A/N: There was a bit of a wait, but it's finally here. Esqueleto is one of my favourite episodes of Season 1 because it's the catalyst for Miguel's training intensifying and him becoming strong enough to defeat Kyler and his crew in the cafeteria fight. But it's not going to be the same as it was in canon. (Even if the outcome of the bathroom fight doesn't change.) I did take some plot points from Dontatme420 so I'm giving him credit for those.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Karate Kid movies, Cobra Kai or anything else that I might reference.
Skeletons
Miguel had a shower before he changed into his Halloween costume.
He was currently back in the bathroom putting on face paint because he needed to see what he was doing.
When he was finished, he washed his hands and walked back to his room.
Miguel put on a pair of black socks.
The skeleton costume had been relatively cheap to buy.
This year was the first time that he would be going anywhere or dressing up as part of a group.
Jason, Claire and Aisha had gone to their respective houses to freshen up and change into their costumes.
Miguel opened the door of his room and walked out.
Mom and Yaya hadn't seen him in his costume before.
"It's great that you're going to the dance as part of a group, Miggy." Mom says.
Miguel smiles. "Yeah. I think you and Yaya met Jason already, but you haven't met Claire and Aisha."
"Have a good time and remember to stay safe, okay?" Mom requests.
Miguel nods. "I will. Don't worry."
He says goodbye to Mom and Yaya before putting his shoes on and leaving the apartment.
Miguel closes the door behind him and walks over to Sensei's apartment.
He notices the Pontiac Firebird parked outside.
Miguel walks up to the door and knocks on it a couple times.
"You ready to go, Diaz? I'm driving you to the dance and then I'm going to try and pick up some more students." Sensei opens the door and looks out at Miguel.
There is a stack of flyers under one of his arms.
Miguel looks at the flyers. "I'm pretty sure you don't need those, Sensei."
"How else am I going to get new students?" Sensei retorts.
Miguel thinks about it. "Fair enough."
"Good. Let's go." Sensei walks over to his car and unlocks it.
Miguel gets into the front passenger seat and Sensei gets into the driver's seat.
Sensei turns on the radio as they drive off.
Miguel checks his phone and sees texts from Jason, Claire and Aisha.
He quickly replies to each of their texts as Sensei drives towards West Valley High.
Sensei turns up the radio as he drives.
Miguel had been looking forward to the dance for weeks.
Hopefully he'd get an opportunity to talk to Sam.
….
Jason parked the Dodge Viper and got out.
He locked the car before walking into West Valley High.
Jason didn't have far to go before meeting Claire and Aisha.
Both girls were wearing skeleton costumes complete with face paint. Jason couldn't help but notice that Claire's costume wasn't exactly a onesie. She was wearing a skeleton top that went down to her midriff and what looked like a skeleton tracksuit along with black shoes.
"Hey!" Claire gives Jason a hug and a kiss.
Jason hugs her back and gives her a kiss. "Hey, Claire."
"I told you that going to the dance wearing a group costume was a good idea." Claire remarks.
Jason nods. "Yeah."
Claire is about to say something when they notice Miguel walking towards them.
"Hey, guys." Miguel says.
Jason grins. "How'd you get here so quickly?"
"Sensei gave me a lift. He's got a bunch of flyers with him and is going to try and get some more students for the dojo." Miguel answers.
Jason, Claire and Aisha all exchange glances.
Claire speaks up. "Oh. I can think of at least one problem with that."
"What would that be?" Miguel asks.
Claire clears her throat. "Well, my dad isn't chaperoning the dance. Which means that someone else is. My dad wouldn't have cared if Sensei started putting up flyers or whatever."
"I think that Sam's dad might be chaperoning the dance." Aisha adds.
Miguel kind of understands. "Oh. Does he have some sort of problem with Cobra Kai?"
"You could say that." Jason answers.
Miguel promptly changes the subject. "Anyway. We should probably get going. Demetri and Eli are probably already inside."
"So, let's go. We've wasted enough time out here." Aisha speaks up again.
Everybody agrees.
They walk into the gym.
Demetri and Eli are in one corner by a table with a punchbowl and cups on it.
Claire calls them over. "Hey, guys! We're over here!"
Jason, Miguel, Claire and Aisha watch as Demetri and Eli left their spot by the table with the punchbowl on it and walk over towards them.
Demetri and Eli look at their costumes. The former gives an almost approving nod while the latter looks on in silence.
"I wasn't expecting you all to pick a classic costume. But I think you made the right choice." Demetri remarks.
