THE RIDE HOME wasn't so bad. I actually found that I enjoyed the feeling of riding on the bike. And Johnny was true to his word. He drove well and I didn't have the slightest fear of riding the motor bike. with him. The wind was in my face and fresh against my skin and I enjoyed the odd feeling of being careless for once.

The ride didn't nearly take as long as it would have had if I walked too. My legs were indeed grateful for the respite. When I finally got off the bike, I handed Johnny back his helmet, "Thanks for the ride. I'll see you guys at school." I waved a quick goodbye to the others.

Johnny nodded, "Anytime."

Without another word I turned on my heel and strode up the sidewalk to the house. I heard the rev of their motor bikes as I went into the house and closed the door behind me with a click.

After getting homework done it was nearly seven. My stomach was starting to rumble and I wandered around the kitchen, looking for something to eat. Both the fridge and the pantry really didn't have a whole lot of options in them so I settled on soup. Luckily the can was in date. I knew my father would be getting back home shortly but it seemed to take longer than normal.

I placed a pot on the stove and dumped the contents of the can into it, adding the correct amount of water it called for on the can's directions. Chicken noodle. Simple, but good. I could tell my father was an uncomplicated man when it came to food. He probably just got whatever looked easiest to make. At least he bothered to check the dates on packaged goods.

When the soup was finished, I sat down at the table to eat. I don't think I'll want chicken noodle soup for the rest of the year though. I'll go to the store tomorrow after the dojo. The two things my father seemed to have the most of around the house were canned goods and eggs. Well... That, and beer.

I stirred my soup, letting it cool a bit while plopping an ice cube in too. That was something my mother had done since I was little.

For a moment I let my thoughts wander to her. She had been a great mom. She had always supported me through everything and always was there to soften the landing if I fell. It seemed like a lifetime ago since I saw her last. I wished she was still here, that we were still living in Minnesota, that she never decided to go on that trip, that I hadn't been so angry with her over something so stupid and that I had a chance to say I was sorry for what I had said.

The door thumping open shocked me from my wishing daze as my father walked in. He set his car keys on a side table and strode straight to the fridge to grab a beer and few slices of leftover pizza. He sat with me at the table after warming his food. After a few minutes of awkward silence and eating, my father was the one who spoke up. "You did well in class today. Your skill in karate is good. Where did you learn?"

Of course, our conversation was about karate but I was surprised that my father gave me a compliment. I was surprised, but pleased too.

"An older man in Minnesota taught me. He ran a small Dojo and was my Sensei for a few years before he moved back to him home country a few months before Mom passed."

At the mention of my mom, my father froze for a second. I wondered if he was reliving a past memory by the strange distant look on his face. I too, felt a that sudden surge of emotion well up inside me when thinking of her again but I forced it down deep. I didn't need his pity. And I honestly didn't know if he'd give much anyway.

A moment later he came back to reality and turned to me, "This man has taught you well. And I will teach you to be great. What do you think of going to the All-Valley Tournament?" My father asked this as he took a bite, his jaw moving in tight quick motions as he ate. The look of it reminded me of a rapid round of jab-cross punches.

"I've never been to a tournament before."

"Then you should. I only select a few students who I think will do best and I believe you could be one of them. It isn't for a few months yet so there is plenty more time to train."

This sudden and unexpected praise from my father made me giddy but at the same time wary. I had this feeling like it seemed if I did something, I could either impress him or disappoint him. I didn't want to do the latter of the two.

"I'll think about it," I said and continued to finish my soup.

After a few more minutes my father spoke up again. His more-chatty tone tonight was unexpected. "So, you've been hanging out with Johnny and those other boys?"

This next question caught me off guard, "No. Not really. He gave me a ride home today is all."

My father nodded slightly, "I see. Johnny is my best student. He has a significant future in karate. I don't want to see him distracted by anything. The same goes for you."

I looked at my father, "If you think I would be the distraction, you're wrong. He likes another girl already. And I don't like him like that either..."

