Despite the band earning enough for their rent and equipment, the trio decided to get part time jobs for a bit extra. Cami worked as a waitress at this sushi place in Encino, while Freddie worked at the cinema and Theo worked at a local sports shop.

Theo sighed as his fingers drummed the counter. He was three hours and fifty-five minutes into his shift, and in five minutes he'd be free to run to the Dojo for his first Karate class with Johnny and Miguel. Today had been a slow day, with very minimal customers, which allowed Theo to stay on his phone for the most part.

When he saw Cami walk into the shop with the van keys in hand, a smirk raised to his lips as Cami picked up an oversized Inter Miami soccer shirt and walked to the counter.

"Would that be all, ma'am?" Theo asked in a fake sweet voice, holding mischief in his eyes.

"Yes, thank you," Cami smiled sweetly.

"That'll be twenty dollars."

"But I'm practically your little sister!" said Cami in shock.

"Forty dollars," Theo shrugged, causing Cami to scoff and pull forty dollars out of her purse, putting twenty on the counter and handing twenty to Theo, who smiled charmingly and leaned across the counter to kiss his best friend on the cheek.

"Love you," Theo smiled, putting the twenty in the register. Thankfully, his shift finished a minute later and Theo rushed out alongside his best friend. "So, how'd you manage to steal the van?"

"Freddie was in the gym so I snuck in the locker room and took them, and his clothes," Cami shrugged, handing Theo a plastic bag with his epipen, Nike shorts, trainers and a tank-top in. "Thought I might as well pick you up and take you to your Judo class."

"It's karate," Theo rolled his eyes, causing Cami to scoff and shrug her shoulders.

"Whatever," Cami said, pulling the door to the burgundy transit van open. When they pulled up to the dojo at the strip mall, Theo kissed Cami on the cheek and entered the dojo, seeing Miguel sat down on his phone by the office and Johnny sat in the office going through papers.

"Just getting changed!" He called out, stepping over Miguel and walking into the grim looking bathroom. Once he was changed, he lined up on the mat next to Miguel in silence, looking straight forward as Johnny surveyed them.

"So, are we going to get the karate pyjamas too?" Miguel asked, breaking the silence. Theo rolled his eyes, but didn't dare speak or move a muscle. He knew of the respect and discipline that came with not only karate, but with Cobra Kai too. His mom made sure of that.

"Quiet!" Johnny yelled, causing Miguel to flinch.

"OK," Miguel said quietly.

"The student only speaks when spoken to," said Johnny, looking from Miguel to Theo. He had to admit he was impressed with him. Maybe Mr. Miyagi taught him something other than Miyagi-Do, but then he remembered who his mom was and he smirked. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sensei!" Theo said firmly.

"Uh, yes," said Miguel, and when Johnny and Theo looked at him with dumbstruck eyes. "Uh, yes sir?"

"Jesus Christ," Theo mumbled, causing Johnny to smirk slightly.

"You'll always address me as "Sensei" is that understood?" Johnny asked him.

"Oh. Yes, Sensei."

"These aren't pyjamas. This is a gi, and you'll get one once you've earned it," said Johnny, turning to Theo. "LaRusso, you've already impressed me with that fight the other night and the respect and discipline you've already shown me. Your gi is on my desk, go get changed," Johnny jabbed his finger at his office.

"Thank you, Sensei!" He said excitedly, taking Johnny off guard when he fist bumped him excitedly before jogging off the mat. As he was getting changed, he heard Johnny throw Miguel to mat and grimaced at the sound Miguel's body made with the mat.

"Lesson one, strike first," Johnny told Miguel as the boy continued to lay on the floor in pain. "Never wait for the enemy to attack."

"You could have gave me, like a warning," Miguel groaned, slowly rising to his feet.

"Quiet!" Johnny yelled. "We do not train to be merciful here!" Johnny said firmly as Theo walked out of the office, adjusting his white belt. He joined them on the mat, lining up alongside Miguel, his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders.

