A/N: set during season 3, in which sam confides in miguel about her trauma

WATCH YOUR BACK.

Sam stared at the note she held in her hands that was left hanging inside her locker. There were three parallel tears in it, and just from that Sam could tell who it was from without needing to see a signature. She impulsively touched her upper arm, where her scars from the fight were, and a shaky breath escaped from her mouth.

Sam was already on edge, so when she felt a pair of arms grab her from behind, she flinched, gasping in shock.

"Did I scare you?" Miguel spoke into her ear with a chuckle, snaking his arms around her waist to hug her tightly. Sam let out a sigh of relief at the sound of his voice, relaxing into his arms. She quickly crumpled the note in her hand, hiding it from him in her fist.

"A little," she responded, and he kissed her cheek. As he moved to detangle from her, she hastily tossed the crumpled paper into her locker before he could see it. She decided Miguel didn't need to know about the note Tory left her. It'd only make it a bigger deal than it needed to be. What were three words on a sheet of paper, anyway? She wouldn't call it a threat, because that would mean she felt threatened, and the last thing she needed was Tory to know she had her feeling uneasy. She shut her locker then, turning to face Miguel.

"I'm glad I caught you," he said, taking her hand. "The guys wanted to sneak away to In 'N Out for lunch. You wanna go?"

Sam mindlessly hummed in response, her focus geared towards the corner of the hallway instead of her boyfriend in front of her. She couldn't help but visualize Tory appearing, her threatening words echoing in her mind.

"Sam?" Miguel asked her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, of course," she responded, nodding her head as she laced their fingers together. Miguel looked at her quizzically.

"Are you okay?" he asked her then.

"Yeah," she replied a little too cheerfully. "Why wouldn't I be?" Miguel continued to look at her, his eyebrows furrowed, as if trying to read whatever was going on in her head.

"You sure? We can grab lunch ourselves if you want, you know."

"No, we don't have- yes, I'm sure." She swung their hands around playfully, trying her best to seem convincing, but his expression continued to relay concern.

"I don't know, you seem-"

Sam sighed, reaching up to grab his face and press her lips to his. Miguel's hands flew to her waist and she smiled against him before kissing him once more for good measure. Their lips parted with a smack, and when she leaned back down, she laughed at his dazed expression.

"I'm sure, now can we go?" she asked him, tugging at his arm.

"Uh- yeah, yep," he stammered, nodding his head and trailing behind her as she giggled. They continued down the hall, hand-in-hand, and Sam tried her best to relax, or at least make it seem like she felt that way.

Sam sat across from Miguel at a table in the school library, where they were currently having study hall. They both sat quietly, their loads of school work sprawled across the table, and Miguel had his nose in his calculus homework, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Sam looked up from writing her notes then, smirking as she pulled out a sheet of paper.

It had been a few weeks since Tory had left her that less-than-thoughtful note in her locker, and Sam had slowly begun to forget about it. At least, she was trying to. But Tory hadn't sent anything her way since, so where a week ago she was struggling to focus on anything else, she could now get through her assignments without Tory's image popping into her head. Sam was finally starting to feel back to normal.

But just because she could get her homework done without getting distracted, didn't mean she had to.

Sam started to fold the blank sheet of paper into an airplane, but decided she wanted to leave a note, too. She quickly scribbled something down and smiled at her finished project, before folding it back up and preparing it for takeoff in Miguel's direction. She gave a quick glance around her, making sure the librarian wasn't around, then tossed it, aiming it right for his face. He flinched when it tapped his forehead, looking up to see Sam grinning and holding back a laugh. Miguel rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he moved to pick it up.

"Open it," she spoke then, and Miguel raised his eyebrows, unfolding the paper airplane.

u r cute! be my boyfriend? circle "yes"or "no"
🐙

He chuckled at her note, especially enjoying her octopus doodle. He grabbed his notebook then, using it to hold against the paper as he circled his response, holding it up close to his face so she couldn't see it until he was done. Sam chuckled at his antics, and he folded the sheet back into an airplane, sending it in her direction. She opened it up to reveal his response, her jaw dropping dramatically once she saw it.

