⊱ ────── {⋆⌘⋆} ────── ⊰

"HOW about johnny lawrence karate?" miguel said, grabbing a bottle of water from johnny's fridge as he grabbed one for stevie as well. "or strike first karate?"

johnny stayed quiet and stared at the conversation on his computer screen while snacking on slim jim's jerky stick. stevie sighed as she sat down next to miguel on the table. "c'mon dad, we're trying to help." she sighed.

"how long does it take for facebook messages to get delivered?" johnny said. "ali lives in colorado, so probably a while right?"

"it's instantaneous." miguel said.

"chill out, she'll get back to you soon." stevie chuckled as she took a sip of her water bottle. "oh i got a good one! what about all-american karate?"

"that's not good enough." johnny said. "we need something that tells everyone we're the most badass dojo in the valley."

"sucks that cobra kai's such a badass name." miguel sighed.

"what if we just keep that? spell cobra kai with a k. they'll call us triple k." johnny said.

"yeah, i don't think so." stevie said.

"alright, whatever. we'll figure it out." johnny said. "first, we need some students."

"it's my first day back at school today." miguel said. "i could do some recruiting, but where are we gonna train?"

"you let stevie and i worry about that." johnny said.

"alright, you go get ready for school. i'll handle it." stevie smiled. "good luck today hon."

"thanks stevie." miguel said, as he walked out of the apartment. stevie finished drinking her water as she stood up and grabbed her purse.

"hey, where are you going?" johnny said. "you're gonna help me go dojo-hunting."

"as much as i'd love to, i can't. i have to help chrissy with some things back at the office." stevie said. "there is someone who's not doing anything and would probably be better at this than i am. someone like, i don't know, mom?"

"nah, i don't think she'll want to." johnny said. "it's not her thing and she probably has other things to do."

"you'll never know if you don't ask." stevie said. "i'd say ask her. you never know, pops."

"you sure about this?" johnny said.

"positive."

⸻

bella groaned in frustration as she heard the loud knocking on her door. she stopped what she was doing and shut her laptop, placing it to the side. "hang on, i'm going!" she called out, walking towards the door. "give me a sec."

she opened the door, only to find johnny standing outside her apartment. "oh, hey." bella said with a smile. "what's up?"

"you doing anything?" johnny said.

"um, nothing really." bella said. "why?"

"well, i figured if you weren't busy being a fashion designer-person, come with me and help me look for a dojo." johnny said, messing with the car keys. "but if you have something else planned, i totally get it–"

"i'd love to." bella smiled. "i guess a dojo hunting date doesn't sound so bad."

"wow, i didn't think you'd agree to a date." johnny chuckled.

"oh – i didn't mean it like that." bella said. "forget i said anything."

"so, you ready to go?" johnny said.

"yeah, let's go." bella said, reaching over to the small table by the door, grabbing her keys and her phone.

there was an awkward silence amongst the pair as they went down the stairs. bella sighed and ran a hand through her long brown hair as johnny then turned to look at her, giving her a soft smile. they were both nervous as this was the first time in weeks that they had spoken and gone out.

"so how's it going with miguel?" bella said, breaking the tension. "i saw that video on facebook. i'm glad he's up and walking again."

"oh, you saw that?" johnny said. "yeah, he's doing better. he's finally up on his feet again, literally."

"i'm glad." bella smiled as johnny opened the door of the passenger side of the dodge caravan for her. "so sensei, what kind of dojo are you looking for?"

"not sure, i'll take anything, but i'm also on a tight budget." johnny said, starting the car.

"okay, well we'll look around." bella said. "i know of a couple of spaces around the city, we'll check them out and see which one's the best option."

"stevie said you'd be good at this." johnny smiled.

"you know i got you." bella chuckled as she handed him a cassette tape, which he inserted into the tape deck.

"you sure you don't mind the music?" johnny said.  "i can play something else. i don't have any madonna though."

"not at all." bella smiled.

⸻

"earth to stevie!" daisy said, waving her hand in front of stevie's eyes, causing the blonde to snap out of her thoughts. "hello?"

"oh shit, sorry." stevie softly chuckled as she continued eating her scrambled eggs. "i totally spaced out."

"you okay?" ashley said. "you've been quiet since you came back from visiting robby, is he okay?"

"he's .. alright?" stevie said. "i don't know, there's just something off, i cant point out what it is."

"you said he's getting out soon, what's gonna happen then?" daisy said.