"They were too long, Sensei," said Theo when Johnny looked at him. Johnny nodded, beginning to circle them, just as Miguel took a hit of his inhaler.

"Mercy is for the weak," he advised them. "Here, on the street, in competition, a man confronts you, he is the enemy," he told them, stopping in front of them and looking directly at Miguel. "And an enemy deserves no mercy. What is the problem Mr. Diaz?"

"There's no problem, Sensei. You... you punched me, and I have asthma, so..." said Miguel, not fighting against it as Johnny took his inhaler and threw it against the wall, the two teenagers watching it shatter.

"Not anymore," said Johnny, causing Theo to furrow his eyebrows. "We do not allow weakness in the dojo. So you can leave your asthma and your peanut allergies and all that other made-up bullshit outside. Understood?" Johnny asked, looking directly at Theo when he talked about peanut allergies.

"Yes, Sensei," said Theo begrudgingly, knowing better than to argue with him, and the fact he didn't want to have his epipen broken just in case he actually needed it.

"Yes, but those are real medical problems. I was..." said Miguel, trying to go defend both himself and Theo, but at Johnny's look and Theo knocking him harshly in the ribs. "Yes, Sensei, understood."

"Cobra Kai isn't just about karate, it's about a way of life," said Johnny, pointing behind him at the words he painted on the wall behind him. "Take that first lesson. Striking first is the initial step towards victory. Like Theo when he was defending you the other day," said Johnny, causing Theo to beam, before it fell as Johnny went off topic. "Or like when you're at a party, and you see a hot babe."

"Yeah," said Miguel and Theo.

"You don't wait for another guy to talk to her first, do you?" Johnny asked them.

"You've seen the girls I've brought home, right?" Asked Theo, chuckling as Johnny nodded.

"Yeah, but your little band is that popular that you're banging groupies now," Johnny smirked.

"I mean, I've never been to a party, so..." said Miguel, causing Johnny to scoff.

"Big surprise. All right, look," Johnny turned towards Theo. "For extra credit, take Diaz to one of your gigs and try to get him laid," said Johnny, causing Theo to nod and give him a thumbs up. "Striking first isn't about being aggressive, all right? If you're not being aggressive, you're being a pussy, and you don't want be a pussy. You wanna have balls."

"Don't you think you're doing a lot of genderizing?" Miguel asked, causing Theo's eyes to widen as he knocked him in the ribs.

"Dude, shut the fuck up," Theo whispered to him harshly.

"Oh, sorry," said Miguel, waving Theo off. "Don't you think you're doing a lot of genderizing, Sensei?"

"No? What the hell are you talking about?" Asked Johnny, looking at Theo. "LaRusso? What's he talking about?"

"No clue, Sensei," Theo mumbled, playing with the end of his white belt.

"Oh, uh, my guidance counsellor says-"

"Why can't the ground just eat me whole?" Theo mumbled almost pleadingly as he facepalmed, growing tired of Miguel's ramblings and Johnny getting pissed off.

"That certain words perpetuate the sexist world view that can trigger-" said Miguel, getting cut off by Johnny once again.

"Quiet!" Johnny yelled, causing Theo to rub his ears. "From now on, you won't listen to your counsellor, you're going to listen to me and you're going to listen to LaRusso when he tells you to shut up? Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sensei," Miguel mumbled.

"Now stop yapping like a little girl and both of you give me fifty push-ups on your knuckles," said Johnny, and Theo didn't say anything as he quickly got down and did them. By the time he had done eight, he looked over at Miguel who had only just struggled to do his first one. "All right, just do some crunches. Don't you have gym class or something?" Johnny asked as Theo continued on at a fast place, beginning to struggle as he got to thirty three.

At that moment, someone walked through the doors, and Thei stood up, standing next to Johnny as the man began to talk.

"Mr. Lawrence?" He asked.

