The day went better than Sky had feared. Of course, there were some people who stared at her, and some people who whispered behind her back - but there were also people who approached her just to tell her they were glad to see her back in school, that they were happy that she was doing fine. People she didn't even know wanted to help her with the doors or the stairs, and even if Sky knew they meant well, she really didn't like the extra attention.

It was a relief to have Demetri or Sam with her all the time, and Moon too. They carried her tray in the cafeteria, they opened the doors for her without making a show out of it, and Sky was grateful for the way they acted around her - as if it was just another day. It made it easier for her to believe that it really was so.

Sky had homeroom and science with Demetri and Yasmine, history with Sam, and drama with Moon, so she didn't have to be alone in any class. But the best part of the day, the one she had been anxiously waiting all day, was English - and not just because of Sky's love for literature - but because she shared that class with Hawk.

Of course, she had seen him in the hallways during the day, had noticed him sitting with his friends and laughing loudly in the cafeteria during the lunch hour, but it wasn't the same. They had agreed to keep their distance in the school, since most people didn't know they were dating again - and it felt weird to see him like this, without being near to him, but Sky couldn't deny that there was a certain thrill to it too. The secret glances they had shared in the cafeteria left her feeling hot all over, the time he had walked past her in the hallway and his arm had brushed hers, had almost been enough to make Sky spontaneously combust.

She was still feeling the effects of those encounters when she walked into the classroom and spotted Hawk in the back row, noticed the empty spot next to him.

He was wearing a bright yellow hoodie and black sweats, his mohawk stood sharp, spiky, and vicious on top of his head, and everything about him looked tough, raw, dangerous. But when he noticed Sky at the door, his eyes turned soft and his throat bobbed, as always, as if he would never get tired of seeing her.

Sky walked closer, her cheeks heating and betraying her emotion, and she looked down, trying to hide her burning face from anyone who might notice. She laid her backpack on the table and flashed Hawk a hesitant smile, suddenly feeling a bit shy.

"You saved a seat for me?" she asked, as he pulled the chair for her.

"Hope you don't mind the back row."

Sky was usually more of a front-row girl, but for Hawk, she was prepared to make an exception, even if she suspected that sitting together at the back of the class would make it hard for her to concentrate on studying.

"It's fine," she said and took the seat. "I'm just glad I get to be with you."

"Me too," he rasped and glanced around as if to make sure no one heard. There were a couple of Cobra Kai kids in the room, Mitch and Rickenberger, who were in fact giving them curious glances. The sight of Doug made Sky's chest tighten, the memory of the things he had said on the day of the school fight, the way he had tried to attack her, were suddenly fresh on her mind and she had to look away.

Hawk noticed how her smile disappeared, and a frown fell on his face.

"Don't worry about those dick heads," he said in a low tone. "They won't bother us."

"Did you tell them we're dating?"

"No, but it's none of their fucking business who I sit with."

Sky shrugged. "I hope you're right."

Hawk didn't reply, just jutted out his chin in a stubborn gesture and flipped Mitch and Doug off, making them finally look the other way.

"See, I told you so," Hawk winked at Sky. "If they give you any trouble, just let me know."

Sky gave him a hesitant smile but didn't reply anything. She wasn't quite sure what to think about the way Hawk was acting towards his friends. There was a clear signal that if they bothered him or Sky, he would beat the crap out of them. Not that Sky objected, but still, it didn't seem like a very healthy friendship to her.

It's none of my business. He doesn't approve of my friendship with Demetri or Sam, so why should I approve of the way he's with his friends?

Sky shrugged off the lingering worry, the constant discomfort she felt when thinking about the dojos and the tension between them. She didn't want to get caught in the middle of that again, didn't want to get hurt again - but dating Hawk would most likely cause problems for both of them, sooner or later, and Sky couldn't completely rid herself of that thought.

She did her best to not think about that, as she took her books, notebooks, and pencil cases from her backpack and prepared for the lesson. She really liked English - and the teacher, Ms. Hardinge, was one of her favorites. She was youngish, energetic, and always had fun anecdotes to tell, assignments that felt interesting instead of punishment.

For a moment Sky managed to concentrate on the lesson - Ms. Hardinge was telling them about the projects they'd be working on. They had read Animal Farm - Sky had of course done it at home already, and was looking forward to the work - but Hawk's closeness was making it really hard for her to pay attention to anything the teacher was saying and the instructions were slipping through her mind like water in a stream, leaving no trace behind.

"You look really good," Hawk whispered, leaning closer to her so that his breathing fanned the skin of her neck.

