Money M // Johnny Lawrence

Another Problem

As i was driving up to my house, somebody was standing at my door. Tall, slicked back ponytail and a smirk on his face. Anybody would recognize him as Terry Silver.

I got out of my car and walked up to my door, looking at him as i walked up the steps. "You've grown," he looked down at me. I looked back up. "You haven't." i replied. He laughed a bit and held a small smile on his face. "May i come in?" i nodded, knowing Jules wasnt home and I could partially trust him.

We walked into the kitchen and he sat down at the table, i threw a coke at him. "Playin' basketball?" he asked me. "Yep." i replied, setting my bag down and leaning against the counter. "Really? What position?" he asked. "Guard." i replied shortly. He laughed a bit and crossed his legs and i crossed my arms, we both knew he wasnt here for a chat about school.

"Why are you here, Terry?" i asked him. He stood up and walked over to me, towering over me. "John Kreese and I go back a long way," he started, i nodded. "He knows he's burned his bridges with you." he told me, i laughed. "Got that right." i looked up at him. He didnt seemed phased by my comment.

"I remember when i taught you a couple years back, you had some major talent," he said. "John says you plan to enter the tournament." i nodded. "Kreese will be going harder and harder on his students to beat you." he edged closer. "I still dont know what you want, Terry." i told him. "I want you to win, Monroe."

–

"Faster," he told me. I spun around and kicked him as hard as i could. "Cobra Kai always strikes first, lets see your defense." he put the mats down. "Ace!" he struck at me, i blocked it. He did it a few more times, i blocked those. He spun around and started throwing fists where i couldnt even track where they were going. With one final spin he got my in the week pointed, making me land straight on my back.

I got up in a hurry and took my stance. "You're afraid," he told me. "Youre not thinking clearly." he pointed to his temple. "Youve never actually gotten your hands dirty in a fight." he pushed. "I havent seen you in 8 years, how would you know?" I asked. "I can see it in your eyes," he told me. "They still sparkle like they did when you were 8 years old." man did that bring memories back.

"Again." he said, we both got in our stances. As I was blocking his strikes, i thought about what he said. Youre afraid. The only time I had ever truly been afraid was when that bullet came through my window as I was talking to a fictional man above the clouds. I couldn't think of anything more terrifying than that glass cutting my face up. It was enough to put pressure into my blocks.

I thought about the person who had put a bullet through my mother, I though about how i could hunt them down and take what they took from me. I thought about Cherry and how she punched me in the locker room. I thought about my dad throwing me against a wall, choking me. I thought about how Kreese put me in that headlock. I thought about the night Johnny kissed me and the way I reacted.

"There it is!" he stopped, smiling like a madman. "There it fucking is, Monroe." he pointed at me. "There's the aggression, the madness." he looked at my eyes. "C'mere," he walked to another part of his place. He stood me in front of a man made of two by fours and plywood. "Look at him," he pointed. "Who do you see?" he asked me.

I started at it for a long time, Kreese wasnt there. Johnny wasnt there. Bobby wasnt there. "I dont know." i told him. "Think about it, Money," he walked around me. "Think about somebody whos pissed you off one to many times," he circled me. "Think of someones head you want to kick in," he told me. Then i envisioned it, i saw Jack Jane. "My dad," i answered Terry.

"No you don't," he told me. "You see Johnny Lawrence," he said. I shook my head. "Johnny's better lookin' than this." i joked a bit. "You in love with him, Jane" he asked me, i shook my head. "I'm not in love with him." I mumbled. "Good." he faced me. "LaRusso doesnt stand a chance against you or Lawrence," he looked straight into my eyes. "You'll be the winner." he flipped the head around, showing a picture of Johnny.

"This is crazy." i told him. "Is it?" Terry asked me. "Johnny Lawrence will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, he doesnt care who it is." he leaned down towards me. "He'll forget whatever he had with you to get that trophy." he said. I believed him. "He wants fucking embarrass you," he leaned closer to me. "He wants to break you," he got closer. "Youre not gonna let him do that, are you?" he asked. I shook my head. "Then break the boards."

I swept the feet and kicked the face, striking the other boards with my forearms, breaking each one of them clean in half. Terry smiled. He picked up my hand which had blood streaming off my finger tips. "You see that?" he asked me. "Johnny Lawrence can't do that, thinking of you." he told me. "You did it perfectly." he said, running his thumbs over my knuckles, smearing the blood around. "Do it again."

I did it again. Over and over. Board scrap after board scrap. I had basically broken everything into fourths. My knuckles were bleeding, my ankles were bleeding, but i liked it. I liked the way it felt. I liked the way it gave me power, the way it made me more confident. It was like i could do anything i wanted to.

–

"Dinner, my tab." he told me as i stood up. He had just gotten done bandaging the blood flowing knuckles of mine. "I gotta get home." I told him. "I told your Aunt Jules that you would be getting home later than usual, your after school practice ended two minutes ago." he said, i looked at the clock to make sure he was right.

"I have schoolwork." i told him, he slid on his leather jacket and shook his head. "Your bag was light as a feather when you walked through the door, i thought you needed books for work?" he told me, which was a fair point. I was lying to him. I just didnt feel like being seen all sweaty and beaten up.

–

"Seeing you fight today, i saw what youre capable of." Terry told me as we sat down as a clothed dinner table. "I bet you did." I mumbled. He smiled and sat back in his seat. "Enough about fighting, how's your old man?" he asked. "He's in prison." i told him, adding a little humor into the sentence. "Prison?" Terry didnt believe it. "Attempted murder," i said. "Thats a shame, i liked him." i nodded. I liked him too.

"Anything big in school?" he asked. "Nope." i replied, taking a sip of water. "Not even the basketball team? I always knew you loved the game." he told me. I rolled my eyes. "Were undefeated, mostly because of me." i let a smile break, so did he. "Theres not any boys youre trying to impress, is there?" he asked. My smiled faded at his words, remembering what he said an hour ago.

"No, no boys." i lied. Terry laughed a bit. "Thats real good." he said. I nodded and took a drink from my water. The rest of the night, we basically talked about the tournament and Johnny. The tournament made me feel weird, like something was going to go wrong that night and it would be my fault. It scared the shit out of me.