I'm In Love With A Monster

I Try Not to Listen to Rumors

Zuko entirely dreaded the first day of classes. He hadn't known about the existence of werewolves for long so he didn't know very much about them, but he did know one thing: they were a pain in the ass.

He could run away. He could just take his things and take off without a trace, never having to deal with that school or its students ever again. Besides, it wouldn't exactly be his first time being on his own.

As much as it may of felt good to entertain the idea in his head, he couldn't bring himself to actually go through with it for one reason: his uncle. The man who'd found him after his father had kicked him out and left him with no place to stay. The man who took him despite him being a monster who could barely control himself. He'd brought Zuko to the school with high hopes of him getting help with adjusting and finding some sort of belonging. So, it was for the sake of his uncle — the man who was far too kind for his own good — that Zuko had to try to make it work.

His first class of the day was biology, and given that it was a supernatural school, and he didn't even know what that meant entirely.

He also realized how little he'd actually payed attention on the tour Katara gave him when he looked at the room number on his schedule and realized he had no clue where it was. In his defense, seeing all of those supernaturals for the first time was pretty jarring and therefore may have diverted a bit of his attention away from memorizing which hallway led to the library.

It wasn't until he found himself in the common room for a second time without intending to go there that he realized he was entirely lost. He looked around, only to spot nothing that led him where he needed to go and instead different groups of people stealing glances at him and whispering.

"Yeah, that's the guy that attacked Hahn."

"I️ heard he tried to kill him."

"I️ wouldn't mess with him. You never know when he might snap again."

"You can tell it's not the first time he's done something like that. How do you think he got that scar?"

"Finding everything okay?" one voice much closer to him snapped him out of the cacophony of whispers.

It was Katara.

"Uh, I️ actually can't find my biology class," he admitted.

Katara nodded.

"Can I️ see your schedule?" she asked.

Zuko showed it to her, pointing to his first period block.

Katara nodded.

"Oh, you have Bumi?" she asked.

Zuko nodded in reply.

"Yeah...is that bad?" he inquired.

Katara shook her head.

"No, he's just...eccentric. Your class is actually on the way to my Advanced Healing class. I️ could walk you?" she suggested.

Zuko snorted sarcastically.

"Sure you wanna be seen with me?" he asked.

"I️ try not to listen to rumors. Besides, Hahn's an asshole. I'm sure you had your reasons," she said.

Zuko was surprised. That interaction made him gain a lot of respect for Katara and he let her lead him to his biology class.

He quietly took a seat in the back. He rolled his eyes when he spotted Sokka a bit closer to the front, sitting next to a girl with short brown hair.