Lee pulled up to the Reseda apartments. Miguel was in a wheelchair waving to his physical therapist who was driving away. She got out of her car. "How did it go?" She skipped over.
"It felt useless, just him lifting my legs." He sighs, trying not to feel defeated.
"Oh yeah, he's getting the muscle to work even if you're not feeling it." She turned his wheelchair around.
"How did you know that?" The guy told him that a hundred times during the session when he saw Miguel's sad puppy pout.
"I did some research on physical therapy last night. Just the benefits and theories. You know the beginner stuff." She pushed him towards his apartment. She stopped when a magazine with a busty lady in a bikini appeared on a sting in front of them.
They looked up to see Johnny with a fishing rod, dangling it in their faces. "What is this?" Miguel asked.
"This is a collection of the tastiest babes of 1988 and you're not going to get to see them unless you grab it." He made it bounce around in front of them.
"You know there's a thing called pornhub, where you can see naked women spreading their private parts open for you." She yelled up to the man.
"I don't have an account so…" Miguel reached up for it.
"You're gonna have to try harder than that." He raised it up.
He was done humoring his teacher. "You know I could find these pictures on my phone, right?"
"It's not the same, chicks are the hottest on the page, but you won't know unless you get off your butt. Or you could just keep getting foot rubs from that pansy-ass therapist." He got a laugh out of the teen who reached for it again to be pulled away from him. "Weak! That's all you got, Diaz? I thought you were the All Valley champ?"
Miguel used his arms to push himself up, but when he had to use his legs to lean forward he fell out of the wheelchair. "Johnny!" Lee yelled at the older man while she checked on her friend.
He ran downstairs. "You alright?" He looked down at Miguel.
"Get him off the floor." Lee demands. Johnny picked him up to place him in the wheelchair.
"Alright, give me a minute we can go again." He pats Miguel's shoulder. "I still have my Vanna White playboy, that'll get you going."
"Don't you get it, you could dangle a new PlayStation in front of me and I still wouldn't be able to stand." He wheels himself away. Lee ran after him, so they could hang out like they were supposed to.
Johnny pulled them out of the apartment with the promise of food. "You know why they call this a hibachi?" He lit the grill on fire.
"They don't. It's a kettle grill." Miguel corrected him.
Johnny ignores him to go on. "Hundred years ago in ancient China, there was a tiny little village of dairy farms, living off their milk and cheese. When a drought came they needed to get water from the river. None of the chinamen wanted to do their work."
"Not sure that is an appropriate term." Miguel scrunches up his face
"China people, whatever." He scoffs.
"You already said the story takes place in China, so why not say the men didn't want to work." Lee edits for him.
"The point is they were laying around in the hammock waiting for the rain. So a wise man gathered up a bunch of twigs and stuffed them under the villager while they slept. Do you know why he did that?" He asks.
"Because he is a crazy person." She answered.
"To light a fire under them." Miguel gave the answer.
"Wrong!" He pointed the grill lighter at Lee before pointing at Miguel. "Exactly, that is where the expression came from. You know what that wise man's name was?" He kneels down beside Miguel.
"Hibachi?" He figured it had to tie together somehow.
"Damn straight." He nods.
"Except that hibachi is from Japan, not China, where there aren't a lot of dairy farms, historically, or hammocks." He pointed out his mistakes.
"Would have made more sense if you used rice farms." She told him for future purposes.
"Did you think we would fall for that?" Miguel asked.
"No, but I knew you guys would be too busy calling my bullshit to know what I was really up to." He smiled.
"Oh yeah, what is that?" Miguel laughed.
"Lighting a fire under you." Johnny held up the lighter and gasoline.
"What did you do?" They look down to see Miguel's shoelace on fire.
"You are out of your mind!" Lee yelled at Johnny when he put Miguel in a Nelson hold. She kneels down to take his shoe off.
"No! Don't, Miguel has to do it," Johnny screams at her. "Now shake your leg."
"I can't." He watches the fire get closer to his shoe
"You can if you want it hard enough." He insisted.
"IT'S ALL THAT I WANT!" He was angry to think that someone would think he couldn't walk because he didn't want it enough.
"Then focus! Tell your brain to tell your legs to get their asses moving." He yelled.
Miguel tired, he concentrated and tried to will his brain to move his legs. "Enough!" Lee grabs the fire extinguisher when the fire surrounds his shoe to put it out.
"I thought that would work." Johnny let him go.
