Beta-read by Scribbles I
Healed and Hunted
Noticing
Chapter Six
Lunch Room
Lee
Once he decided to look around for her, he found that she was everywhere. She worked in the library, voluntarily, every day after classes. They had two classes together, and she was one of the top students. She fought more than others, since she was at the top of her list. He started watching her matches, out of pure curiosity.
She was good.
He found himself in the library more than usual. He had never been one much for books, but he was starting to find reason enough to be around her - them, he meant. Books. Not the girl.
She was as inconsistent outside the arena as in it. He had seen her rescue a group of students from a bully, and then punish the same students for some infraction he hadn't heard.
His group of followers - the young men and women who found some sort of inspiration in the 'way he lived his life' - were all vying for his attention, clambering over each other to be heard. He was finding it rather distracting.
She laughed and covered her mouth, and her eyes glanced over the lunch room. Their eyes met and he almost looked away. One of her hands lifted near her face, and she wriggled her fingers as a 'hello.' She looked away momentarily to answer a question, and then looked back.
The girl smiled and ducked her head, embarrassed.
"Lee, Lee, you didn't answer my question," someone was saying.
He turned his head back and sighed, unwilling to miss a sight. The people at his table were all staring expectantly. He noticed how similar looking they all were. They all wore tight, dark, nondescript clothing. Their hair was black and mostly cut short to match his own. A large portion had more than two piercings on their faces. Lee found himself confused, suddenly, by his own image. Is that what people saw when they looked at him?
"What?" he asked gruffly.
The girl who spoke clicked her tongue, "What's gotten into you? Geez, it's like you're not even here half the time. I asked - "
But something else took his attention. He was being watched. The first place he looked was over at her. She was staring at him intently, some unfathomable expression on her face. When he locked their gazes, her mouth parted a little. She quickly pressed her lips together and rose, grabbing her plate and silverware in something of a rush.
He saw her friends - the Ava and blind girl - laughing hysterically. He felt that they were laughing at him. Or her, actually, judging by her reaction. He felt his eyebrows - eyebrow - raise when she soaked the two of them and stormed away. He tried not to follow her as she walked by, but it was difficult.
School Gardens, South Wing
Kat
She whirled her arms around her head and a large ball of water began forming in front of her. She kept at it until it was of adequate size. She split it into dozens of smaller pieces and let those pieces sprinkle over the flowers. Kat sighed, knowing the bell would ring soon.
She didn't want to go to her next class. That guy was there. God, he'd been watching her so much lately. Kat could barely move without him noticing. She wished he would get it over with and attack her already. The tension that built up whenever he was around was too much to bear.
She had started carrying her water pouch around again, she was so worried. He had been fierce in their short fight, and she knew he knew about her fear. She had seen it in his eyes. He had realized, even in the middle of everything, how frightened she was. Had she always been so transparent?
The bell sounded and Kat gathered her courage. She had to be strong, lest he see through her again. She was twenty-three, not four. She could fight fire, now. She was always reminding herself of that. Every time he looked now, she had to repeat her mantra.
She walked into the class nearly late. It was hard to concentrate on the class. All she could remember about the particular lesson was the repeated use of the word "uh," which was nothing new to the teacher there. The woman always had a shrill voice Katara normally tuned out, which may have contributed to the difficulty.
When she realized that this week they would be going home, her stomach dropped. They sat next to each other. The closeness alone might be provocation for the young man. Buses were neither an easy or safe place to fight.
That gave her four days to end this, whatever it was.
The next day at lunch she had made up her mind. She was going to confront him in the library, where he would undoubtedly be. If she was there, so too would he. Kat packed her things and planned the possible assault. She would position herself next to the side exit. The door on the left led to the school gardens, and there was plenty of water there. If things got that far, it would be nice to have on her side.
She told Toph of her plans, in case things went wrong, and instructed her sister not to say anything to Aang. Kat had covered everything she could think of.
The library was quiet, more so than usual. That was probably a perception issue on her part. She was nervous enough. The normal sound of printers printing and people whispering set her on edge instead of relaxing her.
When she saw him she put her book down and beckoned for him to come. She wasn't sure it would work- if he was as wound up as she was, he might not- but he stepped to her quickly.
"Listen, I don't know what your problem is. If you're going to do something, do it now. I'm tired of waiting around." She sighed.
He nodded, then he looked at her, "Alright, alright. Okay."