"Oh, it's Sensei," said Miguel.

"Miguel, shut up," said Theo, causing the boy to nod and go back to his exercises.

"What brings you in?" Asked Johnny, approaching the guy and tapping his stomach. "Looking to lose that gut and kick some ass?"

"No, I'm from the city health department."

"Oh, shit," mumbled Theo, going to help Miguel with his sit-ups.

"This is a list of requirements needed to open up an exercise studio," he said, opening his bag and handing a document to Johnny.

"This isn't an exercise studio, this a karate dojo," said Johnny, both him and Theo watching the guy walk around and inspect the place.

"Yeah, same deal," the man shrugged. "Wow, this place needs a lot of work," he said, looking up at a damaged live wire. "You're not open for business, are you? You two, are you guys customers here?"

"Nope, I'm just his neighbour," said Theo, thinking quickly on the spot as he leaned his elbow on Johnny's shoulder, making sure to hide the Cobra Kai logo on the back of his gi. "I'm just helping him get set up, y'know?"

"Right, and what about you?" The man asked Miguel, turning towards the boy doing sit-ups.

"Oh no, he's just an illegal we picked up this morning, he's helping the two of us set up," said Johnny, causing Theo to roll his eyes and stifle his giggle with the back of his hand as Miguel glared at the back of Johnny's head.

"I don't need to hear about all that," said the man, waving Johnny off, which caused Theo to furrow his eyebrows. "My job is just to make sure this place is up to code. You don't want a scabies outbreak like that hot yoga place over on Tujunga."

"Wait, wait. So, I have to do all this crap before I even open?" Johnny asked, his eyes running over the list before passing it off to Theo.

"No, you need to do all that to get the certificate that's required to het the insurance you need to open," the man explained. "But you knew that when you signed your lease, right?"

"Right, yeah," Johnny said, looking away as the man began walking towards the door.

"I'll drop in next week for another inspection," the man told them, causing Johnny to nod as he pointed at the Cobra Kai logo. "Huh, cool rattlesnake."

"Dude, are you dumb?" Theo asked him, causing the man to look at him confused until Theo pointed at the first word.

"Oh, right. Duh," said the man, slapping his forehead. "I'm such an idiot. Cobra "Kay."

"Asshole," Theo muttered.

—————

Theo didn't stay around to help Johnny and Miguel with the dojo. Using the excuse that Cami and Freddie needed help with something, Theo got changed out of his gi and back into his tank top and shorts and sprinted out of the front doors to the van parked not to far away.

"Cami!" Theo cheered when he got into the Van. "I missed you."

"You saw me literally two hours ago,," Cami rolled her eyes, laughing as she quickly pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, heading in the direction of the rich side of town.

"Doesn't mean I can't miss my best friend," Theo pouted, leaning across the console and planting a sloppy kiss to Cami's cheek. "Why do you hate me?" He continued to pout, turning his head to face away from his best friend. When they stopped at a red light, Cami grabbed Theo's jaw and forced him to look at her. Theo smiled, knowing he'd got her.

"You know I'd never be able to hate you," said Cami seriously, causing Theo to chuckle as the car behind them honked their horn, making Cami realise the light had turned green. "Besides, I'm the one dragging you to this party."

"Real classy, Cami," Theo rolled her eyes, thankful that the car ride was nearly over. "You're fucking shitting me!" Theo cursed when he saw the house they pulled up to. His dad's house. "You fucking lying bitch!"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic and have a drink!" Cami rolled her eyes, slapping her best friend around the back of the head. Theo glared at her he unbuckled his seatbelt and entered the LaRusso household with Cami following, both following the sound of loud music coming from the backyard.

"That's it, I'm going," said Theo when he saw his sister, Sam, with her friends Yasmin, Kyler, Brucks and their two other friends. He went to walk back inside but Cami stuck her hand out and shoved Theo back outside and into an oncoming Moon, who Theo managed to catch Moon before she fell.

