[SEASON ONE: EPISODE NINE]

In English class, Ethan and Demteri sat down together at a two person table, discussing as they took a practice test to prepare for the real one.

"What's going on? The test is almost over." Demteri said, noticing his friend's expression on his face.

"Dude, it's just a practice test. Not the actual thing."

"Easy for you to say. You have a girlfriend."

"No I don't. And, what does that have to do with anything?" He whispered, with a confused look.

"I gotta do well on these, so I can do well on the actual test, so I get into a good college, which will lead to a good internship, then a high paying job, and then after a couple promotions, I should have enough confidence to get a super hot girl. You got the karate thing. I gotta play the long game." The sparky boy explained to him.

The school bell began to ring as Ethan walked out, with Demetri following closely behind him. Once outside the classroom, Sam stood there, awaiting him with a charming smile.

"Hey!" She said, grabbing the boy's arm and turned around to face her surprisingly. Although deep down inside, he was still a little upset about what he saw last night at her house.

"Hey." He muttered.

"What's with the doom and gloom? Come on, I'm pretty positive you did amazing, again."

"Yeah, I was just a little.... Distracted with something on my mind." Ethan shrugged, his voice sounding a little heavy with sadness, and a bit of anger.

"What? Why?"

"I'm entering the tournament. And I don't have a lot of time to prepare, so...."

"Well, you must've done better than me. The guy in front of me definitely did not shower. Made me completely forget how to calculate the volume of a sphere. But he did definitely helped me remember the word malodorous." She said, chuckling nervously.

"So, what did happen last night?"

"Uh, just a family dinner."

"I'd like to see them again." Ethan said, trying not to seem like a pushy friend. She became unsettled, shifting her head to the side, then sighed quietly.

"Well...."

"You know you're more than welcome to come over, my mom and grandma would love to see you, again." He said, exasperatedly, and Sam slightly nodded her head.

"Or I could come over, and speak with your parents. See how they've been doing."

Upon hearing those words, the smile on the brunette's face quickly faded away.

"You know, tonight's just really not a good night. But we could totally hit up Ventura. Two shakes at Salt & Straw on me?" She asked, uneasily. Ethan made a small feign smile, nodding his head along to her good excuse.

"I should probably go train. Maybe another some other time?" He asked, clearing his throat and also looked disappointed.

"Okay." Sam said, sadly, while glancing down.

"But, I'll definitely call you later."

She nodded slightly as she watched him walk down the hall. Guilt began to fill up her mind, and she nervously nibbled her lips.

After school, in a public park, the group of kids decided to meet up and discuss what happened last night at the LaRusso's house.

"Come on, eat something. It'll make you feel better." Demteri insisted, trying to get his friend to feel better.

"I'm not hungry, dude."

"I still think you're overreacting." He sighed.

"I'm not overreacting. I know what I saw." Williams replied, and groaned in annoyance.

"All right, so you saw her eating dinner with some punk." Hawk chimed in, after kicking Bert's face, who went unconscious from the impact, as he sprawled out on the grass.

"It's probably just her brother or something."

"No, that's impossible. And Brothers don't look at their sisters look that."

"Depends what part of the country you're in."

"Look, I just don't want what happened to Sensei happen to me." Ethan said, sighing heavily.

"All right, you go over to this kid and beat his ass. So he doesn't have a chance."

"Don't listen to Eli." Demteri said.

"It's Hawk." He corrected him, but the boy just looked at him, not caring at all.

"Yeah, whatever."

"The fact is, Sam's given you no reason to trust her."

"I guess you're right."

"Oh! That little bitch!" Aisha shouted, earning everyone's attention.

"What's up?"

"You know that posted of me breaking a board?"

"Look what Yasmine connected." She said, showing the guys her phone.

"Oh crap." Ethan mumbled underneath his breath.

"I gotta do something."

"How about we kidnap the girl and have my boy Rico tattoo 'BITCH' on her face?" Hawk suggested.

"Calm down, bro." Demteri muttered.

"All right, I hear what you're saying, and I don't like it." He snapped at him, angrily,

"Wait, wait. I've got a better idea. Look." She chirped in, showing everybody what was on her phone.

"Yasmine throwing a birthday at the Canyon, later?"

"Not if we strike first."

The group of friends made their way to a local gas station, where they would get everything you'd need for a big party. Meanwhile, Ethan stood outside near the front door entrance, attempting to get a hold of Sam through a phone call, as he hasn't heard from her almost all day.

"Hey, Sammy, it's me. I wanted to apologize for earlier today. I was feeling off, but I would really like to see you. Some of my friends are throwing a party at the Canyon. We're heading over there now. So, Let me know when you can come. Bye."

Upon arriving at the Canyon with the supplies, the big party began with no problem at all. Everyone either held up a red cup of beer, or gathered in small groups around each other.

Suddenly, Ethan noticed Kyler's car pull up from the hill. Raising an eyebrow, he observed as the bully stopped and instantly walked away. Out of nowhere, Aisha approached him.

"Still nothing?" She asked.

