Fire and Aether

Chapter 30: The Beach

    A ship cut through the water, carrying Team Anti Avatar, as well as a very depressed Prince Zuko. As the girls talked about how fun they were going to have, Zuko stayed deep in his thoughts. The more he thought about his situation, the more it gave him a headache. Of course he loved his princess but what could he do? Until she came back, he had no choice but to just wallow in his own self-pity. 
    The boat pulled up to the docks where the two old ladies were waiting. They led the four teenagers into the house they'd be staying for the weekend while on their forced vacation and it did nothing to raise Zuko's spirits, despite the old ladies' promises that the beach would help them grow closer.
    With that, the group headed out to the beach. While Zuko tried his best to be a good boyfriend to Mai--and failed--Ty Lee amassed a group of boys to dote on her. Azula convinced the others to play a game of dodgeball which they won. Afterwards, a couple of teenage boys invited the four of them to a party.
    At dusk, the four knocked on the party host's door. "Um...you're a little early. No one's here yet."
    "I heard you telling someone you'd be partying from dusk til dawn." Azula explained. "It's dusk so we're here."
    "But that's just an expression!"
    "We are the perfect party guests. We arrive right on time because we are very punctual."
    The guy shrugged and let them in. "Alright, my dad's an admiral and he doesn't know I'm having this party so don't mess anything up."
    Azula smirked. Feeling nervous, she quickly blurted out, "That's a sharp outfit, Chan. Be careful. You could puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea." At his uncomfortable expression, she added, "Because it's so sharp."
    "Um...thanks?"
    Time passed and the party was soon underway. 
    A bunch of boys started fighting over Ty Lee and, losing her nerve, she knocked them out before running to Azula's side. "Oh, I'm glad you're here! Those boys won't leave me alone!" Ty Lee told Azula. "I guess they all just like me too much."
    "Come on, Ty Lee, you can't be this ignorant." Azula scoffed. 
    "What are you talking about?"
    "Those boys only like you because you make it so easy for them. You're not a challenge; you're a tease. It's not like they actually care who you are." Ty Lee began to sob and Azula rushed to comfort her, showing some semblance of caring. "Ok ok, calm down! I didn't mean what I said. Maybe I just said it because I was a little...jealous." She whispered that last word.
    "What?" Ty Lee questioned. "You were jealous of me? but you're the most beautiful, smartest, perfect girl in the world." 
    "Well, you are right about those things." Azula said in her usual narcissistic fashion. "But for some reason when I meet boys, they act as if I'm going to do something horrible to them."
    Ty Lee laughed. "But you probably would do something horrible to them!" she said, still laughing. "I'm sure they're just intimidated by you. Ok, look, if you want a boy to like you, just look at him, smile a lot, and laugh at everything he says even if it's not funny."
    "Well, that sounds really shallow and stupid." Azula argued before turning to her friend. "Let's try it."
    After practicing, Azula walked up to Chan and said she'd like a tour of the house. "Is this your first time on Ember Island?" Chan asked as they walked out to the balcony.
    "No. I used to come here years ago."
    "It's a great place if you like sand." Azula faked a laugh. "Yea, it's like, "Welcome to Sandy Land"." This time, they both laughed.
     After some flirting and a kiss, Azula smiled. "Together, you and I will be...the strongest couple in the entire world." Azula straightened up to her full height. "We will dominate the earth!"
    Scared, Chan ran off.
                       * * * * *
    Meanwhile, Zuko was steadily growing angrier. Ever since he'd come back to the Fire Nation, he had felt his anger grow and didn't know why. To make matters worse, he caught himself comparing Mai to Rose. Rose understands more. He found himself thinking. She never asked anything of him other than to be with her. We were so happy together. I didn't hate myself when I was with her....
    He was starting to realize he didn't have feelings for Mai anymore. He cared for her, sure, but he didn't love her like he loved Rose. And that also led to the realization that he had messed up. He should've never trusted Azula. Azula always lies...Azula tried to kill the woman he loved. No, the woman he still loved. Because he couldn't deny it. He still loved Rose.
    "Zuko, what is wrong with you?" Mai asked angrily once he attacked a boy who was talking to her. 
    "What's wrong with me?" 
    "Your temper's out of control. You blow up over every little thing. You're so impatient, hot-headed, and angry."
    "At least I feel something!" Zuko argued back. "You have no passion for anything!" Not like Rose. He thought. She was passionate about everything: her friends, her family, being the Avatar, saving the world, me... "You're just a big blah!"
    "It's over, Zuko. We're done."
    About time! He thought.
    "Fine!" he shouted, rushing to the door and leaving, slamming the door behind him.
                       * * * * *
    Team Avatar had fallen asleep in the middle of a field, huddling close together for the night. A few days had passed since they had helped the Fire Nation kids. Suddenly, Toph woke everyone up.
    "Guys, you're all gonna think I'm crazy but it feels like a metal man is coming."
    Rose rolled over to see a light glimmering off Crystal's scales. She followed the path of the light with her eyes and saw a large man with parts of his body made out of metal. With a deep breath, the man blew up part of the mountain.
