Cobra Kai Fan-Fics - Four Separate Stories

••••《 3 - Counterbalance 》

Ember Keene Episode Three - This takes place season 1, episode 5

Characters in scenes (in order of appearance): Ember, Shannon, Robby

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☆ Scene One – Robby talks to his mom: ☆

Our mom comes out of her bedroom, dressed up, in fancy high heels and caked on makeup. She's working on putting her earrings on. I watch her from the dinner table, scribbling doodles down in a notebook of her. Although I'm not a big fan of my mom, when I see her, I instantly get inspired to draw her. I sketch out her eye as I see Robby walk towards her out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey, mom. I went to Vons and got those frozen pizzas that you like, and I got a movie that you, me, and Ember could watch later." I hear Robby chuckle. I bring my head up away from the sketchbook and look at them. He's smiling. "It could be a lot of fun!" My mom looks away from the mirror and at Robby. She looks surprised.

"Oh, that's so sweet, honey. I actually have to run a couple of errands, but how about tomorrow or something, okay?" She explains, as she moves her hand away from the earring she just stuck in. Robby's face softens. I let out a laugh from the table.

"What was that for?" Our mom turns her head towards me.

"Yeah, if you're not too hungover." I mumble.

"Hey." She tries to say nicely, but notices we're not buying into her act. "Okay, yeah, you caught me! I'm going out, but you know what? It is Dine LA week!" She grins and searches her purse for a tube of lipstick.

"Are you meeting that guy from the other night?" Robby asks, actually trying to seem invested in her relationship. Our mom let's out a chuckle.

"Oh God, that nerd?" She huffs. "No, he was all bark and no stick." Robby and I look at one another making a face. "Sorry. I know, that's, like, super gross."

"It is." I mutter.

"Yeah, but you guys don't realize how hard it is to find a good man! I mean, just look at your dad's. Those are the two people we're currently working with, no one good." My mom begins applying the lipstick. "Speaking of your dad, Robby, did I mention he came to the bar I was at?"

"No, what did he say?" Robby asks.

"Just some bull-shit about how I'm an unfit mother and need to look out for my kids, like he's one to talk. Then he said something about you moving in, Robby, as if he suddenly cares..." Mom sighs, finishing up her lipstick. "I'm sure it's just a scam to get out of paying child support." Robby looks back at me, I raise my eyebrows. As much as I don't want Robby to leave, he'd probably be better off there. "Listen, I know you guys had some fun stuff planned, but hey, at least you guys can do it together! I'm just trying to find that special someone before my kiddos leave me. You don't want to leave me alone, do you?" I give a quick shake of the head.

"No." Robby mumbles.

"I love you both." She smiles and kisses both of us on the forehead. She begins to head for the door quickly opening it. Just as she does, a thought pops into my head.

"Oh, wait, mom!" I mumble, pulling myself out of my chair. "When are you going to get a refill on my-" The door suddenly slams. "Meds..." I finish. Robby and I stand in front of our door in silence.

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☆ Scene Two – Later that same night: ☆

Robby and I sit quietly, under the blankets on the couch. Robby and I are looking at his dad's karate dojo page. All the lights in the house are off, except from the light radiating from the laptop.

"So your dad was a karate champion?" I mumble and stare at a picture of his dad.

"Yeah, it says here. Two-time All-Valley winner." Robby scans his eyes through the page.

"That's really cool." I smile. "I wonder what it's like to do karate. It sounds really fun."

"Yeah, it kind of does." Robby grins. I look at the picture of Robby's dad again. I randomly change the topic of conversation.

"Robby? Do you think your dad actually wants you to live with him?" I ask, a little worried that Robby would leave me instantly if he had the chance.

"I'm not sure." Robby mumbles and turns towards me. "But just know, if I did move in with my dad, I would fight to bring you along with me." Suddenly, the door of the apartment opens up. Robby instantly lowers the lid of the laptop.  I can hear my mom's voice, but she sounds drunk. Her and her date are laughing as they enter. Our mom instantly begins shushing the man.

"Shh! My kids, they're sleeping. We have to be quiet." My mom chuckles. I look over at her. She almost stumbles into the man.

"We can try, but that might be difficult." The man laughs. My mom snorts and the two fumble into her room. Robby lets out a sigh.

"Now what are we going to do?" I ask Robby. "Because I definitely don't want to hear whatever's about to happen over there." Robby nods in agreement. He thinks for a moment as I hear my mom laugh loudly from her room.

"Do you want to go out and take a walk? Maybe go to the store and pick up some ice cream?" Robby suggests. I feel myself suddenly smile and nod. That's definitely better than being in this house right now. Hell, that sounds a lot better then ever being in this house in general.

"Sounds like fun." I say as the two of us instantly begin getting up off of the couch. We quickly slip on our shoes and begin heading out the door.

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☆ Scene Three – Robby gets a job: ☆

The door suddenly opens and shuts just as quickly. Robby comes fumbling into the living room with a huge grin on his face. I raise an eyebrow.

"Why are you so happy? Didn't you just tell me a story about how you tried to visit your dad and it didn't work out literally yesterday? I thought you'd be sadder." I state and Robby let's out a chuckle.

"Oh, no, don't worry! I'm still pissed, but you'll never guess what!" He exclaims.

"What?" I giggle at his excitement.

"I got a job!" He smiles. "And, it's a job at my dad's arch-enemies business!" I can't help but let out a laugh.

"That's what your excited about?" I chuckle. "Seems a little weird."

"Well, not just that, but I got a job like you wanted." Robby sits next to me on the couch and smiles. I nod, noticing how proud he is of himself and how much he cares about me.

"Good!" I smile back at him. "That means no more breaking the law." I tell him.