chapter eleven !
❪ running up that hill ❫

note: this chapter is long

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TODAY. Today was the day that Gwen looked forward to the most... The All Valley tournament.
"Welcome to the 51st annual All Valley Under-18 Karate Tournament!" The crowd erupted in cheers, Gwen standing in line with the rest of the Cobra's.

She had her black karate gi on with her hair tied up, ready to fight with all of her energy. Her two sensei's stood in front of their students.

"All your training has brought you to this moment." Kreese began, "Remember, if you win, you don't just get a trophy. You get the glory," He told them.

"And you get to know forever that you are a champion. I have had students with all the talent in the world squander their moment. Do not let history repeat itself. Do not let your emotions cloud your judgment," He glanced at Gwen, Tory and Robby. "And above all, do not let anything stand in the way of your victory."

Silver stepped forward. "Just to be clear, that's not a pep talk. That's an order. And we're all gonna follow Sensei Kreese's orders today, aren't we?"

"Yes, Sensei."

"Aren't we?"

"Yes, Sensei!" They repeated clearer and louder this time.

Silver clapped his hands with a smirk. "Let's go win this! Come on!" The team erupted in cheers, Gwen wrapping an arm around Tory's shoulder with determination.

The skills competition was the easy part for Gwen. It went by fast, each student showing off their skill. Gwen did the demonstration of nunchucks and the martial arts of them.

The crowd cheered for the girl when she was done, her spectating the crowd before finding her mom that was jumping up and down in joy. She smiled and walked off.

Cobra Kai was easily first on the leaderboard due to Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang having fails with their presentations. Hawk missed the last board while Mitch messed up with the bonsai stick.

ˑ༄'

AFTER the performance by Carrie Underwood, that surprised everyone, it was time for the qualifying matches. Gwen had adrenaline running through her veins when going up against her competitors.

She was fast enough to hit their spots that they left open. "Ais!" Gwen kicked the teen in their face, the girl landing on the mat with a thud.

Silver looked at Kreese with raised eyebrows. "Winner!" The referee pointed at Gwen. Robby smiled, impressed with how much she improved with her karate.

Sam glared at the girl with narrowed eyes, watching the fight closely.

"All right, folks. We've witnessed some great fighting today. But you ain't seen nothing yet. Because we have arrived at the quarterfinals!" The announcer presented the qualified students that were lined up.

Gwen had her head held up high, staring straight at the crowd.

"Which means things are about to get intense. Of the nine boys and nine girls on this stage, one of each will be named All Valley Champion. And then we'll tally all the points to determine which dojo has earned the title of Grand champion and since the points get higher in each round... it's still any dojo's game! So you keep your eyes on this here blue mat, because we are just getting started!"

The matches started and Miguel easily beat the competitors. Gwen was up to go against Devon and she was able to send a kick to the face.

"Point!" The referee yelled. Silver clapped with a smirk.

"Come on, ref! She was out of bounds! Where are your eyes?" Johnny complained. Silver shrugged with an unserious expression.

The match continued with the two girls, Gwen striking first with a punch as Devon moved away from it. The Payne girl was quick to block her punches and grab Devon's leg before pulling her down, throwing a punch towards her chest.

"Point! Winner!" The referee grabbed her arm and Gwen looked at the audience. They were clapping for her but her eyes needed to look for her mom.

Gwen didn't see her and she sighed when getting off the mat. "And with that, Eagle Fang's hopes of winning Girls All Valley Champ have gone up in smoke."

The two sensei's looked at Gwen. "What's with the face? You won," Silver reminded.

"I know," She said. "I think my mom bailed though."

Kenny frowned and glanced down. Silver huffed, "It's fine, you still have us and your supporting teammates. Don't let that bail get through your head. Understood?" He inquired, glancing between the siblings.

"Yes, Sensei."

"Good." He gave them a nod before his eyes shifted back to Gwen. "You're doing amazing out there. Keep it up."

