Toph went to the opposite side of camp and made an earth tent around her. She didn't want anyone to disturb her thoughts, and fortunately for her, no one bothered to get up from the campfire after the heated argument. But she could tell they—more specifically, Aang and Katara—were in an intense discussion.
She was hidden under the shade of many trees and branches, and if you didn't look close enough, you wouldn't even notice her there at all.
The thoughts that were flooding her head were swarming in and out, the voices echoing in her ears. Toph couldn't think straight because Sokka made everything so confusing. She knew she already liked Satoru, but then Sokka's big breakdown happened and she wasn't so sure anymore.
"Ugh! Sokka! Why did you have to make everything so damn complicated?!" she screamed through her tent, the palms of her hands covering her ears—in hopes of silencing the sing-song voice of Sokka in her head.
"I'm so glad we added you to the group!" the voice said.
As much as Toph loved the sound of Sokka's voice, it wasn't the right time. The worst possible time, actually.
"No! Get it out! Get it out!" she kept screaming. Although she was far away, her earth tent wasn't soundproof, and her voice was really loud.
The group around the fire thought they heard something from the far distance to their right.
"Don't you think someone should go check on her?" one of the Air Acolytes asked.
"No, I think this is their problem. I don't think we should put out noses in unless we want Toph to bury us to the center of the earth." Katara said, trying to put a little sarcasm in her voice, but it just wasn't the same.
The rest just muttered some phrases saying they agreed and continued staring at the fire.
Katara glanced at Aang and they both just nodded. They knew what they had to do, and it was about time they got started if they wanted to accomplish their goal. They excused themselves from the group and headed in two opposite directions. They wished each other "Good Luck" and ran through the plan one last time and waited for their cue.
Back with Toph, all thoughts of Sokka and her together filled her mind. At first, she was happy, but then she remembered why she was so confused in the first place.
She remembered when they first landed at her garden in Goaling, how Sokka gave her back her Earth Rumble belt but accidentally hit her but helped her up afterwards, the way she made fun of him when Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee chased them around, and despite that, he even tried to make her stay unlike the others, when she first called him "Snoozles" when she was teaching Aang airbending and he eventually gave in to the name.
How he defended her when Appa was lost and all Aang could blame was her, how forgetful but cute he is when he forgets she's blind, the time during Serpents Pass when he apologized to her for not saying "Thank you" after saving his life from a "rockalanche," and another when Azula tried drilling through the walls of Ba Sing Se.
The way he complimented her on how beautiful she looked during Bosco's party during the war, how he was so concerned after Katara told them how she and Toph had to teach the girls who were making fun of Toph a lesson, and how Sokka made sure Toph was always by his side during the search for Appa in Lake Laogai.
He would always prefer her company over the others and would always ask her to join him when the group went their separate ways.
Other times he didn't notice like when Ty Lee was pretending to be in a Kyoshi Warrior uniform and was flirting with Sokka. Real Kyoshi Warrior or not, she would have earthbended her towards Mars.
When she was captured by the order of her father and Sokka was so worried he helped her up Appa, telling her to be careful, and told her to hang on to him so that she wouldn't fall. After that, she always held unto Sokka and Sokka didn't mind one bit.
After Aang was almost killed and they had to raid a Fire Nation boat, Sokka counted on Toph and Toph counted on him. He told her what to do and she did it. When they would go into the village to get some meat and would talk all day non-stop.
Their little group hugs where Sokka and Toph always found a way to hold on to each other even if the others were in the way. When he asked her to dance but wasn't able to when Aang brought some Fire Nation Students over from where he was pretending to be schooling.
She would hold on to him when Katara pretended to be the Painted Lady and they had to walk around the village—which was made of wood—where she lost contact with her element. Sokka even held her hand under his when they were walking away from Shoe's shop once.
He gave her her now most prized possession—her meteor bracelet. She thought of her while making his sword. Her! Of all people! And he even gave her something as a remembrance. She recalls his fast heartbeat as he gave it to her and his relaxation of breath once she said she loved it.
Always telling her to be careful and not go too far when they passed bodies of water because he didn't want the same thing that happened to Toph in the "Serpent's Pass" happen to her again.
How they would talk non-stop about how funny Aang looked when he went to the Spirit World and found out about Sozin's Comet. He would be the one by her side, her partner in crime, when it came to scams. He defended her against Katara and even had a heart-to-heart talk with him on the cliff side. It was one of her favorite memories.
They would always work hand-in-hand and watched each other's back. He trusted her with being the leader of the Earthbenders during the invasion. When they were in the subs and about to depart, he even gave her a kiss on the cheek as "Good Luck." She tried to comfort him when Azula was playing with them and kept telling him it wasn't his fault Suki got captured. He told her she was the only one that he could count on at that moment.
