❝ cobra kai! cobra kai! cobra kai! ❞

―

JULIANA FELT LIKE SHE DIDN'T GET A WINK OF SLEEP.

She laid awake in her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she thought the revelation that Hawk wasn't the only one who liked her. Demetri did too.

Juliana thought and then she overthought. Then, she thought some more. She felt like an idiot for not realizing it before. She had been spending so much time with Hawk and being wrapped up in Cobra Kai, that she had barely paid enough attention to Demetri. She couldn't seem to wrap her head around how she had missed it and thinking back, all the signs were there.

The more she thought about it, the more obvious it became. She thought of all the times that she caught Demetri smiling at her or the wide eyed look on his face whenever she complimented the shirt he was wearing. The look of pure adoration when they talked about their favorite shows and movies. How Demetri looked at her in amazement every time she got an answer right in Trivial Pursuit.

Hawk looked at her the exact same way, but he had always been less than subtle about it. Demetri was harder to read than Hawk was.

Juliana sighed as she grabbed her pillow and placed it on her face. She let out an exasperated groan, trying her hardest to resist the urge to scream as loud as she possibly could.

She placed her pillow back down on her bed and swung her legs over the bed. She placed her feet into her slippers and grabbed her phone, using it as a flashlight as she navigated through the darkness of her house. She made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a cup from the cabinet before filling it with water.

She turned the faucet off, and then took a sip of water from the cup. She placed it down on the counter before she placed her elbow on the counter and then rested her chin on her palm with a sigh.

"Juli?"

Juliana looked up, seeing her father walking into the kitchen.

"What are you doing up?" Nicolás asked his daughter. "Shouldn't you be getting enough rest before the tournament?"

Juliana sighed again. "Yeah, I just couldn't sleep. I've got a lot of on my mind. You know, just pre-tournament jitters, I guess."

It was more than that, but Juliana didn't want her father to know that. She doubted that he wanted to hear about her boy troubles.

Nicolás nodded in understanding as he leaned against the counter next to Juliana. "You know, back in the day I used to dabble in karate myself."

"Really?" Juliana asked, pretending like she didn't already know. "You did?"

"Sure did," Nicolás nodded. "I was actually in Cobra Kai for some time back in the eighties."

"You were?" Juliana raised an eyebrow, hoping that he wasn't picking up on the fact that she already knew.

"Yeah, I actually had to convince your mother to let you join because the sensei back then wasn't exactly the greatest guy," Nicolás told her. "He was...well, let's just say he could be unconventional and very set in his ways."

Juliana nodded her head. "Sounds a whole lot like Sensei Lawrence."

Nicolás nodded his head, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I'm sure it does. You know, Johnny used to be the top student. He practically worshipped the ground that Sensei Kreese walked on until the year Daniel LaRusso won the tournament..."

"Why?" Juliana asked. "What happened?"

Nicolás sighed. "That's a story for another time."

Juliana didn't press him any further. She simply nodded her head.

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I understand the whole pre-tournament jitters thing," Nicolás told her. "It's normal to be nervous. I'd be more worried if you weren't."

"Did you ever win a tournament?" Juliana questioned.

Nicolás shook his head. "Nope. I only ever made it to the quarterfinals."

"Do you think I could win?" Juliana asked.

Nicolás placed his hand on her shoulder. "I think you could and I'm not just saying that because I'm your dad. I'm saying that because you are your mother's daughter and if there's one thing I've learned about the women on the Valdez side of the family, it's that they never give up."

Juliana smiled at him. "Thanks, dad."

"No problem," he smiled back. "Now, take your water uptake get to bed. You've got a big day tomorrow."

Juliana nodded as she watched him leave the kitchen. She grabbed her cops he carried it up the stairs to her room. She placed the cup of water on her nightstand and took off her slippers before getting back in her bed.

────────────

Juliana stood outside of the arena with the other members of Cobra Kai as they waited for Sensei Lawrence. She stared at the ground, Hawk's arm wrapped around her shoulders as he talked to Aisha and Bert. Juliana looked up from the ground to see Miguel aggressively jabbing the air.

"Yo, Miguel, calm down, man," Hawk called out. "Save some for the tournament."

