"You wanna fucking corner me?" Karters voice echoed through out the kitchen later that evening. Moon was having a part after Valley Feast, a way of celebrating the win and the first summer party. Kyler had corner the new girl in the kitchen, trying to feel her up before she knocked him in the throat. "Don't you touch me again!"

"Crazy b-" Kyler began, holding sore neck. Karter grabbed the knife from the counter, holding it up. "Woah! Woah! Woah! It was just a joke! It was just a joke!"

"Do not ever put your hands on me!" Karter held it his way. "Ever!"

The crowd around the kitchen was watching in shock. Kylers hands went up quickly. "Okay, okay, okay. Chill, chill, chill."

Karter dropped the knife, letting it clatter on the ground. She smiled at the group that had swarmed the kitchen. "By the way, i'm Karter! I just moved here."

Miguel gapped as he watched her walk out of the back door. "Who is that girl?"

Hawk inhaled, shaking his head in disbelief. "My freaking cousin."

"I just don't understand why you're so annoyed with me." Karter spoke, in the process of unpacking in the guest bedroom. "If anything, you should be thanking me."

"Thanking you? For trying to stab people at my girlfriends party?" Eli looked in disbelief at her. "Are you insane?"

"Aw, that was your girlfriend?" Karter smiled, standing up from the floor. "That's so sweet."

Hawk huffed, shaking his head at her. "Are you wanting to come with me?"

"I get the feeling you really don't want me to." Karter cracked a grin, leaning on the doorway as he walked down the hallway. "Cousin, I love you!"

"If you come with me, you can't be embarrassing!" he called from his room, fishing around the closet. "You can't go all psycho there, either! You'll get your ass totally kicked!"

"Is there an initiation?" Karter rose her eyebrows, watching Eli walk from his room in his gi. "Do I need to spike my hair up too? Get a tattoo? Because, if that's the case, i'm definitely gonna go."

He was beyond annoyed with her, sighing and stopped infront of her. "I'm serious. This is my place. Don't humiliate me."

"Was the party that humiliating? I thought you hated that guy." Karter followed him down the hallway. "I should have stabbed him, right?"

"Just, not infront of Moon." Hawk sighed. "I don't want her to think I have a psycho family. She's all peace and love."

"Okay, no more knife tricks for
me." Karter shrugged, keeping close after as they headed out of the door. "What should I prepare for?"

Hawk stoped, turing around and slamming his head into hers. Karter fell back into the grass, holding her head. "Ow! What the hell?"

"Good." he grabbed her arm to pull her to her feet. "Now, you're ready."

"Arizona? Is there a lot of orange mountains there?" Miguel was in aw when Hawk had introduced Karter to him, the dojo filled with new recruits. "I did a project on Arizona. Have you been to the Grand Canyon?"

"Wanna see a picture?" Karter grinned, reaching into her bag as Miguel looked over her shoulder. She showed off the picture of her extending her arms infront of the Grand Canyon. "My legs were on fire. So worth it."

"Oh my god, that's gorgeous." Miguel looked closer at her phone. "Is it hotter there?"

"Yeah." she shoved her phone back into her bag. "Less expensive too."

"Oh, yeah, they went up on gas prices across the street." Miguel nodded his head with an exhale. "You have to find your places though."

Karter turned her head when she over heard Kreese talking from behind them.

"They were outgunned, we were outmanned." Kreese continued his story, Miguel and Karter both investing in the story now. "I tell you...Rwanda was no joke."

"Don't you mean Somalia?" Miguel cut in.

"Mogadishu is in Somalia, isn't it?" Karter nodded, Hawk gave her a begging look, making her give a crazy one back.

"Rwandas a whole different country." Miguel agreed with her as Kreese turned to look back at the pair.

"Of course, Somalia." Kreese chuckled slightly as he looked at the trio again. "I've spent so much time in the sandbox, it all kind of bleeds together, you know?"

"Who's that guy?" Karter whispered toward Miguel.

"Sensei Kreese. He was Sensei Lawrence's sensei." he explained to her with a nod. "He'll probably like you if you tell him what you did at the party."

Karter eyebrows shot up. "You saw that?"

"The whole party kinda did." Miguel admitted honestly with a little shrug. "To be fair, I knew you weren't gonna stab him."

