~Tommy POV~

After the possible fight last night, Danny and I had to get ready for our first day of school, but I noticed that he was wobbling or something. I thought nothing of it and just showered.

My baby bro had to dress in his normal clothes while I was dressed in...

I saw that mom was making breakfast: eggs, sausage, and some toast, which I'm okay with, considering we just moved here and don't have a lot of groceries right now.

Mom: Hey.

Danny: Hi, ma.

Tommy: Hey.

I noticed that Danny started to have a pair of shades and I don't know what the hell is he hiding. If it has to do with him trying to get into a fight with those Cobra Kai a-holes, I'm gonna be pissed.

Mom: How was the party?

Tommy: It was okay. Better than we expected.

Mom: That's good. Well, it should be better than okay. I didn't hear you guys come home.

Danny: Yeah, some couple of guys. We gotta go.

Tommy: Hey.

He looked at me and he knew I was serious. I don't want to see my little bro get hurt and I wanna make sure that he's alright.

Tommy: Take off the glasses.

Danny: Why?

Tommy: Because I asked you to.

Danny: Come on, Tommy. It's California. It's the look—

Tommy: Look, shmlook. People wear glasses around the country all the time, but you, something's not right. Take them off while we're here.

Danny: Tommy, I—

Mom: Take them off. I wanna see your baby browns.

Tommy: Just do it for mom, alright?

Danny looked reluctant, but he had to. When he took them off, I bit my fist and mom looked so concerned!

He had a black eye.

Mom: Oh, my God. How did that happen? Huh? What happened?

Danny: I hit a curb with my bike and it hit me. I wore them 'cause I didn't want you to worry.

Tommy: Really? Is that what really happened?

Danny: Yeah.

Tommy: I'll look after him. See you after school.

Mom: Okay. Love you both.

Danny/Tommy: Love you too.

We both kissed her cheeks and the minute we're away from the motel, I had to confront Danny and how he got it.

Tommy: Where the actual hell did you get that, Danny? Cobra Kai?

Danny: Yeah.

Tommy: I told you not to mix it up with them! Don't you ever listen?

Danny: You expect me to stand by and watch them treat that girl like garbage, Tommy? I'm pretty sure you'd have morals by now.

Tommy: As much as I admire that, Danny Boy, you could've gotten killed. Don't bother with them the next time, okay? I don't wanna see you hurt again.

Danny: Yeah, yeah.

Tommy: Hey, don't "yeah yeah" me. I'm being serious!

Danny: Alright, Tommy.

As we rode our bikes to school, we had to watch for traffic, lest we get roadkilled the first day of school.

When we arrived and locked our bikes, we walked around for our classes. Danny and I, we were really surprised by how big the school is, but then we saw the Cobra Kai bastards.

They were just flexing on their bikes and all that crap. I'd rather stick with my own bike than get in a motorcycle accident.

~After School~

Once school was over, Danny decided to try out for soccer practice while I watched him and talked to some new friends I made.

Before all of that, I was getting bullied by those Cobra Kai guys and they even threatened to kill me if I got involved ever again.

I didn't feel intimidated though, considering that I can be tough when I need to be. Plus, it was the first day of school and what was I supposed to do? Get suspended early in the year and have mom get a report from the school? This is a public place, not a fight club, I can't do that.

Boy: I gotta say, what you did last night at the party, that's how I would've handled it.

Tommy: Granted, it was because of my knee. I took Karate and ended up getting my ACL torn, ending my career.

Boy: Oh, man. Well, stopping a fight before it started? That was awesome.

Tommy: I wouldn't say it is, considering that I really want to make sure my bro's okay. His life's more important than mine.

All of a sudden, I saw this commotion on the field and it had to do with Danny getting into another fight with someone who has to be in Cobra Kai.

Yeah, Danny seems to not care about what I've been telling him.

As he was far enough away from those guys, I had to get his attention.

Tommy: Daniel LaRusso!

He looked at me with an angry look as I know I had to talk to him.

Tommy: Come here! Come talk to me!

Boy: He's not worth it, Tommy.

