"All for freedom and for pleasure. Nothing ever lasts forever. Everybody wants to rule the world."

~Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears~

⭒⭒⭒

A/N: Heyyyyy.

Warnings: abuse, addiction, anxiety, homophobia, depression, domestic violence, grief, gun violence, language, panic attacks, sexual harassment/assault, violence, weapons, and other mature themes

⭒⭒⭒

Zion's POV

I have to admit that I'm excited for senior year. I've been given a new start with this money, with Silver's arrest, with Cobra Kai's extinction, and with all of my friends together.

"Miss Ambrose, welcome back," Counselor Blatt hands me my official schedule with a smile. "And Mr. Keene, welcome to West Valley High." She presents a whole folder of information to Robby.

"Thank you, Counselor Blatt," Robby says in appreciation. I turn to him with a big smile.

"Now go on. Don't be late for your first period," Counselor Blatt says lightheartedly.

Robby reaches for my hand, and I slip my hand in his as we walk out of the office together.

"Finally," I tell him. "You get a good high school experience."

"Yeah, and I really want to do well, and I won't let myself screw up this year," Robby echoes what he told me last year before school started. 

When we make it to the front of the school, all of Miyagi-Fang is huddled together. It's almost poetic as we stand united now in front of the staircase. 

"You got it?" Miguel turns to us in anticipation.

"We got it," Robby holds up his folder as I hold up my schedule.

"Hell yeah," Tory grins.

"What's your schedule look like?" Eli comes over to compare with Robby.

I'm about to hold out my schedule, too, when Miguel comes over.

"It's nice having a big group of friends now, right?" He elbows me in the ribs, and I push him back with a smile. "I'm excited for lunch together."

At this I hesitate, "Sure, but, um... I doubt that Sam and Tory are going to sit together at lunch."

"Why wouldn't they? They're in the same dojo, and they've already proved they can work well together."

"Yes, but you remember how it was with you and Robby in the same dojo, not quite friends. It's the same with Sam and Tory. They're going to split off because there's nothing else they have in common except hating Cobra Kai," I explain.

"You think so?" Demetri joins the conversation. 

"It's not something that can be changed or forced right now. It's just how it is," I say. "I think they need time."

"What about us working together like Sensei Toguchi said?" Eli asks.

I look at Robby for backup when I hear a couple of familiar voices call out from behind me.

"Zion!" I spin around to see Eva, Liv, and Jai rushing over to me excitedly. 

"Hey," I greet them with a big smile, leaving the other conversation behind me. I really hope I have a lot of classes with these three.

"Tory! Piper!" Liv gestures for the couple to join us.

I watch them come over reluctantly. I don't think the trio has spoken to Tory or Piper since Valley Fest, but I know they want to be friends again.

"We've missed you," Eva tells them honestly.

"So much. Now I have people who will get my dumb lesbian jokes," Jai says.

"Well," Piper looks at Tory hopefully, "we're back if you'll have us."

"Are you kidding? Of course we will," Eva says.

"And I welcome you back, too," Aisha joins us.

"We need to catch up on what happened over the summer," Liv suggests.

I hear shrieking on the other side of the group where Sam is. Yasmine and Moon talk with Sam about something that has Yasmine rolling her eyes. Moon waves to me excitedly.

"Does Yasmine really have to be here?" Aisha mutters bitterly as I wave back. "Can't she go back to France?" I frown.

"She apologized, right?" Liv tries to keep up.

"Yeah, but apologies don't mean I'm fine being friends with her," Aisha states.

"Right," Tory validates. 

I look between my friend groups nervously; will I have to choose?

"Okay, show me your schedules," Eva states as she pulls out her phone with her electronic schedule.

I see little to no overlap with Eva, Liv, Piper, and even Jai. They're all in AP classes, the ones that prepare you for college. Last I knew Jai wasn't sure about college, but I'm happy for them if that's what they want. I just hate feeling left behind. And Tory's in an entirely different history class than any of us.

"We have Ms. Hale together again," Liv tells Piper, Jai, and Eva excitedly.

"For what?" I ask, slightly jealous that Ms. Hale is in their schedule but not mine. She's the only teacher here I've really connected with.

"AP U.S. History," Piper says.

I look at my regular history class with someone named Mr. Wilson during the same time period. This sucks.

"I'm glad I have classes with you," Tory says to me. "I have nothing with Piper."

"We have lunch, babe," Piper seems to remind her. Tory still looks disappointed. Everyone has the same lunch time.

"Hey," Robby comes over, "sorry to interrupt. Can we compare?" He holds out his schedule to me.

I nod nervously. I don't know what classes he took over the summer in community college. 

As I look through the schedule, I relax. We have a lot of overlap except for history.

"I have PE and whatever Media Studies is with Miguel, Eli, and Demetri," Robby explains.

"Then I guess I do, too," I remark.

