chapter twelve !
❪ welcome to mexico ❫

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MIGUEL TAPPED Gwen's shoulder, the girl had fallen asleep from the long bus ride. Her head was leaning against the window but she woke up from the boy who kept repeating her name.

"Gwen," Miguel whispered. "We're here."

She groaned. "So tired," Gwen murmured.

The two unbuckled their seatbelts and stood up from their seats. Miguel swung his backpack over his shoulder and Gwen followed behind him.

They slipped their way into the middle and waited to exit the bus. When they reached the end of the line, Gwen stepped down the stairs, staring at the orange sunrise that covered the sky.

The wind was slightly cool and the area was filled with trees. Miguel stepped down from behind her, glancing around. "So do we know where we're going yet?" She turned her head towards him.

Miguel shook his head. "Not yet, but we will soon," He reassured. Gwen gave him a short nod and took out her phone. She had a few missed calls from her mom and Kenny and one that she cared the most about. . .

Robby.

She sighed, looking at the six missed calls from him. Miguel noticed her expression. "You okay?" He asked.

Gwen looked up and stuffed her phone back into her bag. "Yeah," she lied. "Kenny is just blowing up my phone."

Miguel let out a breath. "I feel like I dragged you into this. Sorry–"

"No, no," Gwen shook her head and stepped forward towards him. "It was my decision to come here." She stated. "I needed to get away from everything."

Miguel opened his mouth to respond but an Australian accent interrupted. "Oi! You need help, mate?"

"Uh, yeah. I'd love some help." The Diaz boy smiled while Gwen gave the men a skeptical look. "Uh, my phone's out of service. Do you think you could help me get to 137 Avenue Santurce?"

"Oh! You're in luck. I can show ya." The blonde pulled out a map and Miguel gave the men a cheesy smile.

"Thank you, guys."

The Australien placed the map on his friends back, "It is right here." he circled the area with the black marker as Gwen and Miguel looked closely. "X marks the spot."

"Awesome," Miguel shrugged in surprise. "Perfect, thank you guys."

"No worries, not easy to find your way around here. Actually, you don't mind giving me some pesos, do you?"

Gwen huffed, knowing there was a catch. "Just 'cause it's my map and all," He reasoned with the teens.

"Yeah, yeah, how much?" Miguel stumbled over his words. Gwen gave him a pointed look but he ignored it.

"Well, five bucks sound fair?" The man inquired.

Miguel raised his eyebrows at his response. "Yeah, that sounds more than fair."

He started to pull out his wallet and Gwen noticed one of the men sneaking behind the Diaz boy, about to snatch his bag.

When the stranger reached their hand out to grab it, Gwen was quick enough to grip their wrist and turn it, causing the man to groan in pain. "Nice try," She told them.

She swung his wrist back to him and the stranger stumbled back, going behind the Australian. Miguel frowned at the men, "Are you serious?"

"We couldn't get your bag but we still have the map," He waved it in front of their faces. "Five bucks ain't gonna be enough."

"How much are you thinking?"

"How much you got?"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Miguel, it's fine we don't need the map." She whispered before glaring at the men.

The Australien snatched Miguel's wallet, catching him off guard and Gwen stepped forward. Miguel blocked her way with his arm, letting the guys steal half his money.

"A little something for you guys," He stuffed leftover money back in the wallet. The Payne girl glared while Miguel sighed.

"What? You didn't think I'd take all your money? What kind of monster do you think I am?"

He handed Miguel the map and the group chuckled at the two, turning around to leave but stopped. "Oh and hey," the Australien called out.

"Welcome to Mexico."

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MIGUEL AND GWEN stood in front of a place called 'Castillo Escondido.' She turned her head to look at the boy as he continued to stare ahead of him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Gwen asked him.

Miguel connected his eyes with hers and nodded. "Yeah, we just gotta be careful," he warned.

She gave him a nod and before the two knew it, they were walking inside the bar. There were people chattering while low music played in the background.

Gwen heard a man laugh further down the hall. "Hey, gracias, Hector!" It came from a small room that had a table with men sitting around it.

"Miguel," She whispered. His gaze switched back to her and the girl cocked her head to the direction of the room.

