HAYDEN TYPICALLY WASN'T A NOSY PERSON.

She considered herself a reserved person who minded her own business ninety nine percent of the time. She stayed out of other people's way, and they stayed out of hers. She was simple like that.

But when she and Miguel were working on a project together for english and he couldn't stop checking his phone and smiling at it every now and then, she'd eventually got fed up. She forced a smile, "Maybe your little friend can help do your part of the project, they'll probably get more work done than you have in the last hour."

Miguel looked up, noticing Hayden's narrowed gaze at him and putting his phone. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll stop." He picked up the glue gun, gluing props onto the board. Their assignment was to choose a character from The Great Gatsby and create a board for them.

They chose Daisy Buchanan, the shallow, wealthy socialite. Miguel's choice.

"Who's blowing you up anyway?" Hayden asked while coloring in a money sign, trying her hardest to keep her voice nonchalant.

"Sam. She's at this country club and she said there's some guy who got kicked out for trying to impersonate The Rock." He snorted, typing another quick response before setting his phone down.

Hayden stared at the poster board, ignoring the tightness she was feeling in her stomach. "The country club," She scoffed, "Typical rich girl activity."

Miguel let out a sigh. "Look, I know you guys started off on the wrong foot but you should give her another chance. I think you guys could be really good friends actually—"

She was quick to cut him off, "Sorry, did I miss the thousands of apologies she's made?"

Miguel looked taken aback, "What?"

"Did I happen to miss an apology letter in the mail? A pigeon carrier? Fruit basket? Banner on a plane?"

Once Miguel finally realized Hayden was being sarcastic, he nodded, looking off to the side. "Okay, I get it. I just thought maybe it'd be nice if you guys could get along for my sake."

Hayden stuck a fake flower onto the board, along with some light pink feathers to decorate it. "Why your sake? We could coexist just fine as long as she leaves me the fuck alone."

"Well, I was, maybe, thinking of asking her out..." Oh. "And I thought you could give me some pointers?"

Hayden snorted, looking up at Miguel and dropping her smile when seeing his nervous expression. "Oh, you're serious?"

"I'm not good at the whole girl thing, if you couldn't already tell." He played with his fingers, "I just— I don't know what to say or how to say it. I need your help,"

Hayden looked down at her lap, shaking her head. "I don't think—" She began to let out her string of excuses on why she wasn't the person for this kind of thing.

"Please," He cut her off, sending her a pleading look. "You're the only one I trust to give me sane advice that wouldn't send Sam running for the hills."

Hayden wanted to say no with every ounce in her body, and she never had an issue ever saying no. Except for when it came to Miguel for some reason.

She groaned, rolling her eyes and setting her fake flowers down. "Fine," She muttered turning her body to face Miguel. "Here. Pretend I'm Sam," Miguel sent her a skeptical look. "Practice what you'd say to her to me and I'll tell you if I'd punch you in the face or let you take me out."

Miguel nodded, gathering himself. He sucked in a breath before starting, "Hey, S-Sam."

Hayden purposely made her voice high and girly-like, "Oh, hi, Miguel!" She responded how she felt Sam would: obnoxious and annoying.

"So, I was thinking... I don't know, we've been talking for a while.." He stared into Hayden's eyes, tilting his head slightly. "And I think you're really cool, and funny. I laugh so much around you," Miguel scooted a bit closer to her.

Hayden's smile slightly faltered, forgetting that she was supposed to be playing a part and not reacting as Hayden but as Sam. That's who he wanted her to be, anyway.

But what she didn't know was that even Miguel had forgotten who she was supposed to be. "And I think you might be the coolest person I know. I feel comfortable talking to you, getting to know you, and I would like to keep getting to know you."

Hayden bit the inside of her cheek harshly, hoping it'd mask the rosy tint that she knew was rising in her cheeks.

"So, what I'm asking is if you wanna go out with me, maybe?"

