╔.𖥸. .════════════════╗

𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬

chapter fifteen
and while you're bleeding on
your back in the glass, I'll be
glad that I made it out, and
sorry that it all went down
like it did

╚════════════════. .❀.╝

ALYSSA WALKED INTO West Valley High School for the first day of junior year alone.

She could've gone with Demetri, but after what he did at the party, she honestly just didn't want to deal with him right now. She could've gone with Sam, but that was a whole other situation. Apparently, Sam had gotten extremely drunk at the party while trying to beat Tory in a drinking game, and she had insisted to Robby that her parents would kill her, so he had taken her back to Sensei Lawrence's place. That only caused more problems and now Sam was grounded for the foreseeable future, which also meant she wasn't allowed to drive herself to school or be driven by anyone else. Alyssa also could've met up with anyone else from her dojo, but she kind of felt a sense of serenity in being alone, at least for a little while. She would see everyone later, anyways.

The hallways were crowded, friends meeting up with each other in greeting after the summer break. Alyssa smiled at some people as she passed by, recognizing them from some of her old classes. She then found the same locker that she had since freshman year and turned the dial in the familiar combination, opening it up and putting a couple of extra binders inside. They probably wouldn't be doing much today, anyways.

"Als!" a familiar voice then called from down the hall, and even over all the chatter, she somehow managed to hear it. Alyssa turned, only to see Miguel rushing up to her. "Ally!"

"Well, good morning to you, too, Miguel," Alyssa replied, offering Miguel a smile when he stopped next to her locker. "Why are you yelling? It's too early for that."

Miguel sighed a little, leaning against the metal of the lockers next to her. "Als, please. I need your advice."

"About what? How to calm down at eight A.M. on a Monday morning?"

When Miguel didn't laugh at her joke, Alyssa looked at him. Like really looked at him. And when she did, her smile turned into a frown. He seemed panicked, and there was a sort of atmosphere of melancholy around him. Alyssa turned fully to Miguel and crossed her arms, staring up at him in concern.

"Miguel?" Alyssa asked gently. "What's going on?"

"It's bad," Miguel answered. "And it has to do with Sam. Well, and Tory, too. But since it has to do with Sam, and you're both really close, I thought I would come to you."

"What about Sam?"

"El Serpiente!" another voice then called.

There was only one person who called Miguel El Serpiente. And there was only one person who that voiced belonged to. Alyssa sighed, starting to feel tired again. She wasn't stupid, she knew she would run into Hawk at least once during the day, but she just didn't think it would be so early. Alyssa watched as Hawk slowed to a stop next to Miguel, honestly wanting nothing more than to slam her head against the lockers and knock herself out.

"Well, that's my cue to leave," Alyssa admitted, reaching out and shutting her locker, tearing her eyes away from Hawk.

"Wait, Ally, please," Miguel pleaded, taking her arm to get her to stop. "This is serious. Really serious."

Alyssa blinked at him. "Well, if you've come to me for girl advice, I can really only help you out with the Sam part of it. I don't know Tory like that."

"You need girl advice?" Hawk cut in, hitting the back of his hand against Miguel's chest. "Dude, you should've come to me."

"Oh, yeah, because you know all about girls' feelings, right?" Alyssa commented, letting out an incredulous laugh. "Right. God, that's hilarious."

Hawk's eyes narrowed at her. "What's it to you?"

"I think you know the answer to that question."

"Guys, stop," Miguel stated, and Alyssa sent Hawk a harsh look before turning back to Miguel. "Als, it's about the party. I—"

The bell then rang, completely cutting their whole conversation short.

Alyssa tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Find me at lunch, okay?"

Miguel seemed to let out a breath of relief. "Yeah. That would be great."

She gave him a small smile, and a cold look to Hawk, before brushing past them in the direction of her first class. It was an SAT prep class, which wasn't exactly the most exciting thing, but at least she had it with Sam.

"Good morning, students and faculty," the voice over the loudspeaker announced as Alyssa walked into the classroom, immediately spotting Sam towards the middle. "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."

