It was the Fourth of July and everyone was out celebrating. The town always held the celebration in the park. Everyone was either dancing or playing games, waiting for night fall to watch the fire works.

"Hey Toph!" Aang said walking over to his best friend. "The race is about to start. You wanna come?" Aang said enthusiastically. Toph stared at him a moment before answering, taking in his appearance. He had on some khaki shorts and –of course- and an orange shirt. The outfit was simple, but Toph thought he couldn't have looked sexier if he tried.

"Uh….s-sure," Toph stammered. She stood from the picnic table and walked to where the race was setting up. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even realize what Aang could have been babbling about. He's so adorable! Toph thought to herself. I mean look at him. It should be a crime or something. Ohmygosh… his arms. Has he been working out?

"Toph, did you here me?" Aang asked.

"Huh?" she said peering into his stormy colored eyes.

"I said I still cant believe you scratched asshole intoMr. Pakku's chalkboard and rigged his chair to collapse when he sat down and that you never got caught," Aang said. He wondered why Toph was staring at him with that funny look on her face.

"Oh..yeah. That was funny." Toph said. "Uh…can I ask you something?" she said.

"Sure Toph," Aang replied.

"Aang, do you….think I'm pre-"

"ATTENTION LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE RACE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! I REPEAT, THE RACE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!" Coach Yangchen yelled from the loudspeaker. She was the coach of the track and crosscountry team.

"Nevermind. I'll tell you later. Go kick their butts, Twinkle toes." Toph said. She stared after her crush, after checking out how cute his butt was. Lately, she had been doing so much for him, without him noticing.

She took her first steps into Hollister for Aang, looking for something that she hoped he would like on her, but she practically ran from the store, clutching her new purchases because of the cologne they liked to spray every five seconds was choking her.

But Toph didn't like to dwell on those thoughts. She didn't want to fall for Aang, because she knew exactly how it would end. And she didn't want it to end at all. She walked over to where a crowd was forming to watch the fourth of july activities, and waited for the race to start. She saw Aang, when their eyes met, he waved at her grinning. She blushed.

"Go Aang!" she heard a voice yell. She turned to see Katara waving back. He wasn't even waving at me. He didn't even notice I was standing here! And I was just about to ask him if he thought I was pretty. How stupid can I get? Lets face it, I'm no Sugar Queen, Toph thought.

Aang took off running, beginning to accelerate past the crowd as usual. He won by a land slide. Toph always thought Aang's races were boring and a waste of time, but she'd never missed a single one. Up until recently, she enjoyed watching Aang race. He walked back over to them, panting, resting his hands on his knees. "That was fun!" he said.

Toph stared at him- his brown, shaggy hair was in a wind blown, disheveled mess. But he looked more like a male model than a skinny track geek. She pried her eyes away from him. "Twinkle toes," she said. "Only you would think something as boring and tiring as running was fun," she teased, hoping fiercely that he would appreciate the joke and suddenly make out with her.

"Aang, you did so great!" Katara gushed, hugging her friend. Toph watch as Aang blushed and stuttered a nervous thankyou to the older girl. She felt her heart sink.

"Hey Aang! Come on! Three on three!" Sokka yelled from the basketball court. "See you guys later," Aang said as he jogged to where some boys were waiting.

"So, Toph, whats up?" Katara asked. She and Toph began to walk aimlessly around the large park, kicking loose rocks, enjoying the hot summer day. "Nothing," Toph said simply.

"Ooookaaay…Oh! Lets get a popsicle!" Katara grabbed Toph's hand and pulled her over to the icecream truck. "Blueberry for me. And I'll get watermelon for Suki. What about you Toph?" Katara asked. "Green apple," Toph mumbled. She wasn't in the mood for anything. She saw Aang's reaction to Katara, and it took a major blow on her ego. She didn't want Aang to like Katara. She didn't want Aang to like anyone. If she could have her way, Toph would keep Aang away from every female for the rest of his life.

"Lets go watch the game," Katara suggested after they got their popsicles. They ambled slowly to the basketball field and sat next to Suki who was watching from the sidelines. "Thanks Katara," Suki said taking her frozen treat from her best friend.

Several other girls were there, including Mai, Ty Lee, Meng, and most of the cheerleaders from school. They watched the game with eager eyes. The boys -Zuko, Sokka, Aang, Haru, Teo, and Jet were divided into two teams, shirts vs. skins. Lucky for Katara and Suki, their boyfriends were on the skins team.