A beat of silence washed over them and Hayden quickly snapped out of her daze, looking down at her lap. Miguel blinked, having also forgotten that this was merely practice for the real thing.

"That wasn't half bad, Diaz." She nervously chuckled, patting his back. "I think Sam would be an idiot if she said anything other than yes."

Miguel didn't smile when Hayden gave him the green light to ask Sam out, didn't even give a nod of acknowledgment. It only hurt him, deep down. Because in the back of his head, he knew there was still something lingering for Hayden.

Hayden raised a brow at him, seeing the gears turning in Miguel's head and nodding at him as a question. "You wanna know what the funny thing is?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the girl.

Hayden was silent before she spoke up. "What?"

"I wanted to ask you out when I first met you," He admitted it like it was something he had been wanting to get off his chest for a while now. "But I knew that you didn't see me like that and I realized I was in over my head." He laughed it off awkwardly, picking up his pencil.

Hayden didn't know what to respond to that, knowing she should've felt some type of relief that Miguel finally got the hint that she didn't want to get any closer to him than she already had. So why the hell was she so disappointed?

"I like having you as a friend, anyway." Miguel spoke up after a moment of silence, outlining the words that were written on the board. "I'd rather have you in that way than in no way at all."

They spent the rest of the time working in silence, while Hayden's heart quietly shattered.

—

Hayden wanted and needed a job.

Sure, her mom was slowly bringing in money from her job, but Hayden had always been an independent person. She liked making her own money and spending it however she wanted.

She learned from a young age that depending on others was a bad idea. You should never lean on people for money, food, health, or anything of the sort.

Earn it yourself. Because those same people you depend on can disappear in the snap of your fingers.

Hayden would know.

"Hi, I'm here because I saw your mechanics ad online. Wanted to turn my resume in in-person and maybe talk to a manager or something?" She smiled warmly at the woman at the front desk.

The woman looked up from her computer, eyes widening at the teenage girl. "You're awfully young for this position, no?"

Hayden refrained from clenching jaw, grinding her teeth together subtly before laughing softly. Another thing she learned in South LA? How to play her cards right. Make people think of her differently, see her differently than she wanted. Manipulation at her fingertips was easy work.

"I promise, I'm more than qualified. I've got years of experience under my belt." She responded brightly, holding her resume to show the woman how thick it was.

"I'll do you one better. How about I fetch one of the owners?" The woman, Sheila her name tag said, stood with a beaming smile.

"Great, thanks."

Hayden looked around the place, huffing quietly. Maybe it made her a hypocrite to diss Sam's dad to her face and then go to his very company for a job.

But she knew cars. Cars was what she was good at, from a young age, she could fix them up. Her uncle Eric taught her everything about cars, from replacing her tires to changing the oil to repairing transmissions and rebuilding engines. She loved taking fixer-upper cars and turning them to something that will at least get you from point A to point B. She loved doing it with her uncle, but he moved to Mexico.

A woman in a pencil skirt and heels came clicking out, a bright smile on her face. "Hi, I'm Amanda Larusso, and you are?"

"Hayden Sanders, ma'am." She held her hand out, giving a polite smile.

"Oh my god, ma'am makes me feel old. Amanda is fine, honey."

"Mrs. LaRusso." Hayden settled on, knowing that her mom would somehow hear her disrespecting an older woman and smack her for it. "I just wanted to give you my resume and maybe answer any questions about the mechanic position?"

Amanda took the resume, looking it over for a few minutes. Occasionally, her brows would shoot up and Hayden wondered if that were a good thing or a bad thing.

"This is.. this is really impressive, Hayden." She finally murmured after what felt like forever.

"Thank you, Mrs. LaRusso." She smiled, a sense of pride surging in her heart at someone recognizing her accomplishments.

"You really built an entire engine from scratch?" Amanda gave a look of disbelief, raising her brows at her.

