Andrew didn't think that there was anything wrong with him going up on stage during ValleyFest to help Hawk kick a board in half, but the drive home told him otherwise.

The entire car ride home, Daniel yelled at Andrew, lecturing him about how horrible of place Cobra Kai is and how their students were even worse.

Andrew was absolutely mortified. He normally hated getting yelled at, but getting yelled at in a car with your cousins and some kid you hardly knew? Andrew wished nothing more than getting back to the house so he could curl into a ball and never move.

Sadly, Andrew did have to move because at 6 in the morning, he was woken up by his Uncle Daniel saying he found the perfect punishment for hanging out and befriending the Cobra Kai's. Andrew expected deep cleaning the entire house or forcing Anthony to get off of his video games for once.

Andrew didn't expect waxing four cars for the past three hours at some random house he had never seen before.

Daniel sat across from him, lounging in a lawn chair as he browsed through some magazine he had taken from their coffee table back at the house. He had been ignoring Andrew's complaining and obnoxious groans for the last hour, but he finally raised his eyes away from the pages in his hands and to Andrew, who was red from the sun beaming down on him.

He pressed his hands against the car he just waxed and wiped the sweat dripping down his forehead with his arm.

"You do know it's summer, right?" Andrew asked, his voice tired and out of breath. He turned to face Daniel and had to squint when the still-rising sun was right behind the man. "And not just like regular summer like... SoCal summer. It's 94 degrees and it's only 9 in the morning. Which means it's only gonna get hotter."

Daniel rolled his eyes, looking back down at his magazine. "You'll be fine." He grumbled, honestly pretty mad at Andrew for becoming friends with such ruthless kids. But in Andrew's defense, it wasn't like Daniel gave him any warning not to hang out with the Cobras.

Andrew scoffed at how harsh Daniel was acting. He pushed himself off the car he was leaning on and pointed at the man, still squinting and hardly able to see him still because of the sun. "I'm grounded not on the death penalty. This is like... a cruel and unusual punishment." Andrew said, waving his hands around for emphasis.

Then, Andrew squinted and walked away from the car and toward Daniel. "Are you even allowed to ground me? You're not my dad."

Daniel closed the magazine, figuring talking to Andrew would probably be better than icing him out. He rolled his eyes as he looked up to face his nephew.

"You're in my care for the summer, therefore, I can ground you." Daniel said, his voice condescending as if reassuring Andrew than countering him.

Andrew rolled his eyes and waved his hand around to get back on track. "Okay, anyway... You're grounding me because I'm friends with kids who are in your nemesis' dojo? It's a little dramatic, don't you think?" Andrew asked.

Noticing the way Daniel's face hardened, Andrew cleared his throat awkwardly, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

Daniel noticed how uncomfortable Andrew got and sighed, getting off of the lounge chair he was laying back on. He walked toward Andrew, shaking his head. "It's not because Johnny is their sensei. It's because Cobra Kai as a whole is bad news." Daniel tried to explain.

Andrew squinted, his lips pursing as he point at Daniel. "Have you talked to any of them that aren't Miguel and Aisha?" Andrew asked and Daniel's mouth opened and closed to try and answer.

He blinked, not expecting Andrew's question. "Well... No, but–" Daniel's words stopped in his throat when Andrew's phone started to ring in the boys pocket.

Andrew pulled his phone out of his pocket and he smiled at his dad's contact name staring back at him. He looked up at Daniel, and pointed down at his phone. "That is my dad. I have to take this." He said quickly, answering the phone and walking away, not noticing Daniel ready to yell at him to come back.

"Hey, dad!" Andrew said, walking out to the street.

"Hey, Andy. How's it going out there?" Andrew's dad, Steven, said and Andrew immediately smiled at the sound of his dad's voice. He forgot how much he missed his dad and it's only been a few weeks.

"Pretty good. I've made a couple friends out here." Andrew said, smiling bashfully at his own words. His head dropped when he heard his dad chuckle. "Really? That's amazing!"

Andrew smiled more, nodding his head and rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I can tell you all about them later, but it's kinda a long story. How's back home? And Roscoe?" Andrew asked excitedly. Since being in LA, Andrew's dad has been sending him daily photos of his pitbull, Roscoe.

