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Last Chapter:

I announced, "Truth or Dare!"

"Alright! Me first!" I yelled. "Ana, truth or dare?"

She hesitated. "T – truth?"

"What's the deal with you and Andy?"

She gasped. "Um…"

There was a moment of intense silence coming from all of us before the ringing of the phone interrupted us.

Tweety practically screamed, "I'll get it!"

"Toph, why would you ask something like that?" Heidi scolded me as soon as Tweety was out of earshot.

I shrugged. "I needed answers. I mean, she avoids this guy like the plague at school and when she does see him she gets all insecure and no one's told me why. Forgive a person for being so curious. And plus, you always get so angry whenever he's around. Why, is my question."

Heidi sighed and Birdie came back.

"As much as I would love to continue with this little game," she said very unconvincingly. "I'm going to have to leave."

"Why?" We asked at the same time.

She emitted a disgusted groan. "My mom wants me to pick her up because her designated driver is…well, not so designated anymore. Anyways, I'll be back in an hour or less."

Heidi waited until she heard the front door slam before she said anything.

"The answers you want might not be so pretty but you do deserve to know; the same thing might happen to you if you're not careful. But you have to swear that you won't tell a soul what I'm about to tell you."

"I swear on earth that I won't tell a soul."

"'Earth'? Never mind. Okay, well last year Ana was all bubbly and happy, like she is most of the time, and then she met the new kid, Andy Warhawk. He was from Brooklyn and he thought he was so big and bad, right? Well, Ana fell for him and they started going out. Well, hey, you know how hot it is in Phoenix, right?" I nodded my assent. "I started noticing that like a month into their relationship, Ana started wearing long sleeve shirts. So I thought, "That's a little weird", and I decided to investigate. When I asked her why she was wearing those shirts she said, "I just feel colder nowadays". And, of course, I didn't buy it. I mean, c'mon, this is Phoenix. The low is 85 degrees at least.

"So, I started doing my own detective work, inconspicuously, of course. One day, I was in the girls' bathroom stall doin' my make–up – I have this thing about doing my make– up in front of people; I just can't do it," she said quickly; I responded by nodding my head, "Anyways, that's when I heard someone come in. From the shoes that that person wore, I knew it was Ana. She had locked the main door and she was checking underneath the stalls for any sign of people; she didn't know I was there and I saw her taking off her shirt. At first I thought about making a sarcastic – actually, it'd be more sardonic than sarcastic -comment like, "Practicing for your future career?" but when I saw what was on her back, I couldn't say anything."

Heidi took a deep breath and then let it out in a gust before continuing.

"There were fist–sized purple and blue and yellow and you have no idea what those colors are…well, there were huge bruises on her back and her arms. I heard a stall door slam before I figured out that it was me. I stood there, gaping at her. My first reaction was anger, as it usually is, but Ana looked so scared she was practically shaking and I thought better of my reaction. Instead I asked her, "Where did you get those marks?" And she had the nerve to lie to me again. "I was playing tennis with my mom and missed most of the time," she said. And then I was like, "Woman, you can either lie to me again and see where it leads you, or you can tell me the truth and I can help you". She broke down crying and told me the whole story.

"Andy was hurting her and there was nothing she could do. He was stronger than her, and he was hurting her mentality too, calling her names and lowering her self-esteem. After the story I was, like, going to go find him and kill him – a natural reaction – but she told me to stop. It's not like she loved him or anything, but she did like him, and he hurt her. Naturally, the next time I saw him I got so angry that all I could see was a red haze in front of my eyes and the next thing I know Riley and Todd and Skeeter are pulling me off of Andy. She broke up with him while he was in the hospital and behind her back I threatened him that if he ever touched her, this time I wouldn't hesitate to put him in the morgue."

For two whole minutes I couldn't say anything but Heidi wasn't done.

"Andy is a bad guy, Toph, and I don't want to see him hurting you. So, just try and steer clear of him, okay?"

"Of course. But now I'm kinda thinking about kicking his butt too. How could he do that to her!? She never did anything to him. What kind of sick, twisted –"

"Toph. Andy is a sick and twisted individual. He thrives on the high being in control gives him. But, lately, he's been coming around us more and I think it's because of you. You rebuke him and insult him and that takes away some of his power, and he's not happy about that. To him, you're just an object that he has to control. So, please be more careful around him. Promise?"

"Promise," I whispered. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that someone would want to hurt Ana.

"Let's stop talking about this because then I'm going to get mad. Let's just continue playing. So, Toph, truth or dare?"

"Um…truth."

"Who do you like? As in boyfriend material like?"

"No one."

"Is it Aang?"

"No! What's wrong with you? I just said that I didn't like anybody!"

"You're blushing," she sang, "That means you like him. Ooh, la la la, ha ha ha ha, you like him, you like him."

