Chapter 2: New Friends

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The next day, Aang found himself mindlessly strumming his guitar in his room, feeling some nervous jitters for what the day would bring. It was his first day at his new school, after all, and he wasn't sure what exactly was going to become of it.

Despite having made a new friend who apparently lived in his neighborhood, he still wasn't entirely how his first day was going to go. It was a completely new school, one where he knew that it would take him time to get used to everything there.

He had gone to the same school for the last three years and had gotten quite used to it, so he felt it safe to say that he was a bit nervous to go to this new one. But, no matter what happened, he was going to do everything in his power to make the best of it.

It certainly helped that he had already made a friend in the area. He wasn't sure if Sokka went to the school that he was going to, but considering that they were neighbors, he felt it safe to say that he did. If he hadn't already graduated, that is.

Refocusing on playing his music, he closed his eyes and allowed the music to wash over him, making him smile as he enjoyed every note that he played. He truly would have to thank Gyatso again for getting him it, as it had proven to help him calm down from whatever problems that came in his path. Music had always had a special place in his heart, and listening to it be played on his guitar helped him relax a great deal.

When he finally finished the song he had been playing, he let out the nervousness he currently felt and set the guitar against his nightstand, deciding that it was time for him to get ready for school. After all, the last thing he wanted to do on his first day was to be late because he had let his nerves get the best of him, and he wasn't going to ruin his last first day of school for himself.

With this determination in his mind, he forced himself to get up and made his way over to his dresser, deciding on a pair of dark jeans and his favorite dark gray button up shirt. Despite the fact that he knew it was warm outside, he wanted to dress to impress. Besides, it was Autumn.

Being satisfied with this, he quickly took a shower and got himself ready, forcing himself to ignore the nervous jitters going throughout his system as he thought about what was going to happen today. Was he going to make more friends? Would he make some unwanted enemies? Would everyone think that he was some loser from Colorado who didn't know anything about his new home?

Feeling himself start to panic as his thoughts became more and more paranoid, he forced himself to stop thinking about it and took a deep breath. That was the absolute worst case scenario that could happen, and despite the small negative part of him that was telling him it was going to happen, he knew that it wouldn't. It might not go as well as he wanted it to, but he knew that it wouldn't be that bad.

With that resolved, he put on some deodorant and cologne before brushing his teeth, being thankful that he had remembered to eat something before he had done so and went back out to his room. Looking at the time, he was not so surprised to see that he had plenty of time left before he would have to go, making him curious as to what he should do until then.

He didn't have enough time to go anywhere, but he did have some time to look over his music. Deciding that this would be his best option, he walked back over to his bed and sat down as he opened up the drawer of his nightstand, reaching inside and pulling out the sheets of music he had drawn up. He had the instrumental part of the song down, but he had no idea what to do about the lyrics. He hadn't really had anything inspire him that matched the tone of the song he had made so far, and despite the fact that he really would like to finish it, he had yet to have any luck thinking of anything.

Of course he knew that he could just write anything that came to mind, but he wanted his song to be special. He wanted it to be something that was personal to him and helped him connect even more to the music. But, for whatever reason, he just hadn't found anything that would help him finish the song.

Feeling a bit frustrated, he set the papers out on his bed and got his guitar ready, knowing that playing some music was the best way for him to calm down. And it worked, as the more he got into playing it, the more his mind eased and the more he wondered why he had ever been annoyed in the first place.

Music had always had a special place in his heart ever since he was a kid, and even now it helped soothe him from his frustrations. How anyone else didn't enjoy it as he did, he couldn't figure, but he was glad that he at least was able to truly appreciate it for what it was.

Every note was a small piece in a delicate and beautiful tapestry that would flow through his ears, soothing his heart, mind, and soul as he listened to the melody play. Every strum of the guitar was like a breath of fresh air filling up his lungs, helping him to feel more alive than ever before. And when he could use multiple instruments to create something beautiful? It was like he was in Heaven.

As he reached the last note, he let out a relaxed sigh, his nervousness at what the day would bring completely going away as he strummed the final note. Unable to hold back a small smile, he let out another breath and set his guitar down, feeling ready for whatever the day would throw at him.

And it was good timing, too, as he saw that it was time for him to go. Getting up quickly, he walked over to the corner of the room and grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder before taking one last look in the mirror and smiling, feeling confident that today was going to be a good day after all.

With his song playing in his head, he made his way out of his room and walked downstairs, not being surprised to see that Gyatso was starting his usual pot of coffee.

"Morning, Gyatso!" Aang greeted him with a cheery smile, laughing inwardly as he saw what Gyatso was about to say. "Sorry, I already ate. I gotta go! Bye!" he called out as he walked towards the door.