"Roscoe's good! Definitely missing you—he's been sleeping in your room. But you know he's not the only person missing you, right?" Steven hummed sarcastically and Andrew chuckled, rolling his eyes.  "I know. I miss you guys too."

Steven chuckled. "Well, that's good. Because I called you to let you know I'm heading down to LA next week." Steven said and Andrew's eyes widened.

The boy spun around as if there was someone with him to celebrate to, but his smile was huge. "Wait, really?" Andrew asked like an excited kid on Christmas and Steven smiled, picturing how excited his son probably was. "Yeah, I've got a meeting out there. I'm gonna book a hotel so I don't bother Amanda and Daniel, but I want to see you." Steven explained.

Andrew squinted, scoffing at his dad's words. "What? Dad, you don't have to get a hotel. I'm sure they won't mind." Andrew said, trying to convince his dad but hearing the man groan, Andrew knew his dad was shaking his head.

And he was. Stevens tired groan echoed through the phone as he rubbed his eye. "I don't think Amanda wants her cousins ex-husband to stay with her. It's alright. Really." Steven sarcastically chuckled out and Andrew frowned, but he understood. Andrew sighed, pushing his free hand into his pockets.

"If you say so... I can't wait to see you though." Andrew said and Steven smiled.

"You too, bud. I'll let you go though. Daniel told me how you're grounded." Steven muttered and Andrew's jaw dropped, his face scrunching. "What?! He told you?! It's barely been twelve hours!" Andrew yelled and Steven laughed.

"He did, but when he explained it to me, I thought it was silly." Steven reassured and Andrew calmed a bit.

"Johnny Lawrence was an asshole in high school, but that doesn't mean you can't be friends with the guys students." Steven continued and Andrew let out a small breath, bringing his hand up again to rub his neck nervously.

"Good because almost all of those new friends I told you about are in that dojo." Andrew nervously laughed out and when he heard his dad let out a loud laugh, Andrew smiled.

"Oh, then I bet your Uncle Daniel is losing it." Steven laughed out and even though his dad couldn't see him, Andrew nodded.

"I've been waxing cars since 6:30." Andrew grumbled, looking back into the yard of the unfamiliar home and saw Daniel also on the phone.

His dad laughed again. "Well, then I'll let you continue. You're probably gonna be doing that all day." Steven hummed and Andrew's eyes widened. "What? Dad—"

"I've gotta go! I love you!" Steven yelled before he hung up.

When his dad hung up, Andrew slowly pulled his phone away from his ear in shock. He'd have to do this all day?

Suddenly, Andrew's phone raise again. He chuckled, smirking to himself. "Wow. I'm very popular today." Andrew muttered as he looked down at his phone to see who was calling him. This time, it was Hawk.

Andrew barely had time to answer and bring the phone up to his ear before Hawk started to speak.

"Dude, I've got karate practice in 30. Aisha told me you were thinking about joining. Want me to come pick you up?" Hawk asked, talking the fastest Andrew's ever heard him speak. Andrew winced to himself, shaking his head.

"I can't. I'm grounded." Andrew said and Hawk almost immediately scoffed.

"How the hell are you grounded? Your parents are all the way out in Idaho!"

"Ohio." Andrew corrected and Hawk rolled his eyes. "Yeah, same thing." He said, making Andrew roll his eyes back at him. But Hawk didn't back down, he wanted Andrew to go to karate with him—even if he didn't know why. "Look, just send me your location and I'll text you when I'm outside. Then just... book it."

Andrew pressed his lips together. Was this really worth it? His Uncle Daniel would kill him not only for ditching his punishment , but ditching it to go hang out with the soul reason he's in trouble.

"I'll think about it." Was all he said.

Hawk scoffed, but Andrew could see the smile on the boys face since they were only doing a voice call. "Well, you don't have much time to think. Just send me your location, Andy."

The small angel on Andrew's should screamed no. Told him to just go back inside and continue washing cars. But Andrew wanted to hang out with Hawk. He wanted to hang out with Aisha and Miguel. Andrew wanted to go to Cobra Kai.

So, Andrew nodded. "Alright. See ya."

When they hung up, Andrew sent Hawk his location and turned to head back inside, but he crashed into a body on the way into the backyard.

