Double Bender

Part 9

We pulled away, all to soon, breathing heavily. Zuko's only response was "You talk too much." "Maybe I do..." I said, my voice barley above a whisper. I could tell that he was blushing more than I was. "I've wanted to tell you for a long time too." He said. "I've wanted to tell you ever since-" "The incident with the rough rhinos." I finished his sentence for him. "How did you-" "Heard the argument, remember?" "Oh yeah." We stood there in silence, our eyes in a permanent lock. It was odd, but we'd never look at each other the same way again. We stayed quiet and stared at each other for a while before Zuko whispered, "Good night. I-I'll see you in the morning." "You too," I whispered back. Then he left. I lay down on my bed grinning from ear to ear when Geo came in. "Uncle and I heard shouting. What happened?" I had a feeling she knew what happened, but she was just being sly. I tried to look a little less suspicious. The key word being try. "What happened?" Geo asked slyly. "Oh nothing..." My voice trailed. She eyed me curiously. "Zuko just...gave me something, that's all." I blushed a little bit. "Hmm...did he give you a hug?" She guessed. "No, a little more than that..." I answered. "Did he take his shirt off?" "Oh jeez, no no no. Less than that." She finally figured it out. "He kissed you!" I blushed. "No comment. " "He kissed you! He totally freaking kissed you!" "Geo," I said rolling my eyes, "your making a bigger deal out of this than it should be," By this point, Geo was dancing around the room singing, "HE KISSED YOU! HE KISSED YOU! ZUKO AND TATIANA, SITTIN' IN A TREE! K-I-S-S-I-N-" I decided to just go to bed right there. "Good night." I said, rather annoyed. Geo lay down on her bed and muttered, "Good night, Mrs. Zuko." I rolled my eyes and whacked her with my pillow.
Zuko greeted me with a blush the next morning at the table. "Morning," he said. "Good morning, yourself," I said. "Good morning, you two," Geo said, putting extra stress on the words "You" and "two." Uncle joined us. "I'm glad to see that you're up so early. I told our boss that we would come in this morning-" "Uuuugh!" We all groaned at the same time. "Oh come on, it's not that bad..." Uncle said. "Yes it is!" We all said at the same time comically. We reluctantly got dressed and went in to work. Geo was still very difficult. "Hey, Mrs. Zuko," she said coming up behind me. I almost dropped my tray. "Stop calling me that! Besides, you should be in the kitchen, brewing." "Aw, c'mon. It's boring in there. I'd rather hang out with you guys, Mr. Zuko and Mrs. Zuko." "You're going to give us away!" Zuko hissed as he walked by with a tray. "It's okay, I'm whispering it, Mrs. Zuko." I shoved my tray into her hands. "I'm going on my lunch break." I said as I walked toward the door. "I'll hold down your shift for you, Mrs. Lee." Great. Now I was married with my real name and my fake name. The only way I could possibly be married twice. I started to bang my head against the wall. She was starting to drive me nuts!
That night, as I was getting ready for bed, Geo came into my room. "Hello there, Mrs. Zuko." "Stop calling me that! You completely embarrassed me today. Not to mention Zuko! Now he probably hates me!" "Uh no, he hates me right now. He kissed you, remember? A guy kisses a girl when he likes her, not when he hates her." "He kissed me to get me to shut up." "Stop lying to yourself! He loves you! Why else in the world would he kiss you? He told me that you heard the argument last night, that was about you. I was mad because he was lying to himself, lying to you, and you were lying to yourself. You guys were driving me up the wall. You're like my brother and sister." She paused for a minute. "That's how much you guys annoy me." I hugged her. "We're all just one big, annoying family."
On Monday, we were all ourselves again, Geo was annoying, Zuko was annoyed, I was clumsy, and Uncle was, as always, making tea. We were all rather awkward around each other, except for Uncle who isn't awkward around anyone. Geo somehow kept her mouth shut because she didn't want to annoy me even more. But it was only because of me. If I was laughing and Zuko was annoyed, Geo would pester him even more. Anyway, we thought that day would be like any other. But we were wrong, in more ways than one.