"Have a good day, Aang!" Gyatso tried to shout out to him, but Aang had already shut the door behind him before the words had escaped his lips. Laughing at his Ward's excitement, he shook his head and took a sip of coffee, getting a flash of deja vu as he remembered the nearly identical situation happening the day before. Shrugging it off, he prayed that God would give his Ward a good first day at school.


Sokka grinned as he leaned back against his locker, feeling content holding his girlfriend's hand as she talked to his sister. He had been lucky to have gotten one of the prettiest girls in school. How he did, he wasn't sure, but he certainly wasn't going to complain.

He and Suki had been together for about a year now, and he was quite pleased with how things were going between them. Though, truth be told, he was pretty sure that he liked her more than she liked him. But, he supposed that this was generally the case for most relationships, since guys would pretty much do anything for the girl that they liked, and he didn't think that it was quite the same the other way around.

Normally, he would be a bit annoyed that Katara wanted to hang around them so much, but it did come in handy for the moments when he didn't want to talk. He really couldn't blame his sister even if he wanted to, as they had been best friends before he had started dating Suki.

At any rate, he supposed that it didn't matter whether they talked or not. He was just happy to be the one holding her hand as he relaxed. Although he did get a little bored when they would talk as they did, he supposed that if he really wanted to, he could join in their conversation. Thinking back to the last conversation of theirs he had joined, he grimaced as he remembered that they had ended up talking about their periods, and decided against it.

Unfortunately for him, however, he hadn't quite noticed that his sister had asked him a question while he had been thinking. And, after she was met with no response from her brother, nearly yelled. "Sokka!"

Finally snapping out of his thoughts, he looked over to his sister and replied. "Yeah?"

"I just asked you a question," she said with clear annoyance in her voice. "Were you even listening?"

Rolling his eyes at how his sister could be at times, he then responded. "Sorry, Katara. I was just thinking."

"Since when do you ever think?" Katara joked with a smirk, making Suki laugh as Sokka glared at his sister. Deciding to pretend that nothing had ever happened, she then repeated. "Do you have my headphones?"

Thinking about it for a few moments, his eyes widened as he remembered that he did and took off his backpack, digging into it for a few moments before he finally found them. Bringing them out, he presented them to her, but was not so surprised to see a look of disgust come onto her face as she saw that he had gotten some peanut butter on them.

"Sokka, how did you get peanut butter on my headphones?" she groaned in annoyance.

"Sorry, sis. I put it in with my lunch," Sokka shrugged simply, making Katara roll her eyes as she swiped them away from him and put them in her pocket.

"Why did you even bring lunch, anyway?" she decided to ask, her curiosity overriding her annoyance as she ignored the fact that he had gotten peanut butter on her favorite headphones. "We get lunch at school."

"I ran out of money," Sokka told her simply, making her arch a brow at him as he decided to explain. "I spent all of the money I got yesterday on a pick yesterday. Look! It's unbreakable!" he exclaimed excitedly as he took the pick and slammed it against his locker, his eyes widening as it shattered in his hands.

Covering a hand over her mouth as she laughed, Suki did her best to speak over her best friend's gales of laughter as she apologetically said. "Sorry, hun, but that is not unbreakable." Frowning a little as he saw his sister still laughing at his misfortune, he was about to say something when the bell rang, making Suki give him another apologetic smile. "Gotta go to class. I'll see you later, Sokka. Bye!" she gave him a quick kiss before walking towards her next class, making his frown turn into a bit of a smile as he watched her go.

"Oh, gross," Katara groaned a little as she saw this, making him glare at her as she smirked and waved. "See ya later, Sokka."

Sighing as he shook his head at his sister, he was about to start going to class when something caught his attention, a somewhat familiar face roaming about the hallways looking lost. Upon closer inspection, he finally remembered who it was and grinned, deciding that he would see if he couldn't help his new friend out.

"Aang!" he greeted him with a smile as he walked up to him. "You go to school here?"

"Starting today, yeah," Aang replied, his voice showing as much relief as his face as he smiled back at his new friend. "I just moved here a couple days from Colorado."

"Cool! I've always wanted to go snowboarding there, but my dad says I'll break my neck if I try," Sokka told him, making Aang laugh, but was surprised to find that he wasn't joking. "So, I'm guessing you're a little lost?"

"Yeah, I have no idea where I'm going," Aang admitted, making Sokka laugh as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, don't worry. I know this school like the back of my hand," Sokka promised, his eyes narrowing a little as a thought came to mind and he looked at the back of his hand. "Actually, I might know it better than the back of my hand."

Unable to hold back a laugh at this, Aang nodded and asked. "Okay. Can you help me find where I'm supposed to go."

