Dedicated to @AbbyWatson4, @Robby2Keene, @NewYorkDoll, CamrynKissel, and @LOVESTODOODLE for their nice feedback.

And a special shoutout to my two new writing supporters, @Krystal1601 and @M_Mazariegos for their amazingly kind support on my projects :)

I though dad said there wasn't going to be any fighting, tonight," thought Anthony, anxiously as he looked over at Kenny's wide grin.

It was bad enough Anthony had been forced to watch Kenny come to the party with his crush, Lia, but now he was going to have to fight him, too?! He'd barely even trained three weeks in Miyagi-Do and now he was going to fight against the kid who literally made it to the semi-finals in the tournament against fighters like Robby Keene!

My family really does hate me, don't they?

"So, how are things with Sensei Daddy going? Still grounded for life?" questioned Kenny, tauntingly.

Only hatred could be seen behind his enemy's cruel dark brown eyes.

"Okay, I guess. You know how parents are," replied Anthony, taking a few steps away from his enemy.

Kenny seemed to notice this, eliminating any distance between them by standing right in front of Anthony's face.

Wow, that smirk is so much creepier up close.

"So, how've things been with Lia?" asked Anthony, cringing in frustration at his own attempt at friendly conversation.

Maybe appealing to his ego might help me get out of this? It seems to work on Dad a lot.

"Great, but I'm sure that's not what you wanted to hear, LaPusso," remarked Kenny, menacingly.

Anthony bit down on his lower lip, forcing himself to ignore his bully's insult in favor of possible escape.

"Look, I'm not here to try and steal Lia from you-" started Anthony before being abruptly cut off by Kenny.

"That's good because you couldn't even if you wanted to," stated Kenny, firmly.

"I didn't say that," corrected Anthony, his voice becoming strangely determined.

Now was most certainly not the time for him to finally find his courage, but we don't get to choose that, unfortunately.

"So what did you say?" demanded Kenny, his eyes narrowed.

"Forget it, you're right," conceded Anthony, quietly turning away.

"That's what I thought, LaPusso," shot Kenny as he watched his enemy slowly moving towards the door.

Anthony suddenly stopped in his tracks, temptation overwhelming any thought of reason.

And with a sudden swing of his left arm, he clocked Kenny straight in the stomach, knocking him to the ground.

What did I just do! He gave me a clear opening for escape and I just punched him in the face, who does that?!

"So that's how you wanna play it? Fine, let's do it," snapped Kenny, fury coursing through his veins as he stood up.

"Oh no," whispered Anthony, his chest suddenly tensing up.

He quickly spun around on his heels, darting as fast as he could towards the door, his jet black hair bouncing against his shoulders as he ran. Failure would mean nothing short of torture, in both senses of the word.

Where's my big sister when I actually need her?!

He dashed around various decorations, taking extra caution to avoid the looming ice sculpture of Yasmine holding a red heart. Demetri was not in the slightest bit subtle regarding what the party was about, Anthony was sure of that. His feet felt sore, sweat dripping from his forehead as he ducked behind one of the ballroom's spiral pillars.

A strong sense of guilt consumed Anthony's mind as he hid from the Cobra Kai.

Was this how it felt for him when my friends and I chased him in the park?

Anthony had been bullied before for his nerdiness, in fact, it was the very reason why he'd turned into one himself. Trying to prove he was cool enough for girls like Lia to hang out with.

I guess this is what I deserve for treating somebody as badly as I did.

"Come out and fight me, LaPusso!" shouted Kenny, his eyes searching across the room for his desired target.

Anthony stood perfectly still, even slowing his breathing so as not to draw attention to his location.

It felt like hours before his enemy's footsteps died out, becoming one with the chaos that rang from all sides of the room.

Phew, that was a close one...

Anthony sighed gratefully as he carefully moved out from behind the pillar.

"Didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?" commented Kenny over Anthony's shoulder.

His breath was so cold, it sent chills down Anthony's spine that made him shiver.

Before Anthony could even respond, Kenny punched him directly in the ribs, making him crumple to his knees in agony. Even by his enemy's light touch, his chest still burned with flaming pain.

That definitely wasn't the type of karate my dad taught me...

He slowly crawled away, desperate for any sign of hope, but Kenny was too strong. He yanked the Miyagi-Fang towards him, punching him across the jaw. Anthony raised his left arm to block Kenny's next attack, swiftly pushing the latter's hand down with his defensive move.

"Now, it's my turn," said Kenny, menacingly.

He unleashed a relentless flurry of furious punches into Anthony's back, anger building with each blow until Anthony was lying on the floor, barely conscious.

Anthony felt his left leg twitch in pain, his vision swaying from side to side as Kenny hovered over his prey.

"That's what you get for messing with Cobra Kai," stated Kenny, staring down at his enemy, satisfied.

"Anthony, what happened!" exclaimed Lia, her yellow high heels clicking against the ground loudly as she ran over to the two boys.

Anthony blinked a few times, just to make sure the Lia he was seeing was actually real.

"We were just playing around and things got a little out of hand," answered Kenny, innocently.

"Seems like something much more than that," reasoned Lia, kneeling down next to Anthony.

Even with the pounding pain that filled his body, her kind smile still seemed to warm his insides.

"Are you okay?" asked Lia, gently placing her hand on his shoulder.

Her comforting touch sent goosebumps through his battered body.

Why doesn't she ever see you when you're doing something cool instead of just getting beat up?

"I'm fine, but thanks," said Anthony, struggling to get full words out.

Lia nodded sympathetically before standing back up.

"What really happened here, Kenny?" she pushed, though her voice remained soft despite the situation.

Kenny looked around the ballroom, tapping his foot harshly as he tried to concoct a reasonable excuse for Anthony's condition.

"We got into a fight over which of our dojos was better," Kenny finally answered.

Can't anybody ever go with a reason other than the dojo war?

"But I thought Miyagi-Do was shut down?" questioned Lia, skeptical.

"It did, but I still wanted to prove that I'm just as good of a fighter as my dad," added Anthony, finally gaining the strength to stand up next to them.

Defending Kenny was the last thing he wanted to be doing, but it seemed that his excuse was the only way they were going to get out of this without her hating them.

Lia stared the two boys up and down, deciding whether or not to believe their explanations.

"If you wanna fight over some stupid war with your friends then that's your choice, but I can't be friends with bullies," announced Lia, tears sparkling in her eyes.

"Lia, wait!" called Kenny, but it was too late.

They watched helplessly as their dream girl ran off into the roaring crowd, disappearing into the chaos they'd helped cause.

Why didn't I just tell her the truth? Then, maybe she would have stayed with me.

"Look what you did," growled Kenny through gritted teeth as he stepped angrily towards Anthony, his fists raised high.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," warned Demetri, rushing over to Anthony's side.

"And why is that?" questioned Kenny, still staring Anthony in the eyes.

I'm not getting punched again tonight.

"Well, I might not exactly be the most skilled fighter, but my height alone would be quite the advantage in a fight," explained Demetri, gesturing towards his lanky body.

Kenny rolled his eyes, agitatedly.

"You survived this time, LaPusso," spat Kenny, bitterly before heading in the direction Lia had left in moments earlier.

"Thank you," panted Anthony, holding his chest.

"What are friends for. Plus, I kinda owed you one for sticking up for me back there," smiled Demetri, happily.

Anthony nodded, a small smile of gratitude covering his face.

"Now, let's go find your mom," reasoned Demetri, sighing heavily as he looked out towards the mob known as his friends.

This is going to take awhile...