000

Own Little World

000

When she got up this morning the first thing she saw was a pure white ceiling. Toph rolled around in her bed before she decided to get up. When she got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. Her Father, Lao and Mother, Poppy were already there stuffing their face with the servant's cooking. Poppy's face creep into a smile as she greeted her daughter.

"Morning, sleeping beauty."

"Morning Mom."

"How's school, Toph? Are you adjusting well?" Lao finally finished reading his paper and put it down before he took a sip of his coffee.

"I'm doing just fine, dad. And no. I don't need my guards with me anymore."

"Alright then, how are you and that Aang boy doing? I haven't seen him in a while." Poppy added.

"You still have connections with that filthy boy?"

"I'm not too sure about that anymore." Toph answered flatly. "I'm not hungry. I'll be in my room if you need me." Toph got up from the table and made her way to her room. Both her parents look at each other questionably before they returned it to their daughter.

Toph could feel the color drain from her face. She felt cheated, guilty, violated, angry, confused, remorseful and anxious. A sense of loneliness grew in her heart the moment her parents brought up his name. The rest of the morning was filled with heart stopping Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 online action. But even then Toph realized that Aang wasn't around to enjoy it with her.

It was then she realized how much a big part of her life that Aang had become in such a short amount of time. He was like the best friend she never wanted. Now she was slowly losing him. How was she supposed to deal with this? As the game progressed, Toph found herself thinking more about Aang than she had originally planned.

He was always nice to her and tough on her when he needed to be. Aang was one of those guys that meant what he said and if he ever lied, he would try as hard as he could to make them true. He was always there for her when she needed him; he was also there when she didn't. He always went the extra mile for her, always doing things no one would expect of him.

She suddenly found herself staring into space. She quickly returned her gaze to the television. Why am I even thinking about him? I'm supposed to be pissed at him! I mean I am but- Gah! I've had enough of this! Someone just stop this insistent feeling! Toph squeezed her eyes shut as she got up and rushed downstairs. She decided that she needed some air.

000

After her limousine made its third round around the city, Toph realized how truly hungry she was. She made a stop at the nearest Burger King and sent her driver in for her order. She lazily tapped her finger on the car's window sill in wait while who else would show up but Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb. Sokka motioned for her to lower her car windows. She did it hesitantly.

"What do you two want?"

"Toph! Long time no see! How you been?" Sokka put on an overfriendly act, that was quite frankly scaring Toph.

"Who are you and what have you done with the idiot?"

"I am not an idiot!"

"Yes you are." Katara said (in 0.2 seconds) "So Toph, are you busy this afternoon?"

"Uh, I don't have anything planned. Why?"

"Since it's been a while since we've seen each other why don't you come to our house later?"

"We've got cookies!" Sokka smiled, all too cheerfully. It's like these two were planning to kidnap her or possibly kill her. But what the heck, it may have gotten her mind off of Aang.

"Sure. I'll come around 3." With that she raised her window back up and the siblings shrugged before they went on their way.

A few hours later, Toph had her driver drop her off at the siblings' house. Toph was hesitant to visit but for once she had had enough of being alone for the time being. Being alone only caused her to think of unnecessary stress – Aang related stress. It's not like she could have helped it but the second she began walking towards the house, her head filled with memories of her first visit.

If she continued to think about it this much, she would have to cut off the circulation of blood to her brain. She couldn't help but picture his angered expressions when he saved her from the car. Aang always had her back before, but now he was being a Grade A ass. Why couldn't he understand her? Why couldn't he have just listened to her and let her do as she pleased? Why was he being so stubborn and adamant about all this?

From time to time Aang's idiocy would spark a giggle or two out of her but other times he would aggravate her to no end like when he continuously flirted with On Ji. Wait…why am I getting angry over that? Oh wow, I was jealous of her. I blame my raging hormones for all this!

As she entered the house, Toph's eyes wandered to a picture of the whole gang with Aang in front grinning in his usual idiotic way. Toph, not being able to stand his face anymore stormed out of the living room to the kitchen where just plopped onto the table. Without even trying to hide her true intensions Katara exploded on her.

"Ok Toph, what's going on? You haven't been at school for days!" Katara cried "Aang hasn't smiled at all since you stopped coming. What's going on between you two? And don't say it's nothing. Is something going on?"

"No…maybe…yes," Toph sighed heavily "Some stuff happened and I don't know if I can be around him anymore."

