THAILA HATED Life360. Brandon would constantly buzz her phone when she was late through his iPod touch and it drove her mad.

But this was different.

Her phone had been buzzing from the app because of Tory. Her battery on her phone had been extremely low and had been a constant reminder for Thalia for the past five minutes.

The girl groaned, grabbing her phone from the bedside table, and checked the app, but furrowed her brows when she looked at the location.

It wasn't recognizable to her and she sat upright, zooming in on the location to get a better look of the address.

She licked her lips and shoved her phone into her pocket before standing to her feet and putting on her beat up Converse that sat at the end of her bed.

She opened her bedroom door and checked inside both Brandon's and her mother's room before leaving the apartment and to the address of where Tory had been.

She didn't know where it was and was only worried about it. That was her sister regardless of how often they fought. Yes, their arguments had been more intense these past couple of weeks, but she feared that Tory might've been in serious danger.

But no, when she arrived, she stepped out of the car and saw the massacre that was the LaRusso home.

There was no way that Tory had come here to fight Sam? She had her reasons not to like the girl, considering that the brunette had accused her of being a thief... which she was but not of the artifact she thought she had.

Thalia entered the house, the front door kicked in and two boys pushing each other into a wall.

Thaila began to breathe heavily. Where was Tory?

From the corner of his bloody eye, Miguel saw Thalia entering the house before dashing through the fighting dojo's.

Thalia made her rounds around the house and still saw no sign of Tory or Sam, but then she heard a grunting noise and followed it.

And there, it a small hut, almost a mini backyard house, Sam and Tory had been fighting.

Tory's back had been facing Thalia's as she stepped forward into the room.

Sam was weaponless and Tory held two black nunchucks in her hands.

Never... Never had Tory and Thalia fought. It was something they did, but it was an unfair fight between two people who absolutely despised each other and Thalia feared that if Tory could, she would cause more damage to Sam than needed to be done.

So, she grabbed the bō staff that leaned itself against the wall and held it her hands tightly. She licked her lips, gripping the weapon in her hands tightly before using it to poke Tory in the back.

Without a second thought, Tory turned, using the nunchucks to bring the bō staff down. Thalia jutted, losing her balance but still stable enough to look Tory in her eyes.

"Thalia?" Tory breathed heavily. "What are you doing here?"

"You're making a mistake."

Thalia, knowing that Tory had been distracted, lifted the bō staff up. Tory jerked up, stumbling backwards.

"You don't need to do this-"

"Are you with them?" Tory asked.

"What?" Thalia asked. "No, I'm stopping you from making a mistake!"

Tory scoffed. She hated to say it, but she didn't believed Thalia. Ever since the fight at the school, Thalia hadn't been on her side once. She hadn't agreed with her, she didn't see the good in what Kreese had thought Cobra Kai.

"My mistake was thinking that you'd agree with me." Tory muttered.

With that, she stepped forward, using one end of the nunchuck to hopefully just scare Thalia off, but that wasn't the case.

The youngest, whipped the bō staff in the air, hitting the end of the nunchuck and watched as Tory began circling around her.

"Are you protecting her?" Tory asked. "After everything she did to you?"

"I'm protecting you." Thalia answered.

Tory chuckled, rushing forward to attack Thalia, but the girl was quicker on her feet, using the bō staff to strike Tory on her ankle. She dropped the nunchucks in agony and so, in return, Thalia dropped the bō staff, rushing to Tory's side in hopes that the small fight would end.

But as soon as Thalia approached Tory's side, the eldest grabbed her arm, flipping the young girl onto her back.

Thalia groaned, her head hitting the ground harder than it had at the roller rink.

"I don't want to fight you, Tally." Tory muttered.

Tory watched as tears pricked the corners of Thalia's eyes.

She really didn't want to fight her, but here they were.

Thalia used her feet to kick Tory back, the eldest grunting as her back hit the wall. Thalia stumbled to her feet, her head pounding as she stood.

Tory began to breathe heavily as she rushed towards Thalia. The two of them blocking and dodging each other's punches.

