warnings: violence!

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"NEVER underestimate your enemy. You have to be one step ahead of them." Kreese spoke to his class who stood around the mat of the main dojo. A huge log holding up a planted bonsai tree stood in the middle. "That's the only way to victory is that understood?"

They yelled, "Yes, Sensei!"

"Good." his eyes trained on Hawk and Cameron. "Now let's see if you truly understand. The lesson." he stalked toward the centre, gesturing to their lesson for today. "I want you to kick this tree off the top. Red you start," he instructed a ginger student. He failed, attempting to kick high enough but instead tore his gi. "Pathetic. Rickenberger, show him," he instructed another student who thought a flip kick would bring down the tree but it was him who ended up on the mat, whimpering when he landed on his arm. "Stop your snivelling."

Hawk spoke up, "I can do it sensei."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Kreese retorted, watching Hawk walk up to it with confidence, eying the log. "Don't you need a running start?"

"Don't need one." a second went by before he struck out his leg, kicking the log over, sending the plant to the ground, making the crumbling soil spread around his bare feet.

Kreese chuckled, "Not bad. Not bad at all."

Hawk shuffled back, pleased with the praise.

Rubbing at his aching arm, Rickenberger pointed out, "But he cheated."

Before Kreese could correct him, Cameron spoke up, "It's creative winning." she rolled her eyes at his whining. "Being cunning, sly and not sticking to the rules."

Impressed, Kreese nodded, "Exactly."

"Thinking outside the box." Cameron said, looking directly at her Sensei,  "Or the dojo." that earned a few laughs.

"Miss James is correct." he commended before his eyes drifted to the two who failed his lesson. "Unlike what you two tried to do, Hawk did what I asked him to." he strolled around, looking at each student. "If your mind is agile. So are you. That's the best way to beat your enemy. Not just with brute strength." he said, eyeing Rickenberger. "But you have to fight smart." his eyes landed on Hawk,  "do that and you'll always come out on top."

"And then they will never underestimate you," Cameron stated, drawing another nod from the man. "It's what makes you dangerous. Right, Sensei?"

"Precisely."

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MIGUEL Diaz was struggling. Laid up in his bed, staring up at the ceiling feeling more broken than he did before his surgery. He had opened his phone, briefly content with the wallpaper of his girlfriend resting on his lap before he was reminded hastily that he couldn't feel his legs.

The reminders didn't stop, especially when he stalked her Instagram, seeing her progression, seeing Hawk's advancement.

It only frustrated him more. His nurses tried to help but no words could. He needed to see the surgery work, he needed to feel it.

Cameron stopped by after training.

"Sorry, I couldn't stay last night. My mom demanded I come home or I would be grounded."

He waved her off, "It's fine."

"How do you..." don't ask stupid questions. "Do you want anything to eat?" She asked, stood beside him.

"The nurse is gonna get me some chocolate cake. But I don't feel hungry."

He looked so defeated.

"This is so fucked up," she mumbled.

He let a scoff, "I'm glad you noticed."

Ignoring his tone, she replied fiercely, "They'll pay for what they did to you."

"Don't. I'm okay." A lie, a blistering lie.

Cameron gently touched his face, "You're too sweet Miguel. Too forgiving."

He unintentionally shrugged her off, "I'm not forgiving anything. I might not walk again."

"Don't. Say that shit. I know you will." She said, blocking out the pain she felt from his rejection.  And so she thought distracting him was a better plan. "Hey, remember when I first met you. You were blubbering about how you thought I was a serial killer."

"No, I thought you were hot. You are beautiful. Especially in your glasses." He missed her wearing her glasses, the thought of them nearly made him smile. "I just said whatever came to my mind at that point."

She beamed down at him, "I think you're hot. Always have."

"Thanks."

Swallowing the dread, she said, "You know everything I'm doing now is to make sure this shit doesn't happen again. That they don't get another chance to attack us."

He craned his head up to see an unfamiliar glint in her eyes. He could hardly recognise her tone.

"They?"

"Enemies." Her tone was jovial but he didn't believe she was kidding at all.  "I'll check where that chocolate cake is. And then we can watch Fast Five huh?"

Still perplexed, he slowly nodded. "Okay."

"And then we can also start planning our anniversary dinner."

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LILY Leigh felt weird continuously sitting at a different table than her best friend. Perhaps it was because Cameron was always surrounded by boys she didn't want or need to be around or the fact her ex-boyfriend would always show out for them. It was suffocating.

So she sat beside Moon and the furthest from Yasmine — on principle. Few other girls occupied the seats in between.

Cameron rolled her eyes when she saw Lily laughing with Moon about something and instead scrolled her phone as Hawk tried to beat his record with keepy-ups with a soccer ball.

"Hey, 22 in a row. New record," Hawk grinned at the camera in front of him.

