The Gaang's Companion Chapter 22: What Makes You Beautiful, an avatar: last airbender fanfic

Sokka stopped at a page and held it open for everyone to see. "Oh boy, look at this. What Makes You Beautiful. Try telling me that isn't a romance story," he groaned.

"Well, we've learned that not all sappy titles mean that the stories are sappy as well," Katara reasoned. "Remember Let Me Kiss Your Eyes?"

"I try not to," Toph replied.

"To be fair, it wasn't that bad," Zuko admitted. "Anyway, who are the main characters listed for this story?"

"Um, let's see." Sokka frowned at the book. "It just says 'Gaang'. Huh. What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means we'll have to read the story to find out what it's about, so start narrating Snoozles." Toph reclined back on her couch and waited for the story to begin.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to PARTY!"

"Starting things with a party, eh?" Toph grinned approvingly. "Nice."

As the homecoming dance kicked off, three teenage boys stood backstage fiddling their instruments. Neither one said anything to the others.

After a few moments, however, the tallest of them broke the silence. "Hey guys, I'm starting to feel a bit nervous."

"Oh come on Zuko, you can't back out now!" the ponytailed boy exclaimed. "I mean, what have you got to fear? You're a surprisingly good bass player!"

"You play the bass?" Sokka asked Zuko, who simply shrugged.

"No, I don't even know what a 'bass' is."

"Same as the rest of us," Katara said.

"He plays the Tsungi horn though, Iroh said so before," Toph spoke up.

"Does he? Hmm, you should play it for us sometime." Sokka sent a meaningful grin at Zuko, who crossed his arms firmly.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I am NOT playing the Tsungi horn for any of you."

"Please?" Aang pleaded, playing the enormous puppy-dog eyes card, but Zuko was adamant.

"No, I'm sorry, and that expression won't work on me Aang. You should know; you've tried it before in our bending lessons and you still have to do hog-squats anyway."

"Don't worry Aang, we'll figure out another way to get him to do it," Sokka reassured a downcast Aang before returning to the story.

"Just a 'good' bass player?" Zuko raised an eyebrow.

His friend gulped anxiously. "Okay, you're an amazing bass player." Then his face broke out in a smile. "Seriously, you're brilliant at what you do."

"Totally," the shorter boy agreed. "Me, on the other hand, I'm not even sure whether I can perform in front of all these people."

"You too?" the ponytailed one said. "Man, you should get out more often. With your drumming skills, we can rock the whole place down."

"I play the drums?" Aang's face brightened considerably. "Cool."

"Your stature's a bit small for playing drums though," Sokka observed. "I mean, one of those things could easily be half your height."

"Maybe he tap-dances on them instead," Toph suggested with a grin. "We already know he's got fancy feet."

"I think I'd feel sorry for the drums, if it really comes to that," Zuko remarked.

He then gulped again. "As for me, I don't know how many pairs of ears I'm gonna hurt with my croaking."

"Oh, you're fine Sokka," said the short one. "You've been practicing really hard these past few weeks, and we all know you sound terrific."

"I sure hope so."

"If by that the story means that Sokka's gonna sing, then Aang's a really big fat liar," Toph stated.

"Oh come on, you've never heard me sing before!" Sokka protested. "How can you judge me as bad so easily when you've never even listened to my voice before?"

"Because I've heard your singing before, and I can testify that it really isn't a vocal wonder," Katara smirked. "And anyone who's heard you sing 'The Girls of Ba Sing Se' in the shower will definitely agree."

"Thanks for the confidence booster," Sokka grumbled as the others started laughing.

As he said that, the emcee could be heard announcing. "And for tonight's first act, we have – One Way!"

"That's us, boys," Sokka said to the others. "Just remember the way we've practiced, and we'll be fine. And Aang, don't worry about the audience, they'll love you, okay?"

"I dunno Sokka, I think you're the one who should be worrying about the audience's favor," Toph smirked.

"Just shut up and listen to me narrate, okay?"

"Aye aye, Captain Sweet Chords."

Sokka simply groaned.

"Okay," Aang said in little more than a whisper as the three headed onto the stage.

As the others set up, Sokka adjusted the mike. "Testing, testing, one two three… Um, hey folks, this is a little something the three of us came up with together, and we hope you like. This is for you, girls, and don't ever forget that we love you."

Then with a nod to his buddies, he shouted "One, two, three!" and then started singing:

At this point in the story, Sokka suddenly burst into song,

You're insecure, don't know what for
You're turning heads when you walk through the door
Don't need make-up, to cover up
Being the way that you are is enough

"Um, what was that?" he asked as four pairs of eyes stared at him.

"You tell us, Snoozles," Toph replied. "Where did that song come from?"

"It's from the story, but I've never heard it before. I was going to read the lyrics out loud, but then I suddenly started singing."

There was a silent pause, then Aang said simply, "That's weird."

"Well, at least we won't be surprised when Sokka suddenly starts singing again later on," Toph concluded.

Zuko then took over the bridge:

Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you

Aang did a drumroll, they they belted out the chorus:

Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell
You don't know, oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful

If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know, oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful, oh oh
That's what makes you beautiful

"For some strange reason Sokka, you don't sound half as bad as you do in the shower," Katara spoke up. "In fact, you don't sound like you at all."

"You sound like Harry Styles," Aang added.

Everyone turned to stare at him. "Who's Harry Styles?" Zuko asked.