"Alright. Tell me all about it." Katara moved from her chair and sat down next to Toph. She looked up to Katara and saw the sincerity in her eyes. Katara would probably know she felt right now. Either way she was the only one she could turn to. Her thoughts flowed out her mouth, it felt good to release all that pent up stress into words. She told Katara about everything, the rumors, the principal, the fight with hide, and her current fight over On Ji.

"And that's it." Toph finished her head still glued to the table.

"Oh I see." Katara had a slight look of frustration on her face. She did not like the way Hide 'fought' with her or the fact that she was still hanging out with him. "It's about time you took notice of your feelings…" she whispered almost inaudibly.

"What was that?"

"It's nothing, nothing at all!" Katara laughed nervously "Anyway, what are you going to do?"

"That's just it! I'm lost. I wouldn't know what to say to Aang if I met him. Besides I'm still incredibly angry at the bastard. I just don't know what I should do."

"Well you still want to be his friend, right?" Katara smiled.

"Well, yeah," Toph looked up to Katara "I mean, it's not like I enjoy not being friends with him. There's no fun when he isn't around for me to pick on."

"The answer is simpler than you make it out to be you know."

"Since it's so simple why don't you explain it to me?"

"Just follow your heart. Do what it tells you to. I can't decide what you should do; only you can. You have to put aside your own personal feelings for now and deliberate what you're going to say to restore your friendship. The answer is already there you just need to find it"

"Wait, you're telling me to apologize?" Katara smiled "But he was the one being a huge jerk! Not me!"

"That's where you're wrong, Toph." A dark-skinned boy literally appeared, with a large brown pipe in his mouth; one similar to that of Sherlock Holmes himself.

"You were eavesdropping?" Toph narrowed her eyes and Sokka shrugged.

"No. I was simply pressing my ear against the door in my room making sure I heard every last detail."

"What's the damn difference?"

"The way you term it is so last year." Toph swore one day and one day soon, she would make him pay. "Toph, all this time have you ever considered that you weren't the only one who felt wronged? Did you ever consider how Aang felt?"

"Well…"

"No? The thought never crossed your mind did it?" Toph looked away. That was as good as any confirmation. Good, now it was time to put his plan in action so he continued. "Did Aang ever tell you about his parents?"

"No. When I visited his house it was just him and his Grandfather, dog and cat which took a strange liking to me. Why?" Toph paused for a minute "You aren't going to tell me they're dead, are you?"

"Not exactly. No one knows. Whether they are alive or dead that is." Sokka took a sit next to his sister and crossed his leg. "Aang was only 3 when they disappeared. Never to be heard from again."

"That didn't go too well with Aang. Up to this day, Aang believes that they abandoned him. Just left him with his grandfather and made off with their own lives in mind."

Toph just sat back and listened to it all. She couldn't have imagined how Aang felt. Her parents were alive and she saw them way too often for comfort. Even though they were around, they were always busy and had almost no time for her. That was fine with her. She learned to adapt.

"And that's why he acts like this."

"Huh? I think I missed something here." Toph said.

"Don't you see? Toph, Aang is afraid of losing anyone dear to him!" Toph's eyes widened at the sudden realization. "No matter the reason, Aang will try his best to keep his connections with his friends. He'll do anything to protect them. He doesn't want to be left alone. He doesn't want to feel abandoned."

As Katara kept adding oil to the flame that was already burning away at Toph's heart, she couldn't but think of all the times Aang got angry with her. They were all moments where she was going to get hurt.

"On the roof with Hide, he didn't want to see you hurt. So of course he'd get angry with you for hanging out with someone who wanted to hurt you."

"Stop it…"

"Of course he'd be hurt if you said you didn't need him."

"Katara seriously stop it…"

"Of course he'd get angry when you thought you were being replaced!"

"Shut the hell up Katara!" Toph got up from the table and rushed out of the house. She didn't need this. She didn't need any of this. She'd be better off if she had never met Aang. She wouldn't have felt this pain in her heart. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and called her personal driver, Jun. She wanted...no, needed to go home. She needed the seclusion from people. Damn it all! Screw the outside world!

"Toph!" Before Katara could get up to chase her, Sokka grabbed her hand and shook his head.

"We've done all we can. It's up to Aang now."

Saturday morning was a normal uneventful morning, Aang's grandfather Gyatso was in the living room sleeping on the couch. Aang was in his room nodding his head as he listened to his raging rock music with his I-pod while he did his homework for the week.

So far, Aang was doing it with no problems occasionally he beat his desk with his pencil. Nothing seemed to bother him. Or that's what he wanted to believe. In reality Aang hadn't completed anything since he started over an hour before. He couldn't focus on anything he was doing for that morning. His thoughts were filled with Toph.

