chapter thirty:
❛ promposals ❜

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tw: panic attacks

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arizona sat stiffly in the parole office waiting room, her fingers tapping anxiously on the chair's armrest. today was supposed to be a good day, the day she might finally get her ankle monitor removed. she should have been excited-this was her chance to move forward, to leave some of the past behind-but her nerves were wound tight. every tick of the clock made her heart race a little faster.

there were a few others waiting as well, some sitting in silence, others thumbing through old magazines. arizona tried to focus on anything but the anxiety gnawing at her stomach. she didn't want to mess this up. she couldn't afford to.

she leaned back, closing her eyes for a moment, trying to focus on her breathing. just relax, she told herself. you've come so far. you've got this.

but the door swung open, and the moment arizona saw who walked in, her breath hitched painfully in her throat. tory.

tory nichols, the girl who had tormented her, held her down in that tattoo parlor and permanently marked her arm with the word "traitor." the word still burned, etched into her skin, a constant reminder of that night. the memory slammed into her like a freight train, vivid and terrifying. she could feel the cold metal of the chair beneath her, could hear tory's voice sneering as she tattooed her arm. the panic was immediate and overwhelming.

arizona's heart pounded so loudly in her ears she could barely hear anything else. her breathing grew shallow and ragged as she stared at tory, who hadn't noticed her yet. all she could think about was getting out of there, away from the past that seemed to have walked right back into her life.

without a second thought, she bolted from her seat, her legs carrying her out of the waiting room before her brain had fully caught up. she pushed through the door and stumbled outside, her lungs desperate for air. she pressed herself against the wall of the building, gasping, her hands trembling as she tried to steady her breathing. but the more she tried to calm down, the more the memories of that night consumed her.

"arizona?" a voice called out from behind her, tentative and uncertain. arizona's stomach twisted when she realized it was tory.

she turned around, panic still gripping her as she saw tory standing a few feet away, her expression unreadable but softer than arizona had ever seen it. tory took a step forward, but arizona's hand shot out in a defensive gesture.

"don't touch me!" arizona shouted, her voice trembling with fear and anger. she took a shaky step back, her chest heaving as she tried to hold back the panic clawing its way up her throat.

tory raised her hands in surrender, not coming any closer. her expression was a strange mixture of regret and guilt. "i'm not going to," tory said quietly. "i just... i'm so sorry, arizona. for everything."

arizona blinked, the words almost not registering through the haze of panic still clouding her mind. sorry? she never thought she'd hear that from tory, of all people. but even though tory's words were soft, even though she wasn't making any threatening moves, the fear was still too fresh, too raw.

without saying anything else, tory turned and walked away, leaving arizona standing there, breathless and shaken. arizona watched her go, her mind spinning, her heart still racing in her chest. i need to calm down, she thought, but her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

fumbling with her phone, she dialed miguel's number, pressing the phone to her ear. her breath came in short, shallow bursts as she waited for him to pick up. when his voice finally came through, it was like a lifeline.

"arizona? what's going on?" miguel asked, immediately sensing something was wrong.

"i... i saw tory," arizona stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "she's here. she walked in and-miguel, i freaked out. i had to get out of there."

miguel's voice softened, calming. "hey, breathe. you're okay. you're outside now, right? she's not with you?"

arizona nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "yeah... she followed me for a second, but then she just... she just apologized and walked away. i don't know what to do."

"she's gone now," miguel reassured her. "you're safe. she's not going to hurt you again. i promise."

arizona squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on his voice. "i just... i thought i was over it. but seeing her..."

"it's normal to feel like that," miguel said. "what happened was terrible, but you're stronger than she is. you're stronger than all of that. listen, you've come this far, and today's important, right? you're getting that ankle monitor off, yeah?"

arizona nodded again, her hand instinctively touching the monitor on her ankle. "yeah."

"then go back in there," miguel urged gently. "i know it's hard, but you've worked too hard for this. i'll stay on the phone if you need me to. but you can do this. you're almost done with all of this."

arizona took a deep, shaky breath, the panic slowly beginning to ebb. miguel was right. she had worked too hard to let this stop her now. she couldn't let tory-or the memories-ruin this moment.

"okay," she whispered, her voice steadier now. "okay. i'll go back in."

"that's my girl," miguel said softly. "you've got this. call me after, okay?"

