CHAPTER 4

Sam lay in bed that night, her mind still reeling from the news about Miguel. She couldn't sleep. All she could think about was Miguel, and how he was lying in a hospital bed, unable to move for possibly the rest of his life. She couldn't help but think that it should have been her in that situation. She kissed himat the party, not the other way around. The school fight didn't start for any reason that was Miguel and Robby's fault, and yet they ended up being screwed over the hardest.

Sam slowly rolled out of her bed, turned on the light in her bedroom, and she walked over to her chest of drawers. There, she reached deep into the back of her bottom drawer and pulled out a framed photo. She looked at it and couldn't help but smile. It was a selfie she had taken of her and Miguel while they were dating a while back, back when life was so much easier. It was one of her favourite moments in her entire relationship with Miguel.

8 months ago…

"Miguel? Where exactly are we going?" Sam asked nervously, as Miguel left the main road and started driving on an extremely unused side street on the outskirts of L.A. They were supposed to be going on a date but for some reason, Miguel was driving the opposite direction to the city.

"Just 10 minutes longer." Miguel replied cryptically. Sam raised an eyebrow, staring out the window, trying to gauge any sort of bearing as to where the hell they were. No success.

Miguel parked the car 15 minutes later, and as Sam stepped out of the car, she literally had no idea where in the world she was. She could tell that they were at the top of some hill at the edge of the city, but she had no idea where and why.

"Um… did you bring me out here to kill me?" Sam stammered. Miguel, who had just walked up behind her, laughed. He then popped open the trunk of his car and pulled out a large basket and a picnic blanket.

"I thought about it, but I decided to treat you to a picnic instead." Miguel replied, jokingly. Taking her hand, the two of them walked together to the top of the hill, and when Sam gazed at her surroundings from the top, she couldn't help but gasp. The view was one of the most beautiful views Sam had ever seen. They were overlooking the entire city. With the mountains on the horizon as a backdrop, Sam admired the fiery ball in the distance timidly peak just the top of its head out from behind one of the summits. Lights on the buildings in the city were like fireflies in the dusk sky, daintily dancing through the air. A soft breeze tickled Sam's cheeks as she stared at the breath-taking sunset. Whilst Sam was admiring the view, Miguel carefully laid out a picnic table on the floor beneath them, and he opened the basket to reveal a plethora of different sublime smelling food.

The two of them settled on the mat, and Sam kissed him.

"Babe, this smells incredible!" Sam exclaimed.

"Thanks. I actually made this stuff myself." Miguel replied, proudly, as the two of them started eating. Sam's jaw dropped.

"Wait… you know how to cook?" She asked, astonished. "How did I not know this?"

Miguel laughed.

"Well… Not really. But I do have an amazing chef grandmother, and you'd be surprised how effective hitting me in the back of the head with a tea towel is when trying to learn. I swear I have a lump the size of a fist at the back of my head!"

Sam giggled.

"Interesting. So hitting you on the back of the head with a fabric cloth makes you do what you're hold?"

With that, Sam picked up her napkin, and lightly hit Miguel on the head with it.

"Kiss me." Sam ordered. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"Haha, very fu…. Ow!"

Sam had just hit him again with the cloth napkin, and Miguel yelped in pain.

"Seriously, Sam? What part of I already have a bruise there do you not understand?" Miguel complained, but his eyes twinkled in amusement, showing that he was finding this just as funny as she was.

"You're such a wimp." Sam laughed. "Now kiss me."

"I'm not a nerd!" Miguel exclaimed. But then, Sam raised the napkin again and Miguel, chuckling, raised his hands in surrender.

"Kiss me or you get…"

Sam didn't finish her sentence, as at that moment, Miguel leaned in and kissed her. The two of them had made out plenty before, but this time, under the twinkling stars and the sunset, on the picnic blanket, it was by far the best time yet. The two of them were completely at ease, completely free of the worries and troubles of their normal lives, just living in their own special utopia for the evening.

