"Okay girl, you gotta spill."

Kyra placed the figurine she had been inspecting back down on Flynn's bookshelf, shooting the girl a smirk. The two had officially entered "friends outside of work" territory, and Flynn had to admit it was thrilling to have the girl over.

"Spill what?"

One of Kyra's perfectly shaped eyebrows cocked upwards. "About Miguel. I did say we were gonna talk about that, didn't I?"

Flynn couldn't stand the smile that danced over her face. "Shit. I guess you got me."

"Yeah, I got your tea," Kyra grinned, joining her on the bedspread. "Tell me! What's the deal with you and him?"

The Wilder girl stared at her, gnawing on her bottom lip. It had been a while since she'd had a girl friend to chat with like this, and it'd been even longer since the gossip was about a boy. "There's no 'deal', for starters. We're just friends."

"Now that's some bullshit." Kyra snorted.

Flynn laughed, folding her arms over herself. "No, for real. There's nothing there. But, I, um..." Her fingers scratched tentatively at the skin near her mouth. "I think it's safe to have I've had some feelings for him since, like, the All Valley."

Kyra blinked, mouth agape. "Girl, you do realize that was three months ago?"

Flynn's face crumpled in confusion. "Yeah?"

Kyra lurched off the bed for a moment, bouncing up and down on the quilt theatrically. "So what the hell have you been doing? You should tell him!" A quick wince pulled at the girl's lips. "Shit, you got me sounding like a sorority girl. Ugh, tell him, wah wah!"

She barked out a laugh at her friend's high-pitched, tinny voice. "Yup. Sounds to me like you're one step away from posting rush pictures."

"Oh you're going to hell for that one," the dark-haired girl teased, tossing her braids out of her face before sobering up. "But seriously. Why haven't you said anything?"

Flynn thought about it for a moment, her chin lowering towards the floor. "Well, at first, Miguel was really caught up on his ex. And I was...dealing with some traumatic shit." Kyra's eyes flashed with understanding. "He just kinda became the best friend I needed him to be. And the longer that's lasted, the harder it's been thinking about possibly ruining all of that."

"Ruining it?"

Flynn found herself shaking her head, a sad smile creasing her face. "He doesn't like me like that, Kyra. Miguel's the kind of guy that can't hide it when he does, and he goes for it too. It's been an entire summer of us hanging out. Something would've happened already if he did feel that way."

Kyra blinked, readjusting her body to face Flynn's straight on. The Wilder girl tensed, moving to mirror her friend's actions. The two girls stared at each other, one frightened and the other dumbstruck.

"Flynn Wilder, for a girl as smart as you are, you are being incredibly fucking stupid right now."

Flynn veered her head forward, a shocked laugh tumbling out. "HUH?"

Kyra shook her head, making a tsk sound with her teeth. "Be serious. That boy is in love with you."

Now she had jerked back even farther. "What? Where the hell did you get that from?"

"I mean, just from hearing the stories you tell me! And also, I don't know...the fact that he constantly comes to work to see you?" The Mullins girl's eyes pulsed. "You can't be this blind, can you? He likes you! Maybe he just doesn't know it yet because boys are fucking dumbasses."

Flynn sat with this for a beat, sighing through her nose. Her gut twisted in a strange mix of heat and disbelief. "I don't know."

"You don't?" Kyra snickered.

"I don't," she echoed, fighting back another bittersweet smile. "I just can't picture it. I used to be able to, yeah, but...it's been a whole summer. I might be many things, but I hate being delusional. I can tell when a guy doesn't want me."

Kyra looked up at the warm fairy lights strung about the room. A small shrug escaped her as she caught Flynn's gaze again. "Maybe he just doesn't know he wants you. Maybe he needs a little push."

She thought about that for the rest of the afternoon.

Flynn had been chewing on a French fry when she heard a taunting voice call to her.

"Hello, boring town!"

She whirled around to spot Miguel ambling towards her, donning a striking red jacket and an idiotic smirk. Her eyebrows drew together at the tease, unable to resist chucking a fry at his head. "Oh, okay Thriller by Michael Jackson! I bet you don't even know where this is from," she gestures to her look.

Miguel's nose crinkled. "JcPenney's?"

Flynn blinked, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards. "I'm going to stab you in the middle of this roller rink, Miguel. I'm a greaser girl. From The Outsiders."

