"Are these for nosebleeds?"

I glanced at over at Sokka, and felt the heat rise to my cheeks as I realized exactly what box he was holding.

I bit back a growl.

Just like Sokka to ruin my perfectly good WalMart expedition right off the bat. Hmph. "Snoozles. They're called...err...they're called..."

Jeez.

This was all his fault. I mean, seriously. Err. Yeah-ish. Have you ever heard of eight grade Health class?

Mm-hm.

I'm pretty sure they covered everything Sokka would ever want to know in there.

And you know everything about me
You say that you can't live without me

I'm only up when you're not down
Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground
It's like no matter what I do
Well you drive me crazy half the time
The other half im only trying to let you know
That what I feel is true
And I'm only me when I'm with you

When I'm with anybody else, it's so hard to be myself
Only you can tell

—I'm Only Me When I'm With You, Taylor Swift

We were out of food.

That's the first thing I realized as I slunk into the kitchen at seven am in the morning, blinking blearily at the empty fridge. I didn't even have the energy to scowl. But, I mean, seriously. Sokka was a freaking food addict. You'd think he could at least keep around a leftover hamburger or...or something.

Why was I staring at an empty refrigerator at eight in the morning, you ask? Which, time wise, is the crack of dawn.

In Arabia. Or something.

I'll ask again: why? Well, let me tell you, it's a long story.

See, it started when I woke up after only a half an hour of sleep, pulse racing and in a cold sweat. I turned over, ignored what I'd just dreamt--'cause let me tell you, it hadn't been a scary type of dream--and went back to sleep.

When I woke up again, admittedly much later, around seven, the same traitorous cellphone that also recorded me calling out for Sokka in my sleep, had once again committed an act of betrayal. I tell you, if it weren't for text messaging and my wicked awesome badass Batman screensaver, this cellphone would so be slammed against the wall by now. Totally.

Well, it had recordedme saying Sokka's name. A-freakin-gain.

Or moaning it, to be precise.

I tell you, if it weren't for text messaging and my wicked awesome badass Batman screensaver, this cellphone would so be slammed against the wall by now. Totally.

And let's make this clear: it wasn't a nightmare. Nope. This kind of dream was less blood-and-guts and more cum-and-thrust.

Grinding my teeth, I started composing within my head a poem entitled If I Could Screw the Universe (somewhere along the way it turned into "If I Could Screw Sokka Kuruk," and not the way I normally meant it). Then I snuck into the living room to watch a few minutes of shirtless, hot anime boys on TV. Just to make sure my hormones were sated.

Apparently, they weren't. Despite the fact that Renji Abarai is the hottest freaking thing the universe has ever seen.

Except perhaps for that one kind of pepper that I can't remember the name of, the same that almost burned a hole through my dad's tongue when someone dared him to eat it in the third grade.

Yeah. I wish he was still like that, too.

After a good, strong dose of Coke induced caffeine-age, I found myself stomping upstairs. I threw open the door to Sokka's room, and said loudly, "Hey, Snoozles. Get your lazy ass outta bed and into the car, 'cause we're goin' to Wal-Mart."

"No, please," Sokka mumbled in reply, beginning to stir. "Not the bacon."

I frowned. "Hell naw am I forgetting about the bacon." Canadian or otherwise. Sokka rolled over, and closed him eyes once more with a stream of indiscernible mumblings.

Le sigh. I mean, honestly. I could see no other way. Sokka was just being too difficult. Even in his sleep. Which, y'know. People normally can't consciously control and stuff.

But whatever. I mean, this was Sokka. He'd find a way. Or stumble across one in his idiocy.

Yep.

It was bed jumping time.

Stepping backwards into the hall, I sprinted into Sokka's room, leaped into the air...

And came down directly on his bed.

"Earthquake!" Sokka shrieked, sitting up straight in bed with eyes peeled wide. "Save yourself, Toph! SAAAAAAAVE YOURSEEEEEEEEEEELF!!" he shrieked.

And flailed. Just flailed. F-L-A-I-L-E-D. Flailed. Flailed I tell you.

Heheh. "Flailed" is such a fun word, isn't it? Especially when Sokka was concerened.

I snickered. Man. I had to do this more often. "It is me, moron."

"Oh. Right." Blinking away his bleariness, Sokka looked like he'd love nothing more than to go back to bed. Oh, except a crack-of-dawn (I mean seriously....it's freaking eight o'clock) make out session with yours truly.

Which I was so not contemplating. At all.

"Why'd you wake me up?" Sokka asked, sounding the tiniest bit annoyed. "Are you on fire? Because if it isn't, I'd really rather go back to sleep." Struggling to wrangle up the proper covers, I yanked his blanket away in one fell swoop. Sokka, accordingly, curled up on his bed in a fetal position.

