Clearly, this was just not Toph's day. First, she thoroughly embarrassed herself in front of her only friends because she had a stupid crush on one of them, and now she was dangling precariously from the edge of the opening to the underground cavern that she did, in fact, find.

Well, I guess you can't have everything, she thought ruefully.

Hopefully, her friends had heard her scream and were on their way to save her. She had tried to pull herself up, but instantly felt something in her wrist snap and a burning sensation had since taken over. A broken bone, just her luck!

She sighed. She hated depending on others to help her, no matter how infrequently a situation like that came along. She wanted to be independent. She wanted to prove herself. Hanging by a thread, merely a slip of a finger from possibly dropping to her death, was really no way to do that.

Really, what was she thinking? She still didn't know what sort of creatures were down in the enormous hole, but she sure hoped that her screaming didn't wake them up so that they were coming to get her.

On second thought, she mused, If I let go and collapse into a heap of pathetic loserness with no life left in me, I won't have to face Sokka and the others...

Eh. She wasn't that desperate.

"Toph! Toph, where are you?" Sokka had been ambling through the forest for about twenty minutes and there was still no sign of the tiny Earthbender. He hoped that she hadn't somehow been able to turn herself into a tree or a rock with her bending, because then they'd never find her. He was supposed to meet Katara and Aang, who had both gone off in different directions for their search, back at the hill in an hour. If all three of them reported back with no Toph in tow... Well, he didn't know what they'd do.

He sighed a very tired and very sad sigh. He knew what it was like to be humiliated in front of someone he had a crush on. It had happened to him back at the south pole all the time. He'd see a pretty girl, make googley eyes at her, and fail miserably in his attempts to impress her. The guys would make fun of him for a week, but it would eventually blow over... Until he managed to embarrass himself again and the process repeated itself. But, he knew stuff like this was different for girls. He knew that, since they were all emotional and weird, Toph had probably cried her eyes out and put herself down for what she had unknowingly said. He felt really, really bad.

"Toph? Toph, where are you? Look, please don't be upset. I'm not here to make fun of you or anything. I'm just worried about you. Please, come back..."

Goodbye, cruel world, take care of mom and dad... They'll be devastated by the news...

"Toph? Toph, where are you? Look, please don't be upset. I'm not here to make fun of you or anything. I'm just worried about you. Please, come back."

She was just about to let go of the ledge and fall dramatically to her doom (her arm was beginning to hurt) when she heard him calling for her.

"Toph, I know that I am the last person you want to see- Erm, I mean talk to, right now- but, I swear I'm not going to laugh at you or make fun of you. Aang and Katara are out looking for you too. We're all worried about you. Who knows what could be in this forest?"

She bowed her head. So, they'd come looking for her, after all. And of course, Sokka was the one to find her. Well, he'd be the one to find her if she let him know she was there, anyway... Which she almost contemplated not doing.

However, she began to feel her fingers slipping slowly and couldn't help but yell, "Sokka!"

She heard his footsteps pause before she could feel him running in her direction.

"Watch out, there's a huge hole! Don't fall in."

She heard him gasp, and the next thing she knew, he had a strong grip on her arm and was hauling her out and onto the ground.

"Geez, Toph, how did you even manage to get down there? Are your sensory glands or whatever not working right today?"

She rolled her eyes. "My 'sensory glands' are working just fine. I just wasn't paying attention, and tripped over a rock. I thought the opening would be some sort of cave, but I guess it wasn't."

Sokka sighed and shook his head. "And here I thought you had somehow turned yourself into a tree or something. Wait, the opening to what?"

She stared unseeingly in the direction his voice had come from with a "you've-got-to-be-kidding-me" expression. "Earthbenders can't actually turn themselves into the material they're bending, Sokka. And there's an underground cavern below our feet. It's pretty big, and has lots of tunnels branching off into different directions. I thought I'd go find out what was down there to distract myself from..." She wrapped her arms around her knees and looked away in embarrassment.

Great, now this has to come up...

Sokka understood what she meant and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah, about that... Listen, Toph-"

He was cut off by a strange buzzing sound that was distant at first, but grew louder by the second. His brow furrowed as he tilted his head to the side. Toph sat up immediately, having heard the sound too.

"It's coming from the cavern," she mumbled. "They're traveling through the tunnels to the center. They're flying. I can't make out exactly what they are..."

He grabbed her arm and helped her up. "Maybe we should get out of here. I don't really want to find out what's coming... Or what it's coming for."

Toph nodded. "I'm not getting a very friendly vibe from whoever's home we invaded."

As Sokka grabbed her injured hand and began to lead her away, she cried out.

"What's wrong? Did you break it?"

"I think so. I had the wrong grip on the ledge, and when I tried to pull myself up, something in my wrist snapped."

He scowled and looked down at her arm. "We'll have Katara check it out when we get back. She's better at all that medical mumbo-jumbo than I am."