"Hey," Alyssa greeted, sliding into the seat next to Sam. "Are you still grounded for till college?"

"Is now really the best time to be quoting iCarly?" Sam questioned, but there was a smile on her face.

"It's always the best time to be quoting iCarly."

Sam shook her head. "To answer your question, yes. My dad's not letting up any time soon."

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

"I'm sorry," Alyssa told her sincerely. "You should've tried to find me. They wouldn't have questioned you staying the night at my house."

Sam let her chin fall into the palm of her hand. "I made a lot of mistakes that night."

Alyssa blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

"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 — hey, what . . . you're not supposed to be in here!"

Alyssa's eyebrows knit in confusion as she looked up, the sound of scuffling and fighting echoing from the loudspeaker. She winced slightly at the microphone feedback.

"No! Give that back! Ow!"

Silence for a moment.

"Samantha LaRusso," Tory's voice said. "You know what you did, and now you're gonna pay for it."

Alyssa straightened up, her head whipping over to Sam. Sam ignored her gaze and shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"I'm coming for you, bitch."

Everyone in the classroom started to talk amongst themselves, all of them staring at Sam. The bell rang again, and instantly, all of them stood up. Alyssa did so as well, slinging her bag back over her shoulder.

Alyssa put her hand on Sam's arm, stopping her momentarily. "Sam, what's going on? Why is she suddenly coming for you?"

Sam looked over at Alyssa, her eyes wide. "I've done something awful, Ally."

"How awful? Like on a scale of oh it's fine needs just a minor fix to holy shit I fucked up and my life is falling apart?"

"The second one." Sam's voice lowered. "I kissed Miguel at the party."

Alyssa's eyes widened. "What? While you're dating Robby and he's dating Tory?"

Oh. So that's what Miguel was trying to tell her this morning.

"I know, I know," Sam responded, her voice laced with panic. "I was drunk, I wasn't thinking straight—"

"And he kissed you back while you were drunk?" Alyssa let her thoughts process for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Okay, clearly both of you are in the wrong. You shouldn't have had that much to drink, and even in your drunk state, you shouldn't have done that to Robby. But Miguel was sober and made the choice to kiss you back, and he definitely shouldn't have done that to Tory or you."

Sam shook her head. "This is all such a mess. I shouldn't have done it."

"You're right, you shouldn't have," Alyssa agreed. She then squeezed Sam's arm. "But from what it sounds like, this Tory chick wants destruction. She isn't gonna go easy."

Sam nodded slightly. "I can handle it."

"I know you can, but listen. I'm not going to sugarcoat anything, I'm telling you straight up. This whole thing is fucked up. But even through that, I'm right behind you."

"Thank you," Sam said quietly, her blue eyes big and her voice shaking.

Alyssa nodded. "Of course." She let go of Sam's arm. "Come on."

The two went back out into the crowded hallway. Alyssa stuck by Sam's side, her heart pounding against her chest. Tory then rounded the corner from in front of them, an angry and determined look on her face.

Sam and Tory met in the middle. Alyssa hung back in the crowd that was already starting to form around them, watching everything very carefully. Tory started to move around in a circle, and Sam followed her movements. Sam caught Alyssa's eyes over Tory's shoulder when they stopped moving, and Alyssa sent her a reassuring nod.

Alyssa then felt somebody brush up against her side. She looked over to see that it was Robby, slightly out of breath — presumably from running here. Alyssa's stomach twisted uncomfortably. Oh God, he was going to be so crushed by this.

"I saw what you did at the party," Tory admitted. "You kissed Miguel."

The crowd started to ooh at that. Alyssa glanced over at Robby again, only to see a heartbroken expression written all over his face. Yep, there it was.

What a fucking mess.

She looked back ahead, only to see that Hawk had come out of nowhere. He had seemingly pushed his way to the front. Their eyes locked from across the way. Once they did, Hawk smirked at her, nothing but anger in his eyes. It sent shivers up Alyssa's spine and made her feel uneasy. There was absolutely nothing left of his old self that she could see behind all the malice. It honestly made her feel sick to her stomach.

