When they got to Molly's apartment, Molly and Hawk got out of the car and Molly's eyes widened at Johnny outside of his apartment, practicing Daniel's crane kick. She cringed at the sight, letting out a groan as she looked away. "That image is never leaving my mind." She muttered, catching the man's attention.

Johnny lowered his arms and leg, smiling at his students. "Preston! Hawk! Amazing you two are here. Look, Diaz wouldn't help me but I think I've got a counter to LaRusso's bread-and-butter. Watch this." He said, not even letting them say hi back before showing his plan.

"I make it like I'm gonna walk into it again. At the last second, I slip under, shoulder check him in the balls, take him to the mat, elbow, elbow, elbow." He said, doing all the movements he was saying as he said them. Once he finished, he stood back up straight, smiling as he gave them two thumbs up. "Point. Lawrence, winner."

Molly and Hawk gave their sensei fake smiles, nodding their heads encouragingly. "Very cool." Molly said unenthusiastically but Johnny didn't notice.

He smiled, nodding his head as he gestured for them to come closer. "Here, one of you be him so I can try this at game speed."

Molly and Hawk turned to each other at the same time with the same expression. Neither of them wanted to get stuck helping sensei and quickly, Molly laughed, her hand grabbing Hawk's. "We actually have a project we need to work on but good luck! We're rooting for you!"

She sent the man a thumbs up as she tugged Hawk towards the stairs to her apartment. Hawk interlocked his and Molly's fingers and walked faster to catch up to her pace.

Once they were inside the stairwell where Johnny couldn't see them, Hawk leaned towards Molly, his face scrunched in confusion. "We have a project?" He whispered.

Molly looked to Hawk and even though she felt a huge tug in her stomach at their close proximity since Hawk was leaning towards her, Molly shook her head and squinted at the boy. "What? No! I just saved you!"

Once they got inside Molly's house, she led him to the bathroom. She looked at Hawk's reflection in the mirror and pursed her lips. "You should rinse out the gel first." Molly said, kneeling at the tub and reaching for the faucet. "Come on, I'll help."

Hawk obliged, kneeling down beside her at the edge of the tub. As the water ran, Molly gently guided his head under the stream, her fingers working through his hair to loosen the gel. Hawk closed his eyes, trying to ignore the shiver that went down his spine at her touch. Her hands moved slowly, carefully, and despite the cold water, his skin warmed where her fingers lingered.

Once the gel was rinsed out, Molly sat back on her heels, watching as Hawk's hair fell down over his forehead. She paused. She always liked when he wore his hair down—it was softer, more vulnerable somehow.

"You look good with your hair down, you know." She said, grabbing her blow dryer. Hawk's breath caught, but before he could say anything, Molly stood. "Here, let's dry this."

She turned on the dryer and aimed it at his head. His hair was about halfway dry before she switched the blow dryer to the cool setting and started spraying it directly into his face.

Hawk yelped, jerking back. "What the hell!"

Molly burst into laughter, doubling over as Hawk swiped at the cool air. He shot her an offended look but couldn't help the smile creeping onto his face as she kept laughing.

"Not funny." He muttered, but he couldn't look away. The sound of her laughter sent those familiar butterflies into a frenzy. He realized, too late, that he'd been staring for too long. Quickly, he looked away just as her laughter died down.

Molly continued to actually dry his hair and once it was dry, Molly rummaged through her cabinets, pulling out the old container of gel. "Found it!" She cheered. Molly pointed to the toilet seat. "Sit. I'll walk you through it."

He sat down, watching her as she stood over him, her fingers working through his hair to spike it back up. She explained how to style it, but the sound of her voice faded as he found himself focusing on how close she was, how the light scent of her perfume filled the air around him. His eyes drifted to her face, and then lower, to her lips.

She was so close.

He could lean in and just—

Molly finished, stepping back with a proud smile. "Tada! Okay, go look in the mirror. Tell me what you think?" She said, nudging him to get up.

But Hawk didn't move or respond, his gaze was locked on her. She looked down at him, her expression softening when she noticed the look in his eyes.

