Flynn never knew friend crushes existed until she met Nia Mullins.

As her new co-worker, also sixteen years old, the girl quickly became her newest source of entertainment and joy while at work. Nia was a five foot ten pillar of charisma and humor and a gorgeous Black girl with braids that reached towards her butt. She wore a sporty style that made Flynn recognize her as a fellow athlete.

"So, what sport do you play?" Flynn asked as they settled into one of the back booths during their lunch break.

Nia snorted, though her dark eyes shimmered with bemusement. "Guess."

Flynn felt her mouth tug into a hesitant grimace. "Would I be a stereotypical asshole if I said basketball?"

Nia's mouth latched open as she bellowed out a laugh. "No girl, relax. You caught me. I do basketball with a rec sports team."

"You go to West Valley too, right?" Flynn waited for a confirming nod of her chin. "Yeah, makes sense. It sucks our school doesn't have a women's team."

Nia swallowed a mouthful of her pasta before mumbling her agreement. "Yeah. They could at least make the men's team co-ed like that musty ass volleyball team. Sorry," she added, her brow growing stern. "I know you had all that shit with them."

"Wow," Flynn rubbed at her temple with a pinch of humiliation. She hated how giant of a school West Valley was. There were people like Nia who she'd never even seen before, but still knew her dirty laundry. "I must be famous."

"Nah, everyone's over that," Nia reassured her in a measured tone. "You figure skate, right?"

"Did. Now I'm doing karate at Cobra Kai."

"Oh shit! The snake place? I heard they do some crazy ass shit over there," she poked at her food with her fork as she shot Flynn an appreciative glance. "You any good?"

"Were you at Valley Fest?" Flynn raised one eyebrow.

She watched the realization snap into place. "Motherfucker! That was you! With the big dude! And you know, I thought when you came in here I had seen you somewhere, but I figured it was just from all that bullshit drama."

Flynn laughed, enjoying the looks of awe she received from the taller girl. "Yeah, that was me."

Nia stopped attacking her noodles for a moment to readjust the pink and orange lesbian flag pin on her apron. Flynn watched, fiddling with her sandwich more than eating it.

Her chest grew alive with flames when Nia caught her staring. "That's not gonna be a problem, is it?"

"No! God, no, I just—"

"And you don't have to worry about that, either. I don't fall for white girls," Nia chuckled as that only made Flynn's cheeks turn a shade darker.

"No! I just mean to say that I'm bi, so we've got that in common," Flynn let out an anxious laugh. As much as she was enjoying the girl's company and possible newfound friendship, she was intense.

"Oh, cool. So tell me more about this karate thing. Do y'all really break them boards with your hands? Or is it just like, prop wood or something?"

Flynn opened her mouth to respond, though it died on her tongue as their shift manager prowled towards them to remind them they only had two more minutes.

"We get it, god damn," Nia muttered under her breath as the plump girl with fiery red hair retreated. She took to stabbing her fork again.

Flynn only smiled. Sure, she was gonna hate having to work here instead of having a free summer. But at least she was gaining a new friend out of it.

For the first time since the days grew longer and summer began, Flynn felt dread as she stumbled through the Cobra Kai entrance. She didn't know what to expect inside, only that it would consist of more back-handed comments and shunning.

But Flynn was a comedian.

She decided to step inside with a bright smile on her face. As if today was the best day of her life, and that she wasn't tired from training at work and didn't want to face the disgusted glances from her friends. "Hey everyone!"

Silence fell over the room as her friends tipped their heads away from her. "Okay, cool. Seems I'm still public enemy number one over here. Nice," she huffed as she dropped her bag onto the ground.

Hawk and Aisha moved away, making a show of going to do their stretches someplace else. Flynn watched them with an annoyed eye roll, crouching over her bag to fish out her water bottle.

"We're just a little hurt, is all," Miguel offered, his voice hardly above a whisper. "We don't wanna be lied to, you know?"

"Oh, you're actually speaking to me?" Flynn straightened herself back up, directing her fiery gaze at the Diaz. "I'm surprised, considering how upset you were I'd associated myself with Robby Keene. Cause you know, God forbid I speak to anyone that isn't Cobra Kai."

Miguel's shoulders dipped. "Okay, I deserved that. But you gotta understand where we're coming from. You were training with the enemy."

Flynn couldn't stop the snort that rocketed out of her. "The enemy? Are we heading off to the trenches, Miguel?"

He swallowed, his throat bobbing with restraint. "You know what I mean."

