Edited January 1, 2022
RE-READ THIS BECAUSE I CHANGED WHAT CAMILA CALLS DANIEL AND I LIKE IT A LOT BETTER LOL
***
Demetri wasn't exactly the best at karate. I wasn't even sure he really wanted to be here. He seemed uninterested, and he wasn't being patient enough with Mr. LaRusso. I felt bad for my friend. He just wanted to stick up for himself when it was necessary.
Robby, Sam, Vinnie and I were on the deck of the pond, practicing the Wheel. Sam lost her footing and almost slipped, to which Robby reached out and steadied her before she fell. I felt jealousy rushing through my veins when she looked at him with a sparkle in her eye.
"Thanks," she told my boyfriend, who was very shirtless, and very sweaty.
It was extremely hot today, and we all had on minimal clothing. Sam was in a tank and yoga pants, Robby was wearing shorts, and Vinnie was shirtless and in sweatpants. His Calvin Klein underwear peeked out of the waist band. I was wearing workout gear; a pair of Nike shorts and a sports bra. Demetri, who had been watching us for a few minutes, was the only one fully-dressed.
"Uh, hey are we doing shirts versus skins? 'Cause I prefer to be a shirt. Not saying that you have to be a skin. Unless you want to. I support your right to choose." Demetri said, causing all of my friends to awkwardly smile and nod. I fixed my ponytail. Vincent nudged me, and pointed his head toward Demetri.
"Is he always like this?" Vinnie asked me, as Mr. LaRusso moved Demetri over to him.
"Yeah," I sighed. "but I mean, that's who he is. He's a very nice person, guys. He may not be what others think as 'cool,' but he is cool. You just have to get to know him," I stood up for my friend, with a small smile. The others nodded.
"Those assholes from Cobra Kai love to torment him. I just feel bad. Demetri doesn't even realize that they're treating him like garbage. He stays with them because they were all he had. Now, he has us. And we have to prove that to him," I said.
"You really care about your friends, Diaz," Vincent said, softly, with a small smile. I nodded.
"I do," I admitted. I looked over at Demetri again, overhearing him calling himself 'weak.' "I really do," I sighed.
*
We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the mall. Robby was showing us his ID, and as soon as we saw the picture we laughed.
"Oh, sweet man bun." Sam giggled, as Vincent snatched it from her hand to laugh.
"I told you it was a horrible picture," Robby defended.
"If you were friends with me at the time, I could've warned you this was a fad." Sam told him.
"Yeah, well, I'm stuck with it for five years, so no biggie, right?" he said.
"I think you look cute," I flirted, giving him a wink. He blushed and rolled his eyes.
"Wait. 'Robert Swayze Keene'?" Sam asked with that same sparkle in her eyes. I shuffled in my seat.
"My mom was a huge fan of Patrick Swayze," Robby said. "He was an actor in the 80's," he told us.
"Yeah, like I haven't seen Dirty Dancing, like, a hundred times." Sam chuckled. Vinnie eyed me across the table when he noted my discomfort.
"My mom made me watch it all the time," Robby said.
"Made you?" Sam asked.
"Okay, maybe I liked it," Robby admitted, making Sam laugh.
I cleared my throat, when Demetri put his tray down. "I'm more partial to his performance in Donnie Darko." he said. I smiled. "Interesting movie. time travel logic left a lot to be desired." Sam and Robby exchanged smiles. "Wait. Is today Wednesday?" he asked. I nodded. "The new issue of Dungeon Lord came out! Um, do any of you want anything from the comic book store?"
We all shook our heads. "You know what? I'll come with you," I said, and Vinnie stood up too.
"Yeah, me too, man," Vincent agreed, and we threw out our trash together. Demetri told Sam and Robby to not throw away his chicken, and then ran to the comic book store, excitedly.
"What's wrong?" Vincent asked me, walking beside me.
I sighed. "Do you think Robby and Sam have something going on, or am I just paranoid?"
"I can see why you may think so, but didn't you say Sam is your best friend? Would she really do something like that?" Vincent asked me.
"I'd hope not. But then again, I don't know her that well," I responded, sadly.
Vinnie opened his mouth the say something us, but stopped when we saw Demetri running for his life down the mall. Our eyes widened. "Holy shit," I said, pointing to Hawk and a few more Cobra Jerks that were all following Demetri.
"Come on, we gotta help him." Vinnie said, running in the same direction as our friend.
"Demetri!" I yelled, when Vinnie and I met him back at the table we sat at previously.
"Oh, of course they left," he said, meaning Sam and Robby, who I saw over by the trash cans.
"Shit," Vincent muttered, at the five goons nearing us.
"It'll be fine," I told him. "Just...do what Mr. LaRusso taught us." I said.
"It didn't have to be this way. You could've joined Cobra Kai if you weren't such a pussy!" Hawk yelled at his former friend. I scoffed.
"At least I'm not an asshole!" Demetri defended himself, before one of the goons, a chubby one, held him back.
Sam came out from behind a tall, buff boy, and swung herself around him, taking him out.
"Get back," she told Demetri. "You guys need to back off," she said to Hawk.
"I don't wanna have to hit a girl," Hawk said.
"You wouldn't stand a chance," Robby appeared, standing in front of him. Hawk scoffed.
"Five against three? More like two and a half," Hawk said.
"Actually, it's five against five, asshole," I said, Vinnie and I stepping forward.
That's when all hell broke loose. Punches and blocks came from everywhere. I took out two of the idiots with one kick. I looked over at Vinnie, Robby, and Sam as we got into our same positions we were in when practicing the Wheel. I sent them a curt nod, as we did exactly what we learned.
