WILDFIRE ► COBRA KAI

Chapter 1

Flynn craned her neck back, pale skin glistening under the warm spotlight. Her body shuddered with breath as she exhaled, a gust of cold air puffing from her lips. The brunette peeled her eyes open, stretching both arms out in graceful arcs.

Then, she was flying on ice.

Her figure soared in a loose circle around the rink, skate blades hissing against freshly coated ice. A small, aching twinge laddered up her thighs as she bent her midsection, arms hanging low with preparation. In a flash, Flynn's body careened violently into the air, twirling three times as the world became a blur.

Until her foot slipped out from under her in the landing, her entire torso slamming into the solid white unexpectedly. "Oof," the girl grunted on impact.

Her shock folded into frustration. "Dammit!" She exclaimed, fingers sending small sheets of melted ice spraying.

"That's alright! Shake it off!"

Flynn peered over her shoulder at the shorter girl with black, unruly curls. Her best friend Dakota rapped her palms together encouragingly. She had been watching her unlucky fall from the sidelines.

The Wilder girl pushed herself off the slippery terrain and glided towards her, lips smashed together. "It's that damn triple."

"Ah, you'll get it."

"That's the thing," Flynn continued as she shoved through the gate and stepped onto the cement with her blades. "I have gotten it. I just can't get out of my head about it now."

"Maybe you need to take a breather," Dakota suggested, leading them to the locker room. The small space had become brighter with the fresh morning sunlight, orange hues bouncing off navy lockers. "Coach says you've been pushing yourself too hard. And if she's saying that, you know it's true."

Flynn shook her head in disbelief, panting through her teeth. "I just want to be in the best shape I can be for the next comp. It's not like I'm doing anything crazy."

"Right, because coming to the rink at four in the morning all the time isn't crazy," her friend snickered. She stooped over a bench, sliding her skates off. "I can't keep up with you anymore, Flynn."

"Don't need to," she huffed, removing her own skates from her sore ankles. "In fact, I would love it if you didn't. Means nothing but gold for me." A laugh buttered out of her as Dakota lightly rammed her knuckles into her stomach.

"Yeah, you wish."

Images of flying turns and her legs sliding out from under her rattled Flynn's mind during the school day. By lunch, she already felt the urge to get back on the ice surface in her stomach. She tried suppressing it, knowing that flame building up inside her wasn't normal.

"I don't know, man. I just don't understand how a 98 could ever be considered bad," Flynn rambled as she steered her lunch tray down the rack beside Dakota's. "Smart kids piss me off."

Dakota sneered, the crest of her shoulder digging into the her bicep. "Flynn, you are a smart kid."

"Not to that extent," Flynn mumbled before tossing a gracious smile at the lunch lady. "A 98 is something to celebrate instead of cry and piss your pants over."