Molly's hands in his, squeezing them firmly.

"Miguel's right." A voice called from down the hallway.

Molly straightened her shoulders, recognizing the voice before she even turned around.

When she did turn, her breath caught at the sight of Hawk walking toward her and Miguel.

"You've been dreaming about prom for as long as I've known you." Hawk said, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "You'd show me your Pinterest board, your dream sparkly white dress, your hair, the makeup..." He shook his head as he approached, a small frown creasing his face. "You can't let Robby and Tory take this away from you." He whispered.

A smile started to form on Hawk's face, but  he was suddenly struggling to lock eyes with Molly. "So..." He cleared his throat, finally turning back to her and extending his hand.  "Molly Preston, will you be my date to prom and dance with me?"

Molly blinked, completely frozen as Miguel smirked and slowly backed away from the pair, not wanting to intrude but wanting to see how this plays out. Hawk's question seemed to hit Molly like a ton of bricks. She sat there, wide-eyed, staring at him as if he had just said the most unbelievable thing.

Her face flushed, and she smiled, nodding her head ever so slightly. "Yes." She said and Hawk's whole demeanor brightened. "I'd love that." Molly repeated.

Hawk's smile grew, his cheeks still warm. He held out her hand, and Molly hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between his eyes and hand before gently grabbing it.

Hawk helped Molly stand and led her toward the dance floor, and as they found a spot with the other couples, his hands found her waist and Molly's draped around his shoulders.

They started swaying to the slow music and at first, it was simple, adjusting to being this close again. It was just like old times, yet something about it felt more important. More electric.

Hawk was hyper-aware of everything. He missed this so much.

He started to think back to when they were together and when a specific memory get caught in his head, Hawk took a step back and spun Molly around.

Molly let out a surprised yelp, laughing her as she twirled under his hand. The noise made a couple heads turn, Robby being one of them. His face hardened at the sight and Tory turned to see what he was looking at. When she saw Molly and Hawk, Tory turned back to Robby and pulled him closer, hoping to get him to focus on her again.

The unexpected spin made Molly's heart race even faster, and when she stopped spinning and found herself facing Hawk again, her breath caught in her throat.

"What was that?" She asked, still laughing and he just shrugged, his grin a little bashful but proud. "You told me to save the dips and spins for prom."

Molly blinked and the memory rushed back to her. The first time they'd danced together, when she'd taught him the basics for the Halloween dance sophomore year.

"And then you just... sway." Molly laughed out, shrugging her shoulders casually as she started to have her and Eli sway back and forth. Eli's brows furrowed at how easy the instructions were.

"That's it? This is what I was worried about the whole drive here?" Eli asked, his voice raising a little bit in shock. Molly laughed, shaking her head as she took in the rare occurrence of Eli's volume.

"Well, there's other dance moves like a dip and a spin, but this is just a Halloween dance. Save that other stuff for prom."

Molly stared at Hawk, a warmth spreading through her chest. She suddenly felt overwhelmed by how much she'd missed him—Eli's goofy grin, the way he always tried to make her laugh, how he remembered the little things about her. It was all still there, buried under months of distance and confusion and anger.

Molly's gaze softened as she looked at him. Her mouth opening and closing as she gently shook her head, stunned. "I can't believe you remembered that." She whispered and Hawk shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing but this time, he couldn't hide his smile.

"Of course I did. I—" He said, a little confused by Molly's shock. He hesitated, his voice catching as he realized how close they were–their noses were practically touching, how much he'd wanted this moment for so long. "I remember everything about us, Molls."

Molly's breath hitched and her stomach did a somersault raced at the nickname. Hawk calling her Molls made Molly's head spin.

Then suddenly, two lanky arms wrapped around her and Hawks shoulders, pulling them out of their dance. "So, prom after-party got moved to Stingrays." The owner of the arms, Demetri said and Molly's nose crinkled in confusion.

"Stingray?" She asked, not knowing who the two boys were talking about.

"Raymond from Cobra Kai. He had a whole... flip the script thing too." Hawk explained, rolling his eyes when he brought up the man copying his image.