"Zion, come here. Bring your schedule," Moon calls to me from the other side of the group.

Robby follows me over to Yasmine, Moon, Sam, and Miguel.

"I don't understand why you're such a nerd," Yasmine tells Sam. I can't tell by her tone if she's joking or not.

"Sam's in some AP classes," Moon frowns. "So she won't be with me or Yas."

"What's your schedule like?" Yasmine wonders.

I hold out the paper for her, "No APs."

"Thank God you're normal," she remarks as she takes it from me. I see Sam's smile drop.

I kind of hate the AP system. Just because Robby, Tory, and I aren't on track for college and not taking APs doesn't make us not smart. I feel like Eva - our most likely valedictorian - and Sam and Aisha may think that. And just because Sam is in an AP class it doesn't mean she's a nerd.  Honestly, it sucks to even think about. I hate how we're already split for senior year.

"I only have PE with you," Sam says sadly.

"I have science, math, and Media Studies with you," Moon hands me the schedule back.

"And my schedule is the same as Moon's, so," Yasmine smiles slightly.

I don't know how I'm supposed to remember all of this. I'm just glad I'll get to see everyone at lunch.

Then the bell rings to signal for us to get to class. 

Sam speaks up, "Well, I guess we'd better go."

"Let's hope this first day is better than the last," Yasmine looks at Robby and Miguel knowingly.

I turn to the boys in surprise as they shift uncomfortably.

"I'll see you at lunch," Sam tells all of us before pecking Miguel on the lips then walking down the hall.

"So, do you know the way to English class?" Robby asks me hopefully as everyone around us begins moving.

"Yeah, come on,"  I grab his hand happily. I can't believe we're really in school together.

I can't believe I'm happy to be back in school.

"See you at lunch, Z," Tory walks past us.

Then I realize that this is only the beginning of having to choose between Tory and Sam. Shit.

⭒⭒⭒

When lunchtime comes, I'm ready. Robby, Moon, Yasmine, Miguel, Eli, Demetri, and I walk out of Media Studies together. I'm still not sure what the class is about exactly.

"I'm having a little get together tomorrow night at my place if you guys wanna come," Moon tells all of us.

"Actually, we have karate then," Eli states.

Moon shrugs, "Okay. I was thinking you might say that."

"Losers," Yasmine says.

"Guilty," Demetri remarks.

Yasmine glances at him before walking ahead of us to catch up with Moon and whisper. Demetri rolls his eyes.

The dynamic between them is so weird now that they're just friends who aren't dating.

When we get to the lunchline, Robby signals for me to hang back for a second. 

"Hey, can I ask you something?" 

"Always," I reply. Then I realize he seems... concerned?

"So this is a weird question," Robby says, "but have you heard anybody talking about me... or you?"

"What do you mean?" I ask curiously.

He sighs, "I've already started hearing people talking, you know, behind my back."

"Really?" My heart sinks at this.

"I guess they figure I don't hear it somehow. But I keep hearing comments about the fight last year and Miguel and, well, us," he frowns.

"Us?" I echo in question.

"About you cheating, about me cheating, all of it. It's not a lot of people, but there was this group of girls talking behind me in our English class. It just..."

"It sucks," I nod in understanding. I can't believe he's already in this. "I'm sorry."

"So this is the stuff you heard everyday last year?" Robby asks. I nod. "Then I'm sure I can handle it, too."

"We can handle it together," I assure him as we step into line.

"I like that even better," Robby grabs a tray.

Once we're through the line, I realize that my plan of sitting first and being neutral is already screwed up. Tory, Piper, Aisha, Liv, Jai, and Eva are at one table while Sam, Yasmine, Moon, Miguel, Demetri, Eli, and the rest of Miyagi-Fang sit at another.

And they're both waving for me to come join them.

"Shit," I whisper. 

"Oh," Robby realizes, too. "What are you going to do?" 

"I'll have to be fair," I decide. 

I walk with Robby over to the Miyagi-Fang table. I can see the faces of my friends at the other table fall in dismay. This sucks.

"Hey," Sam moves her bag for Robby and I to sit.

I hesitate, "Actually, I'm not sitting here today."

"For real?" Yasmine asks.

I glance back at the other group of friends, "I really hate being split like this, but I haven't seen Liv, Eva, and Jai in a month or so, so..."

"Oh, okay," Sam looks down and away from me. I can see the frown she tries to hide. 

"I'll sit here tomorrow," I offer. "I'll switch off."

"You shouldn't have to do that. Maybe we can all be friends," Moon chimes in.

Sam shifts uncomfortably. I can tell from Miguel, Eli, and Demetri's faces that they finally realize what I've been saying. Tory and Sam can't be forced to get along, and it's possible they never will.

"And you," I turn to Robby, "can sit where you want. I won't be offended if you want to sit with the guys. I just... I can't ignore anyone."