Sam's gaze was directly on Robby, her voice quiet. "I . . . I . . ."

And that's when Tory struck.

She wound back her arm and punched. Sam quickly dodged it. Tory threw another punch, and Sam ducked away from it. She turned around and went to run, but Tory grabbed her backpack and spun her around, ripping the backpack right off of her shoulders. Tory lifted up her leg and kicked Sam in the stomach, sending her stumbling back into the crowd.

Hawk caught her and pushed her back towards Tory. "Get back in there."

Alyssa's jaw clenched at that.

Tory swung, and Sam blocked it. She blocked another punch from Tory. Tory tried to kick her three times, but Sam used all the defense she had learned and blocked all of them. She grabbed Sam's shoulders and kneed her right in the stomach twice before spinning her around and throwing Sam right into the lockers. Tory lifted up her elbow and went to jam it into Sam's head, but Sam ducked to the side, making Tory hit her elbow against the lockers. She wrapped her arm around Sam's shoulders and pushed her up against the wall, punching her in the side.

"Sam!" Alyssa shouted.

She went to run forwards, but Robby beat her to it. Robby grabbed Tory's arm and ripped her off of Sam.

Robby reached out to Sam. "You okay?"

Tory grabbed Robby's shoulders and tried to spin him towards her.

Robby pushed Tory up against the lockers. "Stop!"

Rickenberger, a stupid jock in Cobra Kai, then went to approach Robby. "Let her go!"

Robby, however, lifted up his leg and kicked him back.

"Hey!" Miguel's voice then practically screamed, and Alyssa looked over with wide eyes at him.

"Settle down!" Robby insisted. "I'm sure we can figure this—"

Miguel then let out a roar of anger and barreled himself into Robby, making him let go of Tory. Alyssa gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. Oh God, what was going on?

"Miguel!" Alyssa yelled. "Oh, Jesus Christ."

The fighting resumed between Sam and Tory as Miguel and Robby wrestled on the ground. Alyssa just stood there and watched for a moment, not really knowing what to do. She knew she had to do something, but what?

"Oh, it is on!" Hawk then exclaimed, and Alyssa looked up at him, anger seeping into her veins.

The thought of fighting Hawk physically instead of just words sent a pang of hurt throughout her chest. However, as she watched him go on an absolute rampage and knocking down anyone that got in his way, including members of her own dojo, it snapped her out of the state she was in.

Alyssa ripped her backpack off of her shoulder and threw it at the ground. She walked straight up to him, and even though the fighters that joined in the fight didn't stop, they seemed to clear the way for her. Hawk stopped letting out his roar of victory once his eyes set on her. Alyssa stood in front of him, a harsh glare on her face and her chest heaving up and down slightly from anticipation.

"You told me I started the fight," Alyssa said, her voice echoing in his head, even over all the commotion. "And you might've thought you finished it, but I'm going to prove you didn't." She took out the hoop earrings she was wearing and tucked them into the pocket of her jeans, raising her chin high. "It's on, right?"

Hawk scoffed. "I'm not fighting a girl."

Alyssa noticed how it changed from you to a girl.

She raised an eyebrow, pushing her hurt away. "You said you wanted a fight. Well, now you've got one." Alyssa raised her fists, her gaze darkening. "Come on. Show me what you've learned — strike first, Eli."

Hawk hesitated for a moment, but he eventually gave in, because he was all about the fight. He advanced on her, winding his arm back for a punch. Alyssa quickly ducked under his swing and spun herself around, lifting her leg up in a kick. However, Hawk backed up, completely dodging her kick. Alyssa then jumped up in the air and spun around at the same time, kicking again. This time, her foot made contact with his chest.

Alyssa landed back on the ground, watching as he stumbled back from the blow. Hawk stared up at her in a mixture of shock, and maybe impressment. But then his eyes narrowed, because he had to prove Cobra Kai karate was better. Hawk then ran fast at her with alarming speed, pressing his arm against her collarbone and pushing her right up against the lockers.  Alyssa let out a grunt of pain as her back slammed against the metal, and then another as Hawk kneeled her right in the stomach. She lifted up her leg pressed her foot against his stomach, pushing him away from her. Alyssa swung and punched him in the face. It sent him stumbling into the wall, but Hawk didn't seem to get angry by it. Instead, he smirked to himself and looked back at her.

