A/N: Happy Easter everyone! Hope you have a really blessed day. Also, you guys are literally the sweetest! Thank you so so much for all your kind words and theories, I loved hearing from you all :) As a reward this chapter is longer than usual XD I hope you enjoy it!
Friday Morning:
Sokka's POV:
I drag my feet forward just as I've been doing every day for the past week to get to lectures. My eyes slide to the person beside me. Teo. I release a low exhale.
"You know if it wasn't for you, I'd still be in my room right now." I start, earning the boy's attention.
"Well, that's the perk of living with someone who's on the same course as you. I can keep bugging you until you get out." Teo voices with a grin. I roll my eyes at him, but I can't help the small smile that works its way up my face.
"Thanks Teo. I don't think locking myself in my room would've helped." I voice quietly.
"It definitely wouldn't help your grades that's for sure." My friend jokes, before his features contours into concern. "I told you; we're here for you. I'm not letting all your hard work over the years go down the drain." Teo expresses gently.
"Thanks." I breathe out gratefully. But unfortunately my mind has a habit of twisting things into negativity. In this case my thoughts lands on my sister. A sigh escapes past my lips. "I just wish Katara had someone like that." I mumble, earning the boy's attention as he looks up at me.
"Oh spirits I forgot to ask; how is she holding up?" The boy in the wheelchair asks with furrowed eyebrows, prompting me to massage my forehead anxiously.
"Terrible. I don't think she's been going to lectures at all. And she's barely said two words to me. I'm hoping Dad will be able to snap her out of it when we go back today." I confess worriedly.
"She must've been really close to her." Teo throws out offhandedly. I glimpse down at the boy with a frown.
"She was. But that doesn't mean I don't miss her just the same." I mutter bitterly. A hand at my wrist stops me in my tracks, prompting me to gaze in confusion at Teo.
"I didn't mean to imply otherwise." The student apologises with wide eyes. I exhale quietly and shake my head.
"No, I know you didn't. It's just she's acting like she's the only one who's been affected. She won't even talk to me about how she's feeling. She's just...closing up. And that worries me." I admit. My housemate tilts his head to one side in thought.
"It hasn't even been a week since you both got the news. I think wait until after the funeral. Things will start to ease from there." Teo reassures, but I stare at him dubiously.
"If you're sure." I say uncertainly as the boy retracts his hand from me.
"If there's one thing I've learnt about life, it's that time is the best medicine. Give her some space to work it out; just not too much ok?" The engineering student advises. I purse my lips before nodding my head.
"Alright, thanks Teo." I utter gratefully, eliciting a beam from the boy.
"Anytime. Are you sure you don't want Toph and me with you at the funeral for moral support?" He asks just as we reach the lecture hall. I snort.
"Toph isn't exactly what I'd call moral support." I retort, prompting the man to roll his eyes at me.
"You know what I mean." He says as his eyes pierce into mine, looking past the jokey facade that I've been trying to hide behind. I take a deep breath before shaking my head.
"I'm sure. I just need time with my Dad and Katara. Anything more will be..." I trail off, not wanting to sound rude, but Teo shakes his head in understanding.
"Don't worry, I get it. Just text if you need anything." The boy offers and I smile gratefully.
"Thanks." I utter as we take a seat at the back bench of the lecture hall. I glance to the front to find that we're early and decide to take out my books and pens. Just as I look up, I spot Aang several benches away from us to the right. I frown. 'Hm that's strange, Aang usually sits with us when we have a lecture together.' I wonder in surprise. I eye the child genius as he sits with hunched up shoulders and his eyes glued to the desk in front of him. I give Teo a nudge.
"Hey, any idea why Aang isn't sitting with us today?" I whisper, prompting the boy to peer over me to gaze at the airbender before shrugging.
"No idea. Maybe he heard about what happened and wanted to give you space?" My flatmate suggests. I quirk an eyebrow at him.
"How on earth would he know that?" I ask, baffled. Again, the boy shrugs.
"Isn't he friends with Katara too? Maybe she told him." Teo replies just as the lecturer enters the hall and calls for quiet. I purse my lips, 'Katara has barely said anything to me. I doubt she would've told anyone.' I think to myself as the lecturer starts to rattle on about atoms and electrons.
I try to focus on his words, but my concentration has been a bit all over the place for the last few days. So instead of making notes, my eyes drift around the lecture hall until it rests on Aang again. It seems I wasn't the only one whose attention was waning as I make eye contact with the boy. I give him a small smile, but he immediately jerks his head away from me. I frown. 'Weird. The guy is usually nothing but friendly.'
