Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Derr.

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Aang's POV

"Avatar Roku!" I jumped up from where I was lying and rubbed my eyes again. Was I dreaming? Was I in the Spirit World? "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you'd be happy to see me after your encounter with Koh."

He smiled and all the memories of him rushed back into me. The guidance he provided for me throughout my travels. The way he used to help me when I had to defeat the Fire lord. Maybe…

"Avatar Roku!" I exclaimed with fervor.

"Yes, Aang," he said in that soft voice that held great meaning.

I'd sort of missed it since I haven't heard it in a while. Even when I was back home I very rarely had reason to contact him for advice like I had when I was just 12 – though technically 112, but why deal with technicalities like that? Being Avatar meant that I had to solve problems my own way so I could never truly ask much of his help.

With eyes full of desperation and hope I asked vehemently, "Can you get us out of here? Toph and me?"

Silence followed my eager question and there was an emotion that I couldn't quite identify behind his dark colored eyes. I continued to stare. He was in this world as a Spirit so that meant that he had something important to tell me. I mean, he wouldn't just check up on me. He was probably here to bring us - Toph and I - back to our own world.

Softly, his voice sort of uncomfortable and distant he answered my question, "I cannot. This is something that you and Toph have to resolve by yourselves."

I tried to hide the hurt that was present inside me and instead opted to look determined. "But why? How? Why her? Why us?"

He looked uneasily at me and I couldn't understand the reason for it. What did he have to hide from me? Technically he was me so shouldn't I already know…? I'm so confused.

"Um…she's here for a very important reason but we'll talk more about that later. How are you enjoying your life here?" His tone turned cheerful near the end and only served to confuse me even more.

I ruffled my hair in frustrations and sat cross-legged away from him not answering. Arms crossed I glared at an innocent boulder a ways away from where I was seated.

How could he just act so indifferent to my situation? He was supposed to offer guidance to me when I needed it. Well, I need it now! But his words are running in circles around me as he avoids my questions. What reason does he have to avoid it anyways?

"Aang-" he said softly before I interrupted - Spirits forgive me for interrupting an elder.

"Is there some sort of meteor plummeting towards this whatchamacallit – Earth? – that only Toph and I can stop? Is that why we're here?"

He laughed uproariously and I glared at nothing.

I attempted again, "Are you here to take us home?"

He quickly silenced himself and my eyebrows knitted in frustration.

"Aang," he said just as soft as before.

"Yes?" I deadpanned.

A soft sigh. Suddenly I felt his light presence behind me, his back to mine. I wanted to move away since I was so irritated with him and everyone in the spirit world for that matter but I didn't want to be rude.

"You have friends now don't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said with a bit more enthusiasm than last I answered.

"Have you found that these friends have had some problems in their lives?"

This time my eyebrows knitted together in concentration as I thought of all of my friends and their problems.

Ana – basically has a stalker after her.

Todd – his parents are barely ever home.

Heidi – has to deal with that Kat person and Ana's stalker. Oh and Riley's dad.

Riley – obvious problems with his father. And anger. He had a problem controlling his anger.

Skeeter - …not really sure what his problem is. Maybe it was not getting enough attention because he did pull a lot of pranks.

I nodded my response to his question but realized that he couldn't see it and said, "Yeah, they have a lot of problems." A pause. "Does that mean that since I'm the Avatar all I have to do is help them get over their problems and Toph and I will be home free?!" I exclaimed in a rush.

Surely that's what he meant. I'm the Avatar. I have a duty to help whoever is in trouble. Oh this was great! I couldn't wait to tell Toph that I found us a way home! Surely she'd talk to me then!

"…all of it."

I turned my head around. "Did you say something Avatar Roku?"

He sighed. "How's Toph?" He asked conversationally.

My shoulders visibly slumped. "I'm not sure." My high from earlier's revelations left me.

This answer piqued his interest. "What do you mean you're 'not sure'?" I could feel him press back against me, eager to hear what I had to say.

I sighed and rubbed my temples in a calming matter.