As the two finished eating, they just sat together on the picnic mat, bundled up in blankets, just staring out into the city.

"God, living in the city, you forget how beautiful this place can be. The view is absolutely gorgeous." Sam remarked.

"Yeah, I know, right?" Miguel murmured, although he wasn't looking at the city before him. He was looking at the brunette sitting next to him. Though Miguel didn't intend for Sam to realise, she noticed that he was looking at her when he spoke, and she couldn't help but beam widely. Miguel was nothing like any guy she had ever dated before - in fact, he was the exact opposite - but being with him made her the happiest she had ever been. Curled up there next to him, she never wanted this moment to end. She wanted to immortalise it. But she couldn't; she had to resort to the next best thing. Much to Miguel's protest, she insisted that they take a photo together before they left, and they both had the photo printed and framed to keep in their respective rooms…

Back to the present…

Sam chuckled mirthlessly to herself as she held the photo and felt her mind float back to the time it was taken. Little did she know that within the month, their entire relationship would come crashing down before them. But if anything, that night had definitely proven something to her that even the breakup couldn't alter: Miguel was a really good person at heart. He definitely wasn't the asshole he became under Cobra Kai. Because that night, under the stars, both of them were being purely themselves, no games, no modified personalities. Just pure, unadulterated teenage romance that Sam couldn't have found with someone who was an asshole.

"So are you going to see him?" A voice suddenly came from the doorway. Sam jumped in shock and spun around to see Amanda standing there.

"Oh, my God, mom! You scared me!" Sam cried. Sam had been so lost in her own little world that she hadn't noticed her mom come into the room.

"Sorry, honey." Amanda chuckled. "So… are you going to see him?"

Sam sighed as she looked at the framed photo several times, before looking back at her mom.

"I don't know. Should I? I mean, we weren't exactly on the best of terms when all of this happened, and I have no idea where we stand now." Sam stated. Amanda nodded.

"True, but you don't have to go in there trying to get back together with him. I'm sure more than anything, he could use a friend right now."

Sam shook her head.

"Look, I want to see him. It's just I don't think it's the best idea. I mean, I'm probably the last person he wants to see. I'm the reason he's in the hospital bed."

It was Amanda's turn to shake her head.

"No, you're not the reason and you know that, Sam." She snapped. "It was Hannibal Lector's daughter's fault that any of it happened! And how will you know what he thinks if you never go visit him? I'm sure in his current state, right now, any visitor is a welcome surprise…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Sensei?" Miguel murmured, squinting through the darkness and making out Johnny's outline. Moments later, the room lights flickered on and Miguel winced from the sudden increase of light. Soon though, his vision cleared and he was able to see Johnny standing in the corner of the room. Miguel's jaw dropped as he saw his old sensei for the first time in weeks. Saying that Johnny looked like crap was a big understatement. He looked and smelled like he had just crawled out of a sewer, where he was the messiest, smelliest creature there.

"Hey." Johnny mumbled, avoiding looking straight at Miguel. It was agonisingly painful for him to see his student lying in the hospital bed, for a reason that was completely and entirely his fault. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner. I have to keep having to sneak in here 'cause your mom… well, let's just say she's not my biggest fan right now."

Miguel nodded, but deep down, his blood was boiling. How could Johnny just walk in now and pretend nothing had happened? Acting casual as if he wasn't the reason Miguel was in this stupid bed in the first place!

"You look like shit." Miguel remarked, drily, pointing at the various gashes across Johnny's face, as well as his dirty, extremely creased up clothing.

"Yeah, well you don't look so great yourself." Johnny shot back, before remembering who he was talking to and sighing. "Look, I'm sorry. I take that back. How are you? How are you feeling?"

"Not great." Miguel replied honestly. "Doctor told my mom and I that I will probably never walk again."

Johnny's face paled as he was hit with the jaw-dropping news, but he quickly recovered and shook his head.

