Summary: After watching Hawk break your brother's arm, you have trouble trusting him again.
A/n: I've discovered I enjoy writing hawk angst, so now you all must suffer
Warnings: violence, angst, injury and a rushed ending
I only got into karate because of my brother. I agreed that it might be good to learn to defend ourselves. I had no idea that it would increase the odds of us needing to tenfold.
Now I'm hiding in the corner of the laster tag place downtown, watching the boy who used to be my best friend, who I used to believe I was in love with, beat my brother to a pulp.
He pins Demetri to the ground, grabbing his arm and tugging it back.
"Finish him!" the other Cobra Kai's shout.
"Demetri!" I jump up from my hiding spot, rushing towards them.
Demetri is trying to reason with him. "Eli, Eli, it's me," he cries.
The other Cobra Kai's are shouting over him.
"Stop!" I cry, running towards them.
Eli looks up at me, but I realize that it's no longer him. The Eli I knew was kind and loyal. The person staring over at me is the complete opposite. His stone cold face is filled with nothing but hatred.
I watch in horror, as Hawk jerks my brother's arm, bending it backwards.
The crack echoes in my ears, only drowned out by the sound of my brother's scream.
"Demetri!" I drop to the ground beside him.
The other Cobra Kai's are already turning and leaving.
"It's okay," I mumble. "It's gonna be okay."
I look up to see Hawk still staring down at us.
"Just go!" I shout at him, tears spilling past my cheeks at having to listen to Demetri's whimpers.
I reach into my pocket, digging out my phone and calling 911.
By the time I've finished explaining the situation to the operator, Hawk is gone.
I wasn't able to forgive Hawk as easily as my brother did. I guess guys have a different sort of resolution to their fights. One second they hated each other, the next it was like a switch was flipped and they were best friends again.
I wasn't won over so easily, but maybe it has to do with the fact that I've barely talked to Hawk since he left Cobra Kai. Every time he comes over to hang out with Demetri, I find something to do elsewhere.
It's not until I absolutely have to, that I talk to Hawk again.
I was at work at the library where I intern. I was in charge of closing and I guess my boss didn't care if it was a sixteen year old all alone at night.
I should've locked the door after my coworker left, but I forgot.
I was shelving my last stack of books when I heard the bell of the front door.
"We're closed," I say, slipping another book into its spot.
"You hear that boys?" Kyler's voice makes my heart drop. "We got the whole place to ourselves."
A group of Cobra Kais appears in the middle of the library, about five boys.
One of them catches sight of me from my spot beside the bookshelf.
I drop the books in my hands, sprinting towards the back of the building.
Their shouts cut through the air behind me and I hear the pounding of their feet in pursuit.
I sprint down the back hallway, locking myself into the librarian's office.
The boys must not have seen where I went, because I hear them opening and closing other doors in the hallway.
I reach into my back pocket for my phone, but it's not there.
I must have left it by the front desk.
Frantically looking around, I spot the landline sitting on the desk.
I rush over to it and dial my home phone number, but no one picks up.
"Shit," I whisper, dialing Demetri next.
He doesn't answer either. My hands are shaking and my heart is about to beat out of my chest.
I try the only other number I have memorized: Eli's.
I press the numbers as fast as I can, forcing myself to take deep breaths. The door knob starts to jiggle, as I place the phone to my ear.
"Hey guys, I think she's in here!"
I press a shaky hand to my mouth, to hold back my gasp.
Please leave a message after the tone.
The door crashes open and I scream, dropping the phone so it dangles beside the desk by its wire.
"Looks like we've got you cornered now," one of the boys says.
I turn around, grabbing one of the books off the side table and holding it in front of me.
Kyler laughs and the others join in. "What are you gonna do?" he asks. "Smack some knowledge into me? You're such a nerd, working at the library. That's just sad."
"What do you want?" I ask.
"We just want to have a little fun. Don't we?" Kyler turns to the guys he's with and they all smirk and nod in agreement.
One by one, they're stepping closer to me. A blonde on my left is getting especially too close and I decide it's time to make my move.
I crash the book down over his head, bolting past him and around the desk.
The boys all shout in response and grab me before I can make it past the exit.
Their hands wrap around my arms, holding me in place.
I jerk and pull against their grasp, but can't manage to break free.
"You want the first shot, Andrew?" The boys turn to the blonde guy I just attacked, who's rubbing the top of his head.
"Hell yeah." He comes over to me and I start to tug harder against the hands holding me back.
"Let me go!" I shout, just to be silenced with a punch across the face.
The boys all cheer, as the left side of my face throbs.
Before I can look back, another punch is being delivered to my stomach.
It goes on like that, them taking turns hitting me until I'm gasping for breath.
Another kick is delivered to my stomach and its like I can barely feel it anymore.
"That should teach them not to pick a fight with us and not see it through," Kyler spits.
The arms around me loosen and I stumble without them holding me up.
"Let's get out of here." The boys file past me out the door, as I drop down onto the ground.
I lean my back up against the wall, struggling to catch my breath, wincing with each gulp of air.
I tell myself that I'll just sit for a little while and then I'll grab my things and go home, but I doubt I'll be able to make the walk in my condition. My vision is starting to go spotty and I’m worried I might pass out.
"Y/n? Y/n? Are you here?" The voice echoing through the halls pulls me to attention.
Before I can even sit up, he comes rushing through the door, dropping to his knees beside me.
"Jesus," he murmurs, looking at me with wide eyes.
