Chapter Eleven: Hesitant at Your Core

Moon watched as Yasmine flicked on a lighter in her room quietly.

Yasmine took a long drag from her blunt with a quiet cough.

"Shit."

Moon smiled. "You like it?"

Yasmine nodded quietly. "Think it'll be relaxing."

Moon shrugged. "Always is."

"With how stressful the next couple years are gonna be. Greatest idea possible."

Moon patted her lap.

The girls relaxed together after getting high.

Yasmine snuggled with Moon on her bed with a quiet groan.

"I really hope we can have another summer like this one."

"I think the point of it is that we won't." Yasmine muttered.

Moon smiled, fixing her soft grip around Yasmine's waist. "Relaxed enough?"

Yasmine chuckled out her answer. "Yeah." she muttered as Moon rubbed her nose against Yasmine's neck.

Moon kissed Yasmine's neck slowly and then Yasmine hummed.

"Do you ever wonder if one of us should ask Luke out? For real? I mean to date of course?" asked Yasmine.

"Pointless. I don't know what the three of us might do after we graduate next year, but it's definitely not the same thing."

Yasmine sighed. "I know but still."

Moon was quiet for a moment.

"I think the three of us have an affection for each other that'll never change," admitted Moon. "But we've moved past dating. Besides, he's made it clear who he really has feelings for."

"Some psycho with a fake set of tits and hair."

Moon scoffed. "Jealous?"

"Fuck no." Yasmine made her classic scowl.

Moon smiled, now wrapping her hands around Yasmine's stomach tightly. "Sounds like you are."

"Tory Nichols is busty sure."

"Great curves. Decently tall." Moon shrugged. "Fabulous hair, strong too, I know Luke likes that even though she's not too muscular at all."

"But I'm way smarter than her. Have more in common with Luke than she ever did besides the karate thing."

"Forget about her."

Moon leaned upward, Yasmine looked up at her best friend as she spoke to her. "I felt the same way you did."

"Insecure in a way?"

"Big time." Moon nodded. "You're beautiful."

Yasmine moaned, panting quietly.

Moon drew her lips across her chin, her collarbone, and then began to kiss her way down her chest.

"I thought we wouldn't exclude anybody out of the trio."

"We can join Lulu in later." Moon winked, as she made Yasmine gasp, she gripped her chest tightly through Yasmine's t-shirt. "You're gorgeous Yas. No one cares about your cup size."

"Easy for you to say." Yasmine said thoroughly in embarrassment. "That wasn't what I meant."

"Sure."

Moon slowly began to peel off Yasmine's shirt and she accepted the same pecks all over.

The girls giggled and rolled around aimlessly on Moon's bed for a few hours, never going farther than what Moon and Yasmine had already done currently.

Several hours later after they'd dried and sobered up completely, they went off to cheer practice together.

They had been best friends for almost ten years, so no one blinked an eye that they showed up together.

Training at Cobra Kai in preparation for Nationals was easily the most fun I'd had in months.

We all gabbed, we stretched, we sparred, we drilled, and ended class by lifting weights.

I decided to go directly to Moon's house after I got home after practice. A quick ride on my bicycle and I made it there.

I slipped through the sliding glass door through her backyard and then went straight to her shower.

I sometimes wondered if Moon's parents would ever really be home. It would certainly be awkward for them to think someone was breaking into their house.

I started to shampoo my hair and Yasmine joined me.

"Hey."

I pecked her on the lips. "Hi."

"How was karate practice?"

"Just fine actually. I'm guessing you and Moon just came back from cheer?"

She nodded. "Yeah. You're taking up all of the hot water by the way."

I watched Moon take off her West Valley High School cheer uniform and chirp happily. "Room for one more?"

There was barely space for two people but the more the merrier was the idea behind this all.

It was nice to see how Moon and Yasmine had made up after last year, and the original trio of girls from my sophomore year were back together as they had made up with Sam after all.

Although, not like this.

Moon and Yasmine were moaning quietly, then were silent as they helped each other clean up after their cheer practice.

