ミ☆ chapter eight; jealousy, jealousy
[ season 1, episode 7]
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"I think I'm gonna ask Sam out."
Nadia slowly looked up at the Diaz in response to his random outburst. She momentarily stopped writing, still keeping her pen up. They were in the library, studying, or at least trying to because of their free period. "Where...is this coming from?"
"I've been thinking about it for a while, and Sensei Lawrence told me I should go for it, and not to take no for an answer."
"Johnny seems to be chiming in his input everywhere lately," She muttered. Nadia noticed Miguel's look of confusion, and rushed to clarify. "I'm sure you've seen him make fun of Eli."
"Yeah, but it surprisingly worked," Miguel argued. "Have you see his new look?"
She frowned. "Nope. I haven't seen him all weekend. Why, is it bad?"
"He's kind of acting like an asshole, but other than that he's fine," Miguel answered honestly. "He's also getting pretty good at karate."
"Speaking of, is Cobra Kai planning on joining the All-Valley Tournament?"
"I think so," He said. "Why? You thinking of joining?"
"No, actually. I don't know why you continuously ask me that," She stated. Nadia made a choice in that moment to be truthful and tell Miguel about Miyagi-Do. The All-Valley was nearing, and she didn't want him to find out on the day of.
"So, about Sam." He beat her to it. The girl sighed and rolled her eyes. It was no use. "Could you maybe help me ask her out?"
"We aren't in sixth grade, Miguel. Nobody wants a guy who has his friend do the asking for him," She informed. "Do you even have an idea of where you're taking her?"
Miguel pondered in silence for a few seconds. "The observatory. Maybe a picnic on the lawn, and some star-gazing."
A smile crept onto her lips at the thought of a date like that. "That sounds nice. Well, the picnic and stargazing part. But, you can't seriously want to take Samantha LaRusso to a place like that."
"What's wrong with it?" He inquired defensively.
"Nothing," Nadia spoke quickly. "It's just not first date material. Take her to a place that'll grab her attention."
"Like...?"
"I don't know, somewhere that won't have you sitting for two hours straight?" She shrugged. "It's kinda lame."
"It's not lame!" He defended, earning a hum from the brunette next to him. "Fine, I'll find another place."
She let out yet another hum, but this time sounding like a satisfied one. If you asked Nadia why she was helping Miguel ask out Sam, she couldn't give you a straight answer. Maybe it was because she had hope that Sam would reject him, but for that thought she felt guilty. She should wish the best for them, but Nadia just couldn't bring herself to.
Since she met Miguel, she had found him cute, but it wasn't anything romantic as far as she believed. But spending more and more time with him just made her realize how good of an impact he had on her. And she hated it.
The bell rang, indicating that school had officially ended. The pair stood up from their chairs, and Nadia grabbed his shoulders encouragingly while shaking him. "It's now or never, Diaz. You got this."
"I got this," He repeated with a sigh of preparation. The curly-haired girl watched him walk away and catch up to Sam with a sad smile.
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"Does this look good?" Robby asked, holding up the bonsai tree with optimism in his eyes.
The boy shrunk under her icy glare. Nadia scowled, "How am I supposed know?"
"You know, for someone who's supposed to be a mentor, you aren't exactly the best mentor," He complained, turning back to his plant.
Just seconds later, Nadia's phone chimed. She didn't reply to Robby, but instead checked her device.
blonde 💁🏼♀️
sam is begging me to help her
with an outfit for her date with miguel
blonde 💁🏼♀️
help me please
i'm not a fashion expert
brunette 🙋🏾♀️
yes u are
brunette 🙋🏾♀️
it's in there somewhere
unlock it idk
brunette 🙋🏾♀️
i can't help, i'm at work with
that guy with the bob i was talking
to u about
blonde 💁🏼♀️
ooooo
blonde 💁🏼♀️
is he cute?
brunette 🙋🏾♀️
gross, he's like 19
blonde 💁🏼♀️
question still stands
She shook her head at her best friend's text, a slight smile playing at her lips. Robby noticed it, his eyes widening dramatically. "So, she does smile."
"I've been having a shitty day. One that's only getting shittier," The girl confessed, Renée's messages finally sinking in. It dawned to her that Sam had actually agreed to go out with Miguel. "And I've only cut one fucking tree, and it don't even look right!"
Truth be told, Nadia didn't necessarily have anything against Robby, but she had to take her anger, or jealousy out on somebody. And unfortunately for the Keene boy, he happened to be the one nearby.
"Mr. LaRusso didn't teach you?"