After that, I spend the remainder of the lecture, stealing glances at the airbender, but his gaze remains glued in front of him. So when the lecturer calls the lecture to a close, I'm already on my feet, walking towards the child genius.
"Sokka what are you doing?" Teo calls behind me.
"I'll be right back." I reply quickly as I make my way to where the boy is rapidly shoving his stuff into his bag.
"Hey Aang." I greet, prompting the boy to snap his neck up to me. A dark shadow crosses his features before he stuffs his book into his bag.
"Hi." He mutters without looking me in the eye. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion at his slightly hostile behaviour.
"What's up?" I query as he zips his bag to a close. His eyes flickers to mine, before skirting away.
"Nothing." He mumbles before getting to his feet. I quirk an eyebrow at him.
"Obviously not with that attitude. Come on, spill." I insist, finally earning the boy's attention as he stares at me with hard eyes.
"I thought you would've known, considering Katara is your sister." He voices bitterly. A tone I never anticipated hearing from the airbender. My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline.
"What?" I echo dumbly, before my brain kicks into gear. "Wait, did you two have an argument or something?" I question in disbelief. Aang scrunches his nose up.
"More like she shouted in my face for no reason and then turned out to be like everyone else I've ever known in my life. Someone who only wants to get close to use you." The child genius retorts acidly. I gawk at him, as my mind races with something to say. 'Ok, so the two of them had a REALLY bad argument. But all that stuff he's saying can't be true. Katara isn't like that. And what the heck does he mean like everyone else in his life?' I shake my head.
"Katara isn't like that." I defend earnestly, only for the boy to snort at me. I watch as he rises to his feet and swings his bag over his shoulder.
"Yeah, well so did I. But then again you're her brother, of course you'd defend her." He mutters and moves around me. But there's no way I'm just letting him leave like that, so I snap my hand out to grab his wrist.
"No wait, tell me what happened. You two were getting along great." I voice in confusion, only for Aang to snatch his hand out of my grasp.
"Go ask her." He snaps and starts to walk away, but I grab his arm for a second time.
"At least tell me when did this happen?" I plead, part of me unsure why I'm trying so hard. 'Sure Aang is a nice kid, but I haven't known him long. Why do I care if he's hurt?' The airbender seems ready to throw out another biting quip, but on the last second his shoulders sag with defeat.
"Yesterday." He mumbles with downcast eyes. The sight actually pains me to witness. I chew my lip, already piecing together the probable cause of Katara's outburst, because I did the same thing with Teo and Toph. 'Although it sounds Katara might've went too far.' I shift my gaze to the side, not in the mood to tell anyone else what happened, 'but...surely I can't leave the guy hurting?' I sigh and release my hold on the boy to cross my arms.
"Listen, whatever Katara said she probably didn't mean it." I finally opt to say, but the airbender doesn't believe me as he rolls his eyes.
"Yeah right. I've got to go." Aang utters stiffly. I bite my lip as the boy moves away from me. My shoulders sag.
"Something happened on Sunday. She...hasn't been taking it well." I whisper quietly. I hear the boys light treads halt as he turns to look at me sceptically.
"What do you mean something happened?" The child genius asks as he scrutinises me. I swallow thickly and avert my gaze. 'No matter how many times I've said it, it doesn't get any easier.' I only realise my eyes are burning when I see the fall in the boy's face. In seconds he's in front of me with a hand on my shoulder.
"Sokka?" He voices worriedly. I shake my head.
"Sorry. It's just...it's..." My words catch in my throat and I don't know why it's so hard to voice aloud. 'Is it because it makes it more real each time I do?' I drop my head to stare at the ground. 'Jeez trying to stop him hurting is not doing wonders for me either.' I think humourlessly. But to my surprise I find thin arms wrapping around me in a tight hug.
It takes me a moment to realise that it's Aang who's hugging me. I inhale sharply, not used to the sudden affection from the boy, but for some reason it gives me the courage to continue. "Our Mum, she...she's gone." I strangle out and I feel his arms around me tighten.
"Gosh Sokka, I'm so so sorry." Aang chokes back, his voice filled with unconcealed emotion. When I pull away from him, I spot tears lining his eyelashes and it shocks me that he's bothered this much about it. I rub the back of my neck awkwardly.
"I told you because I don't want you to be upset with Katara, she's just..." I trail off, unsure what word to use. The airbender swallows and bites his lip.
"I understand that she probably lashed out, but maybe she was just saying the truth too." Aang utters, his voice strained. I furrow my eyebrows and take a step towards him.