No, not like this at all.

Moon joined us in the shower and soon, we were doing more than just washing each other's bodies.

The lovemaking continued well into the night, and strayed onto Moon's couch.

We spent an hour or so just watching random nonsense on her TV. Yasmine would tap away on her phone for a bit as I'd make out with Moon, Moon and Yas would fool around and braid their hair while I was practicing some kata.

We just spent some time together talking, eating, fucking, and cuddling together, just the three of us.

Even though I insisted that we'd already showered, Moon and Yasmine were determined to take a bath together. Just because 'they were bored.'

I didn't argue with either of the girls and they soon were in the bathtub in Moon's bedroom restroom together.

Moon sat behind Yasmine as I took the opportunity to catch up on some Korean.

I used a chair in Moon's bedroom to put my foot up on her bathroom sink stand while they bathed together.

"I think the point of this summer was to relax the best we could Lulu."

I chuckled, turning a page over. "Yas speaks four languages and has traveled all over the world since she was seven. I have some strong competition for valedictorian."

"Really? Four?"

Yasmine turned around and nodded to Moon while she smoothed some soap over the pale skin of her back.

"French, and Spanish," I muttered. "And I don't know who the hell taught her Latin."

"A tutor my parents hired when I was little. She was a nice old lady."

Moon giggled quietly when pressing her lips to Yasmine's shoulder. "Join in Lu."

"Yeah join in." Yasmine said.

I sighed, rubbing my eye. "No thanks. I was honestly going to start getting ready early for another Ride."

"Didn't you already spend hours with all the guys at your dojo?" asked Moon. "Wouldn't you rather spend the night here instead of on your motorcycle for the millionth time?"

"It's a Saturday night tradition." I said quietly.

Yasmine yelped when Moon suddenly lifted her backward. "You'll miss out on all the fun. Join, while the water's still warm and fresh and stuff." She hissed audibly against Yasmine's neck. "I mean. While I am too."

I heard Yasmine giggle loudly. "Don't be gross and dumb Moon."

Despite this, Yasmine still playfully nipped at Moon's lower lip, and I had to tilt my book on Korean away from the bathtub as they began to play around.

I heard a sharp giggly shriek from one of them and some water run about, and a long smooth leg I was sure was Moon's fly up into the air for a moment.

Yasmine and Moon's little wrestling match was cut short as Moon looked over at me, panting. "How could anyone watch this and not want to join?"

"The kind of person who's done it a million times." I said boredly.

That sounded just as cocky as it came out.

It was true, we still were all very attracted to each other, and the sex and each other's nudity was hot, but we could at any moment just pick something else up and swap in or out with ease.

The fun of the game was to try to jump out of a double up or sometimes in.

Fortunately, both Yasmine and Moon took it as a challenge.

They grinned at each other and I sighed. "Aw, fuck."

I didn't mind the tugging on the arms to try to get me into the bathtub with them, I could resist them physically with ease. It was just that they almost got a ton of water on my book.

They laughed with glee when I relented and joined in.

"Just another half hour ladies," I muttered as they were kind enough to not let me get my jeans all watery.

Both girls practically pulled me into the bathtub as if they were Sirens.

Luckily, what they offered was softer than teeth or scratching. Much more soothing.

Hawk looked up from his phone, seeing Lucas pull up to their spot in the drive in movie theatre on his bike.

"The fuck took you so long?" he asked.

"Chill man." he took off his motorcycle helmet as he bumped a gloved fist with Rickenberger, Mikey, Shawn, and lastly, an irate Hawk. "Had something to do."

"More like someone to do." muttered Rickenberger.

Hawk sighed. "We all know you got a side piece this summer. Who the hell is it?"

"Your mom." Shawn smiled.

Lucas was saved by a very well timed joke from the squad's resident joke master.

Hawk playfully but forcefully began to round kick Shawn's back, the Cobra Kai boys began to laugh.

An app Shawn installed played the movie's audio they were all watching.

After about ten minutes, Kenny walked back from the movie theatre box carrying snacks for everyone.

