So I'm having a HUGE case of writers block and I'm about to go ballistic because of it. Sigh...

So, I hope you enjoy it either way ^_^

#54. Unwritten

I sigh at the sight of the balled up sheets of paper cascading from the waste basket onto the floor of my dorm room.

I had recently started attending a university on Ember Island for politics, war strategy, and customs so I could go and assume my ambassador position in the Council of Four: a comittee joining the Four Nations in peace. All I had to do was study up.

Katara was studying in Omashu with Aang, getting into the prestigious university easily with Bumi back in control. And Toph was attending Ba Sing Se University, ironically, since she was the least excited to be in a city. In our classes, we were all legends, known before introducing ourselves.

And now, I'm having trouble writing a simple letter. A letter. I've written thesis', essays, research papers, and reports but nothing seemed as hard as writing something to Toph. Katara's letter was the generic brother-to-sister letter: how are you doing? How's Aang? We should meet up soon.

But this is difficult.

Writing something that someone else will read is weird to think about, especially if you're writing something private. The door swings open, my rambunctious roomate stumbling in with a petite girl in his arms. She giggles, twirling her firey hair in her fingers.

"Hey, Souka," he says, grinning.

"It's Sokka," I correct.

"Well, could you give the lady and I some privacy?"

"Yeah, let me get my stuff," I sigh, gathering my pencil and pad of paper in my arms. I slip outside, passing the other few rooms on the way outside. The smell of cheap beer wafts from cracked doorways, as does cheap perfume and drying ink. People study for exams or fool around in dim rooms. Outside, the sun has just set, the sky fading from a line of orange to blue to purple to black.

Outside, the weather is sticky and warm, but the fresh air clears my head. I walk past the stone buildings and white roads, down onto the black sand beaches. I set my things down, with my shoes to weigh them down. Waves lap softly, the foam curling over my bare toes. It's...nice. I look around. I'm standing in front of Zuko's old home, pristine from being renovated and re-used. I pull my shirt over my head as well as my pants, leaving my underwear on underneath. I climb up to the top of a boulder, pluging my nose with one hand. I bounce off the rock, plunging into the dark waters.

I'll write my letter later.

I sink a little before rising to the surface, floating on my back. Looking up at the moon, I feel like I'm fifteen again. Like nothings really hard to understand. The war seemed less complicated than writing a letter. I wouldn't have a problem with it if she could read. It's the problem of someone else will be reading it to her.

"Yue," what should I do?" I ask. Of course, nothing answers but waves. I feel a pulling under my body before tumbling over into the shifting sand, spitting out salty water. I pull myself from the ocean water, looking out towards the horizon. Miles away sits the mainland of the Fire Nation, somewhere I wouldn't dare to go a few years ago. Which means Toph is that much farther. I sigh, throwing my clothes over my body again. The cold water felt good.

I stare down at the paper with two words scribbled on them: Dear Toph.

"I could say...no, no, that wouldn't work," I mumble to myself. "What am I supposed to say? Oh, hi, Toph. How are you? Good? That's great because I'm not. I'm homesick and lovesick. I miss you and Katara and Aang and Zuko and Iroh. Oh, and did I mention I decided I love you? Well, I do. I love you more than words could really say. In fact, I was thinking of transferring colleges but realized at the last minute that that was stupid. But beside my sudden decision, how are you? Hope the guy reading this to you isn't pissing himseld laughing. Love, Sokka." I sigh, letting my head fall back into the stand, still warm from the sunny day.

Last thing I remember was starring at a star-filled sky.

"Sokka...Sokka...Sokka!" a girl's voice shouts. I roll over, startled by a quick jab in my arm. I push the stuck sand from my cheeks, looking past the sun streaks at the woman leaning over me.

She's got knotty black hair wrapped up in a small bun with two long pieces hanging from in front of her ears as well as bangs. Her face is think and her jaw is tight, sea-foam colored eyes confused.

"Toph?" I ask, sitting myself up. "Am...am I dreaming?"

She punches his arm as he stands up, looking down at her.

"No, you're not dreaming," she smirks. He notices something weird about her: clothes. She's got a tank-top on instead of her usual baggy short-sleeved shirts and and shorts instead of pants.

"Nice clothes," I mutter.

"Wow, dude. I thought you'd be happy to see me. Guess my clothes are more interesting," she shrugs, spinning on her heel.

"Wait!" I shout, throwing my hand out and catching her tiny arm. "Why're you here?"

"I wanted to visit you. I haven't been you in a while. But obviously," she says in a dramatic voice, "you don't want to see me. Juuuust my clothes."

"Um...I was going to write to you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"A little late, don't you think?"

I shrug. "Well, I was trying to be careful. I knew someone else would be reading it."

She crosses her arms over her chest. "Why dont you read it to me know?" she asks.

"Hm. Not a bad idea," I say, rubbing my chin. I pluck the sheet of paper from the ground, ready to read my wonderful letter when I choke.

I didn't write anything.

"Well?" she asks, quirking an eyebrow.

I stutter. "Um...right. I wrote you...um...I wrote this: Hey, Toph," I say, faking my way through it. I feel the paper shaking in my hand and sweat forming on my eyebrow. "How are you? I'm fine. School's boring and my latest prank was a sucess. If you're wondering what it was, I disaseembled his carriage and put it back in his office as well as his ostrich-horse." We both laugh, and I loosen up a bit. "Tell Katara and Aang I said hi if you see them before I do. But, before I stop talking, I had to tell you something." She shifts her weight, becoming more interested. "I...I wanted to tell you that I..."

I trail off and her motuh hangs open a little.

"Tell me what?"

"I...I wanted to tell you that I l-loved you. I love you, Toph."

Her mouth hangs open again before quickly changing to an flippant grin. "I know."

"You know?" I ask, being on the opposite of where I wanted to be. I wanted her to be the surprised one. "How do you know?"

"You told Sparky in a letter that you were gonna tell me. He visited Iroh a few weeks ago and asked me how I answered, thus spilling the beans."

I sigh. "Damn Zuko. Can't keep a secret, can he?"

"Nope," Toph replies. We stand in silence for a moment. "So...is this the part where you kiss me and we live happily ever after?"

I shrug. "It could be." She shoots up on her tip-toes, pecking my lips with hers.

"...Nice speech, by the way," she comments. "But I knew you didn't write it."

"How could you tell?"

"I'm blind remember? You can't bull shit a lie detecor."

I laugh, strolling back to the university.

So, kind of weird, I know, but like Sokka, I suffer from a horrible case of WRITERS BLOCK!

*children scream, grown men cry, babies suddenly burst into flames* haha...that last one wmight've been a little brutal. ^_^

Peace, L.