"What did she say? Maybe I can try and reassure you otherwise." I offer, but the boy just hunches his shoulders. I open my mouth to try again until I hear Teo call out behind me.
"Sokka didn't you say you were going to pick up your sister to go back home in a few minutes?" My flatmate reminds. I curse under my breath at having forgotten and turn my head slightly to glance at the boy in the wheelchair.
"Thanks Teo! You can go back to the house. I'll catch up with you in a bit." I holler. A look of confliction crosses his eyes, but he nods and rolls himself out of the now empty lecture hall. I turn back to find Aang's steady eyes on me.
"Was it sudden?" The words shoot out of his mouth. I blink twice and tilt my head to one side in confusion.
"What?" I echo dumbly. I watch as the boy shifts from one foot to another before he speaks up.
"Your mum's passing, was it sudden?" I cringe at the reminder, but I can't help but be partially bewildered at the strange question. I cross my arms to hide my unease.
"Yeah. She...she was on-call when a madman came in and shot her." I grit out, my fury at the man is strongly palpable. Aang's face darkens briefly before adopting a sympathetic expression.
"That's...terrible." He whispers. I frown and scan his features for several moments with suspicion.
"Why do you ask?" I query with critical eyes. He seems to hesitate for a second before shrugging.
"You both have been in such high spirits ever since I met you. I had a hunch that it was unlikely that it was some terminal illness like cancer." Aang brushes off easily, but his gaze turns inwards slightly, as if thinking of something and I can just tell that he's lying. 'But why?' I wonder. I tilt my head.
"That's not the reason." I say bluntly, surprising the boy.
"It is." He insists earnestly. Too earnestly. I frown at him as a sickening thought takes form in my mind.
"You wouldn't happen to know something about this, would you?" I growl lowly, prompting the child genius to widen his eyes at me.
"What?! No, of course not!" The airbender denies vehemently and splays his hands out in front of him in defence. 'But something is off about his behaviour.' I narrow my eyes at him.
"You're sounding awfully suspicious." I say between grit teeth. A flash of hurt crosses his stormy orbs before he shakes his head.
"I just...I know what it's like to lose people you care about." Aang forces out, making me drop my hostile tone as a bucket of cold water rushes down my back. I stare at him in disbelief.
"You do?" I repeat numbly. The boy hunches his shoulders up and gives me the barest of nods. I swallow and take a step towards him.
"What...what happened?" I question softly, but the airbender immediately stiffens and turns his back on me.
"It doesn't matter." He mutters. My forehead crinkles at his response.
"They say talking about it helps." I throw out offhandedly, but he makes no move to face me.
"Well I don't want to." He utters sternly. I purse my lips, not willing to let this go.
"Why won't you tell me?" I ask, as a mixture of disappointment and frustration swirls in my gut. The boy's hands clenches into fists by his sides.
"Because it doesn't matter! So stop asking." I jump at the airbender's bellow and stare at the back of his head covered with his traditional beanie. I'm broken out of my self-induced shock when the child genius starts walking away from me. I gulp and run ahead, blocking his exit as I stare him down, his tight expression on clear display. 'Spirits, I never thought I'd see Aang mad. The kid is always such a goof! Now, I'm beginning to wonder if that was just a mask.' I swallow just as Aang's knuckles go white from how hard he's clenching his hands.
"Look, I'm sorry for pushing. I should now just as well as anyone that talking about it hurts." I apologise, hoping to ease the tension. It works. The boy's shoulders slumps and he unclenches his hands as he hangs his head.
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted. It's still a sore subject." Aang mumbles. I purse my lips, fiercely deliberating on my next action. 'It's something Katara would do.' I reason with myself and take a step forward to pull the boy in a hug. He must've not expected it as he stands rigidly in my embrace. After a few moments, he relaxes and reciprocates.
"I'm sorry you're hurting." I voice lowly. I hear him swallow audibly before he speaks up.
"I'm sorry too. I hate that you can relate to this." He whispers back. I'm not sure why, but the words hit me hard. I exhale heavily and release the boy to find his eyes red, but not a single tear is present. The curiosity to know what happened bites at me, but I know that's not what he needs.
"So, we're good?" I finally ask, earning a smile from the airbender.
"We're good." He confirms with a nod.
"And Katara?" I add, but to my dismay his face screws up in hurt.
"I...don't know. It depends if she meant what she said." He decides. I bite the inside of my cheek.
"Well, what did she say?" I question, but again he shakes his head.