"No, I don't. Clearly I'm not understanding any of this, because I wouldn't be half as mad as y'all are right now. Like I said, it was for one week, it was against my will, and it was before Miyagi-Do had even become a proper dojo. I left as soon as I could, okay? Why does this have to be a big thing?"

She watched difficulty cross over Miguel's face, his frown deepening as he shook his head. There was something he wasn't telling her. And judging by the pained look on his face, she wasn't even sure if he knew what the problem was.

"Whatever. I'm warming up. By myself, in the corner, since that's how y'all want it to be today."

Miguel watched her slink away, hating himself as she went. After a moment of troubled indecision, he retreated back to Hawk and Aisha.

"Did you really have to talk to her?" Hawk spat as he stretched his left leg. "We're trying to make a point here."

"Yeah, well, this all seems kind of ridiculous now," Miguel admitted as he lowered himself onto the mat. "She hasn't been training with them for weeks, and she made it clear she never wanted to join them. Her parents made her."

"I don't know. I just wish she had told us," Aisha mumbled, more interested in staring at the floor than at either of them.

"Wilder! In my office!" Sensei appeared in the crook of the doorway, shooting his arctic gaze at Flynn. She gathered herself to her feet, tossing a murderous glare at the three before disappearing through the door.

Hawk sneered in disapproval as he noticed Miguel's pensive stare. "You have such a soft spot for her, man," he shook his head.

"What the hell does that mean? I'm just as mad at her as you guys are!" Miguel shot back.

"Clearly not! Since you just talked to her!"

"Fine, okay! Maybe I think it's a little petty, huh?" Miguel's voice raised, earning a few stray glances from the others. The dojo had filled out with new recruits, undoubtedly people who had gained interested after Valley Fest. "Hasn't Flynn been through enough recently? Besides, admit it. We know Flynn, of all people, wouldn't betray us."

"True," Aisha sighed, looking deflated. "Besides, it did happen several weeks ago. You can tell she hasn't gone back since."

Hawk's gaze darkened into fury as he beheld the Robinson. "Oh, so you're just gonna forgive her now too?"

"Do I need to remind you that my ex best friend is Sam, who is currently in Miyagi-Do? I'm already in a tough enough position as is, I don't need to be in a weird place with another one of my girlfriends," Aisha spat. "Part of me never even wanted to be mad in the first place."

"Me too," Miguel agreed instantly. Being on the outs with Flynn was becoming one of the worst feelings in the world for him, and he had no idea why. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours.

"Whatever," Hawk scoffed. "You guys are just a bunch of pussies, giving up so easily."

Aisha chuckled. "You and Flynn are like oil and water. Remember that time you exploded your pen on her? She poured hair gel all over your notebooks."

Hawk sniffed, eyes becoming cloudy with the memory. "I don't even know how she got a hold of my shit."

Their conversation died out as they noticed a growing audience by the mirrors, several students listening in awe at Kreese. Somehow, the old man had stuck around.

Now he was fascinating several Cobras with war stories. Miguel rolled his eyes as Hawk and Aisha tapered off to join in. Something about Kreese's stories weren't adding up, and Miguel would be lying if he said he enjoyed having the guy around so much. He wasn't even sure why he was still here.

Flynn let out an angry huff as she trailed out of Sensei's office.

Unsurprisingly, the man had just given her a grilling session as he found out the news. She'd given him the same rundown, explaining why she'd trained at Miyagi-Do and what her intentions were. Though they had reached a plane of mutual understanding—after almost ten minutes of arguing—she still knew this put her back on Johnny's shit list.

"Rwanda was...no joke."

"Don't you mean Somalia?" Miguel aimed a pointed look at Kreese, who seemed to be just wrapping up an emotional story. The Diaz seemed unmoved, casting a quizzical brow at the old man. "Mogadishu is in Somalia. Rwanda's a whole different country."

Flynn fought back a smile, sucking in her lips with her teeth as Kreese eyed the boy. "Of course, Somalia. I spent so much time in the sandbox, it all kind of bleeds together, you know?"

"Listen up!" Johnny's commanding yell silenced the room, the sparse individuals still sitting scrambling to their feet. "I see we've got some new recruits. Everybody, fall in! In neat rows and lines. Time to see what you're made of."

He prowled about the new recruits, spitting out insults to a few. Flynn watched with amusement as he spoke to a strange adult man that seemed adamant on staying, despite the teenagers surrounding him. Johnny only agreed after a wad of cash fell into his hand, informing the man it would be "a trial run".

"My last group of recruits was pathetic," Johnny declared as he strolled back to the front of the lineup. "But if you do what I tell you to do, you'll at least have a chance of becoming a fighter. But to do that, you gotta fight."