It was time for Hawk and Kyler's match and she watched as they stepped onto the mat. Eli won with ease and Kyler didn't even get to score any points. Gwen felt embarrassed for him.

"Point! Winner!" He lifted Hawk's hand up.

"Our next quarterfinal match will be Samantha LaRusso of Miyagi-Do Karate versus Piper Elswith of Cobra Kai."

Sam and Piper raised their fists on the mat. "Ready? And fight!" Piper lunged at Sam first and was able to smack her face with a kick that was fast enough to not be blocked.

"You know, Robby said Miyagi-Do was for defense only. Without your defense, you have nothing." Piper smirked.

Sam glared at the girl harder and started bouncing on her feet. "Ready? Fight!" Sam attacked first, surprising Gwen when she watched them.

Sam landed all three points after that comment from Piper triggered her. "Point! Winner!" The man lifted up Sam's arm. She smirked and bowed to Piper, staring right ahead at Gwen and Robby with a grin.

She walked back to her Sensei and Gwen felt threatened. Tory noticed, "Don't worry about her. You and I got this."

ˑ༄'

"FOR OUR final quarterfinal match, we have a real snake fight. It's Cobra Kai versus Cobra kai!" Kenny and Robby walked forward on opposite sides.

Gwen chewed on her nail, feeling anxious for her brother. "Fight!" Kenny attacked first, sending jabs to Robby and one of them was able hit his chest. Robby looked up in surprised.

"Point! Payne!"

"Time out," Kreese called.

Robby walked up to the man. "Are you fighting your friend or your opponent? I thought you wanted to be a champion." Kreese reminded.

Gwen saw how Robby's eyes just switched off with a button, a dark look covering. He turned around and walked up to his opponent.

"Fight!" Robby bounced off his feet before kicking Kenny in the face.

Gwen gasped in shock and saw her brother getting up with a pained expression. "Point! Keene!"

Robby scored another one when he landed a punch on Kenny's chest.

Tory and Gwen shared a surprised look. Kenny tried to strike first but Robby blocked every single of them. He was kinda teasing him at this point and Gwen wanted to look away.

Kenny ran towards him and Robby jumped in the air before landing a harsh shot right in his face. The crowd gasped and Gwen scrunched up her face, feeling the pain.

"Winner!"

Kenny held up his nose and stood up, shoving his way to the locker rooms. Robby started to follow him but Gwen stepped forward. "Let him cool off," She told him. "What was that? That wasn't like you."

Robby blinked, confused on his actions. "I-"

"Are you okay?"

He sighed and stepped back. "Yeah-yeah, I'm fine."

ˑ༄'

MIGUEL VERSUS ELI. Gwen watched the intense match and saw the boys throwing similar kicks and jabs towards each other.

Miguel kicked him but Hawk blocked it. "Let's go, Diaz!" Miguel jumped, spinning around and raised his leg as everyone's eyes followed his movements.

He didn't get to fully rotate his leg when a crack echoed the stadium. Miguel fell with a thud and Gwen slightly flinched at the sound.

The crowd gasped in disbelief and Johnny ran to his student while Eli checked on him. "Medic!" The man yelled.

Miguel groaned and Gwen was scared for him. Even though she and Miguel had their problems, she couldn't image being in his state.

"Sensei!"

Miguel was helped out of the room and into the medic room. The competition still kept going though.

It was Robby versus Demetri.

Demetri didn't get to land any points when Robby got all three with ease. Gwen clapped and smiled when Robby walked back towards her.

Gwen won her matches with the other qualified girls from different teams and she felt proud. She stood next to her Sensei's, glaring at Sam who was sending daggers at her as well.

Tory also won her fights. Her attacks were more harsher than Gwen's.

"Go Tory!" Delilah cheered from the bleachers when Tory's arm was lifted by the referee. She smiled at the pink haired girl and went back to her team.

"Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do are neck-and-neck on the leaderboard. But there's a dark horse or should I say a dark bird that still has a chance. Will Eagle Fang Karate stay alive in our dojo race? We're about to find out. Miguel Diaz has one minute to return to the mat!"

The timer appeared on the screen. Gwen and the rest of the others frowned when it hit 10 seconds. The crowd chanted down to zero.

"It looks like Miguel Diaz is not gonna fight. Which means, that the winner by default is Eli Moskowitz, who advances to the final where he will face Robby Keene. The finals are up next."

Gwen gave Robby a smile. "I'm going to fill up my water, be right back." He nodded and she left the room.

She went into the hallway and opened up the top, turning on the water fountain and letting it fill the bottle. "Gwenny!" She heard her mom call from behind her.

Gwen turned around in confusion. She saw her mom standing next to a middle aged man, who had a friendly smile when looking at Gwen. "Mom? I thought you left?" She closed her bottle.

"No! Not at all. I just had to pick up an old friend of mines." Gwen glanced at the stranger. "This is Eric," Her mom introduced.

"Um... hi?" She furrowed her eyebrows. Gwen looked back at her mom. "Why did you bring him for?"

Her mom gave her a pointed look. "Gwenny! Don't be rude." She whispered harshly.

Eric laughed. "It's okay," He reassured, looking at the woman with 'awe' eyes before looking at Gwen. "I would ask the same thing if I was you."

Gwen gave him a slight nod. "Anyways we're going to take our seats and remember Gwen," Her mom raised her eyebrows. "Nobody likes a loser." She walked away with the man.

Gwen felt her stomach turn at the comment and looked at them until they disappeared from her view.

She was even more nervous for her fight with sam and now she's questioning the pair.

Her mom wouldn't cheat on her dad, maybe they were just old friends.

"Don't listen to her." With the familiar voice of Miguel, Gwen turned her head and walked towards him.

"Are you okay?" She questioned.

"I'm okay." He answered. "Your mom isn't though. Why would she say that?"

Gwen shrugged. "Used to it."

"You shouldn't be," Miguel shook his head. "I heard you made it to the finals. Congrats."

"Thanks but you should be saying that to your girlfriend."

Miguel gave her a small smile. "Yeah but we got into a fight after that whole prom thing happened."

"Sorry to hear that," Gwen told him.

"It's cool." He shrugged. The two stayed quiet, not knowing what to say.

Gwen turned around to walk away but the words that came out of Miguel's mouth stopped her.

"Come with me to Mexico," He blurted out.

Gwen turned around with a confused expression. "What?"

"Mexico." He repeated. "I'm going to Mexico to find my Dad and... and I want you to go with me."

"Why?"

Miguel sighed. "I felt pressured today by Johnny and after hearing that comment from your mom I figured that you can get away for a while."

Gwen let out a laugh. "By going to Mexico?"

Miguel rolled his eyes. "Listen, I have an extra ticket. The bus leaves at 10 pm sharp. If you want to go with me then meet me at the bus stop." He explained.

"Good luck," were the last words Gwen heard from him before he took off from the back door exits.

Gwen had thoughts rushing her mind about the decision before she heard Sam's voice at the corner of the hallway.

"I just want to wish you a good luck when you fight Eli," Gwen followed her voice and turned the corner, seeing Sam and Robby.

She quickly stepped back so they wouldn't see her but didn't walk away so she can eavesdrop.

"Thanks," Robby muttered and tried walking away but Sam grabbed his wrist before he can.

"I hear you and Gwen are getting serious now."

"So what?" He scowled. "Now you care?"

"I never stopped caring," She confessed. "Robby come on." She scoffed, "You can do so much better than be with a girl like that."

"You don't even know her!"

"And you do?" She asked.

"I know her well enough that she wouldn't want me standing here, listening to you," Robby admitted.

Sam glanced down and sighed. "Fine. I can't change your mind but I'm still wishing you luck for your fight."

Gwen watched as the LaRusso girl stepped forward and pulled Robby into a hug.

