It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, and Sam was on her daily run through the park. She had started up running soon after the huge school fight, seeking a new physically-exerting escape during a period where karate only brought her guilt and bad flashbacks. Of course, she had gotten back to karate once she had confided in her father, and it was a must now that theirs and Johnny's dojo's had teamed up to defeat Kreese.

But going back to karate didn't stop her from going on her daily runs. Though karate would always be important to her, it was less of an escape than running was. While she ran, she wasn't worried about defending herself from an enemy or protecting herself from getting kicked in the face. Running gave her a chance to be alone, to clear her head, to make her feel in control of her body and surroundings. So she kept running everyday, and after each time she did, she felt more at peace with herself than when she started.

As she made her way around the park, she let her gaze fall towards the scenery as her music played through her headphones. She smiled to herself as she watched children laughing in the playground, old couples holding hands on benches, and dogs playing fetch with their owners. It was all very heartwarming to her, and she made a mental note to remember this image when she needed a peaceful reminder.

Until she glanced towards one couple sitting on a bench in particular, and hey, that guy's hair looks a lot like her boyfriend's, but that couldn't be him because why would he be with another girl, and a blonde girl at that, who had a strikingly similar figure to Tory's.

Sam slowed her pace, looking closely, only to realize that it was in fact Miguel and Tory sitting together on that bench. She stopped completely then, the smile on her face from before vanishing in almost an instant. She was a long means away from them, and they'd have to turn their heads to even catch a glimpse of her, so she let herself watch, despite how much her heart tugged her to look away.

There was no way she'd be able to hear them, but she pulled her headphones out anyway. She watched them intently, and by the looks on their faces, they seemed like they were having an intimate conversation. Sam felt her pulse racing loudly in her ears, adrenaline coursing through her in the worst possible way. Why were they alone together? How could he be talking to her like that after everything she did? And then, as if it couldn't have been worse, Sam watched Tory lean forward to lay her head against Miguel's shoulder, and he brought an arm up around her. Sam immediately felt like her heart had fallen into the pit of her stomach, tears welling in her eyes defensively. She jerked her gaze away from them then, feeling like she was intruding on something she clearly wasn't supposed to have seen, and she felt her breathing start to become uneven.

Sam shut her eyes, swallowing the lump that was beginning to form in her throat before attempting to take in a deep, controlled breath. She refused to shoot another glance their way, afraid that what'd she see would only be rubbing salt in her wounds. Instead, she plugged her headphones back into her ears and resumed her run, making her way out of the park and back to her house, with the image of Tory and Miguel on the bench in her mind the whole way home.

Sam hastily headed for the shower as soon as she stepped foot inside her house, and from the way she ignored her parents' calls to her from the kitchen, Daniel and Amanda could tell something was wrong. They each shrugged after looking to each other, expressing neither of them knew what it was that had her so upset.

Sam let her tears fall in the shower, running her hands through her hair as she tried to pull the image of the two out of her head. It was a hard pill to swallow- seeing her boyfriend so close with the girl who had brought her so much pain, physically and mentally. She felt hurt, betrayed, embarrassed. She kept remembering the moments she saw the two together, and the moments Tory had left her motionless in fear. Clearly, Miguel saw something in her that she didn't, and she wondered how a person could be portrayed in such contradicting ways.

Once she was out of the shower and dressed, she lay face down on her bed, sulking and hugging her pillow. Her phone started to buzz then, and she shifted her head towards her bed stand, picking up her phone.

Incoming Call: Miguel Diaz

She pressed the end call button, sending him to voicemail and placing her phone back on her bed stand. The last thing she wanted right now was to talk to Miguel on the phone while she cried.

Just then, her mom opened her bedroom door, and Sam turned her head on her pillow to face her.

"Hey, hon," her mom greeted her sympathetically, "is it okay if I come in?" Sam merely hummed in response before sniffling.

"Have you been crying?" her mom asked with concern in her voice, sitting down by the edge of her bed and resting her hand on her back.

