Hi guys. This is my entry for TwilightRose2's contest.
I don't own anything in this chapter. )
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I guess you could say it was a cold night. And how I ended up with my sister's boyfriend crying next to me, and one of my best friends cuddling with me for, er, body heat, I'll never know. I guess it all started that morning.
"Sokka! Get your lazy butt out of bed!" My sister, Katara poked her head into the doorway. I groaned and rolled over.
"It's Saturday." I grumbled from under my pillow.
"So?" She marched over and ripped the pillow off my head. "Today me and Aang are going to the mall. I need a ride." I looked sleepily up at her. She was staring down at me, eyebrow raised.
I yawned. "Sure, sure. Whatever. Give me a half hour." I rolled back over, with my back to her.
"Sokka. It's 2 in the afternoon. I kinda need to go now. Please get up."
"Fine. Get out so I can get dressed." She gave me a quick hug and dashed out of the room. Sitting up with a stretch, I looked sadly at my bureau. Tee shirts and various pairs of pants were hanging out of the drawers. I snatched a random tee and pants, and got dressed.
Still grumbling, I walked into the bathroom, and in a daze brushed my teeth. Next thing I knew I was in the car. "What mall?" I asked Katara, stifling a yawn.
"Uh." She quickly flipped open her cell, and searched through her texts for Aang's. Well, they all were from Aang. Trust me. It's almost not worth it to read her texts because they're either
"Omg, I luv u sweetie." or "I had breakfast! Isn't that cool?!"
A man like me could only take so much lovey-dovey stuff. "We're picking up Toph." I decided. Gran-Gran had asked me several times to take her to the mall. Why, I have no clue. Maybe it had to do with the fact she was over daily, and Gran-Gran seemed to be getting a tiny bit sick of her.
"Yup." Katara mumbled absentmindedly as she checked her reflection in her compact mirror.
I groaned and pulled into Toph's driveway. Her parents were strict, so I couldn't pull up to the house. Carefully, I parked the car at the end of the driveway, and flipped on the heat. "Katara, did you check the weather?" I asked, rubbing my hands together for warmth.
"It's supposed to be like 0 degrees tonight." She was testing Aang again. I swear, she's the reason Gran won't let me use my cell phone except for emergencies. What with all the texts Katara uses.
After a moment, Toph appeared in front of the car. "Jeez. It's not like I'm a murderer." She rolled her eyes, and climbed into shotgun.
"I don't know. There's been a string of murders in the city." I could feel myself getting nervous. Katara will be fine. She's got Aang. I trust that kid. With a deep breath, I put the car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway.
"So where we going?" Toph asked, leaning back in her chair with her hands behind her head.
"A mall. Katara still hasn't told me which one." I rolled my eyes in the mirror.
"Ba Sing Se Mall." She stated, not once looking up from her cell.
"Geez, Katara." I groaned. "If you don't stop texting, I'm gonna take that cell away from you." I threatened, but she seemed apathetic towards the threat.
Soon, we arrived at the mall. Aang was waiting on a bench outside, and he immediately ran to Katara and they began to kiss. Gross. Like I seriously need to see my sister making out with her boyfriend.
"Aang! Aren't you cold?!" I stared incredulously at the kid, who was only wearing a light sweatshirt, while the rest of us, Toph included, were wearing parkas.
"Nope. I live high on the mountains, the air's usually cold there. There's a blizzard warning for-" He was cut off by a warm hug from Katara. I made a gagging sound. Toph snickered.
She took my hand and led me inside the mall. "I say Hot Topic?" She asked, and as soon as we stepped inside, Aang and Katara ran off to the Abercrombie. Silly kids. I chuckled to myself. "Ooh, how about this shirt?" Toph asked, holding up a black tee with Jack Skellington on it.
"Sweet. Do they have it in my size?" I asked, and began to walk over to where she was holding the shirt. As soon as my hand touched hers, the lights went off.
"Shit, this can't be good." I groaned, and slapped a palm to my forehead.
Me and Toph were huddled against a clothes rack. Something was poking me in the back, and I shifted uncomfortably. "Toph, do you have your cell?" In response, she held up a glowing cell phone. "Text Katara, asking if they're okay."
The minute I stopped talking, there was an ear-splitting yell, and then silence. "What. The. Hell?" My eyes were wide, and I could feel myself shaking. "…Toph? That sounded kinda like-" I was cut off by a warning bell and red flashing lights.
A voice came over the loud speaker. "Please all customers evacuate the mall. There is a slight emergency. Please remain calm and look for the nearest exit. Thank you." The voice cracked at the end. Panicking, I looked at Toph, she was texting Katara. She closed the phone and gave me a freaked out look. This wasn't good. It usually took a lot to freak Toph out.
"Let's go find Katara and Aang." I stood up and helped Toph up. As soon as we stepped out of Hot Topic, there was a huge, crazy crowd, all bustling towards the mall exits. "They went to Abercrombie! This way!" I shouted to Toph over the roar of the crowd. I took her hand and pulled her towards the store.
"Wait, I got a text." She pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open, eyes scanning the text message. She was silent for a moment. "Sokka." She looked up at me and there were tears in her eyes. I could feel my stomach drop. "Katara's dead."