Molly was still so confused but slowly nodded anyway. "Got it..." She muttered, still not completely understanding why they'd want to go to his house.

"Anyway, I'm thinking all go together." Demetri said and Molly let out a small laugh, looking up at the boy with a confused smile. "You do know I drove here right?" She asked, pointing to herself.

Demetri rolled his eyes. "Of course. I drove here as well. I was thinking I can drive everyone to the party and when it's done, I can drop you back off at your car." He explained and Molly sarcastically raised her eyebrows.

"Sound like I'm being held captive at the party." She muttered, but Demetri heard her and copied her expression, raising his brows as well. "Well, you don't go to many of them."

Molly scoffed, elbowing the boy in the ribs, ultimately making his arm fall off her shoulder. "Shut up.Fine, we can all go together." She laughed out.

Demetri cheered, fists shooting up, punching the air in a silent celebration before he ran back towards Yasmine.

Molly and Hawk watched Demetri go, holding back any laughs until they knew he wouldn't be able to hear them.

Once he was back to dancing with his girlfriend, Molly and Hawk turned back to each other and started to laugh.

As their laughter died down, Hawk took a step towards Molly and held his hand out again. "Shall we continue dancing?" He asked and Molly only laughed more.

She nodded through her giggles, grabbing Hawks hand and letting him pull her into his chest to continue dancing. "We shall."

...

Molly hated this prom after party.

Not only did she get carsick on the drive over, but as soon as they got there, Demetri and Yasmine started making out with each other while Molly and Hawk sat on the couch right beside them.

She tried her best to ignore it, Molly scooting as close to Hawk as she could so she wouldn't have to hear their moans or have one of them accidentally bump into her.

After a while, Molly got tired of it and turned to Hawk. "I'm gonna get something to drink. You want anything?" She asked.

Hawk looked to the couple on the other side of Molly before he rolled his eyes, turning back to her with a tired look. "Coke? If they have any."

Molly nodded, muttering a small "I'll be right back" before she walked outside to look for a cooler.

Seeing Sam at a keg by the pool, Molly walked towards her, hoping some drinks would be over there or Sam would know where they were.

"Are there any sodas over here?" Molly asked as she stood beside Sam. The LaRusso girl looked over her shoulder and shook her head, turning back to her drink so she didn't overfill it. "No, only beer. You want some?"

Molly shook her head even though some alcohol did sound nice tonight. "No, I'm driving home."

Sam squinted. She stopped filling her drink to face Molly completely. "I thought you came with Demetri?" She asked and Molly sighed, leaning against the keg so Sam can keep filling her cup. "Yeah, but I drove to prom so he'll drop me back off at school when this is over." Molly explained.

"Oh, well, I think there are some sodas inside." Sam said, nodding her head back to where Molly just was.

Molly huffed, her shoulders slumping a little before she turned back to Sam and smiled. "Okay, thanks." She said and Sam hummed a response before Molly walked away.

Once Sam finished filling her cup, she turned around to meet back up with Miguel but froze when her eyes found Tory's right behind her, next in line for the keg.

Instead of being scared, Sam held her head high. "Seems like you're always behind me and Molly in line. First Miguel, now Robby..." Sam said before her lips pursed and she pretended to think.

After a couple seconds, Sam pointed towards the home, her eyebrows furrowed. "Actually, I think Hawk is inside with Molly right now if you can't wait any longer for the next guy."

From across the backyard, Molly was following Sam's advice, walking back towards the doors of the home to check out drinks when she came face to face with Robby.

The boy rolled his eyes at the sight of her and Molly nervously licked her lips.

"Nice date. Has he broken your heart again, yet?" Robby asked, using his hand holding his drink to gesture inside to Hawk, who was now sitting alone. Molly kept her eyes on Robby, crossing her arms as she glared.

"No. What about your date? Has she broken any of your other exes' ribs yet?" Molly fired back without missing a beat.

Robby took a step towards Molly, eyes flashing with anger. But Molly stood her ground.

"Don't talk about her." Robby warned and Molly could've laughed at the hypocrisy.

She raised her eyebrows, shocked but hurt by how fast Robby was to defend her. "Oh... defending her now?" Molly asked before her eyebrows creased in a faux-confusion. "Wish you cared that much about me when we dated."