"i will," arizona promised before hanging up. she stood there for a moment longer, gathering her strength, then turned and walked back inside.

as she re-entered the waiting room, her heart skipped a beat when she saw tory still sitting there, her head down, hands clasped tightly in her lap. tory didn't look up this time, and arizona was grateful for it. there was a look of guilt etched on tory's face, though, like she was carrying the weight of her actions. arizona's stomach twisted, but she forced herself to walk past, her eyes fixed on the door to the parole office.

her name was called just as she reached the front desk. she took one more deep breath and followed the officer into the small office, the door closing behind her. sitting behind the desk was her parole officer, a sharp-eyed woman in her mid-thirties, with a no-nonsense attitude but a surprisingly kind demeanor.

"arizona, it's your lucky day," the officer said, standing up from her desk and gesturing for arizona to sit down. "you've done well these past few months, so we're removing your ankle monitor today."

arizona couldn't help the rush of relief that washed over her as the officer knelt down and carefully unlocked the monitor from her ankle. the sensation of the device being removed felt like a huge weight being lifted off her. she could finally breathe.

"but," the officer said as she stood back up, fixing arizona with a serious look, "there are still rules you need to follow. you're not completely free yet."

arizona nodded, listening closely.

"you need to stay out of trouble," the officer said, her tone firm. "no getting involved with any illegal activities. no hanging around the wrong people. you'll still need to check in with me regularly, and any violation of these terms could land you back in juvie-or right back on this ankle monitor. understand?"

arizona swallowed hard and nodded. "i understand."

the officer's expression softened just a little. "you've come a long way, arizona. don't throw that away."

"i won't," arizona said quietly, determination in her voice.

as she stood up to leave, her heart felt lighter. she walked out of the office, and even though tory was still there, arizona didn't flinch this time. she just kept walking, her head held high.

as arizona rounded the corner of her apartment complex, she immediately felt the weight of the day press down on her. the memory of her panic attack earlier with tory flashed briefly in her mind, and her ankle felt strangely light now that the monitor was gone. all she wanted was to head inside, collapse on her bed, and forget the day had even happened.

but then, something caught her eye.

standing just outside johnny's apartment was miguel, a huge grin on his face, holding up a giant, handmade sign. the bold letters painted in red and black-cobra kai colors, of course-read:

"you've mastered the art of kicking butt... how about kicking it with me at prom?"

arizona stopped dead in her tracks, her heart doing a flip in her chest. she blinked, taking in the sight of miguel, standing there so proudly with his cheesy sign, and despite herself, a huge smile spread across her face.

she took a few steps forward, her hands flying up to cover her mouth, trying not to laugh too loudly. miguel finally noticed her, his eyes lighting up as he held the sign a little higher. "so?" he asked, his voice filled with hopeful excitement.

arizona felt her heart swell at the effort he'd put into this, and she couldn't help but grin even wider. "of course!" she blurted out, laughter bubbling up from her chest. "how could i say no to that?"

miguel's face lit up like a kid on christmas morning, and in a heartbeat, he dropped the sign and rushed toward her. without hesitation, he scooped her up into his arms and spun her around in a full circle, laughing as arizona squealed in surprise.

"miguel!" she yelped, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck as the world blurred around her. but despite the dizzying spin, she couldn't stop smiling.

he finally set her down, but his arms stayed firmly around her waist, his forehead resting lightly against hers as they caught their breath. arizona's cheeks were hurting from how hard she was grinning, and she was pretty sure her heart hadn't stopped racing since the moment she saw that sign.

"you really went all out, huh?" she teased, her eyes glancing down at the sign now lying on the ground. "i mean, this is some serious creative work."

miguel chuckled, his hands still resting on her waist as he followed her gaze. "what can i say? i wanted it to be special. prom only happens once, right?"

arizona softened at his words, her chest tightening in the best way possible. "well, it worked," she said, meeting his gaze. "it was perfect."

his smile grew softer, more intimate, as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "you deserve perfect."

her heart melted at that, and for a moment, all the stress of the day, the panic, the fear-it all melted away. right now, standing here with miguel, everything felt right. he had a way of making her feel safe, even when everything else was spinning out of control.

"now," miguel said, raising an eyebrow playfully, "you ready to go kick it at prom with me?"

arizona laughed, rolling her eyes as she leaned into him slightly. "as long as you promise not to wear one of those cheesy tuxes."

miguel gave her a mischievous grin. "no promises," he teased, before pulling her in closer for a quick kiss.

arizona's laughter mixed with his, and as she looked up at him, she realized that even after everything-after the panic and fear-moments like this made it all feel worth it. being with miguel made her feel like she could handle anything.

and prom? well, that was just the beginning.

ASH SPEAKS!

i apologize for the short chapter, but next chapter will follow s4ep7! i wanted this chapter to show how tory really hurt arizona and its gonna take awhile for arizona to forgive her for what she did-and to show that it was traumatic for her.

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