Miguel smiles. "Thanks. Are you a wizard? Or maybe you're a sorcerer? Or could you possibly be a warlock?"
"All of those guesses are wrong, my friend. I'm a necromancer." Demetri replies.
Jason looks confused. "You're a what?"
"Didn't you see The Amulet?" Demetri asks.
Jason shakes his head. "I can't say that I have. I'm more of an action or martial arts movie kind of person."
"He's not kidding. I've only managed to talk him into attempting to watch the Harry Potter movies with me because Alan Rickman happened to be in them." Claire adds.
Miguel looks at Eli. "Are you supposed to be a doctor?
"Plastic surgeon. I fix lips." Eli answers with a hint of embarrassment in his voice.
Jason quickly changes the subject. "Have you guys been here for long?"
"Not really." Demetri replies.
Eli looks like he is about to say something, but he stays silent.
Jason looks over in the direction of three girls dressed up as Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. "Maybe you can ask the dragon queens if they want to dance with you? Claire and I are going to go and dance to this song. Or maybe the next one."
"That sounds like a good idea." Miguel agrees.
He's just about to go and ask one of the dragon queens to dance but someone dressed up as Doctor Who gets there first.
Jason watches as Claire walks to where the DJ has set up.
She gives the DJ money and the DJ just nods.
By the time Claire walks back to where he's standing, the DJ has changed the song that's playing.
The opening few seconds of X's cover of "Wild Thing" blared out over the speakers.
Jason smiles. "That's more like it."
"I thought you'd like it." Claire says.
They start dancing, oblivious to the stares from some of the other students.
Jason and Claire do a sort of waltz to the music before Jason spins Claire around and dips her down halfway to the ground.
He lets Claire up as the song finishes.
Jason looks around and sees Sam and Kyler standing around with Moon, Yasmine, Brucks, Rory and Alan. Sam, Moon and Yasmine are dressed up as Laker girls while Kyler, Brucks, Rory and Alan are dressed up as pirates.
He gives them a big smile that is returned with a sort of smile from Sam and Moon and hostility from Kyler, Yasmine, Brucks, Rory and Alan.
Jason walks over to get some punch for Claire, and himself.
He walks back and hands Claire a cup. "Here you go."
"Thanks." Claire replies.
They drink from their cups and get rid of them.
Miguel looks over at Sam. "You think I should go over there?"
"Maybe not right now. I don't know." Aisha replies.
Miguel understands. "Yeah. I'd better wait."
"And, it looks like they're going somewhere else already." Aisha remarks.
Miguel looks over and sees Sam and Kyler walking out of the room.
He lets out a sigh. "Yeah. I don't really know what I was expecting. And, I probably should wait."
Demetri and Eli have walked back to the table with the punchbowl on it.
The former drank a couple cups of the punch before they walked back over to where Jason, Miguel, Claire and Aisha are standing.
Some people are dancing, quite a few people are talking, some others are standing around and some people have left the gym in order to go somewhere more quiet. Or they were using the dance as a cover for going to a party or somewhere else that didn't have someone chaperoning it.
At one point, Jason would have been one of the people using going to the dance as cover for going to a party.
But he had actual friends now. And a girlfriend.
So, he was staying.
Quite a bit of time passed.
Jason noticed Brucks, Rory and Alan leave the gym.
Miguel speaks up. "I'm going to go to the bathroom."
"Yeah. The punch is starting to go right through me. So, I kind of have to go." Demetri interjects.
Jason nods. "Cool."
"We'll be right here." Claire says.
Aisha looks at Miguel. "Don't take too long. Because Sam might be coming back soon."
"We won't." Miguel replies.
Jason, Claire and Aisha watch as Miguel, Demetri and Eli walk out of the gym.
Hopefully, nothing would happen to ruin the rest of the night.
….
The bathroom was completely empty apart from Miguel, Demetri and Eli.
They went to the bathroom in relative silence.
At least until they washed their hands.
"I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to talk to Sam." Demetri says.
Miguel just shrugs. "Don't worry about it. You guys didn't try and talk to any girls."
"Have you looked at us?" Demetri asks.
Miguel shakes his head. "Come on."
They finish washing their hands.
Kyler, Brucks, Rory and Alan just happened to walk in almost as soon as they were about to leave.
Miguel, Demetri and Eli find somewhere to hide.
"I'm so frustrated, man. I was about to give Sam that bracelet before her dad showed up." Kyler complained.
Brucks let out an oddly porcine laugh. "Dude! You had her in the palm of your dick!"