"Wow, our own Jude Bellingham," she joked, only to receive a few confused looks. "He's a British soccer player the same age as us and already very successful." She scoffed when they started murmuring. "Things are going on outside this country guys."

And it was clear things were going on in Hawk's mind. His irritation was boiling over when he saw Lily get amused by the Lego earth science project Demetri showed the girls.

Following his cold gaze, Cameron kissed her teeth.

"Are you gonna do something or just keep —" Before she could finish her sentence the soccer ball already crashed into the Lego, sending it all around the area. Students gasped, whilst most of the Cobra Kai's laughed. "Never mind."

Feigning compassion, Hawk winced, "Oh. Pfft... I'm sorry, man." His ball was chucked back to him. "Looks like my ball just got away from me."

"That took me three weeks to build," Demetri's voice was full of emotion.

"Eh, took my ball three seconds to destroy," Hawk remarked, cockily as he turned on his heel.

"Do you have another one?" Yasmine asked Demetri, genuinely feeling bad.

Lily even tried to pick up a few of the pieces as she sighed at the mess.

Demetri didn't answer, he strode with passion over to the Cobra Kai's. "Another week, another pissing contest. I shouldn't be surprised since you love pissing so much."

Cameron stood up and rounded the table as Hawk got in his ex-best friend's face.

"You landed one kick. You got lucky," he stated.

Sam joined Demetri, "Back off, or you won't be lucky,"

Scoffing, Hawk went to speak but already noticed Counsellor Blatt patrolling the cafeteria.

"Ah, she squeaks." Cameron laughed, eyeing the brunette, "Surprised you're saying anything, Samantha. Since the sight of architecture triggers a panic attack."

Hawk pulled Cameron out of the way and grunted when Sam's hands pushed him backwards into the arms of his teammates. 

"What's going on, Miss LaRusso? You know our physical contact guidelines." Counselor Blatt stormed over, getting their attention. She faced Hawk who plastered a sad look. "Did she enter your personal bubble without verbal consent?"

"She definitely triggered me in my safe space," he meekly answered.

Cameron patted his shoulder, "Are you okay Eli?"

"No. Don't think I am."

"What are you talking about," Demetri gestulated, in disbelief. "He started by destroying my science project."

"That was an accident! You probably shouldn't bring toys to school," Hawk stressed.

Jumping in, Cameron agreed, "It's quite a hazard. It flew everywhere." she gestured between her and Counselor Blatt. "And us fellow glasses wearers know how dangerous it is to have things that could attack our eyes at any point."

"You're right." Counselor Blatt agreed, "I don't want excuses. I just want you to respect each other. And each other's eyes."

"We should stop the aggression. Micro and macro," Hawk added.

Sam scoffed, "Oh, give me a break."

Counselor Blatt scolded, "Hey. Consider this a warning, Miss LaRusso. Pick up these Legos, someone could get hurt."

She walked away.

Hawk taunted as he came between the two Miyagi-do's, "For you pansies, no space is safe."

He chuckled just like the rest of his teammates.

Seeing the anger on Sam and Demetri's faces Cameron added,  "Keep staring guys. You know how much we love our fans." She blew a kiss as she strutted back to her table.

Although, she didn't see Lily's disapproving eyes.

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THE fight didn't just end there nor did anyone expect it to. Physical education, as desired, got more than physical.

Soccer was their game of choice.

Weapons were their bodies and words.

Moon cheered along with the cheerleaders and because she wasn't into sports in the slightest, Lily made herself comfortable on the bench.

Cameron and Hawk walked onto the school field, sporting red bibs like the rest of their teammates who trailed behind as people moved out of the way for them.

"It's a physical sport..." Cameron grinned and she stared at her closest friend. "Let's shut them up."

"Careful. Wouldn't wanna invade their personal bubbles," Hawk jested.

The whistle blew and the game was in session. At first, rules were abided but that didn't last long.

A Cobra Kai went to tackle Sam only to be stepped on instead.

Hawk would go score and celebrate the point just to be pissed when he noticed Lily wasn't watching. She was wrapped up in a conversation with some other guy, angering him.

And so he fouled someone.

The whistle blew for physical contact.

Cameron watched on as she jogged, seeing Demetri taunt Hawk.

"She loves you, you know," Demetri said, referring to Lily. "Loves not loved."

Stunned, Hawk asked, "What'd you say?"

"Oh, yeah, she told me. Man, you had a good thing going with one of the hottest girls in school, and you ruined it by becoming a loser!" Demetri ended him with a swift sweep to the legs, sending him to the ground. Causing the P.E. teacher to blow the whistle.

"Hey!" She exclaimed.

"I guess that's why the Europeans call it football." Demetri quipped.

A few of the red team tried helping Hawk up but he pushed them away.

"Remember what sensei said. Fight smart," Hawk gritted out, preventing Rickenberger from going after Demetri.

