CHAPTER FOURTEEN
disclaimer! unedited! very
unedited! and slight implication/
mention of sa! (for those of you
dont know, zara definitely took advantage of
of robby that night, no way, shape,
or form do i think it was right for
her to do what she did with him
especially when he was under
the influence)

"Robby what are you doing—"

"I fucked up."

Robby has always been Valentine's... left hand man? While Sierra has been the devil on her shoulder, Robby kept the girl grounded even after their relationship. In a friendly sense, they're perfect together. In a friendly sense. So it wasn't hard for the boy to come for help in times of need.

It was like they were two peas in a pod.

So when the boy decided to drink and a certain Iron Dragon took advantage of that moment, Robby turned to the first person he trusted. And that was Valentine Song. Early mornings in Barcelona wasn't something either of them were used to, but today they had to let it subside. "Robby," her voice barely a whisper— the look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. Her eyes widened, searching his face for any hint of a joke. But his posture remained slouched, jaw clenched, and eyes hollowed.

"What do you mean?" she asked carefully, placing a hand on his arm in confusion.

"I... I drank too much– and... then Zara came along last night. We–"

Valentine's stomach twisted. "I don't understand–"

"I wasn't thinking straight," he muttered. "I don't– I don't remember anything after that. It's stupid, I'm sorry–"

He immediately felt her arms wrap around him. She held him tightly, her chin resting on his shoulder as he trembled slightly. "Don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong."

"I messed everything up– with the team, with Tory," Robby sighed, letting himself relax into her embrace. "And I didn't know who else to turn to, so I just figured you'd be able to talk."

Valentine pursed her lips together at the thought. She couldn't think of what to say so fast, careful of her words. "We'll figure this out, okay? I'm still here for you."

For a split second, Robby pulled back from her embrace to stare at her, his eyes speaking a different story. Valentine wondered if it was shame or relief that surged through him. "I really don't deserve you as a friend."

"Hey now, that's where you're wrong," she laughed, a lazy smile tugging at her lips. "You're Robby Keene, captain of Miyagi- Do in one of the most important tournaments– you're practically one of the coolest people I know. Even when things get to your head... Give me a second." He watched as she disappeared into the room, a few seconds later she came back with a blanket– walking off to the couches that sat at the lounge of their floor. "What do you remember?"

Robby hesitated, sitting on the couch as Valentine tossed the blanket over Robby's shoulders. "I just told you I don't remember much– but, I think she might've kissed me. Maybe more, I– I woke up, and she was there."

She could only look at him, rubbing his back in comfort. The girl didn't talk, and in a way, Robby found the silence much more comforting than words. So while she stayed silent, she listened to whatever he had to say. His worries about the Sekai Taikai, about Tory, about the incident with Zara. Robby had always appreciated Valentine's presence– this time he appreciated her even more. Again, the two were perfect together.

In a friendly sense.

Obviously, Valentine forgot to tell Robby about the night prior during her oh- so amazing conversation with Axel (obviously focused on trying to help Robby recover from what happened). Who just so happened to see the whole thing from the end of the hallway.

For fuck's sake, why did the vending machine have to be at the end of the hallway?

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀

Axel has resorted to listening to American Country Pop when he first realized how serious the breakup was– and how much he still wasn't over Valentine. Sensei Wolf made it clear that they had to be up before nine in the morning, thankfully Axel already finished his morning routine to allow himself some kind of grace.

It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now.

The music blared through his headphones. Normally he would've listened to some (what people call) 'hype' playlist to get him in the zone– it just made sense for him to. If a hit by Sensei Wolf was not enough motivation, then music scratched his brain the right way to keep his head in the game. But today it served a different purpose, because he was feeling all sorts of emotions– and he was definitely in touch with them.

Said I wouldn't call, but I've lost all control and I need you now.

Okay, Axel was being dramatic, but can you blame him? It felt like he was hit by a truck. "Unbelievable," he muttered to himself, burying his face into his hands. The image of them sitting together wouldn't leave his mind. He threw himself onto his bed staring up at the ceiling to find some kind of peace. He didn't know why it hurt so much– maybe because he gave himself too much hope from last night. From their conversation, Axel thought that Robby wasn't much of a competition anymore.

I mean, come on, last night was definitely some progress on their rocky stance, right? Surely she's thinking about him the way he's thinking about her, there couldn't be any reason not to. But the more he allowed himself to think about it, the more time passed. And the more time passed, the more Axel forgot that he had to be at the gym with Sensei Wolf.

It wasn't until he heard banging on his door that he realized how fucked he is right now.

What's that thing people do? Project their anger onto what they were doing? Maybe Axel would try that on the mat.