"Listen up. Gather around." Terry spoke up, the Cobra Kai's crowding together to listen to their sensei. "We just had a little powwow with the senseis at Miyagi-Do. From here on out, there'll be no more fighting until the tournament."

"So our enemies get to humiliate us, and we have to back down and take it?" Tory asked in disbelief from the front row.

"Of course not. We should always show our enemies no mercy." Kreese spoke up from behind Silvers.

"But there's a time to fight." Terry interfered. "No need to waste a punch if it's not gonna score a point."

Alexa had to disagree.

"So if your enemies do something to mess with you or laugh in your face, good!" Terry looked down the line of students. "Take all that anger and store it. Because you're gonna need it when the time comes. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sensei." they all said back on sync.

Alexa watched Tory and Robby share a look.

"Second sensei's working us hard today." Kyler spoke when they grouped off, taking drinks from their water and catching their breath. Alexa passed hers to Robby. "Guys going beast mode! Sucks we can't give a beat down before the tournament."

Alexa leaned on one of the dummies, looking at her usual group of friends. Robby cut in. "Just because we can't fight doesn't mean we can't get payback. Let's not forgot that Alexa still hasn't gotten her revenge for her nose."

She leaned off the dummy with a questionable look. "What are you hinting at?"

Robby gave her a grin in return.

Alexa didn't want to do it.

She knew the entire time she didn't, but she went along with it, apart of her hoped it would start to bubble up inside of her when she saw him laid on the table, alone. But, it didn't, it just made her feel so much worse.

"Where'd you think you're going?" Kyler stopped Hawk from getting away, the purple haired boy pushing the table forward as it hit him in the stomach. Two of the others boys had his arms in no time, giving Kyler time to wrap a white cloth around Hawks neck and yank him backwards. "Aye, grab his hands."

Tory hurried to latch onto the right one. Alexa knew she was needed to grab the left, but was frozen were she was the entire time. Kyler looked up. "Grab him, Lex!"

But he looked so scared, and he was looking right at her.

Robby turned back to look at her, and Alexa was staring at him like a deer in headlights. She was suppose to like this, her broken nose sure would have. But she didn't, she didn't like the feeling in her stomach, she didn't like the look in his eyes. Mainly, because when they locked, she thought about the good memories they had together, and all the times she really thought they'd be friends for life.

"I'll do it." Tory bumped Alexa rather hard, grabbing both of Hawks wrist tightly. Robby watched Alexa hurry out of the tattoo shop, running actually, leaving them alone in here.

Deena wasn't home, but Ty was. He saw his sister bust into the apartment, he saw she'd been crying and running for her room. "Yo, Alexa! What's wrong?"

He followed her down the hall, trying to open the door, but she had it locked. Ty knocked. "Hey, did someone hurt you?"

"No." Alexa cried, she hated that she was crying, leaning against the door.

"Then what's the matter?" Ty called through the wood. Alexa hit her head three times on the door as she tried to stop crying, tried to tell herself how stupid and pathetic it was to cry over past memories that didn't mean shit anymore. "Alexa!"

"Hawk was my friend!" she yelled, and he was lost, but he listened. Her throat caught between crying and talking at the same time. "He was my friend and he looked so scared! He looked so scared, Ty! And I couldn't do it, I just sat there!"

"Alexa." he spoke from the other side as she leaned on her knees to cry. "Open the door."

"I miss my old life." her voice was a whisper, and Ty didn't hear it, but she did, and she knew it was the realest thing she had ever said.

"Dude, what the hell?" Tory asked as she found Alexa the next day at practice. Robby didn't come to the apartment last night. Alexa knew this was coming, but she really just didn't want to deal with it. "You just take off like that?"

"I felt sick. I think it's probably just, like, taking vitamins without eating before." Alexa made the excuses, because this happened once before and she was hoping to get away with it.

"Oh, bullshit." Tory shot back at her, and it took Alexa off guard because they rarely argued, and it was never with as much venom as Tory currently had. "We did that for you and you pussy out on us? Do you realize how shallow that is?"

