THIRTY ONE.
( heartbreak is the national anthem, we sing it proudly. )

"Yo, I'm telling you, man, when I get to ASU, honeys be lining up for this snack, know what I mean?"

Emmy rolled her eyes in annoyance, her and Tory making eye contact before heading towards him.

"You guys are pathetic," Tory spoke up. "If you'd handled your business, we would have won that fight."

Kyler turned to the two girls. "Okay, whatever. Hawk, he switched sides."

"Yeah, and Miguel just got out of wheelchair and he still kicked your ass," Tory got up in his face.

"You know what? At least I'm still here. Half the squad quit," Kyler defended himself.

"Probably because you don't ever shut the fuck up," Emmy sighed, and he squinted his eyes at her.

"We got a problem?" he took a threatening step towards her, but Emmy didn't even blink.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I mean, you busted Miguel's face in, I'll give you that. But, last I saw, he got the last laugh and handed you your own ass. So, yeah, maybe we do got a problem."

Kyler glared down at her, but the sound of the bell ringing made them turn towards the door, and Emmy's face lit up as she saw Robby walk in.

"Well, look who showed up," Tory commented and shook her head at him.

Robby stayed silent, walking away from them and headed towards the back room.

"That fool doesn't even practice, and he gets to stay? I don't get it," Kyler scoffed.

Emmy turned to him, stepping forward and kicked his knee, causing his to grunt and fall to his good knee. She smiled down at him. "Don't talk about him. You and I both know that he has enough aggression to give you and Miguel matching faces."

And then she too walked away, a small smile on her face as she walked into the backroom. "Hey. Haven't seen you in awhile."

Robby let out a breath, walking towards her. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I've been working through some stuff."

"I get it. Don't worry," she chuckled, eyes going to his forehead. "Bruise is finally gone."

"Oh, yeah," his hand reached up to his forehead. "Thanks for the icing tips. It was gone in, like, three days."

"Glad to be of help," and then there was an awkward silence. The two of them having shy looks on their face, not knowing what to say.

"You're late," Emmy turned around and saw Kreese limping into the room. She quickly cleared her throat, and Robby went back to his bag on the ground.

"I'm not here for practice," Robby told him, and Emmy furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well, if you wanna be a Cobra Kai ⎯ "

Robby cut the man off. "I never said I was joining. I just needed a place to crash."

"Wait, you aren't joining?" Emmy asked him. "And you're sleeping here?"

"Where are you sleeping?" he turned to her.

"I've been crashing at Kyler's," she sighed. "It's not ideal, but he's a rich kid. I stay on one side of the house, he stays on the other. I eat at one time, he eats at another. Plus, his dad lets me drive whatever car I want. His parents like me, a lot. Kinda getting scared that they think I'm his pregnant girlfriend or something."

"Rambling," Robby commented.

"Noted," she nodded.

"Well, you can crash here as long as you want," Kreese said to Robby. "Both of you."

"I'm already here most the time. The last thing I want is to be here all the time," Emmy shrugged.

Robby then turned to Kreese and sighed before getting to his feet. "Look, this was a bad idea. I know Cobra Kai helped when I was getting jumped in juvie, but I am not gonna be a pawn in this bet you've made with my dad and Mr. LaRusso."

"I didn't think of you as a pawn," Kreese furrowed his eyebrows. "I think of you as a king."

Robby looked at him curiously, and Emmy leaned against the wall, watching this conversation.

"Your father had all the talent in the world, but he squandered it. I gave him every opportunity to come back, but he chose Diaz. And he left you with that mark on your head. Trust me, you've got even more talent than your father. You just need to show it to the world."

Emmy pursed her lips in thought. She thought that Robby was an exceptional talent, but she couldn't discredit Johnny, even if they were on opposite sides.

"After everything that's happened, do you think I care about a stupid trophy?" Robby scoffed.

"It's not about the trophy," Kreese said. "It's about being a champion. Win or lose, that reputation will follow you the rest of your life."

Kreese then looked over at Emmy, who was just playing with her hair. "You're already known for losing to the girl right there."

Her head snapped up.

"Emmy has earned the respect of practically everyone in the Valley. Hell, ask your father and LaRusso."

