010. evident loyalty

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CHAPTER TEN
"evident loyalty"
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(molting)

"I THINK YOU should talk to him." 

Jules grunted as she rammed a metal pole through the glass window of a rusty old truck, successfully shattering it and sending shards flying in all directions. "What do you mean?" 

 "Miguel." Aisha took a step back as Jules kicked a rear-view mirror clean off of the car. Despite it already being broken off slightly, it still hurt her foot, and she cursed. Aisha shot her a look, "it's obvious there's something going on between you two." 

Jules scoffed, "there's nothing going on between me and Miguel. We're just friends."

"Oh sure," Aisha's tone was rich with sarcasm as Jules wiped her hands on her jeans and brushed some stray strands of hair from her face. "Is that why you're acting so pissy about him going out with Sam?" 

 "I'm not pissy," she grumbled, before immediately swearing loudly as she punched the surface of a car and her knuckles cracked. She hung her head, annoyance bubbling in her stomach. "Okay, maybe I'm a bit pissy."

"A bit?" Aisha rolled her eyes, gently pushing Jules away from the beaten up car. "Girl, you're one level away from committing a legal crime." 

 "That's pretty much my default setting." The girl shrugged, brushing some hair from her face, breathing heavily. She turned to Aisha, wincing slightly and walking forward, lowering her voice. "If you tell anyone about this I will hunt you down and bury you in my uncle's backyard." She took a deep breath, leaning her head in. "Maybe I like Miguel a little." 

 Aisha widened her eyes in mock-surprise, "I thought you said it was a secret."

 "Shut up," Jules rolled her eyes, crossing her arms protectively in front of her body. "It's not like it matters, he's going out with Sam, who I literally just started being friends with again." She ignored the look she recieved from her friend, continuing; "I may be a bitch, but I'm not a bad friend." 

 "Has it ever occured to you, that maybe you deserve to be happy too?" Aisha asked, squinting lightly as she watched Jules unwrap the bandages she had previously coiled around her hands to keep them from being cut. "Like, sure being a good friend is important, but not if you constantly feel like shit." 

 Jules blinked, shooting her a side-eyed glance. "But if I don't feel like shit, then someone else has to." 

 "You're impossible." 

"Monroe!" 

 Jules turned her head when Johnny called out her name, flashing him a sarcastic smile, "what's up, dickhead?" 

 The man rolled his eyes, mumbling some words that Jules was certain weren't kind as he beckoned the two girls over. Jules brushed her hair from her eyes, blatantly avoiding eye-contact with anyone who looked her way. She caught sight of Miguel looking at her, and since she wasn't one hundred percent bitch, she sent him a small smile.

 "Hold this-" Johnny put something in Jules's hand, a stick of beef jerky, and she sent him a look. "Is this pork?" 

 "No, it's beef." 

 "Good, I can't eat pork." 

 "That's depressing for you," the blond man sighed, gesturing with his hands as she awkwardly held the meat in her hands. "Rub it around a little, really get the scent on there." 

 "You're a psycho." Jules said, but complied nonetheless. 

 "Now," Johnny clapped his hands together, and Jules noticed that he had given beef to a few other kids in the crowd. "Are you hungry?" 

 There was a few small "yes, Sensei"'s, but Jules just rolled her eyes and sniffed the jerky, thinking that it smelled suspciously sweet for something that was supposed to be a meat product. Johnny had this evil smirk on his face that she knew was bad news, as he brought a small whistle to his lips. "Good... so are they." 

 He blew the whistle, but no sound came out of it. Jules tore off a piece of the beef with her teeth, snorting. "Nice whistle, moron." 

 However, the smile dropped from her face as seconds later, a group of widldly barking German Shepards ran into the parking lot, and she felt her heart lurch as Aisha swiftly turned and ran off. "Fuck!"  

 She turned, her sneakers skidding on bits of broken glass as she swiftly lept over the hood of an old car, booking it to the nearets corner, where cars were pushed up against the wall. She ducked under a pole, glancing over her shoulder to make sure one of the dog's wasn't pursuing her. 

"Up here!" 

 She turned without hesitation, grabbing the oustretched hand and getting pulled up to safety, a growling dog's claws scraping against the red paint as she huffed for breath. "Thanks." 