Sam opened her eyes while still being in his arms and sent Gwen a glare. That was her plan. To mess Gwen up and get inside her head before their match.

The Payne girl scoffed and left before she could see Robby pull Sam away from him.

ˑ༄'

"FROM COBRA KAI, the cobra herself, Gwyneth Payne!"

"Representing Miyagi-Do Karate, the Bonsai badass... Samantha Larusso!"

"It's time to show your mom and us that you can be a champion," Silver stated.

"Hey," Robby appeared beside Silver. "Good luck. I'm always rooting for you," He smiled.

Gwen huffed. "Now you are?"

Robby furrowed his eyebrows at her bitter response and opened his mouth to respond but Gwen had already walked away.

The two girls walked up to each other, Gwen's eyes darkened with determination.

"Ladies, good luck." The referee said. "Face this way, bow. Face each other bow."

Gwen straightened and raised her fists, bouncing on her feet as adrenaline rushed through her veins. Sam got into her stance, not tearing away from their intense eye contact.

"Ready? And fight!"

The Payne grunted when she stepped forward and stretched her leg out for a kick.

Sam blocked it and raised her leg high but Gwen stepped back and crouched down, seeing Sam spin around about to land a strike on her face.

Gwen quickly moved her head out of the way, the fast kick missing her and Gwen waited for the perfect moment before swinging her leg and hitting her across the face.

"Point! Payne!"

Sam stepped back, holding her cheek that got red from her hard hit. "Score, one-zero." The arena lights flickered.

"You got this Gwen!" Delilah yelled out.

Sam walked back to her Sensei's. "She's fighting really aggressively. Her hits are like stone!" She exclaimed.

"That's not the right way, remember that." Daniel reminded.

"You've been learning karate your whole life. You got this, Sam." Johnny added.

Sam turned around and walked back to her opponent, who still wore an emotionless mask on her face. Gwen bounced on her feet and Robby looked at her with concern.

"Ready?" The man started. "Fight!"

Gwen lunged at Sam with a kick and she was taken back by her fast movements, trying her best to block them. Gwen was distracted with sending punches to the girl that she left her side open.

Sam bent down and kicked her ribs. Gwen groaned and cussed under her breath, rolling her eyes.

"Point! LaRusso!"

The two went back to their spots and went into their stances. "Score, one-one." Gwen bounced on her feet, her eyes glaring at Sam's piercing blue ones.

"Nobody likes a loser" Those words repeated over and over in her mind.

"Ready?" Sam lifted her leg, balancing herself on one. "And fight!"

Sam sent a kick to Gwen but Gwen pushed it away with ease. The LaRusso threw punches and Gwen's anger boiled when she realized she was stepping back.

The girls stopped their movements, waiting for one of them to strike first. Gwen clenched her fist, her knuckles turning white.

She jumped with a kick to hit Sam but Sam pushed it away, stepping back.

Gwen quickly crouched down and swept her feet. Giving Sam no time to move away, Gwen's fist met her chest.

"Point! Payne!"

Sam huffed and got back onto her feet. "Score, two-one." Gwen turned her head towards the crowd to make eye contact with her mom, who was busy talking to Eric to watch her own daughter.

Gwen's eyebrows furrowed in frustration and she went back to her spot, pushing her hair back in stress.

They went back to their fighting stances. "Ready? And fight!"

Gwen ran forward with a kick but Sam moved and tried swinging to the side of her face but Gwen lifted her arm up and blocked it.

Sam tried sending another one but Gwen ducked down, trying to sweep Sam off her feet but failed when she felt a burning slap on her face by Sam's foot.

"Point! LaRusso!"

Gwen growled and stood up. "Score, two-two. Next point wins." They went on their opposite sides and Gwen's chest began pounding. "Ready? And fight!"

Sam sent a kick but Gwen moved it away. The Payne shifted between her feet, jumping, lunging slightly towards Sam to think she was gonna strike first but she didn't.

