Romeo and Juliet is a Toxic Love Story [Miguel Diaz x OC]

11 - Boys are the Worst (Most of Them, Anyway)

I drag myself out of my car and into the complex, finding Miguel sitting outside his apartment.

"Renée! Finally!" he says excitedly, running up to meet me. Yeah, finally indeed.

"Are we back in the tournament?" I ask, hoping to steer his thoughts away from his 'not-date' with Sam.

"Yeah! Yeah, we're in, but you'll never guess what happened with Sam," he says, breezing right through the answer to my question. Mon Dieu, I hate it here. I force a smile and curious look on my face.

"What happened?" I ask, shoving my annoyance to the side. He lights up. Ay de mí...

"Well first we played some mini-golf, then we went into the arcade and we totally hit the jackpot and she chose this huge stuffed octopus and named it Señor Octopus, then we were just kind of fake sparring and she totally took me to the ground- I didn't even know she knew karate like that- and then- then we kissed," Miguel recounts excitedly. My heart completely stops- or, it feels that way anyway- almost as if someone has shot me. So that's it. They're a thing now. That's great. That's magnifique, that's- that's... fine. It's fine. I mean, I didn't like Miguel like that anyway. I'm not upset. I'm not mad at myself for being too much of a coward to make any moves. I'm not upset. I'm not. I'm fine, it's fine, it's all fine.

I shut my eyes tight to try and make the tears go away, opening them wide as I put on a shocked grin.

"¡Ave María! That's- wow Mig..uel, wow, I- that's awesome! I'm glad it went well," I say, twisting my tone so it sounds normal, "and it's cool that Mr LaRusso taught Sam karate. Keep up the family tradition and all."

"How did you know Mr LaRusso was the one that taught her?"

Shit.

"Uh- sorry, I just assumed- you know, the commercials... chopping prices and... all that.."

"Right, right, you're a genius, of course you'd figure it out," Miguel says, "but uh- I know it's getting late and you look super tired- not in a bad way! Just um- you know- you know what I mean, right? I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, okay?!"

"I- yeah, that sounds great," I say, knowing full well I'm telling a bold faced lie. I really don't want to hear any more about it. What else is there to know? They played golf, they hit a jackpot at the arcade and got a stuffed octopus- must've been one hell of a jackpot if they managed to win enough tickets to get anything from The Wall, let alone something 'huge'-, fake sparred, then kissed. I feel like I know plenty. But at the same time... no matter what, Miguel is my friend. Whether he's dating Samantha LaRusso or anyone else or single as can be, he's still my friend... and I have to be there for him, through the lows... and the highs- even if I'm not particularly thrilled about the current high. Miguel grins, only further proving that I have to be there for him, even if it makes my heart hurt and my stomach twist and turn like a quiver of snakes.

"Awesome, I can't wait! Buenas noches, Renée! Or should I say, the Viper," he says. I laugh lightly to mask my actual feelings towards all of this.