I stopped short realizing I probably didn't need to defend myself or talk about my personal life and boys. When I glanced back at my father, he was nodding again slightly. "Good." It was all he said the rest of the night to me. And when I went to bed that evening I couldn't help but be a bit annoyed at both my father and Johnny. I was no distraction to anyone. And I wasn't distracted either. I was here for myself, trying to figure out my life and get it in order. I didn't need any distractions and I sure wasn't going to be one for anyone else.

The weeks that followed were warm ones. Ali, Susan, Barbara and I stood in the cool cafeteria, waiting in line to get our lunch. The girls hadn't said much about what happened at the cafe, and I wasn't too inclined to get into the conversation myself. I didn't want to have to defend why I was at the Cobra Kai dojo and I shouldn't have to. From what it seemed like though, they had accepted me being a Cobra Kai.

Unfortunately, Barbara was the one who brought it up again, "I still can't believe you're doing karate (Y/N). It's so... Sweaty."

"So is cheerleading," Susan said in my defense.

"Yeah, but we aren't fighting though. I can't imagine fighting someone."

"I'd only fight when I'd have to. It's for self-defense. I was always taught that fighting doesn't solve anything but it can help in times of need." I shrugged a tad and smiled slightly, "But I do feel badass when I do it sometimes."

Susan glanced sideways at me, "What about boys? I bet being the only girl in there gets you all the attention."

I smiled, "Everyone is pretty focused on the karate when we're there. It's not really the place for a relationship. My father is strict on the classes and our training."

"But there are some cute guys, right?"

I rolled my eyes and laughed a bit, "Yes, some of them are."

We found an empty table to sit at outside in the sun and we settled down to eat our lunch. The day was warm but not as hot as it had been lately so we resolved to sit away from our usually spot underneath the shade of a few trees.

"We need to figure out what we're wearing to the Halloween dance. Everyone is going to have cool costumes and I don't want to look shabby." Susan was going on and on about where we should go looking for our ensembles.

"I honestly don't care what I wear, I just hope someone asks me to go to the dance with them," Barbara's tone was a bit gloomy as she looked down at her plate, smearing her food around with her fork.

"You'll get asked. Try not to worry about it." I shrugged, "Or you could ask someone..."

"Are you kidding? I could never!"

I held up my hands in defeat, "Well, it was just a suggestion."

"Do you want to go to the dance with anyone (Y/N)?" Ali asked me.

I smiled a bit, "Um, I was actually already asked."

"What! Who?"

I bit my lower lip a little and fiddled with my mom's bracelet, "Freddy."

"Wait, Freddy? Freddy Fernandez?"

I nodded confirmation at Susan's guess.

"How come you didn't say anything sooner?" Ali asked me. Under their stares it was the first time I'd felt nervous under pressure and a bit insecure with my choices.

"He just asked me yesterday after school. It's not a big deal. Freddy's nice and I like him. That's all there is to it. He asked me and I said yes. End of story."

"Oh my God, but you still should have told us right away! I can't believe you kept that from us."

I laughed, "It's not even been a full twenty-four hours! You guys are too much," I shook my head from side to side not understanding why it was being made of as such an ordeal."

"Freddy is nice. I know you guys will have a great time." Ali smiled broadly, no shock was on her face now and she was fully a supportive friend.

"Ali, do you think you'll go with Daniel?"

"That LaRusso kid?" Susan asked with a raised eyebrow.

I nodded and turned back to Ali. She sighed, "I'm not sure. I'd like to, but he's sort of been avoiding me lately. I think he's mad about what I said a few weeks ago about him running away from his problems."

"You mean from the guys?"

Ali nodded in validation.

I sat back, leaning away from the table a tad, "Ali, he likes you, but I know if I were him I'd not really want to get beat up either."

"I know, I just really like him. I wanna be friends."

"I think you mean more than friends," I smiled at her and we laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so. But I don't know if he wants that."

"Oh no, he does. Look, a few weeks ago I talked to Johnny and he said he and the guys would leave him alone."

"He did?"

I nodded, "So far it seems like nothing's happened to him, right?"

Ali stopped for a second to think and then slowly nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Ali stood up abruptly and smiled at us, "I'm going to try to find him. I'll see if he can forgive me."

"Go get 'em!" I hollered after her as she left the table in search of Daniel.