"I did." She nodded, "Sold that same car to a mom and her teenage daughter. They were kinda struggling financially, and it was a birthday gift, so I sold it for cheap." Hayden would never forget the appreciation that gleamed in their eyes, driving away in the car.

"Well, I'd love to offer you the job, Hayden. Let me, actually, introduce you to my husband." She nodded her head to the side, leading her to the office of Mr. Daniel LaRusso, who sat at his desk sifting through paperwork.

"Let yourself in, I'm gonna make a quick phone call." Amanda whispered to the girl before walking off without waiting for a response.

"But I don't—" she began but Amanda was gone before she could finish her sentence. She lingered in the doorway for a while, Daniel being too indulged in his work to notice her. He flickered his gaze up once, making a double take when he noticed the teenage girl standing in his office.

"Oh— hi? Um, do you need help finding anything? We have salesmen out somewhere—" He stood from his chair, pointing outside which was his nice way of telling her to get out of his office.

"Um, no. I just spoke with your wife, and I think I'm your new mechanic?" She looked back at the door, as if she'd see Amanda there, but when she didn't, she looked back at Daniel with a small smile.

"You are? How..how old are you, if you don't mind me asking?" He looked her up and down, the skepticism clear in his eyes.

"I could tell you, but then I'd ask for your age. Is that something you'd like to discuss?" Hayden tilted her head at him pointedly.

Daniel, taken aback by Hayden's bluntness, chuckled breathlessly. Immediately, she reminded him of himself when he was younger. Sarcastic and witty at a young age.

He walked around the desk, leaning against the front of it. "Okay, maybe not. How about a name, then."

"Hayden Sanders, Mr. LaRusso."

He nodded, folding his hands in his lap. "How are you liking it here so far, Hayden?"

"It's okay," She shrugged.

"You familiar with the LaRusso business?"

"I'm familiar with 'kicking the competition,' yes." She shot him a smile that was sweet only on the surface, with a hint of mockery lurking underneath.

"Not a fan of our ads?" Daniel raised a brow.

"Just think they're a little excessive."

"Meaning?"

Hayden gave a half laugh, half scoff sound. "Okay, on my way to school, roughly a seven minute drive, fifteen minutes if I'm skateboarding, I counted three billboards, six flyers, and like three business card."

Daniel gave a breathless laugh, "Too much?"

"Just a little."

Daniel didn't seem to mind Hayden's blunt nature, in fact, he encouraged her strongly formed opinions because everyone else seemed to shy away from giving them since he was their boss.

The corner of Daniel's lips quirked up, nodding. "I think we'll get along just fine, Hayden." He stood from the desk, exiting his desk and signaling her to follow.

Now that Hayden had met both Amanda and Daniel, she was beginning to wonder how two amazingly polite people could raise such a bitter human being named Sam.

"Robby, I've brought company."

The name made Hayden look up, seeing that Daniel led her to one of the back rooms, filled with tiny trees and Robby Keene. She raised her brows, a smile growing on her lips.

"Hayden?"

"Nice tree, Robby. I think you forgot to cut that branch off, though." She pointed at one of the remaining branches left on the tree and Robby rolled his eyes, gently shoving her.

"What're you doing here?" Daniel could see the happiness practically radiating out of Robby when he'd seen Hayden. It made him smile, flickering his gaze between the two.

"You're looking at LaRusso Auto's newest mechanic." She replied with a laugh, taking a seat next to him and looking at all the mini trees, then to Mr. LaRusso. "What's with all the mini trees?" She pointed at them.

"Their bonsai trees. You guys are gonna cut them." Daniel picked up a pair of scissors, dragging one of the mini trees in front of him and snipping each branch as precisely as possible.

"I'm sorry, I suck at this." Robby pointed at his tree, "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't get it."

Daniel sent a reassuring smile to the teen. "Don't worry. I didn't get it either at first. Mr. Miyagi had to teach me." He picked up the tree, analyzing it for a moment. 

