Is it just a coincidence? (Sokka x Zuko) [COMPLETED]

Chapter Nine

        Laying in his own bed. Zuko didn't feel tired at all. He was cold and there was a light sinking feeling of loneliness drooping over him. He scrolled aimlessly through his phone. Playing a game of chess before getting bored. He opened his messages and stared at Sokka's name in his contacts. He was the only contact other than Iroh on his phone. Of course, there was Azula and his father, and... He tapped on Sokka's name and started typing out a little message. 

    He just wanted to be in contact with Sokka somehow, even if it was over technology.

Z: "Hey, thanks for taking care of me today. I really appreciate it."

    There was a little pause. He scanned the message over and over for typos or anything that might seem hostile. Did the "I really appreciate it" part seem kind of sarcastic? Sokka wouldn't take it that way... right? 

    After a few minutes of waiting, the message was seen and Zuko panicked. Was it always going to be this way? Sokka immediately started texting him back, the little bubble bouncing in the bottom corner of his screen.

S: "Yeah! No problem. What are friends for?"

    Zuko subconsciously frowned at that. Friends. Not that there was anything wrong with the label, it just seemed off. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind before thinking about what to say back.

Z: "Yeah"

    How dry.

Z: "If you want, I can make it up to you somehow?"

S: "Nah, you don't have to do that. I liked having you over."

    His chest contracted and he buried his face in his pillow. A wide grin stretched across his face and he quickly typed back a reply.

Z: "Okay fine. But I still want to make it up to you."

    He paused, looking at his plain wall beyond the screen of his phone. 

Z: "How about we go for milkshakes?"

    There was a pause. Sokka had seen the message but he hadn't replied. Zuko bit his lip in anticipation. He'd never asked anyone out before... Was he asking him out?

    The tiny bubble popped up, distracting his thoughts. It went away. It came back. He felt his expression twist into something he'd never done before as he waited.

S: "Sounds good"

S: "When?"

Z: "I don't have work tomorrow."

S: "After school then?"

Z: "Sure."

S: "It's a date ;)"

    He buried his face in his forearms, feeling all the heat flush up to his face. God why was he so flustered?

S: "So how's your head?"

    Zuko raised his eyebrow at that. What so he's just gonna pretend he didn't just call it a date?

Z: "Almost like it never happened."

S: "Yeah, the pain from head bumps goes away I find. I hit my head one time when I was out having a snowball fight with Karat and the pain went away in like one hour."

Z: "Karat?"

S: "Bruh"
S: "I meant Katara lol"

    Zuko frowned again. What did 'lol' mean? What did bruh mean? He quickly looked it up and then nodded to himself. Returning to the messages he typed out a response.