"A little," she let out weakly.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." Amanda sighed, pressing her lips together as she rubbed her daughter's back soothingly. Sam's phone began to vibrate again then, and Amanda glanced over to see Miguel as the caller ID.

"Are you going to get that?" she asked her. Sam shook her head, and Amanda realized then that something must've happened between the two. She nodded, continuing to rub her back as she tried to think of what to say. As she peered out the window, she got an idea.

"It's a beautiful day out," her mom told her. "Why don't you head out to the pool?"

"But I just took a shower."

"Well, you can at least lay in the sun. I know how much you enjoy the good weather." Sam turned her head, glancing out her window to see how sunny it still was. It was true, and she had been enjoying the sunny day, up until that moment in the park. She sighed.

"Fine," she agreed, sitting up. "But I'm keeping my clothes on and bringing a pillow." Amanda chuckled before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I'm here if you want to talk, okay?" she reminded Sam, and she nodded, giving her a faint smile.

Sam had to admit, her mom was right about coming outside. Though she was still upset, sulking under the sun was somehow simultaneously uplifting, much more so than sulking in her bedroom. She laid on her back against a pool chair, resting her head against a pillow, and shut her eyes. They were still slightly puffy from crying, and all she wanted to do right in that moment was fall asleep, hoping to escape the nightmare that she felt was her reality right now.

"Sam," a voice suddenly spoke then, and she sat up in her chair to see Miguel entering her backyard.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"You weren't picking up my calls," he responded. "Didn't you get them?"

"My phone's not on me." It wasn't technically a lie. She left her phone in her room when she came down to the pool. She shifted her gaze away from him then.

"You should go," she said coldly. He narrowed his eyebrows.

"What?"

"Go, Miguel." She returned his gaze, and that's when he noticed the glossiness of her eyes. She was holding back tears.

"Whoa, wait," he approached her, "what's wrong?" She rolled her eyes, blinking back tears.

"Nothing," she denied, turning away again. "Please just go. It's not a good time." Miguel shook his head, making his way to sit on the pool chair beside her, facing her.

"Miguel, please-"

"Talk to me."

"I said it's not a good time."

"I'm not leaving you. Not like this." She watched his expression turn into worry, and she debated if she should just confront him now. If she was being honest, she wanted to hold off, feeling like the inevitable would be a break-up, and she wasn't ready for that.

"Please tell me what's wrong," he pleaded, and she realized then that she didn't know if she could handle seeing him like this again if they decided to talk later. She sighed, looking to her feet sprawled out in front of her, shuffling them.

"I saw you."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"At the park." She turned to face him then, watching as his expression shifted from confusion to understanding. He swallowed, nodding slightly.

"With Tory," he added to clarify, and her silence was enough of an assurance. He sighed, shifting his gaze.

"It's not what you think, Sam."

"She had her head on your shoulder," she pressed, leaning forward slightly. "And I watched you wrap your arm around her." Her voice broke on the last few words, and he met her gaze, realizing how hurt she was feeling. He shook his head.

"Listen," he started. "I know what you saw must've looked bad. But you have to trust me when I say I'd never intentionally hurt you like that, Sam. Ever." She rolled her eyes.

"What could you possibly have had your arm around her for, then? Do you expect me to believe you were just being friendly with your crazy ex who sliced my arm and started the fight that put you in a wheelchair?" She looked at him in disbelief. He lowered his gaze, shaking his head.

"Sam, it really wasn't-"

"Do you think I'm stupid, or something?" she asked him incredulously.

"Tory's mom died," he said abruptly. The words were like a train that hit her, and Sam felt herself become at a loss for words.

"What?" she whispered then. "But, she was only sick-" Miguel shook his head solemnly. For the second time that day, Sam felt her heart sink to her stomach, guilt filling her chest.

"I wasn't expecting to meet with Tory," he told her. "She texted me a few times this morning, and I ignored the messages at first. But once I realized something was really wrong, I decided I should see her." Sam pressed her lips together.

