❛ I always stay sharp. ❜

Later, after Ayane and the LaRussos returned home, she got a phone call.

It was Robby. Ayane knit her brows, answering at once.

"What's up?" she greeted.

"Hey," Robby replied. "So... my dad and Miguel's mom are going out tonight. He told us that we could host a celebration at Reseda for getting into the Sekai Taikai. You coming?"

Ayane thought for a moment, wondering why Robby had been the one to tell her this and not Miguel. She supposed it wasn't really Miguel's place right now.

"You're throwing a party?"

"Me and Miguel are hosting, yeah. Come on, it won't be any fun if you're not there. Drunk Ayane is always a sight to see."

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Whatever that's supposed to mean. What time?"

Robby replied, "Seven. See you then."

"See you then."

She hung up, lying down on her bed with a sigh. In all honesty, she was bit tired from today's and yesterday's events, but she knew that all of her friends were expecting her to be there. Plus, it was good that she was getting to bond with them again.

Her phone buzzed once more, Ayane picking it up to see a text from Vincent. Asking her why she had left the dojo. Calling her a traitor.

Ayane read the text, then set her phone back down. It was not surprising that Vincent would switch up like this. His loyalty had been with Cobra Kai since he started karate, and that was mostly Ayane's fault for bringing him there.

There was a knock on her bedroom door just then. She got up, going to open it.

Sam stood there, a small smile on her face. "Hey."

"Hi," Ayane greeted. "What's up?"

She twisted her fingers. "Did they tell you about the party tonight?"

Ayane nodded. "Yeah, why?"

Sam gave a small, hopeful shrug. "I was just wanting to see if I could do your makeup and pick out your outfit."

At once, Ayane smiled. She recalled the last party she and Sam had gone to, where Sam did the same thing. She seemed to be glad that Ayane was living with them again.

"Sure, Sam," Ayane nodded, allowing the girl into her bedroom. "Just don't make me look too slutty, alright?"

Sam laughed, opening Ayane's closet doors.

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At seven, Ayane and Sam headed to Reseda Heights.

Sam had offered to be the designated driver, as she did not planning on drinking tonight. And she also wanted to give Ayane the chance to have some fun and let loose.

They arrived, Ayane seeing a ton of cars and kids outside the complex. Clearly the word had gotten out.

Ayane and Sam walked up to the party, music blaring and kids playing beer pong in the courtyard. They were definitely gonna get busted by the cops.

She looked around for someone she knew, namely, Miguel. Ayane just wanted to hang out with him, really.

"Ayane!"

She turned, seeing Robby approaching her. He had a cup in his hand, holding it out to her. "Here. I've been saving it just for you."

Ayane quirked an eyebrow as she glanced down at the cup, then back up at Robby. At once, she took it from him, raising her head and pouring the whole thing back.

His and Sam's eyes both widened a little, watching her. Ayane was really not holding back tonight.

"Thanks," she said, looking at the empty cup. "Wanna get me another?"

Robby laughed a little, throwing an arm around her as he led her into the apartment. She saw some of her friends inside, refilling her cup with beer. Ayane scanned the room for Miguel, finally spotting him talking to Eli.

Then, she saw that they were talking to two girls, one being Moon. Ayane frowned a little, not knowing who the other girl was. She was talking directly to Miguel, the boy laughing at something she said.

Robby took notice, seeing Ayane staring at Miguel.

"You okay?" he asked, leaning in front of her. Ayane snapped out of it, giving him a curt nod.

"Mhm," was all she replied, chugging her second round of beer. She made a face at the taste, looking around the apartment. "You got anything stronger?"

Miguel had seen her now, standing with Robby. He watched as Robby walked to the kitchen area, opening a cabinet and taking out a bottle of tequila. Ayane took it from him, saying something that Miguel could not understand as she unscrewed the lid.

Ayane poured some in her cup, more than enough for her.

Miguel watched as Ayane drank, coughing after it went down. She and Robby laughed, leaving the kitchen and disappearing into the crowd.

He looked back down at the girl he had been having a conversation with, giving her a timid smile. But now, his focus was on Ayane and Robby.

It did not take long for the effects of the alcohol to kick in, Ayane quickly becoming the life of the party. She was trying her best to ignore Miguel, only hanging out with Robby as the two of them faced off in beer pong.

"How the hell are you still beating me when you're drunk?" Robby said with a shake of his head, Ayane giving him a grin.

She shrugged, walking over to him and swiping up her cup again. "I always stay sharp," Ayane winked, taking a sip of tequila.

Robby only laughed at her, shaking his head once more. "Drunk Ayane is nothing like the sober Ayane."

She made a face. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"You're a lot more carefree," Robby replied, leaning against the ping pong table. "And fun."

"I am fun even when I'm not drunk," Ayane defended, her words slurring a bit. She paused, looking around for the speaker that was playing the music. She walked over to it, turning up the volume at once. Some people looked at her, the girl swaying to the pop song playing.

She approached Robby at once, her mind completely muddled. Ayane threw her arms around him, giving Robby a drunken grin.

"You wanna dance?"

Robby felt like maybe Ayane had had enough to drink now, agreeing to dance with her so he could distract her into getting the cup out of her hand.

Miguel was watching the entire thing, Ayane with her arms around Robby's neck and his hands on her waist. He was also quite wasted, to be completely honest, and watching them was not helping his mood.

The girl he had been conversing with earlier appeared in front of him, a smile on her face.

"Why do you look so sad?" she asked, Miguel looking down at her.