Her outfit consisted of a black tank top covered with a worn denim jacket and cuffed jeans. Paired with striking red lipstick and red bandana, she felt good about herself tonight. Miguel admired her costume for a moment.

"Oh yeah, I...think I remember watching that movie," Miguel laughed as Flynn hummed in bemusement.

"I knew you didn't read the book like you were supposed to. No wonder you were begging my ass to help you study for that test," she snorted, shaking her head in disapproval as Miguel busied himself with stealing her fries. "Hey, where are the others? You invited Hawk and Aisha right?"

Miguel's shoulders tensed, fingers brushing together to wipe away any fry grease. "Actually, I didn't. I kinda wanted it to just be the two of us tonight."

Flynn sucked in a small breath, scanning the amber of his eyes as they gleamed at her. Something in his shimmering gaze made her belly swarm with glitter, like she could sense that he was looking at her differently now than he had before.

Did he mean...?

"Oh," she muttered, setting down her almost empty tray of fries in favor of gawking at him. "Yeah, okay. That's cool with me."

And then she remembered what Kyra had said about needing a little push. The corner of her mouth ducked inwards as she beamed at him, holding out the palm of her hand. "Shall we go get some skates then? I'm ready wipe the floor with you."

Miguel eyed her hand with slightly parted lips, meeting her gaze again as he released a loose laugh. "Yeah, right. You may be the ice queen but roller skating is my domain, Flynn. You'll see."

And then he took her hand. His fingers curled around hers, heat thrumming through both of them as the pair flocked away from the table and towards the skate counter. Flynn caught her bottom lip between her teeth, her chest aching with an unfamiliar burst of happiness.

"Hey Miguel," a new voice cut in, something bumping into the Diaz and causing him to stumble. Flynn felt his hand slip away from hers, frowning at the coldness lingering over her palm.

Tory had rested her elbow on Miguel's shoulder, offering him a tight-lipped, jubilant smile. "Glad you could make it tonight. And where the hell did you snag this thing?" She tugged her fingers at the jacket he was wearing, sending him an amused look.

"I actually stole it from Sensei's closet. Well, he let me borrow it," Miguel relented.

"Hi Tory," Flynn spoke up in a gravelly tone. The marks on her face and torso remained fresh, even if they were beginning to yellow and fade a little behind the makeup.

The Nichols girl met her indifferent tone with an uninterested stare. "Hey."

"We were just about to get some skates," Miguel spoke up after a brief, uncomfortable pause.

It wasn't until Tory met Miguel's dark eyes again did her smile resurface. "Cool. I have a break in about twenty. I can join you guys for a little."

"Oh, um—" Miguel started.

"Flynn?"

The Wilder girl shot around, surprised to see a certain green-eyed boy staring at her. "Robby?"

And he wasn't alone. "Sam," Miguel faltered, blinking at the brunette shriveling up next to the Keene boy.

"Hi Miguel," she mumbled, her gaze turning arctic when she noticed the blonde situated next to him. "Tory."

"LaRusso."

"Keene," Miguel stiffened as Robby caught his eye.

"Miguel."

"Let's just...go grab our skates," Miguel slotted his hand with Flynn's again, his grip much looser as he guided her away from the situation. "What the hell?" He whispered to her once they were out of earshot.

"I know," she snickered under her breath, leaning towards him with a ducked head. "Talk about fucking awkward! I guess Sam and Robby are a thing. And what was going on with Tory back there?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, furrowing his rows together.

Flynn felt the words get caught in her throat. Maybe she had been imagining it. "Just the...the thing with Sam."

"I guess they still don't like each other after that beach club thing you told me about," Miguel assumed.

"Yeah. True."

The duo retrieved their skates, racing one another to the rink. They took turns showing off different moves, Flynn skating backwards and Miguel completing a very shaky spin.

"I thought you said this was your domain, Diaz?" She taunted as he lashed out and gripped her shoulders for support, her hands instinctively brushing the tip of his elbows.

"I'm still warming up!" He cried.

"Yeah, okay," she nodded. "How about a race? I bet I can get a lap in faster than you."

Miguel's stare hardened into a competitive glare. "Oh, I'm about to knock over someone's kid just to beat you."

"There are a lot of children on the rink right now, aren't there?" She laughed over the speakers, which had been playing classic 80s songs all night.

