chapter nine, you make me feel like a fool

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          Izzy was the first person Tory called when she got the news she was allowed back to school. Mostly because she wanted Izzy to walk in with her, Tory didn't want to go through it alone. And despite only being friends in the dojo, Izzy agreed.

     The moment the two girls stepped into the school, everyone's eyes turned to Tory. Izzy looked around and let out a sigh, glancing over at Tory who seemed hesitant to walk any further into the school. Tory's eyes shifted over to Izzy, who gave her a reassuring smile.

     "Just ignore them," Izzy told her, beginning to walk and Tory stayed by her side.

Tory shrugged, "I know. I just know what everyone is thinking right now." She muttered, trying not to look at all of the other students looking at her.

     A presence approaching them caught both of the girl's attention and Izzy let out a sigh at the sight of Sam, Izzy's arms crossing over her chest. Tory tried to think about her next few words, wanting to keep her promise to Amanda LaRusso. Izzy looked over at Tory just as the girl began talking.

     "I heard you let me back in, LaRusso. So I guess I should —"

     Sam didn't even let Tory finish and Izzy observed the students stopping to see what was going on. "I don't know what game you're playing, but I'm not scared of you." Sam said to Tory, but then Sam's eyes flickered over to Izzy.

     "And you're not in control here. I am." Sam spat at Izzy.

     "Mhm," Izzy hummed, "I'm sure you are."

     Sam looked between the two girls, "My parents might fall for your bullshit," she said to Tory and then looked over at Izzy. "And Miguel might fall for your sob stories, but if either of you two looks at me funny, I will kick both of your asses." Sam said it like it was a warning to the two girls.

     Tory had to bite her tongue because of her promise, but Izzy just laughed at Sam's words. "Are we supposed to be scared?" She rhetorically asked, not taking Sam seriously.

"You should be," Sam told the Vera girl.

     Izzy took a step towards Sam. "And what are you gonna do if I'm not?" The girl questioned.

     Tory pulled Izzy back, away from Sam and before anything else could be provoked. "Don't bother. It's not worth it." Tory spoke to Izzy but her eyes were glued to Sam.

     Just as Tory pulled on Izzy's arm to get them both to walk away, Sam had the audacity to speak up again, and this time it really set Izzy off — "Just like how your dojo thinks you're not worth it, Isobel?"

Whatever Sam was trying to get at, she finally got it when Izzy spun around and dropped her backpack to the floor.

     "Say that again real quick?" Izzy told the girl, tilting her head at the LaRusso girl and Sam's confidence seemed to falter when she realized Izzy wasn't backing down and a crowd was beginning to circle them.

     "You heard me." Sam shrugged, trying to keep her voice strong, but seemed to be failing.

     Izzy's hands had curled into fists that wanted to reign destruction on the girl in front of her. Before Izzy could strike first and get herself into any trouble, someone had pulled her back once again and when Izzy turned expecting Tory, she was met face to face with Miguel.

     Izzy didn't say anything as she picked up her bag and made her way away from the scene. Miguel was quick to follow after her though and once they got to a part of the school that wasn't as crowded with students, Izzy finally stopped and turned to him.

"She's a bitch and I hate her." Izzy blurted out before Miguel could say anything about keeping the peace.

"What she said was messed up, Izzy. I'm sorry." Miguel apologized, "Are you okay?" He then asked.

A sigh left Izzy's mouth as her arms crossed over her chest, "Yeah, I'm fine." Izzy nodded, reassuring him as she looked at him. "But I'm kicking her ass at the All Valley." She told the boy and he just smiled at her words.

"I know you will," Miguel admitted to her.

The bell rang, letting the students know it was time for first period. Izzy just smiled at Miguel, "I'll see you later?" She asked, a look on her face like she was secretly hoping he was going to say yes.

"I'll see you later." Miguel answered with a smile, watching as Izzy then walked off to head to her class, his eyes on her until she disappeared into the sea of students.

He felt like a fool, falling in love with her within days and kissing her last night like an idiot. And if only he knew Izzy felt the same way, but she was feeling it a lot bigger, and it scared her.

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     The Cobra Kai practice was something Izzy needed. Both of the Sensei's chose a student and those two students had to declare the others weakness and use it against them in their fight.