"Woah!" Daniel laughed out, grabbing Andrew's shoulders so neither of them fell over.

"Everything all right with your dad?" Daniel asked and Andrew frantically nodded his head, hoping he wasn't being to obvious about hiding something.

"Yeah, he's coming into town next week." Andrew answered happily and Daniel smiled. Steven was one of his first friends in high school. Daniel was the one that introduced Steven to Jessica, Andrew's mom.

"That's great!" He cheered before he furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't think Amanda mentioned him staying with us?" He asked and Andrew shook his head.

"Oh, he's booking a hotel." Andrew explained.

"Then, we'll make sure to do dinner with him. Right now, I have to go though. Amanda needs me at the dealership." Daniel said, pointing to his car parked on the street.

He walked toward his car, leaving Andrew on the sidewalk. When he reached his car, Daniel looked back at Andrew and pointed at him. "You keep waxing those cars!" He yelled to the boy and Andrew stood frozen for a moment, blinking in shock.

Was it really about to be this easy to sneak off?

When he realized he didn't answer, Andrew quickly nodded his head. "On it!" He yelled back and Daniel smiled, finally climbing into his car.

Andrew watched as Daniel drove off and once he could no longer see his Uncles car, Andrew sighed.

"Never waxing those cars again."

...

As soon as Hawk and Andrew got to the dojo, Hawk ditched Andrew to go talk to Aisha and Sensei Kreese.

Andrew stood nervously by the door. He would've walked to stand with Hawk and Aisha, but Sensei Kreese really freaked him out. Andrew looked around the dojo, trying to find any kind face he could walk up to and try to make friends with.

"Hey, Andrew!" A voice yelled.

Andrew jumped and turned in the direction of the voice that called his name. Andrew relaxed when he realized it was only Miguel walking toward him with a big smile.

"What are you doing here, man?" Miguel laughed out, holding his hand out for Andrew to dap him up.

Andrew excepted the greeting, holding back cringing. Andrew hated dapping people up. "Thinking of joining." He said and Miguel jaw dropped into a smile while his eyes doubled in size.

"Really?" Miguel asked before he noticed Andrew about to step onto the mat without taking his shoes off. Miguel pressed his hand against Andrew's chest to stop him. "Oh! Take your shoes off!"

Andrews face reddened in embarrassment as he quickly slipped off his shoes. "Oh! Sorry." He muttered under his breath and Miguel chuckled.

Miguel and Andrew walked onto the mat and Miguel watched Andrew with a big smile. "You're really thinking of joining?" He asked and Andrew smiled, nodding his head. "Yeah, I mean..." Andrew looked around the room and stepped closer to Miguel, subtly pointing to Kreese.

"That dude kinda freaks me out, but I think it could be fun." Andrew whispered and Miguel's eyes followed where Andrew was pointing and chuckled when he realized he was talking about Kreese.

But then, Miguel started to listen to Kreese's story he was retelling to Hawk and Aisha.

"They were outgunned, we were outmanned. I tell you... Rwanda was no joke." Kreese said and Miguel's eyebrows furrowed.

He stepped toward Sensei Kreese, Andrew mindlessly following him. "Don't you mean Somolia?" Miguel asked, interrupting the man's story.

Kreese, Hawk, and Aisha all turned to face Miguel and Andrew. Hawk watched Andrew with furrowed brows and Andrew just quickly shrugged his shoulders from beside Miguel, silently saying he had no clue what was happening.

"Mogadishu is in Somolia. Rwanda is a whole other country." Miguel said and Andrew nervously rubbed the back of his neck. If he was scared of Kreese before, Andrew was definitely nervous watching Miguel correct him on what sounded like his war stories.

Kreese didn't say anything for a bit, but after a few seconds, he let out a small chuckle. "Of course, Somolia!" He said before quickly turning around to look at Hawk and Aisha. "I've spent so much time in the sandbox, it all kinda bleeds together, you know?" He tried to save himself and Andrew squinted watching the man.

"Listen up!" Johnny screamed and Andrew jumped at the mans yell. He spun around to face the man and Andrew watched as he eyed all of the new students in the room, scoffing. "I see we've got some new recruits."

"Everybody, fall in!" Johnny yelled.