"I get it," Robby nods. "I'll sit with you over there, if that's cool."

"It's definitely cool," I smile when he says he'll be joining me.

And with that, we walk over to the other table. They perk up when they see us.

"I thought you were sitting over there," Piper says skeptically.

"It would've been okay if you did," Aisha assures me.

"I've decided," I sit by Eva and Robby sits beside me, "that I'll switch off every other day if I have to."

I can see some of my friends frown in dismay at the compromise; maybe they agree that I shouldn't need to do this.

"Cool," Tory smiles genuinely for the first time today. 

"So how are your classes so far, Robby?" Liv creates conversation.

"They're good," Robby replies.

"Must be nice to be back in school, right?" Eva asks. 

Robby nods, "Sure." I can tell he doesn't want to talk about what he's heard other people saying. The rest of the day has been admittedly average, which is a very good thing compared to last year.

"Boys are so weird," Jai speaks up. "I mean, no offense, but I ask Liv how she's doing and she begins to yap."

They smile at Liv as she defends herself, "But I did have a weird morning because Mr. Palmer said there are no excuses that will get you out of dissecting a pig later in the year. I just can't do it! The organs are still there-"

"Hence the point of dissecting," Jai states.

"-and they stink and there's no way it's ethical."

"Actually-"

"Eva, let me have this one!" Liv exclaims and cuts off her best friend.

We all laugh as Liv sits back down after getting so riled up. 

"I have definitely missed this," Piper laughs.

"Yeah? Well try living with her," Jai remarks lovingly.

"You're living together?" I ask in surprise.

"Oh, yeah, we never got to tell you. Jai moved into our old apartment like three weeks ago," Liv nods.

I'm actually a bit surprised to see people my age living together. Of course I had part of my own place when I was with Liv, but it's different with a partner. They must be serious, and I'm happy for them.

"That must be nice," I say.

"It really is," Liv grabs Jai's hand happily.

"So, I have news," Eva tells us, and we all turn to look at her. "I'm going to run for senior class president!"

I smile as Piper speaks up, "Ooh, college's will love that."

"Right?" Eva says. "But also I think there's a lot of good that can be done in this school. And I can't do it alone, so if any of you want to be part of my administration and run for VP, secretary, or treasurer..."

"Ooh, I could be a great secretary," Liv replies instantly.

I nod in agreeement. I'm not really interested in student government, personally. I have the Sekai Takai to focus on.

"I need it if I want scholarships and grants," Liv continues.

"I'm interested in VP," Aisha speaks up. I turn to her in surprise.

"What about karate? You can't leave in the middle of the year as vice president," Tory reminds her.

Aisha takes in a deep breath and just says it, "Okay, uh, actually... I'm not so sure I want to go to the Sekai Taikai."

I stare at her in disbelief, "What?"

"Karate is fun as a hobby, sure, but I can't see myself doing it as a job or when I'm grown up," Aisha says. "I guess what I'm saying is that my dream has always been to be a chemist. I have to have good grades and attendance to get into a good school, and Piper's right. Colleges eat things like student government up. Being in a dojo that was known for an epidemic of violent outbursts and injuries won't impress the admissions board as much."

"So you're just giving it up?" Tory asks. I can feel how tense she is from across the table.

I hate to admit it, but I can see where Aisha is coming from. Karate already gives us a bad reputation here; even Robby is having to deal with it a whole year later. If I had a future that depended on my accomplishments, I'd do anything I could to get there. And it's okay that Aisha's calling isn't karate. I just worry that Tory won't see it that way like the rest of us.

"I'll still train for fun," Aisha says, "if our senseis will have me."

"I get it," I speak up. "It'll suck not having you there, but you have to do what's best for you. The future is getting really real now."

"And going to college for what you enjoy sounds fun," Robby backs me up. I smile back at him. Tory still looks unconvinced but stays quiet.

"Yeah, that's cool. Do you think you'll apply close or far or?" Piper asks Aisha.

I tune them out as I begin to think about my future. It seems like they have it figured out. What about me and Tory and Robby? Are we going to be left behind?

⭒⭒⭒

"Okay, my seniors," Mr. Wilson says in my history class, my last class of the day, "you are dismissed to an assembly in the gym about graduation and college applications."

I look around at everyone I don't know as some people stand up.

He reiterates, "Go!"

I grab my stuff and walk out of the classroom. If all seniors are going to this, then I can find Robby and my friends.

Sure enough, a big group of seniors is filing into the gym down the hall. 

"Z!" Miguel calls out to me. 

"Have you seen Robby?" I step back to join him.

"No," he replies.

"Hey," Eva finds me and Miguel. "I lost the others. Can I sit with you?"

"If we ever make it in, yes," Miguel nods nicely as we wait to get through the doors.

"I can't believe they're already giving us an assembly about graduation," I say aloud to see if they agree with me.