"i don't even know." stevie said. "i spoke to shan the other day and she still has a while to go, so i don't know where he's gonna go. he can't go home, he's not gonna go back with the larusso's because he feels daniel betrayed him and he's sure as hell not gonna go to dad's. i was thinking of having him stay with me for the meantime, but i'm not sure."

"i'd say go for it." ashley said. "i mean, you're the one that's been there for him the most, y'know besides shannon, so i'd say try it."

"you're technically family, so there shouldn't be a problem with you picking him up." daisy said.

"i don't know, this is just all so confusing." stevie said. "he also told me that kreese went to see him."

"not this again." ashley sighed. "what now?"

"i don't wanna know." stevie said. "this just all feels so off, i can't explain the feeling. just by him telling me that kreese went to see him makes this thing even weirder."

"talk about suspicious." ashley said.

stevie placed her fork down as she felt her phone buzz with a text message from alex. she reached to her back pocket and grabbed her phone, smiling as she saw the message.

"oh, you're smiling at your phone." daisy said. "that must be alex."

stevie opened up alex's message that read : drinks tonight at my aunt's bar around 7. you in? 😛

"you guys didn't tell me you were heading out for drinks tonight?" stevie said.

"we didn't even know." ashley said. "who says? alex?"

"yeah, drinks at 7 at his aunt's." stevie said.

"diane's bar? oh hell yeah, count me in." ashley smiled, taking a sip of her soda. "i'm pretty sure mark and aiden are in."

"i'm in too." daisy said, dipping some fries in ketchup.

"i guess i could go go diane's." stevie said. "i could use the distraction."

"you could use a lot more than that." daisy chuckled as stevie tossed a napkin at her.

⸻

the first place that the pair checked out was an exercise gym with training equipment and a juice bar. bella walked around, checking out the equipment and sipping on some complementary orange juice from the juice bar.

"it's pretty spacious." bella said. "locker rooms and showers don't sound so bad."

"we've got a few folks sniffing around, but you two look like the kind of people who know a good deal when they see it." the landlord said. "shall we start the paperwork?"

"who needs paperwork? i'll take it." johnny said.

"we still need a contract and we'll need to run your credit." the landlord said.

"yeah, i'd prefer you didn't." johnny said.

"johnny–"

"what do you say we skip all that crap and make a good ol' fashioned handshake deal, like men." johnny said.

after being turned away at three other facilities, they found this other little place outside the city. it was a small run down studio, which seemed to be a storage area.

"you said this is the fourth place, you two have seen today?" a man in overalls, who seemed to be the landlord or owner said.

"yeah, just trying to work within a budget." johnny said.

"this place is as cheap as they come." the landlord said. "i had to knock a couple hundred dollars because of the asbestos. i think they got it all."

"i can tell." bella muttered to herself as she toured the small space.

"y'know with a few coats of paint, a little elbow grease, i think i could make this work." johnny said to bella as she continued looking around.

"could use some tlc, other than that, it's good to go." bella smiled. "so how much are we talking?"

"three grand." the landlord said.

"three grand?" the pair said in unison.

"you're kidding? this place is a hole." bella said.

"are you serious? this place sucks." johnny said. "where's the juice bar? where's the steam room?"

"there was a vending machine down the hall, but some homeless guy crapped in it." the landlord said.

"i drove all the way down here thinking this place would be affordable." johnny said.

"this is la, pal." the landlord said. "you want a roof and four walls, it's gonna cost you."

as the pair exited the building and got into the car, johnny stayed quiet as he started the started the car. bella sighed as she intertwined her hand with his.

"so, last resort is burbank." bella said. "hey, it's gonna be okay."

"so to burbank?" johnny said as he drove to burbank.

"you'll find something, we just gotta keep looking." bella smiled. "let's see what we find."

⸻

after finding a location to train, bella and johnny drove up to the encino overlook and sat in the trunk of the car. bella opened up her can of cherry coke and took a sip as she overlooked the city.

"i told you i'd find a place." johnny said.

"it's not exactly a roof and four walls but as long as you like it." bella smiled. "so we have a location, now for a name."

"that's gonna be tough." johnny sighed.

"if you wanna keep that whole snake thing, you could do something with, like 'vipers', sounds kinda badass, don't you think?" bella said.

"i'm trying to stay away from the snake thing." johnny said.

"okay, so no snake names." bella said, sipping on her soda can. "this is gonna be harder than i thought."

"i'm surprised you weren't busy today." johnny said. "you're normally out with chris and jen or doing some fashion stuff."

"i'm on a break." bella said. "besides, i have no inspiration or motivation at the moment."