"Yeah, let me see your schedule," Sokka replied, watching as Aang reached into his pocket and gave it to him. Looking it over for a few moments, a big grin stretched over Sokka's face as he saw what class he had. "Hey, you have the same first hour as me!"

Aang, feeling really relieved by this, couldn't help but let out the breath that he had been holding as he saw that he wouldn't have to go find it on his own. "Great! Now I won't have to go looking around the halls like a lost puppy," he joked, making Sokka laugh as he gave his schedule back and gestured for him to follow.

"Come on, I'll show you the way."

Following his friend, he walked with him towards the other end of the school, making it just in time as the second bell rang. "Phew!" Sokka couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "At least I won't be getting another detention. Come on, you can sit with me."

"Won't the teacher want to tell me where to sit?" Aang couldn't help but ask curiously as he followed him.

At this, Sokka just scoffed and sat down in his seat. "Please, Mr. The Boulder? He couldn't care less. He's a gym teacher, but since our regular teacher went into labor, he's been filling in for her."

"Mr. The Boulder?" Aang asked with clear confusion, making Sokka laugh as he nodded. "Why not just Mr. Boulder?"

"Beats me," Sokka shrugged as he grinned at his friend. "Either way, he's a pretty… entertaining guy, so I think you'll like having him as a teacher."

"Excuse me!" the teacher called out, interrupting them as they both turned their attention to him and saw that he had stood up from his desk. The rest of the class immediately fell silent as they noticed this, too, making the teacher nod in acceptance as he took out a piece of paper. "Okay, Mr. The Boulder is going to do roll call. Sokka Aqua?"

"Here!" Sokka called back, feeling happy that he had actually showed up on time for once and that he wasn't going to get a detention.

After a little while of going down the list of people, he seemed to take on a look of confusion as he noticed something that hadn't been there before.

"Class, do we have an… Aang White in this class?" he asked, making Aang smile sheepishly as he raised his hand.

"That's me, sir. Today's my first day," he explained, watching as The Boulder looked over at him and smiled.

"Well, it looks like we have a new student in our class!" The Boulder exclaimed in excitement, though for what reason, Aang couldn't figure. "Why don't you come up here and tell us a little about yourself?"

Gulping a little, he supposed that he should have seen this coming, but unfortunately had not. Knowing that it wouldn't do him any good to just stay there, he moved up to the front and faced the class, using the music in his mind to calm his nerves.

"Well, my name is Aang White," he began as he looked around the classroom. "I'm eighteen years old. I just moved here a couple days from Colorado. Uh… and I guess I like basketball, snowboarding, and music."

"It's nice meeting you, Mr. White," The Boulder nodded to him. "You can go take your seat."

Aang nodded back to him as the class clapped for him, though he noticed that a few of the girls in the classroom appeared to be watching him and murmuring to themselves. What they were talking about, he had no clue, but he could only assume that it had something to do with him.

Finally making it back to his seat, he watched as Sokka gave him a grin. "Good job up there."

"Thanks," Aang laughed quietly back. "Did he make everyone do that?"

"Our old teacher didn't, but yeah, he does," Sokka agreed, looking at the teacher to make sure that he couldn't hear them when he remembered something. "Hey, do you want to come by my place and meet some of my buddies?"

"Yeah, that'd be great!" Aang replied, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice as he did so.

"Cool. Come to the house after you get home and we'll rock out together," Sokka grinned again, making Aang grin back at him as he nodded his agreement.

"Excuse me! Are you ladies done talking yet?" The Boulder called to them, making their eyes widen as they saw that they had been caught.

"Sorry, Mr. The Boulder," they apologized in perfect sync as they sat back in their chairs. Being satisfied with this, The Boulder turned back around and began drawing more shapes. Though this had certainly put a bit of a damper on him, Aang still was excited to make some more friends, and decided to just go with the flow until the day had ended.


After the day had finally ended, Aang found himself walking over to Sokka's house with a smile on his face. His first day had gone rather well. Despite the fact that he only had a few classes with Sokka, he had managed to make some friends in the other ones as well, and overall had quite a good day.

As much as he was glad that his first day hadn't been bad, he was even more looking forward to meeting some potential new friends who liked to rock out like he did. He had never been able to play music with anyone else before, and he was very much looking forward to being able to do so with others.

Seeing the only blue house on the block as Sokka had told him, he started walking his way up the driveway and, just as he was about to go towards the front door, the door from the side of the garage opened it up to reveal Sokka poking his head out.

"Psst! Aang!" he whispered loudly, though for what reason, Aang could not figure. "Over here!"

