Heartbreak Weather, Eli Mosko...

LXXXVI. Heartbreak Weather

Odessa had been calling and texting Tory the rest of the day but each time, she didn't answer. She tried keeping a strong face for Robby when she saw him but on the inside, Odessa was confused. She was concerned. Maybe Tory was just taking a personal day like she said, maybe a mental health day. In that case, she understood completely that she'd want space. She just wanted her for answer one text.

She and Hailey decided not to train together so they would be surprised on the day of their fight. After school, she went home with Eli and Grayson so they could train together. "Nothing being thrown at you guys, no koi ponds, just the safety of our own backyard," Christian told them.

Grayson pointed at the pool. "If I end up in there somewhere, I'll officially declare myself as a merman."

"No bro, you're just accident prone," said Eli and he laughed.

He scoffed at their laughter. "I am not."

"Oh please. Remember that time on my mom's birthday when we sang happy birthday to her and you slipped and dropped the cake?" Odessa brought up, Eli bursting out laughing.

Christian broke out into an amusemed smile. "Really? You did that?"

"Okay, fine. I'm accident prone. Can we just train already?" Grayson grumbled.

"Sure thing, Aquaman," Eli answered and he and Christian high fived.

Odessa smiled and laughed to herself.

"Now I could be like Johnny and teach you the hard hitting stuff right off the bat. And there's nothing wrong with that. But the approach I always liked to take when I would fight is make my opponent see me as weak before I show them all of what I can do," the man explained to them.

"Did it work?" Eli asked him.

Christian grinned. "It won me my first ever All Valley," he told the boy. "Kata works in the beginning—" he started demonstrating kata, slowly folding his arms in front of him and steadying his breathing.

Odessa inhaled a breath and folded her arms in front of her body, bringing her left arm back and keeping her right one in front of her. Then she switched them.

"And then slowly, you can transition—" Christian brought both of his arms back to him, keeping his elbows locked in. Then, he punched hard with his right fist. "–into the fury."

The three teenagers mimicked his movements. Odessa threw two punches and mimicked her dad's side kick with his left leg.

"That's good. See? Both methods can work in a fight," Christian said once he faced them. "Gray, come on up."

Grayson stepped forward with one long stride and they stood in front of each other.

"Give me your best, alright?"

"You got it, boss," the tall boy answered and raised his fists. Grayson stepped forward on his right leg and threw a punch.

Christian nonchalant blocked his fist with his hand and then did it another time as Grayson came forward. The man then ducked under his outreached arm and switched to behind him. Christian quickly wrapped arm around the boy's neck. "Alright, how are you gonna get out?"

Grayson wasted no time elbowing him in the gut, the man loosening his grip and then he grabbed Christian's arm, keeping him in place as he turned around. He quickly grabbed his fist and kicked him in the gut. Christian backed up and smiled. "Atta boy. Nice job." He praised, making Grayson smile.

Oliver pulled into the parking lot of the tattoo shop and sighed. He turned off the ignition but he and Demetri sat there in silence. He exhaled. "Are you ready for this?" He asked, glancing his way.

Demetri was petrified. "No. I had to lie to my moms and say there was a new comic book release at the mall."

"Told my mom that I had a training session today with Johnny. . ." Oliver scratched his cheek and inhaled a deep breath. "Ready?"

"No."

"Neither am I." They two of them got out of the jeep. Oliver walked around the front and held out his hand, Demetri clutching onto it tightly. "Maybe it won't be so bad? Y'know, matching tattoos sound kind of nice." Oliver tried making the best of it.

Demetri looked at him as if he was insane. "Sounds nice? Do you know how long tattoos take to heal? It takes weeks, months! And then there's side effects. What if I'm allergic to the ink? What if—"

Oliver sighed. "Metri? I was just trying to make the situation better," he said and opened the door, letting him walk in first.

"It'a gonna take a lot more than that," Demetri grumbled.

The boys walked through the foyer and Oliver came to a stop when he saw all of their friends there. Odessa, Eli, Hailey, Grayson, Miguel, Sam, and Robby. "W-What are you guys doing here?"

Odessa smiled at them. "I asked everybody to come. My mom dropped us off," she explained, standing up from her seat.

"You didn't seriously think we'd make you go through this alone, did you?" Grayson asked, sitting next to Miguel, and he grinned.

"So what, you're here for moral support?" Demetri questioned, giving Eli the eye.