Aang blinked twice rapidly. "I… I don't know. The words just came out of my mouth."

"Okay, now I know for sure the book's haunted," Toph declared.

"Haunted or not, let's just finish the story before deciding whether we burn the book or not, okay?" Sokka suggested, and everybody nodded in agreement.

By now the crowd was hooting for them, and Sokka's confidence grew as he sang:

So come on, you got it wrong
To prove I'm right, I put it in a song
I don't know why, you're being shy
And turn away when I look into your eye, eye, eyes

Zuko's voice was also lifting as he strummed his bass guitar while singing:

Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you

"Let's go!" Aang shouted in an ecstatic voice before joining the others in the chorus:

If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know, oh oh,
You don't know you're beautiful, oh oh
That's what makes you beautiful

"it's kinda weird to admit it, but I'm actually starting to like this song," Katara said. "Even if it's my brother who's singing it."

"In the voice of someone we don't even know and whose name just popped up in Twinkletoes' mind suddenly," Toph added.

Sokka shrugged. "Meh, weird things happen to us all the time, I'm used to it. I just hope my newfound singing skills last long enough for me to impress Suki with them," he added with a grin.

"Not a chance," Toph deadpanned.

As the crowd cheered loudly for them, Aang did a showcase of his drumming skills before handing it over to Sokka and Zuko to do a snazzy guitar solo. He then tuned down the volume of his drums as he sang in a melodious tone:

He did another drumroll as they started the final chorus:

Toph cast her widened sightless eyes on Katara in horror. "Don't tell me you're singing along to this song!"

"I can't help it! I just like it somehow!"

"Maybe I should teach Aang how to sing it," Sokka grinned, then his grin faded. "On second thoughts, maybe I shouldn't. He'd just serenade you with it and you two'd go all lovey-dovey and gross the rest of us out."

"Hey, you were planning to do the same with Suki," Katara retorted.

"At least I'm older than you, which gives me superior rights."

"That completely doesn't make sense!"

Sokka opened his mouth to respond, but Toph cut him off. "Just shut your trap and finish the story, Snoozles."

"Fine," he said curtly, giving both his sister and the blind earthbender a pointed look before continuing.

With a last beat of the drum, the song ended and the crowd went nuts. Sokka took the microphone again. "While I'm here, I just wanna say: I Love You Suki! And I Will Love You Forevermore! Even When All The McDonald's In The World Have Closed Down!"

The real Sokka blinked. "Okay, what's 'McDonald's'?"

"Maybe it's what they call meat in their universe," Katara suggested coyly.

"Makes sense," Toph reasoned, "although I don't think your love for Suki will actually go that far."

"Oh, you'll be surprised what I can go through for my Suki," Sokka said. "Just you wait and see."

"Snoozles, I'm blind."

"Ugh, you know what I mean!"

The crowd clapped even louder. From where she was sitting with her friends, Suki blushed slightly as she said, "Oh, that's so sweet."

"Really though? When all the McDonald's have closed down? That's a bit extreme – even for him," Toph snickered.

"Totally," the real Toph agreed.

Meanwhile on the stage, Sokka handed the mike to Aang. "Your turn."

"What? Me?" Aang asked surprisingly as he juggled the mike in his hands. He finally got a firm hold of it and said, "Um, I'll like to say to Katara: Baby, you're my Forever Girl!"

As the crowd cheered even louder, Katara blushed from between Toph and Suki. "Wow, I never thought he'll have the guts to say that in public."

"Love makes people does crazy things," observed Toph with a smirk.

"Fanfiction!me makes some really good points," Toph said as she nodded her head. "I like it; it's a welcome change from falling for every guy I know."

"At least someone's happy," Aang shrugged.

Aang then offered the mike to Zuko, who took it and said, "And Mai, just stay where you are and don't talk to any other boys, because you'll be spending the whole night with me."

From where she was standing near the refreshment stand with Ty Lee, Mai said in a bored tone, "Gee, he loves embarrassing himself, doesn't he?" However, Ty Lee could see that she was also blushing.

"Does Mai always hide her affection for you like that?" Sokka asked Zuko.

"She doesn't really show her emotions that openly," the Fire Lord explained, "but I still knows that she loves me."

"You seem to be very possessive of her though," Toph observed. "That's something we never knew about you before."

"Indeed," Sokka said, smiling slyly as he noticed Zuko's blush.

Sokka then snatched the mike from Zuko and shouted into it, "And that's all for now, people! Goodnight!" Then he and his friends went offstage to join their girlfriends and enjoy the rest of the night.

You don't know, oh oh,
You don't know you're beautiful, oh oh
That's what makes you beautiful

Toph applauded briskly. "Yay, Snoozles' last lines in what will be the only song he ever sang properly."

"Hey, don't disgrace me like that! Here, I'll sing it again just to prove it!" And Sokka promptly picked up the book and tried to sing again, only to succeed in sounding like he was reciting a poem while having a very bad cold.

"Told you it'd rub off."

"Just shut up Toph. Now, who wants another story?"

I've gotten requests for a modern high school AU fic, a genre I don't really read much, so I'm still figuring out how to make a really clique one for the Gaang to read. In the meantime, here's probably the closest to a modern high school fic I've ever written, something I published back when One Direction was just a new group with cool songs and not the full-blown teen pop singing sensation they are today. Just goes to show you how long ago I wrote that thing, doesn't it?