#learnmercy

“Oh really? Is it somehow different than every quintessential high school movie in existence? The bullies bully, the outcasts outcast... and I am plopped down in the middle of it.” Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and shook her head. Don’t be a dick, Emma.  “Please, enlighten me. Tell me what movie-level wisdom I need to know. Master Yoda me, or whatever pop culture reference you’d prefer. Tell me how this school stands out over the others, please. Because other than Karate, and a weird West Side Story Jets and Sharks vibe, it seems pretty lackluster to me.”

it still felt strange, having someone other than may be one to check on him. it was nice. welcomed. it made him feel like he belonged. “ if you’re gonna start stopping by more often...you should bring some food. don’t suppose your mom or your grandma would wanna make me something to help me feel better?”

        the  words  make  her  feel  small.  &  it’s  okay.  just  because  he  doesn’t  like  to  see  her  sad,  it  doesn’t  mean  he  owes  her  an  apology.  if  you  ask  her,  she  deserves  every  bit  of  lingering  resentment  --------  she  stood  by  &  silently  encouraged  awful  behavior  from  her  best  friend  &  well,  people  she  barely  talks  to,  really.  she  was  numb  to  it  all.  it  was  easier.  her  life  had  been  shaken  up  enough  outside  of  school,  she  couldn’t  risk  messing  things  up  with  her  &  yas,  too.  so  she  kept  her  mouth  shut.  leaned  into  the  chaos.  learned  to  just  have  a  good  time  &  lock  away  feelings  that  needed  to  be  dealt  with.  she  thanks  herself  daily  for  snapping  the  hell  out  of  it.  a  small  step  is  taken  back,  polished  nail  nervously  scratching  at  her  forehead.  “  no,  come  on,  it’s  fine.  i  was  the  asshole.  you’re  allowed  to  be  upset  about  it,  a  lot  of  you  guys  are.  ”  she  doesn’t  like  that  version  of  herself.  the  version  who  goes  through  something  difficult  &  seeks  distractions,  the  version  of  herself  who  doesn’t  talk  about  her  feelings,  the  one  who  doesn’t  pay  attention.  she  doesn’t  want  to  let  her  out  to  play  ever  again.  but  she  knows  it’s  not  that  easy.  which  makes  this  whole  thing  all  the  more  upsetting.  “  i  should  --  i  should  go.  ”   

                 ‘ oh no—no, i couldn’t burden you with that. you must have more important matters to tend to, ’ ange and miguel are the last ones at the studio this evening. miss kumiko had went home earlier than usual, succumbing to a headache. being her most trusted students, the pair had been tasked with locking up once their practice had ended. hours have gone by and it is now time to wait for her papa to pick her up. miguel has already stayed long enough, much longer than necessary as well. although his time at the studio has been briefer than most, he has shown immense dedication—which was admittedly admirable. awkwardly shifting from foot to foot, she gazes at him. ‘ your mom must be waiting for you and you must be tired, ’ being burdensome to him by having him stay behind is the last thing she wants to do. it’s bad enough that she troubles so many others in her life. 

             ❝      𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩  𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚  𝙖  𝙗𝙞𝙜  𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡   out  of  this  ,  or  i’ll  end  you   ,   &  i  know  you  know  it.   but  . . .  can  i  crash  at  your  place  tonight  ?     ❞      @learnmercy​  liked  for  a  starter.

"yeah. exactly. that's exactly right. which is why i'm... i'm quitting, miguel. i'm quitting miyagi-do, i'm quitting it all. i told sam the same thing. i can't stick around and watch everyone run themselves into an early grave because of this karate war. i don't want to go to your funeral, or sam's, or hawk's or demetri's or anyone's. i don't want you guys to have to come to my cremation. which would barely be a cremation because cremations are expensive and it's not like sensei larusso will cough up the money for it. if there's anything he should be coughing up money for, it's therapy. sensei lawrence, too." udyati wrings her hands. "please don't hate me," she says, and it's so quiet that she might not have said it at all, if it weren't for the fact that her lips moved. he's her neighbor. and he's her friend, isn't he? she doesn't think she could bear it if he did end up hating her for this. but she wouldn't begrudge him if he did: sam told her that she was needed. udyati's being selfish, isn't she? "please. i'm so---i'm just so tired, miguel."

“ okay, okay, dude--this is a lot more of a challenge than I--ah!” trying to hoist his friend up a little more, making the mistake of moving forward at the same time. only for peter’s foot to catch the sidewalk. stumbling forward only to have miguel’s leg hit the ground and before he knew it, they looked like a cartoon of limbs flailing about and a ball of bodies in the middle. pressing his head back against the pavement, holding his chest as he let the laughter pour out of him. peter turned to look at miguel, “ are you okay? please tell me the only thing hurt is your pride.”