Archive of Our Own

Over the summer, while Miguel was in the hospital, Hawk’s parents bought a run-down old cabin in the woods near Coyote Creek. 

His mom had been watching too many home renovation shows, he thought, but when they finally brought him out to see it, it wasn’t so bad. He actually enjoyed helping them fix the place up now and then. It took his mind off things. 

Thanks to the distraction of having the work to do, they didn’t ask him too many questions about school or karate, nor any of the things they wouldn’t have thought to ask about, like how Miguel was doing. 

Within a month, they had the place looking pretty nice. It was small, just three little bedrooms, only slightly bigger than the beds inside them, one bathroom, a living room and a tiny kitchen. Hawk had helped his mom choose the faucets and furnishings and the white faux fur rug in front of the fireplace, which really tied everything together and made the place look exactly like he thought a cabin should look. They were all pretty proud of the end result.

After finishing the cabin, Hawk’s parents sometimes took romantic weekend trips there, leaving Hawk to his own devices at home. He hadn’t been back there since that summer, but now that he was trying to be friends with both Miguel and Demetri again after defecting from Cobra Kai, he had the idea of hosting a guys’ weekend at the cabin, just the three of them. 

They could play some board games like Demetri always wanted to do, maybe drink some beer, and just hang out. Hopefully by the end of it, they would be able to diffuse some of the lingering resentment between him and Demetri and as a bonus, spend some time with Miguel.

Even though Hawk and Demetri had theoretically reconciled, things hadn’t gone back to normal like Demetri had apparently hoped they would. Demetri still didn’t seem to understand that Hawk hadn’t liked the way things used to be between them. He hadn’t liked Demetri talking down to him or the casual dismissiveness with which he ignored Hawk’s opinions. And now Demetri had become more condescending than ever, because Hawk had been wrong about Sensei Kreese, and somehow that meant he was wrong about everything. More often than not, their attempts to speak to each other were undercut with passive-aggressive remarks from Demetri, eliciting actively aggressive responses from Hawk. 

The last time they had tried to hang out, Demetri had annoyed him so much that he’d walked out halfway through the Doctor Who episode.That was his new way of dealing with his anger, on the recommendation of the school counselor. Take a deep breath, count to ten, and if you’re still angry, just leave. Walk away before you do something you’ll regret. That advice was probably the only reason he’d managed to keep from completely demolishing their friendship again.

Hawk hadn’t spent much time with Miguel outside the dojo either, mostly because Miguel was back with Sam now, and to say that Hawk didn’t get along with her would be an understatement. Miguel seemed to be with her in every spare moment, going on fishing trips with her dad and shit. Apparently they were getting pretty serious this time around. The thought made Hawk feel a little sick.

By now he was aware that he had an undeniable crush on his old Cobra Kai comrade. The feelings were there, but he tried to push them down, keep them out of his mind, knowing that to let himself think about it was just asking for misery. 

It was impossible that Miguel could feel the same way. Hawk knew that. He had been a witness to Miguel’s infatuation with Sam from the beginning, and it was hard to imagine that a person who liked Sam could ever like Hawk. They were almost exact opposites. 

But he still caught himself daydreaming sometimes, imagining what it would be like. At practice his eyes drifted to Miguel whenever he wasn’t thinking, and he was afraid it was just a matter of time before Miguel or someone else noticed the way he stared. The worst thing that could happen would be if Miguel guessed the truth and felt sorry for him. He'd had enough humiliation in his life.

So Hawk had some friendships to repair, and a weekend at the cabin might be a way to do it. Part of him wanted to only invite Miguel, but he was afraid Miguel might think that was weird. He figured with Yasmine and Sam far away and Miguel there as a buffer, maybe he and Demetri could figure out how to be friends again.

On the day they had decided to do it, he took his motorcycle first thing in the morning so he would have time to set the place up for them and make sure they had everything they would need. The plan was for Demetri’s mom to drive up and drop him and Miguel off in the afternoon. Even though Hawk imagined things would be a little bit tense at first, he was pretty excited about this weekend. He had never spent even one night unsupervised with friends, and it had taken herculean efforts on his part to get his parents to agree with it. Their only stipulation was no girls, which was fine by him. That was practically the whole point.

The guys were a little late getting up there, so after the place was all set up, with clean sheets on all the beds and food in the fridge, Hawk took the time to do some stretches and run through some exercises. 

He was getting more diligent about staying in shape lately, mostly because he felt like Miyagi-Do’s lessons were making him soft. He was working on his middle splits, which he still found excruciating, when he heard the crunch of tires on the dirt outside. Rolling out of the stretch, he went to the door, only to see Sam LaRusso’s car in his driveway. Miguel was in the passenger seat, and they were both laughing about something.

“What the fuck?” Hawk said under his breath as they got out of the car. He was about to ask Miguel what she was doing here when another car pulled up. Yasmine. She came to a stop and Demetri hopped out of the passenger side. Then the back doors opened and Moon and Piper climbed out.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Hawk muttered bitterly to himself, fortunately still out of earshot. Miguel came up to him, glancing back at his girlfriend as she extracted her suitcase from the backseat.

“Hey man, I’m sorry. Demetri told Yasmine we were coming, and she sort of invited herself along, and then she invited Sam and Moon, and then Moon brought Piper, so...”

“So I get to be the seventh wheel. Great.” Hawk said. Miguel grimaced.

“Sorry. I’ll try not to make it weird. I didn’t know everyone would be coming until I was getting ready to leave,” he said. Hawk leaned his head back, letting it hit the door frame behind him with a thunk. He sighed. There was nothing he could do now without seeming like an asshole, and he hated seeing Miguel look guilty.

“Whatever. It’s fine. I just hope there’s enough beer for everyone.” Hawk did his best to sound chill about it. 

“We can always do a beer run if we have to. You still have your fake ID, right?” Miguel said.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Hawk said. In fact there was more than enough alcohol. His parents had left the place well-stocked, and although he’d been warned not to touch any of it, he was pretty sure they wouldn’t notice when he did. The cars were unloaded and everyone was coming to the door with their bags now, so Hawk led the way inside.

“It’s smaller than I thought it would be,” Yasmine said.

“Yasmine, shh,” Demetri said, tilting his head toward Hawk.

“Sorry, I mean, it’s cozy,” she said. Hawk rolled his eyes. He was way past caring what Yasmine thought.

“There’s three rooms, one through here, one in here, and one upstairs, so I guess someone will have to take the living room,” Hawk said.

“You don’t mind, do you, Hawk? I mean,” Moon looked around at the three couples who probably wanted to share rooms. It figured that the weekend Hawk planned to get away from couples was apparently going to be some kind of fuck-fest for everyone but him. If only Mitch’s parents would have let him come, then maybe this would be tolerable, but they didn’t trust Hawk for some reason. They thought he was a bad influence.

