MIGUEL LEARNED THAT SELINE HAD TWO PERSONALITIES.

There was the Seline he knew— A foul-mouthed perfectionist who took everything personally with a worrying intensity.

The Seline that sat across from him at the dinner table was much more pleasant. She smiled shyly when his mother showered her with compliments and was more or less the ideal child.

It was scary.

In the thirty minutes of being inside the Grey residence, he learned that his mom Carmen, and Seline's mom , Diana had worked in the same hospital for almost a year. Miguel thought back to freshman year when he first moved to Reseda—Seline had paid him zero mind as she resided in Encino like Sam.

To think he could've met Seline sooner was an even scarier thought.

"You are such a pretty girl." Carmen gushed, taking a sip of her water. Seline's eyes fluttered almost hypnotically as she gave a polite smile.

"Thank you," Seline replied. Miguel raised an eyebrow in her direction which she pointedly ignored.

"So Miguel." Diana started, twirling a fork in her pasta. "You're in Cobra Kai? Seline hasn't mentioned you before."

Seline tensed up, looking down at her food. Whatever mask she fought to keep up was starting to slip.

"I wouldn't expect her to," Miguel said. "I'm sure she's busy with other stuff."

He sent Seline a look and she matched him with a glare.

"Well, you tell me if she gives you a hard time, alright?" Diana smiled warmly, further irritating Seline. "I know she can be a bit much sometimes."

"Hey!" Seline protested. " I think I'm just the right amount."

"Seline, your mother tells me you're interested in going to Stanford?" Carmen asked.

Her parents had been pressing her about plans for the future—Seline blurted out a random Ivy League she thought would satisfy them in the moment. The real truth was that Seline hadn't the faintest clue where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do.

Seline's motivation for her future had been lost as of late.

"It's definitely on the list," Seline said. "I haven't made any final decisions yet–."

"Her father and I would have preferred Harvard." Diana cut Seline off, not going unnoticed by Miguel. "She's always so modest with her decisions."

Seline didn't care to weigh in anymore, shoving some food into her mouth as an excuse to not talk for a while.

"Well Stanford is Miggy's dream school, it would be nice if the two of you visited together."

Seline's mouth formed into a cruel smirk at the nickname. She would never ever let this go.

"That would be nice." Diana agreed. "It's good to have friends in college."

'We aren't even friends now.' Seline bluntly thought. She wasn't really interested in becoming friends with Miguel Diaz.

"Stanford is pretty expensive, but I'm hoping for a scholarship or something," Miguel said. Seline watched her mom practically melt.

"Thoughtful, smart, and handsome," Diana said approvingly. "Carmen, he's such a good boy."

Miguel blushed a little at the praise, his eyes shifting down to his lap. At his feet lay Micha, who seemed to be particularly glued to him.

In Seline's eyes, the dog was a traitor.

"How are you liking karate so far?" Carmen asked Seline.

"It's...different but I think I'm getting the hang of it," Seline said, making Miguel scoff a little.

"She's downplaying it," Miguel said. "Sensei says she's one of the best in class."

Seline's eyes narrowed—Johnny had never told her that before.

What was Miguel trying to do here?

Seline stood up abruptly, pushing her seat back in the process. "Should I go get the dessert?" She was practically begging for an excuse to get away from all this.

"Oh!" Diana exclaimed. "Yes, I almost forgot."

"Miggy go help Seline would you?" Carmen said a playful smile on her face that made Seline panic.

"Oh it's fine Ms. Diaz I don't need–."

"Yeah I will," Miguel said, looking at Seline expectantly.

Seline practically sped walked, Miguel following close behind.

When they reached the kitchen, Seline spun on her heel to face Miguel. He could tell she was more than annoyed.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Seline accused. Miguel had never been more lost.

"Trying to survive this weird dinner?" Miguel answered.

"No!" Seline hissed. "Why are you being so nice?"

Miguel took a step further towards Seline, who took an unconscious step back.

"Should I not be?" Miguel questioned. "You want me to be mean?"

Seline sighed out in frustration, walking over to retrieve the cake from the fridge.

"You don't have to act like you know me, Miguel," Seline said. "We aren't friends."

Miguel didn't flinch at Seline's tone, rather he simply studied her.