Tory had always been good a defense, striking Thalia in the face more than once with her blood on her knuckles, but that didn't mean that Thalia didn't fight back either.

Thalia sideswiped Tory, causing the girl to fall onto her back.

The youngest made way over back to the bō staff and turned just in time to she Tory coming her way.

She kicked her sister back, Tory's back hitting the way with a thud as Thalia approached her with the bō staff locked tightly in her grasp.

The only distance between them was the bō staff.

"Guys, stop!" Miguel shouted.

Both girls turned, Thalia's glossy eyes locking with Miguel's.

They— Miguel, Hawk, and Demetri— had all been in slight shock to see the two sisters toe-to-toe.

"Tory, the fight's over." Hawk muttered.

Tory sighed, looking past Thalia. "This will never be over, LaRusso. You hear me?"

Thalia didn't say a word as she raised the bō staff higher, nudging the end of it against Tory's chin.

"Go home Tory." Thalia muttered, her voice shaking as she spoke.

Tory dropped her fist and for, what felt like the first time that night, saw Thalia.

Her nose was bleeding and a bruise would most definitely form around her eye in the upcoming days.

This had been worse than the punch at the school's fight. It had been so much worse and neither of them didn't know if this could be fixed.

Tory pushed herself off the wall, tearing her eyes away from Thalia as she looked over at Miguel and Hawk.

"Traitors." She muttered. "You better watch your back."

"He won't have to." Demetri told her. "He's got friends watching it for him."

With that, Tory left.

Thalia dropped the bō staff, breathing heavily as she tried to find her breath.

"I didn't know you could kick ass like that, Nichols." Hawk said.

But his words were ignored as Thalia pushed past him and Miguel and made her way outside.

She needed to breathe. She couldn't believe what had happened. It didn't feel real and she didn't know how to respond to anything like that.

She felt sick, like at any second she could throw up. She felt her breath getting caught in her throat as she choked back her tears. Her chest was pounding, her heart beat running a million laps in milliseconds.

Her ears felt like that were ringing. She didn't hear Miguel calling out for her as she stood in the LaRusso backyard.

He rested a gentle hand against her back, but she only jerked back, scared that Tory had come back to fight her again.

"It's me." He said softly. "It's only me."

Thalia turned, her tears mixing with blood that had been dripping from her mouth. She couldn't see him, she felt like she had been trapped in some sort of darkness.

She blinked rapidly as tears fell from her eyes.

She brought her shaky hands up to her face, covering her eyes as she continued to cry.

Miguel took in a deep breath before stepping forward, wrapping himself around Thalia tightly.

After a few minutes, she was able to catch her breath. The only sounds had been the harsh winds that night as she stood there, Miguel's arms still wrapped around the girl. She was still crying, but it wasn't as heavy as it had been.

"Let's get out of here, yeah?" Miguel muttered.

He pulled himself away from Thalia, not too far, but enough to see her face. Her tears had washed away some of the blood that had stained her face, but he looked worse.

Thalia backed away, waving her hands over her face with her sleeves. She nodded, giving Miguel her keys knowing that she couldn't and wouldn't drive home.

She made her way past Sam, the girl still shaken, but hadn't said a word as the blonde walked past her.

Miguel sighed, juggling the keys in his hands and followed behind the girl.

He couldn't drive and didn't have his license, but getting away from here was his best bet for getting Thalia to calm down.

He unlocked the car and hopped in the drivers seat.

"Miguel?"

The boy turned, giving Thalia a soft, concerned look.

"Can we make a stop before we go home?" She asked.

Miguel nodded. "Of course. Where?"

    THALIA AND Miguel laid on the grass and waited for the plane to fly overhead.

Miguel lay beside her, arms folded behind his head, but his attention wasn't on the sky; it was on her. Every now and then, he'd glance over at Thalia, studying her profile as if trying to figure out what to say or how to help. He wanted to say something, anything to make her feel better, but even he was still reeling from everything that had gone down.

That easy connection they once shared—the laughter, the comfort of knowing exactly where they stood with each other—was gone. Now, it felt like there was an invisible wall between them.

