Chapter Thirty One
Primadonna

THE FIRST DAY of school was something Sydney always looked forward to. She liked picking out her outfit the day before and getting glammed up the the next morning. She liked seeing her friends that she didn't see over the summer.  But now,  she wanted to do nothing but stay home in bed and sulk.  She didn't want to face Miguel.  She was afraid to.  She had a bad feeling about today and you always trust your gut. 

Unfortunately,  Sydney didn't have a choice because Sam was still at her house.  It was six in the morning and Sydney woke up to Sam throwing up in the trash can by the bed.  "Morning sunshine."  She said flatly.

Sam groaned.  "Don't ever let me drink again."

"I'll keep that in mind,"  Sydney muttered and lazily slipped out of bed.  "Sober up and take a shower.  I'll drive you home so you can ready for school."

"Wait,  Syd,"  Sam stopped her and got out of the bed.  She struggled to keep her balance. 

Sydney crossed her arms and waited for her to say something.

"I'm sorry about last night,"  Sam apologized.  "I was pissed off at Tory and I took it out on you and I shouldn't have."

Sydney nodded aggressively.  "Yeah, you shouldn't have. Y'know Sam, I'm getting really tired of you getting mad at me for your mistakes."

Sam cocked her head back and furrowed her brows. "What does that mean?"

"It means I'm tried of being your punching bag," Sydney said and uncrossed her arms. "I've been trying really hard to change.  To be a better person."

Sam nodded quickly.  "You are!  And I'm really proud of you."

"Then stop treating me like a bad person and blaming everything on me when you get upset!" Sydney raised her voice. "You and Tory's drama is not my drama. I'm not choosing sides so stop accusing me of it!"

"Sydney, I'm sorry," Sam said again.  "It's just. . . I don't know why you're friends with her!"

"Tory's not a bad person,  Sam!" Sydney yelled.

"Are you serious?"  Sam exclaimed.  "She tried pushing me at the roller rink,  she tried getting me drunk so that she could win a stupid game,  and she's been terrorizing me since she got here!"

"Because you started it!"  Sydney shouted making Sam flinch.  "You accused her of stealing from your mom and you pushed her at the roller rink and made her almost get fired!  You don't know how to leave well enough alone,  Sam,  and you only ever think about yourself!"

Sam was silent.  Her eyes were wide.

"I love you Samantha, okay? You've been my best friend since we were little and I would do anything for you. I do everything for you and sometimes I feel like you don't appreciate it."

"I do, Syd. I promise." Sam pleaded. "I'm sorry."

It went silent and Sydney sighed,  running a hand through her knotted hair.  She wanted to scream and let all her feelings out but it was too early and they had school.  "I'll take you home.  Just take a shower and get the alcohol smell off you."

With that,  Sydney left Sam alone and walked downstairs to the kitchen to make breakfast.  She sighed heavily.  "God,  please let this year go by smoothly."

After taking Sam home without saying a word,  Sydney drove back home to get ready for school. If it was going to have a bad day, she may as well look good. She dressed herself pink and red halter tank top with matching pink flared pants. She straightened her hair and curled the ends, doing a half up half down with a plan pink bow. She put in a pair of large gold hoops and a matching gold heart necklace. She put on bright red heels and did her makeup.

On her way to school,  she kept thinking about Miguel.  She didn't call him this morning,  wanting to wait to she saw him in person to explain herself.  She began to wonder if he was mad at her.  She wouldn't blame him if he was.  He poured his heart out to her.

It was very hard for Sydney to express her feelings.  Before meeting Miguel,  the only real friends she had was Sam and Aisha.  Of course she could talk to them but they were all she had.  Now,  they were basically rivals and Sydney felt like she was stuck in the middle.  She wanted to tell Miguel how she felt.  The problem was she didn't know what she was feeling.

She missed him.  Ahe knew that much.

A large Welcome Back Students sign hang at the front of the school.  The buses were letting off all the kids and everyone was pulling into the parking lot.  It felt strange being back.  Last year she was Sydney Benoist,  West Valley's mean girl who enjoyed terrorizing everyone.  Now she was Sydney Benoist,  popular girl with a new group of friends and a boyfriend who was trying hard to be nice. 

Boyfriend.  She hoped she was still able to say that word.

"Sydney!"

"Hey,  Sydney!"

People greeted her as she walked down the path to the school.  She smiled and waved at everyone.  Her heels made a loud clicking sound on the concrete.  She looked around her for a familiar head of dark hair.  She was nervous.  Very nervous, actually.