"Hi," said Moon, her face red with embarrassment as she got back to her feet, her eyes cast down to her feet as she nervously played with her fingers.

"Hello to you too, Moon," said Theo, grinning at how shy the normally confident girl got. Theo and Moon, despite her friendship with his sister, had always been friends, who also had some unspoken feelings for each other. "Can I get you a drink or anything?"

"Uh, no, I'm fine, thank you," Moon smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. "I-I'll just go see if Sam is alright, she looks... pale! Yeah, she looks pale," Moon nodded vigorously before practically sprinting away from Theo. The eldest LaRusso chuckled. He knew Moon liked him, that girl couldn't be discreet even if she tried, but Theo never acted on it because Moon was way too good for a guy like him.

Retaking her seat beside Yasmin at the pool, Sam looked just across from her where Theo was sat with Cami, laughing loudly at something the latter had said. Sam was too stunned to realise Yasmin was calling her name until the blonde snapped her fingers in front of her face. The last thing she knew, Theo hated her.

"Sorry, what?" Sam shook her head, facing Yasmin with a fake smile. She hated the fact that she had ditched her best friend, Aisha, for Yasmin and her popular friends, but she did, and Sam had to deal with the fact that Aisha probably hated her.

"We're you even listening to me? Ugh, it's fine," Yasmin groaned, a smirk rising to her lips as she pointed at Kyler. "Kyler's been eye-banging you all day," Sam looked across her pool at the boy who had a nasty black eye and then back to Theo who had similar bruise around his jaw. Internally grimacing, Sam looked back at Kyler and shot him a fake smile and a giggle.

"So, you're doing karate again?" Moon asked Theo when she grew some confidence and sat down next to him, watching the LaRusso boy swish his feet in the water. "That's really cool. Is it helping with the anger?" Moon asked, always the trusted mom of their friendship group.

"The one boy, Miguel, he's nice enough but doesn't know when to shut up," said Theo, chuckling with his friends again as he described his new friend.

"Hey, Kai, do your flip again, I wanna get it for my channel!" Moon called out and stood up from besides Theo, grabbing her phone and aiming it at Kai Tanaka. The boy whooped, jumping off the trampoline and flipped midair, causing Theo to cheer with the rest of them. At that precise moment, Daniel walked into his backyard, followed by Amanda, causing Theo to curse and try to hide behind Cami and Moon, not working due to being taller than them.

"All right, everybody get out of here right now," said Daniel turning off the music, before his eyes landed on Theo. "Except for you."

"Fuck," said Theo, not attempting to lower his voice as he followed Amanda inside the house, the LaRusso woman smirking at him slightly as she sat down at the LaRusso's dining table. Theo stayed where he was, fiddling with his fingers as he listened to Daniel's and Amanda's conversation. The tension only grew when Daniel called out his name.

"Yes?" He asked sarcastically.

"Did you join Cobra Kai with Johnny Lawrence as your Sensei?" Daniel asked, and Theo felt the temper rise within him.

"And why do you care if I did?" Theo snarked, ignoring the warning eyes Amanda sent his way.

"Because Johnny is a cheater and a bully!" Daniel raised his voice, causing Amanda to try and calm them both down before it escalated even further.

"Johnny is a friend and the closest thing I've had to a father since you decided to be a deadbeat!" Theo yelled back, clearly wounding Daniel's pride.

"You're just like your mother! Your attitude will be the thing that ruins you!" Daniel yelled at him.

"Oh, fuck you!" Theo yelled back, bumping shoulders with his father as he stormed out, seeing Cami waiting in the van.

—————

Now it was two days later, and Theo returned to school with Cami, Freddie and Moon at his side. His periods before lunch were easy. Double AP Calculus followed by Chemistry and English. However, he couldn't wait for lunch. His stomach rumbled the whole way through third and fourth period, and he felt like he was about to waste away when he finally sat down at her lunch table, getting dragged to a table that held Freddie, Cami, Sam, Yasmin and Moon.