Miguel sighed softly, breaking the silence but still not saying anything.

"I didn't know you could fight like that," Miguel finally said, trying to break the tension. His voice was quiet, unsure, but he hoped it would lighten the mood, even just a little.

Thalia let out a small, half-hearted laugh, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Guess there's a lot you don't know about me."

He stared up at the sky, struggling to find the right response. She was hurt, she had every right to be. The silence that followed felt heavier than the one before, the tension lingering like a weight neither of them knew how to lift.

"I wasn't trying to... I just mean that it surprised me, that's all," he said, his voice soft, almost cautious. "I've never seen you like that before."

Thalia didn't respond at first. She stayed still, her eyes fixed on the stars above. The fight with Tory had shaken her in ways she hadn't anticipated. Not because of the blows or the bruises—it was because of what it meant. The lines that had been crossed. She wasn't sure she could repair this.

"That wasn't me," she said finally. "Not really. I didn't want to fight her."

Miguel nodded, though she couldn't see him. "I know," he said. "You were trying to stop her. You didn't have a choice."

Thalia closed her eyes. "There's always a choice... It feels like I just... made everything worse."

Miguel shifted slightly, turning his head to look at her again. "You did what you had to do, Thalia. Tory's not thinking straight. You stopped her from doing something she'd regret."

Thalia opened her eyes, staring at the stars. "And now she hates me for it."

"She's angry," he admitted, "but she's your sister. Maybe after things calm down—"

"She won't calm down," Thalia cut him off, her voice sharper than before. "You don't get it, Miguel. It's not like with you and Johnny or you and Sam. Tory... she doesn't let things go. She holds onto everything, and now I'm just another person she thinks betrayed her."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, not knowing what else to offer.

Thalia let out a sigh. "It's not your fault," she muttered, but there was something in her tone that suggested maybe it wasn't just about Tory.

Miguel could feel the distance between them. Just the other night they declared themselves as friends, but it didn't feel that way, not like it once was that is.

"Thalia, I—" Miguel started, but the words caught in his throat.

Thalia's eyes flicked over to him, and for a moment, he thought she might say something, but instead, she just shook her head, a bitter smile tugging at her lips.

"It doesn't matter," she said softly, her voice flat. "None of it matters anymore."

"Thalia, don't say that."

She turned to face him fully now, her expression tired, her eyes dull with the weight of everything that had been left unsaid. "What do you want me to say, Miguel? That everything's fine? That we can go back to how things were before the party, before you kissed her? That I don't feel like an idiot for even thinking we were something?"

"I didn't... I didn't mean to hurt you," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper.

Thalia shook her head, letting out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, well, you did. And now I'm here, fighting my sister, wondering how everything got so messed up."

The silence between them stretched again, but this time it felt even more suffocating. Miguel didn't know how to fix it. He didn't know if he could.

"I didn't want things to be like this," he said softly. "Not between us. Not with Tory."

Thalia sighed, closing her eyes for a moment as if trying to gather her thoughts. "I didn't want it either," she admitted, her voice cracking slightly. "But here we are."

Miguel turned his gaze back to the sky, feeling the weight of her words settle heavily on his chest. The plane finally flew overhead, its distant roar filling the silence between them, but it did nothing to ease the tension.

"Where do you think it's going?" Thalia asked, her voice soft, almost as if she were talking to herself.

Miguel glanced at the sky, then back at her. "Somewhere far away. Maybe somewhere warm... anywhere but here."

Thalia let out a small laugh, the sound surprising her. It was the first time she'd laughed all night. "That sounds nice," she said quietly. "Somewhere far away from all this craziness."

Miguel smiled, but there was still a heaviness in the air. "Yeah... somewhere we can leave all of this behind."

Thalia turned her head slightly, catching the sincerity in his voice, and for a moment, the tension between them seemed to ease, just a little.

Still, as they lay there under the night sky, it was nice to pretend, even if just for a moment, that they could.

— lucy has something to say !!

now, you may be wondering how this all fixes itself... i don't have an answer

bye :))))