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──EPISODE ONE

                     "ÉLODIE, SWEETHEART, I'm so glad you're back in Reseda," Marjorie Marshall grinned, pulling her granddaughter to her chest for one final comforting hug before she left her apartment again, "Make sure you swing by after your first day at school. I want to hear all about it. Good luck!"

Élodie nodded, "Of course, grams. See you soon, I love you."

Her first day back had been uneventful so far, and she was grateful.

Truth be told, she was dreading returning to her old school, knowing that people would be talking about her already. She couldn't be bothered with it, not after the year she'd had.

"...So nice knowing you," she heard as she left her grandmothers home, the voice of her neighbour Johnny Lawrence as gruff and miserable as ever.

Glancing over to where he stood, she noticed a young boy who looked around her age stood at his side, clearly confused by Johnny's less than kind nature, "Okay... well, have a nice day, I guess."

The boy turned around, skulking in the direction of number 109, and Élodie forced him to catch her eye for long enough to get his attention, "Don't mind Johnny," she assured him, a warm smile on her face, "You sorta get used to the whole...grumpy antisocialness."

The boy stopped, walking more towards her now, "Do you live around here too, then?"

"My grandmother does," Élodie smiled, gesturing to the apartment she'd just left, "I assume you're one of the new neighbours that grams mentioned?"

"That would be me. 109. I'm Miguel Diaz."

"Nice to meet you Miguel, I'm Élodie," he reached out to shake her hand, but instead she grabbed it and pulled him towards her for a hug, "I've just moved back to the area but... I know it well. And it can't hurt to make a new friend on my first day back."

"You're going to West Valley high too, right?" Miguel asked as he pulled back, confused but also comforted by the girl's immediate kindness.

She nodded, rolling her eyes as her voice dropped with sarcasm, "The one and only."

Miguel could tell there was a glint in her eye that suggested there was a reason she took that tone, but he didn't question it.

"Well hopefully I'll see you there, then. Will be good to know somebody, thanks for uh—uh for being so nice to me, Élodie."

"Don't sweat it, Miguel," her smile was infectious, and he couldn't help the smile on his face now too, "Gimme your phone, I'll put my number in so you can text me if you need anything."

He did as she asked, and moments later she'd saved her number in his phone and turned on her heel, "Catch you later, Diaz. Hope you settle in okay!"

And with that, as quickly as the brunette had appeared, she was gone.

———

"Are you sure it's okay, Mr LaRusso?"

Daniel LaRusso scoffed, as though Élodie's question was ridiculous, "Of course, sweetheart. There's always a job for you here. Oh, and Sam will be so glad you're back."

Élodie blushed, awkwardly staring down at her feet as she thought about seeing one of her 'best friends' again. She'd hardly spoken to her in the year she had been gone, but she hoped that since Sam knew where she'd been, she'd understand.

Well — if she wasn't too occupied with her new friends.

"I'm glad to be back, even though it feels odd. I wasn't even gone that long but I have a feeling a lot has changed," she gulped, and Daniel placed his palm on her shoulder reassuringly.

He smiled warmly, "It'll be okay, Élodie. And you're always welcome at ours when you need."

Élodie nodded, silently thanking the man who had done so much for her throughout her life. The LaRussos had been like a second family to her through the turmoil in her own family, and she was forever grateful to them.

She'd volunteered at LaRusso Auto since she was younger, mostly just loitering around pretending to clean cars to get out of her house. Daniel would train her and Sam in karate, too, and she'd found karate to be the only thing that kept her sane in the time she was gone.

They continued chatting idly about her return to Reseda, until someone seemed to catch Daniel LaRusso's eye and he sped up, Élodie trying hard to keep up with his pace.

"Just a second, Élodie sweetie. Go say hi to Louie and Anoush, I'll be right back."

She nodded, pulling out her phone for a moment and sauntering over to where the two members of Daniel's staff stood talking, "Uh— hi."

As quickly as she'd been shooed away, Daniel called Élodie back over along with Louie and Anoush, and Élodie realised immediately that it was Johnny Lawrence he was talking to.

"Guys...This is Johnny Lawrence. He and I go way back, right buddy? This guy was the toughest dude in my high school. When I first moved here from Jersey, he and I... We got into a little bit," he sighed, "This guy really had it in for me."

"Yeah, well, you did move in on my girl."

"Well, she actually wasn't really your girl anymore, was she?" Daniel quirked his brow.

Johnny's eyes flitted to Élodie now, recognising her but having not realised she was back, "Hey kid... what're you doing here?"

"You know Johnny?" Daniel asked, confused, to which Élodie nodded, "He lives on grams' block. Look, uh, thanks again for everything Mr LaRusso but I'd better get home. I'll see you this week— I'll give Sam a call or something. See you soon, Mr Lawrence."

As she always used to, Élodie took the long way home from LaRusso Auto that evening.

She contemplated sending Samantha LaRusso a text, but upon scrolling through her instagram idly as she approached her front door, she decided against it.

Sam looked happy now, without her, and she didn't want to be any kind of bother.

As she continued to scroll her eyes landed on a photo of Demetri and Eli — two boys she'd had many a class with before she left — and she couldn't help but smile at the grin on Eli's face.

They'd known eachother since infancy, back when Élodie had some semblance of a proper family life. Apparently, he was her 'first boyfriend', until they broke up over a toy Anakin Skywalker she'd stolen from him. They'd stayed best friends, as kids do, but when they'd reached middle school they'd just... totally drifted.

It wasn't intentional, nor was it on bad terms, but something made the pair feel as though they couldn't talk anymore, even though they'd once shared everything with eachother as children. She got pretty and grew up, making more friends, and he seemed to get left behind with just Demetri to fa back on.

Eli thought she was too cool for him now, while Élodie hadn't wanted to ruin Eli's already far from cool reputation with her rapidly downward spiralling personal issues.

She missed him, even though they'd obviously changed a lot in all the years since drifting, but was comforted by the fact that he was still so close to Demetri, though he'd never seemed to like her all too much.

It was a new start, though, and she was determined to make a better go of life in the Valley this time around.

A sudden surge of confidence sent her thumbs tapping, commenting 'hahah, love the shirts!' regarding their matching nerdy t-shirts.

She immediately cringed at her own comment, realising it came off incredibly awkward. But as she pushed her front door key into the lock, she shrugged this embarrassment off.

She wasn't going to let herself worry so much anymore.

She was determined that this move back was a chance for a fresh beginning; one she wouldn't mess up.

élodie & miguel first meeting: manip by the wonderful @William_MasterAlt !!

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AUTHOR'S NOTE !
thanks so much for reading, i hope
u like it so far! sorry it's not super
exciting & you've hardly met any
characters yet — but there'll be more
next chapter i promise. i love writing
this so much i've written all of s1 already
lmao, but let me know what you think. x