He felt so hurt by seeing Ayane with Robby, wanting to go over and punch Robby in the face even though they were on good terms now. Miguel knew he couldn't do that, though, because he had no right to. He and Ayane were just friends.

Miguel looked back down at the girl in front of him, returning her smile.

"I'm perfectly fine," he replied to her, taking another sip of beer.

Meanwhile, Robby had managed to get the cup away from Ayane, trying to get her to calm down a little. She was kind of off the rails, starting to stumble about.

"Ayane, I think you should sit down for a minute," Robby said, grabbing hold of her shoulders.

Ayane blinked at him a few times, grabbing her stomach suddenly. "Uh– I think I'm gonna be sick."

Robby's eyes bulged, quickly ushering Ayane to the bathroom. He got her in there in just the nick of time, the girl collapsing in front of the toilet and retching.

He shut the door, leaning down at once to hold her hair back. Robby felt bad for letting her drink this much, but she had been very insistent.

After Ayane finished puking her guts out, she blindly reached up and flushed the toilet. Robby let go of her hair as Ayane leaned back against the bathtub, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

"That was disgusting."

Robby made a face, giving Ayane an almost pitying look.

"Do you want me to take you home?" he asked at once, looking down at the girl.

Ayane's head was spinning, the girl pinching the bridge of her nose. "Nah. I'm here to party, right?"

She climbed to her feet, stumbling forward into Robby. He grabbed onto her tightly, looking down as Ayane met his eyes. Their bodies were pressed against one another, Robby growing nervous at their closeness.

Ayane, however, seemed to think nothing of it, pulling away from Robby and going to wash her hands.

Robby swallowed thickly, running a hand through his hair. She seemed to be reaching a dangerous limit, now.

The girl flung open the bathroom door, walking back into the living area. Robby quickly followed, not wanting to let her out of his sight.

"Ayane–"

She was standing completely still in the living room, her mouth agape. Robby looked over to see what she was looking at, eyebrows raising.

Miguel sat on the couch with the girl he had been talking to earlier, making out with her.

Ayane felt as if her heart stopped, unable to process what she was seeing. The girl blinked a few times, hoping that maybe it would go away, but she was witnessing it with her own two eyes. She was having sudden flashbacks, to Miguel and Tory.

"Ayane," Robby placed a hand on her shoulder, looking from Miguel to her. "Hey, are you okay?"

Miguel pulled away from the girl just then, looking up to see Ayane standing there. Horrified, he immediately pushed the girl away and stood up.

"Oh my God, Ayane– I–"

She turned and darted outside, Miguel following after her. Robby almost followed as well, but he was going to let them sort this one out. He would hang back and step in if he needed to.

Miguel caught up with Ayane as she started to look for Sam, tears welling in her eyes.

"Ayane," Miguel reached out for her arm, the girl snatching it away.

"No, Miguel," she crossed her arms, turning her back to the boy.

He felt like a complete dick. Miguel did not know how he was going to even begin to try and explain.

"Ayane, I'm so sorry–"

"Don't be," she wiped a tear from her face, shrugging up at him. "We're just friends, right? Do what you want."

She tried to walk away again, but Miguel was not letting her go so easily. This reminded him of the situation with him and Tory all over again, except Miguel had actually been aware of what he was doing this time.

"That's not what I want," he quickly replied, forcing his way in front of her.

"Oh, really? It sure looked you wanted it from what I saw," Ayane snapped, glaring up at him.

Miguel scoffed a little. "And what about you and Robby, huh? I saw you dancing all over him."

Ayane gave a cynical laugh. "For the last fucking time, Miguel, me and Robby are just friends! I have never seen him as anything more and I never will. I wasn't fucking making out with him!"

There was fire behind her eyes, Miguel not knowing how to respond. He licked his lips, taking a step closer to her.

"What do you want from me, Ayane? Do you really want to just be friends?"

Ayane clenched her jaw, scowling deeply at Miguel.

"I don't even think I want to be your friend, anymore."

She gave him one last look, walking away from him at that. Miguel stood there, shocked. He could not move, watching Ayane approach Sam and say something to her.

Sam looked over at Miguel, frowning, then back to Ayane. The two girls began to head to Sam's car, Miguel watching them leave.

He ran a hand through his hair, fighting back tears.

Miguel didn't know if he could repair the damage now.

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     Ayane's head was pounding when she woke up the next morning, still in her clothes from the night before.

She had to get up, though, and get ready for practice. It was going to be hell with the raging hangover she had.

The girl forced herself out of bed, going to get a shower. As she started it up, the memories of everything that had happened last night suddenly came flooding back.

Ayane leaned against the bathroom counter, her chest starting to ache as she saw the image of Miguel making out with another girl in her head. It was all that replayed in her mind, and the argument that had followed.

She did not want to see him at practice.

After showering, Ayane felt slightly better. She got dressed, then received a text from Daniel saying that practice was cancelled today. He was giving them the day off to rest.

Ayane huffed, bringing up Miguel's contact after a moment. She did not even know where to begin, having no clue what to say to him.

Pacing her bedroom, Ayane felt like crying yet again. She felt so stupid for everything, knowing that her and Miguel being 'just friends' would never work out.

Because they loved each other far too much.

Notes.
so... i'll write out a notes app apology if needed

i live for the drama y'all i'm so fuckin messy, i been waiting to spice things up this whole season and now it's allll crashing down

be mad at me all you want, but their exes to lovers arc is gonna serve SO HARD. like my brain is going a million miles a minute with this plot i have in store

who are you most excited to see ayane fight in the sekai taikai?