Trey was hurting, both emotionally and physically. Emotionally, he was a whirlwind of sadness, anger, and just sheer disappointment from his conversation with Aang. Physically, well, it turned out that On Ji missed school that day with the Flu, and he was feeling the familiar headache and body soreness as his body began to fight the virus off.
Still though, he wanted to fix things with Aang. Trey was confused by Aang's hostility toward him, but he did somewhat understand his point. At the same time, it wasn't like Aang hadn't lied to him, and Aang had plenty of friends now that genuinely enjoyed being with him. Trey didn't know what to do, but he knew that the first step was getting out of bed and going to class.
Trey knew that he probably shouldn't be anywhere near the school in the state he was in, but he went anyway. He had only been friends with Aang for a few days, but he was already the closest friend that Trey had ever had. It was worth the suffering. Plus, there was always the hope that Aang had forgiven him already. He was a monk, after all.
Aang returned to the house-cave after his, err, discussion with Trey to find everybody circled around the fire waiting for him.
Katara stood up and faced Aang.
"So, how did it go with your friend?"
Aang looked at her, over to Sokka and Toph, and back at her.
"You told them?"
Sokka decided that it was his turn to voice his opinion.
"It's dumb to tell somebody about you being The Avatar, especially a kid from the Fire Nation, but sometimes you just have to do dumb things."
Katara chuckled.
"You would certainly be the expert on that, Sokka."
Sokka let out his signature voice cracky growl grunt thing and went to go fume by himself in the back of the cave.
"So, how did it go?"
Aang sighed.
"He already knew who I was."
"How? That's horrible. He much have been with the Fire Nation Army. Like a spy or something."
"No, he just, well, knew. It came up accidentally in a conversation."
"Did you ask him how he knew?"
Aang looked at his feet.
"He tried to explain but I kept cutting him off. I ended up just leaving him there without letting him say anything."
Toph finally decided to speak up.
"That's a little cold there, Twinkletoes."
Aang suddenly got angry.
"What do you mean, cold? He lied to me. I thought he was a real friend, but instead, he lied."
Katara gave Toph a look, and Toph waved her hand in front of her face, reminding Katara that she couldn't see what she was trying to wordlessly say.
Katara sighed.
"Toph, can you leave us alone? And Aang, didn't you lie to him too? I mean, you told him that you were Kuzon."
Toph grumbled and went to go bother Sokka. Aang looked like he was on the verge of a temper tantrum. It was moments like this that reminded Katara that Aang really was only 12, despite all of his other qualities.
"That's different!"
Katara let out another sigh.
"It's really not that different. I don't know what happened or what was said, but you should at least think about that. Maybe he really did just want to be your friend, and he was just in a weird situation. Just keep that in mind."
With that, Katara walked out of the front of the cave, more wanting to leave than heading to any place in particular. Aang was left alone to think.
The next morning, Trey could hardly move. He had gotten the Flu before, but he had always taken medication for it. He was really missing that right now. Still, he had to fight through it. He had to fix things with Aang.
After a long, tortuous walk to school, Trey arrived in his classroom immediately before school started. He quickly (or as quickly as his stiff joints would allow him) took his seat next to Aang. Aang didn't say a word, but there wasn't hostility in his eyes like there was the previous day. Trey took that as a good sign, but before he could say something, the teacher walked in and began class.
Trey couldn't do anything resembling schoolwork with his headache, so he did his best to make it look like he was paying attention. Aang quickly saw through the act though, and approached him in the hallway after their first class.
"Trey, you really don't look good."
"Wow, thanks for the compliment," Trey replied with a smile. "I'll be fine."
Aang simply shrugged his shoulders and walked away towards his next class.
The rest of the day followed the same pattern. Aang acknowledged Trey, but he didn't show any emotion to him, warm or cold. Aang was, however, his same cheery self toward everybody else, and he continued planning his after school dance party. It seemed like nobody knew what a dance party was, but they were all curious and promised to attend.
When school let out, Aang went to the courtyard to talk to Trey. It was time for him to let his former friend explain himself. He spotted Trey leaning against a wall in the corner. As he began to walk over, he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.
"Are you ready for your parent-teacher conference? Where are your parents?"
He had forgotten about the conference! He gulped and began to panic.
"I thought as much. If I don't see your parents BEFORE school tomorrow morning, you will be sent to reform school. And by reform school, I mean the coal mines." The principle then spoke up. "The same goes for you, Trey."
Trey nervously nodded. He had also forgotten about the conference, and he hadn't told his "parents" about the fight. Still, the thought of Sokka wearing a moustache and taking on the Wang Fire persona kept his panic under control. He had always loved that scene in the TV series.
Aang walked over to Trey and began to speak.
"Look, Trey, I'm sorry I got angry at you without letting you explain yourself yesterday."
Trey looked up at Aang with a happy spark in his eyes.
"And I'm sorry for lying. So, are we, you know, good?"
"No. I'm just giving you the chance to explain yourself." Aang kept a totally straight face. It reminded Trey of how Aang looked in the TV show when he had given up hope on the Serpent's Pass.