That day, some sort of critic came into the shop and Uncle served him his tea. The man wore expensive looking green clothes, a few rings, and had a long rat-tail. His pal looked almost the same, except a little younger. The first man took a sip, nodded to his pal and said, "So, you're the genius behind this incredible brew!" Uncle blushed at the term "genius." "The whole town is buzzing about it. I hope Pao pays you well." One of his rings gleamed. "Good tea is it's own reward." Uncle beamed "And money!" Geo called. "Don't forget about the money!" "Well," said the man, "it doesn't have to be the only reward..." his voice trailed. "I like this guy." Geo said. I put my tray down and stood by Uncle. "What's going on, Uncle?" I asked. The man ignored me and asked, "How'd you like to have your own tea shop?" Uncle's eyes widened. "M-my own tea shop?!" He stammered. He almost dropped the tea kettle. "This is a dream come true!" At this point, Pao recognized that his business was about to fly out the window and he ran to join us. "What's going on over here?" he asked. "Are you trying to poach my tea-maker?" He threw his arms in front of Uncle as if to protect him. Yeah, more like protect him from better business. "Sorry, pal," said the business man taking a sip from his cup. "But that's business for ya', am I right?" Pao tried to negotiate with Uncle to get him to stay. "Mushie, if you stay, I'll make you assistant manager. No wait! Um...senior assistant manager!" "I don't think that's gonna cut it, pal." Geo remarked. The business man had his own scheme. "I'll provide you with a new home in the Upper-Ring. The tea shop is yours to do whatever you want with it. Complete creative freedom." Uncle got even more excited (if that was even possible at this point). "I even get to name the shop?" "Of course!" The man said. Pao threw Uncle his last bone. "Senior executive assistant manager...?" he said it as if it was a question. Uncle handed the kettle to Pao, who looked like he was going to sob. Geo and I hugged Uncle. Zuko walked by with a tray of cups. "Nephew!" Uncle called. "Did you hear? This man wants to give us our own tea shop in the Upper-Ring of the city!" "That's right, young man." The business man said. "Your life is about to be changed for the better." "I'll try to contain my joy." Zuko said sarcastically as he placed the tray on the nearest table and went outside. I followed him. "What's bugging you, Zuko?" I asked. "Nothing," he lied. "I can tell you're lying." I said airily. "How can you...?" "Earth-bending." I answered. "It's freaky that way. Now what's bugging you? We have a chance for a better life. The Upper-Ring, a better job, a better house." "That's all well and good for Uncle, but what about us? You and me and Geo? He's living his life's dream, but why can't we?" "Zuko," I said. "One, you sound like a little kid. And two, he's your uncle. Be happy for him! Our dreams will come to us soon enough if we work for them. We can't just expect them to appear. And they will come to us. Just wait. Now come back inside." Zuko obviously felt like playing the "I'm not gonna listen" card because he just walked away. I groaned. He was being really immature and frustrating. Just then, a piece of paper fluttered down from the air and landed right in front of me. It was a picture of some large animal, hairy and huge. Two large horns stuck out from the sides of it's head, which had an arrow on it, and it looked like it had six legs. It was the strangest looking creature I've ever seen. The description said "Lost, flying bison. Answers to the name of 'Appa.' If found, please contact Avatar Aang, Upper-Ring, Ba Sing Se." I looked up and saw someone flying over the city on some kind of glider and tossing a bunch of papers all over the place. I folded the poster, shoved it in my pocket and went back inside.
