chapter thirteen, love in a hopeless place

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Thirty-two hours.

     For thirty-two hours, Izzy and Miguel sat and talked to each other, about anything and everything they could think of. Miguel would watch her sleep, and he would smile, and then she moved to rest her head on his shoulders while she was sleeping and while holding his hand, it made Miguel happy.

He is finally dating the girl he likes and he's about to find his dad, it felt like the new chapter Miguel wanted was working out for him, and nothing could ruin it.

The moment they arrived in Ceuta, Mexico was when it all seemed a little too real though. Miguel was the first one to step off of the bus and Izzy was right behind him, taking her phone out to try and catch any signal just like Miguel did.

"Ugh, this phone sucks." Izzy scoffed, giving up and dropping her hand down. Her eyes squinted as she looked at Miguel who was trying to get his phone to load, the sun shining down on her. "Miguel, I change my mind. I want to go back." Izzy whined, her tone playful as Miguel turned to look at her.

He had a smile on his face. "You didn't even last ten minutes," Miguel spoke as Izzy rolled her eyes and walked over to him, the two of them walking beside each other, "You're weak." He frowned at Izzy, letting out a sigh.

Izzy tried to hold back a laugh as she looked up at Miguel, seeing the frown turn into a playful smirk the moment their eyes met. "Shut up and get your phone to load. I'll go ask around," She told the boy, leaving Miguel's side to find anyone to help with the directions.

Miguel kept his eyes on her, still in shock that they were dating and in Mexico together. It felt so surreal, but above all, it felt right. The smile stuck to his lips as he looked back down at his phone.

Izzy hesitantly looked around, trying to find someone that she could talk to, but then she heard someone call out. "Oi! You need some help?" The Australian accent caught Izzy off guard and she looked over to see a man approaching her.

"Uh," Izzy sighed, nodding her head, "Yeah, me and my boyfriend —" Izzy turned to look back at Miguel, but he was walking up behind Izzy.

"Do you know how to get to 137 Avenue Santurce?" Izzy asked, looking back at the man who seemed kind enough to help, and Miguel took off his bag and stood beside her.

The man exclaimed, nodding his head, "Oh! You're in luck. I can show ya." He reassured the two as he pulled out a map from his back pocket.

Izzy and Miguel shared a look, both of them looking surprised at how easy this worked out. The two then watched as the man's friends came over and he placed the map against one of their backs. Izzy observed the spot he marked as he spoke, "X marks the spot."

     "Awesome. Perfect! Thank you guys." Miguel smiled, going to take the map from the man, but he didn't give it to Miguel so easily.

"Actually, you don't mind giving me some pesos, do you?" The man questioned, "Just cause it's my map and all." He shrugged.

Izzy let out a huff, like she knew there had to have been a catch. "Fine. How many?" She asked.

"Well, does five bucks sound fair?" The man offered and Miguel laughed lightly because he expected to hear way more.

The Diaz boy nodded, "Yeah, that sounds more than fair." He said back, taking out his wallet and the money that he was going to give in exchange for the map.

That was when Izzy's attention shifted over to one of the man's friends sneaking the bag away from Miguel's side. "What the hell are you doing? Give the bag back." Izzy snapped and Miguel panicked when he realized they had his bag.

"Oh yeah, how much you wanna pay for that?" The man questioned, pointing to the backpack his friend held up.

Miguel rolled his eyes, "Okay, give me my bag back." He said, taking a step forward to get it, but he got blocked off by two of the men in the small group.

"I just figure a reward might be in order." The blonde man who had just offered to help them explained, "Since we found your bag and all."

"You didn't find anything–" Before Izzy could get started, Miguel quickly cut her off, out of fear she would piss these guys off.

     "It's cool. Uh.. how much you thinking?" Miguel questioned the man that stood in front of him.

     The man smiled, "How much you got?" He raised his eyebrows and all Izzy could do was roll her eyes and internally punch herself for getting them into this situation.

Miguel gave his wallet to the man, watching him take all of the money out and give half to his friend, but then he stuck the other half back into the wallet.

"What? You didn't think I'd take all your money, didya'?" The man gave the wallet back to Miguel, a laugh leaving his lips as he playfully slapped the boy on the arm.

He finally turned and walked away, his friends following him. The one holding the backpack handed it out for them to take and Izzy stepped forward, taking it from him and sent him a look before turning and giving it back to Miguel.

"Oh!" The blonde man called out, turning back to look at the two teenagers, "Welcome to Mexico."

