Can't Have Both

The First Obstacle

No way Tory did that. Robby had never felt more betrayed. Sam kissing Miguel was different. She was drunk. And they all made up. But Tory kissing someone she didn't even know? That lit a fire inside him. 

But it felt horrible. The person he thought he could trust most. Gone. Forever. To another boy.

On the other side of the room, Tory tried her best not to look at Robby. Kwon was staring at the other side too.

" Did it work?" Kwon asked. She just shook her head. " Not sure. He seems mad though." She needed to stay focused. Now that he was out of the way, and messed in the head, no way they were going to win. 

" Good job you two. " Kreese said. Smiling he looked at Johnny and Daniel.

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Robby wiped a tear he didn't even know he let loose. Miguel turned to him and said," It's ok. She must have a reason. She wouldn't have-"

" No. She promised me and broke that promise. How do I know she actually didn't hook up with that guy? They already went on a date."

" Wait, what?" Miguel looked confused.

" At the cafe. They were there together. " Another tear. 

" Hey. It's going to be ok. She just-"

"WELCOME TO THIS YEAR'S ANNUAL SEKAI TEKAI!" The announcer shouted. Many people cheered, but Robby's eyes were stuck on Tory.

Fuck. He thought. He was distracted. She did that on purpose. She wanted him distracted so he wouldn't win.

She couldn't help it. She turned and made eye contact with him. His eyes were glossy. She felt bad. her face fell. He knew she was looking and she knew he saw her. She tilted her head and looked away. 

Robby couldn't.

He was angry. 

He tried to keep Miyagi-Do in his fighting, but if he told himself Tory would rejoin Cobra Kai back then, he wouldn't have believed it. 

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The first competitions were teams. They did little competitions like who could kick the highest, and other useful skills. He didn't see Tory anywhere with Cobra Kai. She must have been sitting that one out. So he ran. He told them he would sit this one out and went to find Tory. 

He wasn't going to cry. He kept telling himself that. But it didn't work. Tear started coming down but he wiped them and kept running. He had 20 minutes before he had to be back for the next activity. He had to participate in this one. 

Running he finally found Tory. 

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The first competition had not been that challenging for the Miyagi-Do's. They had been practicing kicking so most of them made it high enough not to get disqualified. 

Devon had barely made it. She had almost been disqualified.

Johnny came up to her. " Lee, you alright? Your head isn't in the game. You totally could've gotten higher. You stumbled. You ok?" She nodded. " Yeah, its fine. I'll do better. I just..." She trailed off. Her mind had been distracted because she had the guilt of cheating. She had seen the competition. She knew Kenny could have easily made it through eh first couple rounds. Easier than her anyway. So why was she so fidgety? It was guilt. It was eating her alive. Nodding it off she prepared for the next event.

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Tory was sitting against a wall, arms crossed. She had earbuds in and her phone was on a timer. She was listening to music. And staring off, her gaze unfocused.

Seeing her made him relax, but it made him angry. He had to choose. Be angry or caring. Whichever one he chose could impact his relationship with her forever. For good or worse. 

Instead of choosing he just watched her. 

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Tory was listening to the Tortured Poets Department. Right now she was listening to How did it End? The music made her feel better. She was staring off thinking about the impact of her choices. The timer buzzed. 10 more minutes till she had to go out their and face the Miyagi-Do's. Facing Robby would be painful. Why did she have such a fucked up life? 

She skipped the Alchemy, and spotify automatically went to Marjorie. If Tory was in her right mind she would have skipped it. But the first words caught her off guard. 

Then the chorus came. 

And if I didn't know better
I'd think you were talking to me now
If I didn't know better
I'd think you were still around
What died didn't stay dead
What died didn't stay dead
You're alive, you're alive in my head

Tears started streaming down her face. This song reminded her of here mom. She finally realized. Her mom was dead. Gone. Forever and wasn't coming back. Avenging her in this tournament wouldn't do anything because she was gone. 

She hadn't even noticed someone's arms wrapped around her. Looking up she saw Robby. She was so lost in thought about her mom, she just let him. She buried his face in his chest while he pulled her in.

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Robby had been watching her, but when she started crying he couldn't leave her. He went over and hugged her. He could smell her perfume that he missed. He started to stroke her hair and she looked up at him. She still had her earbuds on. She buried her face in his chest and he took out her earbud. 

With that out the timer rang. The timer was set 5 minutes ahead so she would have gotten there before the next competition. She calmed down and pulled away from Robby. 

" Sorry." She whispered. Quiet enough so only Robby could hear, even though no one was there. 

" Hey. We need to talk." He said, deciding not to be mad. 

" No, Robby stop. I don't like you anymore. We're broken up. You can be with someone else for all I care. Just leave me alone. I don't need nor want you." She said looking away.

" We both know that's not true. " Robby said, still holding onto her. He was hoping that wasn't true. Deep down he was just hoping it was true. But what she said would determine that.

" I have to go." Tory said. She got up and wiped her eyes. She took a deep  breath and looked  at Robby. 

" Robby, we can't be together. I don't want you to get hurt." 

" What do you mean Tory? No one will get hurt. "

" I don't like you anymore Robby. I like Kwon. I kissed him." She said looking down.

" You didn't mean it. You did it to mess with me." Robby differed.

Well Kree-" Tory stopped. She had promised not to tell. Shit. She thought. No way he wouldn't spot that. Of course he did. Robby asked,

" Kreese what?" Tory looked nervous. Something was wrong.

" Uh... I... I gotta go." She rushed. 

With that she ran. 

Fear. Robby thought. That was why she couldn't be with him. But then why did she kiss that boy? And why did she cry? Was it cause of her mother? Daniel should have let her fight. She wasn't thinking right. That was why she had left.

But her mom's death couldn't have caused all that... could it?