"Syd!" Aisha shouted her name.

Sydney turned around and smiled at her. "Aisha, love."

"I can't believe the cops showed up. Did you and Sam get home okay?" Aisha asked, her voice full of concern.

"Yeah, we did. She passed out in my bed. I took her home this morning." Sydney said with a small frown.

"I heard about what she said to you. I'm really sorry."

Sydney shook her head. "It'll be okay. We're best friends. All three of us have had our moments."

Aisha grinned. "You can say that again."

"Hey, you haven't seen Miguel yet have you? I really need to talk to him."

Aisha frowned. "Oh no. Did something happen? Do I need to hurt him?"

Sydney smiled and laughed. "No,  uh, it's actually something I did."

"Aw no," Aisha frowned again. "I think I saw him down the walkway on his phone. I'm crossing my fingers everything okay."

"Thanks love," Sydney smiled. "I'll see you in class."

They went their separate ways and Sydney walked down the trail to the walkway. She looked to her left and saw Miguel with his back facing her, leaning against one of the poles with his head down. She knew he was texting her because her phone kept going off.

She grew nervous again and fought against herself to walk up to him. She sighed heavily and sucked it up. Sydney strutted down the concrete in his direction. She twiddled with her fingers. When she got close enough, she slowed down and reached forward, putting a hand on his back. "Mig."

Miguel turned around and his eyes were full of sadness. "Hey."

It was short and simple but it hurt a lot. The confidence she was trying to build washed away. "Mig, i'm so sorry—"

Miguel shook his head.  "No, don't apologize.  I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sprung it on you like that. Y'know, you and Sam are fighting and I didn't mean to out more pressure on you."

She frowned deeply. Why was he apologizing? "No, Mig, don't be sorry. Please."

He shook his head again. "It's just. . ."  he paused and licked his lips. "I needed you to know. I hope you know."

It was a rare occasion for a person to meet their someone at such a young age.  Sydney's parents got lucky.  She grew up hearing the stories of their first meet in Paris,  and their dates,  and them traveling the world together.  It was a dream.  Sydney had that dream many of times but that was the thing with dreams.  Most of the time they were just dreams.  But Miguel was more than just a dream.  Sydney waited for a guy like him to come and change her life.

He was sweet,  intelligent,  loyal,  courages,  and he wasn't afraid to stand up for what he believed was right.  He had all the qualities her father taught her to look for.  Miguel was kind to everyone.  People that didn't like Miguel were just jealous.  Sydney could start fires with the way she felt for him.

He lit flames in her heart that were impossible to burn out.

Sydney took a step forward and cupped his face in her hands.  She tilted her head and kissed him gently.  His hands touched her sides carefully.  When she pulled away,  she leaned her forehead against his.  "Come over after school with me.  We can talk there?"

Miguel's eyes were still sad but he smiled anyway.  He couldn't not smile at her.  "Yeah." 

"Let's have a good first day,  shall we?"  She asked and held her hand out.

He took it swiftly.  "We shall."

After kissing him goodbye,  Sydney walked into English and looked around for anyone she knew.  Her eyes found Charlie sitting in the middle desk and she perked up,  immediately going to sit by him so nobody else could.  "Charlie,  great,  I was afraid I was going to be stuck with the nerds."

Charlie chuckled.  "Hey Syd.  Have you talked Tory since the party?"

Sydney shook her head.  "No,  the cops came and she disappeared.  Have you not called her?"

Charlie shook his head.  "I've been calling her all night.  She won't pick up."

"Let me try,"  she said and took out her phone.  She clicked on Tory's name and texted her quickly.

syd
hey girl,  is everything okay?
where'd you go last night?

While the both of them waited for her to respond,  the morning announcements started. "Good morning, students and faculty. Welcome to a brand new year at West Valley High. I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are ready to dive back into the school year."

"No." Sydney said bluntly.

Charlie chuckled again. He leaned over in his seat. "Hey, I'm sorry for springing Sam on you like that. I saw you two getting pretty heated with each other at the party."

Sydney shrugged. "It's not your fault, Charlie. You did the right thing."

Charlie didn't look as happy with that statement as Sydney thought he would be. He actually frowned.

". . . You can also purchase tickets for the fall musical, which will be a production of the global hit, Grease."

"I might try out for that." Charlie hummed.

Sydney raised her brows at him. "You can sing?"

He smirked and picked up his pencil. "I got chills, they're multiplying. And I'm losing control." He sang into the pencil.