She ran at him and kicked again, but he merely pushed her foot away. Alyssa ducked underneath his punch. He then punched her right in the chest, her body pressing up against the wall. Hawk took a fistful of the shirt she was wearing and threw her to the side. Alyssa let out a noise of pain as her body slid against the linoleum floor. She lifted her head up to see Robby and Miguel fighting right next to her.

Everything went in slow motion for a second. She saw Hawk standing above her, winding his fist way above her head, completely ready to punch her again. Alyssa completely blocked his punch, still on the ground, and pushed herself up, punching him across the face while he was distracted. She then grabbed his jacket in her hands, and with all of her might, she threw him to the side like he had done to her. Hawk slid against the floor, landing right in front of the principal.

"This is out of control!" the principal exclaimed. He then lifted up his walkie-talkie to his mouth. "Get me security in the main corridor, right away!"

"It's okay, sir," the older man who had been at the party reassured him. "I got this."

Hawk stood back up and ran at Alyssa as the older man started to fight anyone that came in his way. Alyssa quickly ducked down to the ground, maneuvering herself in a forward roll. She landed herself right next to Hawk. Alyssa swept her leg, and it came in contact with both of Hawk's, making him fall to his back on the ground. She stood above him and stared down at him, her side still aching from hitting the floor.

"Ally!" a familiar voice shouted. "Ally, stop it!"

She felt somebody take her shoulders and pull her away from Hawk. Alyssa shook the grip off of her and looked up, seeing Cam standing there. He was staring at her with a mixture of horror and amazement, like he couldn't decide if he should be scared of her or proud of her for fighting.

"I'm sorry, Cam, but you don't understand," Alyssa insisted. "He—"

A fist came at her, and Alyssa saw it in her peripheral vision. She lifted up her forearm and blocked it before aiming a kick at Hawk's stomach. He blocked it, too, and without another word, he roughly took her shoulders in his hands and started to push her backwards out the door into the main lobby of the school. Alyssa continued to stumble backwards, Cam's worried face getting lost in the crowd.

He pushed them all the way out into the lobby of the school, where everyone had apparently gone now. Alyssa shook Hawk's grasp off of her and took a couple of steps back, looking right at him. It was like even through all of the fighting all around them, they were just stuck. Things shouldn't have been this way, but Alyssa couldn't just stand back and let him hurt people she cared about.

Hawk's eyes narrowed at her, and Alyssa's heartbeat picked up in anticipation. He advanced on her, throwing the first punch. Alyssa ducked underneath his arm and landed a punch on his cheek. Hawk glared at her before throwing a kick at her side. Alyssa blocked it with her arm. Hawk's eyes darkened, and Alyssa breathed heavily from adrenaline, fighting, and . . . fear?

Well, that was an emotion she had never thought she would feel from Eli.

Alyssa raised her fists again. Hawk then started to throw punch, after punch, after punch at her. Alyssa's eyes widened and she blocked it using all of her defense that she had moved, but she wasn't too lucky. Hawk swung, and Alyssa didn't block it, and his hand made contact with her mouth.

Her head whipped to the side and she slightly stumbled back from the blow. Pain instantly shot throughout her face, and the sound of the fight around her totally faded into a dull ringing. Despite her karate training, she hadn't been punched . . . well, ever. And maybe it wasn't just physical pain. It was emotional, too. Her entire body seemed to go numb from it.

Something suddenly hit the floor. Alyssa looked down, only to see a drop of red liquid near her foot. She reached up and touched her fingertips to her lip in the spot where it was stinging. Alyssa winced as her fingers hit the sensitive area, but it also hit something liquidy and warm. She pulled them back, only to see her own blood staining her fingertips.