"Sorry." Alexa tossed her hands up in disbelief. "Can you just drop it? I don't know what you want me to do."

"Not be so weak and sentimental. You really think we're gonna survive the All Valley if you decide you wanna cry every time one of your friends gets hurt?" Tory argued, and it had caught Robbys attention as he walked from the office.

"They aren't my friends." Alexa shot back with a glare. "Stop talking out your ass. I've been in Cobra Kai longer then you have, i'm well aware how the All Valleys gonna work."

"Then start acting like it." Tory glared her way with a point. "You're not giving 200% and it shows. You're not gonna screw up the All Valley with your emotional bullshit."

"I said okay!" Alexa shoved her harshly suddenly. "Stop talking to me like that!"

"Stop making me talk to you like that!" Tory yelled back. Alexa turned on her heels again, grabbing her shoes and bed bag. "Alexa! You're leaving again?"

"Just fucking leave me alone!" the Castillo girl yelled her way, kicking the door open as she left. Robby followed after her quickly, running behind her, calling her name. "I need to be alone, Robby."

"Hey, just stop." he grabbed her arm to turn her around, scanning her face. "Talk to me, just take a breath."

"I'm breathing fine. I don't need you to tell me how to breath." she shot back, because anything he'd say, she'd argue with.

"Okay." Robby said back, and she really couldn't find anything to yell about this time. "Did you not want me to do that yesterday?"

Alexa looked away. "I don't know."

"It clearly bothered you." he spoke gently to her, because even though they all thought the same, Robby had a better approach at Alexa then Tory would ever.

Alexa rolled her eyes. "He deserved it, whatever, I don't care. But...would you have done that to Sam?"

"Sam?" Robby looked oddly.

"She was your friend, you guys were close." Alexa gave a serious look his way. "If I wanted to scare her like that, would you help me?"

Robby blinked. "I get what you're saying."

"Everything just use to be so different." Alexa swallowed as she shook her head, meeting his eye. "Can I tell you something if you swear not to tell anyone else?"

"Yeah." Robby nodded quickly.

Alexa looked around. "Not here."

"The Canyon?" Robby asked confused as that was the place Alexa brought him to. "What are we doing here?"

Alexa pointed down the slope. "Last year, right before the All Valley, I was here. Hawk and I were being stupid, we'd been drinking, and Demetri kept messing up the counts, but we had this stupid competition for our friends. I won."

Robby looked over at her as they stood above the hill. "Sounds like a nice memory."

"Your dad scared Demetri pretty bad, so he didn't go back to Cobra Kai after the first day." Alexa turned to Robby, fully, and the wind blew her hair. Robby faced her as well. "And that was okay, I was all, 'See you on the flip side.' But, I wanted to stay. I just wanted to know what it was like a little longer. I wasn't gonna go alone, and Demetri made it clear he wasn't gonna come with me. But, E-Hawk said he'd go one more day, despite being picked on the day before, he'd still go just because I wanted to."

Robby blinked as he looked down at her sad eyes, and it was so odd seeing her show sadness for a change. Alexa crossed her arms as she laughed slightly. "When we did that yesterday, that's immediately what I thought of."

"Alexa, i'm sorry." Robby looked down at her seriously. "If you told me, I wouldn't-"

"It's not your fault." she stopped him, she kept her eyes away. "I just- I wanted you to understand. And, I know this stupid life I use to have means i'm not giving 200%, and i'm sorry for that. But, I just wanted someone to know. And I don't really trust anyone else."

Tears continued to fall, Robby cupped her face and whipped her tears with his thumb. "You don't have to explain it to me, I get it. But, at the All Valley-"

"I'll be ready." she cut him off with a serious look in her sad eyes.

Robby nodded his head. "You can say whatever you what, and i'll pretend I didn't hear it."

"Yeah?" Alexa asked, and Robby nodded. Alexas lip trembled as she blinked her tears onto his thumbs. "I really miss everyone else."

Robby nodded, because apart of him understood. He pulled Alexa into his arms, letting her lay her head in his neck and find the comfort she needed, finding the good in the evil, finding the medicine for the pain.

•

kylie speaks

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