"No, he did," She corrected, picking up her scissors to attempt on another tree. "My mind's just got too much going on at the moment."
"Is that your excuse?" He scoffed, tucking some of his hair behind his ear. He grabbed the bonsai tree that was in front of Nadia and placed it in front of him. "Believe it or not, I have a lot in my mind, too. The motive is to clear it completely."
"Yeah, easier said than done," She snapped.
Robby let out a frustrated huff. "If you wanna give up, fine. Or...you can actually try again instead."
She didn't reply to Robby, she more of just stared at him, and while Nadia wouldn't admit it to his face, he was right. She hadn't actually made a proper attempt in a while, and maybe it wasn't because she couldn't.
The brunette stared at the cold, metal scissors in her hand, taking in Robby's words. She also thought about Daniel's.
Think only the tree.
Revisiting the reasons why she couldn't do it in the first place would only bring her back to square one. So, instead, Nadia dismissed the thoughts rather than addressing them. She shut her eyes completely.
Make it happen.
Once Nadia had the image in her mind, her eyes fluttered back open and she began to cut without thinking about it. She could feel Robby's eyes practically burning into her skull, but still, she ignored him. She thought about the tree in front of her.
A proud smile grew on her face when she realized she had done it. Robby grabbed the tree and held it up arrogantly. "See? It wasn't that hard."
"Whatever, Keene," She rolled her eyes with a grin. "I could still kick your ass in karate."
He laughed in response. Shaking his head, he started on a new topic. "So, are you competing in the All-Valley Tournament?"
"Probably." She nodded. "With Cobra Kai banned, I think that eliminates any actual competition."
Daniel had somehow trusted the pair enough to close up for him, and so far it wasn't looking too bad. That was, until Nadia took a look at the security cameras on the monitors nearby. There were two boys seemingly waiting for someone outside of the place, and Nadia's gut was telling her something was very wrong.
"Hey, Robby," She called, not taking her eyes off the screen but reaching out to tap his bicep. "There's two guys out here. One of them looks like Chris Brown."
That seemed to grab his attention almost instantly. A look of alert washed over his features. "You need to go."
The brunette shook her head. "No way. Why?"
"Just-" The Keene paused, making his way to the exit of the building. Before leaving, he turned to look at her. "Just go."
"Like hell I will," She muttered. Nadia began to pack up her belongings, stuffing them messily in her bag before cautiously exiting the same way Robby did. The cold air hit her face, followed by a wave of fear that whatever she was about to see wasn't going to be good.
She didn't realize how close by they were, because as soon as she turned the corner, there they were, along with Robby who looked slightly nervous. Their gazes shifted to the curly-haired girl who matched the expression that Robby wore on his face.
The Chris Brown lookalike spoke first. "Who the hell is that?"
Robby turned around and met Nadia's eyes. He looked pissed off. "I told you to go!"
She lowered her eyebrows at him, stomping forwards to stand beside him. "And I told you no!"
"Oh, shit!" The white one snickered. "Robby's got himself a girlfriend!"
She narrowed her eyes at the men. "I'm sixteen."
"So?" He quirked a brow. Realization flashed in his eyes as he began to laugh again. He turned to Robby. "Wait. Don't tell me...you been lying about your age here, too?"
Nadia glowered at the boy next to her. As much as she wanted to question him and yell at him, she knew the situation they were currently in needed to be dealt with first. The other one held up a hand, indicating that he should shut up. "It doesn't matter. Either way, she's gonna see him get his ass kicked."
He swung at Robby first, and the Keene used the blocking methods that Daniel had taught them to avoid getting punched in the face.
"Ooh! What, ninja boy teach you some karate or something?"
Nadia charged towards the white one, leaving Robby to fight with the other. She sent a kick to his abdomen, making him bend over in pain momentarily. She waited as he gained his composure. Instead of running away, he he stood his ground. "This doesn't concern you. Walk away while you still can."
"I'm good, thanks," She replied. He was a puncher, just like his friend, which only made it easier for the Hayworthe. He tried to punch her straight in the face, but she caught his fist in the nick of time. She kept her grip on his hand and twisted it until she had his entire arm to his back. Nadia used her foot to kick him forwards and cause his face to collide with the brick wall.
Blood had already began to seep from his nose as he held it. The girl approached him carefully, to which he used to his advantage, sliding his foot under her. Her back hit the harsh, cold concrete and a loud groan escaped her lips.
He took that as an opportunity to stand up and put himself above her. Before he could land a single punch, she grabbed his face and pressed her thumbs to his eyes with as much force as possible. His head flew back in agony as he whispered a few curse words at her. She pushed him off her, then kicked him in the face furiously.