     Izzy sat next to Tory, hearing Silver call out, "Elswith." And Piper stood up, walking over to Sensei Silver.

     Kreese's eyes scanned the room full of students, trying to decide who was going to fight Piper. His eyes landed on Tory, but then he shifted his gaze to next to her where Izzy sat — "Vera." Kreese announced.

     Izzy quietly sighed, standing up from her spot on the floor, and walked over to Kreese. "You saw her fight earlier. What's her weakness?" Sensei Kreese asked.

     "Her kicks. She telegraphs them." Izzy pointed out, earning a nod from Kreese.

     "Then do what you do best: win." Kreese told the girl.

     She was the one to nod this time. "Yes, sensei." Izzy muttered as she turned around just as Piper did.

     The two girls walked toward each other, taking their places in opposite corners of the mat. They got into their starting positions, holding their fists up in front of them as they waited for the 'Ais!' that eventually came from Sensei Kreese.

     Once he did, Izzy watched as Piper turned a cartwheel towards Izzy, going to throw a punch when she stood which Izzy blocked effortlessly. Izzy dodged a high kick that Piper sent, the girl flipping gracefully, like it was some hidden gymnast move.

     Izzy cocked her head at the girl. "Is that really the best you got?" She asked the other girl on the mat.

     Piper shrugged, "I might have some tricks hidden up my sleeves." She smiled, lunging at Izzy who blocked the attempted hits.

     There was one that got Izzy in the side, but she redeemed herself by grabbing onto Piper's shoulders. Izzy then sent her knee into Piper's abdomen and didn't waste any time using her leg to sweep under Piper's, causing the girl to collide with the ground forcefully.

     "Well, you made that very easy." Izzy said to the girl on the ground who propped herself up on her elbows.

     Piper smiled up at the other. "You wanna do that again sometime?"

     "Yeah, in your dreams." Izzy laughed, waking off of the mat as Piper stood up.

     Sensei Silver's voice filled the air, "You picked a good student, Sensei Kreese. Who's next?" The words that came from Silver caught Izzy's attention. Kreese nodded like he agreed, but Izzy couldn't tell how she felt about it.

      But, she would rather take as much reassurance as she could about being a good fighter, even if it ended up being fake and meaningless in the end. That's how desperate Izzy was to be accepted and believed in by anyone.

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The next morning, Izzy stood in front of the school with the rest of the girls that had joined Cobra Kai. Izzy liked it, to have other girls in the dojo that she could be around, but to Izzy, it meant just more competition in the long run. She had spent the entire night trying to forget about Sam's petty remarks, but there was always a part of Izzy that bruised easily, and so many things have been hurting her recently.

Izzy stood, hearing one of the girls that joined Cobra Kai explain something, but she wasn't really listening. Well, she was, until she saw Miguel walking into school and Sam wasn't too far behind him.

Then, there it was. The jealousy she felt at the drive-in. Izzy knew they were friends, she felt like she couldn't be mad at that fact, but right now she was very mad at Sam.

Without hesitating, Izzy walked away from the friends she had at Cobra Kai and went to where Miguel and Sam were walking. Once Miguel's eyes landed on Izzy, it was like his entire face lit up and he had completely forgotten Sam was there.

"Hey," Miguel smiled, facing Izzy and despite coming over to be petty towards Sam, Izzy genuinely smiled back at him.

Miguel had thought about Izzy all night. Well, he's thought about her a lot recently, but after what happened last night with his mom and Johnny, the only person he wanted to talk to was Izzy. He wanted to text her last night and ask her if he could come to see her or if they could go somewhere, but he didn't. They don't text each other as much as they both wanted, but that's just them trying to keep at least one of their promises when it came to fake dating.

And the worst part for both of them was that while they agreed to forget about the kiss, it was all the other could think about.

"Hi." Izzy responded, but Sam just rolled her eyes at her sudden presence.

Miguel looked over at Sam, then at Izzy, "Can I talk to you?" He glared over at Sam again, "Alone."

Sam made a face, but then reluctantly nodded and walked off, going to find any other friend she had from Miyagi-Do. As Izzy watched Sam walk off, she turned to look at Miguel, but then her eyebrows furrowed when she saw Johnny entering the school from behind him.