"Why didn't it? My foot was on fire and I didn't feel a thing. Why is nothing working?" He looks down at his legs in defeat.
Lee frowned, he has been doing that a lot lately. "How about we take a break from this? We can go out to do something fun like watch a movie or go to the arcade." She suggested.
"It's fine. I should probably clean up before my mom gets home… See ya." He wheeled himself back into his apartment.
"Miguel," She called.
"You've been caretaker enough today, go spend time with the girls. We can try again tomorrow." He closed the door behind him.
Lee was with Moon and Yasmine at Golf n Stuff. Moon and Lee were playing against each other in air hockey. "How about after this we play a more fun game?" Yasmine leans against the table.
"You aren't even playing anything." Lee scoffs. She declared herself too grown-up for the place every time they went. It took her an hour before she gave in to anything.
"I just notice this place is always crawling with guys our age. While none of them are my type, why don't we have a friendly competition of who can get the most numbers." She suggested. When she saw the look of hesitation on their faces she added. "Come on, we're all single."
"You're single? What happened to Piper?" Lee looked at Moon.
"Just didn't work out." She took the opportunity to take the game-winning shot.
Yasmine was tired of feeling like the third wheel. "So what about it, girls?"
"Yeah, why not?" Lee shrugs.
"Okay, but only guy's numbers so it's fair." She looks at her two bi friends.
"Alright, what do we get if we win?" Moon asks.
"They can pick the next thing we do and others can't complain, whether that be goat yoga, an anime marathon, or following me around at the mall holding my bags." She shrugs.
"Sounds good to me." Lee rubs her hands together thinking about which show she was going to make them watch.
"Get ready to have some inner peace, ladies." Moon winks before moving to the basketball arcade game where a few teens were.
Mitch walks up to the Cobra Kai gang. "Hey, I heard there is a hot chick that challenges guys at Mortal Kombat. If you win she'll make out with you but if she wins you have to give her your number."
"She sounds like a fun time." Hawk laughed.
"Let's go, I'm pretty good at that game." Paul led the group.
"Damn man, how hard up are you?" Rickenberger jokes.
All laughter stopped when they turned the corner and saw who was at the machine. "Undefeated!" Lee threw her hands in the air. "Put your number in." She hands her phone to the guy. "Who's next?" She looks at the long line she had. She cursed when she saw her ex charging his way to the front. He pushed a guy to the ground who tried to stop him.
He snatched her phone out of the guy's hand before turning towards the crowd. "She knows all the cheat codes. Sorry to tell you guys, she is just a tease. Never going to call you either."
The guys groan as they walk to other games. "What the hell are you doing?" She glares.
"What the fuck are you doing? Why the fuck are you betting your body?" He snapped.
"It's not my body, just my mouth. I wasn't going to lose. I know all the cheat codes." She took her phone from him. She changes the guy's label on her phone from Troy to Guy#10.
He looks at her phone to see all the guys' numbers. "What the fuck is going on?"
Yasmine walks over with her hands full of stuffed animals. She was at the claw machine pouting to fish for guys to get the plushies for her. "I got eight numbers." She showed off the toys. "Oh, why are you here? You're not taking him back, are you?"
"It's bad to be with me but it's fine to encourage her to whore around." He snorted.
"She's getting numbers, not working a glory hole." She rolled her eyes. Lee showed her the phone screen. "Ten numbers, how did you do that?"
"Betting guys for their numbers if I beat them at this game and if they win I would make out with them." She pointed at the game.
"Well played." She nods.
Moon came around the corner. "Get ready to see adorable goats, because I got 12."
"What?" The girls yelled.
"Instead of working in one area, I walked around and pretended to be impressed." She was able to get numbers faster that way.
"None of those goats better pee on me." Lee whines.
"Oh my god, I didn't even think about that," Yasmine yelled.
"You guys will be fine." She rolled her eyes. They walk off leaving behind Hawk. He was frustrated that he no longer had a say in what she did.
Lee got a call from Johnny that they were going to take Miguel out for a night of fun. Johnny told her to meet them at the apartment and he would drive them. Now looking at the rough place she understood that her expensive car wouldn't be safe there. "What is this?" Lee asked.
"A surprise." He wheeled Miguel in. With nowhere else to go, she follows them.
"And I thought this place looked scary from the outside." He looks at the shady men in the hallway. Lee held on to the back of Johnny's jean vest. She looked like a child who feared being separated from their parents. "Where are we, sensei?"