Later that afternoon, we were all packing back at the old apartment. Then, Zuko came in. "There you are." I said. He ignored me. "So," said Uncle, "I was thinking of names for our new shop. How about 'The Jasmine Dragon.' It's dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it." Zuko ignored him too. "Hey," said Geo, "what gives? You're even gloomier than normal." Zuko took a poster, identical to the one I had in my pocket, out of his pocket and handed it to Uncle. "The Avatar is here in Ba Sing Se... and he's lost his bison." Uncle looked over the poster. "We have a chance for a new life. If we start stirring up trouble,we could lose all the good things happening for us." Zuko spun around to face his Uncle. "Good things that are happening for you." he said. "Have you ever thought that I want more out of life then a nice apartment and a job serving tea?" Uncle went into wise old man mode. "There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity. I suggest you think on what you really want. And why." "I want my destiny..." Zuko said. "Again with the dramatics," I muttered. "What that means is up to you." Uncle replied. Zuko walked out of the living room. Uncle had another name idea. "The 'Tea Weevil'!" He said. Geo and I looked at each other. Geo shrugged. The name was awful, but it wasn't like we were gonna tell Uncle that. He shook his head. "No, that's stupid." I rolled my eyes and continued packing.
After dinner, Zuko left. We sat waiting for him for a long time. We waited all night but he didn't come. "Maybe we should go looking for him." I said, getting a little panicked. "You want to find him and have a big lovers reunion." Geo said, swooning mockingly. "Shut up," I said, my cheeks getting hot. "But we should go looking for him." Said Uncle, looking a little worried. "Do we have too?" Asked Geo. I stood up. "We need an earth-bender to...how do you say, feel the vibrations? Whatever, the point is my earth-bending isn't strong enough." "Can't we just leave without him?" She asked. I shot her a look. "Fine," she said reluctantly grabbing her bag. She took off her shoes and threw them in the living room. As soon as we were outside, Geo said, "Okay, before we do this, you're going to learn something very important. You are not allowed to live with me unless you know this; see with earth-bending." "Geo." I said. "We're running out of time," "Oh shush," she chided. I rolled my eyes. "So how do I do it?" "Just close your eyes," she instructed, "and let the earth be your eyes." I did as I was told and shockingly, my earth-bending, no matter how weak it was, saw all around. The people were like shadows but I still saw people walking home from work, the Dai Lee chasing criminals, everything! But, it didn't make sense, I hadn't worn a pair of shoes since I was at least seven, I wore the pair I ran away in. But, I haven't worn shoes since. How have I never felt this before? It was so incredible and it felt so exhilarating, and it was only my first time. Geo's earth-bending was much stronger than mine, I could only imagine what she felt. Geo closed her eyes, put one hand on the ground, and took a breath in. She opened her eyes as she let it out. She stood up. "He went that-a-way." She said pointing down an alley-way.
We followed Geo's "earth sense" all the way to some kind of lake. It was a very large, lopsided lake. Geo stomped on the ground. "There's an entrance to some kind of fortress somewhere over there..." I cut her off. "Got it!" "Tatiana, wait, I-" Before she could finish her sentence, I jumped beneath the surface of the water. The water was shallow but still cool and blue. For some reason, I felt almost at home under the water. I made my around, looking for the entrance that Geo spoke about. I stayed under a long time, letting the water carry me all the way around. But I stayed under a little too long. The water started to sting my eyes and I was running out of air. I looked around and saw some sort of under-water walk way with a little covered circle cut into it. The entrance. I resurfaced and climbed back onto the shore. "Found it," I breathed. Geo looked a little annoyed. "You do realize that I could have done this, right?" As she spoke, she stomped on the ground in front of her and the walkway appeared out of the water. Geo gave me a look. I tried to think of a good excuse. "I just...I felt like taking a swim...?" I said it as if it was a question. "Yeah. And I feel like you slapping upside the head, but I'm not gonna do that, am I?" "Of course you are, Geo." "OF COURSE I AM!" She replied as she removed the cover and slapped me upside the head. Under the cover was a long ladder that went into darkness. We all climbed down and Uncle held a little ball of fire in his hand for light. Geo closed her eyes and did the creepy earth-bending thingy again. She pointed down a hallway and we followed her. Underneath the lake was a labyrinth of tunnels, each of them filled to the shins with water. I was just glad we had Geo to guide us. One wrong turn would have sent us wandering around for a long time. We turned a corner and came to a closed door. Even