"so what happened in new york?" johnny said. "chris told me about your ex, what'd he do?"

"while we were engaged, we talked about the possibility of him and i being business partners." bella said. "he wanted to take care of me and my business, financially. he just wanted someone he could control, but when he couldn't control me, he moved on to someone who was even more naive than i was."

"dude sounds like dumbass." johnny said.

"totally." bella laughed as she took a sip of her soda. "i'm actually thinking about selling the apartment back in new york and just moving back. i could work from here, i'd be closer to home."

"oh yeah?" johnny said.

"yeah." bella said. "mom's getting older, she needs me around more and i'd also stay close to stevie. besides, that apartment was eric's idea. i wanna get out of there and just be close to home."

"it's not a bad idea." johnny said. "besides, you don't have to be at two places at once whenever you have your fashion show things."

"they're called runway shows." bella laughed as she placed her head on his shoulder.

"whatever those things are called." johnny laughed, looking over to bella. he placed a kiss on her temple, admiring the brunette next to him.

as he continued to look at her, the vintage harley-davidson top she was wearing caught his attention. the white top with an eagle printed on it had given him inspiration for his new dojo name.

"i got it." johnny said. "eagle fang karate. how does it sound?"

"um, it's interesting." bella said.

"it sounds badass." johnny said. "whats more badass than an eagle? it's tougher than a cobra. eagles eat cobras."

"honey, you do realize that eagles don't have fangs, right?" bella said.

"yeah, but just think about it." johnny said. "an eagle is the only other animal that can kill a snake. it's all part of nature, isabella. you should know, you aced science."

"wow, you're a genius." bella said sarcastically, as she chuckled.

"i'm being serious." johnny said.

"i know you are." bella laughed. "i just don't know what kind of eagles you've been looking at."

"it could work." johnny said, smiling at bella as she continued to laugh. "what's so funny?"

"nothing." bella said, giggling. "look, you can keep the whole eagle thing, maybe you guys could be 'the eagles'."

"like the band?" johnny said.

"oh shit, that's true." bella said. "i still say to use it, makes more sense than eagle fang."

"it's too basic, 'eagle fang' says that we're the baddest dojo in the valley, even more than cobra kai." johnny said.

"i sometimes wonder where you get your ideas." bella chuckled.

"it's something i just thought of." johnny said.

"yeah, i can tell." bella smiled.

"so we're in agreement on eagle fang." johnny smiled.

"i never said that." bella smirked.

"you didn't say no either." johnny chuckled.

"wiseass."

⸻

stevie adjusted her outfit as alex opened the passenger door for her and extended a hand to help her out of the car. "you good?" alex said. "if you wanna go home, just let me know."

"thanks, but i'll be fine." stevie smiled as she intertwined her hand with his and walked into the bar. the pair walked through the crowds of people and stood at the bar, looking for alex's aunt, diane. diane, a tall blonde woman, was also a west valley alum who was good friends with chrissy as well as bella and johnny. diane had adored stevie and had even been like a mother figure to her, even after the break up.

"hey aunt di!" alex called out to his aunt, the blonde smiling as she saw stevie. "look who's back."

"long time, no see stranger." diane smiled as she embraced stevie.

"nice to see you diane." stevie smiled. "it's good to be back."

"we'll have the usual." alex smiled, paying his aunt. "a beer and a rum and cherry coke."

"comin' right up!" diane smiled as she grabbed a glass and a bottle of beer. "you two are late. ashley and company beat you guys tonight."

"sorry, that was my fault." stevie laughed. "i couldn't find my wallet and i changed about twice."

"yeah that sounds like your mother." diane laughed. "speaking of, how are they? a little bird told me that they straightened everything out."

"chris was here, wasn't she?" stevie laughed as diane handed her a glass of rum and cherry coke.

"of course." diane said. "i'm glad to hear that though."

"thanks diane." stevie smiled. "i'll be back, i'm gonna go find ash."

as stevie walked away from the bar, alex smiled as he watched her every move. the blonde took a swig of his beer as he looked at her, while she found ashley and took a seat next to her. diane chuckled as she began to clean some beer glasses.

"so what's new with you two?" diane said. "how's it going?"

"we're trying the friends thing." alex said. "its been great actually. it's kinda like old times."

"have you made a move yet?" diane said.

"nah." alex sighed, taking a swig of his beer. "she's got a lot on her mind right now so i kinda don't wanna put more by making a move. besides, i don't think she feels the same way."

"have you asked her?" diane said. "if you haven't tried, you'll never know."