"Yeah, thanks." Miguel muttered out, walking away with Izzy who called out a 'screw you' to the men as she dragged Miguel back to where they had come from when they got off the bus.

     Once they were away, they stopped for a moment. Izzy set her bag down and finally took her jacket off, stuffing it into her bag. Miguel watched her, smiling to himself as he watched her stand back up and look over at him.

     Izzy's eyebrows narrowed. "What?" She asked.

     Miguel shook his head, "Nothing. I just.. have a good feeling about this." He shrugged, the corners of her lips twitching upwards as she reached to take the map from Miguel.

     "So, where are we going?" Izzy asked, opening the map and Miguel stood behind her, reaching his arm over his shoulders to point at where the man had marked.

     "There. Castillo Escondido." Miguel pointed to an 'X' written in marker, he traced his finger down a bit, "And we're here." He muttered.

      A sigh left Izzy's lips as she tilted her head upwards so that she was looking up at Miguel, their faces close as he shifted his eyes to her. She smiled at him before speaking, "Let's get walking." Izzy told him, looking down and picking up her bag.

     Miguel extended his arm in front of them, "Lead the way, champ." He grinned at her.

     "Gladly." Izzy hummed, smiling at the boy and keeping the map in her hand as she began walking and Miguel followed right behind her.

It didn't take them long to reach where they were trying to get, standing outside of Castillo Escondido which seemed to be some sort of bar. Miguel let out a shaky breath and he looked over at Izzy who glanced up at him when she felt his eyes on her.

    "So we're doing this," Izzy told him. "We're in Mexico, with little to no money, and about to find your dad in a bar." She said out loud, coming to terms with the situation.

     Miguel nodded, "We're doing this. You're with me, right?" He questioned, a concerned look coming across his face to make sure she was still on board with what they were doing.

      Izzy just smiled at the boy and nodded, "Sometimes." She shrugged, watching the boy crack a smile and shake his head.

"I'm kidding, I'm with you. Let's do it." Izzy reassured him, taking his hand into her own and pulling across the street and into the bar.

When they walked in, no one seemed to pay attention to the two teenagers that looked completely lost and out of place. They got deeper into the bar and Miguel paused when he saw a separate room full of men sitting around a table and he heard the name 'Hector' come from there.

He glanced back at Izzy and she furrowed her eyebrows up at him, "Stay out here." Miguel whispered to her.

"What? Why?" Izzy asked.

Miguel just let out a sigh, but then Izzy glanced at the room full of men and she nodded. "Fine, I'll stay out here." She shrugged, letting Miguel handle this battle, but that didn't mean she wouldn't sit close by to try and eavesdrop.

Izzy took a seat at the bar, watching Miguel go toward the room and was let in after a moment, so Izzy turned her head and looked at the other people sitting at the bar. The bartender gestured to the girl if she wanted a drink, but Izzy shook her head.

"Uh, no, gracias," Izzy told the bartender, smiling at them and then turned her head to try and look into the room where Miguel was at.

It took a few minutes before Miguel finally left the room, but when he did, he didn't waste any time getting Izzy and leaving the bar. That was enough to let Izzy know that the guy Miguel thought was his dad, wasn't. So, they were back to nothing, and they had nowhere to go.

They walked for a little bit before Izzy finally stopped them. "Okay, Miguel, now what's the plan?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest as Miguel turned to look at her.

     "I–I don't know. I didn't really think of —"

Izzy leaned forward a bit, cutting him off, "You didn't think of a plan?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as she stared up at the boy, an intimidating smile on her lips.

     Miguel opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out except a defeated sigh. "I didn't.. no, Izzy, listen —"

     She cut him off, a look on her face like she thought he was unbelievable. Izzy looked at him as she spoke, "You dragged me to Mexico —"

     "You willingly came."

     Izzy ignored him and continued, "And you didn't think of a plan?" She finished her sentence dramatically. "I could punch you right now." Izzy then told the boy.

     A quick smile appeared on his lips at her comment, but it quickly disappeared when he realized the situation they were in. "There can't be that many Hectors living in this area." Miguel pointed out, a hopeful expression on his face as he looked at Izzy.

      Izzy narrowed her eyes at the boy. "Seriously? So how are we going to find another one? I don't think —"

     In the midst of Izzy talking, Miguel heard the familiar name being called out and his eyes shifted behind Izzy to where two men stood. His eyes were on the one being addressed by Hector and Miguel's eyes quickly went back to Izzy who was still talking.