"Oh my gosh. Check out Zuko," Katara said. When their eyes met, Zuko winked at her. She giggled. "Its going to be so sad without him there next year."

"I know what you mean," Suki said. "I'm going to miss Sokka so much. But Ba Sing Se university isnt that far away. I mean, its only like, a two hour drive."

Toph completely checked out of their conversation about colleges, because her eyes were glued on Aang, his shirtless sweaty body only making him appear more handsome. Toph tried and failed at many attempts to rip her eyes away from him and his new sixpack. It wasn't quite there, but you could definently see it coming. Her hands began to shake, she dropped her popsicle to the ground and stood up.

"You alright Toph?" Katara asked. "Just fine," Toph lied. Trying to keep from shaking, she sat down on the ground and leaned back onto the cool grass. "I just feel a little…sick." She said. So many thoughts were running through her mind at once, she couldn't see straight.

"Well look at Zuzu. You all shouldn't be staring at him like that. He never really was good at sports," a voice said. They all had heard that eerie, voice before. It had sent a cold shiver down their spines whenever they thought about it. But the last time they heard it, she was kicking and screaming in the middle of the cafeteria, having a nervous break down. They all turned to face Azula.

"Azula!" Ty Lee said, rushing up to hug her.

"Relax Ty Lee. You saw me last week, remember?" Azula snapped, pushing the preppy cheerleader off of her.

"Oh, Mai. Its been so long since I saw you. What are you doing outside of my brother's bedroom?" Azula sneered. A whisper broke out into the small crowd. Katara crushed what was left of her popsicle.

"Azula…." Ty Lee said, trying to keep the peace between them. Mai stood from off the springy turf and looked stright at Azula.

"Its alright, Ty Lee," she said in her usual bored monotone. "Besides, I don't speak crazy," she said, brushing past Azula with extra force than necessary. Azula turned around towards her.

"What did you just say to me?" Azula snapped.

"You heard me," Mai said, facing her again. "I'm not afraid of you, and for the record, your 'I'm so popular, be afraid of me' routine is getting pretty tired. I'm so sick of all your bullshit, alright? So just back off."

Azula started towards Mai, with a murderously angry expression on her face. "Why you little-"

"That's enough!" Katara said, stepping in between the two of them, along with Ty Lee and Suki.

"We're all here to have a good time. No one needs to start fights," she continued.

"Let me guess, you're Katara, right? So your Zuzu's new little pet?" Azula said, staring at the girl. "Hmm I guess the smart ones are easier to get in bed, huh?"

"You wanna say that again bitch?" Katara screamed, lunging at Azula, who stood motionless as Suki and Ty Lee tried to hold Katara back. "Your crazy! You are evil and psycho and everybody hates you!"

Azula was on top of Katara the next second, both of them aiming for the face, trying to gouge the other's eyes out, or strangle each other. Toph got a hold on both of their hair and pulled.

"OW!" They both screamed. "Both of you are acting like a couple of babies!" Toph yelled. "Now get a grip or so help me, I'll give the both of you something to scream about! Got it?"

They silently nodded and stood up, wiping the grass and twigs from their clothes.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. It was rude and hurtful," Katara said

"Whatever, freak," Azula replied, walking away like she had just won.

"Wierdo," Toph said after her.

"Crazy"

"Bitch"

"Yeah," Suki said. "Or the…uh…stupid girl who lost her mind?" she said.

"Leave the name calling to us, honey," Toph said.

XXXXXXX

"Oooh…Aaaah,"

"Twinkle toes, they're just fireworks. Its not thatbig of a deal. And besides, it's the same corny show every year," Toph said. She and Aang lay on the hood of her car, watching as an explosion of different colors burst throughout the sky. Toph didn't like fireworks. They were too loud, and the smell of sulfur gave her a headache.

She concentrated on Aang instead. They were quiet for a while, just enjoying the warm breeze and the smell of burning food. "Its so pretty," Aang said. Toph stared at him, watching his face light up just like the mid-summer sky. "You're hot," Toph replied.

"What'd ya say?" Aang asked.

"I said its hot. I mean…out here. Its…uh…pretty warm," Toph stammered, blushing.

"Oh, I …nevermind." Aang said turning back to the explosion of vivid colors above them.

Aang started humming. Toph groaned and covered her ears. "What's wrong?" Aang asked.

"Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, do not sing that song."

"What song?"

"That damned Firework song. Every girl with self esteem issues thinks its about them. Like, its a freakin anthem or something."

Aang smiled. "It's a good song."

"Hey, what did you want to ask me earlier?" he said suddenly. "Oh…that…it was nothing. I just thought I had something on my face." Toph said, trying to get the focus off her.

"Oh, okay." Aang said. He heard a giggle, and turned to see Katara and Zuko sitting on a blanket, laying back staring up at the luminescent sky. He sighed with jealousy. Zuko's arm was around her. He wished he could do that. It wasn't fair. Aang knew Katara way before Zuko even looked her way.

"Toph?" Aang asked.

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever feel like someone out there is just for you…but they're with someone else?"

Toph sat up and stared down at Aang. "You mean Katara?" she said, trying to mask the anger in her tone. She clenched her fists when Aang blushed and looked away.

"Well…kinda. I mean, I want her to be happy, but I don't want her to be with anyone else. Do you get what I'm saying?" he said. Toph stared down at the boy of her dreams. She realized suddenly that she couldn't be Aang's perfect girl. She couldn't be smart, or pretty, or an easy going person like Katara was. She was just Toph.

"Yeah, Aang," she finally replied. "I get it."

XXXXXXX

Toph tossed and turned in her sleep as a nightmare took its toll on her.

Toph was in a house. It looked just like Aang's house, but a little nicer. The phone rang. She turned around to see Aang pick it up. He looked a lot older.

"Hello?" he said. His voice was deeper.

"Who is it honey?" a voice said. Katara descended the stairs, looking twice as beautiful as she did now.

"Oh, come on!" Toph said when Aang dropped the phone, stunned by his wife's entrance.

"No one," he said. Toph heard a little voice coming from the phone, she turned and raised it to her ear.

"Hello?" she heard a voice call. She realized it was hers and slammed the phone shut.

"Oh, look what I found! An old photo album!" Katara said. Aang sat on a chair, and Katara sat on his lap, causing Toph to squirm uncomfortably.

"Look! Remember the fourth of july? When you told me you loved me? Oh that was so much fun!"

Toph peeked over their shoulder to see a picture of them sitting on a picnic table with all their friends. Katara turned the page. "Oh, and that was halloween! When we dressed up as a murdered bride and groom," she pointed.

"Hey," Katara looked at anothet picture of Aang with a shorter, dark haired girl with pale skin and green eyes. "Who's that?" she asked. "Oh, very funny, Katara," Toph said.

"I don't know" Aang replied. "What do you mean you don't know? You just spoke to me on the phone like thirty seconds ago!" Toph yelled.

"Wasn't that the girl who went crazy in the middle of the cafeteria that one year?" Katara said.

"No you idiot! That was Azula! You remember your archenemy but you don't remember me?" Toph yelled. "Hello! Any body home?" she said, waving her hands in front of the couples face, but they didn't notice.

"They cant see me." she said.

"No, that's not right. Was it the girl who got bulemia?" Aang asked.

"That was Jin. I know! It's the girl who had that ridiculous crush on you back in high school!" Katara said. "Now what was her name? Tabby..no…Tamara, Tina…"

"Toph! Its Toph! Come on, you guys have to remember me! please!" Toph begged.

"Well, whatever her name was, she sure wasnt very attractive. I mean, look at her! She looks like a boy."Aang said. Toph felt like someone had just ripped her heart out. "Oh Aang! You're so funny!" Katara said. She leaned in to kiss Aang on the lips.

Toph woke up screaming. She had to get her mind off him. She couldn't let some silly new infatuation let her ruin her friendship with Aang. She'd just have to forget about him.

"Maybe some T.V will help. Just don't think about him, Toph." She said to herself. She fumbled around in the dark for the remote. She clicked the T.V on and flipped through the channels.

"I met him on E-harmony-"

"I love you to, Peter."

"Steve was delicious! I tasted peanut butter and-"

"Hydroxycut helped me lose-"

"Previously on Avatar…"

"Ugh! Nothing's on!" Toph said exasperated. She turned the T.V off and curled up on her side. She glanced at her clock. It was just after three a.m and she was wide awake. She couldn't help but think about Aang and how much she liked him. Her feelings multiplied whenever she was near him. A single tear rolled down her cheek from the nightmare she just had.

Damn it Aang, she thought. You made me cry!