"i'm trying not to fuck this up. i really am." alex said. "i fucked up once and i lost her. i don't wanna do that again so i'm just sticking to taking things slow."

"does she know how you feel?" diane said.

"aiden told her but–"

"has she heard it from you?" diane said.

"no." alex said.

"then what are you waiting for, kiddo?" diane said. "she needs to hear this from you if she's gonna make a decision. you cant hide your feelings forever, the least you could do is tell her how you feel."

alex nodded as he took another swig of his beer bottle. a slow song began to play on the jukebox as he excused himself from the bar and walked over to the table where his friends were.

"hey, you wanna dance?" alex smiled.

"of course." stevie smiled as she intertwined her hand with his as he led her past the crowd of people dancing. stevie wrapped her arms around his neck as alex held her close to him.

"this feels so nice." stevie smiled.

"yeah?" alex smiled as he looked into stevie's bright green eyes.

"this is probably the most relaxed i've felt these past few days." stevie sighed. "i missed coming to diane's."

"you're literally welcome anytime." alex chuckled. "y'know drinks are always on the house."

"thanks." stevie laughed. "y'know this is the most i've seen you since i came back from new york."

"and is it a good thing?" alex laughed.

"yeah." stevie said. "i missed you and you've been a big help these past couple of months. with everything going on, i appreciate everything, i know i might not say it often."

"y'know i got you, evie." alex smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

⸻

the soft sound of the radio was heard as bella finished washing her face. she dried her face with a towel as she the reached over for her moisturizer. before continuing with her nightly routine, she heard her cellphone ring in her room.

bella walked over to her nightstand where her phone was charging to see that she was getting an incoming call from johnny. she immediately took it off the charger and answered the phone call.

"hey sensei." bella smiled. "how'd the first day go?"

"it was alright, i guess." johnny said.

"it doesn't sound like it went alright." bella said. "did something go wrong? is it one of your kids?"

"what do you think went wrong?" johnny said.

"fuck." bella sighed. "it's kreese, isn't it?"

"of course." johnny sighed.

"so i take recruitment was a total failure too." bella sighed, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

"yeah." johnny said. "but i got a couple of kids. all nerds but it'll work for now."

"just be patient. it's just the first day." bella said. "hey, you have a group of kids, that's a good start. you restarted cobra kai with only one kid, this is even better. just give it some time."

"thanks for coming with me and thanks for helping me out." johnny smiled. "i probably wouldn't have known what to do without you."

"of course. i had fun today." bella smiled. "thanks for the invite."

"yeah, no problem." johnny said. "night, bella."

"good night hon." bella smiled as she hung up and placed the cell phone on the nightstand.

⸻

"so i had fun tonight." stevie smiled as alex walked her to her apartment. "i really needed this."

"i had fun too." alex smiled as the pair stood at the doorway of stevie's apartment. "we've really gotta do this again, like drinks at my aunts."

"if anyone knows how to party, it's diane." stevie smiled as she grabbed the keys to her apartment and opening the door. the pair stood at the door, silently and just gazing into each other's eyes. "i'll call you tomorrow, well, it's technically tomorrow so i'll call you later."

"yeah." alex said. "good night stevie."

"good night." stevie smiled as she slowly closed the door to her apartment. as alex walked down the hall, his aunt's voice replayed in his head, telling him to make a move. the blonde stopped in the middle of the hallway as he contemplated turning back and knocking on stevie's door again.

alex took a deep breath and decided to turn back to stevie's door. after knocking twice, he paced around immediately regretting his decision. his heart raced as stevie opened the door with a confused look on her face.

"hey, what's wrong?" stevie said.

"look, i've been avoiding this for so long but it's time i finally come out and say it." alex said. "i'm crazy about you, stevie. i'm so glad you came back into my life and i haven't been able to stop thinking about you. i still have feelings for you."

stevie sighed as she remained quiet. she was stunned at alex's confession and didn't know what else to say. she only managed smile and let out a few tears.

"i know you might not feel the same way, but i just wanted you to know." alex said. "i know you have a lot going on and if this fucks everything up–"

"shut up, alexander." stevie said as she pressed her lips onto his, shutting him up. he pulled her close to him as she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight.

"so what does that mean?" alex laughed.

"it means i like you, you like me." stevie smiled.
"we'll leave at that and see where it goes."

"yeah, sounds perfect." alex smiled, kissing her once again. "well now that we settled this, i'll let you sleep."

"alright, i'll call you." stevie smiled, kissing alex once more. "good night xander."

"night, evie."