Strike First

Cherry woke up in a good mood. After making her bed, she changed into blue, ripped mom jeans, a black sports bra, and a dark orange sweater. Slipping on her Converse, she grabbed her things and headed downstairs. It's been two days since the fight and her bruises were starting to fade. Grabbing a packet of poptarts, she grabbed her keys and locked the door before going to her motorcycle. She decided that she would surprise Miguel that day. Weaving through cars, she made it to his apartment complex to see him and the man from the other night.

"Hey."

Miguel jumped but smiled when he caught sight of Cherry.

"Hey." The man watched as Miguel approached the girl and she pulled him into a hug. "How are you?" Cherry asked, concern laced in her voice. "I'm fine. I should be the one asking you that." Cherry chuckled before nodding, meaning that she was in fact, okay.

"You're the girl from the other night."

Both teenagers turned to the blond man.

"Yeah, that's me. Name's Cheryl, but everyone calls me -" "Let me guess, Cherry?" Cherry nodded and the man also nodded. "I'm Johnny Lawrence." "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. By the way, nice kick." Johnny chuckled, then appeared as if he was thinking something over.

"Would you like to join us?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm going to be teaching Miguel here karate. Would you like to join us?" Cherry looked from Johnny to Miguel. She remembered all the stories Daniel had told her about Cobra Kai. But maybe, it could be different. After all, that's all in the past now.

"What the hell? I miss it and haven't been at it in a couple of years. Lead the way. Miguel, want to join me? I brought an extra helmet this time." Miguel chucked before looking at Johnny, who nodded in response. Taking the helmet, he secured it on his head before sitting behind Cherry and wrapping his arms around her waist. Cherry began to follow Johnny and they made it back to the mall from the other night. Johnny instructed them to take off their shoes, and now both teenagers were standing infront of Johnny.

"So am I going to get the karate pajamas too?"

"Quiet! Students will speak only when spoken to. Is that understood?"

"Yes/Yes sensei." Miguel turned to Cherry who had a stern look on her face and only faced Johnny. "Ms. Bennington is on the right path. You will always acknowledge me as 'sensei' is that understood?" "Yes sensei," the teens said in sync. "These aren't pajamas, these are what, Ms. Bennington?"

"That's a Gi, sensei. And we'll get one when we've earn them." "Good. Now, are you ready to begin your training?" "Yes, sensei." Johnny immediately attacked Miguel while Cherry stood still. "Lesson one: strike first. Never wait for the enemy to attack." "You couldn't give me like a warning -"

"Quiet!"

Cherry helped Miguel back up.

Miguel took out his inhaler and Cherry watched in concern while Johnny spoke. "You're not trained to be merciful here, mercy is for the weak. Here, in the street, in competition, a man confronts you - he is the enemy. And the enemy deserves no mercy. What is the problem, Mr. Diaz?" "There's no problem, sensei - you punched me and I have asthma -" But Miguel was cut off by Johnny grabbing his inhaler and throwing it at the wall. Cherry wanted to say something, but instead, she bit her tounge and made a fist.

"Is there a problem, Ms. Bennington?"

"No sensei."

Johnny looked from her to Miguel and focused back on the boy. "Not anymore. We do not allow weakness in this dojo. So you can leave your asthma and your peanut allergy and all that other made up bullshit outside, is that understood?"

"Yes, but those are real medical problems. . . Yes sensei, understood." "Cobra Kai isn't just about learning karate, it's about a way of life. Take that first lesson. Striking first is the initial step towards victory." Johnny began to talk about hot babes and Cherry rolled her eyes.

What Cherry didn't see, though, was Miguel glancing at her when Johnny said "hot babe".

"Striking first is about being aggressive. And you don't want to be a pussy, you want to have balls." "Don't you think you're doing a lot of genderizing?"

Cherry face palmed and decided to zone out of the conversation.

Johnny ordered them to do 50 pushups on their knuckles and Cherry sighed. Both teens were struggling, so Johnny told them to do crunches.

Johnny made them start cleaning the dojo while he went out to buy a few things. Cherry had showed Miguel how to wipe down, the same way Daniel had taught her. Cherry ignored their conversation and continued cleaning the mats. Soon enough, they were able to go home and Cherry waved at Miguel before leaving. Miguel sighed as he headed towards Johnny's car. "You like her?" Miguel jumped and turned to Johnny. "What?" "Cherry. You like her?" "I, I don't know. I mean, there's this other girl." "Is she hotter than Cherry?" "No. No, God, no. Cherry burries her."

Johnny smirked and Miguel went red. "Whatever, let's just go." Johnny chuckled and he began to drive them to their apartment complex.

× × × ×

The next day, Cherry quickly showered before changing into black pants with orange vertical stripes and a black crop tank top. She put on a belt, her black Vans and grabbed a blue denim jacket and glasses. Heading downstairs, she saw her parents running around, her dad busy making breakfast.

"Hey pops."

"Hey kiddo. Bad news."

Cherry sighed. "How long?"

"Two months at the most," her mom answered as she went toward her luggage. Cherry nodded before eating the eggs her dad made her. "We love you. Be careful, and clean the house." "I love you too." Liam and Wendy kissed their daughter's head before leaving her alone.

Quickly finishing her breakfast, she headed down to school. Cherry ignored the stares she was getting as she got off of her motorcycle and made sure that it was secure before walking into the building. She waved and smiled to almost everyone and headed to her locker to put her helmet away. Her first class was boring, but she perked up when she noticed that Miguel was in her second class. He was also in her third period, but sadly, not her fourth. When lunch came, she invited Aisha over to the table with Demetri and Eli, but the girl denied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Cherry. I'll be fine."

After paying for their lunch, they went their separate ways.

Cherry looked around and saw that Miguel was sitting with Demetri and Eli. But she noticed that Miguel was staring at someone, specifically, Sam. Cherry sighed before putting on a smile and rushing towards the table.

"Miguel!"

She laughed as Miguel jumped and looked towards the red head with wide eyes. "Hey, how are you, Cherry?" "I'm good, Demetri. Hi Eli." Eli gave the girl a small smile before she focused her attention back to Miguel. "Calm down, Miguel," she pressed a kiss to his cheek and smiled.

Turning to her food, she didn't notice the stares Demetri and Eli were giving her, nor did she notice how red Miguel went.

Demetri noticed Miguel eyeing Sam. "Dude, don't torture yourself. Those are the rich girls." Cherry gave him a look and he gave her a sheepish smile. "Do you ever talk to them?" "Cherry is the only one we talk to. That's because she's not stuck up and is nice." Miguel turned to said girl, and Cherry gave him a wide smile. Miguel began to talk about making moves, and Cherry noticed that he was taking Johnny's lessons way too literal. Cherry sighed when Miguel headed back to the table, defeated.

× × × ×

"You can't strike first if you don't know how to strike. The 'Cobra Strike' is composed of two parts. The lunge - which requires to use the whole body - and the bite - which is everything that happens after you make contact. You don't stop here where the knuckle hits the bone. Punch through the bone, like the guy you really want to hit is standing behind this asshole."

Johnny began to demonstrate, then turned to the teenagers. He instructed them to practice while he went to answer a phone call. Miguel watched in awe as Cherry was striking at the dummy. Johnny began to "help" Miguel, and soon enough, he was punching just as hard as Cherry.

After practicing, Johnny instructed them to continue cleaning. After a while, Johnny let Cherry go. "Are you sure, sensei?" "Yeah, go ahead. See you tomorrow." Cherry smiled at Miguel and she headed home, tiredness hitting her.