Take me to church — Hozier

CYNTHIA YAWNED AS SHE GOT UP FROM THE couch, realizing the smell of fresh breakfast her dad usually cooked hadn't filled the air. She scrunched her brows, then shrugged figuring he had spent the night at Miguel's with Carmen. Pushing herself up, she rubbed her eyes slightly, dreadfully preparing for the day.

As usual, she went straight for the bathroom but stopped in her tracks as she seen her father, looking stressed over a thick stack of papers.

"What is that?" She questioned, startling the man who hadn't heard her.

"Uh—... papers." Simon sighed and pointed at the chair across from him at the counter. "You're going to have to take a seat for this one."

Hesitantly, Cynthia took a seat across from her father and interlaced her own fingers together, letting them rest comfortably on the countertop.

"I don't really know how to explain this to you but so, i'm just going to come right out and say it. Your mother just served me with some papers..." Simon trailed off, tears starting to fill his eyes.

"What do you mean papers? Aren't the two of you divorced already—" now it was Cynthia's turn, finally realizing what kind of papers he meant.

"She is trying to get custody of you, and with her living conditions, and the money they have... I don't want to say it but, she might win." A single tear rolled down the Sari mans cheek and he inhaled, knowing that crying in front of his daughter who had already been through so much wouldn't help.

"No." The young girl replied, shaking her head with tears pouring down her face. She might have looked sad but, she was seeing red, and not in a good way. "She doesn't get to do that. You both left but when you came back you didn't try to take me from Bianca, or change my entire life."

"I know Cyn but—"

"There is nothing to defend her with Dad. She's not a good person, and it was time we both accepted that. I'm going to go talk to her, and that's gonna be the end of this. If i'm lucky I can get her little boy toy to leave town too." Cynthia said as she pushed herself up from her chair and stood up.

"You know, you sound a lot like your aunt right now." Simon spoke through a slight smile.

"Good, Bianca's the best."

THEO WOULD HAVE GLADLY RATHER BEEN CUDDLED up to his girlfriend on the couch, or on some sappy date she picked out rather than a kids birthday party. However, it was hard for him to reject anything Sam wanted to do because all he wanted was to be there for her. It was an odd feeling, one he had only felt once before but had since gone away.

For the most part.

"Does that mermaid look familiar to you?" The Antonetti boy asked Amanda, as he heard his girlfriend who was on the other side of him laugh.

The older Larusso woman said nothing as her faced dropped, and throat went dry. She hadn't told her family or Theo that Tory was fired from her last job when she visited, and it was a shock to see her working this party. Especially given the history between the blonde and her daughter.

"Did I say that i'd rather be anywhere else?" Sam questioned with almost a devilish grin before grabbing a hold on Theo's hand. "I meant this is the best possible place for me to be."

"Sam—" The Antonetti boy took in a deep breath, and nodded. One part of him desperately wanted to tell her not to start anything, in fear of her own safety but, the other part knew it would be hypocritical.

After the school fight, he took any chance he could to mess with Hawk, why wouldn't she be able to do the same?

"How about we all go find somewhere to sit, yeah?" Theo asked, looking between both women who nodded their heads.

"I want one as close as possible to whatever she's doing." Sam explained with a smile, her boyfriend only letting out a slight sigh.

He knew things were about to get pretty messy.

  CYNTHIA FELT LIKE HER HEART WAS BEATING A million miles per minute as she approached her old dojo. A wave of memories surrounded her but, instead of dwelling on them all she could feel was anger. Anger towards her mother, towards Terry Silver, towards John Kreese for bringing them back.

Anger towards everyone and everything.

She burst through the double doors with no fear, quickly scanned the room and noted her mother wasn't visible. In turn, without anyone stopping her she went to the back training room, filled with only three people. Silver, Robby, and a young boy she had yet to meet.

"You can't be back here—" the Keene boy was cut off by Silver who put his hand up lightly.

"This is where she belongs Robby, just like you." Terry smiled, a smile that sent even more chills down Cynthia's bones than the one she received from Kreese himself. "You look strikingly like your mother, Cynthia."

The Sari girl wasn't going to stand down, she never had and she wouldn't start to do so just because of a man like this.

"Speaking of mothers, where is she?" The teen raised a brow, folding one arm over the other.

"She went out to get some coffee but, after the delivery that was made today, she accepted you to come." Terry smiled. "She has big plans for you once we get custody."

"Plans?" Robby questioned, furrowing his brows as the young boy beside him stayed quiet.

"Cynthia here is going to be back apart of the Cobra Kai team, where she was meant to be this entire time." Silver gestured towards the blue eyes boy. "Have you met my best fighter, Cynthia?"

"If he's the best you've got you aren't going to get very far." Usually, she would have kept her mouth shut but in these situations, all she could do was the wrong thing.

"Want to test that out then?" Robby questioned, his eye practically twitching at the thought someone was questioning his karate.

"Gladly." Without a second thought, the Sari girl kicked off her shoes and stood on the mat opposite of Robby.

