In My Blood (Eli Moskowitz/Hawk FF) (Cobra Kai)

Chapter 35: Relations of Generations

My hands slide the paperwork from Principal Lopez over the edge of my desk accidentally in my rush. An aggravated groan leaves my lips and I crouch down to pick up all three documents. "Zelena," Miguel begins.

"I don't want to do this right now, Miguel. I've had a long day." I technically wasn't lying. Between the PTSD from Tory's fists and the school fight at the beginning of the year to Kyler being an ass per usual to the entire school finding out about my busted face and getting interrogated by our principal on suspicion of domestic abuse in my household- I needed a week off of school. Maybe even the rest of the year.

The sound of footsteps echoing louder than before causes me to draw my eyes upward. Miguel inches into the room slowly and cautiously stops by the teacher's desk instead of completely approaching me. "I'm sorry about what happened with Tory. I can't believe she did that to you."

My eyes genuinely examine him and his entire face while my brain processes the tone of his words- the words he chooses. "Are you two talking again?" I abruptly interrupt instead of feeding into his apologetic sentences.

"I am happy with Sam. Why would I do that?" He deflects the topic of the conversation.

I lift myself back to my full height, stepping slowly towards him, shaking my head. "I didn't ask if you were happy in your relationship with Sam or about it in general. I asked if you were talking to Tory again. Now answer it." His eyes shift away from my face to the wall in the distance behind me. I try to move into his line of vision again, but he simply looks elsewhere, turning his head to avoid me. "Talking to Tory again doesn't mean you're cheating on Sam, Miguel. I just don't understand why you wouldn't have at least told me. And I don't understand how you knew what was going to happen- obviously-"

"I didn't." He interjects, returning his eyes to my face. "I want to get along with her- be civil at least. I saw the way she looked at you after fighting Sam. I saw the glimpse of guilt and the good in her. I saw what you saw. And I had Mitch send me her contact card from your phone when you went to refill the glasses during the movie. I invited her to Yaya's party." He inhales only to exhale with a heavy sigh, gripping the edges of the teacher's desk pretty tightly. "I saw her leaving. And her and I got into an argument about her seeing me dance with you. She thought Sam and I broke up again and that you and I got together."

"And that's why you called?"

"She mentioned going out. She didn't say where or anything. But we know how it turned out for Sam the last few times Tory was near her." He swallows hard. "I needed to check."

I huff out a breath, leaning against the empty spot beside him on my teacher's desk with my backpack at my side and the papers still clutched in my hand. "Why wouldn't you just tell me that Tory saw us? It isn't like we are a thing or have ever been. And you hiding it seems as shady as Sam did when she was talking to you and hiding it from her dad."

Tears roll down his cheeks and he sniffles, glancing back upward to me. "I genuinely didn't think she was going to- I thought she would trust you more than any of us. I mean, her and I talked multiple times about your feelings for Hawk."

"Our minds play tricks on us sometimes. Like it did when you thought Sam was cheating on you with Robby. Like it did to me today when Mitch went to greet Eli." I explain, following the words with silence so we could both process the shared information between us. My hand lightly taps his knee, nodding toward the door. "Does Sam know?"

He swallows again, nodding his head slowly. "She's mad at me too. She was there when Hawk pretty much forced it out of me." He smiles softly at me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to pull me into a hug. I wrap my right arm around his back and feel him shake a little. "I really am so sorry."