"A bracelet? Like the cheap one you gave that East Valley slut?" Alan asks.
Miguel can see Kyler nodding his head. "Yeah. All that hard work for nothing."
Demetri accidentally knocks over some lacrosse sticks.
Kyler, Brucks, Rory and Alan turn around just as Demetri and Eli run off.
Miguel rises to his feet.
"Were you spying on us, Rhea?" Kyler asks.
Miguel shakes his head. "Nope. I just happened to be here first. Besides, we both know what happened outside the bodega and that pool party. Sensei kicked your ass and Jason would have beaten you if LaRusso hadn't shown up when he did."
"Too bad Lurch isn't here. At least he would have been a challenge." Kyler taunts.
Miguel just smiles. "But you've got me instead. Try not to be too disappointed."
He manages to kick Kyler in the face, which sent him backwards into the wall.
"You're a dead man, Rhea!" Kyler snarls.
Miguel gets into a fighting stance.
Brucks goes to grab him, but he kicks him in the shins before performing a leg sweep on him.
When Miguel tries to move, Brucks tries to grab his ankle.
Miguel stamps on Brucks' hand, causing the other teenager to sit up in pain.
Brucks gets up to his feet and shakes out the hand that Miguel stamped on.
Alan rushes towards Miguel and tries to punch him.
Miguel blocks Alan's punches before landing a clean shot on his jaw.
This punch was enough to send Alan to the floor clutching his jaw in pain.
Miguel is focused on Alan, so he doesn't notice when Rory tackles him from behind.
The two teenagers are fighting on the floor before Rory stands up and drags Miguel to his feet.
Miguel stamps on Rory's foot and does a back kick that connects with his groin.
He gets back into a fighting stance. "Is that all you got?! Come on!"
"Brucks! Get him!" Kyler shouts.
Brucks tries to grab Miguel again, but he gets a punch for his trouble.
Rory recovers enough to grab Miguel.
Miguel struggles in Rory's grasp.
Kyler picks up a lacrosse stick. "I've got you right where I want you, Rhea."
He goes to hit Miguel, who manages to wriggle out of Rory's grasp.
Kyler hits Rory in the head with the lacrosse stick, causing him to fall to the floor.
Rory is slightly disoriented but he still manages to grab Miguel's legs.
Miguel stamps on Rory's hands to stop him from grabbing him.
Unfortunately, this gives Kyler the opening that he needs.
Kyler swings the lacrosse stick at Miguel.
Miguel manages to block it, but it leaves a pretty bad bruise on his right arm.
Brucks grabs Miguel, pinning his arms behind his back.
"Get him, Ky!" Brucks exclaims.
Kyler nods and hits Miguel with the lacrosse stick.
This time, Kyler hits Miguel in the stomach.
He throws the lacrosse stick to one side as Brucks lets go of Miguel, who falls to the floor.
Alan and Rory have recovered by this point and they both get to their feet if they're not on their feet already.
They're about to surround Miguel.
But the door opens.
Jason practically slams the door shut behind him.
Kyler, Brucks, Rory and Alan turn their attention away from Miguel.
Jason cracks his knuckles. "Didn't your parents tell you to keep your hands to yourself? Or are you just slow learners?"
"You got here a bit late, Lurch. Rhea started a fight he couldn't finish. We had to teach him a lesson he won't forget." Kyler answers.
Jason's eyes narrow. "Is that right? It looks like you ganged up on him to me."
"Think what you want, Lurch. But it looks you've got two choices. You can either help Rhea out or you can pick a fight with us." Kyler retorts.
Jason walks over to Miguel and helps him to his feet. "I've made my choice."
"I knew you'd make the right choice, Lurch. You're not as stupid as you look." Kyler taunts.
Jason watches as Kyler, Brucks, Rory and Alan leave the room.
He turns his attention back to Miguel. "Are you okay?"
"Not really. They got me pretty good." Miguel replies.
Jason helps Miguel walk out of the room.
He looks around for Sensei and sees him putting up flyers advertising the dojo.
Jason takes Miguel to where Sensei is as fast as he can go. "Sensei! Miguel got beaten up!"
"Shit. I'd better take him home, then." Sensei looks concerned.
Jason walks Miguel towards Sensei.
He watches as Miguel leans on Sensei for support.
Jason looks at Sensei. "So, what should I do now?"
"Try not to get yourself in too much trouble." Sensei replies.
Jason lets out a sigh. "Fine. Just get him home safe."
"I will, Kreese. Don't worry about it." Sensei says.
Jason nods. "Good."