     Miguel impulsively raised his hand to cover Izzy's mouth, the girl furrowing her eyebrows as she stopped talking, confused by Miguel's actions. Izzy kept her eyes on him as she grabbed his wrist and lowered his hand away from her mouth, he gestured his head behind Izzy and she looked back as Miguel spoke.

     "That guy's name is Hector. I heard him say it. What if he's my dad?" Miguel whispered to Izzy, slightly leaning over to reach her height, and his eyes shifted to look at the girls while Izzy's eyes were on the man.

     Izzy sighed and looked to her side, her face close to Miguel's as she spoke up. "You think so? Are you sure you aren't hallucinating?" She asked, a teasing yet concerned expression on her face, watching Miguel look back out at the man who disappeared around a corner.

     "There's only one way to find out." Miguel told her, reaching his hand to intertwine with hers and he pulled her in the direction the man that could potentially be his dad went.

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     Miguel was practically dragging Izzy as he kept his eyes on the man. His fingers held onto hers, not wanting to lose her in the crowd of people that were gathered for the vendors filling the streets. The two eventually came to a stop and Miguel turned to look around and a 'tch' sound as he frowned at Izzy.

"I don't know where he went." Miguel sighed, a look on his face like he was about to give up.

     Izzy tried her best to look around before shrugging her shoulders, "Maybe he saw us following him and left." She thought out loud, earning a look from the boy.

     She continued to follow him until Miguel finally stopped and the two looked out to see the man Miguel had a feeling was his dad, but he was with a woman and a little boy. Izzy frowned a little bit, her eyes trailing up to Miguel, and he looked heartbroken once again.

     A soccer ball being kicked over towards them caused Miguel to kick his foot out, sending the ball up and he caught it in his hands. Izzy watched Miguel step forward, the ball belonging to the boy that was with Miguel's presumed dad. The young boy approached Miguel, Izzy smiling at her boyfriend.

     "Hey. Uh, hola." Miguel said to the younger boy, handing the ball back to him. "Me llamo Miguel. Y tú?" Miguel questioned the kid, but hearing the name 'Luis' being called sent the boy running.

     Miguel stood back up and looked back at Izzy, she gave him a reassuring smile, but he just turned his head to look back at the small family his dad was a part of. Izzy watched as Miguel walked after them once they walked and her eyebrows furrowed.

     "Miguel? Hey," Izzy called out after him, pushing past the people that got in between them. The last thing she wanted was to get lost from Miguel. "Muévete, por favor. Lo siento." Izzy muttered over and over again as she passed by people.

     "Miguel?" Izzy called out once again as she turned a corner on a sidewalk and she gasped when she saw Miguel jump in front of a truck to save the boy that he had introduced himself to minutes ago.

     She watched Miguel get the kid back to his parents, who apparently happened to be Miguel's dad as well, and Izzy watched from afar as the man thanked Miguel. A sigh left her lips as she stood there, wanting Miguel to have his moment, but after a minute passed, Miguel was looking around for someone. When he turned to have his eyes land on Izzy, he gestured for her to come over.

     Izzy nodded, cautiously approaching the family and taking her place at Miguel's side. "They want us to have dinner together." He explained to the girl and her eyebrows raised, but the man spoke up before Izzy could say anything.

     "I'm Hector Salazar." The man introduced himself, Izzy's eyes darting to Miguel who still seemed taken aback by the name.

     Miguel nodded, a look on his face like he already knew the name. "Uh, Miguel. This is Izzy, my girlfriend– mi novia." He introduced the two.

     The Vera girl smiled at the family. "Hola," she said quietly, waving at them and earned a bright smile from the mother.

     "It's nice to meet you both." Hector told the two teenagers, smiling at them both.

     A weary smile came across Miguel's face. "It's.. it's nice to meet you too." Miguel responded.

     "This is strange," Hector laughed, his eyes on Miguel, "I feel like, we've met somewhere before." Hector's words caused Izzy's eyes to shift to Miguel who laughed the man's statement off, shaking his head.

     "I don't think we have." Miguel denied.

     All Hector did was laugh, "Well, maybe you're a stranger, but tonight, you're family. Okay?" Hector told the Diaz boy and then he looked over at Izzy, "You as well, come on." Hector nodded for the two to follow them, and they did.

     Miguel and Izzy shared one last look, like they were surprised that this was actually happening, and maybe this Mexico trip wasn't a mistake after all.

