HAYDEN STARED AT THE EMPTY PANTRY, HER STOMACH GROWLING IN PROTEST.

She pressed a hand to her midsection with a soft sigh.

Just as the girl was about to scavenge her fridge for literally anything, a knock sounded at her door. She furrowed her brows, looking at the clock.

It was seven in the morning, making her wonder who the hell would be at the door. She looked through the peephole cautiously, balling a fist at her side but releasing it just as quick when seeing who it was.

"Miguel, you scared the shit out of me." She sighed out, swinging the door open to come face to face with the Ecuadorian boy. The bright smile he wore almost made her twitch, "Oh god, you're one of those morning people, huh?"

She walked away from the door, an unspoken command for Miguel to follow her inside, which he obliged happily. "I wouldn't insult the guy bringing you breakfast," He held a brown bag up, shaking it in Hayden's face.

She took the bag from him, her face lighting up as she peeked inside. "You're a lifesaver."

Miguel grinned, "One breakfast sandwich, hold the guac, extra bacon. Just how you like it."

Hayden took a bite, humming as she chewed contently. "You might have converted me into a morning person, Diaz."

Miguel laughed, shaking his head. "It's my personal apology for my mom. I know she might've asked too many questions."

Hayden slowed her chewing for a moment, looking elsewhere for a split second and back to Miguel. "It's fine," She swallowed, "She's sweet. You're lucky to have her." She gave a sincere smile.

Miguel nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Yeah, I am."

Hayden nodded, pursing her lips as she took another, but slower, bite from the sandwich.

"How're you getting to school?" Miguel suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

She pointed to the corner of her room where her skateboard leaned against the wall, taking another large bite of the sandwich.

Miguel raised a brow. "You want a ride?"

Hayden tilted her head, smirking slightly. "Sure, Diaz. I'll take a ride."

Miguel scratched the back of his neck, his cheeks flushing as she held his gaze a little too long. Hayden didn't miss the way his sheepish smile grew, and it made her smirk widen.

"Come on," she said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

—

"Come on. Eat something. It'll make you feel better." Demetri held out a sandwich in a bag to Miguel.

Hayden sat on the right side of Miguel, patting his back after he explained what he saw yesterday when he decided to take initiative and introduce himself to Sam's parents.

"I still think you're overreacting." said Demetri.

"I'm not overreacting, dude. I know what I saw." Miguel responded with a slightly defensive tone.

"Which is what exactly?" Hayden spoke up after being silent for most of the conversation, trying to piece two and two together. She had already formed her theories on who he saw.

"Some guy, I don't know who, eating dinner with her and her family. The way they looked at each other..." He trailed off, getting upset all over again as he sighed off the rest of his sentence.

Hayden could relate to the feeling, because there was only one boy that came to mind who was close to the LaRusso's. And that boy was Robby, whom she hadn't heard from in three days by now.

"All right, so you saw her eating dinner with some chode." Hawk practiced his roundhouse kick on Bert, knocking him to the floor. "It's probably just her brother or something."

"Eli, help Bert up." Hayden stared at Bert who rolled on the floor in pain, shaking her head. Hawk huffed, but nodded nonetheless, hoisting the boy onto his feet and aggressively patting his back before walking over to them.

Hayden was well aware Eli went by Hawk now, but she was firm on the fact that she'd never call him Hawk. Not only because it sounded stupid to her but also because, deep down, he'd always be Eli to her. Sweet, shy, soft-spoken Eli. He was just playing dress up now, and if this is what he needed to do to gain some confidence, then who was she to judge?

She noted that Eli never corrected her either and it didn't seem to faze him that she never bothered to call him Hawk. He just let her do it, because it was Hayden. And in Eli's eyes, Hayden did no wrong.

"No, dude." Miguel shook his head, "Brother's don't look at their sisters like that."

Hayden hesitated before speaking up again. "What did he look at her like?" She murmured, staring straight ahead at the floor.

"Like... like she was royalty or something. I don't know, but I know brothers do not look at their sisters like that."

Hayden's stomach curled uncomfortably, and she looked down, digging her nails into the palms of her hand.

"Depends on what part of the country you're in." Demetri deadpanned, making a face.

Miguel sighed, "I just don't want what happened to sensei to happen to me."

"Honestly, Miguel, why are you still even with her?" Hawk's question came as a surprise to everyone, all eyes flying to him.

"What do you mean?" Miguel furrowed his brows.