Andrew's face scrunched at the instructions, not knowing how to "fall in." He looked around the room to try and pick up on what everyone else was doing when he suddenly felt and hand grab his and pull him to the front of the mat.

His eyes moved down while he was dragged to the front of the room. Andrew's eyebrows twitched in confusion at the sudden jump he felt in his chest when he realized Hawk was the one holding his hand.

Hawk led Andrew to the front row of students, putting him in between him and Aisha.

Once Andrew was in the right spot—with the help of Hawk— Hawk hesitated before he let go of Andrew's hand. He stared down at their conjoined hands for a moment, suddenly finding it hard to let go.

Andrews eyes jumped back and forth between Hawk and their hands with furrowed brows but an amused smile on his face. Hawk finally teared his eyes away from his and Andrew's hands and looked up to Andrew's eyes.

When Hawk realized Andrew had been staring at him, Hawk quickly ripped his hand out of Andrew's and nervously cleared his throat.

He turned to face Sensei Lawrence in front of him and suddenly regretted having his hair up in a mohawk instead of it falling down his face to hide his pinking face.

"Why the hell is my face heating up?" Hawk asked himself, trying his hardest to hold his head higher.

"Time to see what you're made of." Johnny yelled, pulling Hawk out of his thoughts.

Andrew watched as everyone around him got into their fighting positions. His eyes widened slightly and he tried his hardest to mimic their move, but it just looked way to stiff and he didn't look like there was actually any strength behind his raised fists.

As Sensei Lawrence started to look around at the new students, Hawk couldn't stop himself from turning back to Andrew. When he saw Andrew's fighting stance, Hawks entire face scrunched and he shook his head.

"Dude! What are you doing?" Hawk whispered.

Andrew turned to Hawk and shook his head wildly. "I don't know! I've never done karate before!" He whisper-yelled back to the boy, his shoulders raising in a panic.

"Your uncle is Daniel LaRusso and you don't know anything?" Hawk whispered and Andrew only shook his head frantically as a response.

Hawk watched Andrew for a second, watching the way Andrew's eyes nervously bounced around to look at the kids around him. He had no clue what to do.

Hawk sighed, looking to the back of the room to Sensei Lawrence. When he was sure Johnny wasn't look, Hawk turned back to Andrew and took a small step toward him.

"What are you doing after class?"

Andrew thought about it for a second. "Um... nothing. Supposed to call my mom to tell her about the week, but that's not until eight."

Hawk nodded, smirking while he punched Andrew's arm. "Okay, you can come over to my place. I'll teach you basics." Hawk said and Andrew smiled, nodding his head. "Sweet. Thanks." Andrew said and Hawks smirk slowly started to turn into a smile.

He immediately snapped his head to face the front. Why the hell was he smiling at Andrew?

"I thought my last group of recruits was pathetic. But if you do what I tell you to do, you'll at least have a chance at becoming a fighter. But to do that, you've gotta fight." Johnny yelled as he walked through the rows of students.

When he got back toward the front of the room, Johnny stood right in front of Miguel and nodded his head to him. "So, which one of you has the balls to take on the champ?"

Andrew cringed, wishing he was no longer in the front row.

His eyes moved to the ground right when Johnny looked in his direction. Johnny scoffed at the boy, figuring he was just really awkward like Miguel was when he first started karate.

Johnny was about to call Andrew up just for that, hoping to give the kid some confidence just like Miguel and Hawk, but just as he opened his mouth, a voice yelled from the back of the room.

"I'll take him on!"

Andrew looked back as the students behind him parted to reveal a blonde girl in the back of the room.

Johnny took slow steps toward the girl, watching her closely. "Oh, you will, huh?" He asked and the girl shrugged as a smirk grew on her face.

"I saw your little demo at Valley Fest. You guys can put on a show. Can you actually fight?" She asked and Andrew's eyes widened, pulling his lips into a line to hold back any laughter.

"Sounds like a challenge." Sensei Lawrence said and the girl raised her chin, her smirk only growing. "I like a challenge." She hummed back cockily.

Johnny stepped back and started to walk back to the front. "Mr. Diaz, show Little Miss Hotshot here what Cobra Kai is all about."

Andrew got the hint and just as he was about to move to walk to the edge of the mat, but before he could even take a step, Hawk grabbed his arm and started to pull him to stand with him and Aisha.

