CHAPTER 12

A couple of weeks later and Miguel had all but forgotten about the interview. His life was moving too fast for him to be hung up on past events. Instead, now that he had put all of his college applications out of the way, he could focus fully on training. Johnny's training regimen had three clear parts: strength, speed and skill. The four students had finally finished part 1, so speed was their next goal. This part was a lot more fun. Demitri had managed to hook them up with speedometer technology so they were able to track their speed gains and push themselves harder. They worked on a trail at the edge of Reseda, running a 400m sprint down a path and timing their speed. Aisha was the slowest by quite some margain, Demitri was next, Sam was next, and Miguel was by far he fastest. Speed was the one thing he could really take pride in in training. He had been running his whole life, both literally and figuratively. That night, the 6 rebels were gathered in the Larusso house and were analysing their heart rate and their speed statistics. They were watching Miguel's run and Demitri whistled as Miguel charged through the finish line at a blazing pace on the video.

"Dude, that was insane!" Demitri exclaimed.

"Yeah, tonight was the fastest you've ever run." Sam stated.

"Yes, your training is paying off. The 4 of yours' speeds are going to be key in fighting at a numbers disadvantage." Daniel said.

"I can still get faster. I know I can." Miguel remarked, determined.

"And you will one day I'm sure. But for today, I'd say you've fulfilled your speed quota." Daniel replied. "Proper rest is what you need, as do we all."

"Better yet, what we all need is a proper drink. Who's up a round?!" Aisha asked.

"Sorry, it's Iron Eagle franchise marathon night with Johnny. I can't. But I'll see you guys tomorrow, all right?" Miguel said.

"Ok. Bye!" Sam called as Miguel left the house.

"Night!" Miguel called back. Demitri also had to leave, leaving just Aisha and Sam left in the house.

"What about you? Drinks on me? I can get us into a bar pretty easily." Aisha asked.

"I think I'll pass." Sam replied.

"You know what your problem is?" Aisha remarked. Sam shrugged.

"I don't know. What?" Sam asked.

"You need to live a little." Aisha stated. Sam's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"What I just said. You need some hobbies. Some passions. You don't really have a life." Aisha remarked.

"I do too!" Sam exclaimed, indignantly.

"I don't know, Sam. Doesn't seem like you do. Anyways, see you tomorrow. Good night!" Aisha said as she left the house. Sam scowled to herself. She did too have a life!

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A couple of days later, Sam and Miguel were at the Larusso house, analysing each other's running techniques and using Demitri's near unlimited technology to try and improve

"So if you look at the angle your body is here and maybe lean a couple of degrees more downwards, it could actually have a major effect on your speed." Sam pointed. Miguel nodded and looked at her. He read her body and her facial expressions and could immediately tell something was wrong.

"Something bothering you?" He asked, concerned. Although they weren't about to get together, Sam was definitely one of his best friends. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you ask that?" She asked.

"You're doing that biting-your-lower-lip thing you do when something's bothering you." Miguel stated. He could practically always tell what Sam was thinking based on her body language. She was pretty expressive in that way. Him on the other hand was like a brick wall, showing no emotion on the outside whatsoever. Sam blushed.

"I'm-I'm fine." Sam replied.

"Okay." Miguel nodded, not convinced.

"Aisha says I don't have a life!" Sam blurted out suddenly. Miguel chuckled.

"I mean… you don't, do you?" He said.

"I do!" She exclaimed. "I cook and I eat. And I read and I train with you."

"So… what you're saying is you do everything that has nothing to do with having a life." Miguel pointed out.

"You don't have to be rude about it!" Sam laughed.

"Hey, I'm not doing any better than you." Miguel admitted. "My social life consists of training with you guys and Netflix."

"We are quite the pair, Mr. Diaz." She remarked.

"Yes we are, Ms. Larusso." He agreed. "Okay, this is just sad. We're doing something tonight! We're going out to a bar, and we're drinking! LOTS!"

"Deal." Sam laughed.