They agreed to the race, both of them melting into a fit of giggles and screams as they pushed and shoved to try to usurp each other. "You are cheating, Miguel!"

"You almost tripped me!"

The "race" ended with both of them nearly falling, Flynn struggling to catch her breath from all the laughing. "Okay. You're right. I do prefer skating on ice."

"You freak," Miguel panted, breathless.

Flynn opened her mouth to retort until she felt her phone buzz in her pocket for the eighth time in the last minute. A frown stretched over her lips as she checked the screen. "Wait, hold on. Jaden's been calling me. Can you give me a sec?"

"Yeah, no problem," Miguel smiled. "Hope he's alright."

"He's probably just being an idiot," Flynn half-muttered, skating towards the exit.

She waited until she was in a quieter area of the rink before returning her brother's missed calls.

"Flynn!"

"What's going on, dude? Are you okay?" Flynn exclaimed into the phone, cupping her hand over her other ear to block out Journey blasting through the ceiling speakers.

"What's the Netflix password?"

The Wilder felt herself straighten up, blinking several times. "That's why you called me eleven times? Dude, that is like, one simple text."

"I'm trying to watch HunterxHunter," he explained.

"Oh, okay!" Flynn perked up in fake enthusiasm. "Definitely an emergency!"

"It is! I'm almost done with season one!"

"Dude, season one is like the best season. Why rush it?"

"Flynn!"

"Fine! It's YellowDoggy12. Write it down in your Notes app," she huffed, trying to glance over her shoulder back towards the rink. She half-expected to find Miguel zooming by somewhere. "And by the way, eleven calls means emergency. And emergency means something like a guy broke into our house or you hit your head or something."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks Flynn!"

The brunette reeled as she heard the sound of the call ending, gawking at her phone screen in bewilderment. "Fucker really hung up on me. Anime is ruining the next generation," she muttered to herself.

When Flynn glided back to the edge of the rink, she noticed Miguel missing from it. After circling the perimeter for a bit, she finally found him. And she couldn't ignore the sinking in her chest when she did.

Miguel stood with Sam in the skate counter line, speaking in an extremely animated fashion with her. Flynn watched with a deepening frown as he gesticulated with his arms, Sam bubbling with laughter at whatever he was relaying to her. At one point, the LaRusso reached out and grabbed his bicep, smiling at him.

Flynn felt herself inhale sharply as they moved in for a hug. All she could think about was how stupid she felt. Maybe Miguel doesn't like her after all. Maybe he knew Sam was coming tonight and wanted a chance to be close with her again.

Either way, he had told Flynn he'd moved on from Sam. That he didn't think he'd even be friends with the girl again. That isn't what she was seeing now.

"Hey," Robby sidled up to her, now wearing his own pair of skates.

Flynn nodded her chin at him. "Nice hair."

"Thanks," he reached up and faintly brushed his fingertips against it. "I wasn't sure what to do with it, honestly. Don't think I really have the hair for the eighties."

"Eh, I think you did alright," she smiled at him, leaning against the rink wall behind her. "So how's life? Miyagi-Do doing well?"

Robby raised a brow at her. "Sure you wanna be asking me about the enemy?"

"Shit," Flynn chuckled, resting both elbows up on the half wall. "You know I don't think about it that way. I make fun of all that war talk everyday."

Robby snickered at her response, joining her on the wall. Flynn took this moment to study him. "How are you doing, really?"

The Keene shot her a puzzled expression. "What do you mean?"

Flynn shrugged, a tinge of regret spreading through her for asking. "I dunno. I just feel like...you being Johnny's son, but you're staying with the LaRussos. There's a story there. Just wanted to make sure you're okay."

Robby blinked. "You're very perceptive."

"I got eyeballs, yeah," she bit out a laugh, the sandy-haired boy looking away to hide his own amusement. "Look. From one fucked up kid to another, I see you. It's okay to check in with each other." She paused, hesitating. "Or is it not? Cause like I said, dude, I like to think of us as friends."

Robby pondered this before nodding. "Yeah, I think so too. And I'm fine. You?"

Flynn sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Is that code for 'I'm on a date with Miguel right now'?"

Her head shot towards him, noticing the sheepish grin blossoming across his face. "What? Am I not allowed to acknowledge it?"

"Okay to be fair," she leaned forward, elbowing his shoulder. "Miguel didn't call it a date."

