can you keep a secret??-tory nichols

viii. glory of love

"What about Friday?" Miguel asked as he and his girlfriend began to stretch.

"Can't. Working at the roller rink." Tory dismissed quickly.

"Great. Let's turn it into a date night." Miguel pushed.

Tory couldn't help but laugh. "Candlelit dinner by the snack bar on my break?"

"Look, there's nothing more romantic than free hot dogs and chicken nugs."

"Free? Only for me and Iz. You gotta pay up."

Miguel furrowed his eyebrows. "Why Iz?"

"Cause..." Isabella took a seat next to Tory, grasping her hand tightly. "Me and Tory are in love and she's leaving you for me." She told her brother with a deadpan expression. Miguel's jaw was on the floor, looking like an utter idiot as he stared at the two girls shocked. "I'm kidding dude. Do you need help picking your jaw up off the floor?" Both girls laughed at Isabella's joke as Miguel just rolled his eyes.

"I hate you both."

"No, you don't. You love us." His sister corrected. "And don't worry, I won't be third wheeling this date like the last..." She paused to count them out on her fingers. "Four dates."

"Everybody fall in." Johnny's students obeyed, rushing to their spots once they'd heard his voice. "Today we'll be learning one of the most important lessons a Cobra Kai could ever know."

"Where's Sensei Kreese?" Hawk immediately questioned, noticing the missing presence of his sensei."

"Yeah." Stingray chimed in. "Shouldn't we wait for the sensei emeritus before we get going?" Noticing the look on Johnny's face, he immediately redacted his statement. "Or not."

"Mr. Kreese will no longer be joining us." Students glanced at each other in confusion, wondering what could have gone wrong. "I made a promise when I became your sensei. To always look out for your best interests. Despite how hard this may be for all of us, he didn't have our best interests at heart. John Kreese may have founded Cobra Kai, but he no longer represents what this dojo stands for." He slowly began to pace back and forth in front of his students, only looking up at them every few seconds. "His Cobra Kai was old and outdated. He refused to move forward. What happens when you do that, Mr. Diaz?"

Miguel hesitated for a moment before answering. "You get stuck like cement."

"Exactly. To be a great fighter, you gotta learn how to adapt." He stopped next to the words he had etched on the wall several months prior. "This creed on the wall,"

STRIKE FIRST

STRIKE HARD

NO MERCY

"Follow it to the letter, it'll make you strong. It'll make you formidable. It will also make you an asshole. Cause that's just black paint on a white wall. But life's not black and white. More often than not, it's gray. And it's in those gray areas where Johnny Larence's Cobra Kai...sometimes shows mercy." Miguel and Isabella's heads snapped towards one another. Isabella was half considering that Johnny had actually had a stroke. Neither of them knew what was up, but they both knew that wasn't like him at all. "Doesn't mean you can't be badass, it's still a requirement. But you have to learn to think, not just with your gut...or your fists...but to really use this." He concluded, pounding his finger to the temple of his head. "Which leads me to today's lesson." He picked up a small, handheld wooden board before calmly and precisely smashing it against his head. "Headbutting. Grab a partner."

"You and me?" Tory proposed, a grin of excitement displayed on her face.

"There's nobody I'd rather get hit in the head by."