"She doesn't make you happy. I don't think she ever really has," Hawk shrugged, "But everyone can see who really does make you happy." Demetri and Aisha nodded in agreement but didn't say anything. "Remember you told me that she's not even who you really wanted to ask out? It should've been—"

"Okay!" Miguel interrupted his spiel with a loud cough, his face turning bright red as he avoided eye contact with the girl next to him. Hayden arched a brow, flickering her gaze between Miguel and Hawk. "Not the time, Hawk." Miguel gritted out with a nervous chuckle.

Hawk let out a sigh, nodding his head, "Alright fine. So, you go over to this kid's and beat his ass, so he doesn't have the chance." He offered his next solution, which wasn't much of a solution to begin with.

"Don't listen to Eli," Demetri shook his head.

Hawk sent a glare in his direction, "It's Hawk." He corrected.

"You literally didn't correct Hayden when she called you Eli." Demetri pointed out defensively.

Hawk shrugged, "She's Hayden," He spoke in a duh tone, and Hayden flashed him a sarcastic grin.

"Whatever," Demetri rolled his eyes, "The fact is Sam's given you no reason not to trust her."

Hayden nodded, chewing her lower lip.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Miguel murmured, staring down at his lap thoughtfully.

A beat of silence washed over them.

"That little bitch!" Aisha fumed, staring at her phone with knitted brows.

"What?" Miguel asked.

"You know that video I posted of me breaking that board?" She asked the group, looking over at them.

"Yeah," Hayden hummed.

"Look what Yasmine commented." She shoved the phone in their direction, letting the group read it.

"Impressive... can't believe the belt made it around your waist." She read out loud, her mouth dropping as she read it. Her face contorted in disgust, shaking her head. "What a bitch." She agreed.

"I gotta do something." Aisha shook her head, still furious.

"Alright, how 'bout we kidnap her, and have my boy rico tattoo 'bitch' on her face?" Hawk smirked, looking between the two.

A wide smile grew on Hayden's face, nodding. "Yes!" She stood and high fived the boy before hearing a "Calm down, Hawk."

"Alright, I hear how you're saying it... and I don't like it." Hawk remarked in annoyance.

"Guess that's a no on that idea." She slumped back down.

"Wait, wait, wait! I got a better idea... look." Aisha showed them her phone again, this time of Yasmine's story saying that she was having a party at the Canyon later.

"Yasmine's throwing a party at the Canyon later?" Miguel stated, raising a brow.

"Not if we strike first." Aisha replied with a smirk, looking over at Hayden who in turn grinned.

"Hell yeah." She and Eli stated, the smirk audible in their voices.

—

Hawk handed her a handful of Snickers bars, winking at her. "Your favorite, right?" He walked off through the aisles of the mini mart, obviously expecting her to follow.

"How'd you know that?" Hayden asked curiously, watching him scan the aisles for more snacks.

He got distracted quickly, staring at the selection of chips. "Um," He picked up the Hot Cheetos bag, "You said it."

"I did?"

"Yep," He handed the bag to Bert, adding to the other junk Bert was balancing all in his arms. "Math class. A long time ago. I don't remember when."

"Math class?" Hayden raised a brow.

"Yep," He avoided her gaze, picking up a second bag of chips and handing it to Bert again.

Hayden couldn't help but smile at his nervous rambling. "Right. Math class," she murmured, deciding not to press him further. His ears were already tinged pink, and the slight flush amused her more than anything.

Aisha spoke up and Hawk took it as his opportunity to slip away before he could be further questions. "All right, make sure to stock up good. I'm inviting everyone."

She picked up ten different cases of pringles, shoving those in Bert's arms as well, "'VIP only,' my ass." She scoffed.

Hayden chuckled, walking over to Aisha and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You know what?" Aisha nodded at her, "I like you more and more everyday."

Aisha chuckled, shaking her head at the girl.

"I still don't understand how we're gonna buy alcohol." Demetri whispered to the girls, earning a scoff from Hawk.

"Oh, please." He walked over to the cooler, "Never underestimate the power of the Hawk." He grabbed a pack of beers from the cooler.

"Oh god," Hayden held her head in one hand, shaking it slightly. Her gaze drifted over, furrowing his brows at the sight of Miguel outside the mini mart, typing away on his phone obsessively. "I'll be back." She called out.

Miguel didn't notice her until she stopped in front of him, arms crossed. "Dude." She gestured to his phone, her voice gentle but firm. "This?" She pointed at the screen, where a long string of unanswered texts to Sam lit up.

Miguel sighed, rubbing his face. "I just— I don't know. This relationship... it feels like I'm putting in more than she ever has."

