Chapter Sixteen
NO ONE LIKES A LIAR
Mara walked into the dojo to find it almost empty. She sighed and slipped off her shoes. Most of cobra Kai had quit after the fight at the LaRusso house which meant their dojo wasn't as strong as it used to be. That needed to change but Mara had no idea how to do it.
Tory was already there aggressively punching one of the training dummies. Mara frowned and walked behind the dummy holding it for Tory. "You good?"
Tory was about to answer but was cut off by Kyler and his goons laughing. "Yo, I'm telling you, man, when I get to ASU, honeys be lining up for this snack, know what I mean?"
Mara gagged while Tory just glared and marched over to Kyler. "You guys are pathetic. If you'd handled your business, we would have won that fight."
"Okay, whatever, Hawk, he switched sides."
Mara scoffed. "If one person means the difference between you winning and losing you really are a bad fighter. If you can't win on your own, maybe your not a good fit for Cobra Kai."
Tory backed Mara up. "Yeah, and Miguel just got out of a wheelchair and he still kicked your ass. What does that say about you?"
"You know what? At least I'm still here. Half the squad quit."
Mara nodded. "That just means they weren't true Cobras. We'll find people better."
The doorbell rang and right on queue Robby walked into the dojo. Mara smiled at the boy who gave her a small one in return before Tory glared at him. "Well, look who showed up."
Robby just ignored her and kept walking to the back room. Kyler's eyes followed him obviously upset at his presence. "That fool doesn't even practice, but he gets to stay? I don't get it."
Mara crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, well you don't get a lot of things, Kyler."
Kyler glared at her. "You wanna say that again?"
Mara looked at him with a blank face. "I said you don't get a lot of things. I didn't know you were deaf too." Kyler stepped closer to her and Mara didn't hesitate to get closer too. "I'm not scared of you Kyler. I will kick your ass with no problem and have you running away like the pussy you are. Stay in your place."
Mara didn't have a problem with Robby. The boy just needed somewhere to stay and Cobra Kai was working for him. If he ended up joining their dojo that would be fine too. He would be an asset.
One that they couldn't deny they needed.
Tory noticed that one of the people who she stopped seeing around the dojo was Dylan. It shocked her because the girl was one person Tory though would never quit Cobra Kai. Dylan told her she really enjoyed karate and it made her feel more in control. If Tory remembered correctly she hadn't seen Dylan around at all after the fight.
Tory wasn't allowed back at school so her only chance at seeing Dylan was when they hung out with Mara or the off chances they could find time to hang out together alone. The two had gotten extremely close, with Mara spending a lot of time with Hawk before they broke up and Tory not being good friends with anyone else at the dojo.
"Hey stranger." Tory sat down next to Dylan who was sitting on a bench in the park staring at the sky. "I haven't seen you in awhile."
Dylan tilted her head to the side so she was looking at Tory and smirked slightly. "Are you saying you missed me, Nichols?"
Tory cleared her throat and looked at the sky to where Dylan was looking moments before. "I wouldn't go that far. I just noticed you stopped coming to practice."
Dylan sighed and looked down. "Yeah, um Kyler and I kind of got into it after the fight. I'm just keeping my distance for a little while."
Tory furrowed her brows. She didn't think Dylan would back down to someone like Kyler. "What is the deal with you two? I thought you guys were really good friends before you joined Cobra Kai."
Dylan nodded. "He lied to me about some really important things and it made me do things I wasn't proud of. I don't like liars, that's all. Even if I am a piece of shit to people sometimes I'm not a liar."
Tory could understand that. Dylan had never lied to her for all she knew and Tory knew the girl was truthful even when she wanted revenge. If Dylan didn't like liars, Tory knew the best thing was to try and always be honest with her. "What did you guys fight about? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
Dylan chuckled. "It's kind of stupid actually."
"If you guys aren't on good terms because of it, it couldn't have been that stupid."
"He told me he liked me. He thought if I knew the person he actually used to be, I wouldn't have been friends with him."
Tory clenched her jaw, but took a deep breath and relaxed. "What did you say?"
"I told him he was right. I wouldn't have been friends with him at first but maybe he could've showed me that he would've made a good friend. But now because he lied I can't trust him at all. I don't even like guys anyways. Mara's the only one who knows."
Tory cursed herself that she felt happy with hearing those words. She didn't know why that sentence made her heart beat faster but she knew this wasn't the time. "There's nothing wrong with not liking guys. If Kyler is mad over that then he's a dick. He shouldn't have lied to you especially after he got to know you more." Tory bit her lip. "I'm a liar too.
I'm not proud of it but it's true. I uh lied to Mara about something and I'm scared to tell her because I've already messed up so many times in my life. I don't want to lose anyone else."
Dylan frowned. She wondered if Tory ever lied to her about something. Tory seemed to read her mind and quickly added, "but I've never lied to you. I promise. I'm going to tell Mara too because I don't want to be known as the girl who ruins other people's relationships because she's upset about her own."
"What did you lie about," Dylan asked.
"I told her that Hawk wanted nothing to do with her and broke up with her. I told Hawk the same thing. I know it was stupid of me. I let my jealousy get in the way and I don't even like Mara that way. I haven't for awhile. I regret it now.
I really do."