with my weak bending, I could feel something big stomping around on the other side of the door. And there was a smaller figure behind the door too. That must have been Zuko. We opened the door and were faced by a huge animal that looked like the one on the poster, which had to be the Avatar's bison, and a man with a blue and white mask. The face was blue, the trim around the eye-holes were white as well as two horns sticking out of the side of the head and the lines running around the side of the face and the mouth was curved into a smile with a top and bottom row of perfect teeth and two pointed teeth sticking out from the corner of the mouth. I remembered it from the wanted poster back in the little shack town, where we met the gamer. When he heard us come in, he spun around and flashed his dual swords at us. I recognized those dual swords, they were the same swords that Zuko fought with back in my village. That day seemed like ages ago now. We closed the door. "Uncle?" said a familiar voice behind the mask. "Tatiana? Geo?" "So," said Uncle ominously, "the 'Blue Sprit'? I wonder who could be behind that mask." Zuko pulled off the mask. His thick black hair fell around his face in the most perfect manner. "What are you doing here?" Zuko asked. "I might as well ask you the same question. What are you planning to do with the Avatar's bison? Lock him in our new apartment? Shall I put on a pot of tea for him?" Uncle asked sarcastically. "I am NOT cleaning up his poop!" Geo said. "First," said Zuko, "I have to get it out of here." "AND THEN WHAT?!" Uncle yelled. "You never think these things through! This is exactly like what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole. You had him and you had no where to go!" "I would have figured something out!" Zuko retaliated. "NO!" Uncle shouted. "If the Avatar's friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!" "This is my destiny!" Zuko said. "Is it your destiny?" Uncle asked. "Or is it a destiny someone has tried to force on you?!" "Stop doing this, Uncle! I have to do this!" I couldn't keep silent any longer. "But why?!" I shouted. "Why do you need to do this?! To regain you precious honor? What did your honor do for you when you were an outcast? Nothing! What did your honer do for you when you had nowhere to go? NOTHING that's what! Do you honestly think that's going to make you any happier?!" "Stay out of this, Tatiana!" "No!" I replied. "You can't just push my opinion aside like it doesn't matter! You need to forget about that destiny that you think is yours! We all care about you. Unlike that stupid honor you keep trying to get back! We're trying to keep you from making a huge mistake!" "Zuko," said Uncle. "We're begging you! Don't do this! It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the bigger questions; who are you, and what do you want?!" Zuko let out a shout and threw his swords and mask to the ground. I walked up behind him and put my hand on his shoulder. He put his hand on top of mine. After a long awkward silence, he said, "Fine, we'll let the bison go." Uncle's expression softened as Zuko went over to unchain the bison's feet. It growled at him and he jumped back. "Let me handle this," I whispered. The bison growled at me too but I stayed where I was. After a little while, he stopped growling. I spoke softly as I moved closer to the bison. "I know you're scared," I said softly. "But we're gonna get you out of here. You don't have to be scared, okay?" I put my hand in the middle of his soft head. Without losing eye contact with the bison, I used water-bending to slice the shackles and then he was free. "Okay," I said (I was actually starting to amaze myself with my animal-whispering ability). "That was the easy part. Now we have to get you out of here and back to the Avatar." The bison made a happy noise. We lead the bison through the maze and to the ladder, which would serve as a problem. "Uh-oh," I said. "How are we gonna' get him up the ladder?" Geo stepped in. "He's a flying bison, he can fly up there himself." Then she turned to the bison and said, "Go, fly, do your thing!" The bison either understood English or he just wanted to get away from Zuko because he seemed really eager to leave. He flapped his tail and rose into the air and out the hole. "See ya', big guy!" I called after him. Zuko finally snapped back to reality. "You're soaking wet," he remarked. "I decided to go for a swim, so what?" He shrugged and we all started to climb the ladder and out the hole. "You did the right thing, nephew." Uncle said. Zuko pulled out his Blue Spirit mask and looked over it. "Leave it behind," Uncle said, putting a hand on Zuko's shoulder. Zuko tossed it into the water and it sank. "He won't be bothering anyone anymore," I said. He looked at me and the corners of his mouth turned up into a little smile. I was talking about the other side of Zuko, the side that had been the blue spirit. That was the one that almost killed the Avatar in the North Pole. That side was gone, I could tell. Now, the good side of him was stronger, the side of him that decided to take me away with him.