“Whatever,” he said.

“I call the master,” Yasmine said, running up to the attic room, leaving Demetri to haul both their bags up the narrow staircase.

“Yeah, that tracks,” Demetri grumbled.

“I don’t mind which room we get, you guys can choose,” Moon said, looking at Miguel and Sam.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter, you choose,” Sam said, looking at Piper.

“Come on, I can’t decide, whichever you want,” Piper said.

“You take this one and you take this one then,” Hawk said impatiently, gesturing to each of the two rooms, both of which had doors that opened into the living room. His bad mood wasn’t lost on anyone. Sam gave Miguel a look, and Hawk was normally bad at interpreting facial expressions, but this one clearly said what’s his problem? And Miguel did this little eye roll thing, one that seemed to say ignore him, it doesn’t matter. Hawk turned away, biting his tongue, embarrassed that Miguel might think he was acting childish. He left them all to settle into their rooms, trying to think of a way to salvage this weekend. Nothing came to mind, so he went straight to the kitchen and opened a beer.

“It’s a little early for that, isn’t it?” Demetri had come back downstairs and was leaning against the edge of the counter. The tone of his voice was already grating on Hawk’s nerves and he’d only been here a few minutes. He tried to suppress his irritation, simply shrugging neutrally.

“I’m not driving anywhere. This is my place, even if everyone feels like they can invite whoever they want without asking,” Hawk said bitterly, following with a long drink from his beer.

“Look, I’m sorry about Yasmine. I know this was supposed to be our game night, but you know, we’ve played games hundreds of times, and this might be the only opportunity for Yasmine and I to have some alone time, if you know what I mean,” Demetri checked over his shoulder and leaned closer to say more quietly, “She strongly implied that this might be the night.”

Hawk finished his beer instead of responding, trying to make sense of the complicated feelings stirring in him. An ugly part of him resented that Demetri would apparently be losing his virginity first, but there was more to it than just that. He wondered if this was how Demetri had felt when Hawk got a girlfriend first. Neither of them had ever been cool, but Demetri always seemed to think he was at least cooler than Eli. That was the dynamic Demetri had felt comfortable with, the one that Hawk had disrupted when he flipped the script. And Hawk had to admit, it had felt good to be on top for once, to know he was the popular one for once, that Demetri was beneath him in the social hierarchy.

“Games seemed pretty important to you when I was the one with a girlfriend,” Hawk pointed out.

“I know, I know, but please, just let me have this? Please be nice and don’t screw it up for me. We’re friends, right? We have each other’s backs?”

Looking at Demetri’s expectant face, Hawk wondered why that wasn’t true, why they didn’t have each others’ backs, why neither of them could ever be happy for the other, why he felt like he was in an unspoken competition with someone who was supposed to be his best friend. Why he wanted Demetri to fail. Maybe they shouldn’t be friends after all. Maybe they couldn’t. He tried to think of the good times, but it was hard to remember when Demetri had brought his awful girlfriend to the night Hawk had planned just for them, shitting on Hawk’s attempt to make peace.

Concerned by Hawk’s lack of response, Demetri tried another tactic. “If not for my sake, be cool for Miguel. You didn’t hear this from me, but apparently Sam has the same idea as Yasmine, so if you cause a scene you’ll be ruining his night too.”

Hawk froze for a moment, suppressing his natural reaction to that news, trying to imagine what he would say if he was happy for Miguel instead of feeling like his heart had fallen into his stomach. Nothing came to mind. But it was fine. He never had a chance with Miguel anyway, so what did it matter if he and Sam were going to bang? Maybe he’d knock her up and they would get married. Didn’t matter. None of his business. He set down his empty bottle a little too hard and went to get another beer out of the fridge. Demetri watched him with growing concern, but just as he opened his mouth to say something, Yasmine came into the kitchen.

“I’ll have one too,” Yasmine said, reaching past him to help herself and looking around for the bottle opener that was in Hawk’s hand.

“Here,” Hawk said, handing it over. Their fingers brushed and they made awkward eye contact.

“Thanks,” She said with a forced half-smile. Hawk looked away, not in the mood to pretend he was okay with any of this.

“You know what, I might as well have one too, since I’m not driving anywhere either,” Demetri said lightly, in a tone like he was trying to manage Hawk’s mood, almost like Hawk was a kid throwing a tantrum.

“You’re never driving anywhere, you don’t have a license,” Hawk said, and it came out sounding meaner than he meant to. Yasmine laughed. Demetri’s eyes went cold at Hawk mocking him in front of his girlfriend.

“Well, I guess it’s lucky that I, unlike some people, have a hot girlfriend to drive me places,” he said, raising his eyebrows and giving Hawk a mock consoling pat on the shoulder. It was a bit too much. These days Hawk saw red whenever Demetri acted smug. He abruptly started toward Demetri, raising a fist just to make him flinch, which of course he did.

“Jesus! Chill out, man,” Demetri exclaimed, hiding behind Yasmine. Hawk could hear the voices of the others coming toward the kitchen, so he took a deep breath and tried to relax, counting to ten in his head.

“Sorry, habit,” Hawk apologized insincerely. He really did need to stop doing things like that if they were going to repair their friendship, given that Demetri currently had no reason to trust him not to punch him in the face. But it was hard to think about that right now. He took a long drink from his beer and looked around for Miguel.

“Hey, man, you want a beer?” Hawk said. Miguel hesitated, eyes flickering toward Sam as if for permission, but the hopeful look on Hawk’s face apparently swayed him.

“Sure,” Miguel said, and Sam looked at him disapprovingly but he didn’t notice.

“How about you, princess?” Hawk asked Sam as he grabbed Miguel’s beer out of the fridge. He looked over the top of the fridge door just to enjoy the look on her face at the nickname, which did not disappoint. He smirked at the tension in her jaw as she gritted her teeth.

“Fine. Give me one,” she snapped.

“Think fast!” Hawk made like he was going to throw it, but Sam didn’t even flinch.

“Ha,” she said dryly, grabbing it out of his hand.

“So what is there to do here?” Yasmine asked.

“Well, we were going to play D&D, right?” Miguel said.

“Ew, that’s not happening. What else is there?” Yasmine said. Hawk sent a baleful look over her head at Demetri, who looked flustered.

“Uhm...Settlers of Catan, Root, Scythe,” Demetri read the titles from the stack of board games. Piper picked up Settlers of Catan and started reading the description to herself, but the rest of the girls showed no interest.

“I brought a deck of cards!” Moon said brightly.

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Sam said. Hawk sighed and looked at Miguel, who just shrugged like he was used to having his desires thwarted by now.

With a scraping of chairs, everyone sat around the table, the board games forgotten on the counter. Hawk sat at the end, next to Miguel and across from Piper, the only two people he didn’t actively want to avoid.

