[SEASON FIVE: EPISODE THREE]

"Breakfast is served." Ethan announced as he slowly approached the kitchen table placing two plates of eggs wrap around in a sandwich with bacon inside.

"This is so nice of you." His mother stated.

"My dear, I love you so much. I can't handle this. How wonderful!" Lois cheered, rising from her seat to kiss her grandson on the forehead.

"Oh, stop, Mom." Elizabeth called out.

"He thinks he can just run away, come back and get all the love he wants."

"Uh, yeah. He can."

"Don't worry, guys. I'm definitely never doing something like that again." He reassured them both.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too, Ethan. I should've told you the truth about how I left your father."

"You did it for me. I understand that now." Ethan stated.

"Oh, how can you stay mad at him? You just can't!" His grandma exclaimed, and suddenly their front door swung wide open as a familiar person stepped into the apartment, holding a rag in his hand with a few wet stains on his shirt.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Graffiti's a bitch to clean off. You should see my van. Should be illegal to deface someone else's property." Johnny explained, before taking a seat next to Elizabeth.

"It is."

"Well, this looks different." Sensei pointed out as they began to inspect his breakfast meal.

"Yeah, I made it." Ethan said before realizing he had forgotten something.

"Oh, I forgot the orange juice. One second."

"Everything alright with you and Robby?" She whispered quickly as the boy went to grab something from the fridge.

"Yeah, really good." The blonde man replied.

"The ride home was a little quiet though. I think things between him and Ethan are gonna take some time."

"Okay, orange juice is here."

"Ethan, are you going to visit your girlfriend?" Lois reminded him.

"I bet she misses you."

"Ah, yeah." The boy nodded in agreement.

"I'm definitely gonna make an apology meal for Sammy too."

Elizabeth took a bit of the breakfast sandwich before realizing something must have mess with her stomach. She quickly got up from the kitchen table and rushed inside the bathroom to vomit the food she just eaten.

"Maybe you guys should order in instead." Johnny suggested quietly.

"Yeah, I guess so."

After breakfast with his family, Ethan met up with his friends at a tattoo shop where Eli was getting a lotus flower to replace the reaper. While sitting down on the couch, Williams anxiously awaited a response from his girlfriend, Sam.

"Sweet. Thanks, Aurora. Tell Rico I said hey."

"Wow." Demetri exclaimed as he looked closely at his friend's new tattoo.

"Man, you are really going all-in on Miyagi-Do, huh?"

"It's a lotus flower." Hawk chuckled.

"Symbolizes a new beginning, which is what I have now. And plus, the reaper was a bitch to cover up. A giant flower was the only option."

"It works." He agreed, as they both chuckled, then turned to see Ethan with a frustrated response on his face.

"Hey, Ethan. You good?"

"Yeah." The boy replied, before getting up from the couch.

"Just a bit tried coming back from the trip is all."

"Yeah, you spent how many hours in a car with Robby?"

"I've never seen you around him without a John Wick-style fight."

"Well, for Sensei's sake. I'm trying not to let it get to that point." Ethan shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Robby says he's done with Cobra Kai. So, we'll see how far that goes."

"Is that Sam? She finally text back?"

"Yep. Says she wants to, talk tonight."

"What did she say exactly?"

"We should talk tonight."

"What?" The boy looked confused.

"It says 'We should talk'. Oh, man. You're in deep shit, my friend." Demetri remarked.

"I mean she's right of course. The last time we actually speak, we kinda had a fight."

"Yeah, but 'We should talk' is code for 'I want to beak up'."

"What? It is?"

"Not necessarily." Eli pointed out, reassuringly.

"Moon is really big on communication. Maybe Sam does just want talk?"

"No, no. We need more information." Demetri stated.

"Uh, we should send a trial ballon. Something that puts the ball in her court."

"'Can't wait to see you tonight.' Um, 'How are you?'"

"That's good." Hawk agreed.

"Right?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"It's gonna be fine. It's fine."

And not even a second or two later, Sam responded with a text message. They looked down at his phone to see what the message said.

"Dude, that's bad. There's not even a emoji."

"Yeah, man, she is not okay." He said.