Alyssa clenched her fists, ignoring the stinging in her lip and the throbbing in her jaw as she got back in her fighting stance. Honestly, she was tired of fighting. She knew that she could push through, but how much longer? Her stamina was running out, and her emotional pain was kind of outweighing her physical pain.

She wound her fist back and swung again. Hawk somehow didn't manage to block it, so it connected with his face. It wasn't intentional, and Alyssa had no clue how it happened, but the sharp edge of one of the rings on her fingers sliced directly across his cheek. Just like her lip, drops of blood started to form.

Bloodshed.

It shouldn't have been like this.

A teacher suddenly got in between them, placing his hand on either one of their chests and pushing them away from each other. "Hey, break it up!"

He grabbed Rickenberger's shoulder. Rickenberger then reached his elbow back and elbowed the teacher right in the face, making Alyssa's eyes widen. He grabbed the teacher's arm and completely flipped him over.

Alyssa looked away from the scene and back towards Hawk. They locked eyes, and in the very same second, their fists raised again. And at the same exact time, they both jumped up and kicked each other in the stomach. The two of them stumbled back from their respective blows.

She brushed off her shock on how in sync that was and put her fists back up, ready to fight again, but Hawk didn't. Instead, his eyes set on something down the hallway, and crazed excitement lit up his features. Alyssa followed his gaze to see him staring at Demetri, and her eyes widened.

And then Hawk ran straight at him.

"No!" Alyssa screamed. "Don't run away from me, you bitch!"

She sprinted after Hawk, who was sprinting after Demetri. Alyssa's muscles started to ache from how fast she was running, but Demetri seemed to be outrunning Hawk, taking different twists and corners. She suddenly slowed down her speed, letting Hawk continue running forwards. Demetri was his new prey — he wouldn't care about her. That was evident from the way he just left her behind — both physically and mentally.

Alyssa ducked back into another hallway, walking fast to the one place where she knew Demetri would go. It was a prime hiding spot, but very predictable for him. Alyssa's mission right now was to get there before Hawk did, because she knew he would look there, too.

"Demetri," Alyssa whispered loudly, moving through the silent computer lab when she got there. "Dem, are you—"

She was cut off by a door opening, a hand being placed over her mouth, and being dragged inside a dark room. Alyssa gasped in horror as she was brought down to the ground, her back pressing up against the wall underneath the windows of the room. Her wide eyes softened slightly at Demetri's figure in front of her.

Demetri let go of his grip on her and sat next to her. "Your lip's bleeding."

"Yeah, no shit," Alyssa responded quietly. "As you can probably tell, Eli's gone full Hawk mode, which made me worried for the physical and emotional wellbeing of everyone. So I told him to fight me instead, but my physical and emotional wellbeing is decreasing at a rapid rate." She pointed to her lip. "That's how I got this."

"Why'd you come find me? I thought you were mad at me."

"I am, but nobody deserves to be hunted. Dem, you didn't see him. He was going on a rampage. I—"

The door to the computer lab suddenly opened loudly, and with it came footsteps. Alyssa looked over at Demetri with wide eyes and raised a finger to her mouth, signaling him to be quiet. His eyes were wide in panic, and he nodded a bit.

"Demetri!" Hawk shouted, his voice sounding insane with malicious excitement. Another shiver went up Alyssa's spine, and she felt Demetri reach out, grabbing her hand tightly. She squeezed back. "I know you're in here. Figured you'd hide in the computer lab, you damn nerd!"

Alyssa pushed herself up, peering through the window. Hawk was trying to open the other doors, but they were all locked.

"I'm coming for you."

She slowly stood up, tugging on Demetri's hand to get him to stand up. Alyssa honestly should've known better — they wouldn't have been safe from him. Because when the two of them turned around, there Hawk was, standing by the door.

Alyssa froze for a moment. "Fuck."

"Boo," Hawk voiced.

Demetri turned around and ripped open the door closest to them. Alyssa felt herself get dragged along, which was basically the same scene as it had been in the mall. Demetri pushed open the door and continued to run.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Demetri exclaimed.