“What should we play?” Moon said.

“Poker?” Miguel said.

“How about strip poker?” Moon said, eyes wide with excitement.

Sam shook her head decisively. “How about not that.”

“Moon, why are you always trying to get everyone to play strip poker?” Piper asked, long suffering. Hawk had no idea this was a common thing with Moon. It was weird to think she had already been with Piper longer than she was with him. It felt like just yesterday he was at Rico’s, heartbroken and trying not to cry while getting his moon tattoo covered up, but at the same time those emotions were so distant it could have been years ago.

“It’s just so liberating, you know? Maybe we would all get along better if we shared some non-sexual physical intimacy.” Moon said. Miguel caught Hawk’s eyes from across the table and waggled his eyebrows, making him sputter out a laugh.

“Nope, not happening.” Sam was firm. For the first time that day, Hawk was kind of glad she was there to be the buzzkill, if only so he didn’t have to admit that he wasn’t game either. He wasn’t shy about his body these days, but he sucked at poker and he didn’t want Moon to see his grim reaper tattoo. It just felt embarrassing. Like everyone would see it and think about how she rejected him.

“I don’t know how to play poker.” Demetri said.

“Well, what games does everyone know how to play?” Sam asked.

“Ugh,” Yasmine grabbed the deck of cards from Moon and tossed it onto a shelf behind her. “Let’s skip the cards and play something interesting, like Never Have I Ever.”

Everyone looked around for a moment, either shrugging or nodding until it looked like they were all willing to give it a try. Hawk had never played, and he was sure Demetri hadn’t either. Party games like that had kind of passed them by because until pretty recently they never went to parties. Yasmine pulled a bottle of tequila out of her overnight bag.

“Where did you get that?” Demetri asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Please. I’m a hot girl, I get what I want. Do you have any shot glasses?”

“Yeah, there’s probably some in the kitchen,” Hawk went and found a set in the cupboard and brought them back to the table.

“Okay, everyone knows the rules. A person says something they haven’t done, and anyone who has done it has to take a shot,” Yasmine poured tequila into each shot glass.

“Who wants to go first?” Moon said with her usual contagious excitement.

“I’ll start,” Yasmine said, “Never have I ever done karate.”

“Oh, so you’re playing to win, huh?” Sam said with a smile, taking her shot along with all the guys at the table.

“You know it,” Yasmine poured out more shots.

“Okay, never have I ever crashed a car,” Demetri said. Yasmine was the only one who drank to that.

Sam was up next. “Never have I ever played strip poker.” 

Moon and Yasmine drank, and Demetri looked overly intrigued.

“Just the two of you?” He asked, eyebrows raised.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Yasmine said. “Your turn Miguel.”

Miguel took a second to think about it, and Hawk’s eyes fell to where Sam was holding his hand under the table, sending a fresh wave of jealousy over him. Why did Sam get to have everything she wanted? She didn’t even appreciate Miguel. She dumped him at the drop of a hat. Hawk would never. Not that it mattered.

“Never have I ever skipped class,” Miguel said. All the girls drank and none of the boys did.

“Sam? I would have thought you’d be one of those girls with perfect attendance,” Piper said.

“I can be bad too,” Sam said with a smirk that Hawk found inexplicably annoying. Of course Sam played innocent when it suited her, like when she got Tory expelled, or when Miguel had fallen over the balcony and she suddenly acted like she cared about Miguel, even though it had all happened because of her and her boyfriend.

“Your turn, Hawk,” Miguel said.

“Never have I ever cheated on someone,” It was out of Hawk’s mouth before he could think better of it. Miguel tensed up. Hawk hadn’t meant to put Miguel on the spot, he’d just wanted to piss off Sam, but oh well. Neither of them were reaching for their drinks. Hawk nodded at their shot glasses. “Well, go on.”

Miguel sighed, looking at Hawk with a little hurt in his expression that made Hawk regret it instantly. But he downed his shot, and Sam followed suit, glaring at Hawk. Nobody else drank.

“Okay then,” Piper said, attempting to avoid the drama. “Never have I ever broken a bone.”

She must not have heard about Demetri’s arm, because she looked confused when everyone looked at Hawk. Demetri took a drink, eyes locked on him, and Hawk wondered if the phrasing of the question meant he should drink too. He had technically broken a bone, just not his own.

“Well, go on,” Sam said pointedly, mocking Hawk’s voice. He took his shot.

“Did I miss something?” Piper asked.

“Don’t worry about it, babe,” Moon said. “Oh, it’s my turn. Never have I ever played Dungeons and Dragons.”

It was clear that she was trying to make peace again. Hawk and Demetri drank, and then it was Yasmine’s turn.

“Never have I ever stolen anything,” Yasmine said. Sam glared at Hawk again, all of them remembering the medal of honor. He drank. He was really starting to feel the alcohol now. He regretted those two beers he had before. He could tell Demetri was getting drunk too. He had a lower tolerance than Hawk.

“Never have I ever gotten a tattoo with someone’s name on it,” Demetri said. Apparently he was a mean drunk. Obviously he was trying to needle Hawk about Moon. It reminded him of Demetri taunting him on the soccer field when they were fighting, and he had to hold himself back from getting up to hit him. Deep breath. Counting. He took his shot as nonchalantly as possible, not wanting to give Demetri the satisfaction.

Sam was up next, and Hawk could tell from the look in her eye that she was about to get revenge for earlier. “Never have I ever wet the bed,” she said, giving him a smug look. Hawk went still. So did the rest of the table. His hands made fists under the table. If it had been Demetri, he would be hitting him already. Instead, he forced himself to let his hands relax. He didn’t have to play this stupid game. He didn’t have to take this. Carefully avoiding everyone’s eyes, Hawk pushed himself back from the table and stormed to the bathroom.

“Yeah, good idea to pee now so you don’t wet yourself tonight!” Sam said.

“Sam!” Miguel said. Hawk slammed the door behind him and sat on the closed toilet lid, fuming. The only thing that kept him from punching the wall was the fact that he’d helped his mom put up the wallpaper over the summer and he didn’t want to upset her by putting a hole through it. Hearing Miguel tell Sam off made it worse somehow. Of course Miguel already knew about the sleep enuresis. Even if he hadn’t been in the room when Demetri did his little stand up show at Moon’s party, the whole school had been calling Hawk “bedwetter” for months. But Hawk didn’t like to be reminded. He didn’t like Miguel to be reminded either.

Through the wall he could hear them starting up the game again. Miguel said something he couldn’t make out and there was a flourish of laughter. He knew Miguel wouldn’t be saying anything about him, but the sound of everyone laughing made him feel like he was being mocked. What was so funny? They hadn’t been laughing like that when he’d been out there. Maybe everyone would be having a better time without him. He tried to calm down. It was probably the alcohol that was making him feel like everyone hated him. Only, like, one or two of them actually hated him. The rest were probably just indifferent.