The look on Silver's face made it clear he was getting exactly what he wanted but, she didn't care, Cynthia needed to release her anger out somehow and this was it.

Once the younger boy, who obviously looked up to the blue eyed teen stepped out of the way, he lunged forward towards the Sari girl.

She blocked his hit and threw a punch with her left hand, knocking the boy back slightly. Cynthia knew that Robby was excellent at karate, he had trained at Miyagi-do and Cobra Kai. It didn't worry her though, so had she for the most part, and she wasn't going to let that stop her.

Robby let out a huff as he swept the girls leg making her fall to the ground quickly.

"Ready to give up now?" He questioned as he breathed out slowly. The boy extended his hand lightly, taking her being on the ground as a sign she was done.

"We're just getting started." Cynthia took ahold of his arm, swept his leg just as he did to her, and flipped him over her head.

She quickly stood up, placing the heel of her foot onto his stomach as she cocked her fist back, angling herself to send him a punch right to the face.

"What is going on in here!?" That familiar voice that used to reprimand her when she was young sent a chill down her spine.

"Ah, honey. Your daughter just came for a visit."

THEO ACTUALLY GOT ALONG QUITE WELL WITH Amanda, and be was grateful that his girlfriends family liked him, and enjoyed inviting him to things. He felt in a way like he was a part of the family, something he'd forever be grateful for. He couldn't have asked for a better way for his life to be going at the moment.

"You know, Sam really likes you. She wants you around all the time and talks about you non-stop, i've never seen her like this before." The Larusso woman commented with a slight smile, pointing her head towards the girl who was deep in conversation with a woman she's known since she was little.

"Well, I feel the same way." Theo replied back, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm really appreciative of all the things you and your family have included me in, I don't have a lot of family... well, really any anymore besides Robby and his mom so."

"If you ever need help with anything feel free to ask. I know how hard it must be for you to go through everything you have." Amanda reassured the boy by lightly patting him on his back. "I am just glad you've been respectful and well-mannered, unlike most of her boyfriends."

As much as it inflated the Antonetti boys ego to know he was Amanda's top choice on the list of guys Sam had dated, he didn't have much time to think about it as he seen a bunch of kids ran towards his girlfriend and threw glitter all over her.

"You... you go check on Sam i'll be back in a second." Amanda walked off in the other direction, as Theo nodded and ran over to the girl covered in piles and piles of glitter.

"What the hell happened?" He questioned with concern as he ushered her to a less crowded space.

"It was Tory, she told all the kids I was a witch and the only way to take me down was to throw glitter all over me." Sam's expression could only be described as rage as she folded one arm over another.

As much as Theo wanted to laugh, he held it all in doing his best to calm her.

"Alright, let's just get this all off you." Gently, he dusted the glitter off the girls hair and combed his hair throughout it to make sure it all fell out. "I think thats the best I can do without you washing it—"

He couldn't finish his sentence as she pressed her lips against his but, as he began to reciprocate he noticed she had her eyes open looking in the opposite direction. The boy pulled away slightly, and looked back to see Tory sulking away in the opposite direction. He would never understand their feud, and he most certainly didn't understand how Sam could put him in the middle of it.

"I'm okay with you being mad about what happened in the school fight but, don't use me to get back at her." He spoke, his voice full of hurt.

"It's not like that..." Sam reached forward as he backed away slowly.

"Don't." Theo shook his head lightly.

Was she just using him?

CYNTHIA AND PENELOPE SAT ACROSS FROM EACH OTHER on the training mats as everyone from Cobra Kai left. Apparently, she had been working there doing the books since Silver rejoined as a sensei, claiming they were making this whole thing a "family affair". The Sari girl barely considered her own mother family, she most certainly wasn't going to claim Terry under that category.

"I just came to make one thing clear, I am not going to live with you and your dinosaur fiancé, i'm not going to join you on weekends, i'm not going to come back to cobra kai, and I am certainly not going to pretend we are some happy family. I don't know why you are so delusional as of lately but I don't want anything to do with you, can't you understand that?" The girl spoke, letting out all her frustrations.

"Well, Terry and I filed the paperwork and we are officially married. Meaning I officially have more money, and a more livable home than your father. So I don't think it matters what you want, it matters what the court wants, Cynthia." Penelope spoke simply, her fave and voice void of emotion.

"You're really going to do this?" The young Sari girl asked, tears of frustration welling up inside of her.

"You made me do this the hard way. I just wanted to take you on weekends, you refused, your father refused. I took matters into my own hands." The older woman shrugged lightly, placing her hands on her own thighs. "This is happening, and there's nothing that you, your father, or Bianca can do."

"Is this really about me? Or do you just want me because your fiancé wants me in this dojo? Or maybe this is all to get back at dad. Whatever your excuse is, I know you don't love me, you left me." All Cynthia could feel now was numb, the world had thrown too much at her and she wasn't sure how much more she could take. "I never loved someone and looked up to someone as much as you mom, and you broke me, like nobody else has the ability to do."

