Disclaimer:Alas, I own not Avatar: the Last Airbender, the awesome T-Shirt slogan TotalTVAddict let me use, nor Avril Lavigne. (Mourn with me.)

To All Readers: I have no idea what the hell I'm doing with Toph's colorblindess, so if I made a mistake with the genetics and all that, please, forgive me. I have a lot of different people, all telling me a hell of a lot of different things.


"That bikini looks becoming on you," Sokka said, flatly, yet somehow managing to seem thoroughly uncertain at the same time. Chong, obviously, was nearly pissing himself with the anticipation of my reaction.

I snorted. "Yeah, great pickup line, sure—"

Sokka interrupted me to finish his approach. The Love Guru looked on eagerly. "If were on you, I'd be coming….too?" A light blush tinted his cheeks, and I stared.

And stared.

And stared.

Oh yeah.

Had Sokka just said that?

Yes he had.

And was I blushing as red as a tomato. Not to mention that…err…well, okay, maybe it affected me in more ways then one. Just shut up.

So let me get this straight. Sokka Kuruk's lame-o pick-up line was making me…hot.

Well, gee, Fate.

Thanks for the freaking favor.


You make me so hot
Make me wanna drop
It's so ridiculous
I can barely stop
I can hardly breathe
You make me wanna scream
You're so fabulous
You're so good to me baby, baby
You're so good to me baby, baby

—Hot, Avril Lavigne


Quick fast fact: 1 in 12 Crayons is gay. It's usually the pink one.

I mean, I just thought you should know. Since it was on my T-Shirt that day and everything.

Odds are, you're kinda freaked. You think I'm jumping into it this time and it's wrecking my karma and flow and all that spiritual crap.

Odds are, I agree with you.

Let's try this again, shall we?

So. I was in bed with Sokka, right?

And I'd just kinda realized that...you know. That I was kindasortamaybe...err...

...falling for him.

But wait, no. That was not happening. I just happened to see...similarities. Like what happened with the ugly-retard-loser-who's-name-I-will-never-say-again-because-it-still-sends-butterflies-through-my-stomach( although he totally broke my heart, 'cause I was utterly and completely in love with him—which, by the way, was a hugemistake—and so maybe it might be why I don't wanna fall for Sokka 'cause I'm kinda afraid of loving him like I know I might and can we just stop talking about this now?!).

Moving on.

Can I just skip the part where I angst in my room over past loves, life's suckiness, etc., and skip to the good part? (For you, at least. Let's face it—we all know how all of you wonderful people just love reading about my misfortune.)

Anyway, as soon as I realized what incredible mistakes I was making, and that, hey, that trust thing was kinda old news since I'd already trusted him not to rape me in bed (trust me, it had taken some effort). Which meant that the only thing left to do was exactly what I'd started with: resist, resist, resist. I couldn'tfall for Sokka, and that was final.

I mean, I didn't want to fall for him! (Which was actually kinda weird, seeing as if I didn't want to, at least somewhere, there really wouldn't be a reason for it...)

I rolled out of bed and sprinted into my bedroom, shivering—sharing body heat is actually an effective way of keeping nice and cozy under covers, oddly enough, and dammit, it was freezing in my own neglected bed.

Something had to be done.

Something meaning dragging Sokka out of bed at ten, after I angsted excessively, and was able to nab three more hours of precious, dreamless sleep, so we could head over to this freakish board-walk carnival thing and for once have something to freaking do.

Yeah. I weird myself out sometimes, too.

We walked into the carnival side by side, both fully aware of the implications. I made sure to send him a scowl every so often, so nobody started thinking that we were, you know, together.

"So," I asked, bored cuz I mean why the hell else would I be interested in Sokka?, "you been here before?"

"Our family used to go here every year." Sokka answered easily at first, smiling, "Like three years ago, when my dad took us. But that was before the—" He cut himself off.

It was a little early for the next question, but I could see no other way. "Question number six...before what?" I prodded curiously. Sokka, freezing up? I'd seen it before, but from the way he'd tensed, poised as if for attack...something was up.

"Before our family got fucked up," he said at last, looking away. I raised an eyebrow, and Sokka gave a little shrug, as if to say, 'Hey, it happens.' "Or maybe I'm thinking about the fact that I haven't seen a family barbecue in four years. Take away meat, and sarcasm is all I have left," he said wistfully, gazing off into the distance. With a jolt, Sokka seemed to snap back to the present. "So, yeah. Like I said, my family's fucked up good."

"Welcome to the club," I said dryly, and gave him a pat on the back. "Half the time, my parents don't know I exist. The other half, they're trying to make up for everything they don't do be acting like control-freak monsters and attempting to rule over every freakin' aspect of my life."

"At least you have parents around," Sokka pointed out wryly. "You're lucky, Toph." He hesitated, and came to a halt. I stopped with him, as he continued softly, but sincerely, "I've never told anyone this before, but I can't remember my mother's face. When she died, my sister, Katara, was so brave and mature...she took care of our family, and held us all together. Whenever I try to think about my mom…hers is the only face I can see."

