Avatar Rose: Dusk

Ch.48: Nathan

Gotta hurry, Rose'll be waiting for me.

I look up at the menu board. "I'll have 2 medium cones," I say, "one peaches-and cream flavoured and one dark chocolate."

The girl nods. "Would you like any toppings? We have chocolate fudge, cherry, and caramel sauces and we have 7 different sprinkle mixes."

"Sprinkles on the peach, please."

"Anything else for you today?"

"No, thank you."

She hands a slip of paper to her co-worker and smiles. "That's 4,25 yen please."

She accepts the cash. "Thank you for choosing 'Icy Delights on the Rocks,' and we hope to see you soon." Her smile fades. "NEXT!!"

The bells on the door twinkle softly as I exit the shop with two cones in one hand, a bag with her sketchbook and coloured pencils in the other. Lucky for me, the mechanic place is just a block down.

This town is smaller than the Water Tribe's but bigger than my village's. There aren't many big lights or flashy buildings, but all the shops are made of brick.

Even then, some are prettier than others.

When I arrive at the shop, it just reinforces this fact. The entire place is soaked in dirt. Gravel sits depressed on the sidewalk around, dust coats the windows and rust has long since dismantled the doorknob.

I have to squint to read the sign- 'Hedyn & Sons'. Sheesh, what a place. Then again, even the mechanic shops in the Fire Nation were like this. They were all little caves for old hermits long past their prime. No wonder Rose hates these places.

Letting the sketchbook bag slip into the crook of my elbow, my left hand jingles the door until I hear a gear snapping into place. It turns with a wild screech, and then lets it pass. They're mechanics, right? They should be able to fix that doorknob.

"Rose?" I call cautiously as I step inside. Against the musty concrete, my footsteps sound hallow.

"I'm here!" I hear a voice stammer.

I follow the voice to a back room. I don't see him at first. All I see is Rose's dimly lit face, blushing as red as a tomato. She sees the ice cream and seems to tense up more. And at first, I don't see the problem.

I hand her the ice cream and she accepts it with a rather awkward smile. Whats wrong? Crap, does she have a fever or something?

I let the sketchbook bag fall to the ground. "Rose, are you okay?"

She immediately nods. "Yes!.... Yeah. I'm... i'm fine."

" Oh, okay."

And thats when it happens.

*cue saxophone music*

He enters the room and the temperature goes up 10 degrees. He's got his shirt off revealing toned biceps, and abs like you wouldn't believe. Grease is smeared all over his chest, making his pectorals look reflective. He has this glass of water in one hand, and he downs half of it in one glug, before splashing the rest on his blonde hair, and it runs down his face. He lifts up the wrench in one hand. "Sorry for the delay, Rosie," he says as he completely walks by me, and then he gets on one knee to start repairs on her leg.

Oh Raava.

Rose turns another shade of red. "No problem, Xander," she practically squeaks. Nervously, she nibbles on her cone.

I feel the urgent need to shove myself between this 'Xander' guy and Rose. Numerous excuses ram into my brain: Rowan had a heart attack, Evan fell off the cliff, Gwen told Peter how many shots you took 2 nights ago, but only one sentence passes the Axon of Hillock and out of my mouth.

"Rose, I brought your sketching supplies.... Would you like to draw?"