"I can. There's a lot of stuff to preorder and address college application-wise. My older sister went through it, and I'm excited to finally do it, too. I'll finally be able to relax once all my applications are in," Eva tells me.

"You're really excited about college," I state as we make it to the bleachers and fight for seats.

"Yeah, it's where you really find yourself and grow, my sister says. Plus, it's almost impossible to get a job without getting at least a bachelor's because of the way our economy is fucked right now," Eva continues.

I hesitate, "I didn't even think of that."

"All the loans will be worth it," Miguel grins. "I really, really want to go to Stanford."

"Aw, that's such a great school," Eva says. "I'm applying to all the Ivys. Ideally, I'd go to Yale, my mom's alma mater. But Harvard is good for law, too, obviously. As a kid I always wanted to be Elle Woods."

"Who?" Miguel wonders.

I space out worriedly. I haven't considered the future economy, really, even though now I have a lot in savings. I also didn't think about missing out on growing more as a person in college. I figured it was just more school to do, which I hate. But I do know that I can't work part-time and live with Carmen forever.

"Good afternoon, West Valley Class of 2020!" Counselor Blatt steps up the podium. A lot of people cheer, including Eva and Miguel.

I see Robby sitting down below us with Demetri, but he doesn't see me.

"You've made it to senior year, despite all the hardships of high school thus far." I realize how true that really is when I think about the past three years of my life. "Now you apply for colleges, figure out your future, and set into a motion a new chapter. But first, you can have fun. We have lots of fun events planned this year."

My chest burns as I try to figure out what I'll do after I graduate. I have no path forward. I have no idea what I'm good at besides karate. I have no clue who I am or what real life skills I have. I have no idea what I'm doing. 

Miguel places a cold plastic water bottle in my hand, and I snap back to reality. I turn to him. He looks at me in concern. I grab the bottle and breathe for a second. "Thank you," I mouth to him.

"Each of you will meet with either me or the new guidance counsler, Mr. Heffley, about your plans post-graduation. We're here to help you figure out what path is best for you. Truly, this is the time to make mistakes but also the time to be informed."

I turn and see Eva taking notes next to me; we couldn't be more different right now. But she's so put together. I'm worried that I'm doing it all wrong.

"And now, a word from our graduation gear sponsors!" Counselor Blatt introduces a panel of men trying to sell us things.

⭒⭒⭒

We were dismissed from school early when the assembly ended. 

I walk back to my locker alone for a moment to process everything that was just thrown at me and to put my textbooks away.

I let out a deep breath of frustration when I open my locker and find a second to myself. 

Suddenly, someone knocks on the locker next to me to get my attention, and I look over in confusion.

My day is instantly worse when I see Walker is there.

"Hi," he says as casually as he can; he backs up when I stand up straighter. 

"What do you want?" I ask, though I really don't want an answer and I just want him to leave. I wish he'd graduated last year with Kyler, Brucks, and Brad.

"I," he says it long like a song, "wanted to apologize."

I blink a few times in disbelief. Then I compose myself, "Okay. Okay, go ahead."

He tilts his head in confusion, "I just did. That was it."

"What?" I ask.

"My apology."

"Do you know how apologizes work?" I set a book in my locker without breaking eye contact with him.

"Yeah, well, I just thought..." He trails off. 

"You thought," I realize, "that this is your senior year. You want to get rid of all the drama. The grudges." I pause. "The threats."

Walker shifts uncomfortably, "I, um..."

"You want me to forgive you? Start by saying what for," I tell him directly. I can see people gathering around for the drama. I don't care.

"Well, I mean, you know... what for..." 

"Do I? Because there's a lot you can apologize for," I begin to get angry. "Before school even started after I moved here, you and your friends targeted me and Miguel in the mini mart parking lot. Remember?"

Walker just shrugs.

"And when we started school, you asked me out. I rejected you, and you still tried to make a move on me. When I rejected you again, you spread a vile rumor - a lie - that we had sex."

I'm repulsed as I retell it for everyone to hear. Walker still doesn't respond.

"Which we didn't. And you and your friends told lies about Sam, too. Then you continued to call me a 'slut' and a 'whore' and whatever else."

"I was just... you know-"

"All behind my back. And you moved on to do this to other girls or harrass my friends."

I remember what Jai told me about Kyler's group last year. You can mess with me all you want, but I will stand up for my friends. 

"And then you wanted to get back at me. So you jumped me with the rest of the Cobra Kai guys. It was ten against one or something. It wasn't even fair."

Walker looks around and tries to save face, "I... I..."

"So what exactly did you want to apologize for, Walker?" I step closer to him, and he backs up instincutally. I'm focused on him, not on the people around me. "Or should we just sum it up as harrassment and assault?"

"I... Screw you!" he shouts at me. "I was trying to be the bigger person and apologize."

"And I don't accept your apology," I say firmly. "Because you're not changing your behavior. You're only changing who you do it to."

