 ( chapter thirty )
BREAKING AND ENTERING.

"I don't know how to say this any plainer. Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do have to work together." Sam spoke, looking around at all the boys before her. Charlie sat at Demetri's feet, using the boy as her backrest as she picked at her nails. This night was becoming far less about enjoying some time with her friends and a bit too much about karate.

Chris sighed. "Even if we wanted to team up, it'd never work. I was in Cobra Kai. Their style mixes with ours like..." Nate looked at him, trying to help the boy finish his metaphor. "Oil and vinegar?"

"No, not salad dressing. I would say like the British Bulldogs and the Hart Foundation." Chris further explained. "They were friends, dipshit." Mitch spat, causing Charlie to roll her eyes. "Not in WrestleMania 3, Penis Breath." Chris shot back.

"Okay, you can't call me Penis Breath. Only they can call me Penis Breath." Mitch replied, motioning to the boys in Eagle Fang. "Why are you okay with anyone calling you Penis Breath?" Chris questioned in response.

"He's got a point." Charlie noted, sending Mitch a quick glance. "Okay, why is she even here? I thought you quit karate." Mitch wondered, looking toward the girl.

"She's here because I invited her." Sam spoke, sending the boy a look. "Trust me, if I'd known it would turn into this, I wouldn't have come." Charlie promised.

"You know what? Screw this. Come on, let's go." Mitch decided, ushering for his friends to get up and leave with him. "Hey, pussies!" Demetri suddenly shouted, standing up quickly.

Charlie moved quickly as she lost her backrest, shocked to hear the boy even sound angry.

Mitch and Bert stopped in their tracks, turning around to look at Demetri. "This is exactly what those assholes at Cobra Kai want. Since you were one of 'em, you're an asshole too. So are you." Demetri spoke, directing the second asshole to Chris.

"I ain't no asshole." Chris replied. "So was I. Well, at least I wanted to be one. But now Cobra Kai is the worst collection of assholes in the Valley, run by the king of all assholes. So if by merging with Eagle Fang... Weird name, by the way... can keep us all from getting shit on anymore, then we'd all be assholes not to do it. I'm sorry for all the "assholes." I usually take pride in my grandiloquence, but... it's an emotional time." Demetri spoke.

Charlie smiled lightly, insanely proud of the boy. She was realizing just how much he was changing, just how much they all were changing.

She watched as Mitch and Bert nodded to each other, both taking their seats once more. Demetri nodded, pumping himself up, "Now... where do we start?"

———————

Charlie was feeling more and more out of place as everyone around her tried to figure out a way to equally represent their dojos. She didn't understand why Sam chose to invite her, especially if this is what she'd hoped the night would become.

"We're all in agreement that our new combined dojo should train at Miyagi-Do. But deadlocked on a new name, Gi Design, Post-Training Snacks, and Sensei Dispute Resolution Protocol. Okay, not good, but still, it's a start." Demetri smiled.

"Sam, can I talk to you?" Charlie wondered quietly, standing beside the girl. "Yeah, come on." Sam smiled, pulling the girl away from everyone. "What's up?"

"Why am I here, Sam? This is just... awkward." Charlie frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "I know, I'm sorry. I promise... once all of this stuff is figured out it will just be a fun Christmas party. We just need to get everyone on the same page first." Sam explained.

Charlie sighed. "I get that... I just don't see why I was invited to begin with. I appreciate it, but... I just don't understand if this was the goal why invite me to a Miyagi-Do Eagle Fang party. It feels like it should be for members only."

"Char, you're still our friend whether or not you want to be our teammate. I understand that everything's been really hard these past few months, but we're always going to leave the door open for you if you feel like coming back. So, we're still going to invite you to join us. Besides, you have a lot of good ideas and it helps to have an unbiased source." Sam smiled lightly.

Charlie went to speak, only stopping as she suddenly heard the sound of glass shattering and a scream. "What the..." Charlie spoke worriedly, Sam immediately pulling her back into the main room.

Both girls gasped as they saw Bert on the floor, everyone circling around him. "Bert, what happened?" Miguel shouted, worried for the boy. "No cat." Bert just replied, blood all over his face.

Charlie felt her stomach drop as Hawk suddenly walked in, following behind by Kyler and other Cobra Kai members.

"It's payback time, Rhea." Kyler spoke, staring at a Miguel. Charlie frowned, moving closer to the boy instinctively. There was another karate fight about to begin, and she was once again stuck having to fight in it.

Miguel and Nate moved to help Bert up as Hawk lead the Cobra Kai group toward everyone else. "Let's go." Kyler smirked.

Charlie noticed the way Hawk refused to look at her, keeping his eyes glued on anyone else. He knew if he looked at her he'd cave, and now wasn't the time to let weakness show.

Sam grabbed Charlie's hand, pulling the girl next to her as the two continued to back up with the rest of the group. Charlie was scared, scared of who'd get hurt this time around.