"Ah. I see." Shifting uncomfortably, I muttered, so quickly that even I couldn't understand what the hell I was saying, "IFLSDFERYONDYERFKDPFMLY."

"What? A monkey took your fruit smoothie?" Sokka proposed, obviously deeming my own communication skills inept.

"No!" I took a deep breath. "I said...I said Ifeelsadforyouandyourfuckedupfamily."

"Huh? Wait...are you trying to say that you love me?" Sokka asked excitedly.

I choked on air. "Um, no! I said..." I hesitated, and sighed. There was no point in keeping it from him. Why was I freaking over this, anyway!?

"I said that I felt sad for you and your fucked up family," I grumbled, forcing myself to slow down. "Gotta problem with that? I mean, it's not like I care about you personally—but, you know. Having a fucked up family—'s no fun. 'S no fun at all."

"Yeah," Sokka agreed slowly, scrutinizing my carefully. "It isn't. Thanks, Toph. That...that means a lot."

Quickly, we avoided each others gazes like ostriches sticking our heads in the sand. I guess neither of us liked to talk much about feelings and all the crap...but, hey, maybe that was why we'd both gotten to addicted to sarcasm. It was just too easy to avoid all the serious questions!

There was all sorts of weird stuff around the carnival. I'd decided to save all the good stuff for tomorrow—it was a two day carnival, after all—and wander around all the freak shows for today. The freakiest by far was a kissing contest, judged on the passion of the kiss. I'd never heard of that before, but seriously! It was embarrassing what people would do today, just for a little attention.

"A kissing contest!" Sokka brightened. "So, baby..." He laced his arm around me, and I glared. I'd forgotten earlier, discussing his family—this was Sokka, and however normal he could seem, I always had to be on guard for his lopsided seduction attempts. "I don't suppose you'd like to join me in a quest to kick all of their asses?"

"Well, when you put it like that..." I hesitated.

"Really?" There, it was showing through was more—Sokka's confident act, overshadowed by the hue of his inner self-doubt.

"No," I snorted, and shoved him away so hard he nearly toppled to the ground. "Dumbass." Glancing around as Sokka recuperated, I searched for something, anything to do. "Hey!" I blinked, gaze drawn to a stand directly ahead. Chong the Love Nomad, the sign read. Join us on a quest of LOVE!

"Hi," I greeted, as Sokka lurked in the shadows. Apparently, he'd had some bad-hippy experiences prior to this one. (I mean, seriously—what else could the guy be?)

The Love Guru cracked a wide smile. "Hey, whoa, people! Moku, now I get to help them find their way on the quest of love! So, whaddya need?" He leaned forward, grinning wildly. "I'm Chong, by the way…and I'm a love nomad!" Chong gave us a thumbs up, as Sokka smacked himself in the forehead and I cackled silently.

This was priceless.

Smirking, I spoke up. "You know, Snoozles," I addressed Sokka, "I'm doin' you a favor. All you're so-called sweet talking sucks, so...I think he was looking for some, ahem, pickup lines," I spoke directly to Chong, cackling within.

Chong nodded wisely, and beckoned Sokka closer. Excruciatingly pained, Sokka allowed the Love Guru himself to whisper a few words of wisdom in his ear.

Turning to me, Sokka scratched his head and announced uncertainly, obviously confused, "That bikini looks becoming on you."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, great pickup line, sure—""

But Sokka wasn't finished yet. "If I were on you, I'd be coming...too?" he finished uncertainly, a light flush tinting his cheeks as the 'what did I just tell her?' reflex kicked in.

I stared. Um. Yeah.

Fascinating.

'Cause not only was I blushing up a storm, but—well, yeah.

Every dirty thought I'd ever had was running through my mind simultaneously. And applying to Sokka. Which was sick. And wrong. And disgusting. If faintly...arousing. 'Cause even though, y'know, sex it hot and everything—

I didn't want it now. Or with Sokka, actually.

And you know what? I was fed up with this. All of it. So I was gonna prove that Sokka Kuruk made me nothing but ice cold. And that kissing contest I'd seen in the beginning—

Yep, you guessed it.

"Hey," Chong stage-whispered, elbowing Sokka in the ribs, "Dude, I think she digs you!"

With a disgusting glance at the Love Guru, I simply ordered, "Come on, Snoozles. We have a kissing contest to join."

Sokka seemed to be struggling with something. "You mean that—you're saying—it worked?" he asked disjointedly, running to catch up with my quickly paced steps.

"Yeah, suddenly I'm just crazy about you, and we need to fix that," I said casually, not really thinking about what I was saying. A cold trickle ran down my spine as I realized that I hadn't meant it in a sarcastic way at all.

Sokka grinned. "I knew all that extra weight lifting would work!"

"Doofus." It was an effort to keep my voice blunt, sardonic, scornful. "I was kidding."