"Uh, yeah, that's one reason," Robby answered.

Hailey stood up. She had a notebook in her hand. She stood next to Odessa and showed the boys an open page with a sketch on it. "Dess and I drew it the other day."

It was the dojo's logo — a bonsai tree with an eagle souring above it. Oliver laughed a little. "At least we don't have to come up with it on our own," he told his boyfriend, nudging him with his elbow.

"I thought it was the perfect tattoo for all of us to get," said Odessa, carting their friends a smile.

Demetri's eyes widened. "All of us? B-But—"

"I talked to my dad. He thinks it's a great idea," Sam informed.

"Yeah, so does mine." Robby agreed.

"I had to really convince my mom, but, once I told her what it was for, she was game," said Miguel, smiling.

Grayson stood up and stood behind the girls. "We're a team. We're best friends. Family. This symbols it."

"Gray's right," said Eli, all of them turning to him. "We don't have much longer to all be together. This is something for all of us." It was hard to say seeing as how he and Demetri still weren't on speaking terms, but he was getting the tattoo for a much bigger reason. Like Grayson said, they were a team. They were a family.

Oliver smiled warmly. He stifled a laugh and briefly looked at Demetri. "Alright then, let's get some tattoos." He declared, making all of them laugh.

The day of the captains fights arrived and Odessa was nervous as hell. She wasn't only nervous for herself, but for her friends as well. They were all going to Barcelona but the pressure of leading the entire team was nerve wracking in itself. "Remember, what ever happens, we're still the core four," she said the next day in the Larusso backyard.

Grayson nodded rapidly; his hands rested on his hips. "Oh, absolutely. And we're gonna totally kick as in Barcelona."

"Yeah!" Oliver agreed. He took a short pause. "It would be still be nice to kick your ass, though."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure," Grayson said sarcastically and shoved his shoulder, Oliver doing the same thing and they went back and forth. "Ow, watch the wrist! This tattoo still hurts."

Hailey rolled her eyes. "They're so stupid." She faced Odessa and smiled. "No going easy on each other, right?"

"Of course not," she replied and they grabbed each other's hands. "As long as we get to go to Spain together, I don't really care who wins."

Maybe it wasn't the complete truth. Odessa did want to be a captain. Getting the chance to fight on live tv was an amazing opportunity, it could up her chances of getting into college. What saddened her was she
imagined it to be her and Hailey as captains, now it could only one one of them.

"Ginger and Sporty, you're up!" Johnny yelled at the boys, all three of them senseis standing on the sparring deck.

Christian furrowed his brows. "Who?" Oliver and Grayson made their way to the deck. "Ohhh."

"No hard feelings, brother?" Oliver asked, holding out his hand.

Grayson slapped his hand and they did their handshake. "Course not, bro."

"Okay. Remember boys, first person to three points wins," Christian reminded. "Are you ready?"

They got in their fight stances.

"Fight!"

Oliver jumped forward with a kick. Grayson immediately jumped back, avoiding his leg, and then he gave back with a punch. Oliver blocked his throws with his wrists and managed to duck under his arm, wrapping his arm around Grayson's neck and attempting to take him down onto the neck. The brunette was quick to stomp on his foot and duck under his chokehold. Grayson brought his leg back and kicked Oliver in the stomach.

"Point, Grayson!" Daniel hollered.

"Good job, Hammy!" Miguel cheered from below.

He and Oliver did their handshake before stepping back into their stances. When Christian called for them to fight, Oliver shuffled forward on his feet. He threw two quick punches, Grayson blocking them both, and then he spun around, living his leg to the side. The brunette jumped back but immediately went back in with a punch of his own. Oliver bent his upper body back then he moved to the side, hooking his arm under Grayson's outstretched limb and he kicked his leg out from under him, taking him down and kicking him in the chest with the heel of his foot.

"Point, Oliver!" Yelled Christian.

"Too slow, Hammy."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Oliver helped him up to his feet.

"1-1, boys," Daniel told them.

"Who do you think?" Hailey whispered to Odessa.

"I don't know. Oliver's stronger but Gray's faster. Both are good qualities to have as captain," she whispered back.

Eli leaned over, joining the conversation. "I think it's gotta be Oliver. He'll pummel literally anybody in his way," he spoke his opinion.

"Grayson's got a good reach. Plus, he's great great at nunchucks. From what I researched, the Sekai Taikai has a bow staff competition." Hailey told him and they started arguing over it.