I reached out to punch her leg.

"I do not," I said indignantly.

"It's okay if you do. No one's going to, like, assassinate you or anything like that for admitting it."

"Truth or dare," I growled, switching subjects.

"Truth."

"Umm…with who and how was your first kiss?"

"Why do you want to know?" she asked in a knowing voice.

"Just shut up and answer the question," I spat.

"Let's not be so hostile here. Well, believe it or not, Riley was my first kiss and my first boyfriend. Weird, huh? It was…really good, actually."

"Define 'really good'."

"Well, Riley is like a freaking gift from the Gods! He has very talented lips, let me tell you…. Although, our first kiss would have been a bit more romantic if I didn't push him away and if he didn't fall in the process. But can you blame me, I've never been kissed before him and I had no idea what to do. I panicked, to say the least. Other than the laugh we both got out of that night, it was just amazing. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to…" she paused to think and then began singing, "to move / I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor / I dare you to move / like today never happened / like today never happened before…. Sorry, the chance was there and I took it. Umm, I dare you to drink the toilet water."

"Ew," I stated.

"Don't be such a wimp. Just one sip."

I was not a wimp. "Fine. Lead me to it."

"That was the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted in my life."

Heidi laughed.

"Truth or dare," I asked.

"Truth."

"Why won't you pick a dare?"

"Because I'm scared of what kind of torture you'll subject me to. Truth or dare?"

"Truth. I'm not doing another dare until you do at least one."

"Um…did you know that Todd likes you?"

"What?!"

"Answer the question."

"Don't get smart, Heidi."

"Should I try being dumb?"

"Not what I meant and you know it. What do you mean Todd likes me?"

"He's not very vocal with his feelings but if you knew the way he's been looking at you for the past week, you'd know what I mean. And, I think Aang likes you too."

"WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU GETTING THIS INFORMATION?!"

"Look, I know I'm random and spacy at times but I'm actually quite intelligent. I'm making all A's in my classes and I know a lot but I don't like showing it. Not that much anyways. Plus, I'm an observer and I can tell you things about people that they themselves thought no one knew. And…you really don't feel the sort of tension in the room when it's just you and Todd or you and Aang?"

"I wouldn't know; I never have a moment's peace around here and I haven't spent time with Twinkle Toes in a long time."

"Hey, Toph, do you think I remind Aang of anyone?"

"Like who?"

"I don't know. A friend, someone he lost, or someone he likes from back in China?"

"I think you remind him of Sweetness, although, you're more like Sparky in the sense that you like to fight. I guess you must look like her because I know it's not your personality that reminds him of Katara."

"That's a pretty name."

"Why do you ask? Has he mentioned her, or something?" He shouldn't be thinking about Katara; he needs to get over her and soon because this "I love her but I lost her" stuff is getting on my nerves.

"Well…it's just the way he looks at me. Riley's noticed it too and that's why whenever Aang is around me, Riley just pops up to claim me or something. But, I don't know, Aang is a nice guy but I don't like him like that and I don't like the fact that whenever he looks at me it looks like his heart's about to burst."

She was so right. "I'll talk to him, but, like I said, I haven't really talked to him in a long time."

"Sucks when that happens. I mean, gosh, I can't even spend time with Riley because my whole family is like freaking stalking me when I go out with him. You have no idea how many times I've caught my dad or my brother following us around. Trust me, you know?"

"My parents don't trust me either, but they're alright with having me marry a complete stranger."

I heard a thud on the floor and I joined Heidi on the floor.

"When you go back to China are you going to have to marry someone?"

"If I want my money."

I heard her get up and I could feel her looking at me. "Money? You mean if you marry you'll get money? I don't get it."

"Last time I visited them, I was there for a week. But I wasn't there alone. My parents had arranged for suitors from the middle ring all the way up to almost royalty, to come to their house to meet me so that I could choose one." I shuddered at the ugly memory. "They told me that if I don't choose a husband by the time I turn 17 then I won't have a right to my inheritance. They might as well have said that they don't think that a blind girl like me should have all the money and not even be able to look out for it, to my face. Even after all I've done to show them that I'm not weak and I can take care of myself, they still won't believe me."

Heidi lay back down. "I swear: parents are the weirdest things."

I could not argue with that.

We were back beneath the hot lights and I tried not to tremble at the thought of Heidi cutting my hair. True, I did want to get rid of the weight but…the thought of a sharp object anywhere near my head that I can't see…sort of unnerved me.

"Alrighty then! Don't worry, I won't give you a bob or anything like that, though, you could pull it off…nah, I'll keep the length. Well, all I'm really doing is giving you some layers and trimming your bangs so that they're, like, just a bit below your cheekbones. Ooh," she squealed. "I can't wait!"

A hairbrush touched my head and I jerked away.

