─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

tabitha pushed herself out of bed with a sigh, it had been two weeks since she moved in with her grandfather. the moving transition was smooth and the overall experience was better than she had expected. the only slight problem was that she missed her mother and brother.

while she saw theo at school, she was only able to see her mother on sunday for brunch. most of tabby's free time was occupied with training.

tabby made her way to her en suite bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth. as she scrubbed her teeth with her toothbrush, she saw that her overhead cabinet was ajar. "what the hell?" she muttered, reaching over to open it.

that's when she finally remembered. it had been several days since she last took her medicine and now, the prescription bottle was missing from the shelf. she frowned, spitting out the toothpaste in her mouth. tabitha quickly placed her toothbrush back into the holder and shut the tap.

she rushed out of the room, making her way down the large stairs. "grandpa, have you seen my medication—" once her foot reached the ground, tabitha stopped in her tracks.

in the mornings, when silver wasn't at the dojo, preparing to teach, he was on the dining table with a newspaper and a cup of coffee. that's exactly what he was doing, but this time he was not alone.

the man sitting with him turned around and a soft gasp escaped from tabby's lips at the sight of him. "mornibg tabs, it's great to see you." he said, rising to his feet.

tabby's breath caught in her throat. she hadn't heard that nickname from him in years. without saying a word, she immediately reached for her phone, her fingers trembling as she dialed her mother's number.

tobias stood up, sensing the tension. "tabs, wait. we should talk—" but the girl backed up, moving backwards up the staircase.

"don't call me that." she said, shaking her head. part of her wanted to scream, to demand answers, but the training silver had drilled into her for the past three weeks told her to stay calm, to stay focused. she didn't reply, just stood there, fists clenched at her sides.

the phone rang twice in before esther picked up. tabby's voice was filled with panic. "mom, you need to come here. now."

as tabitha paced back and forth in her bedroom, her mom was on her way. it took less than ten minutes for esther to storm in, theo close behind her. they made their way into the house, going straight to the dining room.

"terry, where the hell are you?!" her voice boomed through the house. tabby gasped from her room, she jumped off of the bed and raced down the stairs. the second hee feet touched the ground, she ran into her mother's arms. esther sighed, pulling the girl in tight.

silver glanced up from the newspaper, his expression cool and unbothered, as if he had expected this confrontation. "there's no need to get worked up. tobias just wanted to see his daughter. i didn't see the harm in letting them talk."

"no harm? you lied to me, terry!" esther exclaimed. "we had an agreement. you promised you'd never tell him where we moved to. you said you hadn't seen him in years!"

that wasn't the whole deal. when silver found out about his grandchildren, he immediately wanted to pass on his legacy and teach them karate. but unfortunately, esther was really hesitant about the idea. so when things with tobias started to get tough and esther decided to pack up her children and move somewhere he wouldn't find them, silver proposed a deal.

he wouldn't tell his son about their whereabouts as long as he could teach them karate. desperate to get away from the man, esther agreed. a few years later when the divorce was finalised and tobias lost custody of his children, silver assumed that the agreement was over. but he assumed wrong.

"i didn't tell him anything." terry shrugged. but esther knew he was lying. "he found his way here on his own. and as for our agreement, that was a long time ago. things change and i couldn't deny my son the right to see his child."

esther's hands clenched into fists, her voice shaking with distaste. "how could you? i let you train with tabby because i thought you'd keep your word. i trusted you, terry. but now, you've crossed the line."

theo, who had been silent up until now, stepped forward, his voice low but upset. "this isn't right, grandpa. you should've told mom. she has a right to know." theo spoke up.

"theodore, i understand why you're upset, but you and tabby still deserve to at least see your father, and tobias deserves a chance to make things right." silver explained.

"you don't get to decide what my children deserve." esther shook her head. it hadn't even been up to a month and terry silver had already caused three major arguments in front of her children. "don't think you can waltz back into their lives now and play the hero."

"esther, i just want to talk to her. i know i've made mistakes, but i'm absolutely trying to fix them. i want to be a part of their lives again." tobias explained. while theo could see right through his father's words, tabby had a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

she pushed the feeling of desire down, knowing her mom wouldn't want her to have it. "i don't care why you're here. i'm not interested in catching up, dad." tabitha shook her head. "i'm here to train for the tournament, and that's all i'm focusing on."

esther looked at her daughter, her expression softening with concern. "tabby, you don't have to stay here. you can come home with us. we'll figure this out together. you don't have to deal with... him."

"i'm staying. i've come too far to let anything, or anyone, distract me now." she announced. "i can deal with this after the tournament. i don't have to talk to him, mom. i'm here for grandpa and for training, nothing else."

esther's eyes filled with a mixture of pride and sadness. she saw how much her daughter had grown, how strong she had become, but she also saw the stubbornness— the same stubbornness that had driven her to stay with silver all those years ago.

"if this is your decision, i'll support it." esther sighed.

theo nodded, agreeing with his mother. "we'll be waiting for you, whenever you're ready to come home." he told her. tabby nodded, grateful for his support even if it was clear that he, like their mother, didn't like the situation. she stepped over to him and pulled him into an embrace. theo couldn't help but slightly smile at her display of affection, wrapping his arms around her.

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

there was a knock on the window, making tabitha move up from her bed. she went over to the window and pulled the curtains open. standing outside was miguel, who wore a concerned look on his face. she was impressed that he managed to sneak into the estate, despite the cameras. she drew the window open and allowed him to enter.