Their eyes met, and suddenly, the air between them felt heavy. Molly fought hard but her eyes flickered down his lips. She suddenly missed the feeling of his lips on her. Part of her forgot what it was like. Part of her wanted to remember again. She realized her slip up and quickly looked back at Hawk's eyes, hoping he didn't notice.

But Hawk did notice and she was sure—positive even—that he started to lean in.

Then, out of nowhere, a loud buzzing filled the room.

They both jumped, Molly's heart racing as Hawk cursed under his breath, reaching for his phone. Molly brought her hand up to her mouth and closed her eyes. No way that almost just happened.

Hawk looked at the time and his eyes widened. "Shit, I've gotta go." He muttered, standing up quickly. "I made an appointment with Rico to change the mohawk color on my tattoo."

Molly blinked, still in shock at what almost happened. "The fight's at 7. Will you make it?"

Hawk nodded, finally looking at his reflection. "Yeah, I'll probably just be a couple minutes late." He said as he turned his head to the side and smiled at the mohawk just how he wanted it.

Molly followed Hawk out of the bathroom and stopped at the edge of the couch as he grabbed his things. "You don't have your bike. Do you need a ride?"

Hawk shook his head, throwing his backpack over his shoulder and smiling at Molly. "Nah, don't worry about it. Rico's just around the corner. I'll Uber it. Can't have you missing the fight too."

"Okay, well, text me if the Uber's too expensive." Molly said as Hawk started to walk towards the door. Hawk flashed her one last smile before walking out.

Molly stared at the door. She couldn't shake the feeling of how close they'd been—how close something had almost happened.

She groaned, falling back onto the couch, her hands covering her face.

...

"He's here. He's here!" Mitch yelled as Johnny walked into the backyard of Miyagi-Do. Molly, who was in the middle of texting Hawk asking where he was, looked up from her phone and started to walk towards her sensei with all of the other students.

"Anything you want to say to the camera, Sensei Lawrence?" Chris asked from the front of the crowd, holding a camera to the man's face but Johnny ignored him and pushed through the sea of students until he got to the sparring deck.

Miguel and Sam walked onto deck beside their senseis, flags in their hands to ref. "Face us." Sam instructed. The two men turned to Miguel and Sam, bowing.

"Face each other." Miguel spoke and they turned to each other, bowing again before getting in their fighting positions.

"Fight!"

Johnny wasted no time running towards Daniel, sending him kick after kick. Daniel blocked every kick Johnny sent him until Johnny sent a kick towards his head. Daniel blocked it and while the man was distracted, Johnny punched him in the gut.

"Point Lawrence!" Sam yelled, raising the flag in the air. Daniel turned to her with wide eyes, tilting his head. "Sensei Lawrence strikes first!" Chris yelled and Mitch laughed, moving so he was in front of the camera. "True to the motto painted on his former dojo wall, and covered into his very being."

"Score 1-0. Lawrence." Miguel yelled and the two men got into fighting positions.

"Ready?" Sam asked and when the men nodded, her and Miguel drew their flags down, Miguel screaming a loud "Fight!"

"Who do you thinks gonna win?" Demetri asked, leaning closer to Molly's ear so the whole dojo didn't hear them. Molly crossed her arms as she watched the fight. She pursed her lips as Johnny dodged a punch before she turned to Demetri. "I'm not too sure, but I'm hoping for Sensei Lawrence."

"Point, LaRusso!" Miguel yelled, making Demetri and Molly turn away from each other and back to the fight. Molly groaned under her breath, shaking her head. "He needs it."

Sam and Miguel walked to stand beside their sensei's again as they both raised their flags. "Score is 1-1. Ready?"

"Fight!"

This round, Johnny's was more aggressive as he sent punch after kick to Daniel. Daniels eyes were wide the whole time, blocking everything Johnny sent him. Johnny went to kick Daniel in the head again but Daniel grabbed his leg, kicking him in the stomach.

"Score is 2-1, LaRusso." Miguel said as the men got back into their fighting position. "Ready?" Miguel said and Sam nodded. "Fight!"

