A/N: I spent over 8 hrs at uni and lol I think I'm still in the holiday funk. Altho it might be because we repeatedly practiced the A-E approach to death. Anyway, I'm posting bc I needed a break from anything study related, so ta da! Hope you like it.
First day of Second Term:
Monday Morning:
Aang's POV:
I slide into a seat right at the back for the first lecture of the day. I was in such a hurry that I didn't have time to read which module it was for, only the time and place.
But when I spot a familiar head of long brown hair, laughing with that white headed girl beside her, my heart automatically clenches and I sink into my chair, hoping she won't see me. 'It must be medical physiology. Dang it, I should've read the timetable.' I curse myself.
Her blue orbs flicker over the hall and when they land on me, her gaze hardens briefly before she looks away completely and drags Yue to sit at the opposite end of the lecture theatre. 'I've felt a lot of pain in my life, but never has something so simple as a look been able to cut me as deeply as this one did.'
A lump bobs up and down my throat as I drop my eyes to the desk in front of me. 'Why did she have to look at me in betrayal like that? Yes, I didn't tell them the truth, but...' I inhale deeply. 'Of course, that's enough for anyone to hate you. I deserve nothing less.' I rebuke myself.
I barely notice the lecturer coming in or the whole session as I continue staring glumly at my open notebook. When the professor calls the lecture to a close, I wait until Katara and her friend leave. Her eyes never stray once towards me. I swallow thickly and finally get to my feet when the room is entirely empty.
As I trail outside, I find the two girls standing nearby, still chatting away. I lift one foot towards them. 'Maybe I can fix this. Maybe I can...'
I shake my head and make a sharp turn away from them. 'It's better this way. I'm only a danger to them.' I try to convince myself, not realising that my hand has clutched so tightly around the strap of my bag until I feel something cutting into my palm. 'Its fine. I don't need anyone.'
My thoughts are raging so much that I don't take notice where I'm going until I slam right into a taller solid body.
"Oomph." I say as I find myself falling back onto the ground. When I look up, my eyes widen at seeing the familiar firebender.
"Watch where you're...!" He cuts himself off at the sight of me. An odd expression crosses his features as he spins on his heels and starts walking away from me. I briefly gape at his retreating back before I leap to my feet and sprint after him.
"Zuko wait!" I call out, but the older boy pays me no heed and with a burst of air I rush forward until I cut off his path. He leans back and crosses his arms stiffly.
"What?" He utters gruffly.
"I want to talk." I say, repeating those same words from my unanswered text.
"I know you do, but I'm not in the mood." The firebender expresses bluntly. I part my lips, feeling slightly thrown off at his response.
"You're never in the mood." The words fire out of my mouth before I can call them back. The business student quirks an eyebrow at me.
"This is a total of what? 3? 4 times we've spoken?" Zuko points out.
"Actually 7, we've talked briefly last year, or really you insulted me but that's all water under the bridge..." I trail off when I see the man scowling. "Right. Doesn't matter." I voice sheepishly, my old habit of counting things rearing its ugly head.
"Regardless. I've got other things to do, so move." The firebender expresses strongly as he shifts, trying to get past me. I lean more to one side, blocking him.
"Listen, I need to know. Is your dad involved with the Triple Z?" I ask quietly, making the man's breathing catch as he stares at me. Anxiety swarms in my gut at his reaction. His features set into a frown.
"I offered to help you and now you think my dad is part of this? That's low." Zuko snaps. I bite the inside of my cheek hard.
"No! I just...all your names have the letter Z, so I just thought..." I start, but the scarred man cuts across me.
"You thought that this was a puzzle that you could work out with your freakish genius? Newsflash child genius, most Fire Nation citizens have the letter Z in their name." Zuko retorts harshly. My lips part at his brutal words while my eyes sting at hearing the old insult the other kids used to say at the orphanage.
"Ouch." I breathe out, subconsciously leaning back, giving the man access to get past if he wanted, but he hesitates. His amber irises flicker between me and the corridor before he sighs.
"Sorry. That was...a bit much." He mutters uncomfortably as he shifts from one foot to the other.
"No it's...its ok. I'm sorry I shouldn't have assumed. I just..." I trail off feeling defeated and worn down. I swallow thickly, but tears still accumulate as everything just collides into one.
"Oh spirits, you're not going to cry on me now, are you?" The gruff voice penetrates the air. I sniff and shake my head silently, turning to give the business student my back.