Sydney giggled. "Okay, Danny Zuko."

Charlie gasped and put a hand over his heart. "Thank you."

She rolled her eyes playfully.

"You should try out."

Sydney scoffed. "Yeah right. I wouldn't be caught dead."

"C'mon, I thought you were gonna try and fit in with other people this year." Charlie reminded her.

"I am," she nodded. "But I still want to keep my cool girl reputation. Musicals aren't apart of that."

"And finally, as we embark upon another academic year, it's important to remember to be tolerant and accepting of all of our peers, regardless of—" just as she continued the announcements, the microphone screeched casting everyone's attention. "Hey, what. . . you're not supposed to be in here!"

Charlie and Sydney shared a confused look.

"No! No!" The microphone squealed again causing Sydney to cringe and hold her ears. "Give that back! Ow! You're not allowed to—"

"Samantha Larusso."

Sydney sucked in a breath. "Please tell me that's
not—"

"It is." Charlie said, his eyes equally as wide.

"You know what you did, and now you're gonna pay for it." Tory spoke dauntingly into the mic. "I'm coming for you bitch!"

The intercom shut off and all the students gasped, turning to each other in questioning. The school bell rang and after a split second, both Sydney and Charlie sprung from their seats and bolted out of the room into the hallway looking for Tory.

Sydney shoved through the crowd of students and sprinted down the hall as fast as she could in her heels. Charlie was ahead of her, flying. They followed the crowd of students to the middle of the hallway where Tory and Sam stood face to face with a crowd around them.

A flash of red caught her eye and Sydney quickly grabbed his arm. "Miguel, what's happening?"

He quickly shook his head.  "I don't know.  Charlie, what is she doing?"

Charlie's mouth opened to respond but no words came out. Fear struck his face.

Tory and Sam started circling each other. Sam gripped the strap of her backpack nervously. Tory was angry.  "I saw what you did at the party," Tory spoke. "You kissed Charlie."

A string of ohs spread across the crowd of students and Sydney immediately looked up at Charlie but he only stared at the back of Tory's head. A million different thought and expressions circled around him.

Sydney saw Robby across the circle and his face fell in complete hurt.

"I—I. . ."  Sam tried to say but she couldn't say anything.

Before anyone could blink, Tory swung her first at Sam. Quickly, Sam dodged it.

"Shit." Sydney hissed.

Sam tried turn around and run but Tory quickly grabbed her backpack and drug her backwards,  pulling the back off in the process.  She tossed it to the side and kicked Sam in the stomach,  sending her flying backwards into Hawk and his friends.

"Get back in there!"  Hawk shouted and pushed Sam back into the circle.

Sam started to fight back.  "Guys stop!"  Sydney shouted and took a step forward.

Miguel quickly grabbed her and pulled her back.  "Nuh uh,  you stay out of this."

"They're going to kill each other!"  She exclaimed.

"Well I'm not letting you get caught in the crossfire."  He hissed and held her in place.

Tory did a 360 and attempted to kick Sam across the face but Sam leaned all the way back and dodged the kick.  Tory grabbed Sam by the hair and pulled her head down,  kneeing her in the stomach.

Sydney slapped Charlie on the arm.  "Charlie,  fucking do something!"

When Tory grabbed Sam and threw her into the locker, that's when Charlie ran forward and attempted to pull them apart. "Tory, stop!"

Robby glared harshly at the boy and ran forward, grabbing him. "Get the hell back!"

"Stay out of this, Robby!" Charlie shouted at him while attempting to get Tory off of the girl.

"You kissed my girlfriend!" Robby shouted and swung at him.

"Really?" Sydney huffed in annoyance.

"Hey!" Miguel shouted, gaining people's attention.

Sydney's eyes widened. "Don't you dare—"

Miguel ran forward and got between Charlie and Robby.  He tackled Robby to the ground.

"You fucking hypocrite!" The Brit snapped. She caught Demetri's eye from across the hallway and flung her arms out, saying she didn't know what to do.

"Hey man, we gotta do something." said Chris.

"Good idea. I'm gonna get a teacher." Demetri and said and ran through the students down the hall.

Miguel punched Robby and the face and they crawled on the floor, fighting each other.

"Miguel Diaz!" Sydney snapped.

"Oh, it is on!" Hawk announced. He found Sydney's eye across from him. "Sydney, anyone you wanna beat the shit out of before the end of the day?"