An audience had formed around us, people with cameras, and gasps. Robby held Demetri out of the way, as we all kept fighting for our friends safety. I had a small encounter with Eli or Hawk, and I scowled at him.
"Just remember who stood up for you when Kyler and the assholes were teasing you. Just remember who your first kiss was, Eli. If you do this, I will never speak to you again, do you hear me?" A piece of my heart broke as I said this, showing my weakness. Losing friends, people I care about.
Eli hesitated, before collecting himself, and sending a kick to my stomach. I gasped, doubling over. He then turned to Robby and pushed him into a table. Robby stood up, and just as Eli was about to kick him, my boyfriend sent a kick to his face, making Hawk fall hard onto the floor. ]
As all the bitches were sprawled out on the floor, we surrounded Demetri, and stared down at Hawk. I held my stomach, feeling the bruise growing.
"We saved your chicken," Sam said, handing Demetri the takeout container.
"Thanks." he replied, as we all smiled at each other.
*
We sat around the LaRusso's table, laughing. I had an ice pack pressed against my abdomen, which bruised disgustingly. I squirmed at the discomfort.
"Hey, is your stomach okay?" Vinnie said, as I lifted my shirt up to look at it. My friends all looked at the nasty bruise. I nodded, sadly.
"I feel like such a failure. I let my guard down. I'm the only one of us who got hurt." I sighed. "Well, other than Demetri."
"It happens to the best of us," Sam smiled.
"You only let you guard down because you cared about him. He was your friend," Robby grabbed my hand, and kissed my knuckles.
"You're too good for this world, Diaz," Vincent whispered in my ear.
I smiled. "Thanks guys," I said.
"Hey. Hey, Mom told me. You guys okay?" Mr. LaRusso rushed out, entering the room.
"Yeah, yeah, Dad, we're fine," Sam said. Mr. LaRusso looked over to me, with the ice.
"It's just a little bruise," I told him. He looked worried. "Dad- Mr. LaRusso, I'm fine," I said, my eyes widening at my slip-up. I stood up from the table quickly, embarrassed. "I-I'll be back,"
I walked out back, sitting on a pool chair. I played with my fingers, thinking about it. That was so embarrassing. I didn't think anyone caught it, but next thing I knew, Sam was plopping down in the chair beside me.
"You're making it a bigger deal than it is," she giggled. "Did you see his face after you called him that? He smiled."
"I just...he's the closest thing I have to a father," I said, quietly. "I'm sorry if it made you feel weird. I mean, he is your dad,"
"Trust me, he thinks of you as if you are his daughter. I don't think he'd mind. And I definitely don't. You're like a sister to me," Sam chuckled. "Now, come on. I was thinking we could have a sleepover tonight. Let's go get your stuff,"
"Okay," I smiled.
*
After getting my things, and dropping Vincent off at his house, Sam and I were sitting in the dark by the fireplace, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores.
Robby was out back in the dojo, getting ready for bed, I assumed, but a few minutes passed, and there he was, coming into the dark room.
"You guys are still up too, huh?" he asked. We nodded. I smiled over at him, as I blew out the small flame that erupted on my marshmallow.
"Too much adrenaline," Sam replied. Robby chuckled, pressing a kiss to my head before sitting. "Do you want a s'more?" she asked.
"Never say no to free marshmallows," he said. "Woah, woah, woah. Are you making a s'more with a peanut butter cup?" he asked my best friend.
"I call them 'Sam-mores'" she said. "I'm kind of a genius,"
"Aw, man, we ran out of 'mallows," I groaned. "I'll be right back," I smiled, heading into the kitchen to grab another bag. Mr. LaRusso was in there, too.
"Hey, Camila," he said, sipping his coffee.
"Hey, Mr. LaRusso," I smiled. "Refilling the marshmallows," I said, holding up the bag.
"I thought I was 'Dad'," he said, out of nowhere. I flushed.
"I'm sorry about that--I didn't mean--"
"Camila. You've known me long enough. You're practically my kid, so...call me whatever you want. Anything except dick, I already get enough people calling me that after that stupid billboard," he sighed. "Besides, you already call Amanda by her first name, so, it's only fair.
I laughed. "Never," I told him and he smiled, and I walked back into the room where we were making s'mores. "Well, uh, night Dad," it felt so natural rolling off my tongue. He grinned, nodding his head.
"Goodnight, sweetheart," he replied. I walked back to the fire.
"I've been in a bad situation for a long time. And now finally, something good's happening and..." Robby was saying.
"I got them," I smiled, and furrowed my eyebrows when Robby immediately shut up. "God, did I walk in on your wedding vows for me, or something?" I joked.
Robby smiled awkwardly.
*
The next morning, we went to Miyagi-Do for our normal practice, but the sight we got when we arrived was not very pretty. I gasped, as we all looked around, surprised and angry. Miyagi-Do was trashed. It had been torn to pieces; every last part of it.
"They even took Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honor," Mr. LaRusso sighed, shakily.
"Dad!" Sam yelled, as we all went out to check on her. Vincent stayed at my side, and Robby ran ahead of us. We all looked at the side of the -once beautiful- yellow, Ford Deluxe. Painted on it, in thick, red, letters, read:
Cobrai Kai NEVER DIES!!
"Dad, where are you going?" Sam asked, and I looked at him as he sat himself in the car. With that, he left.
"Well, we're in deep shit, now," I sighed. Vincent looked at something beside me, and I tried to see what he was looking at, finding nothing. I looked again.
Robby, with Sam's hand clutched in his.
*
{ANGELINA SPEAKS}
OHHH SNAP. Robby and Sam are getting WAYYYY too cozy.
-Angelina