"No I'm fine. You can go." I mutter as I swipe at my face, expecting to hear dashing footsteps, but instead I feel a hand patting my shoulder awkwardly.
"I'm guessing there's something else on your mind?" Zuko utters and when I glance up at him, I can tell that talking about emotions isn't something he's comfortable about. Just as I open my mouth however, Katara and Yue round the corner. Both girls spot me instantly. While Yue waves at me enthusiastically, Katara glances between Zuko and I before scowling.
"Come on Yue, let's go this way." The waterbender mutters as she starts dragging the white head.
"Wait this isn't what it looks like!" I protest, taking a step towards them. But the medical student shoots me a withering glare.
"I can see why I didn't fit the bill for your type of friends." She spits out and I watch as the two leave the other way, but not before I catch the confusion on Yue's face.
My shoulders slump in defeat. 'I'm a fool. A dumb, useless fool.' I berate as I can only imagine how much more Katara will hate me now that she caught me being friendly with Zuko.
"Ooh that's what has you all depressed." The firebender echoes after a minute of silence, reminding me of his presence. I kick at the ground.
"Yeah." I mumble as the man crosses his arms.
"I thought you two were friends?" Zuko questions. I tug down the edge of my beanie at the word 'friends.' Something I couldn't really give her. No matter how much I tried deluding myself that I could.
"No. We aren't." I mutter, ignoring the round of hurt that encompasses me when I visualise her face after I told her the same thing.
"I thought you went home with her for the holidays?" The firebender points out, making my head jerk up in surprise.
"How do you know that?" I ask back, prompting the man to shrug.
"I know Mai." He utters bluntly. 'It kind of feels like that's his answer to everything at this point.'
"Oh." The word drops out of my mouth without much thought.
"You got into an argument." Zuko states a matter-of-factly, probably because it is the most obvious answer. I hunch my shoulders up.
"Why do you care? You wanted to run off, remember?" I point out sourly.
"I don't care." The man fires back, before sighing. "But I'm not as heartless as people always try to make me out as." He continues in a quiet voice. Guilt floods me when I realise that's exactly what I was implying.
"I..." I start, but he doesn't let me finish.
"It doesn't matter. Look, I'm terrible with people, but maybe I can help. If you want it that is." Zuko voices, his features becoming uncomfortable once more. I shake my head.
"You can't help. I...I hid something from her and now she hates me." I explain bitterly, making the older student snort.
"I might not know much, but I do know she doesn't hate you. That girl is as frustratingly judgmental as she is protective of you. She's probably just hurt. Give her a couple weeks." The firebender says with a wave of his hand.
"I have. She still hates me. Besides, this...this isn't something you can just get over." I explain, feeling downtrodden.
"What in agni's name did you do then?" Zuko questions in disbelief. I don't know what force encourages me to open up, but I do.
"I knew something about her mother's killer but didn't tell her." I answer quietly, making the man widen his eyes in shock.
"Oh...oh spirits. Yeah, she's not going to talk to you ever again in this lifetime." The firebender quips in that insensitive manner of his. My knees weaken and I find myself crouching to the ground as I grip the sides of my head.
"I'm an idiot. I shouldn't have ever talked to her in the first place. I should've kept away." I rebuke myself vehemently.
"I didn't know her mum was killed." Zuko voices quietly, breaking me out of my self-blaming tirade.
"It was a couple of months ago. Someone stormed the hospital where she worked as a nurse." I list off monotonously, still wondering why I'm even telling someone who probably couldn't care less. 'Maybe it's because Roku and I have hit a dead end. Maybe it's because I'm so desperate to open up to someone who's close to my age for once. Maybe it's because I don't know anyone else. Maybe I'm just going crazy. Spilling things I shouldn't.'
I'm so absorbed with my whirlwind of thoughts that I barely notice the dark shadow that crosses the boy's face.
"Nurse?" He echoes back numbly. "Shoot." I hear him utter lowly as he starts running a hand through his messy hair. I look up at him curiously, wondering what on earth is going through his mind. His mouth moves wordlessly before he reaches down and jerks me up to a standing position.
"What?" I query in confusion.
"I've got to go, but you need to stop moping, it doesn't suit you." Zuko grumbles. I part my lips slightly.
"I really don't get you." I admit finally, eliciting a snort from the man.
"That makes two of us. I'll...I'll talk to you later." The firebender mumbles as he moves past me. I gape at his retreating behind. 'Did he just say...we'd talk again?' I wonder in disbelief.