And with that, Walker pushes through the crowd to get away. I hear them begin to whisper. The adrenaline hits me, and I turn back to my locker, slam it, and walk by everyone to the parking lot.

I try to shake off the anger and slight panic when the fresh air hits me.

"Holy shit, girl," Tory walks out behind me.

I try to relax when I see Tory, Robby, Jai, Liv, and Piper walk out behind me. I can't shake the anger fully, though, and I'm overwhelmed by them surrounding me. Then the rest of the student body files out behind them, so I step to the side in hopes of making it better.

"You didn't have to stand up for us," Liv tells me, "but I'm so glad you did."

"That looked like it felt fucking amazing," Piper agrees with a big smile.

"It did," I admit as I catch my breath. "I'm sick of him. Hopefully now he'll get it. But he probably won't."

"He was so scared," Jai mocks him then laughs. 

Robby turns to me, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Like I said, it felt good," I assure him despite how tense I still feel.

"There's the girl on fire," Demetri exclaims as he walks over.

"What?" Eli asks with a slight laugh as he walks over with him, just as confused as I am. Still, I kind of like the name and what I think is a compliment.

"Okay, so you're not Katniss," Demetri backtracks, "but you just burned his ass." He looks so excited.

"I think what Demetri's saying is that it's nice really being on your side for once," Eli elaborates for him and Demetri. 

"There you are!" Sam rushes over with Miguel happily. She gives me a hug, which I return awkwardly before ushering her off. She smiles apologetically, "That was really cool of you, and thank you for what you said about me, too."

"Of course. Sometimes men are so ignorant that they need to be confronted with the truth of it all," I tell her as I recall how Demetri didn't realize what he was doing was wrong.

"At least Kyler and Brucks are gone. Now there's just one bad one," Demetri speaks up optimistically.

Jai and I share a look. Liv speaks up as if on cue, "There are always more bad ones."

"Oh," Demetri's face falls. I can see he's trying, which is a good thing.

"You'd think he would've gotten the hint after that brutal beatdown at the dojo," Tory speaks up.

"I don't think hitting the ignorance out of someone is the answer," Sam counters. 

Suddenly, the whole group shifts. The girls just stare at each other for a minute.

"I wish he would've gotten it," I tell Tory. Then I turn to Sam, "But it's really hard to get them to see, no matter what you do."

"Yeah," Sam nods. Tory does, too, and the tension eases. I notice Miguel visibly relax. 

"Are you guys still ready to come over tonight?" Eli asks Miguel and Demetri. I see Robby turn toward me and pretend not to listen to avoid it being awkward.

"We're having an official feminicon reunion tonight," Jai tells us. "At Eva's. Will you come?"

"Sure," Tory smiles.

"Count me in," Piper agrees.

I look at Robby sadly when I realize that he's left out. 

Then, "Robby," Miguel turns to my boyfriend. "We're playing Call of Duty tonight at Hawk's. Do you want to come?"

"My mom said she'd buy us pizza," Eli grins.

Robby smiles slightly, "Sure."

"So, do you game often?" Demetri asks curiously. "Because we have a group and would love to have you join..."

I tune back in to Jai when they ask, "Zion, are you in?"

"I'm in," I nod, glad that things feel normal again.

Then I see Sam in my peripheral wave to Miguel, "I'll see you later," and leave to her car.

It really sucks that we're together but still not together.

"Great. I was thinking we could watch 13 Going On 30," Liv grins. I feel like I've seen that before, but I'm not sure. "My favorite romcom!"

"I've never seen it," Tory admits.

Piper gasps, "Then we have have have to!" 

"I'll update the groupchat now that we're all friends again. I'm sure Eva will be excited to have all of us. I know Aisha is for sure in," Liv pulls out her phone.

They pull out their phones as the boys make plans on theirs.

And I exist outside of West Valley High for just a second to see the people filing out of school looking at me. Looks of disgust, support, and some other emotion. I've already made a big impression the first day of the school year. Hopefully people can forget and this can just be a fun, relatively normal year like Miguel said. That's all I want at this point.

"See you tonight," Piper says before leading Tory to the car. 

Slowly, our group disperses. It leaves Robby, Miguel, and I to walk to my car.

"I've never played on a PS5 before," Robby admits. He sounds excited, which does make me smile as I pull out of the school lot.

"It's really cool. Eli's whole house is pretty cool, actually," Miguel drones on and on about gaming.

⭒⭒⭒

A few hours later I show up at Eva's house and sit with everyone to watch the movie.

"So guess what I found out," Eva walks back in with the popcorn angrily.

"What?" a few of us ask together. I haven't seen her this upset before.

"I already have an opponent for the student government election," she announces, "and it's Simon."

"Your sort-of-ex who lead you on then ghosted you?" Jai frowns.

"Your academic nemesis who you've fought for valedictorian since pre-k?" Liv adds on.