Miguel nodded. "No problem." 

 They stood there for a moment, standing so close that Jules could feel his breath on her face, which then made her blush as she took a small step away. "So-" she began, clearing her throat awkwardly as she scrambled for something to say. "The All Valley, Johnny sent me a confusing voicemail saying that we're in." 

 "Yeah," Miguel chuckled, "he's not very good with technology." 

 "At least we get to beat some kids up-" she detangled her hair from her earrings, trying to keep the bashful tone from her voice. "You know, in a polite and organized manner." 

 "Right..." Miguel paused to take a deep breath, "Can we talk?"  

 "Now?" Jules eyed the canine that was still circling the pair through her peripheral vision. "Like, while we're trying to avoid being eaten alive?" 

  "I mean, it's a dog I don't think it'll kill us." Miguel shrugged. Jules bit her lip, looking up at the boy, her face partially obscured by her dark waves of hair. 

 "How was your date?" 

 "It was good," The boy admitted, secretly pleased by the way Jules's eyebrows pinched together at his words. "Sam's really nice." 

 "Yeah, I know." 

"But we're not going out again." 

 Now that caught Jules' attention. Her head whipped up so quickly that she actually hurt her neck, and her dark eyes widened to the point it was almost comical. When she spoke, her words were slurred together and hard to understand. "What? Huh? What? Why not, what happened?" 

 She could tell that the boy almost laughed at her expression, but he miraculously managed to keep a straight face. "Nothing, I guess I just-" he swallowed, his tone going quiet. "I guess I just like someone else."  

 If Jules wasn't blushing before, she sure as hell was now. She could feel it, the blood rush in her cheeks that made her entire body feel hot. She wasn't sure what to think about that - like, what was Miguel insinuating? That it was her that he liked? Or was he just being an oblivious idiot again? 

She tried to say something, but all that came out was a weird, nervous laugh. "Ha, cool, I-" She took a shuffling step back, her shoes slipping on the glass, making her yelp as Miguel's hand reached out to steady her. "I'm gonna go get eaten by a rabid dog."

 "Ana," the boy pleaded, his eyes wide. "Come on, can you at least listen?" 

 "I mean." She sighed, putting her hands to her face to try and calm her heartbeat. She looked up, hard determination set in her eye that was an all-too familiar look on the girl. "Look," she began, looking around to make sure that no karate-losers were listening in on their conversation. "I... I don't hate you as much as everyone else." 

 Miguel's lips twitched. "Thanks." 

 "But, hypothetically, if I did like-like you," she averted her eyes, her cheeks a radiant shade of red. "Then it wouldn't matter. Because you went out with Sam, and she likes you, and she's my friend." 

 "Ana, you-" 

 She made a series of inelligable sounds, holding up her hands. "It doesn't matter." She repeated, her tone harder this time as she turned around, and then - once again - she walked away. 

 ***

"WHO ARE YOU pretending that is?" 

 Miguel jumped slightly at the sudden voice cutting into his conscious, glancing over at Sensei Lawrence as he made his presence known. Miguel dropped his fists, his knuckles burning slightly from his relentless punching at the dummy, sighing deeply. "Myself." 

 "Well that's depressing," Johnny took a swig of his beer, setting it down on the bench as he approached the boy. "What did you do this time? Because no matter how bad it is, it isn't bad enough for you to waste all of your energy before the All Valley." 

 "I broke it off with Sam, and Jules admitted that she liked me, but said that it won't happen because I went out with her friend." Miguel sighed. "And at the end of the day, there's only one person who I can blame." 

 Johnny nodded soundly, "yourself." 

 "What? No, you." 

An offended look came over Johnny's face as Miguel turned to face him, crossing his arms and speaking in a rushed tone of voice. "You were the one who told me to ask Sam out, even when I said that I like Jules!" 

 "In my defense, I didn't think that I would have to be held accountable." The man put a hand on his chest, "I was voicing my concerns, I didn't think you would find a way to screw it up." 

 "What?" 