"everything okay?" miguel questioned as he stepped into the room. tabitha didn't even let him regain his balance before she threw himself into his arms. miguel stumbled back, surprised by the sudden impact but he didn't hesitate to hug her back.

the first thing he noticed was how different the room was to her room back at the brooks residence. nothing about the room screamed 'tabitha'. there were no posters and frames of her favourite rock and metal bands. no electric guitar, no black stero or towers of cds surrounding it.

the second thing he realised was how unusual it was for tabitha to hug him. she was not a hugger, he had to learn that the hard way.

"what happened?" miguel questioned, pulling back and cupping her face in his hands. her lips trembled and for a second, he was sure she would start crying. "my dad is here." she explained.

miguel was confused. "your dad who moved away?" tabby nodded, throwing herself onto her bed. "i think it turns out that my grandpa knew where he'd been these past ten years. now, he's back and he wants to be in our lives again."

"and do you want that?" miguel asked, moving over to sit beside her. she shook her head. "no, i don't want that. i don't need a dad, i have my mom. and he was never really that great anyways. he was pretty... mean."

"mean?" miguel asked.

"yeah and that's coming from me." tabitha confirmed. she felt a tingly feeling run through her body and ignored it, assuming it was to do with miguel's presence. what she hadn't realised is that it was the beginning of her withdrawal symptoms for her medication.

"it was always worse for teddy though." tabby explained. "he would always tell him that he was never strong enough or man enough."

"that sucks." miguel frowned. "i'm sorry you guys had to deal with that." tabby shook her head, "don't apologise. pity is the last thing i need right now. i need to be strong." she explained.

"you are strong." miguel told her, confused by her words. "i mean, you're probably the strongest person i know."

"probably?" she joked.

"maybe." he shrugged, a smile growing on his face. tabby sighed, "thank you for coming. i really appreciate it."

"of course." miguel nodded. he paused for a second, staring at her for a little too long. "hey, would you wanna get out of here?"

her head shot up, intrigued by his question. "yeah. what have you got in mind? i could ask the driver to take us, i don't think he'd tell grandpa."

"you have a driver?"

∙ ~εïз~ ∙

the two had been dropped off at the local diner. the same diner they were at when tabby lost the game of rock, paper, scissors with tory, forcing her to speak to miguel. just as miguel had anticipated, the girl ordered a stack of pancakes and was currently waiting it while he drank his berry smoothie.

the boy had put in a special request for her pancakes while she went to find a table. so when they finally arrived, tabby's face heated up with embarrassment. she hid her face in her hands, trying to conceal her smile. 

on the plate were two pancakes decorated beautifully, with the word 'prom?' written underneath in strawberry sauce. having watched the movies so many times, tabby understood the reference immediately. this was how peter asked lara jean to prom.

"this is really sweet, miguel." she said to him, reaching for her phone. she quickly snapped a picture of the food to send to her mother, not realising miguel was waiting for her answer.

"i get it if you say no." he said. "i know things are different now, but i wanted to ask anyway, because i don't want to miss out on being with you that night."

she knew it was risky— silver would be furious if he found out, and her cobra kai teammates would never let her live it down. but deep down, she also knew she didn't want to say no. "you know what? sure, i'll go to prom with you."

"why do i feel like there's a but coming?" miguel questioned, his smile faltering. tabby sighed. "there is a but coming, and unfortunately it's not my butt."

miguel chuckled, shaking his head at her immaturity. "go on." he urged her.

"we have to keep it on the down-low." she said, her voice quieter. miguel nodded, an understanding look on his face. "just us. i wouldn't have it any other way." he told her.

"you're okay with that?" tabby questioned. miguel nodded, "yeah, i'm okay with that." as he spoke, he slid his hand across the wooden table, hoping that tabby would take it. she hesitated before taking a deep breath and placing her hand in his. miguel squeezed her hand, a smile tugging on his lips.

"should i match my tie with your dress or something? so it's noticeable but not obvious." miguel suggested. tabby cringed at his words. "shit, you've reminded me that i need to get a dress." she groaned.

miguel laughed at her forgetfulness before starting a new topic, learning the tornado kick. tabby was lost in her own world, her focus on him going elsewhere. the symptoms of her lack of medication were beginning to take effect and the girl had no idea.

∙ ~εïз~ ∙

sam stepped into theo's car, which was parked outside of her home, with a bouquet of lilies in her hands. she pulled the door shut and handed the bouquet to him. theo was completely bewildered on what was going on, but gladly accepted the plants.

"i didn't know whether you actually planned to ask me or not, so i thought i'd do it first." sam explained. "most people use flowers for their promposal and if that's what you were going to do, i figured you'd appreciate them more than i would."

"sam, these are so beautiful." theo said, admiring the gift. his head snapped up with realisation. "wait, you're asking me to prom? i am so sorry, i've been so caught up with tutoring, football and training that i completely forgot to plan to ask you."

sam shook her head, "i totally get it. you've got a lot on your plate. so, i'm glad that i could take one thing off your shoulders."

"have i told you how incredible you are?" theo questioned. she smiled, nodding. "you tell me quite a lot, actually." she said.

"what about how beautiful you are?" he asked. sam was surprised by his words, her face heating up with nervousness. she shyly shrugged, "once or twice."

"well, you're both. amazing and beautiful." he concluded. "and i'd be honoured to go to prom with you."

sam grinned, pleased with his answer. she spontaneously leaned over, placing a quick kiss on the boy's lips. she pulled away before theo could even register what had occurred, unsure of how he would take it. but theo smiled, placing a finger underneath her chin and gently pulling her face back onto his.

⎯ ❃ jania speaks! UNEDITED i'm tired :(
BOOM! theo and sam finally kiss after nearly 40 chapters idk why i always do this😭😭 but hey, they were supposed to be friends to lovers

also tabby unintentionally withdrawing from her medication is a big one so keep an eye out for her symptoms in the next few chapters

also just wanted to add that their dad SUCKS (not you derek morgan)