She glanced at her mom real quick and she was actually watching the fight. She turned her attention back on Sam, who was still on defense.

Gwen went around her, trying to distract her from where she was planning to hit her at. Sam narrowed her eyes at the girl, watching her closely.

Gwen jumped and sent a kick to her direction but Sam blocked it. She sent a punch and Sam moved it away. Punch after punch, the LaRusso was able to shield herself from them.

The Payne grew frustrated and when she got closer to Sam, she picked her up and Sam's arm went around her neck, sending them both to the ground.

Gwen quickly sat up, seeing Sam get up but she shoved her back onto the mat and Sam groaned at the impact.

The brunette lifted up her fist about to hit Sam but she heard her mom's familiar laugh in the crowd. She turned her head, seeing her mom and Eric so close to each other that his hand was on her thigh.

Old friends don't do that.

Sam noticed she was distracted, causing her to kick Gwen's shoulder, pushing her off. Gwen's back landed on the blue mat and didn't get a chance to get back up since Sam's foot landed on her stomach.

"Point! Winner!"

Sam got up and the referee raised her arm high. Gwen laid on the mat as she touched the spot Sam kicked at while watching the LaRusso look at the crowd, who cheered for her.

Robby sighed when he saw the sadness in Gwen's eyes when she looked at her mother, who looked away from her. She felt embarrassed for her daughter.

Gwen slapped the mat with her hands in frustration and got up. Sam smirked when she watched her leave the mat.

Gwen made her way towards her side. "Gwen-" Robby began.

"Leave me alone!" She yelled and shoved her way past the team.

Silver shook his head as he watched the girl go into the locker room.

ˑ༄'

"GWEN," Her mom firmly called from behind her. The girl sighed and stopped packing her stuff in her bag. She turned around and faced her mother.

"What was that?" The woman stepped forward. "Why didn't you throw that punch? You could've won!"

"Why are you cheating on dad?" Gwen blurted out.

She watched her mom's face fall and into a shameful expression. "What?"

"I saw you and Eric, that's why I didn't throw the punch!" Gwen stomped towards her. "I lost because of you! So don't come here acting disappointed mom."

Her mom shook her head with a firm face. "Don't turn this on me." She stated. "I'm so tired of you."

Gwen glanced down before shifting her eyes back up to her mom's disappointed face. "I'm embarrassed to know you." She admitted to her daughter.

The brunette let out a bitter laugh, looking away from her parent. Her mother sent her one last glare before she walked out of the locker room.

Gwen stood there with her thoughts. She grabbed her phone and checked the time. It was 9:30. She grabbed her coat and slipped it on, covering her black karate gi.

She placed her bag around her shoulder, leaving the room and out of the arena. She didn't notice that she caught Robby's attention and concern during his match with Eli and he got distracted, causing Eli to get the last point.

The only hope for Cobra Kai winning was Tory.

Gwen ran to the bus stop as her vision was getting blurry from the tears that she didn't want to escape. She sprinted and sprinted until she found herself out of breath, only a few feet away from the stop.

She saw the bus begin driving away and she checked the time. 9:59. Gwen started running to chase the vehicle and Miguel sat down on his seat.

He turned his head towards the window and his eyes widened, seeing a tired Gwen.

Miguel quickly got up. "Stop the bus!" He yelled. The bus driver sighed and hit the brakes.

Gwen sighed in relief and walked up to the doors. It opened, revealing Miguel waiting for her on top of the steps.

She looked up and walked up the four mini steps before staring at the Diaz boy. The doors closing when she entered.

"Let's go to fucking Mexico."

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mars speaks!

authors note: ummmm so thoughts??

I KNOWWW YALL HATE ME AND WANTED GWEN TO WIN BUT I WANTED SOME DRAMA AND GET YALL NERVOUSSS 😍😍😍

and now we're on season 5...

please vote for this chapter and don't be a silent reader <3