Sokka sat with his back against the wood of the tree-house, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Aang and Katara sleep. He was filled with anger at both of them for trusting Jet and forcing him to stay in the hideout. The kid was a monster, and Sokka had known from the start that he was going to be trouble. The darker it got in the room, the creepier it got. There was no way that he would be able to sleep. It was going to be a long night.
It was a cold night, and although he had a sleeping bag to use, Sokka wanted to keep it rolled up in case they decided to make a fast escape. The idea of escape wasn't a strange idea considering the way Jet was. In fact, Sokka was tempted to leave himself, but he wasn't about to leave the other two in danger. There was no doubt in his mind that Jet was dangerous.
Closing his eyes, but not sleeping, Sokka tried to think of something other than Jet and his Freedom Fighters. Sokka tried hard to think of something that would make him happy or distract him and something that wasn't Zuko.
Sokka thought of Suki, of the way the two had flirted during his time on Kyoshi Island. Suki had been a beautiful girl and it was the first time Sokka had had interaction with a girl his own age that wasn't his sister. He had liked it, especially since she was a warrior, but he had liked it because he had learned something. As much as he had tried to convince Suki and himself that he had feelings for her, he didn't. She had kissed his cheek and showed actual interest in him, yet Sokka didn't find himself constantly thinking about her and wanting her. Whether it was because they had only met once or because she just wasn't the one, Sokka didn't know. He was a teenage boy, for Spirit's sakes, and girls should make him excited, especially when he grew up without any girls his own age to be with. Somehow, Suki hadn't done that, at least not in a romantic way.
It wasn't that he hadn't liked her; he had. Sokka had really liked Suki because she showed great strength and was an amazing warrior and had taught him a lot about fighting, and she had even paid attention to him. He was nothing to look at and had no bending ability, but she had noticed him. Shouldn't that have been enough to make him weak at the knees? And she had been pretty too. There was no denying that she was a pretty girl, but he also thought Katara was pretty, and that didn't mean he had to have feelings for her.
Yet, despite not having a romantic attraction to Suki, he had tried to pretend like he had. Sokka didn't know why he felt the need to pretend to be infatuated with the girl, but he had. Part of him was afraid that if Katara found out that he didn't have a girl that he liked, she would start to think he liked people other than girls, and he certainly couldn't have her think that. It was almost a crime in their culture to be homosexual, and Sokka didn't want to have any trouble with his family.
Sighing deeply, Sokka decided that he would soon find a girl to be with. It was almost inevitable that when they reached the Northern Water Tribe, which was far more populated, that he would be able to find a girl to be with. Maybe then, the odd thoughts of Zuko would fade away.