CHAPTER 41

Less than 24 hours later, Miguel and George were up in the air, sitting back in their seats as their plane set its course for JFK Airport. It had been a pretty long 24 hours. Convincing Carmen to let Miguel go on the trip had been no easy task. For a mom who was as overprotective as Carmen, especially after everything that had happened after the school fight, convincing her to let her son go on a trip without parental consent was a damn near impossible task. And George joking that he was now legally an adult so Miguel would have adult supervision did not help their cause at all. They had stayed up long into the night, Miguel, George and George's parents trying desperately to convince Carmen to let him go on the trip. Heck, even Johnny was on their side. But by the time George and his family left for the night, Carmen was still unconvinced. It had taken all the way until 10 am the next morning for Miguel to finally convince his mom to let him go. She finally caved when he fully laid his heart out on the line. He needed this desperately, he had told her. After his yaya died, everything around him reminded him of her. He needed the change of scenery, and the extremely fun trip to help take his mind off her. When Carmen finally agreed to let him go, there was only 4 hours until they needed to leave for the airport, so George came over and together they quickly threw everything they may need for the trip into Miguel's extremely messy suitcase. They scrambled around the house searching for Miguel's green card, and only left just in time.

As the two sat back in their airplane seats together, neither of them could sit still. They were both dying to finally make it to Manhattan and explore the most famous city in America, and one that neither of them had been to before. Playing against each other on George's tablet only sped up the time a little, but it still felt like an interminably long wait before they finally arrived in New York City.

"New York City babbyyyyyyyy!" George exclaimed for about the hundredth time as they exited JFK airport, their bags in their hands.

"Holy shit it's freezing!" Miguel's first words in New York were, as they were immediately hit with a blast of frigid air and their sneakers soaked through as they stepped into a pile of snow. They DEFINITELY packed the wrong kind of clothing for the snowy, chilly weather that was practically unheard of back in L.A. However, their spirits were way too high to be affected by the weather. They stumbled into a taxi and 20 minutes later, made it to their hotel. Not wanting to waste any time at all, all the boys did was throw their bags into their room and put on more jackets, before sprinting downstairs and out of the hotel to go and explore the incredible city before them.

New York City was an absolute heaven. Everything about it had Miguel's jaw practically plastered to the ground in shock. It was 7 pm and the sun was already starting to set, but if anything, the city was even brighter than during the day. As they walked down Time Square, Miguel felt his eyes practically blinded by the lights from the countless billboards and streetlights. Buildings raced each other in a quest to touch the soft blue sky and people poured down the streets and sidewalks like tsunami waves. Saying that it was like a paradise that only the imagination could conjure was even an understatement. This place was beyond that. Everything about it was perfection. Sure L.A was great, but New York was in a different league. A wonderful blend of all cultures, genders and sexualties brought about a variance in looks, fashion and food that was unrivalled by any city in the world, and it was on display that night for the two boys. As they walked down the iconic 7th Avenue, the aromas of Italian, Greek, Mexican, Chinese, Indian and Japanese food coming from numerous restaurants and food trucks wafted up their inviting nostrils. The evening went by in a blur. Miguel and George were like two kids on Christmas (ironic given that Christmas was literally a day ago), practically sprinting around as they explored the city that never sleeps.

Finally, at around 11pm, as the sun had fully set and only lights from the various posters and billboards lit up the sky, the two boys finally slowed down, walking back towards their hotel. They made it a couple of minutes later, but rather than going inside immediately, the two wondered over to a food truck a couple of meters away and bought two ice creams, before walking over and sitting at a nearly bench that overlooked the breathtaking scene that was Manhattan at night. It was George's birthday today, so the two celebrated that together for a while, before settling into a comfortable silence as they admired the incredible city.

They sat like this for a while, before Miguel finally broke the silence.

"Can I tell you something man? Just between you and me?" Miguel asked. George cocked his head curiously and nodded.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"After we graduate… I'm coming back here and I'm living here." Miguel stated. George raised an eyebrow.

"You're coming here? To New York?" George asked, confused. Miguel nodded.

"Here. Vegas. L.A. All those places where the lights are blinding." Miguel replied, causing George to become even more confused.

"I'm sorry what? How are you supposed to go to college in multiple places at once?" George questioned. Miguel sighed.

"Come on, man. You and I both know I'm now going to college. You're already getting acceptance offers from schools you applied to back in September. I didn't apply to any until like less than a month ago. And besides, even if I did get into any of them, it's not like I have the money to go."

George shrugged.

"That's not necessarily true." George responded. "You could always get a…"

"Scholarship?" Miguel finished his friend's sentence for him. George nodded. Miguel shook his head. "That's not going to happen. All scholarship applications were due like months ago so that's not an option."

George furrowed an eyebrow in confusion now.

"Right, so if not college, what are you going to do?" He asked. Miguel took a deep breath. This had been something Miguel had been dreaming about for the past 2 years, however it was only in the past month or so when he realised that his chances of going to college were completely fucked and this would be one of his only chances he would have to make something of himself with his life that he genuinely began to seriously consider it. He hadn't dared tell anyone about this unorthodox plan either. He had been terrified to tell even his mom in fear of her reaction, so he was nervous to finally tell someone about his plan.

"The UFC." Miguel eventually replied, gulping nervously as he waited for George to respond. George's face went from confusion to shock to disbelief.