Keeping her eyes on the fight, Molly leaned towards Demetri. "Have you heard from Hawk?" She asked and Demetri shook his head. "No, haven't heard from him." He said before he completely forgot about the fight, giving Molly his full attention as he raised his eyebrows.

"Why do you care?" He asked, amusement in his voice. Molly turned to look at Demetri and defensively shrugged her shoulders, struggling to keep eye contact with Demetri. "He just... seemed really excited for this fight and now he's missing it. That's all." Molly said, turning back to the fight.

She couldn't tell Demetri about her feelings towards Hawk starting to come back. And she definitely couldn't tell him what almost happened earlier. Sure, Demetri was her friend, but he was Hawk's friend first. If there was anyone she could talk to about it, it would be Miguel or Sam. Those were her friends first.

"Sure..." Demetri muttered, not believing Molly. He turned back to the fight just as Daniel hit Johnny a few inches away from his armpit.

Johnny's arm dropped, as if he couldn't feel it anymore and Molly's eyes widened. Johnny looked down at his arm in shock before looking up at Daniel. He glared at Daniel, running towards him. Quickly, he wrapped himself around Daniel before bringing them both to the ground. As they lied on the floor, Johnny raised his foot, bringing it back down at kicking Daniel in the stomach.

"Point Lawrence!" Sam yelled before continuing. "Score is 2-2." She said and Miguel nodded, looking between Johnny and Daniel. "Next point wins." He said.

...

Hawk laid on his stomach in the tattoo parlor, his tattoo already done; he was just waiting for Rico to get the bill.

As he waited, Hawk stared down at his phone. His mind replayed Demetri's words from earlier in the day. He wanted Molly back. He never stopped wanting Molly back. So, he texted Molly.

"rumor has it there's a prom coming up"

Just before he could hit send, he groaned, shaking his head crazily. "No, that's so stupid!" He scoffed, erasing the whole text. As he thought about something to send, he heard the bell hanging over the door jingle.

"Hey, Rico! What's taking so long?" Hawk called out over his shoulder, not looking away from his phone as he tried to think of a way to ask Molly to prom.

"Tattoo shop's closed for the day." A voice that wasn't Rico's yelled and Hawk turned around. When Robby and the rest of Cobra Kai walked into the backroom where he was.

"Shit!" Hawk yelled as he shot off the tattoo table. When all of Cobra Kai came charging towards him, Hawk kicked the table down to block the Cobra Kai's from getting to him.

From his phone being on the table, it fell to the ground, right at Cobra Kai's feet. Robby looked down at the device and felt anger bubble in his stomach when he saw the phone open to Hawk's texts with Molly. Robby scoffed and keeping his eyes on Hawk, Robby raised his foot and slammed it down onto the phone, shattering it.

...

"Ready." Sam said, her words slow to give the men time to get into fighting positions. Miguel looked back and forth between them before bringing down his flag. "Fight!"

Johnny ran towards Daniel going to kick him but Daniel side stepped away, turning around to Johnny and grabbing his arm and spinning around, sending him to the floor. Just as Daniel was about to kick Johnny in the stomach, finishing the fight, Johnny rolled away and stood back up.

Daniel went to punch Johnny but Johnny blocked it, grabbing Daniels arm and throwing him into one of the piles of the sparring deck. Johnny went to kick Daniel in the head but Daniel ducked, moving around to kick Johnny. At the same time, the two men sent kicks to each other's faces, both of them falling to the floor.

Molly winced, her fist going to her mouth as a low "ohhh" echoed around her.

"Point Lawrence!" "Point LaRusso!" Sam and Miguel yelled at the same time. The couple turned to each other, their eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure?" Sam asked and Miguel's brows rose. "Are you sure?"

"Check the replay." Johnny groaned as he got up. Everyone crowded around Chris as he moved the phone on the selfie stick so everyone could see, replaying the fight.

They watched the phone as Johnny and Daniel kicked each other at the same time before falling to the ground, just like all of the students saw.