Suddenly the front door swung open, revealing Tory and more Cobra Kai members. This was a full on home invasion, and Charlie knew how it would end.

"Heard you were throwing a party. Hope you don't mind if we crash." Tory spat, staring toward Sam. "Tory, you don't have to do this." Miguel tried, looking at the girl pleadingly.

"It's too late. This ends tonight! No mercy!" Tory yelled, stomping forward as the fight officially began.

Charlie ducked as a boy in Cobra Kai swung her way, kicking forward as hard as she could to send him away from her. She threw a punch his way next, feeling her fist connect with his cheek.

She had to admit, even if she didn't want to fight anymore, it felt good to let out what she'd been keeping down. And she knew that if she wanted to make it out of this alright, she'd have to do just that.

The fighting continued as Demetri pulled Charlie with him, the two working together to defend themselves against everyone and anyone who came their way. "Char, I'm so sorry." Demetri gasped out, looking at the girl sadly. He knew how much she didn't want this.

"Duck." Charlie replied, swinging forward as Demetri ducked down and landing a punch across another boys face. "Shit, thanks." Demetri gasped. "We can talk later, but right now, we need to focus." Charlie spoke, pushing every fear and bad thought down. She knew that she didn't have the option of walking away, not this time.

Not when Cobra Kai was willing to take it this far.

Charlie moved out of the way as another boy kicked her way, wincing slightly as she felt his foot slam into her side. She turned her head when she heard Demetri groan in pain, Mitch suddenly next to the boy. "Demetri, get up! Come on, get up. Let's go!" Mitch spoke, being dragged away.

Charlie ran over and helped Demetri up, finding herself back to back with the boy as two members of Cobra Kai ran toward them. She turned her head fast at the sight of Tory finding Sam across the house, fear swelling as she saw the look on Tory's face.

"Charlie, watch out!" Demetri gasped, pushing the girl out of the way as one of the Cobra Kai boys swung her way. Charlie caught herself quickly, kicking the boy in the side as Demetri punched him across the face.

"Sorry." Charlie apologized, turning to see both Sam and Tory had disappeared. "She'll be okay. She can handle herself." Demetri nodded, making it known he'd seen the two as well. "Y—Yeah." Charlie agreed, quickly going back to defending herself whenever someone came her way.

Charlie continued to stick by Demetri as the two fought people off, fear rising as she felt someone wrap their arms around her tight, trapping her. "Get off me!" Charlie gasped, mind going back to the night at the old laser tag place as two other members of Cobra Kai held Demetri in a similar position he'd been in the time before.

"Stop!" Charlie yelled, thrashing around as she just felt someone else come over and kick their foot into her stomach, stopping her squirming.

Charlie looked up to see Hawk staring toward the two from the other side of the house, anger plastered on his face. She was even more worried now, watching the other Cobra Kai boys smile his way. "Hey. Yo, Hawk. Free shot!"

Demetri turned toward Charlie anxiously, only to see her trapped watching him again. Charlie began to move around once more, feeling a new sting across her cheek as she fell to her knees. "Shit!" Charlie gasped, glaring up.

Her eyes widened as Hawk suddenly ran toward Demetri, feeling hopeless as she was forced to watch. But he didn't kick Demetri or even hit him.

Hawk attacked the boys holding Demetri down.

Charlies eyes widened as Hawk threw one of the boys into a class coffee table, shattering it. Suddenly she felt the hold around her disappear when Hawk ripped the boy off of her and sent him down.

Charlie stood, shocked and a bit hesitant as she looked the boys way. Hawk just looked to Demetri, moving toward him slightly. Demetri moved away from him, still not trusting the other boy as he reached over and grabbed Charlie's hand, pulling her behind him.

"Look, man. I'm sorry. For all of it. Do you wanna help me win this thing?" Hawk apologized, staring at Demetri hopefully. Demetri's face lit up, a smile appearing rapidly. "Yeah."

Charlie smiled lightly when the two clasped hands happily, suddenly jumping out of the way as one of the boys Hawk had taken down attacked the two. Charlie watched Demetri and Hawk work together to take the group down again, going back to back as more attackers came their way.

She would have kept watching if one of the attackers hadn't noticed her, sending a punch her way that the girl quickly dodged. She grabbed the boys hand and threw him down, the boy flipping over himself before landing painfully on his back.

"Charlie!" Demetri spoke, running up to the girl with Hawk on his tail. "You okay?" He wondered, looking her up and down. "Yeah. I'm okay." Charlie nodded, eyes moving to Hawk quickly. "Hey." He spoke awkwardly, nervously looking at the girl.

"Hi." Charlie replied softly, keeping a cautious distance. She still didn't trust him, it would take some time before she could.

Charlie's head suddenly whipped around from the two boys when she heard Miguel groan in pain, sprinting off as the two yelled her name from behind her. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Kyler landing hit after hit into the boy. But before she could do anything, Miguel turned it around and began sending hit after hit Kyler's way, flipping over the boy before kicking him and throwing him down.