Andrew felt a small tug at the action, but he bit back a smile and licked his teeth.

He took his spot between Hawk and Aisha as the new girl kicked Miguel in the chest. Andrew quietly gasped as Miguel stumbled backward.

As the two continued to fight back and forth, Andrew noticed the faint smirks on both of their faces and their breathy comments in between punches.

Andrew squinted as Miguel grabbed the girls leg and flipped her onto the ground. "They're flirting, right?"

Hawk kept his eyes glued on the fight, both him and Andrew's eyes growing wide when the girl tackled Miguel, her arms wrapped around his waist until he hit the floor. She twisted to hold his arm behind his back, trapping him to the floor.

"Definitely." Hawk whispered.

...

After karate, Andrew had to stay a few minutes later to get a gi from Sensei Lawrence. When he walked out of the dojo where Hawk was supposed to be waiting for him, he saw Hawk leaning against a pillar just outside the dojo.

"Don't do anything stupid." Andrew heard Hawk snap at his phone before he hung up on whoever he was facetiming and shoved his phone into his pocket. Andrew's eyebrows furrowed, his steps toward Hawk slowing.

"Everything alright?" Andrew asked hesitantly and Hawk's head snapped in his direction.

Whatever made him so annoyed, completely washed away as Andrew walked up to him. He rolled his eyes and shrugged as if it were nothing. "That pussy Demetri couldn't handle training with Mr. Kreese." Hawk said, smacking Andrew's shoulder as a smirk grew on his face.

Andrew frowned at Hawk's choice of words. Watching Andrew's face fall, Hawk suddenly felt his heart sink and his stomach churn.

"I don't think him having a different comfort level makes him a pussy. That guy is really intimidating." Andrew said, nodding his head inside the dojo to where he and the other kids had left Sensei Kreese and Sensei Lawrence.

Without missing a beat, Hawk shook his head. "Yeah, um... you're right." He admitted and just as fast as Hawk felt his heart and stomach tug, a confusion grew over him. Since when did he care what other people thought of? Why was he so quick to agree with Andrew?

Hawk quickly pulled himself out of his thoughts and shook his head. He smiled at Andrew, raising his eyebrows as he pulled his car keys out of his pocket and unlocked his car. "You ready to go?" He asked, his car beeping a few parking spots away.

Andrew's eyes followed the noise and it took everything in him not to gasp at the sight of a Sentra with a blue racing stripe down the middle from its hood to the tail. It was very... Well, it was an eyesore.

He looked back to Hawk, physically not able to look at his car anymore and nodded his head. "Yeah."

...

Andrew stood awkwardly in the middle of Hawk's basement while Hawk stood across from him, smirking with his arms crossed.

"Alright, Andy. I'm gonna teach you a couple big moves, alright? When in doubt, use one of these bad boys and you're all good." Hawk explained and Andrew nodded.

Yes, he was terrified, but he needed to learn the basics before he got thrown into some spar in the next class and ends up getting his ass kicked.

When Hawk got into his fighting position, Andrew mimicked his stance—sort of. His knees were slightly too bent, and his fists were awkwardly angled. Hawk bit back a chuckle and walked towards him.

He stepped directly in front of Andrew, positioning his hands before he moved to stand behind him.

Hawk gently adjusted his stance, nudging Andrew's feet apart with his own. Andrew's face burned at the closeness, but he tried to focus on what Hawk was saying instead of how his breath tickled the back of his neck.

After a couple seconds, Hawk nodded and stepped away from Andrew, moving to stand across from him again. "Close enough." Hawk muttered. "Alright, come at me."

For the next hour, Hawk demonstrated basic moves—front jabs, side kicks, and proper punches—critiquing Andrew's every move with a mix of snarky comments and encouragement. To Andrew's surprise, he actually started getting the hang of it.

"You're not... bad." Hawk said, circling him with a smirk and Andrew squinted.

"Thanks?" Andrew said, wiping sweat from his brow. "I think."

Hawk paused, pursing his lips with a nod of his head. "Alright, Let's see if you can fight me now." He said and Andrew froze completely. His eyes widened as he stared at Hawk. "Fight you? You're kidding!"