"At least it's something," Trey muttered, half to himself. "I can't really talk about it here though. Do you want to go find a private place?"
"Nah, I have to go set up for the dance. We can talk later, or tomorrow."
Trey looked disappointed.
"Alright. I really am sorry though, Aang."
Trey was determined to talk to Aang at the dance party, but his body was beginning to fail him. His thoughts were turning feverish, and his joints had pretty much locked up at this point. As he struggled up the steps to his room, Lee and River walked by and saw him.
"Trey, you look horrible!" River stated.
Trey didn't turn around.
"Thanks."
Lee walked up to him and grabbed his shoulder.
"Come down to the kitchen. I'll make you some tea."
"I don't think a cup of tea will help me at this point."
Lee smiled.
"Trust me, this tea will. My boss at work is obsessed with everything tea, and I've picked up a couple of things."
With that, Lee dragged Trey into the kitchen and prepared the tea. As soon as it was ready, Lee handed a cup to Trey. He took a cautious sip. It was warm and sweet, and the warmth seemed to spread through his body. He began gulping it down.
"That man really is a genius." Lee chuckled. "The effects only last a couple of hours but you should feel pretty good while it's active. I'll make some for you right before you sleep tonight, too."
"Thank you so much, Lee."
Trey cleaned up after himself and nearly sprinted to his room. He had to get ready for the dance party!
After he was ready to go, he realized that he had no idea where the party was. He remembered that it took place in the cave, but he had no idea where the cave was. After standing in the doorway for a few minutes, going over his options, he decided to head to On Ji's house. It was a dance party, after all, maybe she was feeling up to going. Besides, maybe she knew where the cave was.
Her house was only a few minutes' walk from Trey's place, so he got there pretty quickly. He went up and knocked on the door. After a moment, a middle-aged woman answered the door.
"Can I help you?"
Trey stood there awkwardly for a second.
"Yeah, uh, is On Ji around?"
The woman smiled and nodded. She disappeared around the corner, and he heard her call for On Ji.
"On Ji, there's a cute boy at the door!"
Trey could almost hear her blushing, and he felt his cheeks heat up as well. After a minute or two, she showed up at the door.
"Hey Trey. What's up?"
"I heard you had the Flu. How are you feeling?"
"Yesterday was rough, but I'm feeling a lot better now. At least you didn't catch it!"
"Um I kinda did," Trey laughed. "My dad gave me this awesome tea that made me feel better."
"That sounds amazing! I wish I had that yesterday."
"Yeah, it was rough earlier, but I'm feeling great now. Anyway, did you hear about Aang's dance party?"
"Yup. My friend stopped by to check up on me and she mentioned it."
"Would you, maybe, want to go? With me?" Trey sputtered out.
On Ji laughed.
"Sure Trey. I'd love to go."
Trey's face lit up.
"Sweet! One problem though. I kinda don't know where it is."
"Don't worry. My friend told me earlier. It's in the cave out by Old Ryo's farm."
"Huh." Trey wondered where he had heard that name before.
"Is something wrong?" On Ji questioned.
"No, it's nothing. You ready to go?"
"I need to pick out a dress or something."
"No, it's a DANCE party. You need to be able to dance. Besides, you look great in what you're wearing."
Trey's cocky smile was back on his face, and he grabbed hold of On Ji's hand and practically dragged her along.
It took them about a half hour to reach the cave. Sokka was at the door greeting people, but Trey wasn't supposed to recognize him. As they walked up, hand in hand, Sokka called out.
"Welcome welcome to the beautiful couple! Please, have some punch and hit the dance floor!"
Trey nervously nodded, partially star-struck. He didn't have time to process anything when he first saw Aang, but now, he had time to think about it. He was meeting these characters, huge figures in his childhood, and he had no idea how to react.
He tried to shove those thoughts away and focus on the party. The band was playing a wonderful, fast paced song with a pounding bassline. Aang was dancing on the dance floor, but everybody else was just standing around. Nobody knew what to do.
Trey pulled On Ji onto the dance floor and asked her to dance.
"Trey, I don't really know how to dance."
"Come on, everybody knows how to dance. You just haven't remembered yet!"
With that, Trey trotted out to the center of the dance floor and began to, well, dance. He started out with the standard white guy dance, bouncing his body to the beat and shuffling his feet in some semblance of a pattern, but he began to expand his dance as he gained confidence. Suddenly, Aang showed up next to him and began doing a crazy side-to-side hopping dance. Trey saw this and began to copy it.
"Come on, On Ji! Come dance!" Trey yelled over the music.
On Ji shrugged her shoulders and skipped out onto the dance floor. She began to imitate Trey's movements, and after a couple awkward steps, they were dancing. Trey looked over his shoulder and saw Aang bouncing from group to group, showing off various dance moves. After a couple minutes, the dance floor was packed.
Trey and On Ji weren't really dancing any particular dance, but they were having a great time. They swung each other around and spun one another until they were dizzy. On Ji could hardly stop laughing, and Trey seemed to have a big goofy grin tattooed to his face.