"First off, worst. Pick up line. Ever," I told him disgustedly. "I mean, seriously. But some effort into it next time."

Sokka adopted an intensely thoughtful expression on his face, attempting to take my advice to heart.

"Secondly..." I paused, glaring at Sokka threateningly. "Don't even think about it."

Then, I grinned.

"Get ready, Snoozles, 'cause we're going to Wal-Mart!"

Twenty minutes later, we were in Wal-Mart.

Hey, don't get me wrong. I hate everything mainstream, commercial, or harboring dangerous fugitives such as bubble gum flavored toothpaste. But seriously.

They had a freaking coffee aisle. Um, hello. Addiction. Even though Starbucks is so much better.

But I don't buy from them anymore, except in a emergency situations (they happen. Daily).

'Cause, y'know. I mean.

Please, bitch. Am I gonna pay five dollars for a friggen teaspoon of coffee? (Yes. Yes I am. Now come here, my sweet, sweet, mocha late...).

I stepped into the frozen foods aisle, rolling my eyes as I heard Sokka call out for me within five seconds of my departure.

Whatever.

'Cause. Well.

It was the freaking cereal aisle I'd left him in. Dude, don't bug , 'kay? I mean, seriously.

You have Apple Jacks, got it? You don't need me. Or love or hope or oxygen or anything else worth giving a damn over, for that matter. Um, hello.

They're Apple Jacks.

When we'd first gotten here, I'd been totally badass ninja like about getting a box of tampons. But no. Mr. Oblivious-Because-I'm-A-Total-Dumbasstastic-Moron-That-Doesn't-Know-The-First-Thing-About-Freaking-Female-Hygien just had to go pluck the box right. Outta. The freaking. Cart.

"Are these for nosebleeds?" Sokka wondered out loud, shaking the box beside his ear in an attempt to cure his beffudlement.

I'd snorted, through my...slightly tinged light pale pink-ish cheeks. "Snoozles. They're called...err...they're called..." Dammit. I just couldn't say it out loud.

Taking a deep breath, I'd finally managed to spit out, "They're tampons."

"Oh." Apparently, from the look on his face, he got it. "Well. Err. I'll just put these down now." Sokka cleared his throat, and gingerly set the box back in the cart.

Then he hid them under a box of Kraft macarroni and cheese.

I had snickered. "What is it, Snoozles? Trying to conceal you're feminine side from the rest of the world?" Then this random dude popped up and asked me if I knew where the magazine aisle was.

I scowled. Then somehow ended up smirking instead. "Looking for porn, eh?"

He'd turned a deep red. "I am not."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, not willing to bother with him a second longer. "Ask an employee, 'kay?" I had grumbled, "Do I look like I live at WalMart?" And then the coward scampered off like the wimp he was. I turned back to Sokka, and snorted.

"Can you believe him? Total pervert," I'd snorted, shaking my head in sadness at his horrible incurable dumbass lameness. "God. Get a girlfriend, why don't you?" I'd shut up when I realized I'd just sort of accidentally maybe talked to Sokka liked he was my friend.

But get this: just after I'd stopped talking, I heard footsteps echo quickly down the aisle opposite us--footsteps I was sure hadn't been there before. Can you say lame?

Trying to practice out their retard ninja skills on a master like me. For some reason, though, I had a feeling these footsteps weren't the last I'd see of our mysterious ninja-wannabe.

As for the shopping, so far we'd covered balloons (for loud obnoxiously loud popping noises), dried goods, soda, and action figures.

Since. Y'know. I mean.

Who can resist those things?

I'd hopped over to the frozen goods aisle, leaving Sokka with the cereal. In fact, I was there now, nearly alone. There was another girl, maybe a few years older than me, trying to decide which bag of peas to stuff into her basket. Funny, though.

I almost had a feeling that she'd been the footsteps I'd heard, too.

But, whatever. I had no room for stealth-less eavesdroppers, especially with my own ninja-tastic skills. Just mindin' my own business, trying to decide which kind of frozen pizza was least sucky.

And then, out of nowhere...

The girl spoke.

"How long have you been in love with him?" she blurted out, averting my startled and slightly angry eyes. So it hadbeen her. And, from the looks of it, she'd seen me and Sokka as well.

Do I have to mention that it is just wrong to tell a random stranger she's in love with an equally random (or so I assumed) moron after spying on them for a grand total of fifteen seconds?

"I'm not," I answered immediately, as if saying the words out loud would make them true. Which they were. True.

I mean, duh. Saying it wasn't would be like calling mea possessive and controlling bitch that obsesses over her badass awesome hat, her hat of badass awesomeness, ever minute of the day.

Right?

Yeah. Right.

"And I don't see how the hell it's you're business, anyway," I scowled, a few awkward seconds too late. "What is it with you and makeup, anyway? Do you have it smeared all over your face for a reason?"