"Toph, do you trust me?"

"I've only known you for a week."

"And in that week, do you believe me capable of causing harm…to those I care about?"

I hesitated. "N – no. But this is my hair we're talking about."

"Do you trust me not to cut you?"

"Um…."

"Here, plug in and I guarantee that I'll be done 'fore you can say…Tinker bell."

I stuck the headphones in my ear and Heidi turned on the little music device and the sweet sounds of my new favorite band, Flyleaf, began playing.

And with that she began snipping away as I held my hands so tightly in fists that they became numb after a few minutes.

"Tinker bell."

Oh my gosh…my hair!

"It feels so light." I ran my hands through the front of it because my hand didn't extend to my back. "And so smooth." I shook it around. "It's so light!" I repeated.

"I have a gift."

I head the sounds of a door being opened and two people, one sober and the other…not, walking in and headed upstairs. After a few minutes, Ana came back downstairs and flopped down on her bed from the sound of the mattress.

"Rough night?"

"Unbelievably."

"Sorry…but hey, look what I did to Toph!"

"She almost murdered me," I explained to Ana.

"You look so gorgeous, Toph! OMG, I can't believe all the layers you have. Did you thin it?"

Heidi answered, "Thinning is my specialty. Wish I could do it to my hair though. But seriously, Toph, you are 'effing beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"Stop lying. I don't need a confidence boost," I stated. "You're lucky the only reason I was letting you do my hair was because I lost the wager. And I still want a rematch."

"But we're not lying," Ana assured me. "You really are pretty. I mean, you should of have seen all the looks that you were getting from all the guys at school on your first day."

"I didn't have to see them; I could feel them just as clearly."

Heidi seemed to sympathize with me, "I hate when it feels like someone's staring at you and, I mean, I always get like a prick in my neck when I feel like I'm being watched. I'm practically blind, too, Toph, I have to wear glasses. Ugh."

"You wear glasses?"

"Ever since second grade. But when I have practice I try to wear contacts."

"Can I feel them?"

I felt cold metal in my outstretched hand. I felt the outline of it and tried to remember the last time I had felt a pair of glasses. It was Blowfish who gave me my first specs to feel. But these, Heidi's glasses, were sort of heavy and rectangular shaped and made of…copper, I think it was. I've been practicing the feel of different kinds of metals in my spare time back in the Fire Nation.

…But I'm not in the Fire Nation anymore. I'm not even in the same era. I gave the glasses back and curled up on the bed, yawning.

"Oh God," Heidi exclaimed just before an even bigger yawn than mine overpowered her. "What time is it, Ana?"

Ana yawned too before answering, "One in the freaking morning."

"Ew," Heidi exclaimed. "Let's finish up with the Truth and Dare in the morning, ya'll. Right now let's please get some sleep.

Ana and Heidi both climbed into my large bed and draped about four blankets on top of me. For Phoenix, this was a very cold room.

Ana was at the edge of the bed and Heidi was in the middle, leaving me the other end. Heidi was long gone to the realm of dreams and Ana was just starting to drift off. I tried to go asleep, believe me, I tried, but I just couldn't get to sleep. There was something that was nagging me in the back of my head; I just didn't know what it was.

I chalked it up to missing Blowfish. I mean, he's been there for me and has always treated me as an equal. I was missing Tea man too. I loved the intellectual conversations that we'd get into and that kind of talk never bored me when I was with him. I sighed and curled up tighter. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I came up with a solution to get back to my time, a time where things made sense. A time where I could actually earthbend.

Earthbending…. That's it! That's what I've been missing. So far, I've been busy hanging out with Ana, Heidi, Todd, and Riley – to try to convince them that we're from where they think we're from – to even think about earthbending.

Cast or not, I had to earthbend soon. I mean, I've been touching the earth without really feeling it. The earth is the only thing that connects me to this world and I haven't been giving it the proper attention it should have been getting from me.

A tap on the window interrupted my thoughts. Then a loud whisper, "Toph! Toph, open the window."

I got up and silently opened the window. "It's like two o' clock in the morning, Twinkles. What do you want?"

"I think I found a way to get into the Spirit World."

A/N:

It's like almost midnight but I can't post until tomorrow. Ugh. But I'm finally finished with this chapter! =] Sorry to all the people who think that Toph and Aang aren't getting enough alone time, but I just wanted to show the different friendships formed in this new, modern world and how Toph and Aang realize that they actually do like this world, but continue missing the old one.

Okay, that's it for my updates on all my stories for at least a week or so. I'm going to have like a hectic couple of weeks but I will try to update soon.

Please leave reviews to tell me if I'm doing a good job or to give me some constructive criticism. They would be much appreciated.

And a big thanks to all those people who review: Love ya'll!

Love: Lola of the Peaches

=]