The blond man's eyes scoured over the sea of white gis, his cold gaze settling on Flynn. She noticed the glint in his eye as an idea caught, her body hardening with annoyance. No.

"I'm sure all of you saw Wilder here at Valley Fest. She took down our biggest Cobra and made it look easy. Which one of you has the balls to take her on?"

Flynn barely suppressed a growl as her teeth clamped together. He was doing this to punish her. Or at least, he thought he was. Truthfully, she was rearing for a fight. All of her friends turning their backs on her within the same week would do that to her.

Silence drifted through the crowd. Miguel shot a surprised look at Johnny, then to Flynn. He probably expected it to be him called on instead. Flynn had never sparred with anyone so publicly before.

"I'll take her on."

Heads swiveled to the back wall to catch the source of the voice. Flynn studied the new girl with intrigue, noting the athletic clothes and her confident stance. She had never see the blonde-brunette before, though the way her green gaze sizzled made Flynn grin.

Johnny smirked. "Oh you will, huh?"

The new girl wasn't as amused. "I saw your little demo at Valley Fest. You guys can put on a show. Can you actually fight?"

He approached her calmly, but anybody could see the storm swirling beneath his features. "That sounds like a challenge."

The girl raised her eyebrows in a delighted grin. "I like a challenge."

Flynn puffed out a small laugh under her breath, bringing her fists to her face as she let out a series of knuckle cracks that thickened the air. Johnny slithered back to the front, calling over his shoulder. "Alright Wilder, show Little Miss Hot Shot what Cobra Kai is all about."

Flynn shuffled to the center of the mat as the others dispersed, forming a ring around them. She ignored the inquisitive looks, especially from a certain pair of amber eyes. Instead, she locked gazes with the newcomer, hunger twisting inside her.

This girl was experienced, Flynn's instincts already knew that. She hadn't come in here making empty threats. Flynn needed to follow through with what she learned. She needed to strike first.

The students let out a chorus of gasps as the stranger dodged Flynn's middle kick by a fraction of a step. Her green eyes lit up with surprise, though it blazed over into pleasure.

Flynn matched that look, raising her steady fists. "Game on."

The two girls exploded into a flurry of hits and blocks, echoes of grunts falling out of their mouths as they continued to fail every strike the other one dodged. Flynn reeled herself backwards a pace, smiling when Blondie took the bait and charged forward to close the gap. She snaked both arms around the girl's flailing leg and grabbed hold, slamming her down into the mat with a thunderous clap.

She recovered with a skillful roll up, barely back on her feet before she began pummeling a series of predictable blows. Flynn blocked a few before using one to propel the girl forward without warning, taking the small moment of stumble to send a kick splattering into her middle. "You're telegraphing. Don't let me see it coming."

The blonde shuttled herself at Flynn again, the brunette hardly able to sidestep it as she admired the girl's speed. In a whirl of motion, the newcomer cartwheeled back towards her with amazing recovery time, using her heel to finally land a blow on Flynn. "Did you see that coming?"

"Maybe," Flynn laughed as she flung her legs upward in a scissoring movement, twisting them around her opponent and bringing her down. "I'm Flynn, by the way."

"Tory," the girl panted, accepting the Wilder's outstretched hand before twisting her body and lifting Flynn over into a roll on the floor with impeccable strength. The brunette grimaced as Tory gripped the same arm and yanked it back, her other hand placed on her neck. "With a Y."

"Okay, that one was petty," she barked out a breathless laugh. "But you gotta teach me that one."

Tory released her, all signs of aggression dissipating into an amused smirk. "Maybe. Only if you teach me that windup move."

"Okay, yeah," Flynn conceded with a grin that matched the girl's. "I think we're gonna like each other, Tory."

She felt shocked when Aisha and Miguel approached her after practice, both heads bowed shamefully. "Oh, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We wanna apologize," Aisha spoke up. "We're sorry we iced you out and didn't listen to you about Miyagi-Do. We know you wouldn't do anything to betray Cobra Kai."

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Flynn," Miguel regarded her with sorrow.

Her chest caved at the look he sent her, and she knew she already forgave him. Both of them.

"You're good, I guess," she rolled her eyes playfully. "Just don't do that again, okay? Having you guys against me like that, even just for a day, really sucked."

"We won't do it again. I promise," Miguel met her gaze.

She believed him. "Cool. And Hawk...?" She watched the mohawk boy storm out the dojo, not sparing a glance in their direction.

"He needs a little more time to be petty, but he'll be cool," Aisha answered, and Flynn knew that to be true. At this point she was sure it was more of a pride thing.