His face looked so different in the setting sun. The shadows danced across his face making him look menacing and mysterious at the same time kinder and braver. We all started towards home, walking in silence.
Zuko kept his eyes on the ground the whole time. The sun made the shadows dance across our path making it difficult to tell which one was mine and which one was his."What's the matter?" I whispered to him. "That was a pretty stupid move on my part. If it hadn't of been for Uncle and Geo and you...I would have left with the thing." He hung his head. I slipped my hand into his. "Just be glad you have us. If you must do something, be glad you don't have to do it alone." I gave his hand a small squeeze. He looked up and gave me a tiny smile. The dark circles under his eyes suggested that he was exhausted. He had good reason to, though. He had been up all night. Even if he'd been up all night trying to find that lake to steal the Avatar's bison. For a second, I saw something behind those eyes. Understanding. He understood what it meant to be alone, like I had. He had very few people who stood by him, I had next to no one up until this point. He understood where I was coming from. Uncle and Geo walked in front of us and Zuko and I lingered behind. Zuko was going slower than a turtle-duck stuck in quicksand so I had to slow down just so he could keep up with me. "Can I ask you a question?" he whispered. "Go right ahead," I replied. "You and I both know that we've both generally been alone for most of our lives. Granted, your life has been a lot crappier than mine." "Thanks so very much for reminding me." I whispered sarcastically. "That's not what I meant." he said. "If you and I have had generally the same past, how come you haven't ended up..." he paused, as if looking for the right words, "...like me?" "Which part do you mean? Staying up all night to find a giant bison or constantly talking about honor?" "Let me rephrase that. How come you aren't...bitter?" I thought for a minute. Honestly, I didn't even know myself. "To tell you the truth," I said, "it's probably because I don't look for one person's approval even though I know that I'm never going to get it." That first part mainly applied to him. "I don't dwell on the past because I know that I can't change it, no matter how much I want to." I said it low, barely above a whisper. That second part mainly applied to me. We looked back at the ground. "I wish I could let it go like that," Zuko commented. "I wish I could say it was that easy." I whispered. We didn't realize that we were still holding hands. For some reason, it seemed odd, yet almost natural to us. Zuko stopped walking for a second which tugged his hand against mine. "Zuko?" I asked, "Are you alright?" "It's nothing," he said. "I'm fine," he gave me a small smile. It wasn't very reassuring. "Hey!" Geo called. She was still obviously very grumpy. "Did you guys turn into old ladies in the past five minutes? Let's get a move on!" Zuko and I kept walking and his hand slipped out of mine.
We made it back to the apartment just as it got dark. Zuko stood against the wall as Uncle closed the door. "You did the right thing, Prince Zuko," Uncle said. Zuko didn't reply. "Are you alright?" I asked. He started to absent-mindedly sway back and forth a little bit. I stepped in front of him. He looked awful, like he hadn't slept for weeks. And he was sweating a lot too, like he was very close to a fire. I put a hand on his forehead. "You're burning up," I said. "I don't feel right..." he muttered. For a brief second, Zuko's eyes rolled back and then he collapsed. "ZUKO!" I shrieked. I knelt by him and started shaking his shoulders. "Come on! Wake up!" I said. Uncle ran over and knelt by him. Geo stayed where she was, either too shocked to move or trying to think of something better to do for him other than shaking him."Get him over to his mat." Geo instructed. We dragged Zuko over to his mat and put a soaked cloth on his forehead to try and cool the fever. Once I came out of my brief daze, I realized that I could try and heal him, but I needed water. Of course, I was covered in it. I rolled up my sleeves and started moving my arms back and forth, pulling my wrists back every time I pulled my arms inward. The water slowly started to pull itself off my body. If you haven't had water bended off your body before, it feels something like this: You know when you when you wrap a bandage around your wrist for a long time and then you get a really weird feeling when you take it off again? That's something like what it felt like. After I bended all the water off me, I pulled the water towards my hands and soon they were encased in water. I focussed all my energy on my hands. The water suddenly started to glow, I took that as a sign that I was doing something right. I pressed my hands to Zuko's chest. It took all my concentration and strength. By the time I pulled my hand away, I was exhausted. Zuko didn't wake up.