"Come here, Demetri!" Hawk taunted. "You can't run forever, Alyssa!"

She glanced over her shoulder. "You ran from me first!"

Alyssa felt adrenaline pump through her veins as she continued to run, half her own running and half being dragged by Demetri. They got all the way back into the lobby when two arms suddenly wrapped around Alyssa's waist, tugging her off the floor and forcing her hand out of Demetri's. Alyssa shrieked from the suddenness of it all and struggled against the person, but they only held onto her tighter.

"Get off of me!" Alyssa demanded. "Eli, let me go!"

He obeyed, but a little too literally. Hawk pretty much threw her to the side. Alyssa grunted in pain as she landed on her stomach on the floor. She blinked the black spots out of her vision and looked up, only to see Hawk advancing on Demetri.

"Demetri!" Alyssa called, pushing herself up on her shaking arms.

Hawk kicked Demetri right across the face and then punched him. He reached out and punched again, but Demetri used the defense he had worked so hard to learn and blocked it. Hawk then threw multiple punches at Demetri, who ducked his head down in between his arms to shield himself. Hawk pushed Demetri back and kicked again. Demetri blocked his kick, and there was a momentary beat of shock. Alyssa watched, her mouth falling open in shock, as Demetri grabbed Hawk when he went to punch him.

"No hard feelings," Demetri stated.

He then flipped Hawk around. Demetri lifted up his leg and kicked, sending Hawk backwards into the trophy case. Alyssa blinked in shock as Hawk crumpled down to the ground, broken glass and trophies surrounding him.

Demetri stared down at Hawk. "Sorry . . . Eli."

Alyssa snapped herself out of it. "Demetri, oh my God."

He turned to her. "Ally." Demetri rushed up to her and bent down, helping her up off of the ground. He stared at her face as she held onto his forearms. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She squeezed his arms before letting go. "Demetri, that was — that was incredible."

Alyssa then averted her gaze to Hawk, who was still bleeding on his back in the glass. She slowly walked up to him, staring down at him in a mixture of regret or anger. Alyssa never wanted it to go down like this, but everything that had happened over the summer with them had just exploded into this very moment.

"Thanks for striking first," Alyssa told him. "Because it made me strike harder."

She had been so caught up in everything that she hadn't even noticed that she was running the A charm on her necklace back and forth. Alyssa was suddenly hit with the realization — her necklace. It was the same one that she wore everyday, just a silver chain with the small charm of an A that had little sparkles on it. The necklace had become so normal to her that she had forgotten that Eli had given to her a couple years ago.

Alyssa suddenly reached up, unclasping the necklace from around her neck. She held the chain and the charm in the middle of her palm, glancing from it to Hawk. Alyssa's jaw clenched and her heart broke even further, but she couldn't. She let the necklace fall from her hand down onto the ground right next to him.

The final nail in the coffin.

Over on the stairs, the fights between Sam and Tory and Miguel and Robby were still going on. Alyssa walked quickly over to the stairs, Demetri trailing behind her. Miguel and Robby were fighting on the balcony while Sam was clutching onto her arm. Alyssa wanted to run up there and make sure she was okay, but then the unimaginable happened.

Robby and Miguel were close to the edge of the balcony, and when Robby kicked, it sent Miguel right over the edge.

"Miguel!" Tory screamed.

It felt as if time completely slowed down as Miguel free-fell from the balcony, but it snapped back into regular speed when his body slammed against the railing on the staircase. A loud thud and a crack echoed throughout the lobby as Miguel's limp body landed on the steps. Alyssa let out a gasp of horror.

"Miguel!" Alyssa shouted.

Without really a second thought in her mind, Alyssa ran up to the stairs. The whole room was stunned, and everything was quiet besides the sound of her footsteps. She knelt next to him, feeling absolutely sick to her stomach at his broken figure. Alyssa reached out a hand, which was trembling violently. She went to place it on his shoulder, but she stopped herself, not knowing if she could take it. Instead, she placed it over her mouth in shock and looked up.

"Robby, what did you do?" Sam inquired.