Subconsciously, she touched her face. "I--yes."

She didn't say what it was, and I didn't ask. I wasn't here to listen to some random high schooler's sob story, or comfort them. Hey, if people expected me to be a psyco-analyis half the time, then I expected them to pay me.

I mean, seriously. Do you know the kind of crackpot insane weirdos that have randomly stopped on the street to confess to me their deepest, darkest secrets and expected me to help them with their problems?

I'd tell you, but compared to me, everyone in the world is such a wimp it would drive them insane as well.

And guess what? More psycho analysis. Well whoop de flipping do.

"So, I'm Suki," the girl was finishing at last. I wasn't sure if she'd been talking a while, or had just started. "I can tell you've fallen for him, by the way. It's not that hard, is it?" Suki's voice was becoming softer, more vulnerable.

Oh, god. Exactly what I hadn't wanted.

I bailed. "Look, lady, I got cookies to buy--"

"Shut up," Suki requested.

So I was, like, Chuck Norris level on the Chart of Badass Awesomeness, right behind my hat (forever holding the spot of number one) and she was more a random snail in...Jamaica or something.

But, whatever.

Since I was too tired and exhausted to retort, for once in my life...

I shut up.

"Maybe you won't admit it to yourself, but you love him," Suki told me plainly. "I know it's hard to relinquish your pride, and maybe it won't make a difference, but..." She shrugged, and smiled sadly. "I want you to have him, even if I can't."

I felt all my urges to shut up stomped on and ground into the dirt with a steel-pointed heel, along with any good will towards Suki, redheads (hey, I could tell this stuff some of the time), and the human race as a whole.

Who the hell did she think she was, telling me what I was feeling? Maybe part of it was that deep down, I knew she was right, or could be a week from now--or maybe even less. But still.

No one told Toph Bei Fong what to do. Or what she already had.

"Have you ever considered," I asked through gritted teeth, "that I don't want him? That I don't want anyof this? Just take him back, alright? Take back Sokka! I don't care."

But, the thing was...

I did.

Okay, it was stupid and retarded and dumbass-tastic to even dream about caring. But Suki? Over me?

God. Talk about jealousy. Oh, and Misery Business, Girlfriend and just about ever Taylor Swift song ever written rolled into one. Which basically means it'd top the charts and win a bunch of awards and also get me lotsa money and dammit I really wanted to record this song now.

Back to the point.

It didn't just back me jealous thinking of it, it made me want to hold Sokka close to me, to my heart, and never let go. That was beyond stupid; it was dangerous.

'Cause if I held Sokka too close to my heart, he might actually become part of it. And you know I didn't want that. Or at least hoped I didn't want that.

And I hoped that I truly hoped I didn't want that, because if I didn't there was no hope for me at all. Assuming that makes sense, like, at all.

Chuckling softly, Suki shook her head. "You're lying to yourself. I can tell."

"Oh really? How?" I shot back. "Please reveal to me, O Wise One, what you see that I can't." And I really didn't know what the hell she was talking about. My God, woman.

Could you get any more annoying?

The answer was yes, unfortunately for me.

"I see the way you change when you're around him," Suki answered. "You're happier. You smile more often. Or, well, smirk," she corrected, cutting off the beginning of my objection.

"When you're around anyone else, you're closed off and sealed--not so much because you want to be, but because you are. Around Sokka, though...you can't help it," Suki said quietly, meeting my undecided gaze with surefire eyes. "You're only yourself around Sokka Kuruk."

"That's--that's--" I spluttered, trying to identify the proper term.

None came to mind. Well, except for bullshit. Or perhaps 'total and completel insanity, the likes of which the world has never known, even from lame, cheap Kung Fu movies.'

"That's not true," I said at last, glaring my best--a glare that would have made Satan conspiring girl cringe. "What kinda reverse psychology are you trying to pull on me? I am Toph and if I was gonna act any other way I'd know it."

"But you don't," Suki replied quickly, flipping open her cell phone to glance at the time. It was clunky and large, obviously an older model than my own sleek phone. "I have to be going now, anyway. Hope that helped!" she smiled, giving me a little wave as she walked towards the exit.

"There's no freaking chance I'm in love with him!" I yelled after her, just for good measure. "No friggen way!"

Who was this chick? She came into the local Wel-Mart superstore at eight thirty in the morning, lectured random strangers about their relationships with other random people, and then just left without an explanation?

And I didn't know her. Though the name "Suki" sounded somehow familiar. Had Sokka dated her once? Maybe he had--I honestly didn't care.

Besides, he loved me now.

The thought hit me as I stepped into the cereal aisle, and I let out a low hiss of displeasure. What was I thinking?

That was a bad thing. Couldn't I realize at least that much?