Even with the failed Invasion Plan, Sokka and Toph still joked around and bickered at each other non-stop. For them as a way of passing the time. And even when they had a little disagreement because of Zuko wanting to join the group, Sokka still offered to carry Toph around the Western Air Temple even though her feet were healed. The talk they had after Zuko was let into the group. Sokka kept apologizing on how it was his fault she got burned and he was supposed to be there with her. They never fought after that...
... Until today, that is.
But then everything changed when Suki came back and Sokka was always spending time with his girlfriend. That was when she abandoned hope on him, but not quite. Not all the hope.
He still never forgot her when they were battling airships and risked his life so many times just shielding her from the rubble and holding her hand and never letting go the whole time. Sacrificing his Space Sword and Boomerang for her. Willing her to hold on even if she was dangling in the air and only their finger tips touched.
She was going to confess then and there, but, fortunately for her, Suki came just in time. After her crush's girlfriend saved her life, she no longer had ill feelings towards Suki and welcomed the thought of Sokka and her being together. Even if it meant she, herself had to let go of her first love.
Everything went so smoothly after that, even with the commotion that finally settled in Yu Dao. She still had feelings for the Water Tribe boy, but kept them hidden. He even helped her teach her Metalbending Students metalbending.
Then came Satoru, who was the only one other than Sokka who seemed to love her work and praise her. She decided to open her heart just a bit, and let the thought of liking Satoru flow through her mind. Things went well at first, but everything went topsy turvy after their heated argument earlier in the night.
Nonetheless, she couldn't help but smile at the reoccurrence and then laughed to herself at how oblivious Sokka is. And how one push of jealousy was all it took for him to notice her fully. Toph decided to go the cliff side and just hang her feet in the air. She made sure it wasn't the same place where Sokka was sitting.
Meanwhile...
Sokka was dangling his feet in the air with his head in his hands. He was shaking terribly even if the temperature was no where near cold. Thoughts also drifted in his head and he kept seeing Toph's face wherever her looked. In the trees, in the flowers, and in the rocks, most especially. Even Yue looked especially like Toph tonight. With her signature Blind Bandit smile.
"What in Odin's name is wrong with me? I keep seeing Toph. Toph. Toph! Ugh!"
He began to try and recall what first made him think of Toph in the first place. But then the thought just won't come to him. He prayed to Yue and told her to help him because he was so confused.
Lately, he began seeing Toph in a different way. Noticing her smile, the unique style in which she earthbends, how her voice would sound whenever she teased him and the sweet sound when they would just talk. He began to notice how despite how pale her eyes are, it was like he could see the world when he looked at them.
He would always be so concerned for her and was always fretting if he didn't know where Toph was.
She would always cling to him whenever she was out of her element, and how she would lead the way and take his hand whenever they went somewhere dark and pitch black.
The words, "That's why you have me" echoes through his head in her sweet little voice and he can't help but smile.
He then shakes his head hard from side to side in disbelief.
"No, no, no. Toph is just a little kid. But then again, she is already 15 years old. And it's been 3 years since I first saw her. No. No. No. Suki. Suki's your girlfriend, Sokka, so stop thinking about Toph." he looked dreamily at her face in his mind.
"Whose smile can change the world in a day, and whose abilities should not be taken for granted. Who always manages to put a smile on my face and her lips so pale—" he realized what he was saying and slapped himself, hard.
"What in Azula's fire am I saying! Have I gone mad?! Wait, didn't Katara say she had a new drink for us to try? I snuck in some last night. Yes! What if it was Cactus Juice? That explains everything! But then, why would Katara buy Cactus Juice in the first place? No, no. It's the Cactus Juice. It's the Cactus Juice."
He kept on talking to himself about how Toph is just a kid and how it was all the Cactus Juice's doing. He tried thinking of Suki's face and things about her but it always led to Toph again.
Like how Suki's fighting style is so unique, but then Toph's is even more unique, that Suki wore makeup all the time then he remembered Toph with her makeup during the Bosco's birthday during the war.
All his thoughts led to Toph somehow and he couldn't stop thinking about her. He was throwing his fists on the ground so hard it made the earth shake just a bit.
Aang felt the shake and called Katara over from the other side.
"Feels like someone's making the earth shake." he said to no one in particular.
"Toph?" Katara asked, walking up to Aang.
"No, it couldn't be. Toph's shake would send the factory down. I'm surprised she hasn't sent this place shaking yet. It came from there." he pointed to the opposite direction of Toph.
"Sokka?"
"I guess, he must be really mad."
"This is going to be harder than we thought."