Juvie smelled like bleach and regret.
Andrea sat stiffly in the plastic chair, the security glass between her and Robby Keene fogging slightly from the silence. The buzzing lights above them flickered with a kind of lazy cruelty. The room was cold, but it wasn’t the kind of cold that made you shiver—it was the kind that made your insides go quiet.
Robby stared at her like he’d seen a ghost.
“You,” he muttered, picking up the receiver with disbelief. “Out of everyone…”
Andrea grabbed her own, leaned back in her chair, her expression unreadable. “Yeah. Me.”
“You came to see me?”
“No one else did,” she said simply. “Not even your dad.”
The line cut through him like a blade. Robby looked away, jaw tightening.
“Why are you here, Andrea?”
She hesitated, then leaned forward, resting her elbow on the counter between them. “I don’t know. Maybe because I wanted to see the guy who threw my friend down a staircase.”
He flinched.
Andrea’s voice stayed cool. “Or maybe because… you looked surprised when it happened. Like you didn’t mean to do it.”
“I didn’t,” he said, fast, firm. “It was a reflex. I was trying to get away. I didn’t even know it was him.”
“And when you found out?” she asked, tilting her head. “What did you do?”
His voice dropped. “I ran.”
Silence again.
Andrea looked at him through the glass. “You know, I hated you. I still kind of do.”
“That makes two of us,” he said bitterly, but his voice cracked at the end.
Andrea’s gaze didn’t soften. But her voice did. Just a little.
“I don’t think you’re evil, Robby. I think you’re scared.”
Robby met her eyes again.
“No one's visited me,” he said quietly. “Not my dad. Not anyone from Miyagi-Do. Not even Sam. You’re the first face I’ve seen that wasn’t wearing a uniform or a badge.”
Andrea sat back, folding her arms. “Don’t get used to it.”
But her tone didn’t carry the venom it usually did.
And for the first time, Robby gave a faint, crooked smile.
Back at the dojo, the storm was growing.
Hawk stood in front of the mirror, shirt off, fresh bruises across his ribs. His fists were red from training. His reflection looked... off. Like someone he didn’t recognize anymore.
He remembered when this started—when Cobra Kai made him feel invincible.
But now?
Now they moved like wolves, sharp and merciless. Andrea didn’t laugh anymore. Tory’s eyes were always narrowed. Even Kenny, Bert, Kyler, and Mitch were different—harder, colder. Loyal, yes. But cruel.
Was this who they were now?
He glanced across the room at Johnny, who was barking at the new recruits, pushing them harder than ever.
“Again! You block late, you lose teeth! AGAIN!”
Hawk turned toward Andrea, who sparred with Tory—no holding back. Andrea’s hits were brutal, clean, and fast. Tory bled from the lip and still grinned.
Hawk winced as Andrea landed a sharp elbow to Tory’s stomach, knocking the air from her lungs.
The fight ended in silence. No cheers. Just nods. Cold, efficient.
“Pack mentality,” Hawk muttered under his breath. “We’re not a team. We’re a pack.”
He didn’t know whether to feel proud… or terrified.
Johnny Lawrence stood in the office above the dojo, watching from behind the glass.
His fingers twitched near the blinds. His jaw worked like he wanted to say something, but the words never formed.
He saw the changes. He saw the bruises. He saw the way Andrea barely blinked when someone got hurt—how she gave orders now without hesitation. How they followed her.
She reminded him of Kreese.
Of what he’d promised never to become.
But the dojo was thriving. Cobra Kai was feared again. Respected. Feared.
Wasn’t that what he wanted?
He closed the blinds, heart heavy.
Maybe it was too late.
Later that night, Andrea sat on the rooftop above the dojo, hoodie drawn up, fingers curled around a lighter she wasn’t using. She stared out at the darkened streets of Atlanta, the city pulsing below like a quiet threat.
Hawk joined her without a word. He sat beside her, legs hanging over the edge.
“You okay?” he asked after a long silence.
She didn’t answer at first.
Then, softly, “No.”
Hawk nodded like he understood all too well.
“You visited Robby?”
She gave a dry laugh. “You spying on me?”
“Johnny mentioned it. He didn’t say much.”
Andrea’s voice was low. “He looked broken. Like he didn’t expect anyone to come.”
“Did it help?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “But I didn’t go to help him. I think… I went to remind myself that we’re not all monsters.”
Hawk looked at her, eyes a little glassy. “Are we monsters, Andrea?”
She didn’t answer right away. Then turned her head, eyes meeting his in the dark.
“I think we’re becoming what we needed to survive. Whether that’s a monster or not… I don’t know anymore.”
The city wind blew cold.
Down below, Cobra Kai’s lights burned deep red.
ns216.73.216.139da2
and then Add to home screen.