 "Okay, let's get this over with." The door swung open as Juliana Monroe sauntered in. She looked tired, the bags under her eyes seeming more prominent due to the smeared eyeliner, her hair pulled into a messy ponytail as she threw her bag to the side, kicking off her shoes. "I'm here, I'm ready to-" her eyes drifted over the dojo once, her lips pinching together in confusion. "Where is everyone? I was actually on time for once!" 

 "It's just you two today," Johnny explained, Miguel not exactly knowing where to look as Jules walked over, crossing her arms as she stood in front of him. It seemed as if the girl was having the same issue, as she stared at Johnny so intensely Miguel was surprised he didn't burst into flames. "Let's be real, you're the only real chances I have at winning this thing." 

 A smug smile pulled at Miguel's lips, "so you admit that we're your best students?" 

 "I'm proud you've finally come to your senses." Jules drawled, grinning at the man and lightly punching his arm. Johnny rolled his eyes. 

 "Don't flatter yourself. Have you seen the others?" He shook his head slightly, crossing his arms as he stared down the two teenagers. "But you two are here for a meeting. Because all of this bullshit going on is going to start affecting morale, and I can't have any of those dipshits not having an absolutely enormous ego, because it will be the one thing keeping them from literally dying." 

 Miguel glanced over at Jules, only to find her scrunitizing Johnny through squinted eyes. "Or," she began, waving her hands around vaguely as she spoke, "we could let them die." 

 "This is why I don't let you make decisions," Johnny rolled his eyes. He clapped his hands, "now we're gonna talk. Monroe, tell Diaz why you're being such a bitch, Diaz, tell Monroe why you're being such a pussy. Go." 

 "I don't get what you're thinking," Miguel immediately began, watching as Jules tossed her ponytail over her shoulder, crossing her arms. "I broke it off with Sam because I like you. The only reason I didn't say it in the first place is because Sensei told me not too." 

 "What?" Jules demanded, spinning around to glare at a sheepish looking Johnny. The man shot Miguel a not-so discreet glare, clenching his teeth. 

 "I am not getting involved in this shit." 

 "Wait, what did you say?" Jules demanded, her face the epitome of incredulity as she tried to process these words. Instead, of responding, he just stuck up his middle finger and whirled around, practically sprinting into his office as Jules yelled what Miguel assumed was some form of a Hebrew curse word at him. 

 She growled, smoothing out her jacket. "I can't believe a grown man is such a jackass." 

 Miguel shrugged, "he has his moments." 

 They stood there for a second, awkward silence consuming them. Finally, Jules spoke. Her tone was softer than usual, a tone that Miguel had never seen before on the girl. "You like me?" 

 His mouth dropped open, blood rushing through his cheeks as he nodded, "um, yeah." 

 He thought he saw a smile on her face, but it disappeared when she looked to the ground, her expression going vacant again. "I like you too." 

Miguel felt a smile jump to his face before he could stop it, his cheeks growing warmer still as he smiled at Jules. Then he remembered the circumstances and bit his lip. "Okay, so now what?" 

 Jules shrugged, "now I have to be a good friend." 

 If there was one thing about Jules Monroe that Miguel Diaz didn't understand, it was just that; her complete dedication to her loyalty. It was a fatal flaw, he assumed, and he couldn't help but admire her for it. Still, it didn't fully make sense. "I respect that." 

 A smile appeared on Jules' face as she reached forward to pat his arm, "you're a good guy, Diaz." 

 Miguel didn't fully know what to say to that. "Thanks, I - uh, I try." 

 "Alright, are you two dipshits done yet?" Johnny thundered back into the room, slamming the door shut behind him as Jules jerked her hand away. "We actually have to practice and this sentimental crap is making my teeth rot." 

 Jules rolled her eyes, sharing a knowing look with Miguel, before taking a step back to say something to their Sensei. Miguel couldn't help but smile.  

 Maybe Jules wasn't his girlfriend, but at least she was his friend. 

 And, for now, that's enough. 


A/N:

SEASON FOUR TRAILER LET'S TALK ABOUT IT:

i am gonna at least try to finish act one before then, but there are no promises! also, miguel and jules admitting they like each other caused me physical pain because jules just HAS to be loyal ughh-

i hope you guys enjoyed, and remember to vote and comment! 

much love!

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