Sydney crossed her arms. This was not how she wanted to start her day. But a face quickly flashed in her mind and she smirked. "Actually yes, yes there is."

Sydney's eyes scanned amongst the crowd of fighting students.  Tory and Sam's rumble seemed to spark something in everyone,  causing all the students of West Valley to participate in the fighting.  Sydney only one person in mind.  A head full of blonde hair came in her line of view.  "Haven't seen you in a while."

Yasmine backed up in fear and her back hit against the lockers.  "Don't even think about."

"Oh,  I've been thinking about it.  I've been thinking about it since that night at the Halloween dance,"  Sydney said and walked forward tauntingly. 

"If you fight me,  you're just proving to everyone that you're still that spoiled rich bitch who hurts people for fun."  Yasmine hissed.

"No Yasmine,"  Sydney laughed darkly.  She glared at her.  "I'm the spoiled rich bitch who doesn't take shit from anyone anymore."

Sydney leaned on her back leg and kicked Yasmine in the stomach,  making her back hit roughly against the lockers.  She let out a loud scream.  "Stop!"

But Sydney didn't listen and quickly grabbed her by the hair, spinning her around and kicking her in the back with her heel, making Yasmine cry out in pain.  Sydney pushed her head into the locker. "How does that feel, bitch!"

"Let go of me, you fucking bitch!" Yasmine shouted.

Yasmine elbowed Sydney in the stomach and made her let go. Yasmine spun around and attempted to punch her in the face, but Sydney quickly grabbed her arm and bent it backwards.  She did a spin kick and kicked Yasmine across the face with her foot, knocking her into the ground.

Sydney huffed and threw her hair over her shoulder. "Don't ever disrespect me again."

Sydney ran back down the hallway and looked around for her boyfriend. Running down one of the halls, she saw Chris kick Mitch in the back and make him fly into the lockers. "Go Chris!" She cheered as she passed him.

"You're going down nerd!" She heard Bert say to Nathan.

"Come and get it, dickhead." Nathan shot.

They started throwing punches at each other but they were so light and small that Sydney didn't even consider it a fight. She rolled her eyes and ran past them.

She saw Sam and Tory still fighting and she let out an annoyed sigh. She shoved through the people watching. "Guys, knock it off!"

"Stop fighting!" Aisha shouted and joined her side.

Suddenly, a guy shoved Aisha into the locker, making both girls stare at him with wide eyes. "Are you kidding me?" Sydney hissed.

"Oh, you want some of this?" saiid aisha and both of them ganged up on the guy.

Aisha shoved him into the locker and punched him in the gut and face. Sydney stepped forward and kicked him across the face with her heel.

They shared a high five.

What was supposed to be a day as a fresh start quickly turned into an act of chaos. Sydney didn't know where to turn. Everywhere she looked, someone was fighting and kicking the shit out of each other. It was too much. How could something as childish a boy drama turn into something so violent?

The fight between Sam and Tory moved to the commons area of the school. The crowd followed after them, some taking their phones out and videoing. Sydney ran down the hall following them, punching anyone in the face who tried grabbing her and fighting her. Her eyebrow was cut and her lip was bleeding. She was sure she'd have some bruises pop up.

Everyone, and she meant everyone, ran out of the class to watch the fight.

The girls ran up the stairs to the second floor. Sydney saw Demetri run to the front hall with a teacher following him. "You have to do something, Mr. Palmer."

But Mr. Palmer only stared in shock at the fighting. Another teacher ran and tried to break up Hawk and another boy, but he ended up getting elbowed in the face and flipped over onto the ground.

Sydney covered her mouth in shock.

"Screw this. They don't pay me enough." Mr. Palmer stated and ran away.

Sydney glared at Demetri. "Great plan, Demetri."

He threw his arms up. "What else was I supposed to do?"

Hawk smiled viciously at the lanky boy and Sydney remembered the party. She quickly grabbed his arm. "Now would be a good time to run."

"Not again." Demetri groaned and ran down the hall, Hawk quickly running after him.

Sydney saw Charlie run up the stairs and she quickly followed him, almost getting knocked out by a member of Cobra Kai. "don't mess with me!" She hissed and swung her fist at him, making him fall and hit his face against the stairs.

Another one popped up from behind her and wrapped his arm around her neck, trying to drag her back. She let out a yelp and immediately grabbed his arm with her hands.

"Sydney!" Miguel shouted from the top of the staircase.

