Work Text:
Prom. I scoffed. What a complete waste of time. If it wasn’t for the Miyagi-Dos and Eagle Fangs dragging my ass here, I would be in the comfort of my own home eating a pizza and having a Dr. Who marathon. Honestly, even studying for an AP calculus test all night would be better than being here wearing a tux and being miserable for the night. Demetri and Miguel were the ones that really talked me into coming but twenty minutes after we got here, Demetri and Yasmine are nowhere to be found, probably swapping saliva with each other in an empty classroom and Miguel has been dancing the night away with a girl that he’s been talking to for the past month.
What was the point of them even dragging me here if they were just going to run off with their girls? I can't blame them though. I'm not exaclty the best company right now. Scratch that. I haven't been the best company for the past year after everything that I've done and said.
I gazed over the dance floor and I caught sight of Moon laughing and dancing with some of her friends. I sighed. I screwed that one up. Big time. Just like I screwed up everything else the past year. I knew she was happier without me, that much was clear. She deserved someone better than me. Someone who didn't beat up their best friend over a Yelp review. Someone who didn't break their best friend's arm. Someone who wasn't a complete asshole. Somone who wasn't a complete mess. And tonight was just another lousy event to take place during this lousy month. Just as things were starting to look up for me, things quickly went south when Cobra Kai jumped me and shaved my mohawk shaved off. Guess it was karma catching up to me after all the terrible things I did last year. I deserved it. And now, two weeks later, here I was at prom, looking like complete shit. Even though the Cobra's didn't leave any bruises, I was stuck with a buzz cut that made my scar stick out more than ever. I looked like and felt like a complete freak.
“And now it’s that time of night where we announce our prom king and queen!” Counselor Blatt announced to everyone.
I sighed. I was done with tonight. I couldn’t care less who was crowned prom king and queen. I didn’t want to be here and it was pretty clear nobody would miss me if I left right now. I began to walk towards the doors as Blatt continued to talk.
“…and your 2019 prom king is…Eli Moskowitz!”
I stopped dead in my tracks. This had to be some sort of joke, right? Because why else would I be voted prom king? I guess it could be the fact that everyone just felt bad for me after they learned I got jumped by a bunch of Cobra Kai’s. S Great. So I was either prom king because it was a joke or because I was a pity vote. I’m not sure which one is worse. I thought for a split second of not even going up there but that would just make matters worse as Blatt would just announce my name over and over again until I went up there. So I inwardly sighed as I walked towards the front of the gym as I felt all eyes on me. And I hated it.
When I got to the front of the gym, I felt the old Eli emerge as I suddenly felt very uncomfortable as I now saw how many people were there, looking at me. I quickly shifted my eyes away from the crowd in front of me to the floor, which I suddenly found very interesting. I have no clue why anyone in their right mind would want this kind of attention on them.
Well, Hawk would have liked the attention.
Because Hawk loved attention.
But not Eli.
Eli hates attention because that means people are looking at this damn scar.
I shifted uncomfortably as Blatt placed the crown on my head. Was a crown really necessary?
“And now, your 2019 prom queen is…”
Right. Now I just had to get through a dance. I scoffed. I’ve just realized this would be my first dance with a girl. Wow Eli, you’ve really outdone yourself in high school. You’re a junior in high school and it's your first ever dance with a girl and you look like complete shit. Congratulations on another step closer to being the biggest freak in school. Scratch that, I was probably already the biggest freak in school. I actually felt bad for the girl that was going to be forced to dance with me.
“…Samantha LaRusso!” Blatt announced.
Just perfect. If this isn’t the perfect way to end this shitty night then I don’t know what is. Of all of the girls here to be prom queen, it had to be Sam. I’m pretty sure she still hates me and would murder me if she could get away with it. All we do is irritate each other. Demetri said we just needed to spar it out and everything would be ‘hunky dory’ as he put it. But a lot of good that did. We’ve sparred twice so far and the first time I let her win because I still felt bad about what I did to her dad’s dojo and she got all pissy because I let her win. So the second time we sparred, I won and she got pissy that she lost. I mean, seriously? I was screwed no matter what. And I’ve tried being nice to her and she just gets all pissy and bossy, telling me I’m not allowed to do that or I’m waxing the cars wrong. She says there’s only one way to wax a car. What is that even about? Literally the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. She was the most frustrating person on this planet.
Sam came up on stage as Blatt placed the crown on her head and congratulated her.
She looked just as excited to dance with me as a cat is excited to take a bath.
But that's when I saw how beautiful she looked tonight.
I mean, she always looked beautiful.
But with the way her curly hair fell and her the way the blue dress she was wearing brought out her eyes made her stand out from every other girl here.
“And there you have it! Your 2019 prom king and queen! Please take the dance floor to share a dance.” Blatt announced to us.
I pushed those thoughts away.
This was Sam.
The girl that hates you.
Just then, music took over the room and I suddenly realized that we still had to dance together.