"It's a field trip." He told them. "Here, take this and follow my lead." He drops a duffle bag into Miguel's lap.
"Okay." He held onto the bag.
Johnny led them to a door being guarded."Hold on, nice try. Come back when he's 21." The worker put his arm out to stop them from going in.
"Yeah, that's gonna be tough. He'll be dead by then." Johnny said, making the teens look at him. "He should be dead already. Every day is a gift." Miguel pretends to be weak as he coughs. "He got a bucket list, getting past that door is number one on it." Miguel put up a finger.
"Alright, go head….Good luck, kid." He opened the door. They walk in to be greeted by rock music.
"Hey, how come they didn't give Lee any trouble?" He looks back at his friend.
"Because she's wearing a low cut top and tight jeans. He was checking her out from down the hall. Probably didn't realize she was young until she got closer by then he doesn't want to see the ID and find out he's a sick fuck." He led them into the crowd. The teens' jaws dropped when they looked on stage to see Dee Snider. He was singing The Kids Are Back.
"That's Dee Snider, the most badass rocker ever." He yelled over the music and cheering crowd.
"How is this part of my physical therapy?" Miguel shouted.
"It's not." He opened the duffle bag to pass them each a beer. "Just forget about all that, have some fun." The teens share a smile before cracking open their beers.
"Let's take a picture," Miguel yelled. They bent down to be on either side of him. They throw up rock signs and stick their tongues out.
They stood up straight after the picture was taken. "Send me a copy of that," Johnny told him.
"Don't worry I'll tag you." Miguel was typing a caption.
"Tag me? What the hell does that mean?" Johnny asks.
"Check your Facebook," Miguel yelled.
"I don't have Facebook anymore, I threw my phone away." He told them.
"Then check your laptop." Lee chuckled when the look on his face told her he didn't know he could do that.
"Alright, alright. So I hear there's a make a wish kid in the house tonight." Snider stops singing to look for the kid.
"Yeah, right here." Johnny pointed at Miguel.
"There he is. There he is. Now ladies, let's make that kid's wish come true." He points at him. The ladies next to them blow kisses at him. He shyly waved back. "Alright, now repeat after Dee. I want to rock!"
"Rock!" The crowd yelled. While he sang I Wanna Rock, Johnny noticed something amazing. He tapped the teen's shoulders and then pointed down. They scream in amazement at Miguel tapping his feet to the beat. They shared a group hug as they cheered.
"Ms. Diaz." Lee ran into the apartment to get her. "Come on, I got to show you something." She pulled the older woman outside.
"Alright, calm down, I'm coming Lee." She laughed at the teen's excitement. She has been coming around so much she seems like another member of the household.
"Show her." She let go to squeeze Miguel's shoulders.
"Look down in amazement." He taps his feet.
She screamed. "Do it again. Do it again."
"Okay, okay." He laughed and did it for her.
"Oh god." She kissed his forehead. "Thank you so much." She looks at Johnny.
"It was all the kid. I told you he was a fighter." He smiled at her before looking down at his student. "Now don't get too cocky, we still have to get you out of that chair."
"Yes, Sensei." He smiles.
"Goodnight." He went to his apartment.
"See you tomorrow." She waved to them as she walked to her car.
Lee walks through her house on a happy buzz from an amazing night. Her jaw dropped when she opened her bedroom door to see a trembling ex. "Hawk?"
Her heart ached when he looked up and she could see he had been crying. "No… tonight I just want to be Eli. I want to be your Eli." He sobs. She sat down next to him to pull him into a hug. He buried his head in her shoulder. "I've done something horrible."
"What happened?" She rubbed his back.
"Miyagi Do attacked us while we were in the abandoned laser tag building. Things got out of hand and I ended up breaking Demetri's arm." He held on to her tightly, knowing she tried to pull away when he confessed. "I had him on the ground with his arm behind his back. He was begging me to let him go. I was going to but then Tory and the guys were telling me to do it. I knew if I didn't it would get back to Kreese and that would be the end for me."
"It wouldn't be the end. You're so much more than Cobra Kai." She whispers.
He jumped away from her. "No, I need them. I can't go back to before. I can't be some pathetic loser who fears going outside." He paced around the room.
She grabbed his arm. "It's okay. Tonight, let's be Eli and Lee. Two best friends hanging out. We don't have to talk or think about anything outside this room."
"I'd like that." He hugs her. They spend the night talking about trivial things like movies, celebrity gossip, and school work.
Lee was sad the next morning when she woke up alone.