"Go to another angle." Johnny said and Molly looked back at Johnny. "There is no other angle." She said, making Johnny look down at her angrily.

"Didn't you guys have another phone?"

Molly shook her head. "No, why would we have another phone?"

As Chris put his phone back down, everyone watched as a hooded figure walked towards them. Demetri recognized the jacket immediately and his eyebrows creased. "Eli?"

Molly's head snapped at the mention of Hawk, turning to where everyone else was looking. Her brows furrowed at Hawk coming towards them with his hood up considering the last Molly had seen him just two hours ago, he had his mohawk up.

When Hawk got closer to the group, Molly couldn't sworn she heard him sniffle. Molly quickly pushed passed the other students until she was standing next to Demetri at the front of the group.

"Shit, Eli. What happened?" Demetri asked again. Slowly, Hawk looked up at Molly and Demetri, his hand shaking towards his hood before he pulled it down.

Molly's eyes widened at his mohawk gone, only two little patches of purple left on his head.

Eli sniffled and his cheeks turned pink as he looked away from Molly. "They jumped me." He whispered, trying to muster up as much courage as he could to speak.

Molly's jaw clenched and her hands made fists at her sides so tight, she could've sworn she broke skin. "Cobra Kai?" She asked, her voice softer than how angry she looked. Hawk finally turned to Molly, his eyes red and glassy as he nodded, tears running down his face. It made Molly's heart break.

Johnny scoffed, walking up from the back of the crowd. "Kreese and Silver did this. They need to pay." Johnny grumbled, making Daniel dry laugh.

"Jesus, Johnny please. I don't think it's good to go to Cobra Kai." Daniel said and Johnny turned to him, his face reddening in anger. "Look what they did!" He yelled, pointing at Eli.

"Dousing the fire with gasoline, that's your answer? Why am I not surprised?" Daniel yelled, an annoyed laugh escaping his lips as he shook his head.

Molly rolled her eyes, shocked that they had turned what happened to Hawk back to their feud as Johnny looked at Daniel as if he were crazy. "You still think your way is the only way."

Daniel's brows furrowed, only pissing Johnny off more. "You were so proud when they pulled their little sprinkler prank. If they kicked ass like I taught them, this never would've happened."

Daniel clenched his jaw in anger. He looked back at the students before turning back to Johnny. "If they fight every time you kids are provoked, where does that lead? Back to the hospital? Or to jail? Just 'cause you spent time in both–" "Enough, Dad!" Sam yelled, stopping the men.

Daniel did a double take at Sam defying him, his eyes wide like a deer in headlights. "What?"

"Johnny's right. It doesn't matter how many times we stand up to Cobra Kai, if we don't strike first, they're gonna keep striking." Sam said. Daniel looked at his daughter for a few seconds before scoffing, shaking his head and turning to Johnny. "Is this what you want Johnny? To have my daughter and the rest of my students acting like you?"

Johnny's jaw clenched at Daniels words, lifting his chin high. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. Because we're done."

Daniel smiled, opening his hands slightly. "Works for me." Johnny glared at Daniel for a few seconds before nodding towards Miyagi-Dos exit. "Eagle Fangs, let's go." He yelled, turning around and walking out of the dojo.

Molly's jaw fell, looking between the two men as the Eagle Fangs started to follow Johnny. It wasn't until her and Hawk were the last to stay in the backyard that Molly started to move. She looked back at Demetri, who was looking back and forth between her and Hawk with a worried look.

Molly gave him a reassuring smile, silently telling him she's got him and she watched Demetri relax. When Molly reached Hawk, she gently wrapped her arm around him until her hand touched the his back.

She carefully turned the boy to face the exit and led him out with the rest of their team. Her hand moved from his back to around his waist.

"It's okay." She murmured to the boy as Hawk shifted closer to her as she started to run her hand up and down his side to comfort him.

emily speaks...
sooooo... how we feeling?☺️☺️

rip mohawk (idrc i love buzz cut eli)

i'm so ready for the next like... four chapters GUYS IT'S GONNA BE SO GOOD I CANT EVEN