Robby scoffed, taking a step back, shaking his head. "Don't act like you were all innocent in this relationship!" He spat.

Molly's eyes widened, her voice low as she pointed to herself. "What? You're saying I was the bad guy in this relationship?"

Robby nodded as if it were obvious. "Yeah."

"Really?" Molly's voice rose as she stepped closer. "I was the bad guy to visit you every week while you were in juvie? When I was practically your fucking chauffeur driving you to your house and Miyagi-Do every day even though it was out of my way? To offer you a place to stay after your mom stopped paying for the bills and offering again when you got out of juvie? That's the bad guy in this relationship?"

Molly took another step toward him and Robby instinctively stepped back, his gaze dropping to the floor, no longer able to meet her eyes.

"Let's look at your track record, huh?" Molly raised her hand, counting each incident on her fingers. "You became friends with the girl who permanently scarred my face, broken my ribs and my wrist and then took her to prom, you're the one who completely forgot my birthday after we talked about it the day before and then you told me I was over-reacting and it wasn't a big deal afterwards!"

Molly squinted at Robby, her head tilting as she no longer felt the need to yell anymore. "And after all of that, you told me our relationship meant nothing to you."

Robby's jaw tightened, his eyes glued to his shoes, his hands clenched at his sides. Molly bit her inner cheek, shaking her head slowly. "You told your girlfriend that our relationship—that started fake—was never real to you." Molly said slowly, needing her words to get through his head. "Do you know how much that messed with my head?!"

Robby didn't respond, and Molly took a shaky breath as she finally let everything off of her chest. "So, next time you wonder who the bad guy in this relationship was," Molly said, her voice hardening as Robby finally looked up at her. "Look in the fucking mirror, Robby."

With that, Molly pushed past him, making sure her shoulder bashed into his as she walked back into the house.

Completely forgetting about the drinks, Molly walked towards the couch and grabbed her purse she left with Hawk. "Hey, I'm going home."

Hawks eyebrows furrowed, turning his whole body around to face her. "What? Now?" He asked and Molly nodded her head, looking through her purse for her keys and pepper spray.

"I can't be here anymore." Molly said and once she pulled her keys out of her purse, she threw it over her shoulder.

"You're not walking home, Molly." Hawk got off of the couch and moved around it to stand with Molly. She sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "My cars parked at the school. That's like a... 40 minute walk." She said as if it were nothing.

Hawk shook his head, ready to barricade the door if he had to. "You're still not going alone." He said and before he could think about what was coming out of his mouth next, he spoke. "I'll go with you."

Molly snickered, making Hawks face scrunch, offended but also confused. "You're supposed to sleepover at Demetri's tonight and your mom flips out when plans change last minute. If you come home, she'd lose it." Molly said, going to turn and walk out of the home.

Immediately, Hawk reached out and grabbed Mollys wrist, making her turn back to him. He tried to ignore the fact that his hand was so close to Molly's and shrugged. "Well, I'm not letting you walk alone this late so... she can yell at me all she wants."

Molly knew Hawk wasn't going to let up anytime soon. She sighed and dropped her head. "No, she won't." She muttered. Molly looked back up at Hawk and gave him a small smile. "You can stay at my place."

Hawk was sure he misheard her. He was so shocked, he dropped Molly's hand and continued to stare at her. "What?" He asked and Molly shrugged. If he was this committed to walking with her but he didn't want to go home, this was the best bet.

"Just sleepover at my place. My moms love you and they know how your mom gets. They won't mind." Molly said as if it were nothing, the thought not fully processed in her mind yet.

Meanwhile, Hawk's mind was practically going haywire, staring at Molly as she turned and continued to walk towards the front door.

Molly got about halfway across the room before she realized Hawk wasn't following her. She turned around and raised her eyebrows. "Are you coming or what?"

It was like someone invisible smacked some sense into Hawk. He shook his head, coming back to reality and nodded. "Yeah, yeah I am." He said, quickly catching up to Molly to walk out with her.

...