"I think I'm starting to know you though," Miguel said softly in a way that made Seline flinch.

It had become all too apparent to Miguel that Seline was under a crazy amount of pressure, and likely had been for some time. He didn't know everything, but he could see how insistent Seline's mom could be—He could only wonder what her dad was like.

"Well don't," Seline responded. "I'm not some fucking puzzle for you to figure out."

So defensive like always. Miguel found himself with a strange pang of sympathy for her.

"That's not what I meant," Miguel said.

"What's taking you guys so long?" Diana called out from the dining room. "Y'all better not be in there doing something crazy."

Seline's eyes widened, hastily grabbing the cake. "We're coming!" Seline yelled back.

The lavender lemon cake was nearly room temperature when Seline sat it down on the table.

Seline loved most things with lavender in them, especially cookies.

"You know I just had a thought." Diana's hazel eyes sparkled mischievously. "Why don't you give Miguel a tour of the house while Carmen and I talk?"

Seline knew that her mom wasn't really asking. "I was looking forward to some cake." Seline tried, hoping it would buy her some time.

"You can have some after." Diana shooed her off. "Go on you two."

                                       ——

MIGUEL THOUGHT THE REST OF SELINE'S HOUSE WAS COOL.

It was a reminder of how well off she was, compared to the small apartment he lived in with his Yaya and mom. The Grey's had a movie room and multiple office spaces.

"This is our house library," Seline said less than enthusiastically. "Books or whatever the fuck."

Miguel nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Nice."

They moved past the multiple guest rooms and walked upstairs. Seline's room door was opened already but she gestured to it anyway.

"My room," Seline stated. Her walls were white, decorated with shelves showcasing her plethora of ballet trophies she didn't have the heart to take down. Over the top of her bed was a lavender sheer canopy that trailed down to the floor, wrapped in fairy lights.

Khaleesi meowed loudly at the sight of her, gracefully jumping from Seline's bed to greet them.

To Seline's surprise, the ragdoll cat walked right by her instead, rubbing up against Miguel's leg.

"That's weird," Seline said. " Khaleesi hates men."

"That's her name?" Miguel bent down to scratch her soft white fur.

"Yeah," Seline muttered, leaning up against her door frame. "I had a serious Game Of Thrones obsession when I was like thirteen."

Miguel's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You? Liking Game Of Thrones?"

"It's whatever," Seline said, trying her best to be nonchalant. "I usually played it in the background."

"Ok, so what are the names of Khalessi's dragons?" Miguel questioned.

"Daenerys Targaryen." Seline quickly corrected him before she could stop herself. " And their names are Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. She named them after her brothers."

"Holy shit." Miguel chuckled. "You're an undercover nerd."

"Fuck you!" Seline shouted. "It's common fucking knowledge."

"To a nerd maybe," Miguel said with a teasing smile. "You might give Demitri a run for his money."

"Don't compare me to him," Seline said, plopping onto her bed.

"You have perfect grades and you're a know-it-all all." Miguel pointed out. "Seline you are a nerd."

"If I'm a nerd, you're double the fucking dork," Seline said.

"I won't deny that," Miguel said.

There was a moment of silence, not exactly awkward. Miguel shuffled to seat himself in Seline's desk chair which she seemed to allow.

"You're still thinking about Sam," Seline said. It wasn't harsh, but there was something underlying in her tone Miguel couldn't ignore.

"Not until you brought her up just now," Miguel admitted.

Seline hummed thoughtfully, wondering how she could drive the wedge further. She wasn't an idiot; Sam was probably spiraling at the thought of them even speaking to each other.

Miguel was none the wiser and that made everything ten times more exciting for Seline.

"I wonder how Johnny is taking all that. Y'know, his son sleeping over at his mortal enemy's house."

"It basically drives him these days." Miguel half smiled, but it quickly faded at the thought of Robby."

"Do you really think Sam and Robby are getting close?" Miguel spoke again.

Seline wanted to laugh, but she could tell Miguel was being genuine. Still, she couldn't help but play with him a little.

"I mean Robby is far from ugly," Seline said slyly. "I'd be getting as close as possible."

"You're annoying." Miguel snapped. "I don't know why I even asked you that. I know how much you hate Sam."

"You asked because I'm right," Seline said. "Sam is over you, time to move on."