Deciding that it wouldn't do him any good to keep wondering, he quickly made his way over and walked in as Sokka gestured for him to come in, closing the door behind him before looking back at him.

"Hey, Sokka," Aang decided to greet him, despite the fact that he still didn't understand what was going on. "If I can ask, how did you know that I was here?"

"We have a security camera set up outside," Sokka informed him as he pointed to the back of the garage, revealing a monitor that showed live footage of the driveway.

"Why do you have a security camera?" Aang couldn't help but ask in clear curiosity.

Smiling sheepishly, Sokka reluctantly replied. "Well… I might have gotten in trouble with a school bully once, and he might have threatened to kill me, so my dad had to get a security camera for the house just in case."

His eyes widening as he heard this, Aang then responded. "Okay… Why did you get in trouble with a school bully?"

"That, my friend," Sokka began as he put an arm around his shoulder and started leading him further into the garage. "Is a long story, and I'd rather not go into it." Wanting to change topics quickly, he then said. "Here! This is one of my friends! Aang, meet Zuko. He's really good with a bass guitar."

"Nice to meet you, Zuko," Aang stuck his hand out to him. "I'm Aang."

Looking up from his guitar, Zuko looked at him for a long moment before taking his hand and shaking it. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm Zuko."

"Well, now that you two have met, you should meet..." he trailed off as he looked around, noticing that their drummer friend was not there. "Where's Toph?"

"Right here, Snoozles," Toph grinned as she walked in like she owned the place. "Sorry I was late. My parents tried to make me try on a dress." She shivered in disgust, making Aang laugh as he moved over to her and stuck out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Aang. Nice to meet you." Watching as she gave him a sideways high five, he couldn't help but be surprised by this as she replied.

"Nice meeting ya. I'm Toph. Though," she added as she thought about it. "If you're going to hang with us, you need a nickname."

Aang couldn't help but look at Sokka in utter confusion, making Sokka laugh as he decided to explain. "Toph gives all of her friends nicknames. It's kind of her thing."

Still being a bit confused, but figuring that he had gotten the gist of it, he nodded and watched as Toph put her fingers against her chin and studied him, a wolfish grin spreading on her face as she finally thought of something. "I'm going to call you… Twinkletoes."

Blinking in disbelief, Aang could help but repeat in utter surprise. "Twinkletoes?"

"Trust me, man," Sokka whispered to him. "Don't ask. She'll never tell you."

"Snoozles is right," Toph agreed with a smirk before moving over to her drum set. "So, are we going to play or what?"

"Right. I'm guessing you didn't bring anything with you?" Sokka asked, to which Aang shook his head with a sheepish smile. "It's fine. You can use my old one. Here." Quickly handing him the guitar, a thought came to mind as he looked at his new friend. "Why don't you show them what you can do?"

Despite being a little nervous, as he had never really played for anyone other than him and Gyatso, he nodded his agreement and started playing the first thing that came to mind. As he lost himself in the music, he didn't notice as Zuko and Toph's jaws nearly dropped from seeing his mastery of the guitar, making Sokka grin as he noticed this.

When he finally finished, he looked up and saw the look of surprise on their faces, watching as Zuko finally said. "You're pretty good, man."

"Not too bad, I guess," Toph tried to play it cool, despite having just been amazed moments prior.

Deciding to take this as a compliment, Aang laughed and said. "Okay, so what should we play?"

"How about some Thunderstruck?" Sokka suggested, receiving nods of agreement from the group around him. Feeling satisfied with this, they all made sure their instruments were tuned. Once they all were ready, Sokka counted. "One, two, three, four!"

At first the group couldn't quite get in good sync, but after they worked together, they managed to get in a good sync. "Yeah!" Sokka cheered as he looked at them all. "That's what I'm talking about!"

Unfortunately for them, their loud noises had attracted the attention of his sister, making them all stop as she opened the door that led into the house and glared at her brother. "Sokka, keep it down! I can hear you from my room."

"It's rock music! It's supposed to be loud!" Sokka objected with a frown.

"Yeah! Fight the power!" Toph agreed as she began drumming again, making Katara's eye twitch as she walked over and took the drumsticks out of her hands. "Hey!"

"I'm not trying to stop you guys from playing," Katara began as she looked at them all. "I just don't want it to… to be so..."

Sokka, having noticed that his sister had trailed off, couldn't help but ask in confusion. "Katara? Anyone there?" while waving a face in front of her face. Seeing that she was staring at something, he followed her line of vision and was surprised to find that she wasn't staring at something, but someone.

And from what he could see, Aang appeared to be equally entranced as he looked back at her, both of them with wide eyes and small blushes on their cheeks as they looked at each other as Sokka wondered what in the world was going on.