I'm In Love With A Monster

I'm Not Crazy

Sokka hated vampires. He absolutely despised everything about their very existence. Many werewolves had a specific distaste for their kind, and Sokka's history with them only served to amplify those feelings. They were absolutely vile creatures, and nothing could convince him otherwise.

But then there was Zuko. Zuko with the bad attitude and dark past. Zuko with the scar and perpetual scowl that hid so much genuine pain. Zuko, who somehow seemed more human than vampire, and Sokka couldn't quite seem to wrap his head around that.

Not that Sokka would even know anything about that. He'd never actually been human a day in his life. Not really, anyway. Werewolves were different from vampires. Even before fully awakening that part of themselves, the wolf nature is still a part of them, altering their instincts, impulses, and temperament; shaping how they perceive and interact with the world around them, distinguishing them from humans.

Vampires, on the other hand, start out as humans and die. Sokka had always just assumed that their humanity died with them and that they were simply reborn as soulless shells of their former selves, cursed to walk the earth for an eternity. He'd never known any vampires well enough to be able to dispute this claim. In fact, if anything, vampires had only ever proven him right.

However, despite hardly knowing Zuko either, he did make him question what he'd believed. Maybe vampires didn't suddenly become monsters in death. Maybe it was the years of existing in such a way that hardened them over time . Maybe Zuko wasn't a monster at all yet, maybe that was just what he was doomed to become. For some inexplicable reason, the idea of Zuko's humanity slowly slipping away over the years truly pained Sokka.

Sokka had been sparring as his mind raced with all of these thoughts. The fact that he was distracted didn't serve to hinder him at all, given that Hahn's movements were predictable enough that Sokka's full attention wasn't entirely necessary.

It wasn't until Sokka accidentally knocked Hahn down a little too hard that Hahn noticed there was something off.

"Sorry," Sokka apologized, extending a hand to help the other up.

Hahn got up on his own, rejecting the gesture and dusting himself off as he gathered together what was still left of his pride.

"Something on your mind? You seem a little...off, today," he said.

Sokka had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, the other's fake concern irritating to him. Instead, he simply shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good," he dismissed, pushing a loose strand of hair away from his sweaty forehead.

In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to escape that conversation. He had no energy for or interest in a passive aggressive exchange with Hahn.

Hahn nodded, picking up on Sokka's lack of willingness to open up in that moment.

"We should probably call it, though," Sokka said reluctantly.

He didn't even wait for a response before abruptly. He needed to clear his head, and sparring just wasn't enough. He needed to do the one thing that never seemed to fail him.

~~~~~

Zuko rolled his eyes which remained glued to the clock on the opposite wall. He didn't need counseling. He wasn't crazy.

It was then that he really longed for normal school. He never cared for it, but at least at a normal school a fight would've gotten him a detention or maybe a suspension and not counseling. New Horizons, however, insisted that they needed to find the root of the problem. Zuko thought it was all bullshit.