"I don't want to repeat it. Just ask her." He insists and with a sigh I nod my head. Together we walk out of the lecture hall while my mind continues to swarm with questions.
"What did you mean people used you?" I blurt out before I can censor them. The child genius instantly tenses up before shaking his head.
"Forget I said that." He expresses stiffly. 'But how can I?' I massage my forehead.
"Are you not going to tell me anything?" I ask, hurt. He must've caught the undercurrents of my tone as his grey orbs flicker to mine before returning ahead of him once more.
"It's nothing you need to worry about." He opts to say instead. I release a loud breath.
"You're my friend, so if it concerns you, then it concerns me." I state stubbornly, ignoring the way the boy stiffens up at the word 'friend.'
"We're friends?" He echoes back wearily. I quirk an eyebrow.
"Isn't that what friends do - hug, talk and sit together?" I point out sarcastically. I watch as he bites his lip.
"That's what Katara did and she said we're not friends." Aang mutters as he kicks the ground. I groan inwardly at my sister's behaviour before shaking my head.
"I'm sure she's just upset. Give her some time to cool down." I urge, before dropping my voice to a mumble. "Hopefully after the funeral." I say under my breath, but the airbender catches it as he jerks his head to stare at me. His eyes crumple slightly.
"I'm so sorry you're both going through that. I...when's the funeral?" Aang asks quietly.
"Saturday." I utter before shoving my hands in my pockets. "Does...does it ever get better?" I whisper, surprising the boy as he gazes at me unsurely. "You've been through something, so you know." I elaborate and observe as he takes a deep breath. He returns his grey irises ahead of him, his gaze absent as he stares.
"Sometimes you forget. Sometimes you're fine, but..." He trails off before giving himself a shake. "Other times, it hits you just as hard as the day it happened. It's like...waves or storm clouds. One day the sky is blue and then all of a sudden it's stormy and grey. The waves hits you relentlessly and you find yourselves drowning again." Aang voices, his tone dropping with each word. I gulp and rub the back of my neck.
"That's...not reassuring at all." I state dryly, pulling the boy out of his own thoughts as he smiles sheepishly.
"Ops, sorry." He apologises before sighing. "They say it gets better with time and that's true most of the time." The airbender tries to reassure. I purse my lips.
"Most of the time?" I echo back. His eyes skirt away from mine.
"Some cases are...different." He mutters. I blink twice at the strange response.
"I'm guessing your case is different." I say, raising my hands to finger quote the word 'different.' He dips his head slightly, but doesn't say anything more. I chew my lip for a moment before speaking up again. "Is my case not different then?" I query in slight offence, causing the child genius to snap his head up as his eyes go wide.
"I didn't mean it in a bad way. I'm just...you'll heal. You both will. It will take time and there will always be a scar, but you'll move on." Aang tries to explain as he scrambles for words. And it's hard just to stand and listen to him say that when right now the pain feels so fresh and raw. I swallow thickly.
"And what about you?" I force out, prompting the boy to tilt his head to one side.
"What about me?" He queries, perplexed.
"You implied that I'll heal, but you obviously haven't. Heck, with how upbeat you've been since I met you, I'd safely assume that whatever happened to you was a while ago. How can you tell me it gets better when you haven't moved on?!" I point out sharply. I spot the throb in the airbender's jaw from how tightly he's gritting his teeth.
"I told you, it's different." He repeats tersely. I throw my arms up in the air.
"My mother was murdered! What's worse than that?!" I screech, ignoring the sharp intake of breath coming from the boy.
"I lost everything!" His shout matches mine in kind, halting me in my self-pity tirade as I stare at the airbender with wide eyes. He seems to have noticed what he said as he slaps a hand over his mouth. I move my lips wordlessly before taking a step towards him.
"Aang..." I start, but he sprints off before I can say anything else. I gape at his speed, the back of his head becoming just a tiny dot with how far he managed to run.
Lifting my hand, I slap my forehead hard. 'Stupid! Here I am whining about losing Mum while Aang lost...everyone? Does that mean he doesn't have any parents? Is he…an orphan?' I gulp hard at the possibility. 'At least I still have Dad and Katara. Even Gran gran. Who the heck does Aang have?! He's only 16! He can't be alone. Oh spirits and I just pushed him away.'
I push the base of my palms into my eye sockets, hating myself for being so insensitive and selfish. I'm only broken out of it when I feel my phone vibrating. With a sigh, I whip it out to find a text from Katara, asking me where I am.
