sweep the heart | cobra kai

glory of love

"Hallie!"

With a soft thud, a plastic water bottle hit her in the arm. She looked up from her stretches to see Tory grinning at her, Miguel to her left.

Hallie started. "What?"

"You should ask Moon out tonight."

"What?" She almost laughed.

"You obviously like her. You need to make a move already," Miguel added.

She thought about this. She did really like Moon, but making the first move wasn't really Hallie's style.

"Where would we even go?" She asked after a moment.

"Tory and I are going to the roller rink where she works tonight. We can do a double date."

Tory nodded.

"I... I don't know. I'll think about it."

The mere thought of making the first move made her want to throw up. There were too many what ifs. What would she even say? What if she had read too much into the situation?

Hallie's dad walked out from his office, interrupting her from her thoughts. "Everybody, fall in."

She and her friends stood up as the class gathered into rows.

"Today, we'll be learning one of the most important lessons a Cobra Kai could ever know."

"Where's Sensei Kreese?" Hawk asked.

"Yeah," said Stingray. "Shouldn't we wait for the sensei emeritus before we get going?"

Hallie's dad glared.

Stingray exhaled. "Or not."

He rolled his eyes and turned back to the rest of his students. "Mr. Kreese will no longer be joining us."

Thank god.

The students murmured, confused.

"I made a promise when I became your sensei," he continued. "To always look out for your best interests. Despite how hard this may be for all of us, he didn't have our best interests at heart. John Kreese may have founded Cobra Kai, but he no longer represents what this dojo stands for. His Cobra Kai was old and outdated. He refused to move forward - and what happens when we do that, Mr. Diaz?"

Miguel swallowed. "You get stuck like cement."

"Exactly. To be a great fighter, you gotta learn to adapt. This creed on the wall..." he turned to the black letters that read 'STRIKE FIRST STRIKE HARD NO MERCY'. "Follow it to the letter... it'll make you strong, it'll make you formidable... it will also make you an asshole. Cause that's just black paint on a white wall. But life's not black and white. More often than not, it's gray. And it's in those gray areas where Johnny Lawrence's Cobra Kai... sometimes shows mercy. Doesn't mean you can't be badass - it's still a requirement. But you have to learn to think. Not just with your gut, or your fists... but to really use this."

He tapped his forehead and stepped towards the wall, picking up a thin plank of wood.

"Which leads me to today's lesson."

He effortlessly struck the wood against his forehead, breaking it apart in a clean snap.

The students laughed in awe.

"Headbutting. Grab a partner."

Aisha and Tory paired up, leaving Miguel and Hallie. They hadn't practiced together in a while since he had started dating Tory.

"The dream team, together again," he grinned, turning towards her.

Hallie laughed. "Just get the planks."