"Why do you let them treat me like this?" asked Kenny.

"No mercy little bro." Shawn shrugged eating the popcorn his little brother handed to him. "Besides, you joined the dojo last. Gotta earn your spot."

"You don't even have a bike." Hawk munched on his candy loudly.

Lucas raised an eyebrow, putting his hands in his jacket pockets while leaning on his Harley. "Easy man. He's not even fifteen, he's a freshman. No one had a bike as a freshman."

The boys all ate their snacks, chatted quietly, and watched the movie in silence.

"One sec man. Gotta fill up my drink." Kenny muttered, walking off.

Kenny walked back to the snack bar, hearing a familiar voice nearby.

Anthony was laughing quietly, talking to Nate, Bert, and Chris.

Kenny rolled his eyes, ignoring them.

Without warning, Anthony had been doused in ice cold soda.

"Hey man what the hell?"

"Whoops. Guess my hand slipped." Kenny gave a very wide toothy grin. "Been striking first too much at the dojo."

Anthony laughed, wiping his face as Nate, Bert, and Chris exited their seats at the drive in snack bar table.

"You know what's funny? You're still salty Lia and Ava want nothing to do with you."

Kenny shrugged. "They want nothing to do with you either. LaPusso."

"You talk a lot of talk. You're so tiny it's a miracle you're in Cobra Kai." Bert laughed.

"Yeah, guess Kreese must have a day care set up or something." added Nate.

The Miyagi-Do boys began to laugh at Kenny.

He felt his fist tighten, and before he could let it fly into Bert's face, someone caught him and slammed him against a nearby metal guardrail between the snack bar patio and the nearby drive in movie field.

Kenny gasped, wide eyed as Miguel looked at him up and down.

"Little small to be picking fights with four guys now are we?"

Lucas sighed, watching Miguel hold Kenny by his shoulder and drag him towards the group of Cobra Kais.

"Fucking hell." Rickenberger sighed as everyone leaned off their motorcycles or stopped sitting on them.

Shawn yelled the moment Miguel threw Kenny towards him, catching him. "Who gave you the right to put your hands on my li'l brother!?"

"Who gave him the right to dump soda on me and try to punch one of us?" asked Anthony.

"Yeah, dude. Way to get physical with a kid half your size." Lucas eyed Miguel up and down.

Hawk laughed. "You looking for a rematch?"

"You wouldn't want one." Miguel barely glanced at Hawk, who shrunk back quietly.

Lucas nodded slowly, looking between his group that squared up and Miguel's.

Chris, Nate, Bert, and Anthony were half Rickenberger, Shawn, Mikey, and Hawk's size. Even with Chris' height, he wouldn't last a second in a real fight.

Kenny was also an extra number who could even switch out with Mikey at first, and still win.

"Kenny's sorry about what he did."

Shawn and Kenny looked over at Lucas.

"What?" both Payne brothers asked.

Lucas nodded deeply. "My sincerest apologies."

"Man fuck that!" Shawn yelled. "You gonna let them act like we were the ones who messed up?"

Kenny nodded. Hawk agreed as well, Rickenberger and Mikey merely watched calmly.

Miguel took a moment to consider too.

"Okay. You're all good. But you all gotta go." Miguel said.

"Man, what!?" barked Kenny.

Lucas shook his head. "No can do. This ain't the water park, you want to pick a spot and kick us out. We settle up like men."

"Now we're talking." Shawn cracked his knuckles.

Miguel nodded quickly. "Fine. Baseball diamond in twenty minutes, no weapons."

"Weapons are for pussies." Lucas shrugged. "It's why I never practice with them. Shame Sam won't be here to watch when I humiliate her boyfriend and her little brother."

Hawk noticed how a few nearby people in their cars had seen what had happened.

"I know we can win but are you sure about this?"

Lucas smiled as the Miyagi-Do boys walked off. "Trust me, they're the ones with something to prove and nothing to lose. I have a plan."

"A sprinkler prank. Are you serious?" Mitch asked.

I nodded. "Big time man."