"Miguel!" Charlie smiled, watching the boy slowly stand. "Hey, you okay?" Miguel wondered in response, looking toward the girl. Everything had quieted down and it seemed those still standing were on the Miyagi-Do Eagle Fang side. "Yeah, I'm okay. You?" Charlie replied, feeling like she could breathe again.

"I'm good." Miguel nodded. Charlie quickly ran over and gave her friend a hug, trying to be careful of any injuries either of them had suffered. Miguel hugged back immediately, pulling the girl in close. "Thanks for helping us out. I know you wanted to get away from all this." Miguel thanked.

"I'm happy I did... even if I didn't have much of a choice." Charlie replied, pulling away. "I hate to break this up, but we should find Sam and Tory." Hawk spoke after a moment, walking up to the two.

"Hawk... I—" Miguel tried to speak, not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry for how I acted, man. And I'm sorry to you too, Char. You guys didn't deserve that." Hawk apologized, looking between the two. "I'm just glad to have you back on our side, man." Miguel smiled, the two dapping each other up.

"Okay, come on." Hawk spoke again, pulling away and running off to find the two. The other three quickly followed, all ending up in the LaRusso's actual dojo space at the house.

"Guys, stop!" Miguel yelled, stopping the two girls as Tory held her fists up with her back against the wall and Sam pointed a bow staff her way. "Tory, the fights over." Hawk stated.

"It's not over." Tory replied, turning to face Sam again. "This will never be over, LaRusso. You hear me?"

"You know where to find me." Sam shot back, glaring toward Tory. Tory faced the other four again, slowly walking toward Hawk and Miguel with a frown. "Traitors!" She looked directly at Hawk, "You better watch your back!"

With that Tory went to walk off, Demetri stepping her. "He won't have to. He's got friends watching it for him." Charlie watched Tory give Hawk one last glare before walking off completely.

Sam sighed, dropping the bow staff before making eye contact with Charlie, both girls swiftly moving toward each other and wrapping the other up in a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay." Charlie voiced, squeezing Sam tight.

"Yeah, same goes for you. You are okay, right?" Sam confirmed, pulling away slightly to look at her friend. "I'm okay, promise." Charlie nodded.

"Do you need anything from us, Sam?" Miguel wondered, taking a step toward the girl as she and Charlie pulled away from each other. "No... it's okay. I'm gonna call my dad and tell him what happened. Thanks, guys." Sam replied.

"Okay, just call if you need anything." Miguel responded, Sam nodding quickly, "Thanks, I will."

"Come on." Miguel spoke quietly, pulling Charlie next to him as the group all made their way back to the main house.

Charlie sighed, this was probably the worst Christmas party she'd ever been to.

———————

Charlie slowly walked toward her front door, iced peas on her face. She'd given Miguel a ride home and Carmen wouldn't let her leave without some type of ice pack.

Charlie just wanted to go to sleep, craving her bed as she opened her front door. "Mom, I'm home!" Charlie called out, frowning when she noticed the silence that followed. "Mom?" Charlie wondered, noticing the kitchen light was on.

She walked toward the kitchen, confusion only growing as she saw her mom stood beside a man she'd never seen before. "Charlie, what happened to you?" Ana frowned, immediately taking note of the iced peas. "Who is this guy?" Charlie replied, feeling a weird vibe as he stared at her silently.

It was like she knew him, but something about him just felt off.

"Come take a seat, love." Ana spoke, quickly side eyeing the man beside her. Charlie caught the look, frowning before turning around and running to a closet, throwing the peas down as she grabbed a baseball bat.

She walked back into the kitchen to see both adults standing, aiming the bat straight at the man. "Who the fuck are you?" Charlie spat, glaring daggers. "Charlie!" Ana gasped, though she didn't sound angry... she sounded fearful. "Who is he?" Charlie asked her mom this time, turning her head for a moment before glaring at him again.

Ana just pulled her daughter away, holding her shoulders against the wall as she saw the look in Charlies eyes. "Honey, we have a lot to talk about, okay? But just please put the bat down."

"Why won't you just tell me who he is?" Charlie replied, pointing the bat toward the silent man who just watched everything.

Ana frowned, continuing to hold her daughter back. "Charlie, this is your father."

Charlie felt the bat drop from her hands, head whipping around to the man. "Hola, mija. It's good to finally meet you." He spoke, an almost professional smile on his face. Charlie just turned back to her mom, feeling her heart begin to race even faster.

This night never seemed to end.

AUTHORS NOTE!
yay done with season three
yay new update
yay new lore dropped
yay season 4 time!!

also big thank you to loml f4brays for helping me decide to stick with the idea I had going forward with this instead of continuing to sit on it even longer than I have been!!!

literally let me word vomit in the tiktok dms about my idea and helped me decide to go for it so yay!!