Cameron already had her eyes on Sam as she dribbled with the ball. She dodged her initial attack and when their bodies collided, Sam landed on the floor.

"Gotta love physical education," she teased, ignoring the whistle blow.

Sam slapped the ground, watching Cameron jog off.

Preparing for a header, Demetri jumped up onto the be pushed to the ground by Hawk.

Indirect aggression was the theme of today.

Playing smart but also with brute strength.

It ended with many injuries and the P.E. teacher sending the entire class to the principal's office.

Cameron happened to be the first Counselor Blatt called in. But she requested her good friend Hawk to be by her side.

"I guess just I've been through a lot in this past year. My mom got me a therapist you know?" She wiped her bruising eye. "And a psychiatrist who said it's good to channel all my feelings. I thought today would be a good day to finally start doing it...." She forcibly stammered. "I-I didn't realize it would end up so mean and aggressive."

Hawk gently patted her shoulder, "It's just so hard you know? We're all overcoming so much. And we have to deal with this. People wanna hurt us. I don't get it, Principal Lopez. And my good friend Cameron wouldn't hurt a fly. You know she actively avoids confrontation. It's not good for her soul. Of the rest of our friends."

The duo received understanding looks as they were let go.

Cameron and Hawk exited the office, with seemingly sad expressions.

Counsellor Blatt, trailed behind them, "Caldwell, Johnson, Rickenberger, the three of you, Eli and Cameron are free to go."

They patted Hawk's back whilst continuing to pretend to comfort Cameron as they all fled the hallway, listening to the blissful sounds of the Miyagi-do's lashing out.

"You guys wanna go to Denny's before we go to training?" Cameron suggested, dropping the act when they stalked toward the locker rooms.

Hawk agreed, "Yeah maybe we can get something for Miguel on the way."

"And then you can all help me plan an anniversary dinner for me and him."

She laughed when they began to groan at her suggestions.

"And we... should invite Tory," Cameron decided. "She's only working a single shift today."

Hawk didn't mind. "Whatever you say CJ."

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MIGUEL frowned when he saw his girlfriend over Hawk's Snapchat story. "This is dumb as hell." She laughed about something behind a few of the Cobra Kai's. 

Hawk encouraged. "Tell the world what happened."

Cameron bashfully said, "We got kicked out of the park."

"And what for?" Miguel recognised Johnson's voice even though he hardly talked.

Cameron said innocently,  "For playing uno too loudly."

"How the hell do you get kicked out of the park?"

A familiar voice called out.

Miguel's brows furrowed when he realized it was Tory.

"Language!"

"So Mrs Moskowitz!"

Miguel threw his phone to the side and huffed.

Another day he felt useless.

Another day he wanted nothing more than to turn back time.

Another day he felt everyone else moving forward and he, still laid up in the hospital bed feeling sorry for himself.

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"WHY did Eli's mom call me saying you guys were cursing at her house?" A frustrated Alexis questioned as she barged into her daughter's room and shut the door.

Looking up from her bed, cluttered with worksheets, pens and her laptop, Cameron shrugged.

"It wasn't me Mom. It was the others."

Alexis scoffed, "Sure Cameron."

Cameron's face scrunched up, "What's with the full name?"

"Where's your medication?" Alexis pressed, fearing that her daughter wasn't taking it.

"Somewhere in my bag." Cameron lied,  "I've taken all I need today." She paused, tearing her eye away from her mother's cold look. She wasn't used to being under such scrutiny. "But now Mom I need to get back to —"

"Getting injured?" She gestured to her daughter's bruised eye. Despite feeling panicked about the injury, she couldn't drop the feeling that her daughter was the aggressor in all of it. "You know the principal let me know what happened today."

"Good. Because I was targeted in a game of soccer. Fortunately, the school handled it. Made the culprits go through those rehabilitative detention things you suggested." Cameron explained, feeling rather satisfied with herself before gesturing to the work surrounding her.  "Now Mom I really need to catch up with some of my homework. And some research for Miguel. It says after surgery patients can walk after a week or a month with physiotherapy."

Alexis titled her head, "And your cousin?"

Cameron's face fell at the mention, "What about him?"

"Are you going to speak with him? I know you're speaking to Tory again. Her mom called me thanking me that she had some support."

"Tory is not Drew. I didn't blame her as much as I blame Drew and LaRusso. I told him not to date my friend and he did. He cheated on her and now I'm researching ways to help Miguel. So, Mom can I just do that please?"

Alexis continued to stare at her daughter, seeing how much she had changed right before her eyes. It scared her more than anything and she feared it wouldn't stop.

"Ice your eye," was all she could say.

"I will." Cameron grabbed her headphones and placed them on, calling out, "Goodnight."

But everything was far from good.

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a/n:

calling football "soccer" in this chapter made me physically cringe. I couldn't stand it.