"That Simon?" Piper realizes. "Wait, you dated him?"

"Regrettably," Eva rolls her eyes.

"So what does that mean?" Tory speaks up.

"It means that she has to fight against this dickish white man for president," Liv explains. 

"Oh," Tory says. "Is he popular?"

"No," Eva says, "but neither am I."

"Then we just have some campaigning to do," Aisha encourages as she grabs a handful of popcorn. 

"You're really serious about this?" Tory turns to her. I notice Piper looking at Tory nervously for some reason; Tory doesn't look mad.

"I am," Aisha says. I have to admit I'm sad that she's not making karate a priority, but I know we'll still see each other. "What happened today got me thinking."

"The thing with Zion and Walker?" Jai clarifies. Aisha nods. "Yeah, it got me thinking, too."

"I don't think he's ever going to change. I'm trying to be okay with that," I say.

"Sure, but he's not the only one, and we all know how people like that can be dangerous if left unchecked," Jai tells me.

"Z, what you said today about him harrassing us was true," Piper speaks up. I look at her in concern. "But he's not the only one. I've already been called the 'd' word today... I don't really like saying it." Then she remarks sarcastically, "It's my favorite when I get the 'n' word and the 'd' word in the same sentence."

"Oh my god," I say at the same time as Eva.

"They won't say anything to me because they, well, they know how I am," Tory admits, "but when my back is turned and she's alone, I'm worried." She takes her girlfriend's hand in support.

"I also get called both of those, and more," Jai agrees. "It didn't really happen today now that Kyler, Brucks, and a few other graduated guys are gone. But when PE starts and I'm in the locker room, I know what the girls will say about me and my binder and my body."

"The administration should be doing something," Eva states, "and I know that they won't. It took a full karate brawl before they did anything, and it really wasn't effective since they outlawed weapons, which weren't really used in the first place."

"Nobody understands. I've been fatshamed my entire life," Aisha says. "It didn't matter what I said or what my parents did; nothing changed from first grade all the way to now."

As I sit here, I realize the privilege I have of being a white woman with a boyfriend. I look straight. It is different from when I was with Jess. I don't get discriminated against in the same way as my friends. It breaks my heart to hear them say all of this. I really understand where Eva and Aisha are coming from with wanting to make a difference. That's exactly what we did with the tournament protest. 

"That should be your platform," I decide. 

"Yes," Liv agrees instantly. "This is your issue to run on. Make it better for queer students, students of color, and women. An anti-bullying narrative would be great."

"And you know the real issues better than any faculty," Jai admits. "It would make your voice that much more important."

"I really, really like that idea," Eva nods. "We need school to be a safe space."

"And I'm in to help in any way that I can," I state.

"Us, too," Piper says.

"Thank you," Eva beams.

Liv gets out a notebook from her backpack, "So we have me as secretary, Eva for president - obviously, Aisha for vice president - and all we need now is a treasurer."

"I'm out," Tory announces. "I really want to focus on karate."

"I figured. Zion, too, right?" Liv looks at me with a smile.

"Yeah," I nod. I love how understanding and supportive they are.

"But like Zion said, we're here to help," Tory reminds them.

"Piper?" Liv turns to her.

Piper hesitates as she looks between Tory and Liv, "Um, no, I'll be too busy."

"We're gonna kick ass together at the Sekai Taikai," Tory whispers to Piper excitedly. Tory seems to miss Piper's fake smile, but I don't. I wonder what that's about?

"Jai, are you interested in being treasurer?" Eva asks them.

"Uhhh," Jai sighs, "look, I love that you're all so motivated and dedicated, but I don't think I want the responsibility. I'm the kind of person that picks up hobbies and drops them when I'm bored. I don't want to commit and then let you down."

"That's okay," Liv says. "We know you're here to support when we need."

Jai picks up their hand and kisses it, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Liv blushes.

"We still need a treasurer," Aisha breaks the sappiness.

"We can find somone later," Liv suggests. "It doesn't have to be someone in the friend group."

"You can ask Kaya Fisher," Piper says. "She was in Cobra Kai for a minute and was really supportive of the protest. Now she's done with karate and might want to fill her time with SGA."

"I'll write her name down," Liv nods.

"Okay, can we stop with the politics now?" Jai yawns dramatically before standing up and finding the remote. "Let's show Tory this damn movie."

The couples move together immediately. Eva sits in her usual chair. I find Aisha, and she steals the popcorn for us to have.

⭒⭒⭒

"Eagle Fang's going global," Johnny tells me, Robby, and Miguel excitedly the next afternoon in the van.

School today was okay. I saw the stares and heard a few whispers about the day before with Walker, but it wasn't anything entirely new. Jenna and a couple of the other cheerleaders came by the dojo's lunch table to thank me. Apparently Walker and his buddies was a problem for them, too. And he didn't even show today. I guess I won or something. 