"Don't you have a dance to get back to?" Sensei asks.
Jason smiles slightly. "Yes, Sensei."
He walks back into the gym while acknowledging Demetri and Eli. Because they were the ones who told him that Miguel had gotten into a fight with Kyler and his crew.
Jason checks his phone and receives a notification from Yasmine of all people.
It's a video of Aisha eating Cheetos at the buffet table.
The filter that Yasmine used gave Aisha a pig nose.
There was also a caption that said "The buffet table is under attack."
Jason shakes his head.
Yasmine has a big smile on her face, Sam looks kind of unhappy but doesn't say anything and Moon is somewhere in the middle.
Jason watches Claire as she walks towards Aisha and exchanges words briefly with her before Aisha storms over to where Yasmine, Sam and Moon are standing.
Claire follows closely behind her.
"You think this is funny?!" Aisha yells.
Yasmine looks offended by the question. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me, bitch!" Aisha replies.
Yasmine almost doesn't believe what she's hearing. "Who do you think you are?"
"What are you going to do about it?" Aisha challenges.
Jason and Claire exchange glances.
They're not sure whether or not they should intervene.
Yasmine makes a disdainful noise that sounds like a snort. "It's not my fault you pig out all the time, Fuglisha. It's disgusting."
"Say that again and I'll snap you like a twig." Aisha growls.
Sam steps in between Aisha and Yasmine. "Calm down, Aisha."
"Don't tell me to calm down. You've been hanging around with them all summer and you can't even see the kind of people that they are. Which makes you almost as bad as them." Aisha says.
Moon steps in. "It wasn't her fault."
"And that makes it any better?" Aisha retorts.
Sam shakes her head. "It doesn't."
"Are you seriously apologising to her?" Yasmine interjects.
Sam sighs. "I am. And I can't pretend to be something that I'm not anymore."
She walks away, leaving Yasmine and Moon standing by themselves.
Jason and Claire lead Aisha away from Yasmine and Moon.
"Well, that was close." Claire remarks.
Jason nods. "Yeah."
"So, what now?" Claire asks.
Jason thinks about it. "I guess we can go home. There's not really much point in hanging around anymore."
"Yeah. Good thing I drove here." Claire says.
Jason agrees. "For sure. I managed to find a pretty good place to park."
"Lucky you." Claire teases.
Jason smiles. "Yeah. Well, there's just one thing I have to do before I leave."
"What's that?" Claire asks.
Jason's smile grows a little wider. "It's a secret."
"Don't take too long, then." Claire gives Jason a little kiss on the cheek.
Jason walks to the door and leaves the gym.
He doesn't have far to go, because he sees Kyler talking to Brucks, Rory and Alan.
Jason finds somewhere to hide.
"Sam ghosted me, man." Kyler gripes.
Alan shrugs. "So? There are plenty of other fishes in the sea. If you know what I mean."
"I know. I put in so much effort trying to convince her that I'm a good guy." Kyler says.
Jason continued to wait.
He notices that they're starting to leave. But they're not all leaving together.
Jason makes his move.
He walks up to Rory.
Rory turns around. "What the hell do you want, Lurch? Have you finally grown a pair?"
"Something like that." Jason retorts.
He rears back and headbutts Rory right in the face.
Jason manages to headbutt Rory right in the nose.
Rory brings his hands up to stop the blood from flowing.
Jason punches him in the stomach, causing him to drop his hands.
He then pulls the top half of Rory's costume over his head and starts raining down punches on his face and head.
Jason then kicks Rory to the ground.
He watches as Rory pulls down the top half of his costume.
Rory wipes the blood from his nose with the sleeve of his costume. "I give up! Take whatever you want from me, just don't hurt me anymore!"
"Did Miguel ask you not to hurt him?" Jason asks.
Rory shakes his head. "Rhea didn't, I swear! He fought back! Come on! Just let me go!"
"Fine. You can tell Kyler and the rest of your friends to leave my friends alone. I'll kick your heads in if you so much as look at them the wrong way. Understood?" Jason glares at Rory.
Rory nods frantically. "We'll leave Rhea and Shitlip alone! Honest!"
"That wasn't quite good enough. Sorry." Jason smirks.
He grabs Rory by the collar of his costume.
Jason punches him in the eye, causing swelling and bruising almost immediately.
He lets go of Rory and watches as the other teenager practically sinks to the ground.
Jason walks away.
He would probably get in trouble for beating up Rory, but it was worth it.
Especially if Miguel, Demetri and Eli would be left alone.