"I'd rather not do this in here, or even out there. But there is better than here." She jerked her head to the door. And again he nodded. Awful compliant, she thought, for someone looking for a fight.
School Gardens, South Wing
Lee
He wasn't sure where this was going. Didn't know what he was going to say. He tried to think of something...something to say. She seemed nervous, too. And that struck him as odd. Nervous, too? Why was he nervous?
"Okay," she said once the door was shut. Her voice wobbled, and he almost smiled. It was a reaction women had around him. He hadn't exactly pegged her for one to be...moved so much by him. It was nothing new, of course.
"Okay, well..." And he stopped because he didn't know what else to do.
Her arm moved, and he found the movement odd.
"Can I interest you in a cup of coffee tomorrow morning?" he asked. His voice was calm, suave. He'd asked out hundreds of girls. She was no different, just another girl.
She let out a shaky breath and put her hands on her legs, bending in...relief? He'd not actually had someone relieved that he had asked them out. It was odd. But, then again, so was she.
"Oh, thank God." She simply looked up at him, relief evident.
"Is that a yes?" He blinked.
The woman straightened and rested her head on the brick wall, eyes closed. Mouth slightly parted in a grin, a sigh escaping between her lips.
"No. That's 'I'm really glad you weren't here to attack me.' No, I don't want to have coffee with you."
Lee realized that his behavior the last week and a half could have been taken as hostile. He nearly hit himself in the head. That was an amateur move to make. She had thought him here to attack her. He felt almost ashamed, that he had allowed himself to come across as such. But really, she'd had no reason to assume that.
"No?" This was another ploy to get girls. He still thought he could convince her. He'd had a lot of practice. The No, Yes game. No? Yes. Yes? No.
"I assume you understand. Thank you for not seeking revenge." She bowed, and he wanted to say something more. She had known the game. Interesting.
"Why not?" He wondered.
He watched her look for the exits, "Girls like me, guys like you. You know, all that stuff."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Part of him was angry. He'd gotten this before, but still managed to convert the 'good girls' who had originally said no. She didn't fit the normal good girl scheme of things.
"I asked around, too. Any girl I asked said the same thing. Play-er,"she broke the word up, "and I'm not into that sort of thing. So, no."
"You don't even know me," he said, having heard this before. She was turning out to be rather predictable. That was disappointing.
"I know who people think you are."
"That's what they think. They aren't -"
She held up a hand, "I know. I'm sure you don't mean to hurt a lot of girls, that you're really only interested in... Well, I don't know what you're interested in. I think you aren't sure. I'll bet you drop girls the moment you realize that they aren't it. I don't know what your deal is. I don't have to explain myself to you, either."
"So, you can't be bothered for a cup of coffee? I wasn't proposing marriage." He shrugged, trying to calm her down.
The girl sighed, "I know. I don't want to have coffee with you. Simple, yes? I'm finding you rather confrontational."
Confrontational? Him? She had been the one to bring him out into the gardens, expecting a fight. Unbelievable.
The door behind him opened, and he turned to see a very concerned Ava.
"She told you," Kat said from where she stood. Her voice was unsurprised, more statement than question.
"She told me," the Ava confirmed. Lee didn't know who 'she' was, specifically, but he assumed it was the blind girl they sat with.
"Well, everything's settled," she said, and walked past him.
Lee shamelessly watched her walk away. Her hips twitched, hair swishing back and forth with every step. The girl had a lot of hair, he saw. A lot. He wondered how long it would be if she didn't braid it back.
"Oh, good." The Ava stared at Lee with accusing eyes, his hand protectively on the girl's back. She sighed and patted the bald monk's head.
"Listen, little Nomad, I didn't tell you for a reason. Your very sensitive arrows need a rest."
Lee's eyebrows - well, eyebrow -raised a bit. The Ava's arrows?
But the door closed and she was lost to him. Then he chuckled to himself. Not into 'guys like him', then, eh? He had to find out what she was looking for, to take on that role. To be the wolf hidden within the sheep skin. He'd never had such a maddening challenge before.
He saw her looking at him through the glass and grinned, knowing she could see him. She rolled her eyes and said something to her brother. They walked on together, the Ava sparing one more glance his way.
She may have looked back with a disgusted look on her face, but the point was she looked back.
A/N: Happy Labor Day weekend, for those of you who live in America. I don't know if it's an international holiday. Really, all it means for me is no school on Monday. Enjoy this chapter, look forward to hearing from all of you. Thanks for reading!