Robby needed to clear his head. He found that the beach was a place that was calming to everyone so he walked down to the boardwalk and decided to sit in the sand away from other people. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm brewing in his head. He did want to join Cobra Kai. That was the whole reason his ex-girlfriend was upset with him in the first place and what led to their breakup. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he was just being used as a pawn in the game of all the adults despite what Kreese had told him.
Light footsteps pulled him from his thoughts and someone sat next to him. He turned to see Gia with a frown on her face who was staring out at the water. He scoffed and went to stand up but Gia grabbed his hand. "Wait. Please, just listen to what I have to say."
Robby looked at her for a second. Her eyes pleading him to listen to her and give her a chance and he reluctantly found himself giving in.
Gia sighed in relief and played with her fingers that Robby noticed were shaking. Robby then started to notice that bruises that still lingered on Gia's skin and he began to wonder how bad the fight at the LaRusso house truly was.
"I just want to say I'm sorry. I apologized to Mara too and there's no surprise she hasn't forgiven me yet. I know I need to work towards it. I just want you to know that I'm sorry for getting so upset when your told me you joined Cobra Kai. It's your decision and I should've respected that. And I'm sorry for what I said about the kids there. I know I've been living in this bubble my entire life. I've always had it good and I've never struggled for anything and I didn't stop to think that maybe everyone's life isn't like that. But I realize that now and..."
Robby looked at her as she paused and noticed how she placed her head in her hands and her shoulders started to shake. "God I'm a terrible person. I don't blame you for hating me. I don't blame anyone for hating me. I'm sorry I bothered you Robby. I'll go."
She stood up and Robby watched at she wiped her eyes before walking away and up the boardwalk. "Gia." She turned around and Robby frowned at the redness of her face and resisted the urge to reach out and wipe her tears away himself. "I'm glad you're realizing those things now. I really am. But you know there's still so much you can do than just say sorry. It's not just you either. We've all done some things we should all regret. It's how we make up for them that matters."
Gia nodded and smiled slightly. She went to turn around but Robby needed to say one last thing. "And you need to focus on yourself sometimes too Gia. Figure out what you really want and do it. Don't follow other people."
Gia looked down and truly took the boys words to heart. Ever since she had come to the valley she's always been following the people around her. The only time she had done something that she actually wanted to do herself and not because others were doing it was when she visited Robby in Juvie. She wanted to make her own choices now and that's exactly what she was going to do.
Mara got back to her house late that night. She had went to dinner with her grandad and they had talked about how she was doing at home and he wanted to know her thoughts about what she thought would benefit the dojo. She had told him she thought Robby joining would really benefit them but he needed to make the decision himself. Kreese had nodded taking his granddaughter's words and really thinking them over.
Now Mara was getting out of her car when she heard the sound of an engine turning off across the street. She tuned just in time to see Hawk getting off of his helmet and meeting her eyes. They both froze and just stared at each other. Hawk had a frown on his face and Mara wore nothing on hers.
He was visibly upset and Mara couldn't figure out what emotion was stronger in her head. Anger, love, heartbreak? They all seemed to mold together in a big cloud of feelings and she was having trouble picking out just one to show to her ex right now.
"Mars. H-how are you doing? I haven't seen you in awhile."
Mara nodded. "Yeah. There's a reason for that."
"Look I know you're upset with me and pretty much everyone in Miyagi-do and Eagle-Fang, but you have to understand we just want what's best for you. I can tell you aren't happy there Mara. That dojo is turning you into someone who you don't want to be."
Mara tilted her head to the side. "And who's that?"
Hawk maybe should have thought before he said his next words but they came out so fast he couldn't take it back. "Your father." He cringed as Mara visibly flinched and anger took over her face.
"You did not just call me my father. I am nothing like him and I never will be."
"I didnt mean it like that. I just meant that's the path Kreese is leading you on." Hawk thought for a second sighed placing a hand over his face. "Ok I guess that doesn't make it sound any different but what I'm trying to say is Cobra Kai is turning you guys into bad people. It's not good for any of you. I mean you beat someone bloody Mara. She was unconscious and she still is suffering from it."
Mara glared at him. "If I seem to remember you did the same thing. And it was three time worse than the damage I did. Where is Brooks now by the way? Oh right he needed surgery and then he moved out of the valley. To get away from you. Kreese is training us for the real world, unlike your Senseis who probably are too busy arguing with each other to teach you anything. Go tell your dojo to get ready for the tournament Hawk, or Eli whatever you go by these days. I'll show you guys what a winner looks like." Mara turned around and walked up her driveway, away from the boy who she knew deep down she loved more than anything.
"Think about what you're doing Mars! When will you realize that Cobra Kai isn't good and it'll only bring you down?" He was yelling now and Mara tried to ignore the distress in his voice. "Do you have to hit absolute rock bottom before you realize what you've become?" Mara didn't respond and Hawk had his answer. She walked into her house and slammed the door and Hawk stared with tears in his eyes.
"You'll always have a place with me."
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I know I've only written like one scene from episode 1 so far but I'm trying to space out the story to give people better development than this season did.
I'm trying to stay true to each character because some people in my opinion were a little ooc.
Now I have a confession to make to you guys. After season four I have unfortunately become a Robby simp and now I'm tempted to make a fanfic for him and just him. If anyone knows any good Robby stories please tell me. It would be greatly appreciated.
If you liked this chapter don't forget to vote and comment and I'll update you guys soon!