Sydney stepped on the boy's foot,  making him yell in pain and release her. Before she could swing, Miguel came running down the stairs and he kicked the boy in the chest and he flew back off the stairs. "Don't touch my fucking girlfriend!"

Sydney pushed Miguel roughly. "You fucking hypocrite!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Stop this, you're going to get yourself killed!" She shouted at him.

From the corner of her eye, she saw another person come and attempt to fight them but Miguel punched him in the face and Sydney kicked him in the gut.  "I have to Syd, I'm sorry."

"Miguel!"

From the top of the stairs, Robby had Charlie by the shirt and shoved him against the pole.  "What's your problem!"  Robby shouted in his face.

"I'm sorry dude!"  Charlie shouted back and reached his knee up,  kicking Robby in the gut.  He swung his fist but Robby quickly dodged it.  "It was a mistake!"

"Obviously it wasn't!"  Robby shouted again and charged forward,  wrapping his arms around Charlie's torso and dragging him onto the floor.

Miguel ran up behind him and shoved Robby off of Charlie,  making the taller boy scramble to his feet.  "Charlie,  go help Sydney!"

Hesitating,  Charlie ran past them and down the stairs,  helping Sydney fight off the guys that were trying to fight her.

Miguel dragged Robby off the floor by his hoodie and they started swinging at each other.  Robby grabbed a fist full of Miguel's shirt and shoved him back till his back hit the pole.  "You can't cheat your way out of this one!"  Robby shouted.

When he went to swing his arm,  Miguel shoved it out of the way and hit Robby in the face.  "Like that move?  Learned it from your dad."

He pushed Robby to the ground and then heard a small scream.  Miguel looked down the stairs to see Sydney trying to fight off one of the guys and Charlie was trying his best to help her.  Before he could do anything,  Robby stood back up and punched him in the face. 

From down below,  Sydney kicked a boy across the face and spit out a glob of blood on the floor.  "Suck on that,  tosser!"

"Sydney,  I'm sorry."  Charlie said with a huge breath.

"This is all your fault!"  Sydney hissed and shoved him back with all her might.

"I didn't mean for this to happen!"

"Well look how it's turning out!"  Sydney shouted.  She looked past him and up on the top floor.  She saw Tory shove Miguel back and kick him in the stomach,  making him fall to the floor.  "Fuck no."

"Syd—"

Sydney sprinted up the staircase and ran up behind Tory,  grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around.  "Don't touch him."

"Stay out of this, Sydney."  Tory hissed.

Sydney swung her fist into Tory's face,  making her look the other direction from the blow.  She looked at the Brit in shock.  "You really want to do this?"

"You've already started it."

Tory let out a battle cry and grabbed Sydney by the shoulders.  She slung her around till her back hit the pole that was connected to the staircase. "Don't make me do this!"

"Too late!" Sydney hissed and kicked Tory in the stomach with her heel.

"Sydney, stop!" She heard Miguel shout and he tripped Robby who was coming up the stairs.

"Let go of her!" Sam shouted at Tory and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her off of Sydney.

"I can handle it, Sam!" Sydney yelled in anger.

"Sydney, help me!" Sydney heard Demetri shout at her from down the stairs.

She looked over the railing to see Demetri standing by the bookcase with Hawk, the red haired boy getting him in the face.

"Do I have to do everything?" Sydney huffed and left the fighting girls alone, sprinting down the stairs.

Demetri was doing his best to block Hawk's hits but the boy wasn't giving up. Sydney ran up being him and kicked him the back, shoving Hawk forward and Demetri gripped onto him. "No hard feelings." The lanky boy said and spun Hawk around.  He kicked him in the chest and Hawk went flying into the trophy case.

Glass shattered everywhere and Sydney took a step back, startled. "Whoa."

"Sorry. . . Eli." Said Demetri

Sydney blinked rapidly. "That was fucking awesome."

They shared a high five.

"Syd, they're getting really close to the edge." Charlie shouted in fear.

Sydney tore her attention away from Hawk and whirrled around, seeing Robby shoving Miguel and they were indeed getting too close to the edge. "Oh God. What do we do?"

"I've got it." Charlie said and sprinted up the stairs again.

Hawk stood up from the floor and shards of glass covered his clothes.

"You good?" Sydney asked.

hawk huffed from exhaustion.  "I think so."

"Good," Sydney nodded and socked him in the nose. "That's for destroying the Miyagi-Do dojo!"

She heard a loud scream and looked over to see Sam pushing Tory over the edge of the stairs. "What the fuck is happening?"

