Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All of the rights belong to Nickelodean and the creators of the show.

Just a short advertisement before I continue: If you like action, badass gaangs and supernatural firebending then you need to leave this story and go to my other story titled The Absence of Zuko. Reviews are much appreciated :)

But if you're not one of those people, and you prefer to read cute Taang romances in your spare time, then you're in the right place! Thank you, and please enjoy my story ^_^

The first day back to school after their long Spring Break was full of exhuastion from the students. Almost more then half of the students just got back from their vacations over the weekend, still not used to their normal sleeping schedule. People that stayed home (that, including Toph and Aang) were simply tired from staying up every night during their own times at home. The night that Aang was over at Toph's, he didn't get home until five in the morning. They haven't spoken ever since.

Katara and Toph had the same class that was their third hour in the day. It was just when she thought that the day couldn't get any worse. When she first arrived at school, she avoided making any eye contact with Aang if they passed. In the first two hours of her class, she had a terribly hard time keeping her head above her shoulders, but she wasn't the only one.

It was much harder for her to listen to her History teacher then Katara's annoying voice in the background. The entire hour, she would either be talking about how good of a time that she had in Florida, or she would be complaining how tired she was. Toph found this to be totally untrue, because if she was even half as tired as she was, then she wouldn't be talking at all. Katara, and her friend Sukki's voices was the only thing keeping her awake during the hour.

Toph usually did a good job at ignoring Katara during History class, but today, she was untolerable. There were too many other things that have been running through her mind ever since that night she spent with Aang. That was all that she could think about, even if she didn't want to admit it. She knew that there was going to be a time today that they were going to have to talk. They had no classes together, luckily, so she wouldn't have to deal with trying to tell him during class. And so the day went on. . . she forced her eyelids open for the rest of the day and managed to remain successful. She had no motivation to start any of her homework that she was given, nor will she have the motivation when she will get home. She figured that today will be her free pass since it was the first day back.

The final bell rang in her sixth hour class, Spanish, and she was free to go. She took her time when she arrived at her locker, rearranging books in her backpack, checking and re-checking the things she needed for later (even though she knew that nothing productive will be accomplished today) all just to wait for Aang to pass her in the hallway. His locker was placed coincidentally next to her's.

While her head was shoved in the inside of her locker, trying to find a pencil that she "dropped", she heard his voice. It was, as a matter of fact, addressed to her, much to her own astonishment. She didn't think that he would have the courage to talk to her first.

"Hey, Toph," was what he began with. She knew that a friendly hello wasn't all that he had to say. "I think we need to talk. . ." She thought that the sentence was going to end there, but he added, "about what happened." He was even strong enough to imply their doings. Maybe what they did together changed them?

Toph pulled her head back into the hallway. Although Aang sounded much different, he looked exactly the same. It seemed to her that it has been much longer then it really has. His clothing was still similar: jeans and a white and dark blue American Eagle shirt. His bright gray eyes still had that fullness to it that assured her that he was still full of life inside, even if he wasn't currently going to show it.

She didn't surely know how to reply to his statement. It wasn't a question, though, she took it as one to appear like nothing has phased her. "What about it?"

"Well. . ." Aang sighed. His grip on his books weakened, he tried to get a better hold of them against his side clumsily. "I don't think - that we should've done that because. . . well, you're my best friend and all, and I don't want to ruin our friendship over this, so-"

"Who said we were dating, Twinkletoes?" she asked, giving him a tough look. She thought that she was doing a good job of looking like she didn't care about their situation. The truth was, she didn't think of it as it being no big deal at all.

Aang's eyes began to flicker back-and-forth between Toph and another random object around the hallway that could be possibly be passed as interesting. He shot glances at other students and staff walking by, posters hanging on the wall, and things that were taking place outside through the window that spead across the entire hallway that they were standing in.

"Um - well, I didn't really mean anything like that, of course I know that we're not dating!" Aang lied. "But I'm just saying that I think we should pretend that Spring Break never happened. . ."

"Why?"

"Because I want to be your best friend again. I want to have things like they used to be." Finally, he calmed down. He sounded honest when he said what he wanted to say, and Toph respected that. Not once did he look away from her bright green eyes this time. She returned a response with a simple nod while flipping half of her raven-black hair behind her shoulder. It was very rare for somebody to see Toph with her hair down. Today was just one of those lazy days when you don't even feel like picking up a hair tie.

She reached back into her locker to retrieve her coat and backpack. Aang couldn't help but stare at her neck, which was not fully healed since the incident that happened over the weekend. He felt a shiver shoot up his spine. What was he thinking? How could he ever be so attracted to his best friend? To Toph?

"So you busy today?" Toph asked, throwing her strap attatched to her backpack around her shoulder.

"I don't think so," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Why?"

"You wanna walk over to my house?"

To be honest with himself, he would love to go to her house. But the thing was, he had tons of homework to do on the first day back to school. Gyatso wasn't always the one to let him slide on skipping his homework one night. He was pretty strict on his school work.