He was quick to walk ahead of her and Gwen followed behind him. Miguel noticed and stopped his tracks before whipping around to face her.

"Maybe you should stay behind," He suggested.

"What," She furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"

"Gwen." He sighed. "Please."

Gwen huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. "Fine but if you're not out in two minutes then I'm going in there." She told him.

Miguel nodded. "Okay, it'll only take a second." He walked inside the dark room and Gwen sat on the stool near the bar.

A bartender behind the counter walked over to her. "¿Qué quieres hoy?"

"Nada," Gwen said. "Solo esperando."

The bartender nodded at her words and continued to wipe down the counter. The girl understood Spanish and spoke it quite well. Spanish class really paid off for her.

Gwen's phone vibrated in her pocket, causing her to pull it out to see who was calling her. Her expression was unreadable when the name, 'Robby,' showed on the screen.

She wanted to answer and apologize repeatedly for abandoning him but she couldn't. Her finger couldn't tap on the green button. Instead, it tapped on the red one. 'Decline.'

Gwen shoved her phone back inside her pocket. Anger and sadness boiling up inside of her. Her attention was stolen by Miguel, who rushed out of the room and was quick to grab Gwen's wrist, dragging himself and her out of the bar.

When they met the fresh air again, Gwen turned to face him. "What happened in there?"

"Definitely not my dad!" He told her. Gwen rolled her eyes at his words.

She threw her hands in the air. "Then, what do we do now?"

"I don't know." Miguel shook his head. "But we'll figure something out. Maybe, I should call Sam and just update her about where I'm at."

Gwen looked away in annoyance when he said his girlfriend's name. Sam. The person who beat her in the All Valley. If she hadn't gotten distracted by her mom then Gwen would've gotten the last point.

She continued to hate herself for it.

Miguel noticed her caught up in her thoughts. "Hey, you okay?" He placed a hand on her shoulder. Gwen was fast to shove it off.

"I'm fine," she snapped. Miguel frowned at her tone. "Call your girlfriend. I'm going to call my brother."

Gwen walked a few feet away from the teen and pulled out her phone. She pressed on her brother's contact name and the phone started to ring.

She bit on her nail, pacing around while waiting for him to answer.

"Hello?"

He picked up which surprised the girl. "Kenny!" A relieved smile escaped from her. "Hey, um, is everything okay at home?"

It was quiet for a second on the other end. "Yeah, uh, mom is just worried about you. I am too." He told her.

The mention of her mom made chills go down her spine. "I'll be back soon," Gwen promised him. "How's Cobra Kai?"

"It's going okay." Kenny answered. "But Sensei Silver is now the one running it. Not Kreese."

Gwen stopped moving. "What? Why?"

"He got arrested."

The teen's jaw slightly dropped. "What?"

Kenny was about to respond but someone in the background beat him to it. "Kenny, come eat! I made your favorite, blueberry pancakes!"

Gwen knew that voice. "Who's that?" Her voice started to raise.

"Um, Mom's friend from work, Eric." Kenny stated. "Why?"

The Payne girl closed her eyes for a brief moment. "Kenny, there's something you should know about mom and Eri–"

"Your foods getting cold, Kenny!" Eric interrupted yet again in the background of the call.

Kenny sighed. "Hey, I gotta go. I'll call you later though."

"Wait–" Gwen began but it was too late. The other end of the call went dead. He hung up.

She sucked her teeth in annoyance and shoved her phone back inside her back pocket. Gwen looked over at Miguel, seeing him with the same expression as her.

She walked over to him. "Guessing your call also didn't go well?" Miguel shook his head in response.

"Héctor!" The two turned their heads at the name they've been looking for. "¿Que haces? Ese trabajo es de Rogelio."

"Está muy cansado. Acaba de tener un bebé. Hay que darle chance." The man wiped off the dirt on his hands.

"A veces te pasas de bueno, Héctor."

"Así somos los patrones."

Miguel looked closely at the man. "Dad?"

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mars speaks!

WOW SO IM BACK, HELLOOOO

also can we talk about pt2 because why did they have to kill off fine shyt like that 💔💔😖

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