Barbara huffed, "Well, that was rude. She didn't even bother to say goodbye."

"Who didn't say goodbye?" I looked up from my lunch to see the Cobra Kai's hovering near our table. It was Dutch who had spoken.

The guys sat down with us. Bobby ended up sitting next to me and I smiled at him as he settled down in his seat. I saw Tommy sit next to Barbara. She moved her tray away from him but not before he snatched a cookie from it and popped it in his mouth. Barbara slapped his shoulder hard but Tommy just started laughing, almost choking on the cookie.

I had to smile a bit and just kept on eating my food. Bobby leaned a bit closer to me, lowering his voice a little so our conversation would be more private. "So, I was wondering if you had a date to the Halloween dance?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Johnny watching our hushed conversation from across the table. I could tell he was trying not to look like he was listening in but he wasn't doing a very great job at it.

"I appreciate the offer Bobby, but I have to decline." I swear I saw Johnny's mouth turn up in just the slightest smirk. It was so tiny that you almost couldn't even tell it was there.

"Oh," Bobby was a bit put out that I was rejecting him.

Trying to save his ego, I spoke again. "It isn't that I wouldn't want to go with you to the dance or anything but..."

"Someone's already beat you to it," Susan said loudly and gave Bobby a look that said he missed out on the opportunity. I hadn't even known she was listening to the conversation. "Freddy Fernandez asked her yesterday," She continued with a matter-of-fact tone.

"What did Fernandez ask?" Dutch was mumbling with his mouth full.

"He asked (Y/N) to the Halloween dance," Suzi said while looking at Dutch's open mouth in disgust.

Any trace of a smirk that might have been on Johnny's face earlier was completely undetectable now.

Susan's voice broke over the wave of chatter at the table, silencing all other conversations. "Don't worry, I'm sure you can find someone else to go with besides (Y/N). She doesn't date jerk Cobra Kai guys."

"Why would you want to go with that Dweeb?"

I cut my gaze to Johnny who was across the table and looking directly at me now. I was a tad nervous now that all eyes were on me. Especially in front of these guys. They didn't need to add their opinions on who I was going to the dance with. "It's no one's business but my own. I'm going with Freddy. So, just leave it at that."

After school I went to the dojo for class. We worked through a series of matches and reviewed how to down our opponent quickly and efficiently. Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy. Some of the things my father said, I didn't agree with but I knew he wanted to teach us to fight in order to win.

When karate was finished I waited for Ali and the girls on the sidewalk in front of the dojo. We were going to the arcade to hang out for a few hours. It was Friday night and we just wanted to have fun together.

Behind me I could hear Johnny and his gang chatting.

The girls arrived finally and parked on the side of the road, "Hey, ready to go?" It was Ali who spoke. I smiled at her. She seemed to be in a bright mood.

"Yeah, definitely. Let's go!"

"Where are you lovely ladies going?" Dutch asked from the side. The boys had stepped closer to where Ali's car was parked. Jimmy blocked the way in front.

Susan was going to reply but I beat her to it. "Nowhere that concerns any of you I think." I hopped into the back seat of the car and pulled my seatbelt on, locking it into place, "Now I'm ready to go."

Barbara laughed and waved goodbye to the guys before Ali revved the engine. Jimmy jumped out of the way as we took off down the road and made our way to the arcade.

Golf n Stuff was actually a really fun place. There were go karts, games, cafes, pizza parlors, a water park and of course mini golf.

We started playing a few games in the arcade but ultimately ended up playing a round of mini golf. I was actually fairly decent at the game although if anyone tried to persuade me to play actual golf, it would most likely be a disaster.

While Susan took her turn on one of the holes, I started to think about Ali and Daniel. "Hey Ali, did you ever get to talk with Daniel today?"

Ali's bright mood soured a bit, "When I finally found him I tried to talk to him about what happened but he left before I could even get a word in."

"Ali, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I still hope he'll come around. I guess I'll just wait and see."

"I still don't think you should waste your time on the fool," Barbara said as she put her putter to the ground for her turn.

I nudged Ali's shoulder and smiled, "Don't give up on him. He knows how great you are. Give him time."