Avatar Rose: Dusk

Chapter 39: Rose

(Probably will be a longer chapter than usual XD).

I feel guilty for lying to him. But I'm scared. I hate admitting it. I'm the Avatar, I'm not supposed to be scared, right? But how am I supposed to defeat a whole army? It's just not possible.

I'll tell him. Can't be too hard...

I don't like that Nathan left. It's like the nightmares just come back. Like swatted away flies that hover around your head thirty seconds later.

Explosions pound in my ears as I watch my first foster parents' house go up in flames. Of course, it was a Fire Nation bombing. The town didn't have the technology to have signals of the bombers before it was too late.

I wriggle away from the soldier's grasp in which attempts to hold me back and rush into the house. It collapses, practically crushing me. White fills my vision, and the next thing I know, I lie on a stretcher. Horrible agony and strange emptiness throb in my left leg and right arm. Or at least, what's left of them.

My eyes snap open from the sound of my name. I almost scream, but the image of a familiar face stops me.

"Rose, just a dream. Time to wake up," Rowan says with a reassuring smile.

My hand instantly feels for my right arm. Cold metal touches my fingers, making slight sadness creep over me. It's real. Very real.

"Hey, Rowan," I murmur sleepily, rubbing my eyes.

Nathan left to do something I didn't bother asking about. Gwen sulks around, probably about last night and Nathan staying in my room, while Evan smokes like a chimney the whole day. Rowan and I decide to take a walk around the park and feed the turtle ducks. We do it at the same pond we used to play at when we were kids.

"This is nice, isn't it? You can't imagine how much I missed you Rose," Rowan chimes, glancing at me hopefully.

"I missed you too," I reply.

"Rose."

I look at him uneasily. He's said my name like that before, and I've never liked it. I don't know why, nor what he's thinking while he does it.

I offer a nervous smile. "Yeah?"

His face becomes serious, making me tempted to take a step back. We're inches apart. He brushes a strand of hair from my face.

"Why do you like Nathan? He's a jerk," he finally says.

My face reddens. "He's a good person. Give him some slack, he's been through a lot."

I look into his soft, big brown eyes and wait for an argument. He just grins as he always does when my face twists up into a scowl.

But then he does something that both of us won't ever forget. He slams his lips against mine, gripping on to my shoulders almost so I couldn't pull away. I yelp in protest, staggering back.

"Rowan!" I splutter.

He smirks, making my already ruby shaded face darken into a scarlet red. "I really like kissing you," he says.

A hard smack from me lands across his cheek. My eyes glare daggers into him angrily. "What is wrong with you!?"

"What's wrong with you!?"

"Me? Y- you just kissed me!"

He smirks again. "Yeah, I sure did."

I groan in frustration. I fast walk to the hotel, while he protests as he follows me. Ugh. Boys are so stupid. He grabs my arm. I whip my head to face him, braid swinging.

"Are you serious? You're choosing him over me? I'm the guy that found you in the rain after that witch kicked you out! I've been there for you ever since you were nine years old!" He shouts. I flinch, but turn away and walk even faster.

It was kind of revolting to me in a way. I thought he thought of me as a sibling. We were brother and sister. But that isn't the case for him. Maybe it never was.

Evan, Gwen, and Nathan stare as Rowan and I burst through the door. We both quickly try to hide our shocked and angered expressions. I quickly slip into my room, plopping on to the bed and burying my face into a pillow. If the walls weren't as thin I'd scream into it.

Nathan taps me on the shoulder a few minutes later. "Everything okay? I came back from running that errand and Gwen told me that you went on a walk with Rowan. Did he upset you?"

"I need to tell you something," I blurt out, unable to bare it any longer and trying to change the subject.

He smiles. "Anything."

Ugh. He's making this so hard. "I- uhh... I umm... I REMEMBER EVERYTHING!"

"That's great!" He exclaims.

I shake my head. "No, no Nathan. I- I got my memory back like a week ago. I'm sorry."

His face twists into an angry scowl, making my flinch guiltily. "You do realize that every day we waste more people die, don't you?"

"Nathan, I'm just one person! How do you expect me to stop that? It's impossible!" I protest angrily.

"It's your job! You don't have a choice."

"Forget it. I don't even know why I try!"

I slam the door and head out for the rest of the day. I tell Gwen to tell Nathan not to look for me, since I'll be coming back eventually.

Naturally, I find myself in a bar for the rest of the day, getting sucked into a contest between me and this guy with how many shots we can take before we pass out. I agreed because if you win, everything is free. And I have no money.

A deep snore rumbles out of my foe's mouth as his head slams against the table. People gathered around us cheer. It's probably midnight by now, but I'm too drunk to know.

Nathan and Rowan burst in, their eyes wild with worry. They were probably looking for Evan too, who's here, but not as near as drunk as me.

"Oh my gosh Rose! How many have you had!?" Rowan asks worriedly.

"Lost my count at forty," I slur, a silly smile forming on to my face as Nathan's round blue eyes widen into huge crystal orbs.

The bartender laughs. "This little lady can really hold her liquor, can't she?"

"Rose, I can't believe you haven't dropped dead. Let's go," Nathan snaps.

"Okay," I mumble. I try to walk, but Nathan has to catch me before I fall flat on my face.

This isn't the first time I've been this drunk, but Nathan doesn't know that.