"Yeah, well," Robby shrugged. "They have a pretty good chance of winning now that they've teamed up."

Kreese looked at him for a moment. "They're not the only ones teaming up." And then he walked away.

Robby turned to Emmy. "What the hell does that mean?"

She could only shrug. "No clue. He hasn't mentioned any partnerships."

Robby then knitted his eyebrows together, looking off to the side. What was Kreese planning?

✸

"Wait! Hold on!"

Robby laughed as he held onto Emmy's hands, trying to help her balance on his skateboard. "Just relax. You'll fall right off if you panic."

"Says you. You practically learned how to stand on water," she breathed out, steading herself on the board. "Okay. I'm ready."

"All right. You can hold on as tight as you want," he encouraged her, immediately feeling her grip tighten on him. He couldn't help but laugh. "That was quick."

"Shut up," she spat out, closing her eyes. "God, I feel like a pussy."

"I mean..." he tilted his head. "You're kinda acting like one."

Her eyes flew open, jaw dropping. "Excuse me? I am not made for things like skateboarding. I once went ice skating with Anthony and I fell on my face and fractured my nose."

"Huh," he voiced out.

"What?"

"Is that why your nose looks weird?"

She rolled her eyes, immediately getting off of the skateboard. "You can skate by yourself."

"Ok, ok," he had a grinned on his face, doubling over in laughter. He subconsciously rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, feeling the rough, healing skin.

"This is so not funny," she said, but she couldn't help but let a small laugh escape. "Does my nose actually look weird?"

"It's a bit more off to the right ⎯ "

"Shut up," she gasped, taking her hands back and covered her face. "Are you being serious?"

He laughed even harder at the look of horror on her face, grabbing her hands and pulled them away from her face. "No. I'm kidding. Your nose is fine."

"You are such a little shit," she chuckled in disbelief, pulling her hands back. "I'm gonna go to bathroom."

"Emmy! Your nose is fine!" he exclaimed, but she was already walking away.

"I'll believe when I see it!"

His smile grew as he shook his head at her, watching her trudge through the grass and head towards the small building in the distance. He then grabbed his skateboard, deciding to pass some time and wait for her.

As Emmy walked towards the women's bathroom, she had a lasting smile on her face. These past few days, she had never felt happier. Robby was really the friend she needed during this time, and it just felt so easy being with him.

It reminded her of her days hanging out with Demetri and Eli, which were memories that she was very fond of.

She quietly entered the empty bathroom, humming to herself as she headed for one of the many mirrors, coming face to face with her own. She turned her head side to side, pulling and pushing at her nose. She knew Robby was joking, but did her nose really go more to the right?

After seeing absolutely no difference, she sighed, guessing that she was a bit too much in her own head and walked out. She stuck her hands into the green bomber jacket Robby had leant her, subconsciously chewing on the inside of her cheek as she made her way back over to the main part of the skate park.

But from where she was walking, and especially when she took each step closer, she could see Robby talking to someone. She furrowed her eyebrows as she saw that it was someone with feminine features. But then she clenched her jaw when she realized who it was.

Sam.

She paused for a second, noticing her sister's nervous looking body language and Robby's nonchalant one. She wanted to laugh at Sam's audacity to approach Robby since the last time the two saw each other, Robby told them all to get lost and walked away with Kreese and Emmy. And she knew that Robby wanted nothing to do with Sam.

Emmy took a deep breath before plastering a smile on her face, confidently walking over. She paid no mind to Sam as she got closer, only fixing her hair.

"Robby!" Emmy exclaimed with her perfect smile. "I saw this ice cream truck when I went to the bathroom and thought we should get some."

Robby immediately turned his attention to her, raising his eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

She nodded. "Mhm." And then she finally turned to Sam. "Oh! Sam. Didn't see you there."

"Emmy," Sam's lips parted in shock. She recognized the jacket her sister wore. "I didn't... I didn't know you'd be here."

"Well, here I am," Emmy pursed her lips. "What are you doing here?"

"I just ⎯ " Sam turned to Robby, her fingers fidgeting with each other. "Robby, believe me, I never stopped caring about you."

Emmy raised her eyebrows, glancing over at Robby, who just looked bored. "Never stopped caring about Miguel either."

"I know," Sam looked down. "I thought that that was over but it was more complicated."