Robby's day seemed better, too. I was trying to get him to ride with me to training today, but Johnny insisted we "save the planet." That just means he's up to something.

"Once we win the Sekai Taikai, people are gonna be lining up to put fangs on their backs," Johnny says. "We're gonna need a second location, hundreds of gis, a training room with a couple of those ice baths."

I smile a little at his excitement for this tournament. I just hope we're not let down.

"Isn't that a little aggressive?" Robby responds as I take the tape to wrap my hands now.

"Hell yeah. Gotta have a little ice in your veins to take over the karate game," Johnny states.

Miguel brings up, "What does Mr. LaRusso think of all this? You're supposed to be going, like, 50/50, right?"

"LaRusso wants to open up a couple more dojos, he can be my guest," Johnny replies.

Miguel and I share a look. This isn't the united dojo I thought we'd have after defeating Cobra Kai. 

"At the end of the day, people are gonna have to decide if they wanna learn karate from a car salesman or a sensei." 

I look back down at my hand wrapping and hope it's correct. Usually I practice my punches without protection.

"Uh, I think you missed the turn. Miyagi-Do is back that way," Robby says, and I look up in surprise to see he's right.

"Nope. Gotta make sure you guys don't go soft on me," Johnny turns back to us. I'm confused. "We may be a combined dojo, but we're Eagles where it counts. So before we go singing kumbaya in Miyagi's backyard, we're headed to the warehouse to break some bricks," he holds up his fist excitedly.

"Can you give me another?" Miguel looks to me for the tape roll. 

I hand it to him, and Robby chuckles when he sees my hands, "Do you want some help with your wrap?"

I sigh, "I guess. I've never really used tape before."

"Hell yeah you haven't," Johnny encourages me for being "badass" from the front seat. 

Miguel starts wrapping his hand with the roll of tape, and Robby takes my hand to help me retape the mistakes. I look at him with a thankful smile despite feeling stupid.

"It took me a minute to get it, too. I watched multiple YouTube videos," Robby lowers his voice in hopes that his dad won't hear.

"Here we are," Johnny announces as we make a sharp turn into the parking lot.

My jaw drops at the sight in front of me.

Johnny rushes out of the car, "What the hell?"

The Eagle Fang factory is being demolished. There's a demolition crew here right now. The whole place is gone.

Johnny looks especially devastated. We all get out to support him. I feel badly.

"You don't need to have a dojo to be a dojo, right?" Miguel says to Johnny. I guess it's meant to be supportive; I have no idea what it means.

Johnny nods and after a moment takes a breath, "Right."

We watch the men work on breaking the last of the Eagle Fang logo wall down for a minute. 

Then, "Okay. Let me grab what's left and we can go to Miyagi-Do," Johnny sighs.

"This sucks," Miguel says once he steps away. "I know he's taking it hard."

"I just hope he's okay having Miyagi-Do as our only training space," I say. "Hopefully Daniel and him won't fight this time."

"They've been working well together so far," Robby points out. 

"Yeah, and now we have the tourmanet. As long as Johnny keeps his cool, it should be good," Miguel says optimistically.

"No, this is my damn equipment you're demolishing, asshole!" Johnny yells at one of the workers as he grabs a pitching machine, the metal chain that was in the ceiling, and a broken beer bottle.

"It looks like he's keeping his cool," I tell Miguel sarcastically.

"Okay, okay, shut up," Miguel rolls his eyes.

Johnny struggles to carry all three things, and Robby instantly rushes over to help him. Miguel and I follow behind.

⭒⭒⭒

When we arrive at Miyagi-Do, we walk in as Johnny takes a second to grab his things from the car. He insisted on getting it alone this time.

"I feel bad for Sensei," Miguel reiterates. "He really loved that dojo."

When we come around the bend, I see everyone in their workout clothes already beginning to train. 

"Yeah. At least Miyagi-Do's alive and well," Robby looks around with a small smile. It makes me happy when he's happy. "We don't have to deal with Cobra Kai anymore, and now we're all one, big karate family."

"Yeah," Miguel looks down, not fully agreeing. "Well, most of us."

I look out at Tory as she trains alone and Sam as she does kata alone. Piper is talking with Devon, Mitch, and Chris.

"Look, it took a while for you and me to figure our shit out, but we got there," Robby tells him. "Sam and Tory only recently stopped hating each other, but hopefully they'll be friends someday. Maybe we just need to do something to jumpstart it."

"Really? Because I was kind of thinking that, too," Miguel agrees.

I hesitate, "Um, I know your hearts are in the right places, but this really isn't something you can push. They have to figure it out for themselves."

"Right, but Robby just said 'jumpstart.' Maybe there's a way to coax them to be friends," Miguel says. 

Robby notices my worried face and mediates, "We'll just see what happens. Okay?"

I nod when he looks at me for confirmation, "Okay."