    "Guys, move!" Rose shouted, rolling over in time to prevent herself and her dragon from being hit by a fallen piece of rock. She cursed under her breath as Team Avatar tried to fight him. "Run!" Rose screamed, jumping on Crystal who had grown in size. The others jumped on Appa. 
    "Well, that was random." Toph said.
    "I don't think so." Katara said. "I get the feeling he knows who we are."
                         * * * * *
    Azula found Zuko sitting on the porch of the house the family used to stay during their time on the island, his head in his hands. Being uncharacteristically gentle, she invited him back to the beach to talk, adding, "This place is depressing."
    Zuko began burning the paintings in the house. As Ty Lee tried to show some sympathy, Zuko yelled, "You don't know me, so why don't you mind your own business?! You're stuck in your little Ty Lee world where everything's great all the time." 
     "Zuko, leave her alone."
     Zuko scoffed. "'I'm so pretty, look at me. I can walk on my hands. Whoo!'" he mocked. "Circus freak."
    Azula laughed. Ty Lee tried to hold back her tears. "Yes, I'm a circus freak." she said. "Go ahead and laugh all you want. You wanna know why I joined the circus?"
    "Here we go." Azula said, rolling her eyes.
    "Do you have any idea what my home life was like, growing up with six sisters who look exactly like me? It was like I didn't even have my own name!" Ty Lee fell to her knees. "I joined the circus because I was scared of spending the rest of my life as part of a matched set." She freely let the tears flow now. "At least I'm different now. Circus freak is a compliment."
    "Guess that explains why you need 10 boyfriends too." Mai said coldly.
    "I'm sorry. What?"
    "Attention issues." Mai explained in her usual deadbeat tone. "You couldn't get enough attention when you were a kid so you're trying to make up for it now."
     "Well, what's your excuse, Mai?" Ty Lee asked with a fake laugh. "You were an only child for 15 years but, even with all that attention, your aura is this dingy, pasty, gray--"
     "I don't believe in auras." Mai interrupted. 
     "Yea, you don't believe in anything." Zuko responded in an angry tone of voice. 
     "Oh well! I'm sorry I can't be as high-strung and crazy as the rest of you."
     "At least if you were, it'd be better than keeping your feelings bottled up inside. She just called your aura dingy! Are you gonna take that?"
     "What do you want from me?" Mai sighed. "You want a teary confession about how hard my childhood was? Well, it wasn't. I was a rich, only child who got anything I wanted...as long as I behaved...and sat still and didn't speak unless spoken to. My mother said I had to keep out of trouble. We had my dad's political career to think about."
     "Well, that's it, then." Azula finally spoke up. "You had a controlling mother who had certain expectations and, if you strayed from them, you were shut down. That's why you're afraid to care about anything and why you can't express yourself."
     "You want me to express myself?" Mai stood up and angrily shouted, "Leave me alone!" Zuko scoffed. "Fuck off, Zuko!"
     "My life hasn't been that easy either, Mai!"
     "Whatever. That doesn't excuse the way you've been acting."
     "Calm down guys." Ty Lee spoke up, trying to diffuse the situation. "This much negative energy is bad for your skin. You'll totally break out."
     "Bad skin? Normal teenagers worry about bad skin." Zuko stated, angrily. "I don't have that luxury. My father decided to teach me a permanent lesson to my face!" He pointed to the burn scar over his left eye. "For so long, I thought that if my dad accepted me, I'd be happy. I'm back home now, my dad talks to me, huh, he even thinks I'm a hero." Zuko sighed, thinking of how he'd betrayed the one person he swore to protect. "Everything should be perfect, right? I should be happy now but I'm not. I'm angrier than ever and I don't know why."
     "There's a simple question you need to answer then." Azula responded, calmly. "Who are you angry at?"
    "No one! I'm just angry!"
    "Yea, who are you angry at, Zuko?" Mai asked.
    "Everyone! I don't know!" 
    "Is it dad?"
    "No."
    "Your uncle?"
    "Me?" Azula asked.
    "No, no."
    "Then who? Who are you angry at?"
    "Answer the question, Zuko!"
    "Talk to us."
    "Answer the question." they all kept repeating.
    "I'm angry at myself!" Zuko finally revealed.
    "Why?"
    "Because I'm confused. Because I'm not sure I know the difference between right and wrong anymore. Because I don't know what I want." Zuko confessed.
    "I know what I want." Mai said, walking to Zuko's side. "I want you."
    She kissed him but guilt overrode his senses and he pulled away. "I'm sorry, Mai, but I can't. I don't feel the same."
    She sent him a dirty look and Azula laughed, clapping her hands. "Well, those were wonderful performances, everyone."
   "I guess you wouldn't understand, would you, Azula, because you're just so perfect."
   "Yes, I guess you're right. I don't have sob stories like all of you. I could sit here and complain how our mom liked Zuko more than me but I don't really care." In a moment of rarity, Azula stared into the flames with a sad expression on her face. "My own mother thought I was a monster." Then it was like a switch flipped and Azula was back to her usual pompous self. "She was right, of course, but it still hurt."
    After that, the group went back to Chan's house and trashed it. Soon, they were all laughing and feeling better. 
    As Zuko packed for the trip back home, he sighed. "I still love you." he admitted. "I'm sorry, Rose." Then he broke down and cried.