"What's Johnny doing here?" Izzy questioned the boy who looked just as confused as she did.

He turned to look behind him, tensing up when he saw Johnny walking into the school. When Johnny's eyes found Miguel, he quickly called out, "Miguel! There you are. I've been looking all over for you." The man announced as he approached Miguel and Izzy.

"What are you doing here?" Miguel questioned, a confused expression written over his face.

"Field trip. You and me, let's go." Johnny told the boy.

Miguel opened his mouth to speak and Izzy could tell something must have happened based on how Miguel was acting. "It's the middle of a school day. I have history. I–I have to talk to Izzy." Miguel glanced over at the girl who stayed quiet, letting him and Johnny talk.

"History's for nerds, and your girlfriend can come so you can talk to her on the way there." Johnny gestured to Izzy, "I'll write a doctor's note, used to work for me. Come on, what do you say?" He was mostly asking Miguel, but glanced over at Izzy as if he wanted an answer from her as well.

Miguel was quiet for a moment, sharing a look with Izzy, but then the boy looked back at Johnny. "Okay," Miguel sighed.

"Alright, cool. Let's go." Johnny told the two, turning to walk out of the school, both Miguel and Izzy following after him.

They ended up where Johnny trained the Eagle Fang students and Izzy thought Miguel was joking when he said Johnny had them training at an old warehouse. When they walked through the warehouse, Johnny told the two teenagers to go find somewhere to hang out real quick, because he was working on something he wanted Miguel to see.

Miguel had led Izzy up to a spot on a long wooden beam that was supported from the ceiling, but it wasn't too far off of the ground. The two teenagers sat as Johnny disappeared somewhere and with how quiet Miguel seemed to be, it worried Izzy. Something had to be bothering him.

She turned her head to glance about, "What did you want to talk to me about?" Izzy then asked, seeing Miguel glance at her as well.

A part of Izzy felt like it was going to be about the kiss and she was mentally preparing herself for it, but there was another part of Izzy that knew it couldn't be about that.

      "So.. my mom and Johnny are, like, together. I had a talk with them a few days ago, I told them I didn't want this to be weird for me in and out of the dojo, but.." Miguel trailed off and Izzy showed no signs of stopping from listening to him speak.

     "I came home and they were having dinner together, and how they were acting, it was just.. weird. It's nice, y'know, to feel like I have that father figure in my life but.. he's still my Sensei. He's always been my Sensei." Miguel explained and Izzy nodded like she understood, because to a certain extent, she sort of did.

     (Off topic for Izzy, but right now was the moment she realized she loved hearing the sound of Miguel's voice).

     Izzy's facial expression was soft, "Have you talked to him?" She asked quietly.

     Miguel shook his head. "No, I.. I should try and talk to him, though.. or he might try to talk to me later. I don't know." The topic seemed sensitive to Miguel, the tears in his eyes were enough to her that. Izzy wanted to take his hand, to comfort him in any way she could, but she was scared to.

     So, Izzy tried her best to comfort him with her words. "Maybe Johnny's just.. afraid. I mean, especially with his history with Robby, but he seems to be trying." Izzy shrugged, looking out at the warehouse.

Miguel let out a quiet, "Yeah."

That was when Izzy glanced over at him, it seemed like there was something else that was bothering him as well, and Izzy could tell by the awkward tension in the air that it was kiss they shared. But, she dodged herself a bullet and instead of addressing it, Izzy tried to take his (and her) mind off of everything.

"So, prom is coming up." Izzy spoke, her eyes on Miguel as he looked at her. He looked sad, almost and Izzy's eyebrows furrowed. "Don't tell me you aren't going to prom." She told him, praying that his answer would be that he is going, because truth be told — Izzy didn't want to go with anyone else but him.

As they sat next to each other, their legs were touching and being so close to each other made them both feel safe, like all they wanted and needed was each other. Who knew two rivals would find peace within each other? I guess that's what happens when you secretly fall in love with them.

But then when Miguel spoke, it felt like her heart was ripped out of her chest. "I am, but.. Mr. LaRusso wants me to go with Sam, as a friend he said." Miguel talked like he didn't want to and Izzy could tell by the hesitation in his words.

