Season 4

Chapter 11

That night, Miguel didn't say another word to anyone. He really didn't feel like talking to anyone about it, not even Sam. He had gotten his ass kicked multiple times for what? He wasn't going to be able to compete in the All-Valley anymore! That bitch Robby had ruined his life time and time again! Miguel left the Larusso house and because they had taken Johnny's car when they had driven over there, Miguel didn't have a car to drive anywhere. Instead, he walked off into the night, not telling anyone where he was, where he was going, and what time he was going back.

It had been four, nearly 5, hours and nobody had heard from Miguel. They were all starting to get worried. Johnny had told Miguel's mom and grandma about what had happened, so they were waiting in Carmen's apartment nervously, hoping Miguel surfaced soon. Sam had also been put on alert, and her and Johnny drove around the city, looking at any place that Miguel might be. The two of them knew Miguel better than anyone in the world, better than even Carmen and Rosa, so if anyone could find him, it would be them.

Time ticked on as Carmen and Rosa waited at the apartment and Johnny and Sam scoured the city for him. Soon, the clock hit 3 and everyone was just about ready to call the cops. Johnny had gone home to wait with an extremely worried Carmen and Rosa, and Sam had one more place to check before she went home for the night.

Sam snuck into the dark, deserted school, taking a side entrance so she could evade the weekend security. She walked straight towards the cafeteria and sure enough, there was Miguel, sitting on one of the benches in the corner of the room. Sam smiled, relieved, and walked over to him. He nodded at her as she sat down and curled up beside him.

"Hey." Miguel murmured.

"Hey." Sam said, gently. "Why haven't you been answering your phone? Everyone's really worried about you?"

"My phone's dead." Miguel said, but Sam knew he was lying. He just didn't want to be found by anyone. Sam didn't press him though. She just sent a quick text to Johnny to let him know that she had found him, before putting her own phone away. "How'd you know I'd be here?" Miguel asked.

"This is where you fought Kyler and those guys when they were bullying me last year." Sam said. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, it was the first time I was finally able to stand up to my bullies." Miguel said. "My whole life, I'd been running. This was the first time I actually managed to stand up for myself."

"And for me." Sam added, leaning her head on his shoulder. "You know, I've never had a guy fight for me before."

Miguel chuckled.

"It's not like you even needed me." Miguel remarked. "You probably could have kicked the crap out of all of them by yourself. Back then, you were a lot better at Karate than I was."

"Back then?" Sam raised an eyebrow. "More like always! I'm still better than you now!"

"Woah, woah, woah, don't push your luck." Miguel remarked, smiling faintly. "You might have been better than me back then but I think you're forgetting that you're looking at the All-Valley champ."

"That's only because I didn't compete. You wanna test your luck against me, right here, right now?" Sam asked. Miguel was about to stand up, but he then remembered his left arm in the sling and he sighed. Sam then noticed and her smile faded quickly from her face. "Miguel, I'm sorry. I didn't..."

"It's fine." Miguel muttered quickly, a frown now etched on his face.

"Miguel, you just need to..."

"Look, Sam, I'm really not in the mood for a pep talk." Miguel snapped, interrupting her rather rudely. He sighed and continued a lot more quietly. "I'm sorry. It's just, I'm really pissed right now. Robby's nearly killed me three times in the past 6 months. He's ruined my life, and the lives of everyone I care about, and I'm helpless to stop him! HIS side made the bet! HIS side made the rules! But when he realised that maybe we can beat him anyways, he ends the fucking game!"