Alyssa watched before her very eyes as a member of her dojo, her friend, the one who had just kicked Miguel off of that balcony and made him like this, just fucking ran away. She then looked over to see Hawk walking up to Miguel, glancing up at the place where Robby once stood in hatred, the same place that people were running to the edge to look at Miguel.

Their eyes momentarily locked. And for a second, just for a second, she saw a flash of Eli stare down at her as he looked at her shaking figure. It seemed like even after the fight they just had and the fact that their dojos were extreme rivals went away for a moment. Right there, as long as they were on those steps, kneeling next to Miguel, everything went away. Miguel was more important.

Alyssa wasn't sure how long she had been there. She had watched an ambulance come and take Miguel's body away, and had heard people leave either due to their injuries or because the school ordered everyone to leave, but Alyssa hadn't moved at all. Alyssa kept herself there, just staring, not really knowing what to do with herself.

"Ally."

Demetri's voice sounded completely underwater to her. She kept staring at the place where Miguel's bruised and bloody limp body just was. No matter how hard she tried to get herself to look away from the spot, she couldn't. It was like she was frozen in time, just gazing in complete and utter horror, not wanting to believe what just happened.

"He can't be—" Alyssa began, her chest feeling tight. She couldn't even get the word out of her mouth. "He can't be . . ."

Vaguely, she felt Demetri reach over and pull her up from the stairs, tucking her into him. He gently placed his hand on the back of her head, turning her face into his chest so she couldn't look anymore. Alyssa clutched the back of his shirt in her fists, her chest slightly heaving up and down. Demetri held onto her trembling figure, feeling tears of shock soak into his shirt, but he didn't care.

Alyssa had a sudden realization. Her mom. She was a nurse at the hospital. And maybe it sounded childish, but after all of that, she honestly just wanted to see her mom. Alyssa untangled herself from Demetri and wiped her hands across her face, telling him quietly that she would be going to the hospital. Demetri nodded and left her, presumably to go find his mom, who had come not too long ago. Alyssa went to the hallway where she had thrown her backpack down since it had her car keys in it and reached down, picking it up and slinging it over shoulder.

"Hey," Hawk's voice stated firmly, and Alyssa looked up to see him blocking the entire doorway she had to go back through. "What the hell? You just left after that?"

Alyssa rolled her eyes, her voice shaking. "Listen, I know I told you we could have a screaming match when we came back to school, but after that, I don't think I can. So, let's reschedule. I have to go to the hospital. My — my mom—"

Hawk scowled at her. "Running back to mommy, huh? Couldn't take all the fighting?"

She felt tears of frustration fill her eyes. "I was going to say that she can — can help Miguel—"

"Miguel doesn't need any of your help. This was all your fault, it was your own who did this, your dojo—"

"You think I wanted for this to happen?" Alyssa argued. "You think I wanted to watch one of my best friends get kicked off a balcony and — and . . ." She placed a hand on her stomach and shut her eyes for a moment, trying to calm the overwhelming urge to be sick. "Jesus Christ."

Hawk scoffed. "And don't go pretending that you care about Miguel now. Miyagi-Do—"

Alyssa stared at him incredulously, anger seeping from her veins to her voice as tears started to fall down her face again. "Pretending? Pretending? Do the tears on my face look like I'm pretending, Eli?" She started to furiously wipe away the tears on her cheeks. "And I know you're probably loving this, me making a fucking fool out of myself crying in front of you when all you're going to is make fun of me for it."

Hawk instantly took notice to the tears running down her cheeks, her red eyes, and her blotchy skin, and the corner of his mouth twitched up — even though the sight of her crying made his insides absolutely crumble. "You shouldn't have run up those stairs."

"Well, that really wasn't for you to decide." Alyssa paused for a moment, gripping onto the strap of her bag tightly. "Listen, today has been awful, so can you please just move? Going to see my mom at the hospital can help with — can help with Miguel, you know that." She clutched at her hurting chest — she couldn't tell if it was from heartbreak, from being kicked, or a mixture of both. "Just . . . please."