That night, we stayed up with Zuko in shifts. Uncle had the first, I had the second, and Geo had the third. It was pitch black outside by the time Uncle woke me up. I didn't get any sleep either way. I was out of my mind with worry. I didn't know what kind of sickness Zuko had, I didn't even know why he was sick. I walked into the living room and knelt down by Zuko. He started to cough vigorously. I quickly got a small cup of water for him and tried to get him to drink. I tried to heal him again, several times, actually. Nothing happened at all. Well, something did happen. Zuko woke up, at least. "Hey," he said weakly. I leaned back against the wall. "You look terrible," He whispered. "Speak for yourself." I said. It was true, he looked terrible. "I mean that... you look... exhausted. Did you get... any sleep at all?" His voice sounded strained, like it hurt him to talk. "Well," I said. "Trying to heal a person ten times can really take it out of you." "Ten times?" He looked shocked. "Wow, I had..." he started to cough some more. "Stop talking, you'll hurt yourself." I took the cloth off his forehead and soaked it again. Before I put the cloth back, I felt his forehead again. I had to pull it back because he was burning up. If his temperature rose any more, his hair would be on fire (that's not something that I want to think about). Zuko coughed again as I put the cloth back on his forehead. I got him another glass and the water was gone in less than two seconds. "You need to sleep," I said. "I'm not-" "Yes you are." I said firmly. Both of us were too tired to argue. I pulled the blanket up to his neck and he closed his eyes. In less than a minute, he was asleep. I leaned against the wall and nodded off myself.
The thunder woke me. I always hated thunder, it always scared me. I looked back at Zuko, who was obviously asleep. It looked like he was having a nightmare, though. He was tossing and turning vigorously. "Zuko?" I said. He muttered something. I could barely make out the word "mom". "Zuko," I said again. His eyes jerked open. "What happened?" I asked. "Nothing," he mumbled. "I know that you're lying to me," I said ominously. "It was just...a stupid nightmare." His voice was a little smoother this time, less strained "You can tell me anything." I took his hand. It was so cold that it burned. He took a breath and said, "I was sitting on a throne. My scar was gone. In front of me was an army. Behind me were two dragons, one red, one blue. The blue one sounded like Azula. It told me to stay where I was and sleep. The red dragon sounded like Uncle and it told me to get out and escape. Then everything disappeared and..." he shivered. I held his hand a little tighter. His voice lowered to a whisper. "I saw my mother." he was still shivering. I pulled up the blanket. "It was just a dream," I said. Just then, another clap of thunder boomed overhead. I flinched. It was all I could do not to shriek. Zuko propped himself up on his elbows. "You don't like thunder." He said. It wasn't a question. "Not particularly, no." I answered. "I've always hated thunder. Ever since I was little." "It's only a sound." He said. It probably wasn't the best thing to say. I looked absent-mindedly out the window. "It can't hurt you. I won't let it." It was probably the crazy talking. His eyes locked with mine. "I promise you. I won't let anything hurt you." It was definitely the crazy talking. He gave my hand a little squeeze and gave me a tiny, weak smile. Just then, Geo walked in. I was still holding Zuko's hand. "Did I interrupt something?" She asked. "No," I said. She gave us her look. "I'm going back to bed." I said quickly. Geo rolled her eyes and sat down by Zuko. I ran into my room and shut the door.