The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful
Stop me, and steal my breath
And emeralds from mountains, the thrust towards the sky
Never revealing their depth
The other students made room for us to begin our dance and I nervously cleared my throat as my eyes shifted everywhere but to hers. We just kind of stood there, awkward as ever, not knowing what to do.
Damn. This was awkward as hell.
“Lets just get this over with.” She told me, clearly irritated with the whole thing.
“You read my mind.” I told her, with equal irritation.
“Oh, and if your hands touch my ass, you’re dead.” She told me as she looked at me dead in the eye.
I sighed as I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, don’t have to worry about that, Princess.” I told her.
And tell me that we belong together
Dress it up with the trappings of love
I'll be captivated, I'll hang from your lips
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above
I placed my hands on her hips and when I did, I felt a surge of electricity go through my veins. It made my hands jolt slightly back.
What the hell was that?
She then put her arms around my neck and when she did, I felt another surge of electricity go through me again.
Why was her touch having this effect on me?
Get it together, Eli.
This is Sam.
We awkwardly swayed to the music, not looking into each others eyes as time stood still. But it wasn’t in the romantic sense of time standing still. It was more in the sense that the moment was so awkward, like when you walk into the wrong bathroom and your eyes meet with someone in that bathroom and you just freeze and don’t know what to do. That kind of time standing still.
And I'll be your cryin' shoulder
I'll be love's suicide
And I'll be better when I'm older
I'll be the greatest fan of your life
I then stepped on her foot.
Shit.
“Shit…sorry.” I said as I shook my head in slight embarrassment.
“It’s okay…” She said with the smallest of smiles.
And then we looked at each other and our eyes locked, and for the first time it looked as if she didn’t want to kill me. Annoyed maybe. But definitely didn’t look like she wanted to kill me. And as I gazed into her eyes, I noticed how blue her eyes were. They were like the ocean. They were actually really pretty. Probably the prettiest eyes that I've ever seen.
Wait, what was I even thinking?
This was Sam.
The girl that annoys you and you’re the guy that annoys her.
That’s how it is and always will be.
I shook my head.
Get with it, Eli.
The others started to join us on the dance floor and this dance between us was going less than smooth. It felt like we've been on the dance floor for thirty minutes when its probably only been about one minute.
And rain falls, angry on the tin roof
As we lie awake in my bed
And you're my survival, you're my living proof
My love is alive and not dead
Someone then bumped into Sam, causing her to fall into me. I caught her, before she could fall, as she gazed up into my eyes and I gazed into hers. I then got this funny feeling in my stomach that I’ve never felt before and I felt my heart rate increase.
What was going on?
“Aw, look, the freak found someone to dance with. Even if it is with the school slut.”
Kyler.
Great. Just the person I wanted to deal with right now.
I cleared my throat as Sam and I took a small step away from each other.
“Hey, if you play your cards right, Lip, you might just get in her pants tonight. She’s slept with half of the dojo already. You gotta be on her list somewhere of guys she wants to sleep with, right?”
Sam looked away, clearly embarrassed. And all of a sudden, I got really pissed.
“What was that?” I asked, anger laced in my voice, as I took a step closer to Kyler.
“Come on, you should be happy, Lip. You may finally get some. Even if it is from this slut.” Kyler said as he sneered at Sam.
And then something in me just snapped. I wanted to beat the complete shit out of Kyler right then and there for talking to Sam like that. I was about to lunge forward when Sam grabbed my arm to stop me.
“Eli, don’t. He’s not worth it.” Sam said as she pulled me towards her.
“Yeah, you should listen to her, Lip. Remember how easy it was for us to shave that pretty mohawk off your head. Won't be too hard to beat the complete shit out of you next time. And you may want to wear a blindfold Sam so you don’t have to look at that ugly mug of his when you’re doing the dirty. I didn’t think the freak could look any worse, but he does.” Kyler added with a laugh.
Now it was my turn to look away, embarrassed. I covered my scar with my hand, out of habit but then I saw Sam look at me with sad eyes but they quickly turned angry as she looked at Kyler and that’s when Sam let go of my arm and tackled Kyler to the ground and started to punch him in the face.
Over and over again.
Oh shit...
“That’s for Eli.” She said and she punched him again, leaving him with a bloodied nose.
I'm pretty sure I heard his nose break.
“And that’s for being an asshole.” She said, throwing another punch to his face.
She was about punch him again when I realized that this was a school function and that she was going to have to deal with major consequences if she kept on punching him, even though he deserved every last bit. I quickly pulled her off of Kyler but she continued to try to punch him so I did the next logical thing and flung her over my shoulder and I started to walk out of the gym.
“Miss LaRusso!” I heard Blatt yell.
“Don’t worry, we’re leaving!” I yelled back, not caring if Blatt was following us or not.
I walked out into the empty hallway and put her down.
“Why did you do that?! I could have handled him, Eli!” Sam yelled.