Toph hadn't been his friend for long but she grew on him. He deeply cared about her. She was an amazing person, when she wasn't tormenting him that is. She always had ways to bring the fun out of any situation. Aang loved that about her. There were times that she was more trouble than she was worth but Aang couldn't imagine leaving her. Toph wasn't always trouble but she got him into it a lot. On many occasions. She was rough around the edges but she was still a girl.

Aang scratched his head furiously. I'm supposed to be angry not admiring her! She got jealous all of a sudden and attacked me! Even more so, she was hanging with Hide! That ingrate sent us to the principal's office and even had his hands all over her! God! The kick I gave him wasn't enough! Every time I think of his hands on her I-Ugh! Why me?

Aang left his desk and walked down the stairs to the living room. He plopped down on the sofa and turned on the television. Maybe this will help he thought as she flipped through the channels. Just then he could hear a muffled moan, turning around to realize that his grandfather was sleeping on the couch next to him. He didn't want to wake him up so he kept the volume on low.

"You seem trouble Young one. What's wrong?" Gyatso yawned.

"Wait, your eyes are closed…how did you-?"

"One does not need eyes to see whether something is troubling another."

"You kind of do actually…"

"Anyway," He coughed "What is troubling you?"

000

Aang threw his rubber ball against the wall along the foot of his bed allowing it to bounce back into his hands. Ever since his talk with Gyatso he couldn't seem to focus on anything anymore. He had been doing this for well over an hour. Gyatso's talk hadn't really solved anything as much as it created more questions than answers. Aang cursed himself for going to his grandfather. He should have known he would have given him advice in historical phrases and idioms.

"Ah. Young Toph is a strange girl indeed. But this is perfectly normal."

"How is this normal? She is horribly irrational! She is putting words in my mouth and getting angry at me for no reason." Aang angrily retorted.

"How else do you expect a girl who has had no one to rely on but her servants for years? A girl who has shut herself from the world. A girl who has forsaken humanity." Gyatso sipped on his tea.

Aang bounced the ball again. He understood well enough that Toph didn't trust anyone but he had always assumed that she trusted him. It pained him to know that she didn't. He sighed heavily as he continued to bounce the ball off the wall.

"She is merely acting out on her own instinct to protect what's hers. Namely you."

"She thinks she owns me?"

"In a sense, yes. But I was thinking more along the lines of she had become so dependent on you that when you befriended Angie-"

"On Ji"

"Excuse me, On Ji, she felt like you had gone away from her. So naturally she'd be angry about that."

"But she already told me that she didn't need me to protect her! She hates it when I do that!"

"This is where it gets confusing. You must pay attention here."

Thud. Catch. Thud. Catch. The repetitive sounds of the ball echoed through the room. Aang could feel his senses become dull.

Based on what Gyatso had told him, Toph was more complex than he had ever imagined. No wonder she went nuts when she did. But the only thing he didn't get was why Toph get so angry. He understood that she felt threatened but that still wasn't any reason to get that angry. There must have been more.

"Toph has lived most of her life without having any friends which would explain why she is so attached to you. She loves being around you because you're her first friend. However, at the same time, during those years of loneliness she created an emotional wall of pride to keep people out of her heart. It's a defense mechanism put in place to prevent herself from hurt and emotional pain. She is basically confused as to what she should do. Keep her friendship with you or treat you like the others she keeps out of her wall."

"Aang as of now, you're the closest one to her heart which is why she is so irrational towards you. You're the only one who can and has truly hurt her."

"How did I hurt her? I haven't done anything!"

"That's just it. You haven't done anything since you two fought. I am certain that right now, she is forcefully removing you from the place you control in her heart. She is building a wall so that you can't possibly hurt her anymore. It's only a matter of time before you two eventually drift apart." Gyatso yawned once more. "For now, I'm tired and I shall rest. Meditate on what I've said Young one. You'll find the answer."

"Find the answer my butt!" Aang threw the ball harder than necessary causing it to bounce around the room knocking over his lava lamp. Aang stretched his arm out and thankfully caught it before it could hit the floor. What was he doing? He knew what he had to do but why was he so hesitant? Was he afraid? No, he was more afraid of losing Toph. But why should he force his hand in her life? It was her life and Toph clearly didn't want him in it. Eventually they'd drift apart and Toph would be happy returning to her previous life without worrying about trusting anyone ever again. Whatever he was going to do he wasn't going to like it.

"Aaaawwwww! Damn it all to heck!"

Both teens were lost in their own little worlds. Teenage relationships like these are more common that one would think. They want to help each other but all they do is hurt one another.