Miguel turned his head ever so slightly to glare at him
before immediately turning away, continuing with his jab punches.

Aisha tapped Hawk's arm. "Hey, don't even bother. He's been super aggro ever since the breakup."

"Well, where's Sensei?" Hawk asked. "The tournament's gonna start soon."

"He'll be here," Aisha responded.

"I don't know about that."

Juliana turned her head to look at the small boy standing next to her. "What do you mean, Bert?"

"I saw him last night at the mini-mall," Bert answered. "I was buying a...carton of milk...when I heard him in the parking lot, yelling. He was drunk and he was pissing on a car...I think it was his. I tried to ask him if he was okay, but he just said, 'We're all gonna die, kid!' It was all really weird..."

"Well, why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Aisha asked.

Bert shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I guess I'm just used to seeing him drunk. It didn't seem like that big a deal."

"Well, we're here and he's not," Hawk raised his voice
at him. "So it's officially a big deal. What if something happened to him?"

"Like what?" Bert questioned.

"I don't know like he drove his car off a cliff, or bought a gun and blew his brains out," Hawk responded.

Aisha shook her head. "No. Sensei would never kill himself. That's too pussy a move."

Juliana rolled his eyes at Aisha and Hawk. "Would you two stop scaring the poor kid?" She turned to look at Bert. "Listen, I'm sure he's fine, okay? I mean, this is Sensei we're talking about. He isn't exactly the most punctual guy. He'll be here. Hungover, most likely, but he'll be here."

"The point is, we're here and he's not," Hawk spoke. "We have to look at the possibility that we might have to do it without him."

"Do what without me?"

Juliana turned her head at the sound of Sensei Lawrence's voice. She turned to Hawk, crossing her arms with a smug smile on her face.

"Told you," Juliana told him.

"We didn't think you were gonna show up," Hawk said to Sensei Lawrence.

"I may not always win, but I never back out of a fight," Sensei Lawrence responded.

"All right," Miguel said. "Let's sign up."

"Not yet," Sensei Lawrence replied. "There's one more lesson I have to teach you."

Juliana exchanged a confused look with the other teens before they began to follow him inside of the arena. They stood off to the side, gathered around in a circle as Sensei Lawrence stood in the middle.

"You've all learned to strike first, to be aggressive, not be losers," Sensei Lawrence began his pep talk. "I taught you to strike hard, put every ounce of your power behind everything you do. But I haven't taught you the third rule of Cobra Kai. No mercy."

Juliana stood in between Hawk and Aisha, trying her hardest to drown out the rest of the background noise and focus.

"The older you get, the more you're gonna learn that life isn't fair," Sensei Lawrence continued. "You wake up one morning feeling great, and then life throws a spinning heel kick to your balls, takes a big steaming shit in your mouth."

Juliana's eyebrows furrowed as she turned to look at Hawk. They shared the same look of disgust and confusion on their faces.

"You get an 'F' on a test, you get suspended. You fall in love with a girl, and some other dude comes and steals her away," he continued. "Car gets set on fire. Just when you think things are going good, everything falls apart. That's how it goes. Life shows no mercy, so neither do we. We do whatever it takes to keep our heads above water. We do whatever it takes to keep moving forward. We do whatever it takes to win! Remember who you are. You're badass! You don't give a shit. You kick ass! You're Cobra Kai."

"Cobra Kai!" Miguel shouted at the top of his lungs.

Juliana began to cheer along with the others, clapping her hands together.

"All right, guys. Let's get down there and kick the shit out of everybody!" Sensei Lawrence told them.

Miguel unzipped his backpack and pulled out his gi

"No," Sensei Lawrence said, causing him to stop. "You're not wearing those."

Juliana  gave him a confused look as he pulled brand new gis out of the bag that he carried. He passed one out to each of the students. He tossed one to Juliana. After catching it in her hands, she unfolded it and looked down at it. Juliana smiled when she saw her name staring back at her.

"Cool," Juliana mumbled.

She walked into the locker room to get changed, smiling at herself in the mirror. Juliana pulled her hair up into a ponytail before making her way out into the hallway where the others stood, ready to enter the arena. Juliana shook her hands at her sides, trying to see her nerves. Hawk grabbed her hands, causing her to freeze.