"No, no. They can't know that. They don't know that. They don't know how strong you are. They don't know your work ethic. All you have to do is get one of those physical therapists. They'll work with you every day and soon you'll…"

Johnny was cut off when he saw Miguel chuckling quietly. Johnny raised an eyebrow in confusion. He was expecting a lot of different emotions from Miguel about everything, but laughter was NOT one of them.

"What?" Johnny asked. Miguel shrugged.

"I'm sorry, I just find it hilarious and kinda rich when you try to encourage me to get help, when you refuse point-blank to receive any sort of help for yourself." Miguel remarked, once again gesturing to all of the scars and tears that adorned Johnny's face and clothing. Johnny shook his head. His love-hate relationship with alcohol was completely different to Miguel's need for a physical therapist.

"No, no, that's different. Our cases are really different." Johnny stated. Miguel nodded.

"You're right. They do have one thing different. At least yours is completely your own doing! I did everything you taught me to do. I trusted you and that was the worst mistake I ever made. Look where it got me! You fucked up and I'm stuck here paying the price! And honestly… I'm done. I'm just fucking done."

Johnny was flabbergasted. Miguel was the one person who was always on Johnny's side, the level-headed person in every crisis, and the fact that Miguel was lashing out so vehemently was a wake-up call. Miguel needed him more than Johnny could have imagined.

"Look, Miguel, I'm so, so sorry. You're right. I really did fuck up. But please, you need to trust me."

Miguel shook his head furiously.

"Trust you? I'm so done trusting you, Johnny." Miguel spat, snarling the last word and emphasizing the fact that this man was no longer his sensei. No longer his friend. No longer his mentor. No longer the father figure he idolised.

"Miguel, I know I made a few mistakes, but…"

"A FEW?!" Miguel exploded. "You know, I had a lot of time to think while I was in that coma, and in the past 24 hours when I couldn't move a fucking inch, and I realised something… You got everything wrong Johnny, from the very beginning. You kept teaching me how to "win" my fights, how to "win" with mercy and honor". Well in case you haven't noticed, it's not about winning anymore! It's about surviving! It's not about being the good guys or the bad guys anymore! It's about treading water, and being strong enough to stay afloat. The strong succeed, but the weak… well, look at where I am right now."

Johnny took a deep breath, trying desperately to think of a way to get through to Miguel, who was so clouded by anger and frustration that he could not be reasoned with.

"Look, I understand that you're upset, but do you know who you sound like?" Johnny asked. "Kreese!"

"Yeah, well, maybe Kreese was right about some things!"

It was Johnny's turn to laugh mirthlessly.

"Well that's just not true. Like look at me for example: the product of Kreese in his full glory."

As Miguel paused for several moments and looked up at the blonde man, Johnny saw pure loathing in the teenager's eyes that he had never seen before. Miguel clenched his jaw and stared Johnny right in the eye before responding…

"You know, Johnny? You're quick to blame Kreese for everything, but take a look around. Me, Robby, Tory, the Larussos, so many lives YOU ruined, not Kreese. You're a fucking wrecking ball. You swing every which way, destroying everyone around you, and I'm not going to let you ruin mine further. Get out of my room, Johnny."

"Miguel, please…"

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM, NOW!" Miguel bellowed. Johnny, upon seeing the stormy look in Miguel's eyes, eventually nodded and complied. As soon as he was gone, Miguel put his head in his hands. He officially had no one left in his life that he could count on outside his family. He was all alone.

Ten minutes later, Miguel's head had finally hit the pillow and he was about to fall asleep when he heard the door open once again. Miguel growled and sat upright.

"Look, what part of get the fuck out did you not get?" Miguel snapped. Just then, the lights clicked on and Miguel realised that it wasn't Johnny. No, it was someone completely different.

"Hello, Miguel." The person said, solemnly. Miguel nodded at them.

"Hello, Sensei Kreese…"