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That night, Miguel sat at an extremely rough karaoke bar and watched the god-awful singer at the front. He was still waiting for Sam to show up. She was half an hour late but he really hoped she showed up because he felt like both of them needed the stress relief. Finally, when Miguel was about to leave, the door to the bar swung open and in stepped a gorgeous brunette in a skin-tight sparkly dress. Miguel had to blink twice to realise that it was actually Sam and had to close his mouth to prevent himself from drooling. Sam smiled and walked over to him.

"Hey." She said. Miguel didn't say anything. He was still slightly in shock at how knock-out gorgeous she was. "What?" She asked, noticing his peculiar expression.

"Oh, uh… nothing. Uh… you look… really nice." Miguel stammered.

"I don't always dress like a high school principal." Sam laughed. Miguel chuckled.

"You know, I was thinking. What is wrong with us?!" He exclaimed. "We're in our late teenage years. We should be having fun! We should meet people! Go on lots of dates! Instead what? We do karate and watch Netflix!"

Sam raised her glass.

"Well, here's to liquid courage." She stated and downed the sipping whiskey all in one gulp, coughing furiously after.

"Woah… that is… very fast." Miguel remarked. "You drank all of it!"

"Excuse me!" Sam called to the bartender. "I would like to start a tab!"

Miguel raised an eyebrow at her and saw her already slightly drunken smile. He chuckled to himself and made a note not to drink too much himself. He could tell that it was going to be a fun night, even without him consuming too much as he knew that Sam was about to drink the bar dry.

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Two hours later and he was absolutely right. Sam was insanely drunk and had just wandered towards the bathroom, he was presuming. Miguel then walked up to the bar.

"Hey. Could I get a water, please?" He asked the bartender. The bartender ignored him, presumably because he wasn't a hot girl, which seemed to be the only kind of person the bartender served. "Yo! Excuse me. For real?"

"MR. MIGUEL DIAZ!" A voice suddenly called from the front of the room. Miguel turned around to see Sam standing on stage, one of the karaoke mics in her hands. "Come on down! Or up! Come up here with me!"

Miguel shook his head. Even in his sober state, there was NO WAY he was getting up there and singing.

"Oh, come show them what you got!" Sam exclaimed, slurring her words in her drunkenness. "Come on! Miguel! Miguel! Miguel!"

Soon, the whole bar was chanting his name.

"MIGUEL! MIGUEL! MIGUEL!" The whole bar joined in. Miguel sighed. He didn't have much of a choice. He trudged towards the front of the room and over to Sam and the mic.

"Oh, look at him go! He's so fast!" Sam exclaimed.

"You know, I'm not much of a singer. And you're not much of a drinker." Miguel remarked.

"We are gonna bring this place down!" She exclaimed.

"Okay. Just… calm down." Miguel laughed. The backing track to Summer Nights came on moments later and Miguel prepared to sing with Sam.

Sam:

Summer loving had me a blast

Summer loving happened so fast

Sam's singing was absolutely awful. She was extremely drunk and it was hilarious for the whole bar to listen to her sing and cringe and laugh.

Miguel:

I met a girl crazy for me

Miguel on the hand, was actually an incredible singer. He had been through true horrors in the past and singing had always been a coping mechanism for him.

Sam:

I met a boy, cute as can be

Miguel:

Summer days, driftin away

Together:

To, uh, oh, those summer nights

Sam:

Well-a, well-a, well-a, uhhhhh

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"You're smart, you're fit and you can sing? What can't do you?!" Sam exclaimed once they were done singing. They walked back to the bar, where Sam picked up another drink and downed it.

"Stop you from drinking, apparently." Miguel laughed.

"I'm not even sure that was mine." Sam giggled. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Okay. See ya." Miguel said. Sam walked over to the bathroom, leaving just Miguel at the bar alone. "All right. Can I close out my tab, please?" He asked the bartender. The bartender once again ignored him. Suddenly, an extremely attractive girl walked over to the bar and glared at the bartender.

"Hey, Stevie! Can my friend here tap out?" She snapped. Stevie, the bartender, nodded.

