☼weight off your shoulders☾

Moon's bedroom was a whirlwind of clothes, makeup, laughter, and the loud buzz of Jersey Shore on her TV. The air was filled with the scent of vanilla candles and the weed. Sonny stood in front of her girlfriend's vanity and spun around in place as she watched her reflection to decide if she liked her outfit while Moon rummaged through her closet to find her own.

"Is this an outdoor or indoor party?" Moon called out, her eyes focused on all of the clothes in front of her.

Sonny glanced up, smiling at Moon through the mirror. "Both, but where no jacket. There'll be a lot of people so the body heat will keep you warm."

She saw Moon nod in the reflection and throw a dress onto her bed. Once Sonny decided she did in fact like her outfit, she sat down at Moons vanity and started to work on her makeup as Moon changed behind her.

As Sonny finished up her blush—partially getting distracted by a fight between Pauly D and Angelina on Jersey Shore, Moon, now in her dress, walked over and stood behind Sonny, resting her chin on Sonny's shoulder as she watched her in the mirror. "You look amazing," Moon said softly, her breath warm against Sonny's ear.

Sonny smiled, butterflies blooming in her stomach as a blush creeping up her cheeks. "Thanks, baby. You look beautiful."

Moon grinned and pressed a kiss to Sonny's neck. "Need any help with that?"

Sonny shook her head, trying her hardest to stay focused on her makeup. "I've got it, but I won't say no to some company."

And for the rest of the time it took Sonny to finish getting ready, Moon kept her eyes on her. Absolutely mesmerized, The show playing on her TV was her last thought to watch. She just wanted to watch Sonny do her everyday things.

...

Miguel's apartment complex was already crowded and buzzing with kids by the time Sonny and Moon arrived. Johnny's living room and even the apartment courtyard was packed, and the music thumped so loud Sonny could feel it in her chest.

The stench of alcohol hit the two girls like a bus. Chris and Nate noticed the girls and waved them over to the center of the courtyard where a cup pong table was set up. "Hey, Sonny! Moon" Chris called out. The two turned their heads and smiled at the familiar face. "Ready to play?"

Moon grabbed Sonny's hand, leading her over with a big smile. "Absolutely!"

As they got closer to the table, Chris gave Sonny a reassuring smile. "I made sure your guys side had coke only. No alcohol." Chris said and Sonny smiled, grateful Chris was sweet enough to not only make sure no alcohol was in the cups she'd drink, but to also make sure she didn't worry about it.

Sonny and Moon teamed up against Chris and Nate, the game quickly became what everyone that was in the outside part of the party paid attention to. The two teams cheered each other on, fake banter and trash talk thrown around every now and then.

As the night went on, Sonny found herself relaxing more than she ever had at a party. The weight that usually pressed on her shoulders seemed to lift, replaced by a feeling she hadn't felt before.

Sonny watched as people around her drank. No one seemed stressed. She'd always been tense about alcohol at parties, not even wanting to smell what was in her friends cups. But tonight felt different. She turned to Moon, her voice barely above a whisper. "Hey, Moon?"

Moon, mid-laugh at something Chris had said after she got the ping pong ball into his cup, looked over. "Yeah?"

Sonny took a deep breath. "I've been thinking... I might want to try drinking tonight."

Moon's expression softened, all of her attention moving to Sonny. She reached out and took Sonny's hand in hers. "Baby, whatever you decide, I'm here for you. If you want to try it, I'll be right by your side. And if you don't, that's totally okay too."

Sonny smiled, feeling a lot calmer after Moons reassurance. "Okay. I think... I think I want to try it."

Moon nodded and turned back to Chris and Nate across the ping pong table. "Let's get some twisted teas in these cups, boys."

Chris and Nate's eyes widened at Moons words. Both of them turned to Sonny, silently asking her if she was sure. Sonny smiled, nodded, and immediately, Nate ran over to the coolers to grab some twisted teas. Moon turned back to Sonny and gave her a small smile. "This should be a good drink to start with. They have a raspberry flavor."

Sonny watched as Nate exchanged all of Sonny and Moons cokes on the table with the alcohol and her heart pounding. She looked at Moon, who nodded encouragingly. With a deep breath, Sonny watched as Chris raised his ping pong ball and threw it towards the last four solo cups in front of the girls.

When the ball landed into the front cup, Chris and Nate cheered, fist bumping each other before turning back to the girls across from them, both of them dying to see Sonny drink.

Sonny grabbed the solo cup the ball fell into and quickly fished it out. She could smell the alcohol on her hands, but she didn't immediately recoil. She didn't feel sick to her stomach like she used to. She felt no fear.

She brought the cup to her lips and took a long sip. At first it was sweet. Raspberry, like Moon had said.

It was after she swallowed that the burn kicked it. Sonny cringed at the taste, but started to like the warm feeling spread through her chest the longer she waited.