"Since when did we sit with groupies?" Theo asked, glaring at Sam who was looking down at her tray and Yasmin who was busy making out with Freddie.

"Be nice!" Moon scolded him in a whisper.

"Or what?" Theo whispered back, inching his face closer to hers. Moon blushed a dark shade of red and leaned back in her chair.

"I swear, the Chemistry teacher is such a pervert," Cami groaned, taking a bite out of her sandwich as she sat between Yasmin and Sam. Theo was sat right between Moon and Sam, his nerves suddenly shooting through the roof when his and Moon's knees brushed against each others, but neither of them made a move to move them. He just sent her a smile continued on with his food as Moon almost choked on an apple.

"Oh my god, you guys. You see that guy over there?" Asked Yasmin when she finished making out with Freddie, not so discreetly pointing at Eli Moskowitz, who Theo sat next to English. The boy had a scar on his lip, which in Theo's opinion, actually made him look rather cool. "The guy who looks like he went down on a lawn mower? He's literally wearing the ugliest sweater I've ever seen."

"That is so wrong," said Sam awkwardly. Theo, sensing Moon's discomfort with the bullying, made the bold move and discreetly grabbed Moon's hand under the table, giving her a reassuring squeeze. When Moon squeezed his hand back, Theo sighed through his nose in relief, thankful that Moon didn't think he was weird for holding her hand randomly out of the blue.

"Speaking of wrong, check put Fug-lisha," said Yasmin, causing Theo to roll her eyes, about to snap back at Yasmin like he usually would, but Moon squeezing his hand cut him off from doing so.

"What's he doing now?" Theo muttered to himself, watching as Miguel began to walk towards their table from where he sat with Eli and Eli's friend, Demetri. Moon looked at him in confusion, briefly catching what he said, but before she could ask what it was, Kyler appeared and sat down on Sam's left, wrapping his arm around her shoulders

"And I don't need to see that," Theo grimaced, standing up abruptly, claiming he needed to see his English teacher about something as he quickly left. Though, Theo didn't go to see his English teacher, instead he made it to the abandoned boys toilets on the other side of the school and lit up the freshly rolled blunt, sighing in content.

"Theo?" A voice called out, and the boy in question jumped a mile when he saw Moon standing in front of him. "You're smoking again?"

"I never actually gave up," Theo smiled bitterly, offering the blunt to Moon who took it gratefully and took a drag.

"What happened out there?" Moon asked, handing the blunt back to him.

"I don't like Kyler or Sam, simple," Theo shrugged.

"Why?" Moon rolled her eyes, slowly approached Theo, who had two drags left of his blunt. The smell of weed hit Moon hard, and her nose crinkled as Theo chuckled, stomping on the blunt and popping two chewing gum in his mouth while spraying his deodorant over his clothes to disguise the smell. "You're jealous," Moon sung, and wether it was because Theo was high or because he simply didn't care anymore, his eyes narrowed on the girl.

"Jealous of my rich bitch of a sister, please," Theo shook his head with a laugh.

"I know you're also jealous of the fact Kai Tanaka asked me to the dance," Moon smirked, testing him.

"I don't like you like that."

"So if I kissed you now, you wouldn't feel a thing?" Moon asked, her eyebrow raised. She had no idea where this confidence came from but she liked it.. Theo's eyes widened, and without him knowing he'd done it, he nodded his head, causing Moon to smirk. "Can I test my theory then?" Moon asked him, pressing herself against Theo, who was trapped between Moon and the sink. Theo was a few inches taller than Moon, causing her to look up at him with her big, innocent brown eyes. Theo smiled shyly, nodding his head.

Their lips connected and Theo smirked as Moon's knees buckled slightly at the contact. Theo supported her weight by placing his hands on her hips. They had both watched each other hookup with random people at parties before, but never had they reacted the way they had right now. Theo's left hand rested on Moon's cheek, his right hand idly stroking her hip as their lips moved in sync, their tongues dancing together.