His friend was already backed up on a wall next to one of the many entrances to the building while looking up at Robby, and the guy Nadia had just beat the shit out of had started to do the same as she stood from the ground and stalked closer to him.
Once again, she was alongside Robby. They looked down at the two men who were backed up against the wall.
"Go," Nadia instructed. "Before I kick both of your asses this time."
They scrambled back to their feet, but not without whispering threats and warnings to Robby. "You better watch your ass, man!"
The pair watched them go until they could no longer see them in the distance. Nadia let out a much needed breath and hugged herself due to the chilly night.
"You did pretty good," Robby complimented, expecting it in return.
But all Nadia did was slap the back of his head. "What the hell, Robby? What was that? Who are those people?!"
"Okay, okay. Calm down, I-"
"No, I'm not gonna fucking calm down! Two random guys just tried to jump us! And apparently you're lying about your age, too? I need an explanation, now. Or, I'm going to Mr. LaRusso."
The Keene dropped his head in shame. "Okay."
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It was at a point where Nadia would be surprised if she went home without some type of draining event occurring beforehand.
Robby gave himself up pretty easily, although he didn't really have a choice. He came clean about everything because Nadia forced him to. Even the things that he still tried to keep under wraps, she somehow got out of him. Likely because she constantly threatened to tell Daniel, even after he finished telling the whole truth.
She was shocked by a lot, but she was not prepared when she was informed that he was the son of Johnny Lawrence. But, once he did reveal that major piece of information, his actions began to make sense. A part of her actually felt sympathetic.
While she agreed to not tell Mr. LaRusso about anything yet, she told him he'd have to do so eventually or she'd do it for him. The last thing Nadia wanted to do was lie to someone else she cared about.
Nadia placed her bike on the rack, brushing her hands through her hair frustratedly once she arrived home. All she wanted to do was take a shower and relax in her bed for the rest of the night. She would've done just that if she hadn't seen Miguel blocking her from entering her apartment.
"Hey!" He greeted with a beaming smile. He had the complete opposite facials that Nadia had on.
"Hey," She responded dryly. Nadia wondered why Miguel looked so happy, but the memory of Renée's text appeared back into her mind. "I take it your date went well?"
"It did," He simply stated. He looked down at the blue dinosaur plushie in his hands then back up at her.
"Sam won you a dinosaur?"
"Oh!" He shouted as if he hadn't acknowledged the item seconds prior. "No. This is for you, actually."
Nadia's eyes widened in surprise. "Me?"
He moved his head up and down. "Yeah! This probably wouldn't have happened without you, and I just wanted to get you something to thank you."
He placed the object in her hands, scanning her face so he could try and figure out what was going on in her head, but no luck. Her face was entirely unreadable.
She stared at the stuffed animal. "You actually got this for me?"
He nodded, confused.
A smile grew on her face at his confirmation. It felt like she had been doing other people favors lately, and the simple deed of someone giving her something in return was enough to bring a smile to her face. She wanted to ask a million more questions, but they would all ruin the moment and frankly, Nadia was tired of putting everyone before herself. "Thank you, Miguel. It's...really sweet."
"No problem," He spoke with a cheesy grin. His eyes lit up once another thought came into his head. "Also, Cobra Kai's back in All-Valley, so if you wanna join, this is your last chance."
"Wait, what?" Her mouth flew open so quickly, it could've dropped to the ground.
"Are you okay?"
She squeezed the blue dinosaur in her hands, trying to mask her reaction. "Fine."
Nadia decided that now was a better moment than ever to tell Miguel about Miyagi-Do, as she didn't know when she'd actually get a chance like this. "Miguel. I need to tell you something, and it's like seriously important so, like, don't interrupt me this time, okay?"
He inclined his head in agreement.
"So, it's about Cobra Kai, and all that stuff. You know Da-"
"Miggy! What are you still doing out here? Come inside!"
Miguel's eyes shifted from her to his mom who was in the doorway. He looked at her knowingly. "I've gotta go, but you can tell me tomorrow, right?"
She watched him walk past her and into his apartment. His mom warmly waved at her, prompting Nadia to return the kind act. She muttered to herself, "Yeah. Tomorrow."
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AUTHORS NOTE !
the writers block for this chapter is REALLL
i can't stand this chapter but it's okay bc we're almost done w s1 💪🏾
so next chapter robby and nadia are gonna spend a lot of time together i think? if i'm thinking of the right ep
try not to ship them challenge 🫣