Sokka caught one whiff of my expression and went pale. "Um, it's okay, Toph," he said nervously, setting his box of Coco Puffs gingerly back on the shelf, "We can always get Fruity Loops instead...y'know...nothing's certain...yet."

I scoffed. "Please, Snoozles. Um, hello? Apple Jacks are so the way to go." Inwardly, though, I was starting to brew over what Suki had said, instead of being pissed that she had said it.

DidI act different around Sokka? It didn't matter in the long run, I was sure...but something kept nagging.

'Cause...if Sokka could change me on a level deeper than even I could tell, wouldn't that mean I could fall for him without realizing it, too?

Except that wasn't happening. At all. 'Cause. Y'know. It would bring on the apocalypse and stuff like that, the only survivors being cockroaches and my badass awesome hat, my hat of badass awesomness. And am I handing my hat over to cockroaches?

Hell naw.

"Right." Sokka nodded quickly, and tossed a box of Apple Jacks into the cart. Pausing, he stroked his chin thoughtfully and surveyed the cereal boxes. "Okay, so are you thinking free motion detector, or flashlight-music-playing keychain, 'cause I was heading towards--"

"Snoozles?" Chewing on my lip, I interrupted him without a second thought. Now that I was paying attention, I sounded more...vulnerable then normal. Like my voice was raw enough to show beneath the skin. It made me feel naked in a way. "This is my ninth question. Do I act different around you then I do around anyone else?"

"What are you talking about? You're Toph. You're not going to act like anyone like yourself," Sokka shrugged.

"That's...that's not what I meant." I bit my lip. "I mean...do I..." I winced. Dammit. Here went a lifetime of badassery all at once. "Am I happier when I'm around you? Do I smile more? Do I seem more...open?"

Sokka stared at me. "Look, I always knew you'd come around," he said after a moment, "but you could have taken the time to get some better pick up lines, seriously. Y'know," Sokka continued, catching onto the idea, "they have these whole databases on line--"

"No! Sokka!" Taking a deep breath, I snapped, "It's not a pickup line! If I were gonna use one it'd have to be really dirty and really good, 'cause lately I've been having these--"

I turned beet red. Since when was I a blabbermouth? And only around Sokka, apparently.

If this was the real me, I wasn't really liking myself all too much right now.

"What? What's been going on?" Sokka asked curiously.

"Nothing," I muttered. This was going way too far. "Forget I mentioned it."

"Wait--I think I get it now," he said slowly, realization falling into his eyes. "You act more like yourself around me then you do around other people because normally you build a wall around you and them. But you trust me more then you trust anyone else, so...you don't have to," Sokka continued, thrilled with his realization. "You trust me!"

I stared at him like he had bugs coming out of his ears. Specifically the cockroaches that we're gonna steal my badass hat, my hat of badass awesomeness.

"Um, no. Unfortunately for you, I don't do the whole psycho analysis deal, 'kay?" I scoffed. But somehow or other, the worry persisted.

Because...because even if I was only ever myself around Sokka, that didn't matter. I'd survived without him for long enough.

So why did the thought of going back to that sting so much? Even knowing that he was only one of the people that accepted me for who I really was, it had been much, much harder to actually start being Toph around my other friends then this felt.

Being myself around Sokka felt...easy. Like breathing.

But I'd survived without oxygen for sixteen precious years, hadn't I? If it all came down to it, it couldn't be too hard to breathe a little shallower, get myself used to dirty air.

Besides, this was probably all just the feeling of being free, finally, from my parents. Sokka wasn't part of the equation. Nope. No way.

And even if he was...it wasn't necessary for me to be around him, or feel quite this relaxed and revealed without getting awkward.

It wouldn't bother me at all.

Or would it?

Okay, so, it was a weird day. Weird question, weird people...weird everything.

But y'know what I couldn't get over?

The fact that she might be right.

Hey, I'd said it: It normally took, like, forever to crack past tough-Toph and get down to, for fear of sounding too much like Disney Channel, the real me.

Looking back on it, Sokka had cracked it by Day 2.

And something else.

In the beginning, I'd always known there was a only a one-in-a-million chance I'd fall for Sokka Kuruk. But the more time that passed, the more I became convinced that there wasn't any chance at all.

But let's be honest.

When I said that there wasn't even the slightest chance I was in love with Sokka Kuruk even as we spoke--

I lied.

A/N: Jeez. Crap. It's been, what, two months? Dammit. Okay, in order to make it up to you guys for the impossibly long wait, I'm not going to stop updating till this ol' gal here is finished. Done with. Kaput!

...Did I forget to mention that due to smilypie's brilliant suggestion, I have now found a way to limit the excess of chapters I must write for I'd Lie to only 6 more actual chapters? OH FREAKING YEAH.

P.S. This is the longest chapter I will ever write. I swear. Next one shall be around 2, 500 words, all the rest around 2, 000. You hear that, typing fingers? NO. MORE.