"She…hasn't spoken to me…for a week." I pressed a little harder on my temples and rested my suddenly tired body against his.

Suddenly he was gone and I fell on my back – my equilibrium off – hitting my head on the hard rock, not even thinking about making the earth softer to mitigate the fall. I hissed when I touched a bruising bump at the back of my head.

"Aang how can this be?" Avatar Roku seemed tense, his voice serious.

Still holding my head I answered in a pained tone. "I don't know. Toph says I'm letting all the attention I'm getting at school get to my head but all I'm trying to do is keep our secret exactly that – a secret! But she doesn't understand that. I don't know what her problem is." I gently made a flowing motion with my hands and brought the water from the waterfall to the back of my head. The cool water provided me much needed relief from the burning pain.

"Aang…" Roku shook his head. "When it comes to women you never ignore them for others. Toph – though she's very different from your regular girl – is still a girl with feelings. She's your best friend. You should apologize to her." I opened my mouth but he spoke before I could say what was on my throbbing mind, "I know she'll forgive you."

I did feel a bit of relief from that since Avatar Roku has never been wrong – at least not that I know of. But I could still feel a bit of defiance in me. "It's not like I meant to ignore her," I grumbled. Moving the water back and forth in my hands now that the throbbing had ceased. "I was trying to protect her, why doesn't she see that?"

Suddenly the water in my hand was sprinkled on my face, leaving me blinking wildly. "Sprinkling rain leads to sharp, stinging, pouring rain, but in the end there's always sunshine."

I thought long and hard about his words. Pursing my lips and squinting my eyes as if that would help me see through to the meaning.

With a sigh, I gave in. I mean, I could sort of see what he was saying but not completely.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means, in your case, that if you have a small problem, that in turn can lead to accusations and misery for both parties but once the problem dissipates the two parties can experience happiness."

"But why do I have to apologize? I was just trying to protect her."

"Because Aang, somebody must take the first step. Both of you were in the wrong, and once you do apologize she'll realize that she may have been in the wrong as well."

I looked at him questionably. "Do you really think it'll work?"

"Oh, I'm sure it will." The sly tone in his voice had me looking at him with questioning wet eyes but decided that I just shouldn't ask anymore. I wiped the liquid off my face with my hands.

"Avatar Roku…" I wiped the water on my pants, "do you think she hates me?"

He shook his head, his white hair slowly flowing from the movement. "She can't hate her best friend, even if that friend makes a mistake."

I sighed in relief.

"I miss her."

I could hear Avatar Roku softly laugh before he disappeared. "Avatar Roku, where are you going? Avatar Roku!" With a soft smile and gentle eyes he left this world and went back to his own. I slumped on the ground, sad that Avatar Roku was gone but also guilty for ignoring Toph when I was the only person she could truly trust in this world.

Ana, Todd, Heidi, Riley, and even Skeeter were great friends but we couldn't tell them our secret for fear of disturbing their peace in their world. So in order for me to help them I had to do it in secret. Yeah…like that time when our gang snuck into the fire nation and saved a village from being burned up by a flaming meteor.

In my mind I relieved those sweet moments of friendship. All the laughing, the sneaky stuff, of course being con artists for a bit, and the dancing we did in the cave.

Dancing with Katara had been fun. The pain in my chest dully throbbed once before I switched my train of thought. Could Toph dance?

I'd never seen her dance and she'd been the only one sitting down just sipping her drink.

There was this dance this Saturday that Ana had told me about. Maybe I'd ask Toph.

Suddenly the ground around me rumbled and before I could jump up it swallowed me up. I wriggled around to see where Toph was.

A/N:

So I just got back from the viewing. Sigh. Funeral's tomorrow and my make-up's smeared but whatev.

Anywho I'm glad I finished this up before because I'm certainly not in the mood to write my other story. But I probably could use the distraction.

Again: Sorry for not updating.

Since I don't have school on Monday I'm hoping to get the next chapter out tomorrow and a new chapter on my other story later tonight or tomorrow. But know that I'll be working hard.

Love: Lola of the Peaches

=]