Before I can dwell on the thought, I feel my phone vibrating with its usual lecture reminder. 'Shoot. I share nearly all of my engineering lectures with Sokka. How will I avoid him?!' I gulp and start making my way to the other lecture theatre building.
I arrive a couple of minutes late, but the great thing about this lecture hall is that there's also doors at the back, a blessing for late comers or in my case a way to avoid certain people.
I slip in and scan the crowded hall. My eyes automatically fall on that familiar short pony-tail. But he's sitting in my usual seat at the back. Probably to shout at me some more. I bite the inside of my cheek and shuffle towards the other side, sitting on the very last row, out of his line of sight.
I release a low breath when the professor starts the lecture and try to pay attention, but the feeling of eyes boring into my skull has me distracted. I keep glancing at Sokka, but he doesn't seem to have noticed me. Yet.
When the lecturer ends the session, I'm up on my feet before you can say monkey feathers. I start moving through the bodies of other students, but I feel my arm being tugged back roughly. A small yelp escapes past my lips as I stumble backwards into a solid body. My head tilts up and it's...Sokka. 'Spirits.'
The scowl on his face has me gulping as I try to step away from him, but he keeps his firm grip on me.
"Thought you could run away without me realising? Fat chance." The water tribe man spits.
"What do you want?" I fire back, trying to sound gruff, but my adolescent voice betrays me and it only comes out as a squeak.
"Everything you know about my mum; spill it now." He demands. My mind races, wondering what can I say without putting him in danger.
"I don't know much." I admit, which is partially true, but the older boy can be impatient when he wants to.
"Stop dodging things." He growls. I furrow my eyebrows at him.
"All I know is that whoever killed your mum wasn't acting spontaneously. They're part of a gang. I'm still trying to work out why they targeted her specifically. My only guess is because your father works for the council." I regale as vaguely as I possibly can, but the man's eyes still widen in shock.
"What?" He echoes back, but from his expression I can tell that he only echoed the word in a daze more than anything else. "How on earth do you know that?" He adds after a beat of silence.
"I just do." I mutter, but that doesn't seem to be the answer the man was looking for as his grip tightens.
"For the love of! Are you involved or not?!" He hollers. I flinch and ripe my arm out of his hand.
"I told you I'm not! Why won't you believe me?! Do you really think I'm capable of doing that?!" I shout back, as the hurt resurfaces. I watch as the ponytailed man throws his arms up in the air.
"I can hardly say I know you!" Sokka retorts back, making my eyes fill with tears.
"So weeks of sharing lectures, joking and sitting next to each other isn't enough for you to figure out I'm not a killer? You and Katara didn't even give me a chance to explain. And here I thought maybe someone finally cares about me just for me. But it didn't take long for you both to turn your back on me." I express, my voice cracking with emotion.
A glint of remorse appears in Sokka's eyes, but they harden a moment later this, as if he's trying to convince himself that I'm lying. I shake my head.
"Wouldn't be the first time. Kids always kept away from me when they found out I was different." I mutter. The man's lips part, as if lost for words. Finally, he shakes his head.
"Then why hide it? You knew we were looking for her killer. Any information you have will help." Sokka stresses, as if trying to avoid the guilt I've shoved on him.
"Because I told you, I don't know much." I repeat back in frustration, but the older boy slaps his forehead in irritation.
"You're still hiding something! Why won't you just say?!" Sokka bites back. I clench my hands.
"Knowledge is danger! Just let me handle it!" I shout, surprising the ponytailed man, before he snorts at me.
"You're not the police; how will you handle any of this? It doesn't even have anything to do with you!" The engineering student points out. I gulp and give him my back.
"Just stop poking around. You'll get yourself and your family hurt." I warn and start walking away from him, but not before he snatches my arm back.
"I'm not letting you go until you explain." Sokka hisses.
I grind my teeth before I conjure a burst of air, pushing the man a metre back as I dash out of the building. 'Why is everything always so hard?!' I complain as shame floods me at using my bending on the powerless student.
A/N: Yeah Aang isn't in the greatest of places with the water tribe siblings huh? It's crazy he's on better terms with Zuko of all people lol. Next chapter has quite an interesting/sad revelation I'd say and is a Sokka POV which we haven't had in a little while. I'll aim to post it sometime this week bc it's still induction week. Things apparently get heavier from next week, so not sure how my updating will go, but I'll always give you guys a heads up! Until next time :)
21/9/21