"You need to do something to turn this around stat."

"Like what?" Ethan asked, sounding a little too desperate.

"I think I have an idea."

"I got Yasmine a charm bracelet here, plus a charm for every fight we have. She can barely lift her arm now." Demetri explained as he lead them into a five star jewelry shop.

"Okay. So, explain to me again why I have to buy some expensive jewelry. Maybe Sam is totally fine, and you guys are just overreacting."

"My friend, this is a five-alarm fire. If anything, we're not reading into enough. Okay?"

"Can I help you found something?" A female shop worker approached them.

"Yes. I'm looking for something special for my girlfriend."

"That's so sweet! Is it a birthday, an anniversary?"

"He left the country without telling her during the biggest karate fight of her life." He blurted out.

"That's a new one." She stated, clearing her throat.

"How about a nice pair of earrings?"

"How much is that?" Ethan pointed at a sliver diamond-like necklace.

"The diamond?" The worker retrieved the necklace from the case and handed it to him.

"It's really beautiful. Especially for her. But I don't think I'm gonna be able to but it."

"Actually, it's been reduced."

"Reduced?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"That's wonderful. How much?"

"After tax, $182." She answered as the boy sighed heavily.

"Do you maybe have one with fewer diamonds?"

"Moon, this place is so you." Sam admitted as she looked around, losing track of how many things this building had reminded her of Moon.

"Isn't it?" She sprouted.

"When Eli and I break up the first time, there was a lot of negative energy. This place helped cut though the noise."

"Which is why I brought you here." Moon said, putting an arm around her friend.

"You gotta find yourself. Figure out who you really are."

"They also do facials. So...."

The brunette quickly followed behind her, who led them to self-accusation pod.

"What is this, exactly?" Sam asked, with a quizzical look.

"This is a self-realization pod."

"So like a sensory deprivation tank?"

"Oh, no. No." She quickly shook her head in response.

"They don't call them that anymore. It's not about deprivation. It's about the connection with your most intimate self."

"Thanks, but I'm still gonna pass." The brunette declined, crossing her arms.

"I already have nightmares about drowning in shallow bodies of water."

"Wow. That's dark."

"Sam, ever since the tournament, you've been off balance." Moon sympathized.

"It's clear there's some tension with Ethan. The only thing you're gonna find in this pod is yourself. That's not so scary, right?"

She hugged her rope closer to her, looking around as the box began to warm up. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to be completely alone and relax her body and mind.

Sam opened her eyes, realizing she had entered her mind, before turning around to noticed that her father was standing right there behind her.

"Sam, what are you doing here?"

"I'm not sure. I'm supposed to be figuring out who I am."

"What do you mean? You're LaRusso 2.0."

She turned her attention back around to notice two very familiar person wearing cheerleading outfits.

"Sam, you're one of the girls."

Then she turned to her right and saw Robby standing there with a black Cobra Kai Gi on.

"You're the girl who broke my heart."

"You're the girl who lost."

"You're my girlfriend, Sammy. Why can't you just be supportive?"

All these voices began echoing as Sam turned her head around and it began spinning, causing it to spin at a fast pace before landing on a dark corner in her mind.

"I know exactly who you are, Princess."

Her breathing started becoming heavy as she noticed a dark reflection of herself wearing a black Gi.

"Tory?"

The brunette stepped closer towards her reflection, and suddenly snapped back to reality when she opened her eyes to see Moon, who just pulled up the top of her pod.

"Oh my gosh. I had the most incredible vision. I was a drop of dew glistening in the moonlight." She said before grabbing her arm and noticing how froze she looked.

"Are you okay?"

"Was your pod broken too?" Yasmine walked over to them.

"My water was freezing."

"Wasn't it enlightening? What'd you see?"

Sam remained quiet, pulling the rope closer around her body.

After Johnny found out that Elizabeth was actually pregnant, he couldn't handle all the stress of caring of a baby. But after some online research and learning how to hold a baby the correct way, he felt confident.

He went out all his way to change how his apartment looked from appearing like a totally mess to an actually resembling a normal living space, with decorations and photos hung on the walls.

"Hey, Sensei." Ethan knocked on the front door, catching the blonde man's attention, and making him look up at him.