All the hostility during the game had started with him. He had thought they were ruining his weekend, but maybe he was ruining theirs. Maybe Demetri and Miguel had never wanted to have a guys’ night at all. Maybe they just saw an opportunity to use his cabin to get away from parental supervision with their girlfriends. Demetri had all but said so. Well, there was no reason for him to hang around having a bad time if no one else cared that he was there.

Hawk went ahead and used the bathroom, taking his time washing his hands, staring into the mirror, feeling how drunk he already was. He couldn’t drive anywhere, but a walk outside sounded really good. His skin felt too hot and his body was restless. Nobody stopped talking when he came out of the bathroom. He went straight for the front door, not looking at the table where the game was still going on.

His hand was on the doorknob when Miguel called out, “Where are you going?”

“Out for a walk,” Hawk said, closing the door before anyone could say anything else. 

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly when he was outside. It was the beginning of a nice, cool evening, but he probably had a while before sunset. 

A little trail led out from the cabin, connecting to a confusing network of other little trails that crisscrossed each other until some of them apparently merged with the main trail. Hawk hadn’t been out on these trails much, but his mom had warned him not to get lost on them. He  wasn’t going too far, though. He could remember where he’d been.

He took a  left at the first fork in the trail, which took him uphill for a third of a mile or so. Walking outside while he was drunk turned out to be a pleasant experience. His skin was hot, so the cool air was soothing, and he could barely feel his feet hitting the ground. Everything he saw seemed like it was being filtered through a screen, separate from him. He plodded along clumsily, still getting drunker as those last few shots finally started to hit him. He had no sense of time nor how far he had gone through the forest. He didn’t really care. Nobody else cared where he was, so why should he? Part of him knew he was being stupid. The alcohol was just making him emotional. Everyone didn’t hate him. Why would they? They had better things to do. Like have sex with each other. Stupid Demetri. Stupid Sam. Stupid Miguel. He tried to kick a rock, but it was a little bigger than he thought so he stubbed his toe on it instead.

The trail led him to an overlook where someone had put a bench that was just a log with a wedge cut out of it to make the seat. Those were never comfortable, but he sat on it anyway, looking out over the valley. The sun was just beginning to set behind the trees, leaving the sky a brilliant orange.

He wondered what everyone was up to now. Were they still playing the game or had they moved on to couple stuff now that he was gone? He was still fuming about Sam. He didn’t understand why all his friends were happy to date girls who bullied him. Did they not care about him at all? There were so many girls at their school and they chose exclusively from the mean girls table. Sure, Demetri had always been honest about his crush on Yasmine, but Hawk had always assumed he was joking when he said he would drop him in a second to be with her. Not a very funny joke, but since it would never happen, he hadn’t worried about it. 

Now that the impossible had happened, Hawk had to wonder how serious Demetri had actually been. Maybe he really would kill both him and Miguel just to get Yasmine to spit in his face. Hawk sighed at the thought.

Movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Something gray stood out in the distance. It took him a moment to realize it was a coyote, looking at him curiously. He stared back, uncertain what to do. He couldn't remember if coyotes were supposed to be dangerous to humans or not, but they weren’t that different from dogs, he supposed. And having been bitten by a dog before, Hawk was generally both more and less afraid of dogs than he used to be. More, because the possibility of an attack felt more real to him, and less because he knew what it was like and had survived. 

Staring at dogs was like a challenge to them, right? But he couldn't look away. He was still drunk enough not to be that scared. There was something so uncanny about seeing a wild animal like that, both of them alone in the woods, just encountering each other, both unsure if the other would attack or not. Coyotes were usually alone, weren’t they? He felt a certain kinship with it at the thought. It didn’t need a pack. It could fend for itself. So could he. After another  moment, it turned and ran away. He watched it disappear, blending in with the underbrush.

 A moment later he heard a crack behind him and almost jumped out of his skin. It was Miguel walking up behind him. He must have stepped on a stick. He looked pissed off.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" He said, breathing hard. His face was flushed like he’d been running fast. 

"How did you find me?"

"I’ve been running around these stupid trails for like an hour."

"Why?"

"It’s been two hours since you left, and you were wasted! I thought you might have fallen off a cliff or something."

"Oh. Well I didn't. I was about to go back. I wasn't that drunk, man," Hawk said, even though he was.

"It’s almost dark, I was worried about you!" He looked genuinely upset, which surprised Hawk so much that he couldn't even feel guilty about it.

"Why? What do you care? Aren't you just here to spend time with your girlfriend?" Hawk said, and it was a genuine question, but he cringed at how pouty and jealous it sounded out loud. Miguel stared at him, puzzled.

"I'm here to hang out with you, man. Why the hell wouldn’t I care? I told you, the girls invited themselves. It wasn't my idea. Honestly I wish they weren't here too. I was really looking forward to game night."

"Oh. Well, Demetri said that Sam…" Hawk trailed off, reluctant to repeat what Demetri had said about Sam's plans for the night. 

"What about Sam?"

"Nothing."

"Look, I'm sorry things got so weird during the game. I told everyone to knock it off, but then you just left," Miguel said.

Hawk sighed. "No, it was my fault. I started it. I was just in a bad mood. Sorry."

Miguel was quiet for a moment, then came and sat next to Hawk on the log. "I would be too. I know you were planning this weekend for a while."

"It wasn't just that. It's just..." Hawk paused, trying to articulate what he was feeling without embarrassing himself. The alcohol haze in his mind didn’t help. Miguel waited patiently, and it was even harder to think clearly under his attentive gaze.

"Demetri has Yasmine and Moon has Piper and you have Sam and it's like…” He paused again, meeting Miguel’s eyes and looking away quickly, “I'm not anyone's first choice anymore. Everyone I used to be close to has someone more important now. I'm on the outside of everything. I thought things would be different when I left Cobra Kai, but…" Hawk refrained from saying how alone he felt, how alone he'd been ever since Miguel left the dojo.

"Sam's not more important than you." Miguel said firmly.

"Sure she isn’t," Hawk said bitterly. Miguel opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. He looked thoughtful.

"Well, maybe you'll find another girlfriend soon," He said. 

"I don't want a girlfriend. I want you,” Hawk said, and then hurriedly added, “I mean, like, I miss how we used to hang out. You never seem to have time anymore."

Fortunately Miguel didn’t seem to read anything into his slip up. "We can do that. I've just been busy lately because Sam, well, her dad, has been inviting me to things, and I didn't want to say no because it feels like I'm on thin ice with both of them. I've been trying to show them they can trust me."

"Why would they think they couldn't trust you?"