"Mr. Miyagi, that's the dude who taught you kata, right?" Robby asked.

"Yeah, he was, uh, a pretty special dude. He taught me a lot." He put the tree down, looking at the two teens. "Now what you've gotta do is close your eyes, get everything out of your head."

Hayden and Robby glanced at each other one more time before she shrugged and closed her eyes, Robby following suit. "The only thing you can see is the tree. Think only the tree. Then, you visualize what you want that tree to look like, and you make it happen. That's it."

She reopened her eyes, making eye contact with Robby. He didn't mean to stare, but he wasn't embarrassed he got caught either. He smiled at her, picking up his scissors and cutting a little more precisely this time.

"There you go," Daniel nodded.

"So, this is obviously some kind of metaphor. The tree's like my feelings or something." Robby arched a brow at Daniel.

Hayden snorted, finally deciding to pick up her own scissors and cut tiny pieces of the tree off. She was positive this wasn't in her job description as the new mechanic, but Daniel was her boss, and she wasn't exactly in the position to say no to her boss.

Plus, for the first time in a really long time, Hayden felt herself relax for a moment. Like she could let herself unwind and not be so angry.

She was always angry these days.

"Well, you guys are the tree. You guys have strong roots. You know who you are, right?" Hayden thought about the question, looking down at her lap. She didn't even know what she was going to have for dinner tonight. "So now all you've gotta do is visualize what you want your future to look like, and then you make it happen." Daniel smiled, patting Hayden's back and picking his tree up, walking out of the room. 

Hayden realized she didn't know what she wanted her future to look like. She'd never given it much thought. She'd always imagined herself working a nine to five like her mom. The curse that had been inflicted on her family, the fear of never being enough coming true. The cycle that could never be broken.

Robby noticed Hayden's unusual silence, looking over. "Hey, what's wrong?" He frowned.

"I've just.." She paused for a moment, catching herself.

It was like an alert her body sent to her brain, letting her know that she's dangerously close to letting her guard down, her walls down, everything she's worked so hard to build crashing down once she opens her mouth. Like if she were to share her innermost thoughts and feelings, she'd betray everything she's ever believed in.

There was also that voice in the back of her head. The small, taunting voice that told her if she opened up to anyone, she'd lose. Lose her pride, her dignity, and her independence. Her independence was very important to her.

She'd slowly start to believe that hope was a reality for her, and that she didn't have to do it all by herself. That she could rely on someone to help cope with her feelings and maybe even help her overcome her sense of hopelessness, rage, and grief.

So as quickly as she opened her mouth, she snapped it shut. "Nothing, just thinking." She muttered, cutting some more leaves from the branches.

"You sure?" Robby furrowed.

"Yup," She nodded, avoiding eye contact with the boy and keeping her eyes solely trained on the plant.

She could tell Robby was going to start prying for an answer, but he didn't get the chance to when his phone went off and he checked who it was. Hayden noticed Robby's face drop at the message he'd received from Trey and Cruz, unbeknownst to her, and bit her cheek. "Ex-girlfriend?" She raised a brow.

Robby looked up at the girl, quickly playing off his annoyance with a laugh. "Jealous?" He playfully asked, shoving his phone back into his jean pocket.

"Nope, confused."

Robby tilted his head at her, a line forming between his brows in confusion.

"I just don't know how you managed to get any women to date you at all." She shrugged nonchalantly, but broke out in laughs when Robby pushed her gently, rolling his eyes at her.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll see about that, Sanders." He winked at her, a subtle reminder that whatever was between them was still very much alive."

Hayden shook her head in amusement, continuing to cut her bonsai tree.

authors note.
To all the women who are fearing for themselves after what a week it's been, I love you. You are never alone and you are so near and dear to my heart. Pls never forget that my loves. And if you voted for a racist, misogynistic rapist, pls log off and never read my stories again.