They walked in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, neither of them knowing what to say. Toph was quietly hoping and praying that she was still dreaming, and that she'd wake up any minute and be able to act like none of this had ever happened. Sokka was quietly hoping and praying that he'd be able to come up with something to say that wouldn't hurt her feelings. He liked her, he really did, but not in the way that she liked him. He had come to see her as another little sister that he would fight for and protect. She had become one of his closest friends, and he hoped he could let her down easily without ruining that.

"Uh, listen... I know this is probably really awkward for you, and believe me, I don't want to let this ruin our friendship-"

"Sokka, please. You don't have to say anything. You don't like me. That's okay." She offered him a small smile.

He looked down at her and shook his head. "No, Toph, I do like you-"

"Just not in the way that I like you. I know that. And I'm fine, Sokka-"

Their conversation was cut short as a huge eruption caused them to fall back on their behinds. Right in front of them sat a gaping hole, above which hovered a large, hideous creature with buzzing, beating wings. It had the thousand beady eyes and anntennae of a fly stuck on a striped tiger's head. Its stick legs had dark, sharp talons on the ends and its body belonged to an insect. Although Toph could not see, she could tell what it was just by hearing its bizarre, warped roar.

"A tigerfly," she gasped. She knew that this particular species was especially rare... And especially dangerous. If its long, pointed teeth merely scratched your arm and drew only a trickle of blood, you could still be paralyzed by the poison they were coated with. If they managed to dig deeper into your muscle, well, it was safe to say you were done for. She stumbled to her feet, grabbed Sokka's arm, and dragged him up so that he was standing as three more popped up out of the ground around them.

"I hope you brought your boomerang and your knives. It doesn't look like we're gonna get to run away this time."

"I'm way ahead of you," he replied as he whipped out said weapons from their sheath on his back. "Can you still bend without your one wrist?"

"I can try," she said as she flung her good arm into a sort of uppercut motion. A large mound of rock came flying up out of the ground and sent one of the airborne beasts hurtling into a tree, clearly dead. "These are just a few scouts that the rest of the colony sent to investigate what we were. We need to take them out fast and run like heck back to the camp. They shouldn't follow us out of the forest, since they prefer to be shaded, but still."

Sokka smiled. "Gotcha."

I really don't understand why people try to baby her.

The Water Tribe boy and Earth Kingdom tween fought diligently alongside each other, as they had many times before. A few more tigerflies had appeared, probably as backup, but they defeated them with only a little bit of effort and strain.

"Okay, Toph, I don't know if you can sense any more coming through the tunnels, but there are none left above ground," said Sokka, who was bent over, his hands on his knees, panting. "I think now would be a good time to run."

"I agree. More are coming, but they seem hesitant... Uncertain. We better go before they build up a little more courage."

They ran for about twenty minutes, at full speed, before Sokka finally caught a glimpse of the end of the trees and Toph could sense the rolling hills that were just up ahead.

"We can probably walk now," she told him. "Even if they were chasing after us, they wouldn't be able to find us now."

"Thank the Gods," he replied as he wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead and let out a tiresome "phew".

Unfortunately, their monumental battle in the forest could not prevent the leftover awkwardness from settling back in between them, daunting them, with cruel chuckles and jeers like 'I'm still here.'

Sokka, feeling that he should still say something, sighed. "Toph, I know you said you were fine, but I still want to apologize. You're like a little sister to me. I really would do anything for you, believe me, I'd be happy to. I hope that after all this, we can still be friends."

For a few moments, she didn't speak. She just walked alongside him with an unusually thoughtful expression on her face. Then, she turned her head so that she was facing him (or at least she thought she was) and said with a smile, "Don't worry about it, Snoozles. I was never even going to tell you. Besides," she grinned mischievously, "I'm sure you're not as good-looking as they say you are, anyway."

His eyes widened, brow furrowed, and mouth gaped comically, as he had obviously taken offense. However, he quickly recovered and replied teasingly, "Well, that wasn't very nice! And to think I was considering taking you on that date to that fancy little tea house in Ba Sing Se."

Despite her blush, she couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, no! I was so looking forward to it! However will I survive without all of your attention?"

Sokka turned up his nose in an imitation of snooty aristocracy. "You'll just have to settle for someone who isn't as handsome, talented, muscular, tough, or hilarious as me, young lady."

They both laughed until their sides hurt as they continued on their way back to meet Katara and Aang.

"But seriously," he started as he composed himself once again. "Are you really okay?"

Toph held back the urge to roll her eyes and just smiled. "Yeah, I'll be okay."

Although he had always known that Toph was tough and could get through anything life threw at her, whether it was heartbreak or injury, it wasn't until she playfully punched his arm and told him she'd race him back to camp before he actually believed that she would, in fact, be okay.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this not-so-little two-shot that I randomly came up with! I know that some of you may have found this a little out of character, but I was trying to go for the side of Toph that everyone just kind of forgets about. I figure, since she's a 12-year-old girl, she's still going to have those girly, embarrassing moments in her life no matter how abrasive and sarcastic she presents herself to be. It's just a part of growing up. So, let me now if you liked it, and tell me what you think. Au revior! :)