"I don't know, maybe they don't, I just feel like...I don't know," Miguel said, shaking his head. Hawk thought if they didn't trust him then maybe he shouldn't be with her, but he kept quiet and waited for Miguel to speak again. 

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone else?" Miguel asked.

"Yeah, of course."

"I've been thinking of breaking up with Sam. Actually, I almost did it this morning, but I kind of chickened out."

Hawk quashed the urge to cheer. He felt like the sun had suddenly come out from behind the clouds. "Really? Why? I thought you were all about Sam."

"I was, but lately, I don't know, I just feel like she’s not willing to meet me halfway on anything. We’ve been fighting a lot. She won’t stop insulting Sensei Lawrence no matter what I say, even though she knows what he means to me. She won’t accept that his lessons have any value. I’ve been trying so hard to be open minded about her dad’s teaching, but she won’t even try. And I’ve been talking to her dad more, like one on one, and he’s super nice and everything, but he keeps telling me all this stuff about how people can change, and how he’s glad to see that I’m making an effort to be a better person, and that Cobra Kai’s teachings would make anyone into a bully, but there are no bad students, only bad teachers. It just feels like he thinks I was some kind of monster before the dojos were combined. And I know he had some preconceived notions about Cobra Kai, but it seems like Sam went along with it, even though she knew me and he didn’t. She never told him I wasn’t a bully. I just don’t understand why she didn’t bother to defend me when he thought that. But when I bring it up to her, she gets defensive and says the Cobra Kais are all bullies, so what was she supposed to think? I don’t know, maybe use your own brain and recognize that I’m not a bully?” Miguel finished, gesturing angrily.

Hawk realized Miguel was pretty drunk too.

“Wow,” Hawk said.

“Sorry, I’m ranting, I know. It just feels good to get this off my chest, you know? It just feels shitty that she was so willing to believe the worst of me without ever talking to me about it.”

“Yeah, I get it, man. But wasn’t this going on before you got back together? Like, she was hiding you from her dad before, but you didn’t want to break up with her over it.”

“It’s different now that I know her dad. I thought maybe she didn’t stand up to him because he was intimidating or something-” Miguel said. Hawk snorted a laugh. “I know, right? Turns out he isn’t at all, so why did she hide that we were dating? Why didn’t she just explain to him that he had me wrong?”

Hawk shrugged. “So that’s it, you don’t like her anymore because of that?” It seemed too good to be true.

“I guess it’s more than just that. I thought if we got back together, it would feel like before, but…I don’t know. Maybe it’s because she was the first person I ever dated, so everything was exciting. And then our relationship ended so badly that it was like, hanging over my head all the time. I just wanted to make things right.  But then I dated Tory, and now when I’m with Sam I sometimes think, Tory wouldn’t be treating me like this right now. Or that Tory is a better kisser, or that she was more fun to hang out with. And then I feel guilty, because I ruined things with her too.”

“You still have feelings for Tory?” Hawk asked, surprised.

“No, it’s not that. I mean, I don’t not care about her. I feel bad for what I did to her. But no, she just gave me a little perspective, you know, on what it can be like. When you’re sure someone actually likes you, and you don’t have to keep proving yourself every day.”

“Okay, so you were going to break up with Sam?” Hawk said.

“I called her earlier today, to see if we could meet up so I could break up with her, but when she answered, she was with Moon and she was all excited about this trip, which I hadn’t even told her about. And I couldn’t do it. So I’ll probably have to wait until we go home, so it doesn’t get awkward here.” Miguel said. 

Hawk thought it was already pretty awkward, but didn’t say it. Then he remembered again about what Demetri said and cringed. For the first time, he actually felt sorry for Sam. Should he tell Miguel? Or just let it play out? Surely Miguel had some idea of Sam’s plans. They were sharing a bedroom, after all. Miguel could figure it out on his own. But there was no way Miguel would go through with it. Not when he was planning to dump her. A weight lifted from Hawk’s mind that had been there since he talked to Demetri. 

“You don’t think it’ll be awkward sharing a bed with her when you know you’re going to break up?” Hawk asked. 

“I was thinking I’d just sleep on the floor, or out in the living room with you,” Miguel said. 

“Is she okay with that?”

“I don’t know. She’ll have to be. You think she wants me to share the bed with her?” Miguel asked as though it hadn’t even occurred to him.

“Demetri said he and Yasmine are going to, uh, do the deed tonight,” Hawk said. “I thought maybe you and Sam had the same plans.”

“Oh! Really? No, she hasn’t said anything like that to me,” Miguel looked stunned by the idea, which made Hawk feel better. 

“Have you ever…?” Hawk asked, gesturing vaguely.

“Had sex? Or had sex with Sam?” Miguel asked.

“Uh, the first one.” Hawk said.

Miguel shook his head. “No. I almost did once, with Tory, but no,” He said, and then, “I shouldn’t have told you that about Tory. Forget I said it, okay?”

“It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone that you kiss and tell,” Hawk said. Miguel laughed.

“I think the drinking is getting to me,” he said. “What about you? Have you ever done it?”

“No. I’ve only dated Moon. We weren’t together that long,” Hawk said, shrugging. 

“Are you mad that Demetri’s getting some before you?” Miguel teased.

“Please, with Yasmine? He can keep her,” Hawk said. Miguel laughed. It felt so good to be talking with Miguel like this, sharing secrets. He wanted to keep it going. “I actually don’t know if I’m even all that into girls.” He said semi-casually, as much as he could manage.

Miguel raised his eyebrows. “You think you might be gay?”

“I don’t know, maybe bi? Maybe mostly gay. I’m not sure.”

“You’re definitely into guys though,” Miguel said. Hawk nodded. 

“Huh,” Miguel said, looking off into the distance. Hawk stared at his profile uncomfortably.

“Is that okay?”

“What?” Miguel’s eyes snapped back to Hawk. “Yeah, of course.”

He looked away again and didn’t say anything else, and Hawk didn’t know what else to say either. He wished he’d kept his mouth shut. He knew Miguel wouldn’t have a problem with it, but maybe it would still make things weird between them as friends. Or maybe he was thinking back, going over his memories with Hawk, and realizing that Hawk liked him.

"We should head back, it's dark," Hawk said. Night had fallen quickly once the sun set, and they were probably a solid mile from the cabin. Luckily the moon was almost full, so they could see a little bit. Miguel nodded and stood up. They were quiet for a while when they started walking, and Hawk was relieved when he spoke again.

"Do you normally walk out here at this time?” Miguel asked, “Because I've heard that cougars like to hunt at sunrise and sunset. That's when they can use their night vision to hunt prey that doesn't see well in the dark. Also, aren't there coyotes around here? Isn’t that why it's called Coyote Creek? I heard that coyote attacks are on the rise in California because their habitats are shrinking and they're becoming habituated to humans." Miguel said. He actually looked anxious, so Hawk debated whether to mention the coyote he saw before. He probably should.