"Sure thing, Linda." He replied, before walking away to bring Miguel the charge. Miguel turned to Linda, the girl, and smiled at her. She couldn't have been much older than him.

"Uh, thank you, Linda." He said.

"You're welcome, Miguel." She replied. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Um… how do you know my name?" He asked.

"Miguel! Miguel! Miguel!" She chanted quietly, referring to a couple of minutes ago. Miguel laughed, slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah. Uh, sorry about us up there. We're not very good."

"Are you kidding? No, that was some of the best singing that I've heard come from that stage. You definitely made my ears happy. Don't worry." She said.

"Thanks." Miguel laughed.

"So, are you another sneak-in, too?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Miguel asked.

"You 17? 18?" She asked. Miguel laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. Is it that obvious?" He chuckled.

"What can I say? Game recognises game. I'm 18 too." She replied. "So, uh, was that your girlfriend up there?"

"Oh, um… no. Um… she's a friend." Miguel stammered. There was a brief awkward silence between the two for a moment, before Linda wrote her number on a nearby napkin.

"Here is my number. What you do with it now is up to you." She smiled before walking away. Finn nodded, smiled and pocketed the number. Moments later, Sam stumbled over to him.

"Miguel, I don't feel so good." Sam slurred, looking extremely pale. Miguel nodded and stood up.

"OK. Come on. Let's go." He said, urgently. The two of them rushed out of the bar and Sam hurled in the outside garbage can, Miguel holding her hair back and rubbing her back gently.

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Fifteen minutes later, they had made it back to the Larusso house. Thankfully, Daniel and Amanda were on a short getaway to Palm Springs and Anthony was sleeping so they made it into the house, unseen. Miguel led her up to her room.

"Are we still driving?" Sam slurred as they walked inside.

"No, we are here." Miguel laughed.

"Ugh. Vodka and your dumb pick-up truck. Not a good combination." She muttered. The pick-up truck. Miguel's most prized possession. It was a gift from Johnny for his 18th birthday a month ago. It was a colossal Navy Chevy pickup and Miguel absolutely adored it.

"Haha. Come on." Miguel said, gently, as he turned on the light to her room.

"So, are you gonna call her?" Samantha asked. Miguel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Who?" Miguel asked.

"That girl. The one who gave you her number." She asked.

"I hadn't really thought about it." Miguel stammered.

"Yes, you have. But I know you. You won't." Sam remarked. "You'll let her slip right through your fingers because you think you don't deserve happiness."

Suddenly, Samantha pulled down her dress to reveal her bra-covered chest and Miguel's eyes widened and he spun to face the other way in respect.

"But what you don't realise…" Sam continued. "Is that you need a little saving too. A little help please." She asked. Miguel's eyes widened.

"Oh, um… yeah, okay." He asked. He helped her change out of her dress and into her pajamas, which proved quite difficult as he had kept his eyes firmly shut. Sam didn't seem to care though. She had just undressed right in front of him.

"There you go again!" Sam exclaimed. "Saving me from that evil dress!"

"Get in bed!" Miguel laughed.

"Did you sneak a peak? At my goods?" Sam asked as Miguel led her over to her bed.

"Ha. I wouldn't be much of a hero if I did." He replied.

"Yeah, but it's okay if you peeked a little." She said, still clearly drunk. "You deserve a peek for all the good stuff you do."

Miguel helped tuck her into her bed and he knelt down beside her bed to face her.

"Drink lots of water." He told her.

"Thank you for tonight." Sam said. "I sang!"

"You did." Miguel chuckled. "And anytime."

He started to walk away but he heard Sam call him back.

"Hey, Miguel?" She called in an extremely small voice. Miguel turned back to face her.

"Yeah?"

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" She asked.

"Sure. Yeah." He replied, sitting at the foot of her bed for several minutes before he heard her snoring. He then slowly tiptoed out of the room. He walked out of the Larusso house moments later and outside, he took out the number that Linda had given him. Glancing at it for a moment, he ripped it up. He wasn't about to go on a date with another girl. He couldn't for one simple reason: he still had feelings for Sam!