"There's nothing complicated about it," Robby looked at her in disbelief. "It's a choice and you chose."

"You're right," Sam looked him in the eye. "But that doesn't mean you have to make the wrong choice. You're a good person." Her eyes moved to Emmy. "Both of you. Our dad knows it. Your dad knows it."

"My dad also had a choice," Robby spoke. "And he chose to become a drunk loser who still hasn't figured out his own life. Now he wants to make up for lost time so be can feel better about himself?"

"Please," Sam softly pleaded. "Your dad is trying to change. Ours is too. If you could just come back, you could really help bring everybody together. That's all that I want."

"Then it looked like I get to be the first person to ever tell you this," Robby looked dead into her eyes. "You're not getting what you want."

"You're definitely not the first," Emmy whispered into his ear, and he gave her an amused look.

Sam looked at the two of them hardly before nodding. "Okay. Just remember, this was your choice."

Robby just shrugged, turning to Emmy. "Let's go to that ice cream truck."

"Sure," she said, feeling him grab her hand and the two walked off.

Sam watched them go with flickering eyes, tugging the sleeves of her hoodie down past her hands and turned around and walked back to her car.

✸

"Dude, I thought your mom told you to put socks on before you leave," Emmy looked at Kyler in disgust, seeing his bare feet.

"Damn..." he looked down. "You should have reminded me."

"Me?" her face scrunched up. "Why me?"

"I'm letting you live with me," Kyler shrugged. "The least you can do is remind me to put my socks on."

She deadpanned at him, dropping her backpack onto the ground. "Do you ever listen to yourself when you talk?"

"Of course I do..." Kyler trailed off, seeing Robby stood in the Cobra Kai gi. "Get a load of this chump. What are you doing here?"

"Sensei Kreese isn't back yet, so I'm gonna get you guys warmed up," Robby simply said.

"You've never been a part of this team and you think you're our sensei?" Kyler scoffed. "Get the hell outta here, man."

"Who say we even want you?" Tory asked.

Robby looked at her for a moment. "Okay, hit me."

"What?" Emmy immediately said.

"Any of you," he added on. "If any of you can land a hit, I'll go."

Kyler shrugged. "All right." He immediately then charged at Robby, his leg up high as he went to kick him, only for Robby to kick his leg out from under him.

His eyes were wide as he defensively stood his ground, looking around at the rest of them. "Who's next?"

Emmy backed up against the mirror, arms crossed as she curiously observed Robby's fights. He easily defended against all of the boys who came at him, which she figured was from his days in Miyagi-Do. But he would then attack, just like a Cobra Kai.

Kreese was right. He really was what Cobra Kai was looking for.

Tory glanced back at her, which she only replied with shrug, not sure what to say. It was satisfying watching Robby beat the living crap out of everyone. He was incredibly skilled, and she could see why he made it to the final round of the All Valley tournament.

Then Robby stepped towards Tory. "You just gonna watch?"

Tory didn't hesitate, swinging a kick that he narrowly backed away from. She then swung her fist at him, causing him to shove it away. She spun around, trying to elbow him in the face, but he caught it, pushing her away from him.

They each took a moment to straighten themselves out, getting back into their fighting positions. Tory made the first move once again, doing two spinning kicks back to back, Robby ducking and dodging both of them. She then threw a flurry of punches, Robby's face scrunching in concentration as he quickly deflected all of them.

He then grabbed her arm, and flipped her over his shoulder, causing her to slam down onto her back. He got back to his feet, breathing heavily as he stared down at her. "No hard feelings?"

But Tory grabbed his ankles, helping herself turn and jammed her heel into his nose. Robby stumbled back, and Emmy straightened herself, eyes widening.

"A deal's a deal," he breathed out. "I'll go."

He turned around to leave, and Emmy took a step towards him, but Tory beat her to it. "No. Stay."

He looked to Emmy, who nodded, a small smile on her face.

"You wanna give it a go?" he jokingly asked her.

She chuckled, walking towards him. "I think we both know that if we went up against each other again, you'd still come out runner up."

He laughed, and her smiled grew bigger, throwing her arms around him. "Welcome to Cobra Kai."

AUTHOR'S NOTE !

emmy robby...this is not normal friend behavior