She didn't want to be mad at Miguel, because the reality of the situation hit her in the head again. They were fake dating, so Izzy shouldn't be mad Miguel was going with Sam as a friend. But, Izzy was mad, because who was she going to prom with? She truthfully didn't want to go by herself, but if she had to, she would.

The silence from Izzy worried Miguel, he didn't want her to think he was going with Sam instead of her because he preferred Sam. He would choose Izzy, over and over again if he could. So, Miguel tried to reassure her with that fact.

"We can hang out when we get there. I'd much rather spend my prom night with you than with Sam, or anyone else. It's just —"

"The LaRusso's. Yeah," Izzy finished his sentence for him followed by a sigh. The reassurance that he would rather be with her made her feel better. "It's alright. It's just prom. Plus, the tournament is really soon, so.." Izzy trailed off.

Right. They were going to call everything off after they fight at the tournament and they were going to go back to being nothing but rivals. Except this time they'd think of each other differently, this time they would be secretly in love with each other and refuse to say a word about it to anyone, just like how they were right now.

     "Oh, yeah. Yeah." Miguel talked like he had forgotten all about their promise to not fall in love so they could break up at the tournament. "Um, are you going with anyone?" He asked, hoping she replied with the answer he was seeking.

     But, Izzy shrugged. "Myself, probably." She laughed, glancing over at Miguel.

     He smiled at the sound of her laugh. It was the prettiest sound he had ever heard. Izzy continued talking, "My sister has been helping me find dresses. I decided on red." She told him, the smile not leaving Miguel's face once as he listened to her.

     "Red?" Miguel raised his eyebrows and Izzy nodded, and then Miguel smiled. "I like that, it suits you. I know you'll look amazing." His words were quiet, yet he spoke in a way that Izzy was never spoken to before, at least from a boy, like he meant every word he was saying.

"Thank you." Izzy whispered, a smile appearing on her lips.

There it was again. They sat next to each other, looking at each other, and their faces were close enough to the point if one leaned forward, their lips would touch. The same tension filled the air just like any other time they were alone and this close. Neither of them wanted to move, they both got too lost in their own thoughts and if Johnny hadn't interrupted them, one of them was bound to kiss the other.

"Alright, lovebirds! Get your asses down here." Johnny's voice echoed through the warehouse.

     His voice caused both of the teenagers to look down to see Johnny uncovering a large basket that was full of watermelons. Miguel and Izzy shared a look, but then Miguel stood up and reached his hand out for Izzy to take. She didn't, though, and instead pushed herself up and she smiled at Miguel.

     "I can get up myself, thank you very much." She said slyly to him, walking past him and Miguel's eyes were on her as she walked off of the wooden beam and down to where Johnny was. She drives him crazy in the best possible way.

     When the two teenagers finally stood next to Johnny, Miguel decided to finally question what was in front of them. "Watermelons?" Miguel asked.

     "One of the most badass kicks in all of karate is the flying tornado." Johnny explained, pulling down on a chain that raised a watermelon into the air that was hooked to a claw.

     The Lawrence man then turned to the two, "I wasn't sure if you were ready for it. It's a pain in the ass to master, but.. you don't mind a little pain, do you?" Johnny asked Miguel.

     Miguel laughed, shaking his head. "No, Sensei."

     Johnny then turned to Izzy and his question took the girl by surprise, "What about you, Miss. Cobra Kai?" Johnny nodded his head at the girl.

     She glanced up at Miguel who had a grin on his lips, like he found it nice that Johnny was including her, but it could also be because of how much Miguel ranted in admiration about Izzy and how good she was with karate despite only being apart of it for a few months.

     Izzy looked back at Johnny with a smile on her face, "I don't mind." She admitted to him.

     The man looked content that Izzy wanted to learn the move, "All right. Let's get to work." Johnny told the two.

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After spending the entirety of the afternoon working on the tornado kick, Izzy seemed to have picked it up just as fast as Miguel did, but if Izzy was going to use it against someone in the tournament (Her mind was on Sam), then Izzy needed to keep practicing.