"Don't try to turn this on me, i'm back now, aren't I?" Penelope pushed herself up from the mat, wiping off her business pants. "Me putting you in this dojo is going to make you something great, Cynthia. Something that you couldn't ever be without Silver's help."

If she didn't know it before, the Sari girl certainly knew her mother had absolutely no faith in her.

"I'm never going to live up to what you want me to be, i've barely done karate in months and I don't want to do it anymore, i'm just so tired—"

"You've barely done karate and yet, you almost beat the best kid here." Penelope smiled, shaking her head. "You're better than Kreese said you were."

"Are you not hearing me?" Cynthia let out a sigh of frustration, but it was clear her mothers delusional thoughts wouldn't get any better, or make any more sense.

"You'll be where you belong soon enough, honey." The Silver woman walked off into the back room without another word.

Leaving her daughter in the room that had started all of this.

THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON WAS ALMOST A BLUR for Cynthia. She kind of just went through the motions and sailed through the day not feeling a thing. She told her father what happened, tried to help him and Bianca figure out ways to keep her, and when things got too stressful, she went with her friends to the drive in.

She couldn't really enjoy herself, not with everything happening.

The Sari girl hadn't told Miguel, or Theo, or Sam, or anyone else for that matter. She was sort of hoping she'd be able to save the situation before it got serious enough for her to have to move and be forced to rejoin Cobra Kai. Part of her dreaded having to tell them, or leave, and all the possible outcomes seemed to wind up with her having to do one of the two.

"Hey, are you okay?" Miguel questioned thoughtfully, rubbing the back of the girls hand with his thumb. "We asked if you wanted to come get snacks and you kind of zoned out. Sam already left with Hawk, Bert, and Theo."

"Oh, yeah—" Cynthia nodded. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Yeah, let's get snacks."

The couple exited the car hand in hand and as they neared closer to the snack bar, they realized their friends were all standing together not too far away. The Sari girl furrowed her brows once she realized the group was standing across from Cobra Kai. The tension between the groups were immense, and as Robby stared at her angrily, she knew this could all go bad fast.

"What the hell is going on in here?" She questioned, looking back and forth between everyone.

"We see a traitor, and we're gonna do something about it." Tory commented, her eyes narrowing in on Hawk.

"Not if I have something to do with it, princess." Sam spoke confidently, her eyes never leaving Sam's.

The two groups all stood staring at each other, the tension rising every second.

"Hey, guys. Can you believe they had Mr. Pibb and Dr. Pepper?" Demetri walked onto the scene, unaware of what was going on at all. However, as everyone turned to stare at him he finally realized. "Oh shit. Not another rumble."

"Careful, Larusso. Your mommy isn't here to play peacemaker." Tory commented roughly.

"... and don't think just because Kreese wants you in our dojo we'll go easy on you, Sari." Robby continued on,  adding more and more fuel to the fire.

"Oh really,—" Sam and Cynthia both tried to approach their antagonists before their boyfriends stopped them in their tracks.

"Stop. We can't do this. We'll beat them on the mat." Miguel concluded, standing straighter to show no fear.

He gave the Sari girl a we'll talk later look, which made the girl inhale lightly.

"You remember what happened the last time we fought right?" Robby questioned.

"Not cool, man." Theo shook his head in disapproval, not liking what had become of his cousin.

"Don't even get me started on you." The Keene boy spoke, his fists clenching together with anger.

Everyone standing across from him had done something to wrong him, and he hated them.

"Meet us at the baseball diamond in thirty minutes." Miguel spoke, confidently and calmly, trying his best to not get angry about the school fight yet again. "No weapons."

"We won't need them." Tory practically hissed back at him.

The two groups gave each other one last look before departing, too many words going unsaid.

CYNTHIA SAT ON MIGUELS LAP IN THE CAR WITH Sam, Theo, Demetri, and Hawk. They watched as the Cobra Kai's made it to the baseball diamond and looked around cautiously. It was around this time that the sprinklers come on, and lights go out, which Miguel knew from going there every now and again.

After a few seconds, it happened, and the Cobra Kai's were completely soaked in water, running around like whack jobs.

"Nice one, man. Didn't even have to throw a punch!" Hawk spoke with a laugh.

Miguel and him had become friends again but, Cynthia still couldn't stand him one bit, which was evident as she rolled her eyes.

"That's my favorite kind of victory." Demetri noted, putting his hand up.

The Sari girl smiled at him and gave the boy a high five, he was seemingly the only one having absolutely no troubles and life, and she loved that for him, especially after all the bullying he had went through before they met, and after.

Hawk quickly pulled out of the parking lot and everyone laughed, happy at their little win.

"Now, am I the only one who wants to know what he who shall not be named was talking about? Cynthia, Kreese wants you in Cobra Kai?" Demetri questioned.

The ride became silent as everyone looked towards her for words.

"Yeah, and by the looks of it, it might happen."

AUTHORS NOTE —
Sometimes I feel so evil writing storylines like this cause Cynthia is one of my favorite ocs but.. would this story be interesting at all if she had a good life? Nope.

Favorite storyline this book has had so far?

Hope you enjoyed!