She could see Moon, Chris, and Nate all waited expectingly out of the corner of her eyes. Her eyes shot around the three of them as she raised the cup to take another sip. "It's good,"

Moon laughed, pulling Sonny into a hug while Chris and Nate cheered for the girl. "See? Nothing to be scared of. But remember, take it slow, okay?" Moon reassured and Sonny smiled, feeling more at ease than she had in a long time. "I will."

They returned to the game, the girls in the lead with only one cup left to get rid of. Sonny felt lighter, not just from the drink, but from the heavy weight that she had been carrying since her dad passed away. She felt stronger somehow; pushing this long fear out of her mind for once and for all.

Sonny twirled the ping pong ball she dug out of her drink against her fingers, eyeing the last cup she had to through the ball into to win the game. Her tongue stuck out in concentration and she squinted as she raised the ball.

Her eyes stayed glued onto the ping pong ball when she let go and tossed it towards the final cup. Nate was shaking Chris's arm crazily, not wanting to lose the game.

But when the ball landed inside of the cup, the courtyard roared with cheers for Sonny and Moon. They pulled each other into a hug, Moon lifting Sonny up just slightly out of excitement. Chris and Nate groaned at their loss, Chris shaking his head and Nate throwing his back.

Nonetheless, they walked towards the girls side of the table, arms open out for a hug. "Good game, Sonny." Chris said and Sonny chuckled, pulling him into the hug. "Good game."

She pulled Nate into a hug next, the shorter boy grumbling an angry "good game" to her, but Sonny didn't mind. After a year of being in Miyagi-Do with the boy, Sonny quickly caught on to the younger boys competitiveness.

"How about another round?" Chris asked as Sonny and Nate pulled away from their hug. Sonny gave the boy a lopsided smile and looked off towards the entrance of Johnnys apartment. "I'm actually gonna go find Miguel and Eli. I haven't seen them yet."

"I'll stay out here. Sam texted saying she should be pulling up soon." Moon said. Sonny turned back to Moon and gave her a small smile. "Okay." She muttered under her breath. She leaned forward and kissed Moon. "I love you." Sonny said, starting to walk away and Moon smiled.

"I love you." She returned her words, her cheeks reddening even after all this time. Sonny turned around completely, walking towards Johnnys apartment that Miguel said he, Eli, and Robby were in when Sonny first arrived.

Right before Sonny walked into the home, she noticed the cooler sitting right beside the doorway. She paused for a second, her mind going back to the fear she lost and the taste of her first drink. She knew she wasn't going to be the only one of her friends drinking.

She leaned down and opened the cooler. Her eyes scanned over all of the different drinks before she finally saw the bright yellow can peaking out under all of the Coors. She grabbed the Twisted Tea and opened the can, taking a sip as she walked into the apartment.

From inside the home, Miguel, Eli, and Robby sat against the kitchen island just like Miguel told Sonny they were. The three were talking about how excited they were to compete in the Sekai Takai when Eli's eyes landed on Sonny. With alcohol.

It was like every alarm went off in his head. He remembered when Sonny's dad passed away and how even at nine years old, she swore she'd never drink. Every party they've ever been to, Sonny would dodge coolers all together, Eli or Demetri would always be the one to grab a soda for her so seeing her not just holding alcohol, but drinking it too was a shock.

"Hey, hey! Woah!" Eli yelled, pushing himself off of the island he was leaning against. His action caught Miguel and Robby's attention, watching as he sped towards Sonny and took the Twisted Tea out of her hands.

Hawk looked at Sonny with wide eyes. "This has alcohol in it."

Sonny smiled, slowly nodding her head. "I know." She said, walking towards the island Robby was sitting on. As Sonny jumped onto the island to sit beside Robby, he, Hawk, and Miguel gave her confused looks, knowing she swore to never drink alcohol.

Hawk squinted, taking slow steps towards her. "Are... you okay?" He asked, raising his hand to put the back of it against Sonny's forehead, checking her temperature. Sonny scoffed and swatted his hand away.

"Where's Moon?" Hawk asked, looking around the home for the girl.

Sonny appreciated Hawks worry, but shook her head. "Outside. I need to know that I won't be like the kid that killed my dad." Sonny said, making Hawk whip his head back to her. His eyes were wide, but focused on her, not wanting it to seem like he wasn't paying attention as she continued. "I trust myself in knowing I'd never get behind the wheel drunk or get in the car with someone driving who is."

"Fearless?" Hawk asked as a smirk grew on his face, referencing the day at the waterpark when Sonny said she was going to face her fears. Sonny smiled, nodding her head. "Fearless."

The two fist bumped and Sonny's eyes trailed up Hawk's head until they landed on his hair. Her eyebrows furrowed when she noticed that his mohawk was no longer green. Just three hours ago it was green and now it was back to his natural brown.

"What happened to the green?" She asked and Hawk immediately put his hand to his hair, making sure his mohawk was upright. He shook his head and shrugged. "Uh, didn't really work for me, so... still figuring it out."