"You circled no?!" she whisper-yelled, and Miguel had to laugh. "Excuse me?"

"'Cause I already am your boyfriend," he refuted. "It wouldn't make sense." Sam rolled her eyes, crumpling the paper into a ball.

"You took the romance out of it," she argued, leaning back into her chair. "I miss the old Miguel." He scoffed.

"Well you were a big fan of this Miguel last night, so..." Sam widened her eyes, kicking him underneath the table.

"Ow!"

"Shut up!" she scolded him quietly, holding back a laugh as he rubbed his shin.

"Just saying." Sam shook her head, tossing the ball of paper at him and aiming for his head, but instead, it landed behind him at the feet of someone familiar. Sam looked up to see it was none other than Tory, who was walking past a bookshelf behind them right when Sam had thrown the paper. Her cheerful expression immediately faded, and Miguel turned around to see what had caught her attention.

Tory smirked at the two, leaning down to pick up the ball of paper at her feet. She unraveled it, tilting her head at their note.

"Aw, how cute," she cooed sarcastically, approaching their table to drop it back to them. She looked to Sam then.

"Passing notes in study hall, huh?" she asked, and Sam simply glared at her. Tory bent a little closer to her then, and Miguel leaned forward in his chair.

"I hope you got mine," she whispered tauntingly with a smirk. Before Sam could reply, she turned and walked away from them, heading out of the library.

"What did she say?" Miguel asked Sam after she left, his eyebrows narrowed. Sam's gaze was fixated at the door Tory just walked out of, visually more tense than before.

"Sam?" he repeated, and she merely shook her head.

"Nothing."

"She said something," he stated, moving as if he was about to get up. "She needs to stop messing with you. I'm gonna talk to her-"

"No!" she said a little loudly, earning them looks from the people around them. He furrowed his eyebrows at her, and she glanced around the room, embarrassed. Then, quietly, "It doesn't matter. Who cares what she has to say, anyway? Just leave it." Sam picked up her pencil, resuming to write her notes, but Miguel continued to look at her with concern. He recognized her behavior from a few weeks ago, realizing that Tory must've been the reason why she was so on edge before. But why hadn't she told him about it?

"Sam-"

The bell rung then, signaling the end of the period, and Sam stood up, hastily collecting her materials.

"I gotta go, I have a test in history," she told him, avoiding his gaze. "I'll see you later." She quickly leaned down to where he was sitting, pecking his lips before heading out of the library. Miguel remained in his seat for a moment, slightly taken aback. He knew whatever Tory said bothered her, and he hated how much of an effect she had on her. Though he was aware of their rivalry, she hadn't expressed to him the extent of it, and whenever he asked about it, she'd give him short answers before changing the subject. He hadn't really questioned it, thinking it was just something she felt uncomfortable talking about, and rightfully so. But now he knew it was deeper than that, that whatever Tory did really affected Sam.

He wouldn't pry it out of her. She'd tell him when she was ready. But for now, he'd make sure to be there for her.

It was a Friday night, and Sam's parents had allowed her to have Miguel over to watch a movie. And with her parents having a date night and her brother Anthony at a sleepover, it was pretty ideal for the two.

They stood in the kitchen, waiting on their popcorn in the microwave. Sam was by the stove, stirring some hot chocolate she had set in a small pot, while Miguel watched her curiously from across the kitchen counter. It had only been a few days since the ordeal with Tory at the library, and they had yet to talk about it. He'd tried bringing it up a couple of times, but she'd just brush it aside, becoming closed off. It saddened him how she'd shut him out, he only wanted to help her. But he knew better than to pester her about it.

He walked over to where she stood by the stove, hugging her waist from behind and pressing a tender kiss to her shoulder. Sam smiled, bringing a hand up to hold his cheek as she turned to peck his lips.

"Hello there," she greeted him playfully, and he hummed in response.

"It smells good," he told her, nodding towards the pot.