Karter crossed her arms with a questionable look. "What makes you so confident about that?"

Miguel gave a comical shrug. "You'd stab someone infront of an entire party?"

Karter hummed, tilting her head. "You have a point."

"Think smarter, not harder." Miguel tapped the side of his head with a boyish grin.

"Listen up!" Sensei Lawrence's voice rung as he came from the office, eyeing Kreese slightly. Hawk slapped Karter in the arm, making her fall in behind him. "I see we're got some new recruits. Everybody, fall in. In neat rows and lines."

Johnny looked at the group . "Time to see what you're made of."

Johnny gave a little glare when him and Karter locked eyes, causing her head to be held higher and return the glare. He passed, stopping to the redhead in the back. "Straighten up, ginger twins."

"Sorry, parents can't stay for class. It's an insurance thing." his voice rung, making them all look back at Johnny talking to an older man.

"Oh, i'm not a dad. I-I am here to kick some ass, sir." the man announced. Karter gave a comical look, holding in a laugh as her and Aisha shared a similar one.

Johnny had a quick conversation, taking cash from his hand before walking forward. "I thought my last group of recruits was pathetic. But if you do what I tell you to do, you'll at least have a chance of becoming a fighter. But to do that, you gotta fight. So, which one of you has the balls to take on the champ?"

Karter eyed Miguel, waiting for someone to cut in. "I'll take him on."

They all turned, looking toward a girl with frizzy hair and a half way confident face. Johnny looked at her, almost judging like. "Oh, you will, huh?"

She nodded, shifting on her feet. "I saw your little demo at Valley Fest. You guys can put on a show. Can you actually fight?"

Karter hummed for a moment as Johnny approached. "That sounds like a challenge."

"I like a challenge." she spoke back confidently.

Karter slapped her cousin in the arm. "Am I humiliating you yet?"

"Don't wanna jinx it." he said in return.

Johnny cut in. "Mr.Diaz, show Little Miss Hotshot here what Cobra Kai is all about."

They all spread off the mat. Karter leaned on one foot slightly, watching Miguel and the new girl. He went to talk to the her before she kicked him harshly in the chest. Miguel laughed. "All right. Game on."

She swung at him again, having it blocked as Miguel ducked under her arm, dodging her fist and her foot. She went to kick him again, being cut off by his hands grasping her waist to push her down on the mat. He blocked all her punches once again, kicking her in the leg as it flew out from under her.

Her body flew forward, grasping his waist and taking him down to the mat. Karter gave a snort, Miguel head turning to look her way in disbelief    before he flipped around, locking his legs around her legs to trip her, standing up. He held his hand out, she took it before swinging him over her shoulder.

Karters bike chain had broke, meaning she was stuck waiting for her aunt or uncle to come get her. Hawk ran off with Moon, and Karter didn't want to have to ask for a ride from her after what she did at the party. Her head turned back when the bell rung. "Oh, hey, Rwanda."

"Somalia, you're still here?" Miguel joked with her in return, pulling his backpack on more as Karter stood up from the side walk.

"Bike chain broke." she gave a minor shrug. "Figured you guys probably don't have bike mechanics."

Miguel's eyes widened. "Do they have that in Arizona?"

Karter tilted her head with a minor laugh. "That was a joke."

"Oh, right." he reddened in the face slightly, looking down with a forced laugh. "Moon didn't give you a ride?"

"I think i've embarrassed El-Hawk enough infront of her." Karter shook her head with a shrug. "What are you still doing here?"

"Oh, I stay back and help Sensei Lawrence put the mats up." Miguel said back with a shake of his head. "So, do you like it?"

"I think so." Karter hummed, looking back at the dojo. "If I had a little more patience."

"Karate can help with that." Miguel nodded his head. "I think you should stay. I'm mainly just saying that because half the team walked out last time we got new recruits."

Karter cracked a grin. "I might walk out just to prove a point now."

"Shouldn't have said anything." he laughed slightly, looking over as a tan car pulled up. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Karter gave a minor shrug. "Possibly."

Miguel paused at the door, looking back, squinting from the sun. "We pass Hawks house on the way home. Do you want a ride?"

•

kylie speaks

grossss i hate the first
chapters so much bc they
feel so rushed and unorganized,
promise the rest of the book
will be 100% better, but i love
karter and miguel joking
dynamic alreasy.