"I actually just saw a coyote right before you found me, but it ran away." Hawk said. 

"What, really?" Miguel looked over his shoulders as though expecting it to be following them. Maybe it was, as far as Hawk knew. He apparently wasn't as knowledgeable as Miguel on the subject of wild animals.

"'I'm sure it's fine. I think they normally only attack dogs and small children." Miguel said quickly, as though reassuring himself. He moved closer to Hawk so that they were bumping shoulders every couple of steps. A little jolt of pleasure went through Hawk every time it happened. 

Awkwardness aside, he was reminded that Miguel was out here with him because he had come looking for him, because he was worried. The thought made him feel warm inside. He hadn’t expected anything like that when he left the party. He’d thought they would all be having a great time without him, maybe making fun of him behind his back. He’d had more than his fair share of that in his life, so it was hard not to expect it now.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Miguel kept casting little glances at him. He wished he knew what he was thinking. 

It was starting to really get dark now as they got into an area where the trees were denser, blocking more of the moonlight. They could barely make out the trail in front of them. Hawk didn’t really recognize where they were. It took awhile for Hawk to realize that it wasn't just that the forest looked different in the dark. They were somewhere completely unfamiliar. Miguel seemed to notice at the same time he did. 

"Do you think we took a wrong turn? I don't remember that big rock at all."

"Yeah, I don't recognize this place. Should we turn around?"

"I feel like we're sort of going in the right direction, so maybe this trail meets up in the same place anyway?"

"Okay, so, keep going?"

Miguel shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

"Okay." Hawk said. They continued down the trail they were on, using their phones to light the way. It turned out to be a lot longer than the way they came, but eventually it led them to a road.

“I know this road! I think if we follow it we’ll get to the campsite and then we’ll be almost back at the cabin.” Hawk said.

“Oh, thank goodness. I was starting to get scared, not gonna lie.” Miguel said. 

“I know, right? This place is like a labyrinth at night.”

“I can’t believe you made me come out here.”

“I didn’t make you. It’s not my fault you couldn’t make it through a few hours without me.” Hawk said. Miguel laughed.

“Yeah, I was lying about being worried. I just missed you, bro.” Miguel joked, bumping his shoulder into Hawk’s. 

“Who could blame you?” Hawk grinned, bumping back harder. Miguel had to grab Hawk’s arm to keep from toppling over, and then he kept hold of it for a while as they walked, ostensibly to prevent Hawk from doing it again.

“So, do you have a crush on someone?” Miguel asked out of nowhere. “I mean, is that how you realized you were into guys?”

What a question to ask while their arms were linked together. Hawk hesitated before nodding. “Yeah. I kind of suspected for a while before that, but yeah.”

“Anyone I know?” Miguel asked. Hawk shrugged, looking over the road ahead. Miguel was still holding Hawk’s arm linked through his. Was he doing that to prove he was cool with it or something? Would he let go if Hawk told him the truth?

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“I know I don’t,” Hawk thought about it. It would be a bad idea to tell him. He was already worried that coming out had been a bad idea. But he didn’t feel good about just lying. He was quiet a little too long.

“Is it me?” Miguel asked. Hawk stared at him, mouth slightly open, not sure what to say. Miguel looked away, unlinking his arm from Hawk’s. “Sorry, that’s rude of me to ask. I’m not trying to be like, some asshole who thinks just because you like guys means you must have a crush on me. I just wondered. Pretend I didn’t ask.” He seemed nervous, or maybe embarrassed, or guilty. It was hard to tell in the dark.

Hawk hated seeing Miguel feel bad. He couldn’t help but tell him.

“Yeah. It’s you. I’ve liked you for a long time,” he said, not giving himself any time to think about whether it was a good idea. He felt like he was holding his breath while he waited for Miguel to respond. 

“I...might like you too.”

“You might?”

“I haven’t thought about it that much, until like...tonight, to be honest. I mean, I’ve thought maybe I was bi or something before, but I don’t think I ever considered you to be a possibility before.” Miguel took his hand. “Do you want to give it a try?”

“Really?” Hawk said, trying to sound cool but failing hard. Part of him was screaming that this was too good to be true, that it must be some kind of trick, that Miguel was only setting him up so he could humiliate him later. But this was Miguel. It wasn’t that girl in seventh grade who had called him and asked him out as a joke, only for him to hear peals of shrieking laughter and gagging noises from her friends when he said yes. Miguel wouldn’t fuck with him like that. He had to be sincere. This was the last thing he expected. He had pretty much resigned himself to an unrequited crush by now, however hard it was, and suddenly Miguel was offering him...something. He wasn’t quite sure what. An experiment? Better than nothing.

Miguel’s hand was warm in his, and his heart was beating fast just from that contact. Then Miguel stopped walking, his grip on Hawk’s hand pulling him to a stop too. 

“We’re almost there. That’s the cabin, right?” Miguel said. Hawk nodded. They were in a clearing past the campsite now, off the road, maybe a few hundred yards from the cabin. Hawk could see it in the distance. 

They looked at each other for a moment, and Hawk felt like he was holding his breath as Miguel leaned forward and pressed their lips together. It was...incredible. no matter how many times he had pictured it, his mind couldn't have predicted the feeling. Hawk wasn’t a well-practiced kisser these days, but he tried to match Miguel’s energy, deepening the kiss when Miguel’s lips parted, tasting tequila on his tongue. He wondered how much more Miguel had drunk before he decided to come looking for Hawk. Miguel pulled back, but not too far. He was breathing hard, his face close enough that Hawk could only stare into his eyes. Hawk’s hands had found themselves twisted in the fabric of Miguel’s t-shirt, holding him close.

“Uhm, what do you think?” Hawk said. Miguel’s eyes were so intense it surprised him. He walked Hawk back until he was up against a tree at the edge of the clearing, and kissed him again, more aggressively than before. Hawk was almost overwhelmed. He forgot to worry about whether he was doing it right, whether Miguel was into it, whether he needed to prove himself, and just relaxed against Miguel, feeling his chest against his own, running his hands through Miguel’s hair. The back spikes of his mohawk were getting crushed against the tree and pulled apart by the texture of the bark, but for once he didn’t care. Miguel’s mouth felt perfect against his, just the way he’d imagined in those countless daydreams. When Miguel pulled back again, he smiled at Hawk, who must have looked absolutely dazed.

“That was…” Miguel said, sounding the way Hawk felt.

“Yeah,” Hawk said breathlessly.

“Maybe we should go on a date or something? After this weekend,” Miguel said.

“After you break up with Sam,” Hawk said. Miguel took a step back, letting go of him.