Hayden gave a sad smile, looking at her feet. "I know it feels like that—"

"It is that. It doesn't feel like it. It is it." Miguel turned his phone off, going to put it in his back pocket when Hayden reached out, gently taking his phone from his hand. Miguel blinked in surprise, goosebumps rising at her unexpected touch.

"Here's the deal," she said, her voice soft but resolute. "You're not doing this to yourself tonight. We're throwing a whole party, and you're standing out here, miserable. So." She slipped the phone into her pocket. "You'll get this back at the end of the night. Now come inside and watch Hawk embarrass himself trying to buy beer with a fake ID."

For the first time that night, Miguel laughed—a genuine, warm sound. "Okay, okay. I'll bite."

Miguel let out a laugh, letting Hayden take his hand and drag him back inside where Hawk was pointing at Bert. "That's my freakin' kid right there,"

Hayden laughed quietly, Miguel joining her as they exchanged glances and looked back at Hawk.

"Yeah, I still need to see it. It's required by law."

"Oh yeah, for sure. Just upholding the law." Hawk spoke nervously, digging into his back pocket. "It's all good." He handed him the fake ID.

The cashier examined it, flickering his gaze from the ID to Hawk for a moment before shrugging and handing the ID back. "Whatever,"

Hawk glanced back at them, sticking his tongue out in excitement and looking back at the cashier. "How about eight bottles of that vodka right there?"

Hayden shook her head, laughter bubbling in her chest. "This is going to be a disaster."

Miguel leaned closer, a spark of something lighter in his eyes. "Yeah, but at least it'll be a memorable one."

—

So, the way Hayden knew the party had started was that Demetri texted some of his chess club friends, who texted some of their robotics friends, who texted some of their mathlete's friends, who then texted their decathlon friends. And before you knew it, you had a party full of nerds.

But Hawk had also invited some of his own friends and Aisha invited the whole Cobra Kai team. And Hayden invited some of her girlfriends as well.

"Look, I'm sure she'll show up eventually, okay?" Hayden said to Miguel, who nodded slowly. "For now, we're at a party with plenty of alcohol. So, lay back and let loose." The girl gave him a hard stare, sternness in her voice. She was demanding him, not asking.

"Yeah, okay." He muttered with a sigh, throwing his head back as he blew out a puff of air. She responded by leaning down, taking a beer from the cooler and placing it in his hand.

He stared at the bottle as if it were so foreign in his hands, spinning it around slightly. Hayden watched in amusement, taking the bottle and cracking it open herself, handing it back.

"Bottoms up," She teased, raising the bottle to his mouth so the rim of it grazed his lips slightly, the cool glass brushing his lips gently.

Their eyes locked, and for a long moment, neither of them moved. Miguel finally attached his lips to the bottle and took a swig of the beer.

But then, he sputtered, his face twisting at the taste.

"Yeah," Hayden said, her voice low and teasing. "Beer's not exactly gourmet, but it gets the job done."

Miguel wiped at his mouth, glaring at the bottle like it had betrayed him. "That's one way to put it."

Hayden laughed, the sound light and breathy as she leaned in closer. "Guess you're not a beer guy, huh?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he held her gaze, his lips curling into a smirk as he brought the bottle back to his mouth. This time, he took another sip, slow and deliberate, his eyes never leaving hers.

Hayden's grin faltered for just a second, her heart skipping at the subtle shift in his demeanor. When he finished, he tilted the bottle slightly, arching a brow as if daring her to say something.

"Not bad," he murmured, his voice a touch deeper now. The alcohol must've given him a kick of confidence, because he had now taken the bottle and did the same thing to her, leaning the bottle Hayden's way and grazing the rim of it across her lips, dragging her lower lip out slightly.

Hayden stared at him, arching a brow before taking the bottle and taking a swig herself.

"Not bad, Sanders."

"Back at you, Diaz."

—

A few hours had passed and by now, Hayden had downed a few shots, danced a little bit, and now she sat in front of the fire, needing a moment for herself.

"Hey,"

She looked at the person who sat next to her, giving a small smile when she saw it was Hawk. "Hi, Eli." She murmured, staring at the fire.

"Not having fun?" He questioned, handing her a beer which she gladly took a swig from.

She lifted her shoulders, "No, I am. I just... just needed a breather."

Hawk nodded, leaning back on his hands. "I'm surprised so many people showed."

Hayden chuckled, shaking her head. "Yeah, it's a good turnout. You should be proud."

"Oh, totally," he said, puffing out his chest dramatically. "Throwing a legendary party and making sure Bert doesn't cry from carrying all the snacks? I'm a hero."

Hayden snorted, taking a sip of her beer. "You're something, alright."