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After having dinner with Hector and his family, he showed Miguel and Izzy to the guest room they graciously let the teenagers stay in for the time being. The house was gigantic, it was practically a mansion and Izzy observed everything she passed by. Whatever Hector did for a living, he had to make a lot of money.

     Izzy had showered first, now she currently sat on the bed and stared at her phone sitting on the nightstand. She wondered how her sister was doing, and Nina, and Tory, even Robby. Izzy wondered what happened to Cobra Kai after Izzy won and ran off to Mexico with her now real boyfriend. But then Izzy remembered she could no longer be a part of Cobra Kai.

     The moment Izzy gave her trophy to Tory, she was practically giving up her spot in the dojo, and if Izzy were to return to Cobra Kai, she would probably not be welcomed. She knows she wouldn't be welcomed or wanted. What's worse is that there was no more Eagle Fang or Miyagi-Do either.

Izzy let out a sigh, her eyes scanning the room they were given until she heard the bathroom door click open and Miguel finally can't out of the bathroom. Izzy glanced over at him, seeing him dressed in basketball shorts and a graphic tee.

     The girl sat up a little bit when he came out, a smile on her lips the moment his eyes met with her eyes. It was crazy how much seeing Miguel made Izzy feel safe, like everything was going to be okay. Maybe it was just her being a teenager in love or maybe it was the fact all they really had right now was each other.

     "How do you feel?" Miguel asked first, his curls damp and messy after the shower. He sat down on the bed next to Izzy who let out a sigh, pulling her legs in to cross them over each other and sit up from leaning against the bed frame.

"I feel.. good." Izzy shrugged, smiling at the boy, but he could tell something was bothering her.

He moved closer to her, turning the girl so she was facing him and they were both looking at each other. "What is it?" Miguel asked softer, he could see right through her and he wanted Izzy to confide in him, and she did.

"I just.. I don't have karate anymore. Silver made it pretty obvious I wouldn't be wanted if I didn't choose Cobra Kai." Izzy shrugged, her eyes shifting down to look at her hands that were fiddling with each other.

"But.. you have me. I know Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do got shut down, but you still have me. I'm not giving up on you." Miguel admitted, his eyes full of sincerity and awe as he stared at his girlfriend in front of him.

Izzy smiled to herself at his words, glancing back up to look at him. "I'm not giving up on you either." She told him quietly, her eyes meeting with his.

     A sigh left Izzy's mouth as she continued, "It's crazy how months ago we used to be rivals that couldn't stand each other, and then we started fake dating, and now we're actually dating and in Mexico." Izzy explained, a hint of a smile on her lips as the two looked at each other.

     "I know," Miguel laughed, nodding his head. "I wouldn't believe you if you told me that in January." Miguel smiled, but then he let out a quiet sigh and his facial expression softened, "But I wouldn't want it to be anyone else." The boy confessed.

     Izzy felt the corners of her lips twitch upwards. "Yeah?" She saw him nod before moving her face just a little bit closer to Miguel's, "Well, I wouldn't run away to Mexico with just anyone." She told him genuinely.

Miguel laughed at her words, "Does that make me special?" He asked in a quiet tone when their faces had gotten closer.

The girl nodded, the smile not leaving her face once. "I wouldn't go that far," Izzy joked, but it just made Miguel laugh and his hands came up to pull her face closer to his, connecting his lips with hers.

Izzy kissed him back, feeling safe underneath his touch. Their lips moved together, not breaking the kiss as Miguel moved to lean his back against the headboard of the bed and Izzy followed his movements, now straddling his lap.

     One of Miguel's hands stayed cupping the side of her face while his other arm came around to hold her waist. Izzy's hands held onto his shoulders for support, when she tried to pull away, Miguel kept his lips on hers. After a few more seconds, they both separated and Izzy tilted her head at him.

"Are we really about to do this in your dad's house whom we just met?" Izzy muttered, smiling a little bit as she spoke.

Miguel couldn't help the laugh that left his lips as he looked up at the girl. "You're right, it does feel a little weird." He spoke quietly, both of them grinning at the other.

     "But making out isn't that bad, right?" Miguel then asked.

     Izzy nodded, "You're right." She muttered to him, leaning down to kiss him again.

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authors note.
AHHH i'm so excited to be writing for season 5 it was such a good season, but this is the happiest miguel and izzy will probably ever be in s5 😕

also made a board for characters that remind me of izzy/inspired her character :')

( gif made by saevrz )