Tommy: Well, he's my little brother, of course he's worth it. Danny, come here.

When he got close to me, he was still pissed at me.

Daniel: What is it?

Tommy: You and I, let's take a walk.

Boy: Are you serious, Tommy?

Tommy: I gotta talk to my brother. I'll see you guys later, alright?

After that, Danny and I started talking as I have to hear what went on out on the soccer field. I have to know what's going on because I know Danny better than everybody.

Tommy: What happened out there?

Daniel: Just this group of guys. They keep bullying me, man. First the beach and now soccer practice. It sucks here!

Tommy: Hey, I get it.

Daniel: No, you don't! You weren't there when they started going after Ali and you didn't see them trip me out there!

Tommy: Danny, listen to me. You can't stay this way if you're gonna let them get to you.

Daniel: What do you know, Tommy?

Tommy: 'Cause you're not the only one who's been bullied. I had to deal the same guys, but you know what? It's better to walk away than to start trouble when there already is at the moment.

Daniel: Yeah, you're right. You're always right.

Tommy: Little brother, if I wasn't always right, I probably wouldn't learned from the mistakes I've made over the years. There are three things that you can do in this one life we have: you either do the right thing, the wrong thing, or nothing at all. You gotta choose one of 'em.

Daniel: What do you do?

Tommy: Me? I listen to music.

Daniel: What do you listen to?

Tommy: Just the classics, you know? Dean Martin, Sinatra, Bennett, all those guys. They help me keep my spirits up if I can't seem to have something go my way, especially when we're now in a different area than what we grew up in.

Daniel: They must sound cool.

Tommy: They really are. Look here.

He and I stopped as I had to tell him this.

Tommy: I could tell mom about what I think about this place, but you know why I wanted to give it a try? Adaptability. You never know who you're going to become friends with and it's best to get to know anyone around here in case you have a question or anything that you don't know. Bullies like those Cobra Kai jerks? They're like a cancer, you gotta pull it out and get rid of it, otherwise it's gonna kill you. Capisce?

He nodded as I put my arm around him, making sure that he's cheered up.

Tommy: Listen, Danny. Don't worry about them. Nobody's gonna care. If you ignore them, they'll ignore you. Real simple.

When we got home, I was almost done cooking dinner while Danny was at the table, drinking a soda.

Daniel: Why can't you just fight them? It'll save the trouble.

Tommy: Just because I can't do karate anymore, it doesn't mean that I can still fight. You want me to re-tear my ACL?

Daniel: No.

Tommy: Good, because the last thing I wanna do is hurt myself again.

Once dinner was done...

...I gave Danny two plates, both of us of course, and he served himself after I took my plate.

Tommy: Danny, you gotta try to understand that change can be for better or worse. Right now, I see an opportunity to make most of the change. It's better to adapt than conform to sameness.

Daniel: How can I adapt when it's not the same as Newark, Tommy? I really wanna go back home.

Tommy: I know, Danny, so do I, but from the look of things at school, despite getting kicked off the soccer team, you seemed happy talking to that girl.

Daniel: Oh, she's nobody.

Tommy: Really? I can tell you got a thing for her. Just admit it, you like her.

Daniel: Alright, I kinda do, but I don't know if she likes me back.

Tommy: Well, you first gotta study her body language, it helps understand whether she likes you or not. I know that because it's not just about being loved, it's about being liked as well.

Daniel: Is there a choice between liked and loved?

Tommy: That's a good question, but if I were to decide, I'd rather go with loved. Simply because it helps people try to get to know you too well where they can be there for you, but at the moment, when you're starting to get interested in a girl, it's better to say you like them first before confessing your love.

Daniel: I'll try that. Thanks Tommy.

Tommy: I'm your older brother, would I help you if you need it?

We had our dinner and after that, Danny decided to try his luck by practicing Karate on TV and from books while I went on a jog.

I'll tell ya, his heart is big, but he's an idiot half the time, very ignorant.

To me, karate is a way of life, not for fighting, so if anyone thinks that way, they're just as lost as those bastards from Cobra Kai.