"You're… you're going to try and make it into the UFC?" George stammered. Miguel nodded, forcing his insecurities about it deep down and sitting up straighter.

"Yeah, I am." Miguel declared in a more assured tone.

"Miguel… you realise how tough that is, right? I mean like the odds of that happening are less than like 1%." George stated. Miguel clenched his jaw and nodded.

"I know. But when it comes to fighting, not to sound cocky or anything, but I'm not in the bottom 99%. I mean, look how far I've come in less than two years of casual training. If I put every ounce of energy I have into it for the next portion of my life, I don't see why I wouldn't be able to make it."

"Fair point." George admitted. "But what happens if you get injured before you make it big? Your whole life will be over!"

"Don't you get it, man? My life is already over!" Miguel cried harshly. "I'm a walking corpse. I'm not going to be able to go to college so I'm basically going to have to become a plumber like every other Latino stuck in the shitty area I'm living in right now! At least if I'm trying to make it to the UFC, even if I do have to become a plumber on the side to pay bills, I'll still have a chance of making it big."

"Wow, um…" George was lost for words, completely shook by his friend's sudden announcement.

"So… what do you think?" Miguel asked nervously.

"It's, um… just, um… wow." George stammered, still struggling to find the words. "I'm, um… I don't know what to say. You know how hard it's going to be. You know the risks. But if you're still this passionate to try and make it into the UFC, all the power to you, man. And know that you'll always have me in your corner."

Miguel smiled and nodded at his friend, now feeling like a massive weight had been lifted off of his shoulders given that he had finally told someone. He felt like he could now enjoy his trip a lot more.

"Thanks, man. Appreciate it. And you know that whenever, wherever, if you ever need anything, I got your back. No matter what." Miguel told his best friend. But there was more to that sentence than just what Miguel had said. He still remembered how George had dragged him out of the pits of hell back in rehab all those months ago, and how he had helped save Miguel no matter how much of an asshole Miguel became and how hopeless it seemed to try and help him. George hadn't given up on him and had always had his back no matter what. Miguel wanted, no, he needed his friend to know that he would do the same. And the best part about Miguel and George's friendship was the fact that Miguel didn't have to say that. They knew each other and could read each other so well that they didn't have to say something for the other to know what they were thinking.

"Right back at you." George replied. "Now, come on. We've got a big week ahead of us…"

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The next week was absolutely perfect in every possible way. Miguel and George explored ALL OVER New York City. They went to the Empire State Building, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the Statue of Liberty, spending hours and hours shopping in Time Square and the shopping district, as well as many other activities that resulted in them spending every waking minute out and about in the city. That, combined with the fact that the two barely slept at night due to them watching movies, playing card games and playing video games, the boys hadn't slept more than 3 hours or so a night. But they loved every minute of the trip. Soon, however, the final night of the short vacation rolled around, and it was time for the reason they had come to Manhattan in the first place: the fight.

That afternoon, George and Miguel could hardly sit still as they took the subway over to Madison Square Garden. Their nerves and excitement was at its peak as they arrived at the stadium and were let inside shortly after. Miguel especially was a bundle of eagerness and anticipation as he waited for the event to start. As he played with a string on his new McGregor hoodie, he thought to himself… this was his first time watching a UFC event live in person, the first time seeing, if the stars lined up, what his future job could look like. And it. Was. Glorious.

From the very first fight on the undercard, the atmosphere in the stadium was electric. 20,000 people had bought tickets to the sold out fight night, and even the first fight on the undercard was greeted with deafening stomping and cheering from all of the fans around the arena. Miguel and George almost dropped their popcorns several times throughout the evening as they would leap to their feet during each knockout on the undercard, getting involved with the chanting, cheering, booing and clapping with the rest of the die-hard UFC fans. Soon, however, the clock struck 10 pm and it was time for the main event…

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Meanwhile, all the way across the country back in L.A, it was only 7 pm, and Cobra Kai had just finished training that night. It was December 30th and school was about to restart after the break so Kreese had them in the dojo even more now, training them to the bone. Tension was extremely high within the dojo, especially given that the Valley had hit a kind of stalemate. Neither side wanted to attack the other as they both knew that they were ill prepared for a fight and the outcome would be unknown. Cobra Kai would only fight them if they had a guaranteed win outcome as by now, the cost of one of them getting injured was too high.

"Woah, sick! Look what Miguel just posted! He's at UFC 240, at the Khabib McGregor fight!" Rickenberger exclaimed as the Cobra Kais hung out at the front of the dojo as they gathered their stuff and prepared to leave. Hawk, hearing this, snatched the phone from Rickenberger's hand, his eyes widened.

"Show me this." Hawk snapped, looking at the phone. Sure enough, Miguel had forgotten to block Rickenberger on Instagram so the Cobra could see Miguel's story that had been posted a couple of minutes ago. It clearly showed him and George in Madison Square Garden, celebrating McGregor's win in the rematch over Khabib. "Holy shit."

"You know what this means, right?" Tory said, taking the phone in turn and looking at it. "Miguel and George are not in town. Which means…"

"Miyagi-Do can't call them to help them in a fight…" Hawk continued.

"Which means that other than Larusso who I can kick the crap out of myself, they are virtually defenseless." Tory finished, the two of them smirking evilly at each other. They had waited for too long for them to get an opportunity to get back at Miyagi-Do. And now, here it was…