Hawk rolled his eyes, but smiled as he cracked his knuckles. "Let's see if you've got what it takes to actually land a punch on me."

Andrew still looked at Eli with big eyes. "You do know I've only been doing this for, like, an hour, right?" He asked and Hawk shrugged. "So? Everyone starts somewhere." Hawk smirked, playfully smacking Andrew in the chest. "Besides, I'll go easy on you."

Andrew hesitated for a second, but when he got into his fighting stance—which had improved in the past hour, Hawk smiled.

Once Hawk was ready, Andrew lunged forward with a clumsy jab. Hawk sidestepped effortlessly, grinning. Andrew tried again, this time with a combination of punches, but Hawk ducked and blocked each one with ease, grinning like he was having the time of his life.

"Come on, Andrew!" Hawk teased, sidestepping another wild punch. "Is this really all you've got?"

Andrew gritted his teeth, frustration bubbling up. He threw another punch, then another, but Hawk caught them both, one under each arm.

"Gotcha." Hawk breathed, smirking.

For a moment, neither of them moved. The playful grin slipped from Hawk's face as something unfamiliar settled in his chest when he realized just how close they were. He had both of Andrew's hands trapped against his sides. They were close—so close. His senses zeroed in on every detail—the freckles dotted across his cheeks—Hawk never realized Andrew had freckles, and the way his chest rose and fell with each breath.

Andrew's breath hitched as Hawk let out a small breath, the warmth of it fanning against his face.

Hawk's heart leapt into his throat as butterflies erupted in Hawk's stomach, and his entire body grew hot. "Why do I want to look at his lips?" Hawk thought, his heart hammering.

Meanwhile, Andrew was having his own crisis. All the noise in his head faded away, leaving only Hawk. He could feel the heat of Hawk's skin, smell the faint cologne he wore. Butterflies swarmed in his chest, and his mind raced.

For Hawk, the urge to look down at Andrew's lips, to move closer, to stay locked in this moment, was almost unbearable. Hawk cleared his throat loudly, breaking the tension and throwing Andrew out of his daze.

Hawk stepped back, dropping Andrew's hands, suddenly hating the cool air that replaced Andrew's warmth. His heart was pounding, but he couldn't figure out why. All he knew was that the butterflies wouldn't stop, and the heat in his chest wouldn't go away.

"You held your own pretty well." Hawk said, his voice strained as he avoided Andrew's gaze.

Andrew just stared at him, his mind still reeling. "Thanks, man." He finally said, though it came out more like a question than a statement.

Hawk glanced up at Andrew, his brow furrowing as he noticed the tension in the other boy's posture. Hawk softened, offering a small smile.

"I think you've done enough karate for today. Want to watch a movie or something?"

Andrew blinked, the weight on his chest lifting slightly. Hawk wasn't mad or grossed out or anything. Andrew was okay. "Yeah," Andrew said, exhaling as a smile grew on his face. "Yeah, we can watch a movie."

Hawk smirked, pointing at him teasingly as he walked toward the couch. "No nerd shit, though."

Andrew scoffed, following him. "Says the guy who watches Doctor Who and Harry Potter and Star Wars and—"

He was cut off by Hawk leaning down to grab a pillow from the couch and smacking him across the face. Hawk laughed as Andrew frowned, holding back his own smile as he sat down.

Hawk sat down beside him, making the conscious decision to sit close enough that their knees were almost touching.

Andrew glanced at Hawk out of the corner of his eye, his heart rate picking up as he watched him scroll through movies. Hawk smiled at something on the screen, and Andrew's stomach flipped at the way the scar above Hawk's lip stretched with the smile.

"Shit..." Andrew thought, whipping his head to face the TV. "I can't think it's cute. I can't think he's cute. Hawk's my friend. He's got a girlfriend— this is nothing. It's just the adrenaline or something."

But as Andrew sat there, hyper-aware of Hawk's presence next to him, he knew he was in deep trouble.

When they finally found a movie to put on, Hawk pressed play and leaned back into the couch. Neither of them said anything after that, but both of them were left wondering what the hell had just happened when they were sparring—and Hawk was wondering why the hell it wouldn't leave his head.

emily speaks...
i'm suddenly blanking on anything i could say in this authors note (i'm about to go into my last class of the day) BUT OH MY GOD