Miguel walks toward Sam, and suddenly Demetri and Eli call us to the sparring deck for an announcement. I walk over with Robby, his hand in mine.

"It's been a long road," Eli begins. There's some kind of stand behind him covered with a sheet. "But, we're finally all on the same side. And as a reward, the toughest test any of us have had to face."

"The Sekai Taikai is the most prestigious karate tournament in modern martial arts history," Demetri reminds us.

I roll my eyes with a small smile at how dramatic and cheesy this is. I know they're working up to the big dojo name and logo reveal.

"For over a century, fighters from across the globe have gathered every two years to compete for the title of 'World's Best.'"

"If the All Valley is March Madness, this is the Olympics, plus the gladiator games and the kumite form Bloodsport all rolled into one," Eli exaggerates. 

"If we win-" Eli clears his throat and interrupts Demetri. "Excuse me. When we win, the spoils will be life-changing."

"But, it's going to take all of our focus and all the wisdom our senseis have to offer."

"Yes, which is why," Demetri finally seems to get to the point, "we decided to take at least one thing off of your plate: coming up with our new dojo name."

"Yes! After some spirited brainstorming, ad-hoc focus grouping, and also a dojo-wide vote, we have a winner," Eli says.

I turn to Robby excitedly. There were some pretty cool logos on that Google form.

"We give you... Miyagi-Fang Karate!" The duo pulls the sheet down and reveals...

The worst logo option?

I hear Robby whisper, "What?" under his breath as we look at Mr. Miyagi's big face on a tiny body with wings on his cheeks and fire underneath. 

Everyone around us begins to clap enthusiastically - except for me, Robby, Sam, Miguel, and Tory. Even Piper and Aisha are excited.

I see Daniel storm back inside the little house as Chozen and Johnny follow him.

Then I notice Bert, Nate, and a few of the younger students fist bumping and laughing at the new logo. Then Mitch and some of the new Cobra Kai recruits join them. This must be a joke to them. 

"Maybe a dojo-wide vote wasn't the best idea," Miguel comes over. 

"Yeah, I'm not thrilled with the guy who was practically my grandfather looking like a karate vampire," Sam looks back at the design wearily. "That's what happens when you include middle schoolers, I guess."

"Don't look at me," Anthony joins us. "I voted for the bonsai tree with a beak."

"That one was bad, too," Sam remarks.

Anthony shrugs, "Says you."

"So, what did we think?" Demetri walks down to us excitedly.

"You put a lot of work into it for sure," Miguel says positively to evade directly answering.

"Yeah, Eli and I put in a lot of hours graphic designing and name brainstorming. I'm glad the name we went with was straight-forward, though. 'Miyagi-Fang,'" he puts his hands up to present the title.

"What do you think of the fangs?" Sam narrows her eyes at him.

"They're a little Twilight, 2008, for my taste," Demetri admits, "but I think the fire is cool to bring to the competition."

"Hold on," I interupt in disbelief, "you know what year Twilight came out?"

"Oh, def. I'm a total Twi-hard," Demetri says unironically.

I smile, "No way. I was obsessed with it in middle school." 

"Me, too. I read all the books," Demetri continues. I can't believe this. "I tried to get Eli to, too, but he wouldn't read past book one."

"How did I never know this?" Sam chimes in excitedly. "Were you team Edward or Jacob?"

"Edward, easily," Demetri says at the same time I say, "Edward."

Sam smiles, "Me too!"

"Guys," Miguel speaks up and snaps us out of it, "we were talking about the logo, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, karate," Demetri reminds himself. He clears his throat and stands up taller, "Anyway, it was a democracy, so we went with what the majority chose. The second most voted option was my favorite, though. It's the tree with an eagle flying around it."

"That's the one we voted for," Robby acknowledges. 

I hear boisterous laughter from behind us where the boys goof off about the new logo.

"I don't claim them," Anthony reiterates.

"I can only imagine what my dad is thinking right now," Sam glances back at the house.

As if on cue, Chozen walks out, "Okay. Gather here." 

We all fall in in front of him. I notice that he looks a little angry and that Johnny and Daniel are still inside.

"Today, we focus discipline. Must all be on same page to fight together," Chozen explains. "Everyone grab a paint brush, sander, or hammer. Now!"

⭒⭒⭒

A/N: I was disappointed in the season 6 writers' room for not including was more high school/ senior year plotlines, so here I am delivering my own. I truly feel like that's some of the magic that made me enjoy the show in the first place. I hope you agree and enjoy:)

The next chapter will have Kenny and Shawn's return. What are your predictions for that?

This week has been super, super rough for me personally, and this next month is supposed to be super busy for me school-wise. We'll see when I get the next update out.

On a sad, slightly related note: Please keep my grandma, me, and my family in your thoughts/ prayers/ whatever. It's not looking good.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I'm always happy whenever I can update.