"Yeah?" she responded. "Shoutout to-" she turned the empty box of cocoa mix towards her to read the label, "-Swiss Miss hot chocolate, then." He chuckled at her joke as Sam gave the pot one last stir before shutting the stove off, then moved to take out two mugs from the cupboard. When she set the pot down after pouring the drinks into their cups, Miguel gently tugged at her shirt.

"Hey," he started, his back against the counter, and she turned to face him. She watched as he opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, as if debating if he should continue with what he wanted to say. After a moment, he sighed.

"You know I'm here for you, right?" he asked her then, and she raised her eyebrows. He continued, "And I'm always going to be on your side. You know that." Her expression fell as she realized what he was referring to, and the worried look on his face made her feel a little guilty. Still, she was hesitant, but wanted to make him feel at ease, so she stepped forward, bringing her arms up and around his neck, a faint smile on her lips as he held her waist.

"I know," she responded simply. He gazed at her longingly, concern written over his face, and she watched as his eyes flicked between her own, searching them. She shifted her gaze to his lips instead, before reaching up to meet them. She kissed him slowly, then fell back onto the heels of her feet once she felt him relax against her, a cheeky grin on her face.

"C'mon, the cocoa is gonna get cold," she said then, taking their mugs to the living room. He followed suit with the popcorn bowl in his hands, setting it down on the coffee table before plopping onto the sofa.

"It's my turn to pick," she said, hugging the remote to her.

"No, we saw To All The Boys last week. It's my turn."

"That was your pick, actually."

"No it wasn't-" he stopped when she gave him a look, and he remembered, "-oh yeah. I did pick that, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. Don't try to play the cool guy, now. I know all your secrets, Miguel."

"You know too much, actually." He covered her head with the throw blanket. "I'm going to have to kill you. It's too risky with you knowing." She laughed, squirming in his embrace as she tried to get out from underneath the blanket, shoving him once she was free.

Sam grew up watching her fair share of action movies with her dad, and she developed a love for them. But she had a soft spot in her heart for romcoms, and Miguel had seen countless romantic movies because of that. He didn't mind, though, because he actually had a not-so-secret soft spot for them, too.

She queued up 13 Going On 30, then leaned back into the couch with him, curling up into his side. He laid out the throw blanket over them before wrapping an arm around her shoulder, and she placed the bowl of popcorn in her lap to share. They ate and sipped on their cocoa as the movie played, but about halfway in, they started feeling tired, yawning consistently until they eventually drifted to sleep.

Suddenly, the door flew open, banging against the wall, and Sam jolted awake. She looked towards the door and gasped when she saw who the visitor was.

"Miss me, princess?" Tory spoke. Sam felt her heart drop to her stomach, glancing to her side only to see Miguel wasn't beside her anymore.

"He's not here to protect you this time," Tory told her as she tauntingly approached her. "It's just you and me." Sam's pulse quickened along with her breathing, and she started backing into the corner of the couch. Tory laughed.

"What? You're not gonna put up a fight? That's no fun." She kicked the lamp off the table by the sofa, and it shattered across the wooden floor. Sam flinched at the noise, backing away even more as Tory made her way towards her.

"Last chance," she warned her. "You're not even gonna say anything?" Sam could only watch her with her mouth open as she tried to find her voice, but it was as if her vocal cords had been ripped out from throat, preventing her from vocalizing any sort of response. In fact, she felt her throat run dry, and suddenly her limbs went numb, and she couldn't even move if she wanted to, despite how much her internal was screaming at her to get out of harm's way.

"That's alright," Tory stated, pulling out her band of spikes and wrapping them around her knuckles. Sam inhaled a sharp breath at the sight of them, and Tory smirked, reaching in front of her.

"You're better off with your mouth shut, anyway." She swung her knuckles across Sam's arm then, and it felt like lightning bolts against her skin, until everything was numb.

Sam awoke with a fright, jolting to a sitting position and gasping for air. Her hand flew up to tightly grip the spot on her arm where her scars lay, feeling like they had just been ripped open. Miguel stirred awake then, too, and it only took him a moment to realize the state his girlfriend was in.