Trey looked over and saw Aang talking to Katara, and his smile grew even wider as he remember what would come next. Just like in the show, he saw Aang take Katara's hand and bring her to the center of the floor. After a moment, they broke out into a wonderful, acrobatic dance.
After it was over, On Ji broke out in applause.
"That was amazing!"
Trey smiled.
"I might not be able to do anything quite like that, but I can sure as hell try!"
On Ji grinned and they lined up next to Aang and Katara, who were seemingly on their own planet. They danced for an eternity, trying (and mostly failing) do mimic the acrobatic stunts that Aang and Katara had pulled off. After a while, Trey's attempts became closer and closer to the stunts they were based on. Suddenly, he pulled On Ji over his head and placed her behind him and proceeded to do a backflip over her, landing directly facing her. The crowd erupted, but Trey could hardly hear them. He and On Ji's eyes were locked together, and their faces were drifting ever so slowly together.
"HEY!"
Trey and On Ji were suddenly interrupted by a man yelling. The party had been busted! Trey knew that it would be, but he had entirely forgotten. Still, he didn't remember it going down like this.
There were men and soldiers combing through the children. They didn't know Aang was the Avatar, so why were there soldiers involved? Suddenly, one of them called out.
"There she is! There's the Runaway!"
Trey looked around and saw Toph standing in the corner with a shocked look on her face. She quickly snapped out of it though, and she went to work fighting off her attackers. Despite Toph being their target, some of soldiers began to surround the rest of the Gaang, as they were recognized as accomplices.
In a normal situation, the Gaang would easily win a fight like this. But they were trapped in a cave and surrounded by innocent kids. Most of their bending wasn't precise enough to avoid hurting people in the crossfire. Fire, however, could be very precise if there was nothing flammable around. The soldiers began their attack, and they quickly began to surround the Gaang.
Trey knew he had to do something, but he didn't know what. He couldn't bend, and he wasn't exactly an expert fighter. And, because fate apparently hated him, he could feel his fever returning. Whatever medicine was in that tea was beginning to wear off.
He glanced over and saw Aang struggling to fight off his opponents. Unlike the rest of the group, he wasn't able to use his bending. Nobody knew that the Avatar was still alive, and airbending at all would reveal that fact to a bunch of soldiers and a few dozen Fire Nation students. He still didn't have a plan, but Trey couldn't just stand there any longer. He turned to On Ji.
"On Ji, I need to go. I'm sorry."
Before she could respond, he took off sprinting toward Aang. As he was running, something again clicked inside of him. He suddenly knew what to do. He picked one of the soldiers and launched himself into a flying punch, connecting with the back of the unsuspecting soldiers head. Before anybody else knew what was happening, he turned and pushed the crumpling man into his allies, before jumping over his fleshy distraction and kicking the closest soldier. His kick didn't land anywhere important, but it did stun its target. As he was doing this, Aang went to work.
Aang might not have been able to airbend, but he was still incredibly agile. He dodged attack after attack, and he used some waterbending forms to transfer their energy into his advantage. As he ducked under one soldier, he pushed up, launching him into the punch table and rendering him useless.
Trey continued his frantic attack, but the fever was beginning to bog him down. He whiffed on a spinning kick and a fireblast found his back. He grunted in pain but didn't give up. He tackled the source of the fireblast and landed a right hook the man's cheekbone. He looked up and saw that only two soldiers were left standing in this area of the cave. In fact, there were only two soldiers left in the entire cave. All of the kids, and any remaining soldiers and teachers, had run away.
Trey stood up and got into a fighting stance, prepared to take on one of the soldiers. The man was wearing metal gloves and some kind of metal helmet with a facemask that reminded Trey of a weird Asian looking Knight's helmet. He began to launch himself into a kick, but a wave of dizziness overcame him, and he stumbled to the side of his opponent. While he was off balance, the soldier wound up and threw a massive right hook. The metal glove connected with the side of Trey's head, and he crumpled to the ground.
Aang watched this course events take place in slow motion. He saw Trey stumble, as if he had simply forgotten what he was doing, and he saw the metal sink into his skull.
It took every ounce of control in his body to not enter the Avatar State. Before he could react, a boomerang flew into his field of vision. It curved and sliced through the air, and it clanked into its target. The armored soldier took an unsure step forward and collapsed to the ground. Aang ran over to Trey, who was still on the ground, completely still.
Tears filled his eyes as he looked back up toward his friends.
"Please. Help."
(A/N) This chapter beat the living shit out of me. The beginning of it was really clunky, which kills me and my OCD, and I just couldn't find a way to concisely end the chapter. It's over 3000 words! I've never even come close to hitting 3k words in a chapter. Either way, the ending should set up the next few chapters pretty well, and there are definitely a few cliffhangers. What happened to On Ji? Why were the soldiers looking for the Runaway? Is Trey OK? Well, that's not really much of a cliffhanger. We all know Trey is OK. He's the fucking main character. Oh well, I tried to be dramatic. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and be sure to review!
