AN: I really should be reading articles and writing reports. CURSE YOU NOSTALGIA!
They say misery loves company. Perhaps in this case it should be reworded to the blaring black metal anthem of teenage angst and the gut wrenching symphony of a broken heart would really appreciate having this seat to themselves. At least this would be the case for Mai as she begrudgingly shared the uncomfortably small love seat with an orange (the most detestable colour) clad Avatar. Quickly darting her eyes to her right she observed the sulking air bender, his bottom lip wet and stuck up in a forlorn pout. She followed the gleaming big grey eyes to the couple of red and blue that had taken up the dance floor and then darted her eyes back to her hands.
She supposed she could allow her seat to be shared with the sadness and betrayal that matched her own. After all they had both been dumped for the others lover, and that doesn't happen every day.
"Katara danced with me once" Aang mumbled perking Mai's attention. Looking at what could only be the book definition of love sick trauma, she decided didn't want to be sharing her seat. Not wanting to respond, she crossing her legs and her eyes conveniently found the dullest corner of the wall to stare at.
Aang jerked in surprise, he hadn't known anyone was sitting next to him. Wait- he didn't even know when he had sat down. Confused he had traced back his thoughts. He remembered being told the celebration was starting. He remembered walking in the room full of happy celebrating people. But all he could remember after that was the sight of a certain water bender and a certain Fire Lord arm in arm, smiles on their faces as revolting as puppies dipped in sunshine and crusted in daisies. Aang had never been against anything being cute, but he did when it came at the cost of his heart.
"Sorry" he said, not knowing why he was apologising, "You see, Katara just dumped me for Zuko and I'm-"
"I know" Mai snapped, still looking away. Aang's eyebrows furrowed in response.
"You do? But I haven't told anyone, she just broke up with me today" Aang replied confused.
"Are you an idiot?" Mai's quickly turned to face the Avatar, her lethargic voice spiking into actual disbelief.
"What?"
"Do you not know who I am?"
"Knife lady?" answered Aang hopefully tapping his two pointer fingers together.
If Mai could frown more than she usually did she would've.
"I am your ex-girlfriend's current boyfriend's ex-ex-girlfriend" she answered unimpressed.
"Ex-ex-girlfriend?"
"Some men are so hopeless at knowing what they want, they need to break up with you twice before they're sure" she said bitterly.
Realisation swept over Aang as he looked from the new dancing couple and back to the stoic Mai. Her face was as blank but he could see in her eyes a familiar sadness. His face became soft and empathetic causing Mai to scowl, she didn't like the feeling of being pitied by the most pitiful person in the room.
"You are even more hopeless though" she added scornfully. Aang felt a twinge of annoyance at her unpleasantness.
"Why are you saying that? We're both going through the same thing aren't we?" he retorted.
"I'm not the one who has spent the last hour, sitting blankly on a couch, at his own party, like a moping puppy wishing that their master will return to them" Mai countered.
"Well not all of us can be content with disappearing into the wallpaper like you! Emotions are meant to be felt and expressed you stone" he spat back, but immediately regretted his words. For an instant her blank face broke into a whimper and he knew he struck a nerve.
"He's such a jerk" she said before he could apologise.
"He?" asked Aang.
"Him. You. Everyone" said Mai frustrated, she noticed she had started grinding a knife in the wooden frame of the seat but she didn't care, it was going to take a whole lot of her conscious to say the next words.
"I know I'm not a nice person. I know I'm dull, plain and boring and menacing and mean. I may be stone but stone can still break, and I thought he knew that" she confessed not knowing why. She was saying stupid things and she hated being stupid, but she had decided that the Avatar, even though he had called her stone and seemed utterly pathetic, didn't deserve her being mean.
"You're not stone" he said after a moment.
"Thank you I guess" she answered.
"Maybe a rose. Like a thorny rose. Like a rose that's in a dense bush of thorns- a cage of thorns! You know, so someone needs a big pair of cleavers to cut-"
"You can stop now" Mai interrupted scowling, but the Avatar was gently smiling at her, his mind finally being taken off the pain he had been suffering from. Mai frowned and squinted.
"Were you trying to make a joke?" she asked bewildered.
"Was it funny?"
"No, it was horrible" she answered and he frowned sad again, "Thorns really? Knives would be better a metal vine red roses with knives instead of thorns"
He looked up surprise to see her smirking at him. He smiled at that and she couldn't help but smile back.
"You're annoying" she said still smirking even though she really was annoyed, but here she was smiling.
"Why?"
"Well I can't be mean at the Avatar who just saved the world and just got dumped for my ex-boyfriend, who let's face it isn't the must handsome character"
"And that's a bad thing"
"Yes because I love being mean" she said with a wicked smile and a raised eyebrow. Aang gave a disapproving laugh but he couldn't imagine this wicked girl lasting a day at an air bending monastery.
"But you're not dull. Maybe you just need to change your outfit to something brighter. How about orange?" he asked.
"Are you offering me your clothes?"
"No, I'm just suggesting you try the colour orange"
"That's a bit forward don't you think? Offering to strip down and give me your clothes. I hardly know you mister Avatar" she continued her voice drawling lazily but she gave an insinuating smile at his flushed red face. You'd never see a reaction like that from Zuko.
"I didn't mean it like that" said Aang still blushing.
"It's okay I wouldn't take your clothes anyway. I detest the colour orange" she informed raising her eyebrows at the word 'detest' to further annunciate her hatred.
Aang frowned.
"Do you detest me?" he asked.
Mai looked at him, and then to the new cheerful couple that had caused them so much pain. There were so many things she'd like to say to that couple. Stupid scar face, and stupid pretty blue eyed brunette. Perhaps she would've etched her hate into the arm of the seat in contempt, writing them a note and all the pain and suffering they had caused her. But somehow because of a certain someone, she didn't really feel like hating the world- at the moment.
She smiled, chiding herself for smiling so much one of the most miserable decrepit days of her teenage life.
"No" she answered, "No, I don't"
A/N: I know what everyone's thinking. Holy Pineapple on a fish cake no one expected me to ever update again. EVER. Except for those people who reminded me every so often that I should update my stories.
I left a lot of stories hanging and reading back through them I felt like I should disappoint people, but I couldn't continue writing where I left off. I wrote Insanity more than three years ago and slipping back into the story would be as hard as getting back into the clothes I wore back then- it wouldn't fit right. So I have decided to rewrite my stories, finishing them off hopefully within five or so chapters so everyone can know how I wanted them to end.
I'm started with Insanity because it was my favourite, and I knew the end from the beginning. New readers just enjoy the ride. Old readers, I'm making this a new story so just go and follow the new story I've made for updates.