Flynn and Aisha trailed off next door to the convenience store to grab post-training snacks, the former inviting Tory along. The Wilder debated which chip flavor she wanted as Aisha stood beside her, regarding her phone with an annoyed groan.

"Let me guess. Dick pic?" Tory shuffled past them, a humorous gleam directed at the Robinson.

"No," Aisha chuckled. "My mom wants me to go to the beach club with her," she huffed, her eyes quickly shooting over to the taller brunette beside her. "Your parents have a membership there, right? Would you wanna come with?"

Flynn considered this with a pause, not peeling her eyes away from the assortment of chip bags. Jaden wouldn't be back from the water park with his friend until the evening. "Yeah, I'm down. I can drive us. I'm not getting in my suit, though."

"That's fine," Aisha chirped, relief blossoming on her face.

"What's so miserable about the beach club?" Tory questioned with a smirk.

"Oh, no it's not the club," Aisha corrected, grimacing as she realized her mistake. "It's just...this girl Sam's probably gonna be there, and she and I are not on good terms."

"Oh shit, really?" Flynn perked up, surprise brightening her features. "I thought you two were at least civil."

Aisha gave a small shrug of her shoulders, and Flynn felt sorrow purse through her for her friend. "It got too awkward after the All Valley. And then with our ambush at Valley Fest, I'm sure it just made things worse. Besides, her dad insulted our dojo."

"Fair point," Flynn conceded, selecting a brand of potato chips. "Hey, Tory, wanna come with us?" She shot a purposeful look at the new girl. "The more backup, the better."

No one could ignore how the girl's gaze lit up, the side of her mouth curving. "Guess I could suffer through a day at the beach."

"Yeah, dreadful. I know," Flynn puffed air from her lips as she swung open a freezer door to grab a soda.

She listened as Aisha complimented Tory's spiky bracelet, launching the blonde into a harrowing story involving a creepy guy and a powerful block. The Wilder could feel the smile creeping onto her warm face as she checked out.

Finally, a third badass girl at Cobra Kai.

"Okay, this is not the beach," Tory snickered as the three girls neared the villa balcony. "Where are the homeless dudes on rollerblades and the guys shoving shitty hip-hop demos in your face?"

Aisha snorted. "No, don't worry. They'll come after they pass out the hors d'oeuvres."

"Along with the sweaty skater boys filming on their GoPros," Flynn joked, leaning over the railing and surveying the area with a slight grimace.

Despite her parents' membership, she never came here. Hell, nobody in their family did. Just another example of her family being so financially comfortable, they could just throw away money.

It still rattled Flynn how different her past was from now.

Her eyes settled onto two figures lounging by the pool, her frown tightening. Sam and Robby spoke with easy smiles on their faces, the former peeling herself off her chair and walking away. Flynn couldn't help but see this as an opportunity.

"Hey, I'll catch up with y'all in a sec," she nodded at the two girls, feet dragging her to the staircase.

Robby had moved to the edge of the pool when she reached him, his legs swaying in the water. His green eyes deepened with disappointment when he noticed her. "Figures you'd come find me."

"Oh, so you knew I was here?" Her mouth stretched into a somewhat insincere smile as she joined him at the pool lining. "You're a little stalker."

The cool water lapping at her lower legs soothed the aching muscles beneath her skin. Truth be told, she had been pushing herself a lot with karate training. No one knew of the endless drills she did after hours, hungry for perfection in the sport.

Even if it was unattainable.

It was the same problem she'd had with skating. The obsession. Maybe Dakota was right. Maybe she was insane and had an unhealthy relationship with the sports she played. But it was something she'd embraced about herself.

"It was kinda hard to miss you up there on that balcony. Especially with Aisha up there too and Sam noticing. Think they're working out their problems right now. I assume you wanna do the same?"

The unease and twinge of disdain in his tone made her stomach clench. "C'mon, Robby. Can we please not do this? I'm sorry about Valley Fest, but it definitely was not my idea. Johnny only wanted to get back at Daniel for y'all's shady commercial."

She watched his face for a moment. "I don't know if you forgot, but for a while there we were becoming friends. I don't want some petty karate rivalry messing that up."

The brunet's expression fell, his chin drooping as he shook his head. "No, it's fine. I don't know why I was so mad at you anyway. I guess I just felt betrayed."

Flynn nodded, gazing out at the pool below them. "Yeah, I should've known how much training at Miyagi-Do would complicate things. I was just trying to please my parents for whatever reason. And I thought it could be useful knowledge."

"Honestly, I think I was just worried you were like...going back to Cobra Kai and telling them Miyagi-Do's secrets."