"You'll do great," Hawk reassured her.

Juliana stared down at her hands connected with his, seeing her light pink nail polish staring back at her. Juliana looked up nodding her head. Hawk gave her one last smile before he turned around and faced the front as the announcer began to introduce the dojos.

"From Reseda, returning to the tournament, we have—"

"Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai!"

They all ran out into the arena, chanting in unison before stopping at their designated spot on the mat.

"Now that's what I call an entrance!" the announcer said. "And a badass name for a dojo! Let's hear it for Cobra Kai."

Juliana looked around the arena, trying to see if she could spot her parents. Her eyes landed on Demetri instead. Juliana gulped, her heart sinking when she saw him staring back at her. The puppy dog look on Demetri's face from the night before after seeing her kiss Hawk flashed in her mind.

Demetri waved at her, giving her an encouraging smile and thumbs up. Juliana smiled back at him before she quickly looked away and stared straight ahead.

"And finally, fighting unaffiliated from North Hills, we have Mr. Robby Keene!"

Juliana followed Robby with her eyes as he ran past her. She turned her head, looking at Miguel. There was something about the way he looked at Robby that made her feel uneasy.

"All right, folks. Get ready," the announcer said. "It's karate time."

The audience began to applaud as they cheered, ready for the fighting to begin. Juliana inhaled a sharp breath, trying to keep her heart from racing in her chest.

Juliana took a deep breath, preparing herself first opponent. It was a taller boy, who appeared to have an entire foot on her. He looked her up and down, letting out a chuckle as he saw her blonde hair, tiny stature, and her pink painted fingernails and toenails.

"First to three points wins," the referee told them both. "Step on the mat."

"And face me," the referee said. "Bow."

Juliana turned, bowing her head towards the referee before turning back to her opponent.

"Face each other. Bow."

Juliana bowed at him before immediately getting into fighting position. Juliana jumped back and forth on her feet, ready to fight the second she had the chance.

"Ready?" the referee said. "And fight!"

The boy swung first, but Juliana used the fact that she was shorter to her advantage and ducked out of the way. As he lunged forward, Juliana gave him a quick jab to the side of his ribcage before sweeping her leg forward and knocking the boy off his feet.

"Point!" the referee said. "1-0. Morales!"

Juliana walked back to her mark, getting into fighting position before her opponent even had the chance to stand up.

"Fighting positions!"

Juliana stared her opponent down, her eyes never leaving him. There was nothing that Juliana hated more than being underestimated and she was about to teach him that the hard way.

"And fight!"

Juliana didn't hesitate to strike first, sending a kick flying towards him. The boy managed to step out of the way, avoiding the path of her kick. They now stood on the opposite side of where they had started. The boy began to lunge towards her, his fist surging through the air. Juliana held her breath as she quickly moved out of the way, stepping behind him. The boy turned around, trying to hit her by swinging his fist around.

Juliana was as already a step ahead of him, her fist ready to hit him in the shoulder before he had the chance to even touch her.

"Point!" the referee called out. "2-0. Morales."

Juliana smiled, pleased with herself. Now, all she needed was one more point and she would win her first match. Juliana walked back to her mark, getting into fighting position.

"And fight!"

For a moment, it seemed like wither one of them made a move. Juliana stared intently at her opponent as they circled around each other. She examined the look on his face. It appeared as though he was trying to figure out what the best move was.

The boy glanced down for a brief second. Juliana took his momentary lapse of concentration and sent a kick toward him. The boy fell in an instant, his back landing on the mat.

"Winner, Morales!"

Juliana smiled before she started jumping up and down in excitement, the rest of the Cobra Kais cheering her on. Hawk ran up to Juliana, pulling her into a hug. He let go of her, giving her a quick congratulations before preparing for his own fight.

Juliana stepped off the mat, looking up into the bleachers. Staring back at her was Demetri, who despite having that puppy dog look on his face, gave her a smile and a thumbs up.

A dull ache pained Juliana's chest.

— EMILIA'S NOTES

the tournament will continue until he next chapter. what if i just made juliana win the entire tournament?? i'm only half kidding...

i'm so excited for act one to be completed. i have so much planned for act two!!

not yet proofread so apologies for any mistakes you might find.