"Hey, hey," he whispered, sitting upright to grip her shoulder. "What happened?"

Sam turned to meet his gaze, her eyes wide in fear and her breathing uneven.

"I- I don't know," she stammered, clutching her arm and glancing at the front door, "she was... she was here..." She glanced towards the floor then, confusion fogging her mind when she didn't see the shattered lamp. Miguel followed her gaze, then realized she had a nightmare. About her.

He felt his heart sink, aching at the thought of her in fear. Tears started to well in her eyes as her breaths continued to come out shaky, and Miguel turned her to face him.

"Hey, look at me," he told her softly, leaning down to look into her eyes. "She's not here. She's not going to hurt you. You're good. Okay? Come here." She watched him intensely before he pulled her into his side, and she tried to catch her breath as she realized none of it was real. He stroked her hair soothingly as she let herself fall against him completely, and after a while her breathing slowed, returning to normal. He was patient, continuing to comfort her until she decided to sit up, facing him but not meeting his gaze. He reached a hand up to wipe her tearstained cheeks, and she wondered when they had fallen.

"Let me get you some water," he said then, standing up to head to the kitchen. She watched him as he did so, feeling her heart fill up at the sight. He handed her the glass as he sat back down, and she took a few sips before handing it back to him to place it on the coffee table. He watched her hesitatingly, wanting to ask her questions but afraid of prying. Her gaze was fixed on her fiddling hands in her lap, and he took one of her hands in his own, intertwining their fingers together. She bit her bottom lip nervously, keeping her gaze on their hands. After a few moments, she finally spoke.

"Tory left me a note in my locker a few weeks ago," she stated. Miguel furrowed his eyebrows.

"What did it say?"

"'Watch your back,'" she whispered. Miguel clenched his jaw but squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"Ever since the school fight, I've been having trouble getting her out of my head. And the note just reinforced that," she admitted.

"Is that what she was talking about at the library?" She nodded, and Miguel frowned.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked her.

"I was embarrassed," she responded after a moment. "I hate how she has this effect on me. She has me on edge 24/7, and I didn't want to admit that to her, or anyone, or even myself."

"Whenever she's around, it's like I lose myself, or something. I couldn't even move when they attacked Demetri and broke his arm. I just hid and watched, and it broke my heart. It's like she has complete control over me. I can't even fight against her in my own damn nightmare." Her voice broke as she admitted to him the thoughts that had been occupying her mind for so long, unable to meet his gaze as her vision began to blur with tears again. Miguel sighed sadly, giving her hand another squeeze.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he started. "But you have to know that sharing this stuff is the only way you can start to get over them. There's nothing embarrassing about what you're feeling. It's important to me. I get why you might've been hesitant, but I only ever want you to feel safe, especially around me.

"Honestly, I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. I watched you fight at the school, Sam. You threw her off of you. You're stronger than you know, okay? You're actually one of the strongest people I've ever met. I mean, you literally flipped me onto the ground on our first date." Sam chuckled as she remembered.

"That was different."

"You still did, though! And I thought I was doing something trying to show you my moves." Sam laughed.

"You're a badass, Sam. Seriously. Don't forget that."

"I thought that was a Cobra Kai thing."

"Well, you've proven them wrong. You're capable of way more than you think, okay? And even if Tory were to show up, right here, right now, you'd be more than able to take care of it. I promise. You're smart, and driven, and strong. You just can't lose sight of that." Sam smiled at him.

"Really?"

"Definitely, are you kidding?" he looked at her incredulously, and she grinned. "And not that you'd need me, but I'll always be by your side, too, fighting for you. You don't need to go through this alone."

If her heart could glow, it would be doing so right now. She felt the biggest weight release from her shoulders after opening up to him, and his support for her was almost overwhelming. She couldn't believe she'd tried dealing with this on her own, when he'd been here all along. And she knew then that he always would be- ready to pull her back to the surface when she was sinking. Her anchor.

She reached forward to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug, feeling his own wrap around her back immediately after. She sighed across his shoulder, finally feeling relief for the first time in so long.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Anytime."