Katara walked into the upstairs level of the Jasmine Dragon to find her brother reclining on the couch comfortably while idly flipping through the pages of The Gaang's Companion. The waterbender raised an eyebrow. "Sokka, you're still reading that stuff?"
"Oh don't worry Katara, it's not all complete trash. For example, there are quite a few stories here that revolve around you and Aang and your mushy sweet romance." Sokka paused as he scratched his chin in thought. "Actually, that might not be so good after all."
"Don't mind him, Sugar Queen, he's just jealous because he doesn't have Suki with him right now," Toph said as she emerged out of the bathroom and headed towards a comfy couch opposite Sokka. "I've been getting Snoozles to get his head out of the stories about him and read some about me for a change, and I gotta say, at least the writers got it right when it came to me."
"She just got lucky," Sokka sniffed. "Fine, I'll give you a story to wipe that smug grin off your face!" And he rifled through the pages until he stopped at one particular spot. "Ooh, now this is what I'm talking about," he grinned devilishly.
Katara moved to sit down next to Toph. "So what's the story about?"
"Well ladies, it seems that this little tale here just happens to list Miss Beifong here as a main character… in a romance story!" Sokka delivered the punchline with glee.
Toph snorted. "Please. The author just listed the wrong category or something."
"Oh, really? Well, we'll have to start reading to find out." And with the devilish grin still plastered on his face, the Water Tribe teen began:
I'm an earthbender. I never yield to anything. I'm as firm and stubborn as the element I control. My name itself sounds like the word 'tough'. I'm strong. I show other people that I'm strong. No, I don't show them; I shove their faces into the fact and tower above their heads reveling in my triumph while they snivel at my feet.
Toph grinned smugly again. "This author's good. Maybe the category was just a mistake after all."
"I wouldn't say that just yet, Toph," Sokka said as he continued.
Yet for all that strength and stubbornness I put on in front of others, I'm really not as tough as I portray myself. I'm still human; I have my weaknesses, my flaws. Usually I've been able to fix them, or at least cover them so they don't affect my character too much. Until he showed up.
"Wow Toph, I never knew you had weaknesses that you had to cover up," Katara said in a mock solemn tone.
"Oh shut up Sugar Queen, this isn't another story about you and Zuko. You have no say here."
"Well, at least the love interest has showed up. Wonder who it is?" Sokka wiggled his eyebrows suggestively before getting back to the story.
He was my Achilles' heel, the one weakness I couldn't deny or hide. Of course, I didn't really take to him at first. I generally never do like people when I first meet them, and he was particularly obnoxious, to say the least. Yet I still fell for him, like a leaf falling from a branch when the autumn winds blow through the air. And just like how the leaf can never return to its original place, so I remain in the pit of my heart, drowning in my own emotions as they swirl around me and threaten to engulf me completely.
"Goodness Toph, you're a poet." Sokka wiped a fake tear away from the corner of his eye to show his touched feelings. "'Drowning in my own emotions as they swirl around me and threaten to engulf me completely'… such beauty in words."
"No one said you were mute if you didn't speak, Snoozles," Toph snapped. "And what in the name of Oma and Shu is an 'Achilles' heel'?!"
I grew to admire his wit, his humor, the easy carefree way in which he carried himself. Not bound to anything, free to follow his wishes and desires. I laughed at his jokes, even though I pretended to sneer at them; I marveled at his intelligence and the plans he made, even though I was always nitpicking at minor flaws in his schemes. I ignored and sometimes even chased him away when he came close, yet I feel lonely in his absence. It's like there are two different personalities inside me, waging war with one another, and I'm caught in the middle of the crossfire, helpless and vulnerable.
"Poor sad Toph, in conflict with herself." Sokka sighed in mock sympathy.
As Toph proceeded to fix the narrator with a sightless (but no less menacing) glare, something struck in Katara's mind. She had a feeling she could tell who Toph's supposed secret crush was, and that the answer would not be pleasant to either of her current companions.
I never revealed my feelings to him; I simply treated him as a friend, a comrade. He certainly seemed to suspect anything, the way he carries on his banter with me. Yet sometimes I wish he would take notice of me despite the troubles I take to hide my emotions, that he would realize what I felt for him, and return my feelings as well.