Sky blushed. She had picked a pair of fitting jeans and a cute, pink sweater - partly because pink was her power color, partly because she knew Hawk would love it on her as it showed off her tiny waist and the curves of her chest. Her nose was almost fully healed by now too, her hair was combed so that it covered the side of her head where the scars were, and most of the cast was hidden inside the loose sleeve of the sweater. She had made an effort to look as normal as possible, and it felt good to hear that Hawk appreciated the sight.

"Thanks," she replied, keeping her voice low.

"Are you okay? Tired?"

She nodded. "A bit. But it's so good to be back."

"I just wish I could do more to help. I hate seeing Demetri carrying your bag and stuff. It should be me. It should be me to help you."

The raw honesty in his voice made Sky's heart ache. She hated that Hawk was still jealous of Demetri, but she felt his pain, realized how hard it was for him to just stay back and look from afar when everyone else was helping her.

"You can help me after school," Sky said. "I'm all free today."

"Need a ride home?"

"I would love one. And then we could work on this project together."

"That - or I could help you relax," he suggested with a crooked grin. "Give you a massage, or whatever you want."

Sky's face turned so hot she had to place a hand on her cheek to try to cool it down. A massage, yeah, right. Sky had a pretty clear idea what it really was that he wanted to do to make her 'relax' - and it really wasn't something she should be thinking about here, in the middle of an English class, where her classmates or her teacher could notice the state of her mind by just one look at her blushing face.

She glanced towards Mitch and Doug, but luckily they were far more interested in something on Mitch's phone than in them and hadn't noticed how Hawk's mere presence made Sky practically melt into her seat. Nor had Ms. Hardinge, to Sky's great relief, and that was the way she intended to keep things.

"We agreed - no flirting in school," Sky hissed at Hawk, trying to keep her voice low. "So keep your suggestions to yourself."

Hawk replied with a smirk that told Sky he knew exactly what kind of an effect he was having on her, and that he enjoyed it immensely.

He let out a low chuckle and under the table, his hand found her thigh. Sky felt how the blush on her cheeks crept to her neck and her heartbeat quickened. It was ridiculous how easily he could make her burn, how the warmth of his palm on her denim-covered leg was like a match in a gas tank, lighting her up. She knew very well she should have taken that hand and removed it because this certainly wasn't the place nor the time, but she couldn't. The part of her that loved this thrill leaned closer to him, and let out a soft sigh as he began to move that hand, sliding it up and down her thigh under the table, and Sky's whole consciousness diminished into the spot he was caressing. The teacher's words lost their meaning, they turned into a background noise that made no sense, she forgot the beginning of a sentence before the end and all she could think about was Hawk, his scent that filled her nostrils with every inhale, his warmth in the air so close to her. Her fingers were still gripping the pen, hard, but she wasn't making any notes. She could barely keep her eyes on the blackboard as her heart tried to break through her ribcage. Hawk's palm burnt her skin through her clothes, his long fingers slid towards the spot where Sky desperately wanted them, where she needed them. Every instinct in her body told her to open her legs, to have his hand between her thighs, rubbing her through these damn jeans until she would–

Sky ripped herself off that thought, crossed her legs, and brushed Hawk's hand off her thigh.

The fuck? In a fucking classroom?

It took a couple of shaky breaths to get her urges under control.

"Do that again," Sky hissed. "And I'll have to find myself another place to sit."

"Sorry," Hawk chuckled in a way that revealed he wasn't sorry at all. "You're hard to resist."

Sky didn't bother to reply. She picked up her pen and started copying the notes from the blackboard, and maybe it was the determined look on her face that kept Hawk's hands off her for the rest of the lesson and she managed to get some actual schoolwork done.

But inside, she was still burning. Glancing at him by her side, she noticed the red spots on his high cheekbones too, noticed the way he wet his lips and swallowed when their eyes met.

If she was hungry for him, it sure went both ways. And since their last time had been so abruptly interrupted, this longing had been growing for days. How fucking frustrating was that? If only there was an empty classroom somewhere, or a fucking cleaning closet or a toilet booth where she could drag him—

–and he would kiss her and push her against the wall and rip off her jeans, and–

"Sky, what do you think?" Ms. Hardinge's voice pierced Sky's heated fantasies, and she came crashing down from them as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water on her.

"--um, I'm sorry, what was the question?" she stammered, desperately trying to hide the shortness of her breath.

Ms. Hardinge repeated her question about the main message of Animal Farm and Sky's opinion about it, and this time Sky managed to produce an actual answer. For the rest of the lesson, she barely looked at Hawk.

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