They sat in companionable silence for a moment, the crackle of the fire filling the space between them. Hayden glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, noticing the way the firelight danced across his face.

"You're the only one who still calls me Eli, you know," he said suddenly, his voice quieter now.

Hayden kept her gaze on the fire. "Does that bother you?"

He shook his head slowly, staring into the fire. "No. Maybe it should... I don't mind it coming from you." He admitted honestly.

She nodded slowly, "I like Eli." She spoke slowly, "Hawk is... he's cool to look at, but Eli was... He was just as cool to me."

Hawk turned to look at her, his expression unreadable. For a moment, Hayden wondered if she offended him, but then he smiled—soft and genuine.

"You always know what to say," he murmured.

Hayden felt her cheeks warm, though she wasn't sure if it was from the fire or his words. She looked away, taking another sip of her beer.

The sudden feeling of Hawk's fingertips under her chin caught her off guard, her face turned to the side and lips connecting with Hawk's in a sudden kiss.

Her eyes widened, feeling Hawk's lips move against her own before she pulled away quickly, standing up abruptly.

He followed suit, mouth hung open. "I'm sorry— I thought that—"

Hayden wiped her hands on her jeans, biting her lower lip. "You're my best friend, Eli." She shook her head, "I think you're a great guy and I think you deserve someone better than me."

Hawk hung his head at that, nodding after a moment. "Right."

Before she could respond, a loud crash came from behind them. Both turned to see a group of kids stumbling over a pile of discarded beer cans, laughing hysterically. One of them was Miguel, his laughter louder than the rest.

Hayden sighed, setting her beer down. "I better make sure he doesn't do something stupid."

Hawk nodded, staring at the fire."Yeah, you go do that."

"We'll talk later?" Hayden raised a brow at him.

"Mhm," was all she got for a response.

She hesitated, glancing back at him. "You okay?"

He nodded, lifting his beer in a mock toast. "Go save your boy, Sanders."

Hayden rolled her eyes but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips. She walked over to Miguel, who was now attempting to balance on a rock, his arms flailing as he laughed.

"Miguel," she called, crossing her arms. "Get down before you break something."

He turned toward her, his grin wide and carefree. "Hayden! There you are. You're missing the fun!"

"I'm not missing anything," she said, grabbing his arm to steady him. "Come on, let's sit down before you fall on your face."

Miguel allowed her to guide him away from the rock, his laughter tapering off into a contented sigh. "You're always looking out for me," he said, his voice softer now.

"Someone has to," she replied, leading him to a quieter spot away from the crowd.

Miguel lifted the beer can to his lips, sipping it slowly.  "You sure you should be having another one?" asked Hayden with a raised brow.

Miguel blatantly cut off her off as soon as she finished her sentence, burping obnoxiously loud. "Yeah, t's fine, Hayden." He slurred out, putting a forceful hand on her shoulder. "But thanks." He whispered a bit too close to her face. His breath smelled of Cheetos and beer.

Hayden shut her eyes as he spoke in her face, scrunching her nose in disgust. She opened her eyes to reveal Miguel stumbling away once again, making her throw her head back. "Fuck," She muttered, knowing she was going to have to follow him around.

Miguel, for all his drunken stumblings, moved surprisingly fast. By the time she spotted him weaving through the crowd, she had to jog to catch up.

When she finally reached him, she bent over with her hands on her knees, catching her breath. "For someone wasted, you- you get around pretty fast." She said breathlessly, placing a hand on her chest as she stood straighter.

They stood in front of the bonfire, Miguel now with a red solo cup that Hayden stared at with a concerned expression. Miguel didn't have to look at her to feel the worry radiating off her, "It's water. Don't worry."

Hayden nodded, pursing her lips at the fire in front of them. She knew Miguel was disappointed that Sam never showed.

"It'll all turn out fine with Sam, you know." She started, looking over at the boy.

"I'm not so sure about that." He muttered, his words slurred and his lids half closed.

Hayden didn't try to convince him otherwise, knowing just as much that the relationship clearly wasn't working out. And who was she to convince her friend to stay in a shitty relationship otherwise?

Miguel took another sip of his water before looking up, something catching his eye. Hayden followed his gaze, narrowing her eyes in on what, or who, he was looking at. Her brows shot up at the sight of Samantha LaRusso and Robby Keene descending the hill to the party, not missing the way Robby held Sam's hand all the way down the hill, giggling at one another.

She clenched her jaw, looking back down at the fire. The familiar feeling of an ache in her stomach making her crack her neck to compose herself, digging her fingernails into her palms once again.

