The rain had been threatening since morning. You could smell it in the air before the clouds even rolled in — heavy, metallic, the kind of weather that promised trouble before it even started.
East Ridge High’s hallways were buzzing with the kind of rumors that clung to every student in Cobra Kai. It wasn’t just the fights anymore. It was the videos. Someone had leaked phone recordings of their last brawl — Hawk snapping some guy’s arm, Tory shoving Kate into a locker hard enough to dent it, Andrea’s knuckles connecting with someone’s jaw in slow motion.
The comments online were brutal. Some students were calling them heroes. Others? Monsters.
Miguel stood at his locker, scrolling through the mess on his phone. His brow furrowed deeper with every comment. “Guess we’re trending again,” he muttered, slipping the phone into his pocket.
Sam stepped up beside him, arms crossed. “You’re taking it like it’s a good thing.”
Miguel smirked faintly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Publicity’s publicity. Besides, they only see half the story.”
“What’s the other half?” she asked.
“That we don’t start fights,” he said, lowering his voice. “We finish them.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “That’s exactly the problem. That’s not how my dad taught me.”
Before Miguel could reply, Hawk walked up with Kenny, Bert, Kyler, and Mitch in tow. The energy shifted immediately — a wall of Cobra Kai hostility aimed directly at Sam.
“You’re hanging with her now?” Kyler scoffed, eyes narrowing at Miguel.
“She’s not the enemy,” Miguel said sharply.
“She’s Daniel LaRusso’s daughter,” Kenny cut in. “That makes her worse than the enemy.”
Sam stepped forward, chin high. “You all act like I’m some kind of spy. I’m not here to mess with your precious little gang.”
“It’s a dojo,” Hawk said coldly. “And you don’t belong anywhere near it.”
Miguel’s jaw tightened. “She’s my friend.”
“Friend? Or something else?” Kyler’s voice dripped with mockery, and Hawk’s eyes flicked to Miguel in open warning.
The tension was about to explode when Andrea rounded the corner, the sound of her boots echoing. She caught the tail end of the argument and took one look at Sam before cutting straight to Miguel.
“Is this seriously happening?” she asked, voice icy. “You’re defending her?”
Miguel didn’t flinch. “She’s not the enemy.”
Andrea’s gaze was flat, but something darker flickered in it. She didn’t argue further — just walked past, brushing his shoulder as she did, muttering, “You’ll regret it.”
Later that night, in the dim Cobra Kai dojo, Johnny was a storm of his own. The punching bag in front of him swung violently as he slammed into it over and over, barking orders at the students.
“Harder! Faster! Don’t just throw punches — throw the kind that end fights! You think the other guy’s gonna stop ‘cause you tap him? No! You finish it!”
The air was thick with sweat and the sound of impacts. Andrea paired with Hawk for drills, their strikes sharper than ever. Kenny, Bert, Mitch, and Kyler trained in a tight group like a pack of wolves. Miguel worked with Tory, though his focus seemed to drift more than once toward the door.
Johnny paced between them like a general in the middle of a warzone. “You’ve all seen what’s happening out there — they’re scared of you. Good. Fear is respect. And we’re gonna make sure they never forget it.”
Andrea’s fists connected with the pad in Hawk’s hands, harder and harder, until even he winced.
“You okay?” Hawk asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” she said, though her breathing was ragged. “Just… thinking.”
“About what?”
“About how easy it is to hurt someone once you stop caring.”
Hawk gave her a long look but didn’t answer.
It was after training that Hawk found Demetri on the school rooftop. The rain had started by then — light at first, a mist that clung to skin.
“You shouldn’t be up here,” Hawk said, stepping out into the drizzle.
“Why? Afraid I’ll get struck by lightning?” Demetri didn’t look at him.
“You don’t get it. Things are changing. Cobra Kai is—”
“Losing their minds,” Demetri interrupted, finally turning to face him. “You’re losing your mind, Eli.”
Hawk’s jaw tightened at the name. “Don’t call me that.”
“What? It’s your name.”
“That’s not who I am anymore.” Hawk stepped closer. “You think you know me, but you don’t. Not anymore.”
“Yeah,” Demetri said quietly. “I think that’s the problem.”
The punch came fast, and for a moment, it didn’t feel like sparring. It felt like war. The fight was messy, loud — sneakers scraping on wet concrete, grunts and shouts echoing into the night.
When Hawk finally got Demetri on the ground, both of them were soaked through, rain pouring harder now. Hawk stood over him, chest heaving, hands trembling.
“I’m not weak anymore,” Hawk said, but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.
Demetri didn’t answer.
Andrea was walking home alone when the rain hit its peak — sheets of water hammering the streets. She was halfway across an intersection when headlights flared, and a figure stepped out from the shadows.
Robby.
They hadn’t spoken since his release from juvie, and seeing him now — soaked, hair plastered to his face — hit her harder than she expected.
“You shouldn’t be out here,” he said.
“I could say the same to you.”
They stood there for a beat, rain drumming against the pavement.
“I saw what happened on the roof,” Robby said. “You and your friends — you’re not the same people you were a year ago.”
“No,” Andrea said. “We’re stronger.”
“Or colder.”
“Same thing.”
Robby shook his head, stepping closer. “You keep telling yourself that, but one day you’re gonna realize there’s nothing left under all that armor.”
Something in her chest twisted — not anger, not sadness, just… raw tension. “You think you know me?” she asked.
“I’ve been trying not to,” he said.
The space between them closed, almost without thinking. Her breath hitched, his hand brushed against her jaw, and then it happened — a kiss that wasn’t soft or gentle. It was rough, desperate, the kind of kiss that came from too much hate and not enough distance.
When they broke apart, both breathing hard, Andrea stepped back. “This doesn’t change anything.”
“Maybe not,” Robby said, his voice low. “But it’s not nothing either.”
And then, without another word, she turned and walked into the rain, leaving him standing there, thunder rumbling above.
Andrea didn’t know if she was walking toward something or away from everything. All she knew was that the rain didn’t feel cold anymore.
ns216.73.216.139da2
and then Add to home screen.