Uncle woke up first the next morning, before all of us. It was so dark, you couldn't even tell it was morning. There were footsteps coming from the other side of the door. I flew out of bed and heard Uncle talking to Zuko. I put my ear against the door. "You should know that this is not a natural sickness." he said. "But that should not stop you from enjoying tea." "Of course," I muttered. "Are you eaves-dropping?" Geo yawned. "Shush," I hissed. "What's happening?" Zuko asked on the other side of the door. "Your critical decision. What you did beneath that lake. It was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are now at war within your own mind and body." "What's that mean?" Zuko croaked. I eased the door open a little bit and saw Zuko propping himself up on his elbows, sitting across from Uncle. When I saw Zuko, I nearly gasped. He looked even worse than last night! His eyes had dark circles under them and his skin was very pale, paler than normal (which was a little scary). Zuko coughed some more. I felt a pang of guilt. Maybe if he hadn't stayed up and talked with me so long, he would be doing better. Uncle continued."You are going through a metamorphosis, nephew." Uncle answered. "It will not be a pleasant experience." "So, Zuko's gonna turn into a bug?" Geo joked. I whacked her and kept listening. Uncle put the soaked cloth back on Zuko's forehead. "But when you come out of it, you'll be the prince that you were always meant to be." I pondered what he meant by that. Now, I kind of knew what he meant but, it was a rather odd thought. The prince Zuko was always meant to be? So he meant the prince that Zuko would have been if he stayed in the Fire-Nation. That wasn't a very appealing thought. If he hadn't left the Fire-Nation, he probably would have ended up being another spoiled prince. A better thought would be the person Zuko was meant to be, not the prince. What I mean by that was prince was just a title. Person referred to someone who had actually lived, and was not afraid to do what's right. That was a better way to describe Zuko.
That night, we stayed up in shifts again. I had the last. By the time Geo woke me, the sun was peaking over the wall. I walked in and sat down by Zuko. Nothing much happened. Zuko slept and I sat there in silence, not wanting to wake him. Suddenly, Zuko shouted and sat up. I was about to say something, but the words froze in my throat. The moment got very quiet and awkward. It was awkward because Zuko was completely shirtless. I saw him sit up last night and I should have seen him then but it was dark last night. Other than lightning, I couldn't see a thing. I pushed the fact that he looked amazing out of my mind and went back to thinking about his health. "Another nightmare?" I asked. "Something like that." He lay back down and shivered. I pulled the blanket over his shoulders. "I dreamt that I was the Avatar." He muttered. "Well," I said. "that isn't that creepy." "Not like that." He said. "I dreamt that I was the current Avatar." "The air-bender kid?" I asked. Zuko nodded. "Okay, that's creepy." I said with a little laugh. "But it was only a dream. It's not like it would ever happen." I spoke nervously, remembering my own dreams, hoping that they wouldn't be true either. I didn't know that I was wrong. My dreams meant much more than I assumed, and it meant something bad for all of us.
We agreed that we would move as soon as Zuko was well enough to walk. It took a few days but Zuko slowly got better. He wasn't completely healed but he was better than he'd been in days. We would move the next day. Geo and I settled into our beds for the last time. "Come to think of it, I'm gonna miss this place." I said. "I'm not," she snorted. "The place smells bad." I sniffed the air. For the first time, I noticed a subtle odor. It smelled like Jasmine tea. "It smells like tea." I said. "Exactly." She answered mysteriously. "You hate the smell of tea?" I asked. "Yes," she said seriously. "Plus, the place is too small." "Yeah," I said. "It'll be nice having our own rooms." "Separate rooms won't matter because you'll be spending all your time in Zuko's room." "Geo!" I hissed and whacked her with my pillow. We both started laughing. "Good night." I said. "Good night, Mrs. Zuko." I rolled my eyes and went to sleep.