Fighting Fire with Fire ~ ☼ ZUKO X OC ☼

Chapter 10

☼ Virra ☼

"Hey!" Laia snorts from behind me, making me snap my head over my shoulder to look at her familiar brown curls bouncing around her shoulders.

"You could have waited, you know. I- We need to stick together." She snaps walking to me.

I keep my mouth shut, my eyes focusing back on the street ahead of us. My jaw is clenched as I try to push away the thoughts of Zuko, the way he refused to look at me once he knew. Was it anger, disappointment, or disgust that forced his eyes to the bench?

"Because I didn't know if you wanted to keep following a fire nation like me." I shoot back, cautious not to talk too loudly.

"You know that frien-" Laia begins before a loud noise catches both of our attention. We stare at each other for a moment, trying to work out what that loud crashing noise was before it clicks for us both at the same time. It was the sound of waves crashing.

"Come on!" I shout sprinting towards the noise, this time Laia right behind me.

As we run I recognise Aang's familiar Air Nomad clothing stumbling down the street we approach.

"That was Aang!" Laia yells coming up beside me as we run after him together.

"Katara, what is it?" Sokka's voice echoes down the next alley way as we quickly turn the corner now seeing the rest of the group confronting a boy similar to our age, pinned against the wall with pieces of ice.

"Jet's back." Katara scoffs as we come to a stop behind Toph and Aang. "We can't trust anything he says!"

"But we don't even know why he is here!" Sokka exclaims beside her.

"Do we know who he is?" I mutter to Laia but she only shrugs and shakes her head.

"I don't care why he's here. Whatever the reason is, it can't be good!" She snaps back quickly.

"I'm here to help you find Appa." The boy announces, unrolling the poster in his hand.

"Katara, we have to give him a chance!" Aang mutters, turning back to her.

The boy goes to step forward but is met with an intense glare from Sokka, "I swear I've changed!" He cries, "I was a troubled person and I let my anger get out of control."

I can't help the snort that escapes my mouth as he speaks, my mind automatically going to Zuko, that's definitely along the lines of what he would have said to me, had I bothered to stick around.

Laia nudges me, pulling me out of my own head and focusing back into what is going on around me.

"You're lying!" Katara shoots back, clear anger and resentment in her words, I definitely missed something.

Toph shoves past her and places her hand on the wall beside the boy, everyone watching her in silence for a brief moment.

"He's not lying." Her high pitch voice echoes through the small alleyway.

"How can you tell!" Sokka rebuts, throwing his hands up in the air beside me.

"I can feel his breathing and heartbeat. When people lie there's a physical reaction. He's telling the truth." She explains, turning around to face us again.

"Huh, well isn't that a nifty perk of earth bending." I mutter to myself.

Aang looks at Katara, his hand clenched around his glider. "We don't have any leads. If Jet says he can take us to Appa, we have to check it out."