“Yeah. Shit. I haven’t done that yet. God, I’m such an asshole.”

“I mean, I’m not complaining this time, but there is a pattern emerging,” Hawk pointed out. 

“Fuck. Okay, we’re not doing that again until I break up with her,” Miguel said.

Hawk nodded. “That’s probably a good idea. Your breakup is already going to make things awkward at practice without you cheating on her.”

He didn’t know who he was trying to fool. The very idea of Sam finding out that Miguel chose him over her was filling him with glee already. But he didn’t want Miguel to think he was a bad person, or worse, to start defending Sam to him, so he pretended to give a shit about doing the right thing or whatever.

Miguel sighed. “Shit.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. She’ll get over it,” Hawk said.

“Yeah,” Miguel said, but he looked conflicted. Hawk kissed him again, just to keep his attention off Sam. Miguel let him for a few seconds before breaking the kiss, resting his hands on Hawk’s biceps and running his thumbs down the muscles like a tiny caress.

“Afterward, okay?” He said. 

“Sure,” Hawk said. He couldn’t bring himself to care about Sam. It was karma as far as he was concerned. It wasn't like she was above doing this exact same thing. But he understood Miguel’s desire to be in the right on this.

They went back to the cabin. 

“Jesus, we thought you were dead,” Demetri said as they came in. 

"Thanks for the concern," Hawk said. Everyone was clearly drunk as hell. Yasmine and Demetri were sprawled on the living room couch together, not in a sexy way, but in a drunk way, and the sound of retching echoed out from the bathroom. The toilet flushed and Sam came out, looking a bit worse for the wear. She crossed her arms when she saw them.

“Where the hell have you been?” She slurred.

“We got lost for a while,” Miguel explained, sinking into the armchair in the living room. 

Sam fixed a withering stare on Hawk. "Great idea to go walking around the woods at night. Hope you had a fun tantrum." 

"I did, actually," he said with a smirk at Miguel, who sent him a warning look.

"Where's Moon and Piper?" Miguel asked, changing the subject.

"They were making out so we told them to get a room," Yasmine said.

" You told them to get a room, I was fine with them continuing," Demetri said. She rolled her eyes.

"Gross."

"What? I’m merely being supportive. Don't make me out to be some kind of creep," Demetri said.

“Whatever, creep,” Yasmine said, leaning her head back onto his shoulder. 

“So now that you’re back and appear healthy, we’ll probably be going to bed,” Demetri said, then looked to Yasmine for confirmation. “Right?” 

“Yeah, sure. There’s nothing else to do,” Yasmine said, rolling off the couch and heading for the stairs. Demetri waggled his eyebrows at Hawk, who wrinkled up his nose. 

“I’m going to bed too,” Sam said. She looked like she was on the verge of actually passing out, so that was no surprise. 

“You should probably drink some water first,” Miguel said. “Here, I’ll go get you some.” 

He went to the kitchen and came back with a glass, and they both disappeared into the bedroom, the door shut behind them. Hawk sat down on the couch, waiting for Miguel to come back out. He could hear their muffled voices, arguing at first and then just talking, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. He waited a long time. There was no light coming from under the door. Maybe Miguel was sleeping in there after all? But why would he do that? He’d said he was going to stay out in the living room with Hawk.

Trying to distract himself from the anxiety that was building up as he waited, he got himself a glass of water and brought it with him to the living room, where he sat on the rug, leaning back against the couch. There was no sound coming from Miguel and Sam’s room now. He pulled out his phone and messed around online for a while, distracting himself from the fear that Miguel might have changed his mind. Miguel was pretty drunk. He might wake up in the morning and want to forget all about the mistake he'd made with Hawk. He might even be thinking that already.

Eventually Hawk tossed the phone aside and just stared into the gas fireplace, unable to sleep, thinking about Miguel. He felt like his lips still bore the impression of Miguel’s on them. They tingled when he thought about that kiss against the tree, when Miguel suddenly seemed so hungry for him that all his doubts were erased for those short minutes. It almost seemed like a dream. He couldn’t believe it had really happened. 

In fact, the longer he sat out in the living room alone, the more he started to feel like maybe it had been a dream. After all, where was Miguel now? In bed with Sam? 

His doubts kept growing until around two in the morning, when suddenly the door cracked open and Miguel slipped out. He looked pleasantly surprised to see Hawk awake. He came and sat next to Hawk on the floor and spoke in a low, quiet voice so as not to wake anyone up.

“Not sleeping?”

Hawk shrugged. 

“Sam was mad at me, but she’s asleep now,” he explained, close to Hawk’s ear.

“What was she mad about?” Hawk asked quietly.

Miguel sighed. “I guess you were right. She had some plans for the night, which I ruined by going to look for you.”

“Oh. Did you break up with her yet?” Hawk asked.

Miguel’s hesitation made his stomach sink, and Miguel must have seen it on his face, because he took on a reassuring tone.

“I’m going to, don’t worry. She was just too drunk to do it tonight. And she was already in a bad mood.”

“She’s not going to be in a good mood whenever you do it.”

“I know, but it didn’t feel right.”

Hawk frowned at him, then reached up and turned Miguel’s head to face him. 

“Does this feel right?” He asked, and kissed him. Miguel snatched his hand away quickly, but was slow to end the kiss. It lasted a few more seconds before he pulled back, glancing at the door between them and his sleeping girlfriend.

“Not tonight, we have to wait until I've ended things,” he said, sounding conflicted. Hawk responded by kissing his neck. Miguel let out a whimper. 

“She’s asleep, she won’t know,” Hawk whispered against his skin. He might have been willing to be patient before, to give Miguel a chance to do the right thing for the sake of his conscience, but the hours of waiting, worrying that Miguel might be having second thoughts about dumping Sam, had taken that away. Hawk was scared. Miguel could still change his mind, and then where would he be? Unless he could get Miguel to cross a line right now and make a commitment he couldn’t back out of. 

He kissed along Miguel's neck and felt the moment he began to cave. 

“But…” Miguel glanced at the door again.

“You’re breaking up with her tomorrow anyway, right? What difference does it make?” Hawk asked, nuzzling against the juncture between Miguel’s neck and shoulder. 

The last of Miguel’s resistance seemed to dissolve. They kissed again, and it wasn’t clear this time who initiated it. Miguel quickly seemed to forget his initial hesitancy as he deepened the kiss, and Hawk relaxed a bit. Of course Miguel wouldn’t stay with Sam after the promises he’d made. He wouldn’t do that to Hawk. 

Miguel’s arm crept around Hawk’s waist, and the other hand around his thigh, and he startled Hawk by suddenly shifting and pulling him onto his lap, so that Hawk was facing him, his knees on either side of Miguel’s hips. Hawk took full advantage of his new position, kissing Miguel with more fervor and experimentally rolling his hips just enough to make Miguel gasp. 