Flynn couldn't suppress the snort that shot out of her. "Like an undercover spy? Nah, man. I don't take this shit that seriously. I learned what I learned, but then I left when it became clear Miyagi-Do was returning as an official dojo. I'm a Cobra, even if I don't hate you guys like the rest of them."

To her surprise, Robby chuckled. "Well, that's good. Otherwise I'd have to wipe the floor with you right now."

Flynn didn't miss a beat. "Oh, please. I'd have your pretty ass falling into that pool before you could even get a hit on me. But it's sweet that you think you could try."

Robby only laughed, his head tilted up to the sky. It was somehow in this moment she remembered what she'd learned about him and Johnny. "So, uh...I kinda learned this week that Johnny's your dad."

She watched his shoulders tense, brow creasing into quiet stoicism. Definitely a sore subject. The Wilder girl managed a smile, prodding his shoulder with hers. "That must fucking suck, huh?"

His expression softened, a humorous light returning to his eyes. "Yeah, it's definitely not all rainbows and sunshine. And I'm not gonna lie, being in the middle of him and Daniel's whole rivalry thing has gotten pretty weird."

"This whole thing has gotten pretty weird," Flynn admitted, drawing her legs out of the water so she could gather her knees to her chest. Her gaze traveled back to the boy, coming to the sudden realization of how comfortable she was with him. She sucked in a deep breath before voicing her secret concern.

"I'm starting to really worry about this shit, you know? With every encounter our Senseis have, the tensions grow even higher. And when my friends found out I had trained at Miyagi-Do for a bit? Pissed. They ghosted me."

Something in Robby's face suggested he wasn't surprised by that piece of news. Flynn dismissed it. He was still a Miyagi-Do student, after all. Of course he would have some prejudices against them.

"And it doesn't help that Johnny's brought in this hardcore veteran war hero who was his old sensei. He's intense as fuck, and he treats everything like it's actual war. He's a bad influence. Even my friends have started talking in military slang, calling you guys 'the enemy' and stuff."

"Seriously?" The skin between Robby's eyebrows pinched. His lower lip quivered as he kept in a small laugh.

"I know. Trust me, I know. It's insane," she shook her head, watching the clouds as she hugged her knees. "I have a feeling all this karate shit is about to get very serious. More serious than it ever needs to be. Somebody's gonna get hurt, Robby."

"I know. I agree, actually. That's why Daniel's so focused on promoting Miyagi-Do. He sees Cobra Kai's starting to get out of control too. After all, your friend did fight dirty against me at the All Valley," he mumbled that last part.

Flynn felt a wave of shame wash over her. She had approved of Miguel's methods at first, as she recalled. "I know. But Johnny set him straight for that. It's Kreese that's really bothering me, the other guy. I can tell Johnny's too afraid to get rid of him, and the more he sinks his claws into Cobra Kai..." Flynn brushed her hair back with curled fingers, releasing a heavy sigh. "I don't know. I'm just worried. I feel like I'm the only person that's seeing how south this is all gonna go."

"You're not," Robby reassured her, green eyes meeting hers in a ray of sincerity. "Have you talked about this with anyone else?"

Flynn chuckled. "Nope. I just got back on everyone's good side. Going around bad-mouthing the badass interim sensei and saying everyone's 'taking it too seriously' would just piss them off again."

Robby stared at her with an inquisitive brow, listening. It dawned on her how refreshing it was to have a friend who wasn't a Cobra. Who wasn't so entangled in this growing drama. She would have to hold onto this friendship with Robby, as well as Nia from work, if she didn't want to go mad.

"Makes sense," Robby muttered. "I gotta ask though, if all this is bothering you, why haven't you left?"

Flynn didn't need to ponder much before arriving at her answer. "Because I love it. Training with my friends has been really fun, and everyday I look forward to improving. I quit skating for it. That says it all."

The sandy-haired boy eyed her in admiration. "Well, hopefully you're wrong about everything then. Hopefully things don't get any worse."

She shot him a wry smile. Flynn was hardly ever wrong. This time would probably be no different. "Maybe."

A small, peaceful bit of silence drifted between them. Flynn found herself wishing to stay, but karate and rivalries being on her mind nagged her to get to her feet. "Well, I better go find Aisha. Can't be spotted with 'the enemy', right?"

"Okay, sure," he laughed a little.

"You know that was a joke," she rolled her eyes humorously. "Now stop laughing at me before I actually throw you in that pool. See ya."

"Later," Robby called after her, watching her swish away. He couldn't help but feel his own worry rising inside him.

What if she was right? What if there was a war on its way?