"Makooo!" Bolin's shouts could be heard throughout the apartment. The younger brother was stretching out on the futon, his muscles sore from practice. "Mako, can you please go to the store and get me some fire flakes? We're all out!"

"Go get em yourself, Bo! I have a date with Korra tonight and I have to get ready." Mako called out from the bathroom. Bolin sighed and trudged to face his brother. He watched as he shaved his chin.

"You better be nice to her, bro. She's really special."

"You think I don't know that?" The firebender looked at Bolin in the mirror. "Come on. Hey, you should go out tonight, take a walk or something. You've been practicing for almost two weeks straight." Bolin rolled his green eyes. After a minute of thinking, he scratched his head.

"You're right. I think I will," he nodded as if the idea had been his own. "Bye, Mako!" he yelled as he put some yuons in his pocket and shut the door behind him. His brother rolled his eyes and smiled. At least I can get ready in peace, he thought.

Bolin skipped down the stairs three at a time and took a deep breath when he got outside, waving at the grumpy cabbage seller across the street. "Hey Bo!"

"How's it going, Bolin?"

"My favorite earthbender, how are you?"

The sixteen year old smiled at each of the friends he knew. He walked for about ten minutes before turning down the darker street in the neighborhood. Bolin looked up at the crooked sign, "Republic City's Best Grocery" and pushed the door open. He was familiar of the place, but he had only been a few times since Mako usually did the shopping. He wasn't greeted, but instead walked around in the seemingly empty shop. Bo's eyes flashed when he saw the stand marked "fire flakes". He dashed over and grabbed three bags, but jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hello," a middle aged woman said. "Sorry to scare you." Bolin blinked a few times and looked at the woman.

"No problem," he said. "Um, do you have any rock candy?" he looked hopefully at the sales woman; rock candy was his favorite snack and he felt like he should get a reward for going out and getting his own fire flakes. After a few moments, the woman nodded.

"We do! Here, at the back. You can come with me." They walked behind a curtain at the back of the store. There were dozens of shelves lined with jars and boxes of food. Bolin licked his lips passing through, but something made him stop in his tracks. "Oh, you don't have to finish those right now, dear. It's nearly closing time anyway." The woman spoke to a young girl stacking boxes. The girl looked up, tucked a strand of light brown hair behind her ears, and crossed her arms.

"You should have told me that before I started! I've been trying to sort these for-Oh!" she gasped when she saw Bolin standing awkwardly behind the woman. "Um, what did you need, mom?"

"This young man asked for rock candy and I can't seem to find it." Bolin felt his face grow red when she said the candy out loud; it made him seem like a child. The girl steeped forward and bit her lip.

"I can help. You can go close the register, mom." The girl smiled at Bolin and motioned to the left. "The rock candy's over here." She quickly maneuvered through the tall rows of shelves and Bolin ducked through, trying to follow.

"So, that was your mother?" he asked, trying to strike up conversation that didn't involve candy. The back of her head nodded in front of him. The girl stopped in the farthest corner of the back room, right in front of a huge shelf of candy. Bolin did his best to hide his excitement, but he didn't do so well.

"You really like candy, huh?" she giggled. "You're lucky though. It doesn't look like you eat any sweets," she said with a shy smile. Bolin took the hint and stretched his arms.

"Well, you get nice results from being a pro-bender," he smiled. The girl's face suddenly turned dark and her smile faded.

"Oh, you're a pro-bender?" she muttered. Bolin stammered, confused.

"Yeah, I'm from the fire ferrets…" he thanked her when she handed him a box of cherry flavored rock candy without making eye contact.

"I do know you. You're…you're Bolin, aren't you? You're friends with the avatar."

"Yeah! Yeah I am!" he gave a huge smile, hoping she would return it. But the girl nodded, her thin arms crossed.

"You should probably get back. My mother has to close the register soon, so…" she shrugged and looked at her feet. Bolin swallowed and nodded. "I'm guessing you know the way." She pointed towards the way out and turned her back. The boy stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. Finally, after the awkward silence was unbearable, he shuffled away.

In the park, Bolin stuffed fire flakes in his mouth while trying to come up with a solution. What did I say? Usually when people find out I'm a pro-bender, they like me even more! Why did that girl suddenly seem so angry? He sighed loudly. Looking around, Bolin smiled to himself. Many memories were in this place, for this was where he and his older brother grew up after their parents had died. He was sitting underneath their tree, the one that had protected them from rain and snow. The one that let its leaves fall for Mako to use for a fire during the winter. Bolin stood and walked over to the fountain in the middle of the square, looking down into the water. The two boys had thrown many coins in the fountain wishing for a home. He remembered searching for coins in the street, and throwing it in the water for good luck. Should have been smart and used it for food, he thought now. But it wasn't the wishes that brought them a roof and enough money to live. It was the love and determination of his brother. Bolin wondered how his and Korra's date was going. Walking back home, he couldn't shake the guilt of upsetting that girl in the shop. He didn't even know her name!

That night as Bolin was lying in bed, he knew he was going to return to the little shop the next day. Sure enough, he spent over half an hour in the bathroom the next morning making sure he didn't look like an idiot. He shoveled his toast down at the table which received some strange looks from his brother and Korra. "Bo? Where's the fire?" Korra said, then snorted at her joke. Mako just smiled and shook his head.

"I have to go somewhere," he said with his mouth full. When he gulped it all down, his brows furrowed together. "Wait a minute, why is Korra here?" the couple's faces went bright red and Korra stood up.

"Um, I'm gonna…do the dishes!" and she ran into the bathroom. Bolin gave his brother a look.

"Hey, we ended up staying out really late so she fell asleep here!" Mako defended. His little brother made a disgusted face then punched Mako on the arm. "I swear!" his cries could be heard as Bolin went out the door.

He dramatically swung open the door and stomped to the front of the store. "Ma'am, I'm here to see your daughter. Is she here?" he huffed out the words quickly, his fists balled at his sides. The woman looked up at him flustered at first, but then smiled when she recognized him.

"Oh, you're the rock candy boy from yesterday!" she breathed. "Yes, she's in the back. Not in a good mood though, good luck." Bolin thanked her and ran through the curtain. He stepped back when he saw not only the girl, but a young man standing next to her, laughing. He was about to turn around, but they had already seen him.

"Um, hi?" Bolin grimaced. The girl's eyes widened. She flared her nostrils at the boy and tilted her head towards Bolin. The boy's eyebrows went up in understanding. "Can I talk to you please?" Bolin said the girl. She shrugged and placed the box she was holding on the shelf. They walked outside in front of the store. Bolin took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

"So, I know three things about you. One- you work at the grocery store where me and my brother get our food. Two- your mom works there too. Three- you were nice to me when we first talked yesterday, and then for whatever reason you changed. There are many things I do not know about you, but there are two that I really, really want to know. One- your name, and two- what I said to hurt you and make you mad. Can you possibly tell me those two things? I will tell you whatever you want to know about me, or get out of here. If you want." He let out the breath and relaxed his shoulders. The girl was looking Bolin in the eye and biting her thumb. After a minute, she put her hand down and cleared her throat.

"Al."

"What?" Bolin tilted his head. At least he had gotten a word out of her.

"My name, dummy." She smiled at her shoes. "It's Al." Bolin smiled.

"Short for?"

"Not yet." She said; her smile fading. Bolin nodded, putting his hands up.

"Would you like to take a walk with me, Al?"