Hawk chuckled after we were done with practice on the mat. "Diaz looked ridiculous. And we didn't even have to throw a punch."

"They looked like assholes and we ran off scot free." Kenny shrugged.

Everyone laughed and smiled, chatting about last night while I heard Sensei Kreese speak.

"So you all were challenged. And you ran?"

I shrugged, turning around to speak to him. "Sometimes the best way to win a fight is to strike before it starts."

"Yes with your fist. Not with mercy."

"How is humiliating them and then running off without a scratch mercy?" I asked.

Sensei John looked at me, and then the rest of us.

He was my equal. We could call each other 'Sensei' as a formality now.

Sensei sighed. "Give me and Sensei Lucas a moment alone."

Everyone bowed and muttered out. "Yes Sensei." everyone said quietly.

They left the dojo talking outside while he spoke to me.

"You showed Diaz mercy."

"I mean the sprinkler prank was dumb I admit it but-"

"No. I mean at the fight at Johnny's apartment building."

I was shocked. "How did you know about that?"

"You think just because Johnny hates me we never talk at all?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

He scoffed. "Kid, you won't be able to hide anything from me until you're in your late twenties. And I mean anything."

"O-kay?"

Sensei Kreese frowned. "I get Johnny is your family now. And in part, Robby and Miguel Diaz are his. But you didn't finish your enemy."

"If Miguel Diaz has vision problems for the next few months. The only enemy I'll have to worry about is the police."

He shook his head. "You didn't have to blind him Lucas. But you gave Diaz what he currently has. He still thinks the fight isn't finished. You let him challenge you at the movie theatres. Would he have been injured? He would have thought twice about carrying Payne around like a ragdoll."

"Miguel didn't hurt him."

"No but he held a member of this dojo by the scruff of his neck like he was some sort of street pup." He said.

"This isn't a shoot of Beat It. We don't have to get into a switchblade fight over nothing."

He put a hand over my shoulder. "Every member of this dojo is yours to protect. Especially now that you're a Sensei."

Sensei John Kreese continued.

"You've beaten the All Valley more times and better than anyone ever can or will. That's finished. But you're approaching the very end of your journey as a student, to start the next chapter of your life as a teacher." Sensei said.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"The Korea Open. The Sekai Taikai. I dismissed it at first sure, but every single moment matters from now until then."

"You're saying Diaz will be relevant there?"

"I'm saying he'll be more relevant than any other person competing."

Wow.

"Always remember your first lesson son." Sensei tapped the center of my chest. "Before you do anything."

"Protect yourself first."

He nodded. "Diaz took your mercy as an opportunity. The only way we can give an opponent victory, in the ring, in life, anywhere. Is if we hesitate. Is that clear Mr. Schwarber?"

"Yes Sensei."

"Good."

He sighed, running his hand across his thinning grey hair as he spoke. "I taught karate here for almost a decade and a half now. And if there's one thing I learned is that Johnny Lawrence was supposed to have it all to win the All Valley championships three times."

Sensei shrugged. "He was in the papers for winning the All Valley twice. The team was the talk of the town. Johnny was set to go places. But because he hesitated, he let his emotions get the best of him. He let an inferior fighter beat him."

"Daniel LaRusso."

"I get why you're patient and kind sometimes. I get why you like to think before you act most of the time, more than you should. Because you learned Miyagi-Do the same time you started to learn the way of the fist."

Sensei John shook his head. "Let go of him Lucas. Embrace who you are, you can even abandon what I've taught you in some areas. If you want to reach your full potential, you need your full confidence. In yourself."

"Meaning never letting Miguel challenge me?"

"The Lucas Schwarber that I know would've struck first and so hard that Miyagi-Do wouldn't have been anywhere near that drive in theatre in the first place."

Sometimes Sensei Kreese shocked me by how well he knew me.

"You're not hesitant at your core son. You never would've come to me in the first place if you were."

And it also shocked me by how right he was sometimes too.

Author's Note: So how will the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do slash Steel Eagle girls react to what happened? That will be in what is basically the second half of this chapter, out soon.