He stared at her angrily for a moment, but ultimately caved in, because she was right. Hawk stepped to the side. Alyssa pushed herself past him, trying to ignore the way he followed her every move.

And she was completely oblivious to the way that her necklace was no longer by the broken glass of the trophy case, because Hawk had it in his pocket.

Alyssa's ride to the hospital was silent, beside the sounds of her trying to control her breathing. Her shaking hands clutched to her steering wheel tightly. She finally made it after a little while, traffic crazy because of the fight. Alyssa parked in one of the spots in the parking lot and entered, ignoring the nurses who looked at her, probably staring at her because of her cuts and bruises or because they recognized her. She went into the elevator and went up to the floor where she knew her mother worked.

And, sure enough, when she exited the elevator, she was immediately cornered by her mother.

"Alyssa Cordelia Liu," Selena Liu seethed out the second she walked into the hospital. Instantly, conversations stopped, and heads turned to look at them. "A fight? What we're you thinking?"

"Mom, please, not right now," Alyssa told her, her eyes turning glassy. She walked up to her mother frantically. "Scold me later, ground me for till college, I — I don't care. I just need to know if you can help Miguel."

Selena's eyes softened when they noticed her state, and she put her hands on Alyssa's shoulders. "I'm assigned to him, but sweetie, there's not much we can do right now. He's in a coma—"

"A coma?" Alyssa repeated, more tears falling down her face. She let out a shaky breath, her chest feeling tight. "Oh my God."

"Ally, breathe."

"I can't, I can't—"

Miguel falling off the balcony. Sam clutching onto her arm.

Sam.

Alyssa had been so wrapped up in everything else that she hadn't even stopped to consider Sam. Guilt settled down in her chest, and she glanced around for a moment, as if she could find Sam somewhere.

"Sam," Alyssa stated. "Mom, where's Sam?"

"She's in a room—" Selena started to say,

Alyssa started to push past her mom. "Which one?"

"Ally, hold on," Selena protested, taking her daughter's arm and holding her in place. "You have cuts and bruises all over, and oh my God, your lip—"

"I have to see Sam," Alyssa pleaded. "Mom, please, let me go—"

"Alyssa, you're hurt—"

"Let me go!" Alyssa insisted loudly, letting out another sob. "I have to see her—"

"Okay, okay," Selena voiced gently. "Let me take you to her."

Alyssa nodded, allowing another sob to leave her. Her mom gently steered her over to one of the rooms, and when Alyssa looked inside, she immediately stopped in her tracks. Sam was sitting on the hospital bed, sobbing with bruises and blood all over her face and stitches on her arm. Her mom and dad were there, too, trying to console her. But there wasn't really much they could say — they weren't there. They hadn't seen what happened.

"Sam," Alyssa began.

Sensei LaRusso looked over at her. "Ally."

Mrs. LaRusso turned to her, too, her eyes widening. "Sweetie, your lip."

"Sam," Alyssa brokenly repeated, shrugging off her mother's grip on her and walking further into the room.

"Ally," Sam's shaking voice responded, weakly lifting up her arms.

Alyssa collapsed on the bed next to Sam. At the same time, the two surged forwards and threw their arms around each other, holding each other close. They buried their heads into each other's shoulders. It honestly hurt a little bit from how tight they were clutching onto each other, but that didn't matter. Nothing compared to how bad their hearts hurt. Sam cried a little harder into Alyssa's shoulder, and Alyssa picked her head up, letting out another sob.

"I know," Alyssa whispered. "God, Sam, I know."

A traumatized Alyssa Liu continued to hug a traumatized Samantha LaRusso, and she had no idea what was going to come next.

•─•°•❀•°•─•

𝙴𝙽𝙳 𝙾𝙵 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝙸𝙸

I think some people forget that miguel is also to blame for that kiss ☝🏻 don't get me wrong I love him but he was equally in the wrong

argue with a wall I will NOT hear any and ifs or buts about it THEY BOTH FUCKED UP

anyways

bro . . . hawk in the school fight . . . he went crazy

miss ally humbled him fr 🫶🏻