The drive home wasn't too bad. When they got to Molly's, she explained everything to her moms and they immediately welcomed Hawk in with open arms.

As they walked into Molly's room to get ready for the night, Hawk groaned. "God, I just want to get out of this thing." He muttered, tugging at his collar.

A brief moment of silence passed between them, and then, almost too quickly, Molly said, "I... I have stuff you can change into." She didn't give him time to respond, making a beeline toward her closet, her heart thumping.

Hawk's brows furrowed as he watched her sift through her clothes. His mind spun, trying to piece together what she could possibly offer him. Her closet was a mix of sweaters he recognized for when they were together and new things, but he couldn't think of anything that would exactly fit him.

When she turned around holding one of his old grandpa sweaters and his pair of pajama pants with math equations on them, Hawk froze. His breath hitched, his eyes fixed on his old clothes as his mind raced. He remembered the day he gave these to her, back when they were still dating.

"You... you kept these?" Her asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Molly gave a casual shrug, though her heartbeat was going a mile a minute. "They're really comfy." She replied, trying to sound nonchalant. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, but she forced herself to look him in the eye, hoping he wouldn't notice.

Hawk's gaze lingered on her, as if he was seeing her for the first time all over again. He stayed still for a moment, his eyes searching her face, before he finally reached out, his fingers brushing hers as he took the clothes. "Thanks." He murmured. Then, without another word, he turned and headed to the bathroom.

As soon as the door closed, Molly moved to her vanity and slipped out of her dress, putting on her pajamas. She sat down, finished doing her hair and as she started to remove her makeup, her fingers froze. In the mirror, her reflection stared back, her scar dark and visible now that her foundation was gone.

Her heart sank. She hated the scar. She usually kept covered. It was something not many people saw without makeup—just her moms, Miguel, Robby, and... Hawk. But that was when he was in Cobra Kai. She didn't mean for him to see it.

Her hand hesitated over the makeup wipes, her stomach churning as she heard the bathroom door creak open. She wanted to crawl under the covers and pretend she was already asleep, but she stayed still, hands clutching the edge of the vanity, forcing herself to stay put.

Hawk's footsteps were soft as he re-entered the room, and she turned to face him.

Molly should've expected it since she gave him the clothes, but when Hawk walked into her room wearing his old grandpa sweater and his math pajama pants, she froze.

Her heartbeat started to speed up as she stared at him. For the first time in over a year, she didn't see Hawk standing in front of her.

She saw Eli.

Hawk didn't notice Molly's stares yet, too busy focused on the fact that Molly still had the clothes he had given her what felt like ages ago. He fiddled with the end of his sleeves, uncuffing them back to their original state.

When Hawk looked back up at Molly, his heart started to beat a mile a minute and his back straightened nervously as he tugged on the sleeves of his sweater as a fidget. "What... what is it? You kinda look like you've seen a ghost." He stuttered out.

Molly's eyes widened a bit more and she quickly blinked, pulling herself out of her stare. She smiled and took a small step towards him. "I kinda am." She whispered, watching as Eli's face slowly start to redden.

He was nervous. Molly was standing inches away from him. He didn't know what to say so when his eyes landed on her scar, that was now completely revealed since she took off her makeup, Eli said the first thing that could come to mind.

"I haven't seen the scar without makeup since Miguel woke up." Eli blurted. Molly swallowed the lump forming in her throat and subtly turned her head away from him just like he had always done when someone talked about his scar.

"Yeah... I cover it so I don't get any stares." Molly chuckled out nervously, her head shaking. "It's horrible."

Eli's heart ached as he listened. Memories of his own struggles with his scar flashed through his head. He suddenly understood the hurt Molly felt back when they still dated and he would kick himself down. How could Molly say that? She's beautiful!

Molly's eyes widened and her head whipped up to face Hawk. "What?" She asked and Hawk's heart stopped. Did he say that out loud?

After a couple seconds, Hawk decided to just go for it. He shook his head and took a step closer to Molly. "You're beautiful, Molly. Scar or no scar." Hawk watched as Molly's eyes stayed glued on his.

"Do you remember what you used to tell me about my scar?" He asked, his voice quiet.

