Chapter Fifteen
DOWNHILL

Gia didn't know where everything went wrong. All she knew now was that she needed to make it right. After the fight in the LaRusso house where she was left bloody and bruised outside, Gia found that she wasn't angry. After she was cleaned up by Mrs. LaRusso, because she refused to go home or to the hospital, she still wasn't mad. She understood Mara. She understood why Mara hated her. And she was going to do everything in her power to make up for the terrible person she was to her.

And maybe get some Advil for her killer headache.

Now, Gia was supposed to be at the Miyagi-Do dojo for their first combined lesson with Eagle Fang, but she couldn't find it in herself to get back into karate just yet.

She missed Robby, she missed being able to see straight, and she missed how she was before even moving to the valley. So before she even considered going back to karate she had some amends to make.

She was nervous but it was something she had to do. Walking up the driveway she winced at the splitting pain in her temple and slightly limped due to her still healing ankle. She had a container with apple pie in her hands that shook due to the (hopefully temporary) shaking hands she now had.

Knocking on the front door she stood there until it was pulled open so aggressively that it made Gia flinch.

With purple hair and fury in her eyes, Mara glared at Gia who wore a frown. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Mara hadn't stopped thinking about everything that happened. It made her angry.

Well, she was always angry now anyway.

Hawk had betrayed Cobra Kai. Or should she call him Eli now? Which one did he prefer now that he was most likely back with Johnny and a part of Eagle-tooth. She didn't want to admit it but she missed him.

She missed his smile when he looked at her. She missed how it felt when he held her, kissed her. She knew she went too far during the fight, but she never thought he would break up with her. She never thought he would actually not want anything to do with her.

When Tory had told her what Hawk said, Mara was heartbroken. Her best friend wanted nothing to do with her. She thought she could physically feel her heart breaking.

Mara was strong enough to not grab the new bottle of alcohol in the fridge to help with her feelings. And she knew it wouldn't be smart to open a bottle of her dad's pills. She was even debating using the lighter in her room because no one would see the burns if she hid them well enough, but Ryan had walked in at just the right time to stop that habit before it even started.

She would have to stick to working out. At least it had more than one benefit and Mara thought it was a healthier decision too.

Grabbing her karate bag Mara headed to the kitchen to grab her keys when there was a knock on the door.  Frustrated, Mara ran a hand through her ponytail and went to look through the small peephole on the front door.

Her eyes narrowed at the visitor and she pulled the door open aggressively. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Gia frowned and bit her lip before holding the container out in front of her. "I came to apologize. For everything. I was a bitch to you. I never should have done and said the things I did especially when I pretty much knew nothing about you or what you were going through. And probably still are going through." Gia was breathing hard and Mara realized the girl was panicking and trying to figure out what to say next.

"I promise I'm going to try and be a better person Mara. Not just to you but everyone. I brought this pie because I heard you really liked apples and I wanted to get you something you would really like. But I probably should have asked first. If you don't like it I still have the receipt so I can take it back and maybe give you money or something so you can get something you really like. I think I get my paycheck today so you can have that. Or maybe you don't want money. I can..."

"Gia."

The girl stopped her rambling and looked down sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm just really sorry. So sorry."

Mara looked at the girl in annoyance and grabbed the pie from her hands. "Thank you for the pie but there's still a lot you can do before I consider forgiving you. Sorry for the beating I gave you. I probably could've knocked you out at the beginning and not have hurt you that much." Mara walked back into her house to put the pie down and Gia awkwardly stood there, resisting the urge not to peak in.

"Um, it's ok. The limp is almost gone and I think my vision is mostly clear again. My sense of smell still hasn't come back but who really needs that, right?" Gia chuckled to herself and looked down again as Mara came back to the door with a bag in her hand and started heading to her car.

"You might want to get that checked out, Gia."

"Oh yeah, totally. So are we good?"

Mara turned around and glared at her. "Did you not hear what I said. No, we're not good. One apology and rambling aren't going to make me forgive you right away. You literally gave me a concussion and put me in the hospital for days. I just returned the favor at the Larussos. It's not my fault you apparently decided not to seek medical help. Go back to Miyagi-Do Gia." Mara got in the girl's face. "They might take a single apology but Cobra Kai listens to actions, not words. If you actually want me to believe you're sorry, show me don't tell me. I've made that mistake in the past and I won't make it again."

With that Mara got into her car and drove away, leaving a speechless and slightly angry Gia in the driveway.

He felt like he was dying. Ryan had never felt so much pain as what he was feeling right now. As he watched Miguel from afar Ryan's heart seemed to break more and more as he thought back to what had happened between them earlier that day.

"I'm sorry, Ryan. But we need to take a break."

Ryan held Miguel's cheeks with tears in his eyes. "Please don't do this. I love you. And I know you love me."

Miguel rolled his eyes and started to open the car door. "It's two hours Ryan, you'll be fine. I can't be late for our first joined practice."

"But we weren't done making out. And the pool hasn't opened yet. What am I going to do without you?"

"How about this. You wait here until I'm done and then we can drive to your house and go swimming there."

Ryan checked his watch and slowly nodded. "Ok, Mara should be at Cobra Kai by then so we'll have the house to ourselves."

Miguel frowned. "Why are you avoiding her? I thought the plan was to try and bring her back from the dark side. You can't do that if you never see her."

"Look I tried, babe. The last time I tried to talk to her she threw a shoe at my head. And trust me I can still feel it. Man, she's strong." Ryan rubbed the side of his head remembering that fateful day.

That was one hour and forty-five minutes ago and Ryan didn't think he could wait any longer for Miguel to be done. He missed him and there were only 15 minutes left of class.

Suddenly the door to the backseat opened and Ryan screamed turning around only to see Max sitting in his car with a smirk. "Hey, I was down the street and saw your car sitting here. We haven't hung out in a while. Where you been?"

Ryan, still breathing heavily, stared at Max in disbelief. "Maybe that's because you gave my sister vodka and could've triggered a relapse."

Max snorted. "You can't relapse if you never quit, Ryan."

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean? She told me she stopped drinking."

"If you call taking a sip of alcohol a day "not drinking" then you and I have two very different definitions of sober. It's only a matter of time before she falls off the wire again. What's the harm in having a little fun?"

Ryan glared at Max. "Get out of my car."

Max put his hands up and opened the door. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Mara can only get worse the longer you guys wait to help her. Better get there before someone else pushes her over the edge.

It's only downhill from here."

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This season is going to be way longer than the rest due to me adding a lot of the character development scenes that were missing from season 4.

I'm not sure when I'll update but I promise I'll try to do maybe 2 chapters a week. If you liked this chapter done forget to vote and leave a comment. Commenting motivates me to write more.

Also to make some people feel better. No, Mara and Moon will not he getting back together. This season will lack the normal love triangle drama and will be mostly character driven.