"What you saw was the moment she told me that her mom had passed, a few days ago, actually. And then she kind of just fell onto me, and I was so in shock at the news. So I rubbed her back. I was just trying to console her," he explained.

"She said it'd gotten worse so quickly," he continued, "her mom's illness. The doctors had her on life support for a whole week before deciding to..." He couldn't finish, and Sam almost whimpered at his words, her heart breaking at the mere idea.

"I didn't realize how sick her mom was," she spoke quietly.

"Me neither," he replied. "And I'd never seen Tory like that before, you know? So... broken. I didn't even know what to say to her." Sam gulped, blinking back tears again, but for a different reason. At that moment, she pushed all her previous emotions about Tory aside, feeling only sympathy for her. Losing her mom sounded like the worst nightmare she could ever imagine, and it pained her to even think about not having her mom with her.

"I can't imagine what she must be going through," she whispered, and Miguel shook his head, agreeing.

"She asked me to come to the funeral," he told her then, scratching the back of his neck, "I hope that's okay."

"Of course," she said quickly. "She needs someone right now." She watched as he pressed his lips together, and the guilt in her chest felt like it was weighing into her stomach. She sucked her teeth slightly in frustration, bringing her hands up to her forehead.

"I feel so stupid," she said then, embarrassed. "I really thought-" she cut herself short, not wanting to admit it. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Miguel."

"No, it's okay, you didn't know-"

"But you were right, I should've trusted you," she interjected. "When I saw you two together I just assumed the worst, and I let my feelings about our rivalry cloud my judgment. I was wrong."

"You're not stupid," he assured her. "If I'd been in your shoes, I would've thought the same thing." He took her hand then, rubbing circles on the back of her palm with his thumb, and she moved her body to face him in her chair.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," he told her then, and Sam shook her head.

"I'm sorry for accusing you," she said instead. "You didn't deserve that. I just couldn't help but think back to all of our stupid fights, how it felt to see you two together while she and I were constantly at each others' necks. It was hard for me, having seen that side of her and still having to watch you be with her. I felt like she had you against me."

"But our rivalry aside," she continued, "she's still human, and I guess I forget that sometimes. You told me her mom was sick, and I didn't even think twice about how it might be affecting her. Instead I lashed out at you, and I'm really sorry." She broke from his gaze then, glancing down at their feet.

"Hey," he said to her gently, and she looked up as he brought her hand up to kiss her knuckles, giving her a faint smile.

"Look, you're completely valid in the way you were feeling. I know what it must've seemed like. And I know how much Tory's hurt you. That stuff doesn't just go away."

"I'd never want to put you in a situation where you feel like I'm on her side against yours," Miguel continued. "I still care about Tory, but that doesn't make what she did to you okay. It never will be. She hurt you, and I won't forget that."

"You don't have to worry about where I stand, okay? I'm always going to be on your side. I'm in love with you, Sam. You're everything to me. And I choose you. I'll always choose you."

Sam felt like her heart would burst through her chest after hearing his words, and she leaned forward, colliding her lips with his. She kissed him eagerly, her hands reaching up to hold his face, and he held the small of her back as she moved from her chair to his. He placed a hand on the chair behind him to steady them before leaning back against it and settling his hands on her hips as she straddled him. She grazed her fingers along his jawline, and for a moment she wondered if he could feel her heart thumping in her chest from how close they were.

Eventually they had to part for air, and she rested her forehead against his beneath her, the flushed grin on her face mirroring onto his as they caught their breath. He placed one last tender kiss against her lips, this one slower and sweeter than before, and she returned it just the same.

She leaned down then, moving to lay on top of him and resting her head against his chest, and he brought his arm around her, grazing her back soothingly.

"I don't know how I got so lucky," she spoke then, her voice quiet, "to have someone like you." Her index finger traced mindless shapes along his abdomen, and he hummed in content.

"Me neither," he responded, and they laughed. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Nah," he said then, squeezing her shoulder. "I'm the lucky one."