"For the love of moon! I forgot about our trip!" I say aloud and quickly run back home. In my haste, I didn't notice someone coming out of the alleyway between the buildings and end up smacking face first into a solid body, forcing the two of us to land roughly on the ground. I give my head a rub as I open my mouth to apologise.
"Spirits I'm so..." I stop when I take notice of who I bumped into and a scowl works its way up my face. "Zuko." I hiss, earning a growl from the black haired boy. He pushes himself onto his feet at the same time as I do.
"You should watch where you're going ponytail." He jeers before walking past me. I glare at him.
"Well you shouldn't hang out in alleyways, scar-face." I mutter under my breath. Unfortunately with all my intelligence I sometimes lack the foresight of keeping my voice down as feet skid roughly on the gravel.
"What did you call me?" Zuko demands venomously. I snap my jaws closed. 'Me and my big mouth.' I groan inwardly. A second later a hand grabs the front of my shirt and pulls me off the ground, leaving me to stare into the firebender's snarling face. I gulp.
"Put him down Zuko." I blink twice at the child-like voice and crane my neck to the side to find Aang standing tall. Well, as tall as a 16yr old kid can stand anyway. Zuko turns his head to eye the airbender before snorting.
"Or what?" He taunts. I watch as Aang takes a calm step towards us.
"Come on, you're better than this." The child genius urges, but the firebender's face simply hardens.
"You don't know me." He spits out and recoils when Aang takes another step closer with his hands out passively.
"Well, I wouldn't mind getting to know you. If you want." Shocking both Zuko and I.
"Aang have you lost your mind?! Zuko is a bad person. Just look at his face!" I remind, breaking the firebender out of his stupor as he tightens his grip on me. His eyes burn aflame with rage. 'Yikes. Maybe I should've waited until after I escaped before insulting the guy who can burn my face off.' I realise dumbly.
"Zuko! Drop him." Aang orders. The firebender glances between me and the airbender before fixing his gaze on me.
"I'm a bad person, so make me." He grits out. Before I know it a rush of air sweeps against us and when I look down I find us several feet off the ground.
"Aang!" I shout, scared witless as we start tumbling to the concrete, but the airbender jumps up and snatches me out of Zuko's grip. Somehow we land lighter than a feather while Zuko drops to the floor, but not before Aang bends a small pillow of air for him to land on softly. I shoot him an incredulous look, unable to get my head around why he's being so nice to the bully. But he ignores me, his gaze solely fixed on the firebender that's pushing himself up onto his feet. He scowls at us before walking away.
"Next time stay out of my way ponytail." Zuko fires out before disappearing behind a building. My shoulders wilt in relief as I turn to face Aang.
"You seriously saved me there. I owe you one." I utter gratefully, but the boy just shrugs his shoulders.
"You say we're friends, right? Then you don't need to owe me anything." Aang expresses lightly. My lips curve up in a smile, before I remember what I said to him a few short minutes ago.
"Hey, I'm sorry about what I said. I shouldn't have been so..." I'm cut off by the airbender when he raises his hand up.
"Don't apologise. Just don't ask me anymore questions. I don't want to talk about it." The child genius requests and despite having a million probing questions, I find myself nodding.
"Alright. I won't. Not now anyway." I say, prompting the boy to quirk an eyebrow at me before sighing.
"That will have to do. Anyway, I think you're late for an appointment?" Aang reminds. I blink twice and smile sheepishly.
"Oh yeah. I'll see you next week hopefully." I bid and turn to leave.
"Yeah. Give your family my condolences." He murmurs. I glance behind me and give him a small smile.
"I will." I affirm, expecting that to be the end of the conversation.
"And Sokka?" I pause, twisting my head to glance at the airbender.
"Try to give people like Zuko some slack. Some people are going through things you don't know about." Aang voices wisely before walking out of sight. I gape at him, unable to believe what he just said and yet...could he be right? 'I certainly didn't know Aang was going through something. Most people don't know I'm going through something. Maybe...maybe there's more to Zuko than meets the eye?' I shudder at the very thought, before shaking my head. 'Or maybe he's just a jerk.' I voice silently as I sprint back to the house before picking up Katara, praying that things won't be too hard when we go back.
A/N: So Aang isn't quite jumping to forgive Katara, although he does understand why she probably behaved so drastically. We're also nudging deeper into Aang's past, but still fairly mysterious at this point. We'll get to it eventually, I promise XD I feel like this is the start of Sokka's & Aang's bond to really grow. And as usual Aang is determined to see the good in people, wise guy he is XD
Please drop any thoughts you may have & hopefully see you next time ;)
4/4/21