A/N: Season two of Cobra Kai was definitely an emotional rollercoaster, I enjoyed it quite a bit and loved all of the old and new characters. The season finale inspired me to write this. Since we saw what was going on in Miguel's head before he made the fateful decision to show mercy, I wanted to explore what possibly could have been going on in Robby's head at that moment. Hope you enjoy!
Unwanted
The louder the crowd became, the less Robby Keene heard them as he struggled to free himself from the grip of his archenemy, Miguel Diaz. To make things worse, the more he struggled, the more Diaz's grip tightened.
Robby cursed himself for ending up beneath Cobra Kai once again, literally in this case. His goal at the beginning was simply to break up the fight between Sam and Tory, but that had all but been forgotten by this point. This was now a matter of proving who was the best.
"I saw what you did at the party. You kissed Miguel…"
"She doesn't love you, she loves me!"
Tory and Diaz's voices played in his head over and over as if it were a song that couldn't be turned off. Robby gritted his teeth and tried to break free once more to no avail.
"Like that move? Learned it from your dad!"
It was easy to hold back the tears simply because Robby was so enraged and focused on trying to keep his arm from being broken once again. Still, the words had beaten him more than any punch or kick could have.
"Without further ado, let me present the trophy to this year's new champion, Miguel Diaz and the Cobra Kai dojo!"
Robby tried to ignore the negative thoughts drilling themselves into his mind. The thought that Sam preferred Diaz as a boyfriend, the thought that his father preferred Diaz as a son, and worst of all, the thought that Diaz was a better fighter. No matter what he did, it seemed as if the universe preferred Miguel Diaz and Robby was simply the guy no one wanted, just like it had been his entire life.
Then the grip loosened.
"I'm sorry…"
Diaz's voice was barely a whisper. For a split second, Robby almost believed him, but those thoughts were quickly dissipated when memories of the tournament flooded into Robby's head. Diaz had taken advantage of his mercy back then and this was probably another one of his Cobra Kai tricks.
The thought that there was a possibility that it wasn't a trick didn't soothe him. In fact, it made everything worse. What if Diaz was simply so assured that he was the better fighter that he did not feel the need to continue the battle?
The thoughts that had been torturing him since the fight began magnified every waking second and he couldn't handle it anymore. Robby Keene had reached his absolute breaking point.
With a scream of fury and hatred, Robby got to his knees and slammed his elbow into the back of Diaz's neck. The other boy stumbled back and Robby unleashed a kick to the back of his leg. The second, even more powerful kick landed on Diaz's midsection and when Robby turned around his rival was gone.
"Miguel!"
Tory's scream and the sickening crunching sound from below brought Robby back to reality. He rushed to the railing where Diaz had gone over…that he had kicked him over. The ten-foot fall had left the other boy unconscious and for all Robby knew, possibly dead. The police officer that had arrived on the scene glared daggers at Robby and he felt his breathing intensify.
"Robby, what did you do?!"
Sam's voice was like a knife in the heart. Robby looked at her horrified face but could not even think of an excuse or rationalization of what had just occurred. No matter how much he had suffered at the hands of Cobra Kai, Miguel Diaz in particular, none of them had done anything as awful as this. In that moment, Robby wasn't just as bad as Cobra Kai, he was worse. This realization shook him to his core. Robby took one last look at his fallen opponent and back to Sam before he fled.
He ran past the other students who were rushing to see what had happened making his way down the corridor and out the double doors that led to the back exit of West Valley High, doing his best to avoid any school officials or authorities.
Robby ran at full speed until he was at least a couple of blocks away from the school. He flipped the hood of his blue hoodie over his head and sat down on the sidewalk burying his head into his lap. He felt his tears wetting his sleeves. One moment of anger had ruined his life and possibly ended another. Worse than anything, there was no one he could turn to.
He had been disowned by his sensei earlier this morning, Sam would never want to speak to him again, and there was no way his father would help him after what he just done to the boy that Johnny Lawrence preferred as a son.
Robby Keene was now completely alone in the world and would remain unwanted.