"I think I was right, don't you?" Moon smiled when she pulled away. Afraid his voice was going to betray him, Theo nodded, his lips trembling as his hands stayed firmly planted on Moon's waist. "Are you going to talk to me?" Theo shook her head, causing Moon to laugh as Theo kissed her once more, both of them spending the whole of lunch time in that abandoned toilet.

—————

Theo showed up for training that night in a second hand red Jaguar E-Type gifted to him as an "apology" from Daniel. Turns out he didn't really want to be there for him, so he treated him to a "new" car as a present, all expenses paid for thanks to Daniel LaRusso.

"Nice ride, LaRusso," said Johnny, who had just been unlocking the front doors when he pulled up with the roof down.

"It was a gift," he shrugged, pulling the roof back up. He was already dressed in his gi, though his belt had been left in his bag for the time being. He followed Johnny into the dojo, whistling lowly at how good the place looked already. "Fancy a spar, old man?" Theo asked, smirking as Johnny nodded, allowing Theo to tie his belt around his waist.

"Tournament style, first to three points wins," said Johnny, watching Theo set up his phone and speaker, "Kick You When You're Down" by AC/DC beginning to play.

"What do I win?" Theo asked cockily as they bowed to one another, getting in fighting positions.

"A trip to ER if you're not careful," said Johnny, striking first with a combination of punches which Theo easily blocked, slipping underneath his arm and kicking him off the mat.

"Point, me," Theo smirked, not even breaking a sweat as he looked up at Johnny, who had already began to pant as Miguel walked in, surveying the two of them silently, not disturbing them.

Punches, kicks and blocks were exchanged back and forth, with Miguel not knowing who to cheer for as it ended up two-two. Theo had ditched the top half of his gi, leaving him in shirt;DDS and the bottom half of his gi as he panted, blood dripping down from a small cut on his eyebrow.

"Still think I'm an old man?" Johnny panted, in no better state than Theo as they circled each other. Theo nodded, breathing deeply through his nose, getting in a fighting stance once more. Just as Johnny charged at him, he aimed a Hiza Geri kick right at Johnny's nose, almost connecting until Johnny grabbed his leg and tripped him, landing on top of him and punching Theo in the mouth, causing him to win.

"Fuck off," Theo grumbled as both Johnny and Miguel clapped for him. He spat into a nearby bucket, thankful that none of his teeth had been knocked out as he put the top half of his gi back on, joining Johnny and Miguel by a training dummy.

"Can't strike first if you don't know how to strike," Johnny instructed them both, mainly Miguel, as he stood in front of the dummy. "The cobra strike is consisted of two parts: the lunge, which requires you to use the whole body," he lunged in, stopping just short of the dummy. "Then the bite, which is everything that happens after you make contact," he punched the dummy lightly. "All right? You don't stop here where the knuckles hit the bone, you punch through the bone like the guy you really wanna hit is standing behind this asshole."

Theo smirked, imagining Kyler and Brucks in that dummy's place.

"All right? Hyah!" Johnny struck the dummy at full speed, looking back at Theo and Miguel. "All right? Strike here, you bloody his nose. Strike here, you break his teeth. Strike here, you could severely damage his trachea," Johnny instructed, punching each demonstrated place. "Obviously, that's only for extreme situations. All right, line up," he motioned Miguel forward as his phone began to ring.

Theo didn't listen in on his conversation except for the part where he heard it's about his son. Instead, he continued to help Miguel, taking over the punches. He struck the dummy so hard and so fast that the next time he hit the dummy, his knuckles on his left hand split. Cursing, he motioned for Miguel to go on so he could tend to his knuckles and his still bleeding eyebrow.

When he walked back out, he smirked when he saw Miguel finally punching it right. Maybe he'd be good Cobra Kai material after all.