"Do you have a second? I kinda really need your advice on something."

"Yeah."

"Alright, um...." Williams started, before realizing there was an unusually smell emanating from inside.

"What on earth is that smell?"

"It's either paint thinner or pesticide. Don't worry, it'll air out in a few days. Breathe though your mouth." Johnny stated.

"What's up with the change of scenery?"

"Oh, it's, uh...." Sensei stopped himself from saying anything about his mother's pregnancy.

"Don't worry. Making a few changes. Have a seat."

"Okay." The boy slowly sat down in a white comfortable chair, while Lawrence settled onto a two-person black couch.

"Want milk? I got a fridge full of it."

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks."

"Alright, um.... I think Sam and I are having issues, or at least there's something going on. I've talked to Hawk and Demetri about it, but—"

"Well, Hawk's a total stud but I wouldn't trust a that dork Demetri has to say." Johnny interrupted him.

"Actually, he's had a girlfriend for a while."

"I'm sure she's a real looker."

"Anyways, I'm supposed to be meeting with Sam tonight, and I have this weird feeling that she's still mad at me, for abandoning her. I want to fix it, but we haven't spoken in a while. And truthfully, I don't even know what I'm supposed to say or do." Ethan explained.

"I've been there." Sensei nodded in agreement.

"How about the truth? We all get shit wrong sometimes. Some of us get it wrong a lot. But, if you own up to your mistakes, you always have a shot of making things right. You don't have to have it all figured out. Just be honest. See where it goes from there."

"That's actually some really good advice."

"Yeah, I guess it is." Johnny sighed.

Meanwhile, Sam was standing on the porch, at Miyagi-Do, feeling like her heart was going to explode because of how fast it was beating. She waited for Ethan to arrive so they could discuss what the next move is, and after a few minutes, he finally arrived right behind her.

"Hello?" Williams called out as the brunette turned around to face him.

"Hey." She replied.

"Look, Sammy, I owe you a big apology. I know that I shouldn't have abandoned you like that at the tournament. I was going to start a new chapter in my life, and to do that I needed to figure out my past."

"But clearly, I wasn't thinking about you. Or even our relationship for that matter. And even thinking all the way back to prom—"

"Ethan, you don't need to explain." She interrupted him.

"I mean, I'm sorry too. I was only thinking about myself. I.... I was just so wrapped up in the tournament. That I wasn't being sensitive to what you were going through."

"And as hard as it was to be on the other side of that.... I really respect you for taking the time you needed to find yourself. But now I need that time too."

"Ever since my dad opened the dojo, my whole like has been about karate. it's affected all the relationships in my life. With my family. With my friends. With you. I just.... I need a little break to figure out who I am outside of all that."

"When you said 'break,' what do you mean? A break from karate? A break from me?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not okay right now. And I don't think I will be until I figure this out for myself. I just need to take the time to do that." Sam said, tears starting to fall from her eyes. Ethan quickly wrapped both his arms around her body, pulling her into a hug and resting his head against hers.

"But it doesn't mean that we can't still be friends."

"Yeah. Just not the typically boyfriend and girlfriend kind."

"I don't even know if this is what I want. But, I know it's what I need."

"Look, Sammy I completely understand. I only want what's best for you, you know that. And I'll always be there for you. From now on, I promise." He stated.

"But that doesn't mean we can't be best friends again?"

"Of course." She nodded her head. A few seconds later, they let go of each others before going their separate ways.

As Sam walked back to her house, Ethan stepped away, tears running down his face. He pulled out the necklace, the one he had wanted to give to her, but instead dropped it on the ground and left the dojo as soon as possible.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE AND LEAVE ANY FEEDBACK YOU GUYS HAVE :)

EDITED; 3/20/2024

LOOK I KNOW ITS NOT WHAT YALL WANTED WITH ETHAN AND SAM'S RELATIONSHIP BUT NOT TO WORRY THEYLL HAVE THEIR LITTLE MOMENTS BEFORE THEY OFFICIALLY GET BACK TOGETHER FOR GOOD!!!!

SEE ALL YOU GUYS IN THE NEXT ONE!!!!