"No." He replied, pursing his lips tightly, placing his telephone back in a pocket.

"Maybe her phone died." The girl suggested.

"It's whatever, I guess." Ethan said, as he glanced around at the people who were dancing.

"Let's get this party started."

He opened an icebox, grabbing a bottle of alcohol. Making an unsure expression, Williams shrugged his shoulders, before taking a big sip.

Aisha stared at him, her mouth slightly open in shock. A grimace fell upon the boy's face, after he drank, and he walked away, causing her to start laughing.

As the moon descended, the real party began. The Campfires glowing served as the source of their light, and a few teenagers danced along to a random song playing loudly in the night.

"Another one? Are you good?" She asked, amusing, and walked over towards Williams.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Aisha. Really." He said, placing a hand down on her shoulder in reassuring. Then, quickly step over to the cooler to grab another alcohol drink.

Yasmine marched towards them with a furious look on her face. Ethan slightly glanced over at the girl but didn't knew who she was, having only heard some random rumors about her.

"Hey! You think it's funny crashing my party?" She asked, angrily.

"It's not your party cause we were here first." Aisha replied.

"Yeah, well I know you and your little karate gang think you're cool. But we all remember who you really are. You're just a fugly bitch, and all of your friends are freaks."  Yasmine spate, then scoffed loudly and turned towards her friend.

"Come on, Moon. Let's go."

"No, I'm staying." Moon denied, moving back closer to Hawk.

"I apologized to Aisha for what we did, you should too."

"Whatever." A frown of disgust washed upon Yasmine's face and she shook her head in disappointment.

"You deserve them."

She started walking away, bumping into Ethan, but the boy didn't do anything. Unfazed, he only watching her leave them. The encounter with the blonde girl and her clique was over.

"Hey Yasmine!" Aisha shouted loudly, as the girl whipped herself around, her nose scrunching in disdain at the slight of the girl, she bullied everyday in school.

"What?"

"Let me help you to your car." She said, grinning through her teeth. Everything happened so fast. She had grabbed her by her underwear, lifting her up in the air so abruptly that Yasmine screamed in pain, then threw her down on the ground.

"No mercy, bitch!"

A crowd of teenagers circled around her, laughing at the embarrassed girl as she stumbled away from the scene.

Ethan's eyes landed on Sam, who finally arrived, accompanied by someone, and they laughed merrily. His demeanor changed, and his gaze narrowed into slits, darkening the night. Then,
suddenly how he felt was jealously.

He shook his head and marched towards them. Both of them quickly noticed him; she obviously smiled at her best friend.

"Hey!" He said, coolly, but there was a suspiciously smile on his face. He was practically seeing anything but jealousy, and glazed at him.

"What's Robby doing here?"

"Hey, I...." Sam started, and was cut off by the other boy.

"Wait, this.... This is how he acts now?" Robby asked, furrowing his eyebrows, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Not all the time." She replied, as she nodded her head and noticed Ethan pursed his lips tightly, as he stared at the boy beside her with a newfound expression, one she's never seen before.

"Ethan, calm down, this is Robby. Don't you remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I remember, that makes a whole of sense." He said, dryly, nodding his head furiously. Who almost looked amused, but every time, he looked, his gaze always drifted towards Robby.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked, crossing her arms in disbelief, and caught a small glimpse of something off about him.

"Wait. Have you been drinking?"

"No, no. You don't get to do that." Ethan laughed bitterly, shaking his head, his eyes were still narrowed in anger.

"I've texted and called you all day, wondering where you were, and you couldn't even answer me back once?"

"No, I literally couldn't. My mom took my phone."

Williams breathed heavily, trying his hardest to control his feelings, which he was terribly falling to do, as he scoffed.

"That's so convenient, Sammy."

That's when Robby thought it was time for himself to get involved. He stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak, but Ethan shoved him down. The boy fell in the dirt, capturing a few of onlookers.

"Get out of here!"

"Ethan, stop it!" Sam cried out.

He craned his neck angrily, watching Robby stand up on his own. He marched over to them, Ethan quickly faced him, not showing any sign of fear on his face.

"You wanna try that again, bro?" He asked, angrily.

"Try again that, huh?"

He nodded his head furiously, and both males started to get in their stances. But then Sam stepped in between them. Ethan accidentally hit the brunette instead of Robby, and she fell down to the ground with a quick wince. The boys tried to help her to stand up, but she angrily pushed them away.

"God, you asshole!" She shouted, as that seem to finally snap him out of his jealousy state.

"What the hell was that? I knew there was something fishy going on with you! Good luck at the tournament, because I won't be there!"

Sam was already marching away, and Robby didn't hesitate to follow after her. Ethan tried to reach out by calling her name out multiple times, but failed miserably.

She didn't turn back once, and he didn't run after her. Instead, he backed up, accepting his defeat, pursuing his lips to contain everything he was feeling inside himself. All of these emotions; anger, jealousy, frustration, with the first two mostly aimed at himself.

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EDITED; 2/17/2024

SEE YOU GUYS IN THE NEXT ONE!!!!

PEACE/LATER!!!