Miguel tossed his solo cup off somewhere, storming over to where the two stood and Hayden followed him with her eyes, not making any movement to follow him.

This smelled like exactly what she was supposed to be avoiding. Drama. This is exactly why she wanted to keep her distance from everyone, and yet, here she was. Physically involved, and emotionally involved.

She took a few steps in their direction with her arms crossed, getting close enough to hear the confrontation. "Who's this guy?" She can hear Miguel ask as he approached them.

"This.. this is your boyfriend?" Robby asked Sam, raising a brow.

"Yeah," She answered Robby, turning to Miguel. "Miguel, relax. This is Robby. He works for my dad." She reassured, taking a small step forward.

"Oh, with your dad. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense." He replied dryly, looking between the two.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam frowned, "Wait, have you been drinking?"

Miguel seemed slightly offended by the question at first, scoffing before giving shaking his head. "You don't get to turn this on me. I texted and called you all day, and you couldn't answer me back once?" Miguel began to raise his voice, drawing the attention of others around them.

"No, I literally couldn't! My mom took my phone." Sam continued explaining herself to Miguel.

"Oh, that's so convenient!" Miguel cut her off, sarcasm laced in his voice.

Robby took a step forward, "Hey, man. Just—" He tried cutting in before Miguel cut him off, pushing him back harshly. "You get out of here."

As soon as things got physical, Hayden could feel herself step forward like an instinct. She stepped in front of Miguel, holding him back. "Stop, stop, stop." She said, holding Miguel's shoulders back.

"Miguel, stop it!" Sam shouted as Robby scrambled back up.

"Hey, man, you wanna try that again?" He stepped up to Miguel again, not noticing Hayden with the adrenaline running through his veins

Although Miguel didn't take him seriously considering he laughed as if it were foolish of Robby to even ask.

"Try that again?" He swung, only his fist completely missed Robby and landed on the side of Hayden's face, sending her tumbling back and taking Sam down with her.

Hayden felt the impact of the punch pretty clearly, holding the side of her cheek and feeling the metallic tang of blood fill her mouth. "Fuck." She muttered, holding her hand up to her cheek. She spit out the blood, wiping her lip.

"Shit, Hayden, I'm sorry." Miguel tried to help the two girls and while Hayden accepted the help, Sam only swatted his hand away in anger.

It was then that Robby noticed Hayden's presence, his hardened gaze softening as he immediately extended a hand out to help her up. Hayden coldly dismissed it, only taking Miguel's as she stood up.

"God, you asshole!" Sam stood up, "What the hell was that?" She shouted at Miguel.

Hayden held her cheek, the blood coming at a nonstop pace and metallic taste making her scrunch her nose in disgust.

"My dad was right about Cobra Kai." Sam frowned, "Good luck at the tournament. I won't be there." She stormed off.

Hayden felt Robby's gaze burning into the top of her head, and she finally looked at him, arching a brow. "So, Sam got her phone taken away which is why she hadn't responded today. What's your excuse for the past three days?"

Robby was caught off guard with the question, and Miguel flickered his gaze between the two in confusion on how they knew each other but remained silent. "Seems like you have all the company you could need, anyway." He responded, flickering his gaze to Miguel and back to Hayden.

"That's not an answer."

His jaw tightened, "I've been busy."

Hayden gave a breathless scoff, looking off to the side. "Know what, Robby? You're busy, you say that in a three-word text, you don't drop off the face of the Earth for three days."

Robby's face flashed with a hint of guilt, but it disappeared just as quick. "I figured you were too busy having dinner with this guy's family to care."

Hayden's face fell slightly, raising a brow. "How'd you even know that?"

"I came over that night. I saw you at the dinner table." He spoke with a clenched jaw, remembering how he had moved his gaze from Hayden to Miguel to Johnny. Flashes of seeing Miguel sit at a table with a loving family, his dad, and the girl he wanted was enough to make his blood boil.

Hayden's jaw tightened, "Well, I hear you've been enjoying a few dinners of your own." She shot back, eyes dark as she stared at him.

Robby face fell for a moment, a flicker of recognition crossing his face to the LaRusso dinner he was just at. "Guess we're both disappointed then, Sanders. See you around."

Hayden stared at his back as he watched away, feeling someone take her hand in theirs's. She looked up, seeing Miguel pry her fingernails out of her palm.

She had somehow managed to break skin, punctures in the shapes of her fingernails in her palms now. She didn't feel it, though.

She didn't feel anything as she watched Robby get in Sam's car and drive off.

authors note.
Long chapter guys :,) I love drama so much so hopefully yall like this one and I'll probably start the next one tomorrow yaay