Molly immediately looked away from him, shaking her head. "Eli..."

Even though his heart lurched at Molly calling him Eli, he got a sudden burst of confidence and gently grabbed Molly's chin, turning her to face him so he could look into her eyes.

Molly's breath hitched, their faces inches apart. Her heart was beating so fast, she could feel a buzzing in her fingers. Hawk, feeling just as frazzled as Molly, kept his composer. "You used to tell me that it didn't define me. That I was still handsome, that I was more than the scar. And I couldn't see it back then, but you made me believe it. You made me feel like I was worth something. Not the mohawk or the back tattoo, You."

Molly's eyes started to tear up and Hawk shook his head. It was weird being on this side of the conversation.

He gently grazed his thumb down Molly's scar. "This scar... it doesn't take away your beauty. It's a part of your story, just like mine is a part of mine." He moved his hand from her chin to cup her face with both of his hands. He gave her a small smile as he brought his face a little closer to hers. "And you're still the most beautiful person I've ever known."

Hawk's eyes skimmed back and forth between Molly's eyes and her lips. He felt a tug in his stomach, a magnetic pull that seemed to pull him closer to her.

Molly's gaze softened as he leaned in, the warmth of his hands still cradling her face. Her heart started thumping louder as she found herself leaning in too.

Molly let out a quiet gasp, shocked that this was actually happening and Hawk heard it. His expression flickered. Did she not want this? What if I've read it all wrong? The thought hit him hard, and he froze, pulling back with an awkward, nervous glance away.

Molly felt herself deflate slightly, blinking in shock. Hawk, seeing Molyl out of the corner of his eyes, clenched his jaw, immediately getting frustrated with himself for ruining the moment. But it was too late to take it back.

Hawk cleared his throat, looking at the empty spot on the floor next to her bed. "Do you want me to sleep on the floor or...?"

Her brows knitted as she shook her head. Even if she was in shock and a little thrown, she wasn't going to make him sleep on the floor. "You are not sleeping on the floor." She said, her voice soft, calming Hawk down a little so he knew she wasn't mad at him. "We can share the bed."

Hawk gave a faint nod as Molly climbed into her side, getting into what used to be her side whenever Molly would sleepover at Eli's.

Hawk laid down next to Molly, getting comfortable under the covers before he sighed, his eyes too scared to look at the girl laying next to him so he instead watched the ceiling. After a couple seconds of unbearable silence, Hawk cleared his throat. "Do you um... Do you want me to put a pillow here?" He asked, moving one of the pillows behind his head to set between him and Molly.

Molly's eyes moved back and forth between Hawk and the pillow, her eyes squinted before a surprised giggle escaped her lips.

Her hands moved to her face to cover her laughs while Hawk slowly relaxed, the air between them seemed to ease

Molly, still smiling, shook her head. "You're such a dork." She breathed out as her laughter died down.

Hawk's grin returned as he moved the pillow back to behind his head. "Yeah, well, you used to like that about me." He breathed out, but Molly didn't hear him over her laughs.

As her laughter died down, the two continued to stare at each other. The longer they sat there—taking the other in, Molly felt her nerves build up more and more. She felt it harder to control her smile and the heat rising in her face.

She also felt it was harder to not look at Hawk's lips.

Molly bit back a smile, she didn't know how much longer she could just lay there without doing anything. "Goodnight, Eli." She muttered, her voice like music to the boys ears. He closed his eyes, basking in the girls words as she turned around to lay on her side, her back facing him.

Hawk turned to his side as well, facing Molly and he smiled. He wanted nothing more than be able to scoot closer to her, wrap his arm around her waist and pull her into his embrace. He wanted to fall asleep with his nose nuzzled into her hair.

But he couldn't. He smiled at the back of the girls head, thinking about all the things he wished he could do in that moment. "Goodnight, Molls."

emily speaks...
i'm actually gonna crawl away into nothingness and never return because of moli tension

LONG CHAPTER BUT TOTALLY WORTH IT🙏
HOPEFULLY THIS CHAPTER LIVED UP TO THE HYPE BECAUSE I NEVER SHUT UO ABOUT THIS CHAPTER