"...Oh." He sounded a bit disappointed, and I made a note to bring up his gullibility later on, when I had time.

"Excuse me! We'd like to join!" I called loudly, without a care for the other contestants disgusted expressions—vacationing lovebirds, most of them, judging from their half-vacant expressions, as if they'd just been brought back from a deep and meaningful journey into each others eyes.

The ringleader glared, but beckoned us into the ranks. "Fine." Clearing his throat, he turned to adress the crowd. "Okay! On your mark..." Everyone laced hands, and, scowling, I enveloped Sokka's in a bone-crushing grip. "Get ready..." Noses were touching and giggles were exchanged. With a loud sigh, I complied. "Get set..." Lips puckered, tongues swept around the corners of mouths. I gulped. This was for real, wasn't it?

This was just sick, and wrong, and flat-out unusual. Who freaking cares about passion, or wants to watch other people make out? Um, losers, that's who. It was almost like there was some sort of crazed, obsessive fangirl out there, bent on Sokka and I falling for each other, and constantly creating unlikely ways for us to come together in an endless bond of lurve.

(I mean.

You could totally see the social lacking freak of nature sitting at her computer, typing and...conspiring. With Satan. Yeah, Satan. That sounds right, doesn't it?)

"Go!"

I had no choice.

There was just no other way.

And so what if I was in front of hundreds of other people? So freaking what? It didn't matter. I just had to pretend that Sokka was just some guy. Yeah. Just some guy. That would work fine, wouldn't it?

So, without adue, I leaned forward and planted my lips on his.

It was like jumping head first into an icy pool: after the initial shock of the water, it gets better.

And better.

And better.

And finally, I blew.

It was too much.

I lost control.

It was crazy, but…

One second, I was kissing him, fine. No biggie. But the next—

Something snapped. My fingers were entangled in his hair, and I was going at it as I never had before. Fireworks exploded inside my head, and I was so caught up that I neglected the chance to notice that my plan was failing…spectacularly.

Sokka returned my kiss in full, happy for his chance to finally express all his pent up emotions. I won't go into it, but let's just say that neither of us lacked the skills to properly apply one big wet one.

But pretty soon, it was over. Okay...Time's up, and the judging is already unanimous!" Thirty seconds later, to be exact. At first, I was disappointed…but then I came back to my senses.

What had I gotten myself into?

Pulling away, I panted heavily, staring deeply into Sokka's eyes. Some might have called it romantic.

But for me, it was just…ugh. One huge failure.

"And the winners are...this lovely couple right here!" the announcer grinned, as the crowd cheered. Sokka took a bow, gently pulling me down with him, as my head spun with realization.

I'd lost it, and that was something I just couldn't ignore.

I contemplated suicide, but thought better of it.

"...Shit."

Wait a second. Was I gonna quit, just 'cause of this?

No.

Just no.

Did Fate think I was giving up after this? That I was just gonna let him pull my strings until I fell for Sokka once and for all?

Well, I wasn't.

Who cared if it was just this one time? I hadn't kissed anyone in a while. This whole thing was just the physical sexual frustration I'd garnered over the past year, building up and pouring out all at once. Perfectly normal. Perfectly ordinary.

And if it wasn't, well, honestly, at this point it didn't really matter.

The point is, I wasn't throwing in the towel. I was gonna show them that we weren't meant to be, and I was gonna do it be tempting Fate as much as I could. Ever. Single. Freaking. Day.

I'd find a way. And I'd win. And even if I didn't...it wouldn't matter.

I'd always keep coming back for more.

"Ya here, that Fate?" I whispered, eyes gleaming. "You think it's over? Well, you're wrong. 'Cause in truth..."

I smirked.

"...the game has just begun."


Okay, um, yeah.

Sucky plan, anyone?

You know how I can be kinda sorta blinded by my pigheadedness/badass awesomeness at times?

So I think, looking back, that this was probably one of those times.

Of course, I couldn't acknowledge it back then. No way. As if.

But—

Denail doesn't change suckiness. Nope. Not at all. (Which I mightta figured out, if I'd thought a little harder.)

'Cause you see, there's gonna be a few times in your life when you're gonna find yourself in a lush, blooming Garden of Eden.

And odds are, after they break you down a little...that fruit is just gonna be too scrumptious and juicy to resist.

That time was coming. Hell, that time was now. Even if I wouldn't admit it just yet.

I'll say it again:

A sucky plan.

No, really.

You think?


A/N: Didja catch the self-reference? T'was fun to write XD Probably not my best chapter, but...work with me. It'll get better :D

Since I'm /always/ looking to the future, just hop on over to vote on my new-and-improved list of 'possible stories,' and which you want me to post after a finish this old fic ;D Hopefully by summer's end, lol.

Edit: Changed the chapter back to it's original form. I just can't decide, can I? Lol. But, anyway...I liked the original version better, in the end, so I hope you guys are okay with the change! Besides, this will DEFINETELY heat things up a bit :D