"You came?" I whisper, not believing it to be true.
"Of course I did, I got your call. Are you okay?"
I nod, sitting up. "Yeah, I'm good."
"Here." Hawk lifts my arm, pulling it over his shoulder and lifting me up. "I'll drive you home."
We stop to grab my stuff and he helps me all the way out to his car.
I finally relax once we're on our way back to my house, letting my head fall against the head rest.
"What time is it?" I ask.
I sigh. "My whole family's gonna be asleep by now. I really don’t want to wake them up to this."
"You still keep your window unlocked?" Hawk asks.
"You remember that?" I ask.
"How could I forget? I spent too many nights sneaking in to hang out when you were grounded."
"God, only we were lame enough to have to sneak around just to stay home all night."
We pull into my driveway and Hawk hops out of the car, coming over to my side to help me.
With his support, I walk around to the back of the house, pausing below my window.
Hawk steps forward and pushes it open, turning to me and offering his intertwined hands as a platform to boost me up.
I grasp onto the windowsill and, since my bedroom's on the first floor, slip in easily.
Hawk comes in behind me and goes straight to my bathroom.
I move to sit on my bed, assuming he might just have to go, but he comes back out with a washcloth in hand.
"Can I?" he asks, approaching me.
I’m surprised by how much he cares, but nod and he presses the cool cloth to my face.
"It looks like they didn't get you too bad," he says.
Without saying anything, I reach to lift up my shirt, revealing the bruises on my stomach.
I haven't looked at them, yet, and the mixture of purple and yellow painting my skin looks worse than I could have imagined.
I turn my gaze up to see Hawk's reaction. His face is in a scowl, his nostrils flaring, as his grip on the washcloth tightens.
I'm once again reminded of why I'm so afraid of him.
"I can't believe that they ambushed you five to one," Hawk says. "Those cowards can't even make it a fair fight."
"How'd you know there were five of them," I ask.
Hawk goes back to pressing the washcloth on my cheek. "I saw them leaving when I got there."
"And you didn't stop to fight them?" I ask, confused.
Hawk furrows his brows. "No, I had to make sure you were okay."
I feel myself start to smile, because that's exactly something Eli would do.
"Let me go grab an ice pack," he pops up from the bed and leaves the room.
I take the opportunity while he's gone to change out of my jeans and blouse into loose fitting shorts and a t-shirt.
Hawk comes back from his mission, ice pack in hand, as well as a bottle of ibuprofen.
Hawk sits beside me on the edge of my bed, while I try and situate the ice pack on my stomach.
I can’t help but wince at the contact.
“They’re gonna fucking pay,” Hawk says.
“I’ll be fine,” I say. “Please, just leave them be.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Hawk jumps up from the bed, waving his hands and turning toward me.
The action causes me to flinch backwards, closing my eyes and putting my head down.
It’s the briefest of movements but when I look back up Hawk is staring down at me with his mouth slightly agape.
“Are you scared of me?” he asks, his voice no louder than a whisper. Almost like he doesn’t want to speak it into existence, like he can’t believe it might be true.
I shake my head, not wanting to get into it right now. “I’m just jumpy cause of everything that happened tonight.”
Hawk rolls his eyes with a shake of his head. “You forget I can always tell when you’re lying. Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?”
“You broke Demetri’s arm. Demetri may be able to forget that, but I can’t. You were awful.”
Hawk’s face falls and he drops his head, avoiding eye contact.
“I know,” he murmurs. “I’m so sorry. If you’re okay, I’ll go.” He turns to head to the window. I should let him, but something about the way his head hangs low and how he refuses to meet my eye reminds me of Eli.
“Wait,” I find myself saying.
Hawk pauses and looks at me expectantly.
“You can stay,” I whisper.
I nod. “Like old times.” I sit back on the bed, pulling my laptop up to find the Marvel movies we always watched together.
Hawk slowly sits down on the far side of my bed, putting plenty of space between us.
“You’re not going to be able to see it over there.” I slide next to him.
We sit in silence for awhile, eyes on my laptop screen. It’s not long before I start to feel tired, my head drops slightly, resting on his shoulder.
I feel Hawk tense a little at the contact and my head jerks back up with an apology.
“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind,” Hawk says and I rest my head against him once more.
I fall asleep like that, my head on his shoulder and when I wake up in the morning my face is planted on his chest.
I rub my eyes, sitting up and the movement causes Hawk to stir beneath me.
“Sorry for falling asleep,” I whisper.
He shakes his head. “Don’t be. It was nice to hang out like we used to. I missed you.”
His words make me pause. “I missed you, too.”
We sit like that, me leaning over him staring into each others eyes until Hawk breaks the silence.
“Uh, how are you feeling?” he asks.
“Sore,” I reply, “But I’ll be okay.”
“Thank you,” I add. “For coming.”
“I’ll always come get you, y/n.” Hawk’s eyes meet mine again and I can’t help, but feel drawn toward him.
His hand reaches up to brush the side of my face.
My heartbeat is fluttering, my mind is on overdrive trying to process what’s happening.
And then he kisses me, and it’s like the whole world goes still.
When we finally pull away both of us are smiling.
“I love you,” Hawk says. “I’ve loved you since we were kids and I need you to know it.”
His confession leaves me stunned, but my answer is easy. “I love you, too.”
Even though I’ve had my reservations about him recently I know it’s true. I realized it last night. I love the boy sitting across from me, Hawk and Eli alike.