Odessa blocked them out. She looked around her, not seeing Tory anywhere. She'd been texting her constantly, trying to call her, but she never answered her back. She thought about going over to her house but then Odessa was sure if she was feeling bad, she wouldn't want visitors. She remembered when she was like that, her mental health so bad that she didn't talk to anyone, not even her best friends.

But it was almost time for her fight and Odessa was worried that she wouldn't show up at all.

Oliver won his fight, making him the first male captain for the tournament. He walked off the sparring deck in full blown cheers. "That's right, baby! Whoo!" He exclaimed and wrapped his long arms around Demetri's shoulders. "WHOO!"

"Alright. Chill out, Ginger Spice," Johnny commented, waving his hand. "Miguel, Robby, you're up next. Let's go!"

Odessa watched Robby look around Ike she had before, searching for Tory. She took her phone out of her pocket, still not seeing any responses to her messages. She frowned as she watched him and Miguel step onto the deck.

"Fighting positions!"

"Who do you think?" Eli whispered, his arm settled around her waist.

"I think they're both capable," Odessa replied just as Daniel called for them to fight. "I mean, we know how great of a fighter Miguel is, but Robby's a great leader, too."

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess. But I'll be honest, I think it's gonna be Miguel."

Miguel had swept Robby's legs out from under him and he fell to the ground of the deck, earning Miguel a point. "Point one, Diaz! Zero points, Keene!" Yelled Daniel.

Grayson watched and sucked in air through his teeth. "I'm not sure who to bet on this round," he admitted.

Oliver and Hailey rolled their eyes. "No betting!"

Robby spun around and aimed his foot to Miguel's face but he was quick to back up and block his next kick. Robby stumbled back and then Miguel moved in with a kick of his own, kicking him in the face.

Odessa winced. "It's like he's not paying attention."

Hailey felt somebody stand beside her and she looked over, her eyes growing wide when she saw that it was Tory. "Tory?" Her blonde hair was in a messy, unbrushed ponytail and her eyes were rimmed red like she was crying. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Tory answered without looking at her.

Odessa glanced over and her eyes widened as well. She slipped away from Eli and walked behind everybody. "Hey," she said to Tory when she got to her side. "Jesus Christ, where have you been? I've been trying to call you."

Tory faced her, her red eyes making her frown. "Sorry. Things have been. . ." She was unable to finish.

Odessa's frown deepened. "Tory?"

Miguel's and Robby's intense fight got louder, the blonde girl turning around to watch again. Upon seeing Tory's arrival, Robby seemed to lock in to what he was doing. Miguel swung at him and Robby ducked, dodging his hit and he did a spin kick, jumping high and kicking Miguel in the face.

Oliver jumped back in shock. He hit Grayson's shoulder. "Yooo, that was crazy."

Robby jumped high in the air and kicked Miguel across the face, causing him to fall and hit the deck. Odessa slipped out a gasp, as did many of the others.

Sam leaned against the deck to console him but Miguel looked more determined than ever. He quickly rose to his feet and faced Robby again. They both threw a punch at each other. Miguel ducked under his leg. At the same time, the two boys took each other down, causing Odessa to tighten her grip on Hailey's arm. The two of them rolled up on their knees and eyed each other.

Instantly, Miguel jumped and ran forward, Robby doing the same and he blocked a punch. He grabbed a hold of Miguel's leg and flipped him. Robby punched Miguel in the chest, winning the fight.

"Holy fuck," Oliver slipped out as Daniel proclaimed Robby as the winner and second male captain.

Odessa released Hailey's arm and started clapping. She frowned at the disappointment clearly written on Miguel's face.

Christian patted the boy on the back. "Great job, Miguel."

"Thanks, Mr. Beaumont." Miguel mumbled sadly and walked off the deck.

Odessa and her friends surrounded him. "Hey, chin up, man. You did great up there." Grayson said patted him on the back.

"Yeah, it really could've gone either way." Hailey said with a comforting smile.

The blonde gently patted his arm and smiled at him. Miguel smiled back.

"Alright, now we begin our girls. First up is Odessa and Hailey." Johnny announced to all of them.

Odessa turned her head towards Hailey. She sucked in a breath. "Ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." The brunette answered and they grabbed each other's hands.

the way it's taken me 20 different times to write this chapter because the fight scenes alone exhaust me