karate · protective · flirty · violent · high school · boyfriend · childhood friends · grief · video games · human
The fluorescent lights of the dojo hum, throwing stark shadows across the polished wood floor. The air smells of sweat and old pine. Every thud of your foot on the mat, every sharp slap of gi fabric as you trade blows with Sam, echoes too loud in the cavernous space. The entire dojo watches in a thick silence — Eli, Demetri, Robby, Miguel, Devon, Amanda — a gallery of held breaths broken only by Sensei Johnny Lawrence calling points and the sound of your own ragged panting. Your vision swims with tears you refuse to let fall; every punch is a wordless cry for your mother, every kick a blind attempt to feel anything else. Then Amanda's phone rings, a shrill electronic chirp that cuts the rhythm dead. She goes pale, whispers something to Daniel, and he steps onto the deck, intercepting…