"But he implied it and he also held your hand. Yeah, I got eyeballs too, Flynn," he snickered himself another light shove. "I see you're on the up and ups, then."

"Yeah, and I guess the same can be said about you and Sam?" She prodded, ignoring the twinging in her gut. She secretly hoped there was something with those two, just so it could keep Sam further away from Miguel.

A smile cracked over Robby's mouth. "Maybe."

"Nice. So you two—"

Her words were interrupted by a familiar scream and the sound of clattering nearby. Both of their heads snapped in the direction of the sound, gawking at what they found. Tory lay sprawled on the carpet in a pile of fries, mouth agape. Sam hovered over her, wearing a nasty look.

"Oh God," Robby muttered before flying towards the commotion.

Flynn followed with unease. "What the hell happened, guys?" She demanded as she skated up, eyeing Tory's distraught figure on the floor.

She'd be a liar if she said she didn't slightly revel at the sight. Maybe it was unfair she was starting to dislike Tory after Coyote Creek and her possible crush on Miguel, but Flynn had never been a perfect person.

"The bitch shoved me," Tory gritted out, glowering at Sam.

"Sam, are you okay?" Robby asked the distressed brunette, reaching for her.

"Tory!" Miguel appeared, wide eyes pinned on the Nichols still sprawled on the ground. "Here," he shoved two full drink cups into Flynn's hands before stooping down to help the blonde. "You okay? What happened?" He directed the second question at Flynn.

A security guard approached the scene, bellowing out orders. "Alright, you two are done!" He shot daggers at Sam and Robby. "Out!"

"What? She started it!" Sam cried at the bulky man, blue eyes crackling with fire.

"Out!"

"Wait, he didn't even do anything!" Flynn found herself cutting in, jabbing a thumb at Robby. She wasn't sure why, considering the Keene boy wouldn't stick around anyway if Sam had gotten kicked out.

"Do you want to join them?" The man growled out before slicing his gaze back to Sam and Robby. "Out!"

Flynn, Miguel, and Tory all watched with silent grimaces as Sam and Robby pattered away, meteaphorical tails tucked between their legs. The Wilder spoke first, shifting her eyes onto Tory. "Why'd she push you?"

"I don't know! Cause she's a bitch, maybe?" Tory snapped, huffing at the noticeable expression change on Flynn. "What?"

"Did you, like, say something to her first?" Flynn wondered. She wasn't too fond of Sam herself, but she knew that she wasn't the type of girl to randomly go shoving other girls without reason.

"Screw you, Flynn!" Tory hissed before shuttling away.

"Oh, okay!" She chuckled, shaking her head. "Wow." Another moment passed before she turned to Miguel, realizing the boy was staring at her. "What?"

"Why'd you try to defend Robby?" He questioned, eyes narrowing into two small slits.

She shrugged, lips puckered together in an unsure expression. "Man, I don't know. I guess I just thought it was unfair to kick him out because of what Sam did. What if they, like, remember their faces? Ban them permanently? That would suck."

Miguel studied her with an unreadable glint in his eye. "So are you two, like, friends?"

Flynn reeled. "Robby and I? I guess, yeah. Though you're one to talk," she couldn't help the somewhat bitter chuckle that escaped her. "I saw you chatting it up with Sam. You guys on a talking basis again? I thought you purged her from all socials."

Miguel's body noticeably tensed. "We're friends," he answered quickly.

It was enough to spoil Flynn's mood. "Okay," she managed, swallowing the bile wedged in her throat.

"Hey, what did your brother want?"

An out. "Oh yeah. I was actually gonna come tell you, he got really sick so he's asking for me. I'm worried it's something he ate, you know?"

Miguel deflated at that. "Oh. I guess that means you gotta go?"

Flynn nodded, ignoring the tightness in her chest. "Yeah, sorry. But this was fun! You know, for like the two seconds before all that shit that just went down. Maybe next time there'll be a nineties night and we can come back."

Miguel nodded, his chin dipping a little. "Yeah. Sure."

Flynn hesitated, not sure what to do with herself. "Okay. Well...bye," she offered a small wave before skating away, feeling everything inside her bottle up like it was about to burst. What the hell had just happened? How had the night started so right and ended so wrong?

The worst part was the feeling that festered inside Flynn as she left the rink with a hollow chest. The feeling that she had only imagined that look from Miguel tonight.

The fear that she had been wrong.