Thanks for all the reviews guys! It makes me happy (and motivated to actually do this). Here's the next chapter…
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ty Lee stared in awe at the sight in front of her. Sashin had taken everyone on a tour around Jin Sho and they were now looking at the most overwhelming view. They were somewhere near the middle of the island; one of the few places that seemed to be completely untouched. The group looked out onto a large lake. It glistened from the beams of light that escaped through the vast layer of trees overhead, while the songs of thousands of birds could be heard from all angles. The dirt beneath their feet was soft and inviting and they were surrounded by lively wild flowers.
"This place is amazing Sashin!" Ty Lee said while unconsciously inching closer to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed happily. Sashin looked down at her excited eyes trying to take in their surroundings. "I'm so happy I got to see you again. I've missed spending time with my best friend!"
"I've missed you too." He replied while staring out at the view again.
Aang and Katara were already in the water splashing around while everyone else sat down and took in their surroundings. Ty Lee and Sashin were happily talking in their own little reflective world (again) while Toph and Sokka sat quietly.
Sokka was annoyed. Every time he saw Ty Lee giving Sashin attention and vice versa, he felt these emotions of anger and frustration bottling up inside. Sokka looked around to see everyone enjoying themselves. Everyone was having a good time…except for him. Why am I getting so angry? It's not like I like her or anything…is it? She's only talking to her friend she hasn't seen for ages, so why do I feel jealous? What is wrong with me? It's not like I-
"This place is awesome! Don't you think so Sokka?" Toph was digging her feet into the dirt. He was happy for her to get him out of his thoughts; he needed to get away from them. He sighed and looked down at the ground. "Look, I can tell you're jealous of that Sashin guy, but try and look happy, would you?"
Sokka looked at Toph inquisitively. How the hell does she do that? He didn't want to talk about it with Toph (and he could tell that she didn't want to either) so he tried to change the subject. "How can you think this place is so good when you can't see it?" After the words left his mouth, he regretted letting them slip out, but at least the topic wouldn't be about him.
Surprisingly, Toph just laughed. "I thought you'd know by now, Sokka. I-can-see-through-my-feet." She laughed after emphasising her words. "Besides, the dirt here is really soft and…kind of nice." He stared at her lying in the dirt as if it were heaven. He shook his head and stared out across the lake; ridding his head of any thoughts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ty Lee looked over at her friends. Everyone seemed to be having a good time talking at the lake; Aang and Katara were laughing and talking, while Toph was enthusiastically talking to Sokka. This is my chance to talk to Sashin about helping Aang.
"Sashin?" Ty Lee noticed that this got his attention quickly. "You know how Kuzon wants to learn fire bending?"
"Yeah, what about it?" he said contently.
"Well, he asked me if…if you could maybe give him a hand." She looked hopefully up into his eyes to see him nod happily at her.
"I don't see why not. It'd be good to help someone out."
"Thankyou so much!" she squealed excitedly while hugging him tightly. He was taken aback by her quick movements, but soon returned her hug.
Sokka tried to steer his thoughts clear of Ty Lee, but it was getting increasingly hard, especially when he happened to look over in her direction to find her hugging Sashin. He decided to leave the lake. He didn't want to end up doing anything stupid – like punching Sashin – and having everyone question him. Sokka thought he would get away unnoticed, when he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Toph looking up at him.
"Where do you think you're going, Sokka?" Toph asked sarcastically. How could I forget that she can see me moving…again! "Are you really that jealous that you can't even be in the same area as them?" Sokka was annoyed at how Toph could read him like a book.
"What are you talking about?" he mumbled through gritted teeth. He shrugged Toph's arm off of his shoulder and began walking back to the centre of town. Toph decided to let him go; she wasn't in the mood for Sokka's whining (as funny as it was at times). He just needed to be alone.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aang concentrated on feeling the flow of heat in his body. He let the pressure build and build until it couldn't be held back anymore. A burst of flames suddenly appeared in front of him and soon vanished into thin air. He looked over excitedly at Katara, who gave him a proud smile of approval.
"Good job, Kuzon! I don't think I've met anyone who's learnt to fire bend this quickly before. You'll be doing amazing tricks in no time." Sashin gave him a nod while smiling complacently at his 'student'.
Before his first lesson with Sashin, Aang was having second thoughts about learning fire bending. After hurting Katara last time, he didn't trust himself. Aang was convinced after a long talk with Katara that it was ok; she didn't want it to be the reason he felt unable to learn fire bending.
"Ok, now we're going to learn some more advanced moves!" Sashin soon got into his stance to show 'Kuzon' the next move.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ty Lee had been walking around all day looking for Sokka. The sun was now setting and a festival was beginning in the centre of town. Where is he? He's been really distant these past couple of days. I hope he's okay…
Her thoughts soon drifted away when she saw Sokka leaning against a wall leading into an alleyway. His eyes were downcast and his brows were furrowed, as if he was angry or deep in thought. Ty Lee hesitantly walked up to him, not sure what to make of his expression.
"Sokka?" she whispered slowly, almost sympathetically to whatever he was feeling. His eyes shot up to look into Ty Lee's brown ones. His expression hardened and then turned down to look at the ground again.
"Shouldn't you be with Sashin?" he mumbled under his breath.
Ty Lee seemed to ignore this comment and drilled her worrying gaze into him. "Are you okay Sokka? You seem really distant lately…" she stopped talking to see him clench his fists tighter. "It's like I haven't seen you all week." Sokka snorted.
"Maybe it's because you've been spending all your time with him." Ty Lee had never seen this side of Sokka, and she didn't like it. The way he hissed those words made her squirm. Suddenly, she began to realise why he was acting like this. Could he be…
"Sokka?" Ty Lee looked intently at him. "Are you…jealous?" Sokka looked up at her with a panicked expression.
"Was it that obvious?" Ty Lee smiled sympathetically at his response.
"Sokka," she sighed deeply "You don't have to be jealous. I do like Sashin, he's been my friend since we were children…" at this point, Sokka began to give up hope. "But…" He looked up at Ty Lee with a confused expression. "I really like you, Sokka."
His heart started beating faster as he realised the words she was saying. She began to move closer to him so they were only inches apart. Ty Lee could feel his breath on her face as he began to lean into her too. They closed their eyes as Sokka closed the space between them, pulling Ty Lee into a soft, loving kiss. After a while, they pulled back, looking into each others eyes. Sokka pulled her into a tight hug and rested his head on her shoulder.
"I really like you too, Ty Lee."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Awwwwww! Review please!