That was why she found her way into the Cobra Kai dojo, dressing in a pair of leggings and a sports bra as she positioned a dummy body to practice the kick on. All she had to do was picture it to be Sam. If the LaRusso girl could stand in front of Izzy and provoke a fight, Izzy couldn't wait to see what would happen when her foot collided with Sam's cheek.

Izzy took a few steps back, inhaling a deep breath, and decided to start with a normal high kick. A grunt left her lips as she used the strength in her body to kick her leg up, the force from the kick being enough to wobble the dummy's body. She huffed and went back to her starting position.

     Her fists raised and this time, Izzy threw a punch at the face of the body. Then she threw another punch, and another, and she stopped keeping count as her mind went somewhere else. Her fists collided with the face of the dummy body aggressively, her fists curled tight and full of every emotion Izzy has been bottling up inside of her.

     All she could think about was Miguel. Right now was when Izzy finally accepted that she had actually fallen for him, when her fists were wreaking destruction on the dummy body, taking all of her emotions out on it. She hated herself for this, she hated herself for thinking this fake relationship was going to blow over, she was an idiot.

     What was she going to do once they broke up at the tournament? They had to, they promised.

     Strands of hair had fallen from Izzy's ponytail, her body growing hot from how quickly and aggressively she was moving and sweat began to form on her forehead. Izzy's mind was still on Miguel, because he was the root of all of her feelings and emotions. Everything came back to Miguel.

     "You have got to break the habit of breaking and entering this dojo." A voice filled the air and snapped Izzy out of her deep thoughts, she stopped what she was doing and turned to see Silver standing there.

     Izzy was trying to catch her breath and come back into reality after getting lost in her thoughts. "Breaking and entering is usually for criminal purposes. I don't think beating up a dummy will get me in jail." Izzy stated, taking a deep breath in as she reached down for her water bottle.

     Silver laughed at her words, but he took a step out into the dojo from where he stood by the office. "I'm glad you're here, I was meaning to talk to you about something." Silver told her as Izzy took a drink of water.

     She swallowed the water as she looked at Silver. "About what?" Izzy asked, setting her water bottle back down on the floor beside her bag.

     "Is your relationship with Mr. Diaz fake?"

     Izzy paused, feeling her heart drop, but she stood back up and looked at her Sensei. "Um, no." She quietly said.

     Silver took a step toward her. "The person who came to me about it seemed pretty confident. He even said that you two were going to call it off at the tournament." Izzy couldn't tell if he was mad at her or not, but either way, this was making Izzy way more nervous than she thought.

     Izzy tensed up. "He?" She questioned.

It had to be someone from Cobra Kai, but who? And how did they even know about her and Miguel?

     Silver smiled, disregarding her question, and continued. "Don't worry. Word won't get out. I think it's a strategic move, faking a relationship with your rival to bring attention to the tournament." Silver explained.

     "There's only one thing," He then said to her and Izzy felt like her throat was about to swell up from the nerves. "You are going to break things off with Mr. Diaz at the tournament and if you want a future with Cobra Kai, you won't ever be involved with him again after that." Silver said loud and clear.

     Izzy stayed quiet. She felt like her head was spinning and the room was suffocating her. Did she hear him right? She had to, it was either Cobra Kai or Miguel, and this time it was real.

     "I know how much you want to win. I can see it. I see myself in you, Isobel. You have so much potential and without Miguel Diaz in the picture, you would thrive in karate." Silver continued talking.

     "So, do I make myself clear when I tell you that the tournament is the last time you will ever be seen with Mr. Diaz?" Her Sensei asked her and Izzy hesitated on answering, she felt like she was going to be sick.

     When Izzy didn't answer, Silver spoke up more stern and aggressive. "Do I make myself clear?"

     Izzy took in a deep breath and nodded, "Yes, Sensei." She muttered.

     A smile appeared on Silver's lips as he nodded, "Good." He told Izzy, turning to return to where he was at in the back. Izzy watched as he walked off, but then his voice filled the air again, "Oh, and one more thing.." Silver spoke up, turning to look at Izzy.

     "You are going to go to prom with Ethan."

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authors note.
the new season is so good!! definitely my favorite tbh

now i'm very excited to write season five AHHHSHDH there's like 2-3 more chapters left until i finish writing for season 4!!