Chapter 8: Fan-girls!

"Flint? Flint!" He pinched her moist cheeks, touched her hair, prodded at her arms like she was a scientific specimen.

"Enough already," she slapped his hand away.

Then he socked her on the shoulder—the still very bruised shoulder that she had to land on to get out of the way from the thief's attack. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"Sorry." He rubbed the spot he hit. Flint glared, but it didn't faze him. "It's just," he looked at her and smiled, "you never came back to visit us."

There was a long pause before she answered. When he said 'us' she wanted to know why his brother would want to have anything to do with her. Mako was the last person she wanted to be buddies with. "I'm sorry about that. Mom and Dad weren't big on me going back there once we had settled." Linna and Rata liked to keep a low profile.

Linna and Rata made sure they weren't seen in the city often. If they did have to go there, they left Flint with Blair and the other children. The older children were trained well enough to hold off any threat without making a big commotion. The young children obeyed orders without question.

She socked him in the stomach. Does he eat rocks for breakfast, she thought as she shook out her hand. As she looked him over, she noticed how much different he was. They were the same height which surprised her because she had always been taller than him. His built was muscular and study like the earth. He wasn't the plump curly headed kid she had, for the most part, gotten into trouble with.

"Ouch."

"Hey, it wasn't me. It was my fine physique." He wiggled an eyebrow.

Her face remained blank.

"Come on. You have to meet somebody."

Just like that, they were half running half walking through the city hand-in-hand. Flint had to laugh at how familiar his presence felt. It was like old times again. Only this time, their adventures could have serious consequences. Flint planned on telling Bolin everything that has happened since her adoption. A vague fantasy of them rescuing her parents in a storm of Fire and Earth created a warm feeling inside of her.

Every time she saw a poster her heart quickened with the anxiety of Bolin seeing the similarities. He didn't seem to notice or mind that she had sweaty palms. His mood was cheery as he led her through the streets of Republic City. It was very comforting knowing she was with someone who knew their way around this busy place. Nothing stopped long enough for her to really know where she was.

Their destination looked like a warehouse surrounded by girls. In actuality, it was the training area surrounded by girls. These were no normal girls. They were—"Fan-Girls," Bolin whispered as they hid behind another building. Both peeked at the crowd of teary-eyed, screaming, merchandise wielding girls as they waited for the chance at a glance at their star.

Flint cast a bewildered glance at Bolin.

He shrugged. "What can I say? The ladies love me."

One of the girls started looking around wildly. Her nose lifted and she turned in the direction Bolin and Flint would be. "I smell him."

Without time for a get-away, the fan-girls mobbed them. It was a smoothie of tugging, autographing, and vows of marriage. If not for the appearance of some side-bang having guy, Bolin would have been relieved of all his clothing. As it was, he still had the important bits.

Once they were in the training area, Flint asked, "Who was that guy?"

"Tahno, water bender and captain of the White Falls Wolfbats," there was a clear dislike in his voice.

Her interest in him didn't fizzle out even though Bolin seemed to not like him. "Oh. Is he any good?" He must be talking about probending. She had only heard about it through Blair. She was a fan of some new team called the Fire rodent-type-of-animal. Apparently they were moving up quickly in the probending world.

Bolin looked at her, mouth open like she had said something horrendous. Then he went back to normal and replied, "Meh."

She laughed it off and turned to face the one person she hoped Bolin didn't want her to meet. He was tall, but not as morose looking as before. Instead of walking over, he went to the locker to change into his training gear quietly. When he did finally look up, he met her eyes coldly.

"Bolin, no fans in the training area. Even guys."

"HEY!" Both Bolin and Flint exclaimed.