Another beat of silence passed them by. Khaleesi had made herself comfortable in Miguel's lap.

"What I said earlier," Miguel said suddenly. "I do want to know you."

"Why?" That was all Seline could manage. She'd been a bitch to him alongside being in a longtime feud with his ex. Miguel had no real reason to give her any grace, she knew that.

His patience made her uncomfortable in a way she wasn't ready to explore yet.

"I don't know," Miguel admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "I have a feeling you're more than this whole mean girl persona."

Too close—His words were hitting her. Seline hadn't always been this way, but her life had gone downhill, forcing her into scavenging up some kind of defense.

Miguel was starting to see through it all–Seline hated it.

"Like I give a fuck about your feelings." Seline scoffed. "You don't know me."

"But I'd like to," Miguel said before he could stop himself. "Honestly."

Seline forced herself to look away from Miguel's eyes. They were too soft, way too earnest for her liking. She supposed that there was no real reason to hate Miguel Diaz; He was lame and she still wanted to outperform him in the dojo.

Something else crossed Seline's mind– Sam.

Seline and Miguel already went to the same dojo, but them getting along?

She would be beyond pissed off and Seline was elated at the thought.

"So what?" Seline said finally. "You wanna be my friend or something?"

"We train together every day already," Miguel said. "We might as well try the friendship thing."

How bad could being friends with Miguel be anyway?

Seline reached over to the other side of her bed for her phone. She unlocked it and handed it to him.

"First rule of being my friend, follow me on Instagram," Seline said.

"Not putting in my phone number?" Miguel smirked.

"You can do that after," Seline said.

Miguel pulled out his phone and pulled up Seline's page. Her username was shockingly simple, sel_selism. It was self-absorbed and suited her perfectly.

He made a mental note to scroll through her photos later.

After he put his number in, Miguel returned Seline's phone to her.

"For the record, I still think you're a fucking dork." Seline clarified as if there was a doubt.

She quickly edited Miguel's name to Miggy in her phone.

"That's cool. Nerd." Miguel said smugly.

"Whatever," Seline said, her tone missing her typical snark. "Don't blow up my phone."

"Miguel, we're leaving," Carmen called out from downstairs.

Seline waved him off, not interested in fully seeing him out the door. "See you tomorrow Miggy."

Miguel's face fell and Seline let herself laugh—A real laugh.

                                      ——

DIANA LOOKED AT SELINE IN SUSPICION.

"You're sure you don't like Carmen's boy?" Diana asked again.

"Maman, please." Seline exasperated. "We are just friends."

"That's a shame, he's very sweet and respectful. I think he could mellow you out."

"Ok." Seline threw her hands up. "I'm going to sleep, goodnight."

"Goodnight honey." Diana's teasing voice followed after her.

Seline knew better than to bother Yasmine when she was on vacation. She flopped belly-first onto her bed. She had officially been forced into a friendship with the boy she had been talking shit about for months.

Classic.

Seline's thumb scrolled through her contacts until she stopped on Moon's name.

The phone rang twice before she picked up, which was odd for someone like Moon.

"You'll never fucking guess what happened." Seline started but stopped short when she heard Moon's sniffles on the other end.

"Woah." Seline sat up. "Have you been crying?"

Moon's hiccups further confirmed Seline's questions, which then turned into intelligible sobs.

"Aw, Moonbeam." Seline's voice fell into a hush. "Who do I have to fuck up?"

"It's Hawk." Moon stuttered out. "I broke up with him."

"Oh." Seline sighed out. "You finally came to your senses."

"He's turning into someone else, Seline." Moon's voice shook. "A bully."

"Well, he's been on the bottom of the social ladder for some time." Seline pointed out. " He's overcompensating."

"Promise me, Seline." Moon urged. "Don't let Cobra Kai turn you into something I know you're not."

What was Seline anyway? Something of a bully with a million walls of cement around her; A spiteful and condescending high schooler who hung off the praise of the adults around her like a lifeline?

Seline was already bad...how could she possibly get any worse?

"I promise," Seline said with an earnestness she did not feel. "Get some sleep moonbeam."

                                       ——

If anyone wanted to see what Sellie's insta looks like!

Seline and Miguel are getting warmer ooooo I hope nothing bad happens!