“I know you could have, but if you haven’t noticed, we’re at school, with teachers and chaperones watching us. So unless you wanted to get a months worth of detention or worse, get suspended, I took you away from the situation.” I told her in all seriousness.
“Doesn’t matter. She already saw me punch him. Might as well take the opportunity to beat the complete shit out of him.” Sam said, still pissed off. "He deserves every last bit after what he did to you and after what he said to you."
“Yeah, but there’s a difference of consequences when it comes to punching someone a couple of times verses beating the complete shit out of them.” I told her matter of factly.
She huffed and crossed her arms.
“He’s just-“ Sam began, obviously still pissed.
“Irritating? An ass? A douche bag? Someone you just want to beat the shit out of?” I answered for her.
“Ugh! Yes!” Sam said as she slid down the wall to take a seat on the floor.
It was quiet for a moment. I looked at her. Why would she defend me? After everything that I did last year? I was an asshole, especailly to her. I didn't deserve her defending me. But yet she did. I didn’t get it. I took a seat by her on the floor and continued to look at her.
“Why did you do that?” I finally asked.
“Punch him?” She asked.
“No, I mean why did you stand up for me? I thought you hated me. I don't deserve it, especailly after everything that I've done...especailly to you...”
“I don’t hate you, Eli...I mean, last year was a different story. I wanted to beat the shit out of you every time that I saw you…but you’ve proved to us that you’re no longer one of them. You’ve stood up for everyone this year. You’ve even stood up for random kids that were getting bullied by Cobra Kai. You were even getting ready to punch Kyler in there after what he called me. Besides, you don’t deserve to be talked to that way. And after what they did to you…I wanted to punch Kyler in the face so bad ever since. So tonight felt really good to do that.” Sam said with a small chuckle.
Wow. I did not expect to hear this from Sam.
I guess she didn’t hate me after all.
“Thanks.” I told her with a small smile.
“Well he deserved it. After everything that he’s done to you.” Sam told me sincerely. “And if I’m being honest, I kinda prefer this haircut over your mohawk. Gives you less of ‘douchbag’ vibe.” Sam told me as she rubbed the top of my head with a small laugh.
“Hah, you’re funny.” I told her with a smile.
“No, but in all seriousness, short hair looks good on you, Moskowitz. You totally rock it." Sam told me with a smile.
I looked at her and smiled.
And there it was again.
That funny feeling in my stomach and my heart rate began to increase again.
And I had the sudden urge to kiss her.
No.
Don't think like that, Eli.
This is Sam, remember?
Even if she doesn't hate you, she could never like someone like you, Eli.
You've done too much dammage and you're too much of a mess to deserve someone as good as Sam.
So I pushed those feelings aside and said the next thing that came to my mind.
“You know, you’re alright, LaRusso.” I told her with another smile.
“Careful, Moskowitz, someone might hear you and think that we are friends.” She told me with a playful smirk.
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want that, would we? Besides, you still annoy me on a daily basis.” I told her with a smirk of my own.
“And you’re still a major pain in my ass.” She told me with another smirk.
We locked eyes again and for the third time that night, the strange feeling came over me again. And it was as if she was a magnet. I felt myself graviting towards her and I could have sworn she was leaning in a little, too.
No way...
Not possible...
Just then, Demetri and Yasmine came around the corner.
“Hey, what are you guys doing out here?” Demetri asked us and we pulled away from each other like just burnt out hand on a hot stove.
“I could ask you two the same thing. I haven’t seen you all night.” I said as I looked at the two with a knowing look.
“Oh well, you know…” Demetri said as a sheepish smile came across his face.
“Ew, on second thought, I don’t want to know.” I said as I scrunched up my nose in disgust.
“Well, you two coming in?” Demetri asked us as he nodded his head towards the gym doors.
“Yeah, I probably shouldn’t go back in there.” Sam said with a small chuckle.
“Right…probably a good idea…” I said with a small laugh.
Sam and I looked at each other again and shared another look. T
That same feeling came over me.
Come one, Eli.
Get this under control.
Demetri looked between Sam and I as his eyes shifted between the two of us.
“Well, um I better go...” Sam said nervously as she got up.
“Right. Yeah. See you later, Sam...” I said as I got up, too
Sam gave me a small smile before she turned to leave.
I found myself watching her walk down the hallway towards the doors, not able to take my eyes off of her.
“What?” I asked Demetri as I turned around as I found him looking at me with a smile.
“I should ask you the same thing.” He said with the smile still plastered on his face.
“What does that even mean, Demetri?” I asked.
Demetri looked at me and then the direction where Sam was at a moment ago. Then he smiled again.
“Oh, nothing. Just…observing…” He said, smile still plastered on his face.
Observing what? You know what? Who knows. It was Demetri. He could be weird sometimes. Scratch that. He was always weird. Just like tonight. Tonight was a very, very weird night. And weirdly enough, the only part I enjoyed was when I was with Sam.