As more people walked into his home, Robby's eyebrows furrowed. "I didn't think so many people would show."

Sonny laughed at his words, a small smile on her face as she thought of her girlfriend. "Moon invited a lot of people from East High. Guess word got out." She said before a sarcastic smile took over her face and she jokingly looked back and forth between Miguel and Robby.

"If you two get insanely popular..." She put an exaggerated hand to her chest and nodded her head. "Thank my girlfriend. She has that effect on people."

Robby chuckled at Sonny's words. "Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Moon since summer." Robby said, remembering the small friendship he started to form with the girl after Sonny and Sam insisted on double dates. Robby turned to Sonny, his eyebrows furrowed. "How is she?"

Sonny smiled, nodding her head as she took a sip of her drink. "She's good. She's right outside. Let me go get her." Sonny said happily, hoping off of the island. She looked to Hawk, who immediately took her spot on the island, and pointed to her drink.

"Watch my drink?" She asked and she didn't even have to finish her sentence before Hawk grabbed the can, sat it between his legs and covered the mouth piece with the palm of his hand.

Sonny walked back outside just as a group of four girls walked into the apartment and made a beeline to the three boys. Sonny searched the courtyard for Moon, but it was difficult to spot faces because of how many people stood around her.

As she pushed through the crowd, she heard a voice call her name from the parking lot.

Sonny turned her head to the voice and her heart immediately started to thump loud against her chest when she saw Tory standing by the garbage bins. Sonny looked around, trying to spot any familiar faces, but saw nobody around: She turned to look back at Tory, the blonde girl nervously waving her over.

"I don't want to fight." Tory's voice was shaky, making Sonny believe her. She took slow steps towards Tory and away from the crowd until she stood just a mere foot away from Tory.

"What are you..." Sonny swallowed the lump forming in her throat and pushed her hands into her back pockets. "What are you doing here?"

She wanted to ask why Tory wanted to talk to her so bad. The two only had barely a handful of conversations, most of them being threats thrown at Sonny.

Tory blinked hard and struggled to meet Sonny's eyes. "I wanted to talk." She fidgeted with her fingers and finally grew enough courage to look at Sonny.

"You didn't lose the All Valley."

Sonny felt like she was just punched in the gut. Something that had been filling her up with guilt for the all of summer was something that was completely out of her control. Her jaw fell and her eyes softened at Tory's words. The blonde bit her lips anxiously, wanting to give Sonny the chance to react how she needed to.

Sonny stayed speechless for a few second before she shook her head as if she was shaking herself out of her thoughts. "What do you mean?"

"Silver paid the referee to have me win and he framed Sensei Kreese for the Stingray stuff. I've been working with Kreese to try and expose him." Tory said and Sonny's jaw slacked. She blinked at the girl in front of her a couple times before she spoke.

"Kreese? Isn't he in jail for attempted murder?" Sonny asked, her voice loud in shock and Tory visibly gulped. Sonny wasn't mad at Tory. She knows the hold Kreese, Silver, and Cobra Kai had on people. One of her best friends was in the same position.

What Tory didn't know was that Sam, who was already upset after seeing Miguel kiss another girl, stood behind Sonny and heard every word Tory said.

Anger bubbled in Sam's stomach and without thinking, she screamed as she ran past Sonny and straight to Tory.

"Sam, no!" Sonny shouted, stepping forward to try and intercept her, but it was too late.

Sam's foot connected with Tory's gut, sending her stumbling backwards into the garbage bin behind her. Tory groaned at the feeling of her head hitting the metal, but quickly, her eyes glared a Sam with a mix of shock and anger. She didn't want to fight, she went there to come clean.

The screaming caught the attention of just about everyone at the party. Sonny ran towards the two, grabbing onto Sam's shoulders and pulling her back just before Sam could get another hit on Tory.

As Sonny pulled Sam away from Tory, Miguel, Hawk, Robby, and Moon came running to the three girls. "What's going on?" Robby yelled, looking back and forth between Sonny, Sam, and Tory.

Sam spun around to face the five behind her, pointing an accusing finger at Tory. "She's been working with Kreese the whole time!" Sam cried. Her voice broke as she spoke, making Sonny believe this reaction was for more than just Tory and her words.

Robby turned to Tory with wide eyes, taking a step closer to Tory. "What?"

"Why did you only come forward now? Huh? Because you're a coward." Sam snapped and Sonny whipped her head around to the shorter girl and pulled her back by her arm. "Sam!" She scolded.

Tory looked at all the eyes on her before she turned to Sam and shook her head. "Screw you, LaRusso. I knew this was a mistake." She muttered before she ran out of the apartments parking area. Sonny's eyes softened watching the girls retreating figure.  She was ready to go run after her, to get more information, but Moon and Miguel each held her back by her arms. "Tory. No, wait!"

—I LOVE MOONY
yall are not ready for the best bff sonny is gonna have (i'm so ready for her and tory)
ANYWAY HAWK AND SONNY🫶🫶my children