Despite his knowing of the consequences, he accepted anyway. "Okay, sure!" He tried to sound convincing, but it was hard for him to lie when he hardly ever does.

Toph slammed her locker shut and began to walk down the hallway. He was amazed at how little Spring Break was affecting her. It was like none of it has ever happened. He could put it all behind him and finally have his best friend back: having crazy adventures with Toph was like a daily thing with them back in the day, and now he knows that they can relive them all over again. Things were finally going back to normal for him. . . or so he thought.

The two teenagers remained silent for a while. Aang could sense the awkwardness growing much more then Toph could. She had too many things rushing through her mind to keep herself in the presense. Aang desperately tried to think of a subject that was possible for them to communicate about. Before Katara left him, they would always have tons of things to talk about, but talking about the same subjects now, he felt, just wouldn't seem the same anymore.

They passed many other students in the hallway who were loidering the halls with their groups of friends. Ever since recently, the security gaurds at their school promoted that this is not allowed anymore. When the two of them turned the corner to another hallway, they ran into two of them.

"Where you guys going?" one of them asked. She was a woman in her middle ages with short hair with a plump appearance. Her voice sounded deeper then usual.

"We were just leaving," Toph replied calmly. She was not intimidated by anyone that worked there. Sometimes, it was the other way around. Aang thought it was best to not talk unless spoken to.

"Okay, get a move on, then, the front door is up ahead," she said, pointing her arm down the rest of the hallway. She was evidentely correct, seeing that the lobby was no more then fifty feet ahead.

Toph rolled her eyes and continued walking. Aang followed.

This time, they had no choice but to be silent. Anything worth talking of would get them in trouble with the security gaurds in audible reach. When they got to the door, Aang didn't know wether to hold the door open for Toph or to let her open it herself. He usually never thought about these things before, but now he felt the urge to be a gentleman.

And so he did.

Toph felt taken aback, her cheeks flushed to a dark pink. Before moving on, she quietly thanked him.

They finally made it to the outdoors, where their speech could be free. Once they set foot on the sidewalk, Aang made his statement:

"Do the security gaurds think we're that stupid?"

"Of course they do!" she said, raising her eyebrows. She knew it like an impulse that security gaurds were the most ridiculous of all of the staff members. Vision might not be her strongest sense, but at least she wasn't blind. "They only kick us out of the school now because they caught Kristen and her boyfriend having sex in the bathroom!"

Aang lifted her back onto the couch, sliding his hands up her shirt.

He unbuttoned her pants.

"Yeah. . ." Aang forced out.

"What's the matter, Twinkletoes? You're not as chatty as you used to be."

The two of them were not walking side-by-side at the curb of the road. Aang lowered his head down into the cement. "It's nothing."

"So what do you wanna do?" she asked, throwing her backpack across the foyer for her maids to retrieve. "You wanna go to the pool, jump on the trampoline, play in the game room?"

Aang jumped, "Uh, no, that's okay! Um, how about homework?"

"Homework? Please, anything but," she bluntly stated. "You wanna take a walk down to the pond?"

"A walk?" he asked, more to himself. Toph nodded, looking at him like he was stupid. "Uh, sure. . . I can do that."

"You know, if I wasn't as oblivious as you are, then it wouldn't take me this long to figure out that you're still freaked out from Spring Break."

"Me? Freaking out? Nonsense," he denied, turning his gaze away from the beautiful pond that was privately owned by the Bei Fong's. He leaned himself against the side of the bridge they were standing on. Toph's eyes were still fixed on the exotic fish swimming gracefully through the clear water. She needed something to keep her calm. Otherwise, she would be just as bad as Aang.

"I know that it was stupid. Honestly, I still can't stop thinking about it. I just thought we were gonna have a good time like we always used to have. I never thought that it would turn into that."

Aang couldn't agree more. "I know what you mean. I still can't believe I was that stupid." He felt comfortable enough to stand closer to Toph, and to look at the same fish that she had her eyes on. He rested his chin against the palms of his hands.

"I'm just as guilty."

"I was the one that wanted to come over so late."

"I was the one that agreed to it."

Aang turned his head, looking into Toph's sunken eyes. She looked devistated. Her overgrown bangs hung over her face.

"Whats wrong?"

She brushed it off and assured that it was nothing. Aang still wasn't convinced. He had an instinctive feeling at what it was, but his conscious denied it over and over again.

"It's just kinda weird. . . having this kind of relationship with your best friend."

He felt a rush of reliefness sink through. He could breathe again. "Uh, yeah - I know. That's why I wanna stay friends."

"Friends," she said in a monotone to herself. She ever so slightly smiled to not give off the vibe that she was scared, not knowing that she already has.

Yup, I implied it as best as I could. I don't wanna change the rating to M, so that's basically all I can do. I wasn't really expecting to write a story like this, but it kinda fits well in my opinion. If you like the chapter, then send a review saying so. If you hate the chapter, then let me know, maybe give me some advice?

Don't be anonymous. That's just pathetic.