“Hawk,” Miguel said breathlessly between kisses. “We can’t…” 

But it was just talk, because Miguel undermined his own words by slipping his hands under Hawk’s shirt, and Hawk shivered as they slid across his bare skin. 

He heard a gasp, and Miguel froze, and Hawk realized that the gasp had not, in fact, come from Miguel, whose mouth was fully accounted for and was in no position to be making that sound. 

In tandem, Hawk and Miguel turned their heads toward the stairs. Demetri was standing there, wide-eyed, his hand on the doorknob to the bathroom, having stopped in his tracks the moment he saw them. He glanced back up the stairs he had just come down, then back at Hawk and Miguel, then he went into the bathroom and shut the door. 

“Shit,” Miguel whispered. Hawk belatedly climbed out of his lap and returned to his previous position on the floor. They waited until they heard the toilet flush, and looked guiltily at Demetri when he came back out. It looked like Demetri was about to go straight back upstairs without a word, so Hawk stood up.

“Demetri!” He hissed. Demetri held up his hands defensively.

“I’m not involved, I don’t want to know,” he said, a little too loud. 

“Outside,” Miguel said, casting an anxious glance at the room Sam was in. Hawk grabbed Demetri by the arm and dragged him out the front door to the porch. Miguel followed.

“It’s not how it seems,” Miguel said when the door was safely shut behind them.

“Didn’t say it was,” Demetri said. “We’re not ourselves when we’re drunk. Plenty of people experiment.”

“He’s gonna break up with Sam,” Hawk said.

Demetri raised his eyebrows. “For you? Talk about a downgrade.”

Hawk's hands curled into fists at his side, and Demetri noticed.

“Are you gonna hit me?”

“Hey,” Miguel said. “Please don’t start.”

“Oh, am I starting something I shouldn’t?” Demetri asked. “Unlike you, making out with someone else while you have a girlfriend in the next room?”

Miguel looked guilty. Hawk could have killed Demetri. Why was he trying to ruin this for him? Probably grumpy because he and Yasmine were too drunk to get the action he was expecting tonight. 

“I’m going to break up with her first thing tomorrow. I would have done it tonight, but she’s too drunk,” Miguel explained. “Please don’t tell her about this, it’ll only hurt her feelings for no reason.”

“I think she’s gonna be hurt either way,” Demetri pointed out. Miguel frowned. 

It had been a mistake to try to talk to Demetri. They should have just let him go back upstairs.

“Whatever, that’s life. Let’s just go back inside,” Hawk said. 

“Gladly,” Demetri said, opening the door and going in, letting it fall shut behind him rather than hold it open for them. When Hawk went to open it, Miguel’s hand reached past him and held it closed. Hawk turned around to find himself corralled in between Miguel’s arms, which were braced on either side of him.

“We don’t have to be as quiet out here,” Miguel said. Hawk grinned. He’d been afraid Demetri’s words would give Miguel second thoughts, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“What about Sam?” Hawk asked. 

“Demetri’s right, Sam’s going to be upset anyway. Might as well make the most of the night.”

Hawk grinned.

The next morning, having eventually passed out on the rug in front of the fire, Hawk awoke to the sound of arguing. He sat up and was relieved to see that his vague worries about having a relapse of bedwetting hadn’t materialized. He remembered Miguel holding him as he fell asleep, and wondered why he hadn’t been afraid of an accident. Probably because, in that moment, it had felt like nothing bad would ever happen again. 

The argument seemed to be taking place in Sam and Miguel’s room. Hawk’s spirits lifted more when he caught the phrase ‘ just not working out ’ and 'it's not you, it's me'. A moment later, the door swung open and Sam stormed out, looking furious. Miguel followed her, saying,

“I hope we can still be friends. I don’t want things to be weird at the dojo.”

Sam whirled around and slapped him in the face, hard. Miguel covered his cheek with his hand, unfazed.

“Okay, maybe you’re not quite at the place yet, emotionally, but eventually…”

Sam hammered on the door to Moon and Piper’s room.

“Wake up! It’s time to go.”

Moon answered the door, blinking sleepily and wrapped in a blanket. “What is it?” 

“It’s time to go home.”

“I thought we were staying the weekend?” Piper appeared in the doorway behind Moon.

“Nope. We’re leaving now.”

“Okay, well, let us just get ready then…” Moon said, closing the door again. 

“Come on, you don’t have to go,” Miguel said halfheartedly. Hawk would have begged to differ, but he didn’t have to, because Sam had clearly made up her mind. 

“What’s going on?” Yasmine asked, coming down the stairs.

“We’re getting out of here," Sam said.

“Oh, thank god. This place sucks,” she said. Demetri followed her down the stairs.

“It’s not that bad, we can stay another night. Right?” He asked, but Sam had pulled Yasmine aside and was talking feverishly to her, and Yasmine shot Miguel a dirty look. 

Within twenty minutes, the girls were all packing up their cars, and Miguel was watching from the porch, looking guilty. His expression morphed into a slightly sheepish smile when Hawk came out and handed him a cup of coffee. Meanwhile, Demetri was standing helplessly by Yasmine’s car, trying to convince her to stay.

“Come on, we don’t get a chance to get away like this every day,” he said. Yasmine shrugged. 

“Most of my friends have nicer cabins than this,” she said. “And the spa we’re going to is a lot nicer.”

“You’re taking me with you, right?” Demetri said hopefully to Yasmine. She shook her head.

“Sorry, we’re having emergency girl time. No boys allowed,” Yasmine replied, seeming somewhat apologetic. “You understand. How would you feel if one of your friends invited his girlfriend to boy's night? Anyway, blame your asshole friend for dumping Sam out of the blue.”

“But how am I gonna get home?”

“Call your mom. That was your original plan, right?” She said. Demetri sighed and backed off, reluctantly joining Hawk and Miguel by the front door, shooting Miguel a long-suffering look.

“Did you have to do this today?” He whined.

“Afraid so,” Miguel said. “It wouldn't be right to string Sam along all weekend.”

Demetri sighed again. 

The cars pulled out of the lot, one after the other, leaving the three of them standing on the porch. Miguel put his arm around Hawk’s shoulders as soon as they were gone, and Demetri eyed them with irritation.

“Great, now I’m stuck being the third wheel, aren’t I?”

“How the tables have turned,” Hawk said. Demetri frowned and looked at him like he was only now recognizing that he had put Hawk in the same position. 

“Well, what do you want to do now?” Miguel asked. 

“Dungeons and Dragons?” Hawk asked. Demetri stared at him a moment, then sighed one more time and shrugged.

“All right.”

“Sounds good to me,” Miguel said. 

Hawk grinned. The weekend was back on track, and going better than he’d ever expected.