September 7th, 2018.

In the week that followed her boyfriend's visit, Tory hadn't received another visitor but she had received her phone so not a day had passed where she couldn't text him. Hawk, Aisha, Assface and Bert rounded off the contacts from Cobra Kai she currently had but even Moon had been nice enough to text her. Sam and Robby, as well as the Miyagi-Dos didn't have her number nor did she imagine that either party would want to chat. Well, Tory did now that she wasn't just Tory but that was something that she couldn't justify as of yet. That said, everything was growing boring fast in her hospital room, cooped up with nothing to do but use her phone or watch TV... boring. Heaving a sigh, Tory sipped some juice and picked at her provided tray of hospital food with little to no interest in finishing it, seeing as the nausea she'd been experiencing the whole time from the start of her injury to now persisted. With the blonde now out of the main ICU wing into one for more stable conditions, she'd been assigned a room where anyone could visit her... but even that knowledge couldn't have prepared her for who entered. With a light clear of her throat upon stepping in, Tory was snapped from her own thoughts and left with a not-insignificant amount of shock expressed outwardly as her eyes locked with Samantha LaRusso.

"LaRusso? What are you..."

Tory trailed off because the end of her sentence was obvious, the both of them had no love for each other and the blonde couldn't imagine that she'd suddenly changed her mind. The frosty glare leveled at her proved that assumption right, Samantha LaRusso not hiding it in the slightest.

"I wanted to show you what you did to me."

Yanking up the sleeve of her azure-colored shirt, the spot where Tory's makeshift brass knuckle bracelet had left a prominent set of scars that would never fade. Face twisting into a blank frown, Tory looked away after a short moment of staring before acceptantly nodding and quirking a brow.

"I won't say that you deserved that, if I'm being honest. I wanted to hurt you, sure, but I didn't intend for any of it to escalate the way it did."

Honest indeed, being so open about it took Sam way offguard that she became confused enough to lose a little of anger. That didn't mean that was wasn't any anger at all, as her reply was laced with frustration and a hint of fear that underlied a larger issue created from Tory's attack.

"Why did you attack me? What did I do to y-"

"Don't even start with that shit. You wrongly accused me of stealing your mom's wallet the same day you met me, even if admittedly I did take a bottle of alcohol. It wasn't the accusation as much as the way you instantly made up your mind and were so sure it was me. You also kissed my boyfriend in plain view of me at the party hours after you entered the drinking contest for the sole purpose of humiliating me in front of everyone."

"I-I was just..."

Sam winced a bit as she cut herself off, wanting to dispute what was said by deflecting the blame onto Tory but she admittedly did what was stated. Not missing a beat, Tory surpassed Sam's glare with her own as she dug deep to the pain that lingered and guided her hand.

"Do you not understand how it feels to be the rebound for you? Miguel was pining over you the day I met him and only went out with me at first to take his mind off of you... little miss perfect with rich, loving parents and no want for anything in life. You could've snapped your fingers and Miguel would've come running like a dog."

The vitriolic bitterness that Tory mustered slapped Sam in the face like an open palm but she still grew far more pissed off than apologetic and shot back with her own biting tongue.

"As if you're blameless in all of this. Even though I was wrong about the wallet and rude to you, you didn't have to humilate me in front of everyone I've known since childhood by pushing me into the snack table! And when we were at the roller rink, you just pushed me to the ground for no reason when I was trying to enjoy my date with Robby!"

"It wasn't for "no reason", it's because whenever you and Miguel are around each other, you keep flirting and..."

Tory's jaw tightened before rolling around for a moment, resisting the urge to show how much it hurt but remnants of the emotion darkening her face.

"I don't want to be second-best to you. In karate or Miguel's affections. If it were me vs you, he'd choose you. He still would."

Shaking her head to herself, Tory scoffed and slowly felt anger drain and give way to a much shittier thing bubbling beneath in uncertainty. Sam stood stunned in the tense, awkward silence like a porcelain doll before incredulity dominated her tone of voice.

"You're jealous of me? You think bringing me down will make you look any better? I feel sorry for you if you do."

"The condescension is one of the main reasons a lot of people don't like you, LaRusso. Thumb your nose up at me all you want but don't act like you know or have wanted to know anything about me. You don't have to fight tooth and nail for anything good in your life like I do."

It was harsh to state it aloud but Tory felt that Sam was sorely lacking in perspective, not realizing just how shitty a life her rival was leading while she was blessed with so much more yet still wanted to have the one thing that made the injured young woman's life better... Miguel. Sam still couldn't fully understand the severity of Tory's words as she scoffed to herself, throwing her hands up in a gesture of defeat before sniping back.

"You aren't the only one that has problems, you self-centered bitch.

...

God, I thought maybe you could change with how you went out of your way to save Miguel but you make it really difficult to believe my dad's teachings."

Preparing to leave, Sam looked at Tory with more pity than anything else, as if she were resigned to her rival being a lost cause altogether... and that made the blonde's blood simmer but choose not to comment as she rolled her jaw.

"Before you go... can I have your number? Robby's too?"

Sam wheeled around in undisguised bewilderment, caution and skepticism so obvious on her face that Tory merely rolled her eyes and softly sighed before clarifying.

"I'm tired of all the misunderstandings that spiral into bigger issues. From now on, if we have a problem with one another, we solve it without all the interference from our friend groups and family. As for Robby... I don't have a problem with him and I can imagine he's probably scared as hell of what he did. He needs to know that I don't blame him."

The pressure in the air as the both of them remained fixed on each other temporarily rose, the brunette clearly not pleased at the thought of Tory texting her or Robby but begrudgingly nodding.

"I don't even know if Robby'll answer you, seeing as he ran off after the school fight and isn't responding to any of us... but I'll tell you if he shows up again."

Samantha LaRusso and Tory Nichols certainly were not friends, or even friendly, with each other but the both of them could agree that Robby wasn't to blame for what happened at the school fight. Maybe... maybe that would be enough to start being less antagonistic.