"Idiot. If you want him to notice you, then just tell him how you feel! Sheesh, girls are so troublesome." Sokka frowned at the book, as if it was to be blamed for why the fairer sex was such a pain in the neck.
But he already had someone else in his heart, someone who would never be as good enough for him as I was, yet she was his most treasured possession. It made me green with envy when I thought of the two of them together, but I said nothing, continuing to bury my feelings deeper and deeper within myself.
"Hmm, I think I know who Toph's love interest is now." Sokka shot a few wry looks at Toph, who simply crossed her arms in a huff.
And then one day, it seemed like the secret would be broken…
"Ooh, we're getting to the climax now, I can feel it." Sokka grinned in anticipation as he read the next line.
"Say something funny!"
"Wait, but that's what…" Katara started to say, but Sokka cut her off as he pointed a finger at the book triumphantly. "I KNEW IT! I knew it all along!"
"Knew what?" Katara and Toph asked simultaneously.
"Toph's secret love here is… Aang!"
"WHAT?!" the two girls cried out in unison.
"Hush, I wanna see the rest of this." Sokka waved a silencing hand at the others before turning back to the book.
"Funny how?"
"And that's what I said in reply, and you and Aang burst out laughing! I still can't get why, though."
"There are a lot of things you don't get, Snoozles," Toph sighed.
As our two companions howl with laughter at a seemingly random sentence, he turns those dreamy blue eyes towards me. "What's their deal?"
"Aang has blue eyes? I thought they were grey." Katara raised a confused eyebrow at the book.
"Never mind that, how do I know what color his eyes are anyway? I can't even see!" Toph waved a hand in front of her blank eyes to prove her point.
"And why would Aang ask 'What's their deal?' when he and Katara are the ones laughing? I thought I was the one who said that…" Suddenly Sokka's eyes (yup, they're blue) widened in realization, followed by shock. "Oh no… don't tell me…"
"That the one I'm agonizing over in here is Snoozles?!" Toph finished for him.
"Um, er… why don't I finish the rest of the story?" Katara pried the book out of her brother's hands as he sat in a silent daze and turned to the next line.
"I don't know. They missed you or something. I didn't care," I said as I turned away, not daring to face him, to let him see my cheeks grow red. Even now, I still can't confess to him. I still behave like some silly lovestruck girl, and I'm hating myself for this crazy behavior, yet somehow relishing in it.
Katara looked up from the book at Toph, who seemed more thunderstruck than lovestruck at the moment. "I'll just… finish this now, okay?"
"Make it quick, I prefer a clean end," Toph croaked lifelessly.
"Thanks. That warms my heart." He has no idea how fast my heart beat when I heard him say that. It's a good thing he can't read others' heart rate with his feet like I can, otherwise all will be known. I know he meant it sarcastically, yet how I wish those words were real, that he did have those feelings for me.
Katara took one look at her stunned friends before slogging on through the last paragraph.
I don't know how long I can continue being by his side, watching over him as he remains oblivious to what I feel for him. We might have to go our different ways soon; he'll be back with his loved one, while I don't even know what I will do after my duty's been done. All I want to do now is stay with him, not caring about what tomorrow will bring, always watching over him.
"Okay, that's the end." Katara closed the book and turned to the two silent statues, watching as the one by her side started to stir. "It's over. Good." And Toph got up and left the lounge, plodding along like a zombie as she went down the stairs.
The Water Tribe girl turned to her still brother. "Sokka? The story's over."
"Oh. Okay." And Sokka got up and left in the same fashion as Toph did before him, not even taking one look at the book as it sat innocently in his sister's lap.
Katara looked down at the book's cover with its gold letters. "This is definitely more trouble than it looks," she observed as she set the book down on a side table.
Just wanna say that Tokka has always been one of my favored pairings, so no ridicule meant, okay? And if you all are getting tired of the romance stories (already? It's only been two chapters, but I understand, one was more than enough), get ready for the next fanfic where a certain green bomb will be making an appearance in The Gaang's Companion! See you then!