"Uh, Syd." Demetri said with wide eyes and rapidly tapped her shoulder.

"What?" She asked and saw him pointing up at the second floor.

"Let him go, Robby! This is between us!" Charlie shouted at robby.

"It's not. This goes way beyond you!" Robby shouted and swung his fist at Miguel.

Charlie ran forward and dragged Robby back by his hoodie, punching him in the face. He quickly grabbed Miguel and pulled him up from the floor. "Dude, you need to get out of here."

"No, I need to do this!" Miguel huffed and wiped the blood off his face.

"Think of Sydney, man."

But Miguel ignored him and kicked his leg forward, sending his foot in Charlie's chest and the taller boy flew back into the crowd of students.

From below, Sydney watched with horror filled eyes. "Miguel, Robby, get away from the edge!" She shouted.

Neither payed attention to her, for their rivalry was something both of them needed to express. It wasn't about karate, or a girl, it was about the attention they wanted from the same person. Robby tried kicking Miguel but Miguel grabbed his foot and stopped him. Robby quickly jumped and he was close to falling off the edge.

Sydney let out a small scream and gripped Demetri's arm tightly. "They're going to fall!"

Finally, Miguel had Robby pinned to the floor. He could end it all right there. The people around him cheered for him to continue but he almost hear the cries of his girlfriend down below. What would she think of him? He couldn't imagine how she was feeling already.

Sydney felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest.  She gripped her roots tightly with one hand and Demetri's arm with the other.  They all waited for Miguel to do something but he only stood above robby.  "What's he doing?"  She asked with a shaky voice. 

"He's showing mercy."  Hawk answered.

Miguel was a good person with a good heart.  Everyone knew that.  That's why he was showing mercy.  He couldn't hurt someone like that.  That he was his biggest downfall.

Then,  what happened next seemed to slow down time.  Nothing felt real.  It had to be a game.  A stupid,  stupid game.  She had to be dreaming.  What was happening wasn't real.  There's no way something like this could happen to someone so good.

Sydney couldn't scream,  she couldn't cry,  she couldn't even move.  Suddenly,  everything felt real again and her heart dropped to her stomach and she felt weak in the knees.

The sound of Miguel's spine cracking against the staircase railing sent shockwaves across the entire school.  The sound of his legs breaking from under him sounded like the snapping of tree limbs.  His body was flung like a rag doll and landed in a position like a doll would if a child had thrown it onto the floor. 

People gathered around the staircase to see the sight.  Officers crowded around,  ordering for an ambulance.  Sydney couldn't move her feet.  Her body was stiff but her hands were shaking.  She couldn't breath. 

She heard people saying her name but she couldn't identify who they were.  It was a number of people.  Too many to compute at once.  But she couldn't look away.  Her eyes were glued to Miguel who laid lifeless on the staircase.  A beautiful boy who was thrown around like an unloved toy.  If he was made of glass,  he would have been shattered.  Much like Sydney's heart was right now.

Eventually,  she found the strength to move.  The sound of her heels made eyes turn her way and suddenly they remembered.  Miguel was Sydney's boyfriend and she just watched him fall.  With eyes on her,  she dropped to her knees by his body.  "Hey,"  she said softly.  She could barely hear the sound of her own voice.  "Hey,  love."

Her hands touched his clothed chest and arms but he didn't move a single muscle.  "Mggy."

"Sydney—"

"Miguel.  Miguel,  it's me,"  she said in the quietest voice anyone had ever heard.  "It's Syd."

"Sydney."

People all around her were saying her name but in her head there was no one around.  "Love,  wake up.  It's me."

There were no tears.  There was no crying or screaming.  There was doubt and shock.  Her adrenaline was too high to feel anything right now.  Oh,  but she did feel it.  She felt it later that day when everyone was ordered to go home.  She felt it the second she went into her room and sat on her bed.  In that moment,  every human emotion collapsed on her and she let out the loudest,  most gut wrenching scream.  Her mother found her passed out on her bedroom floor,  her body shaking with high anxiety and her bottle of anxiety medication spilled on the carpet,  half of them gone.

Writing the school fight is my least favorite part of my Cobra Kai fics.  I thought Heartbreak Weather was sad but this takes the cake.

This is the end of season 2.  Season 3 is next.  I was trying to finish season 4 before season 5 comes on Friday but I don't think that's gonna happen lol

If I was Sydney,  I'd never be friends with Sam,  Tory,  or Charlie ever again.

Fingers crossed that I don't break this girl like I did Odessa