"Where is everyone?" I asked, my hands clammy with sweat. Three days, was it? Till I had to make my decision?
I'd already told Azula and the rest of them that I'd join them, but now I was scared. I would have to make my decision in front of the Fire Lord.
The Fire Lord.
"Princess Azula is in her room," a young girl bowed and then scurried off. I approached Azula's room and knocked hard, once, twice, three times.
"Come in." Her cool voice flowed through the wooden door. I pushed it open and saw her sitting in front of her mirror, doing up her hair.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"Where would I be going?" she rolled her eyes.
"I don't know. That's why I'm asking." I walked over to a chair and sat.
"Somewhere with Ty Lee and Mai."
"Can I come?" I asked, sitting up.
"No." she snapped.
My face fell and I leaned back, clearly hurt. Her eyes softened and she sighed.
"We're supposed to go alone. My father said so."
"So you're just leaving me here?"
"Kind of."
"Don't look so disappointed. We're not going forever."
"Ugh," I groaned. "I can't stay here with Zuko, you know that."
"No," she said, raising an eyebrow and suddenly twisting in her chair to look at me, "I don't."
"Well he's a jerk."
"What is going on you two anyway? One second you look like lovebirds making a new nest and then one of you suddenly turns out to be hawk and attacks the other one, tearing the nest apart." She rolled her eyes. "But then you wont let the other go and you keep making the nest over and over even though you know you have to keep starting from scratch again."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "It's nothing like that."
She scoffed. "Don't be so pathetic."
"I'm not being pathetic. He's probably already engaged to Mai or something."
"So that's what this is about." Azula smirked.
"What is it about?"
"Don't play dumb," she warned, standing up and tossing her bag towards the door. "You're totally in love with my brother."
"I'm not," I snapped, my fsce turning hot. I chewed on my thumbnail.
"You very much are. Even I can see it, and I know nothing about relationships."
"Hey!" I scowled. "Can you just leave already?"
"You're the one in my room." She supressed a laugh. "Well, if you really want me to go, you should be happy the girls and I are leaving for a few days."
"A few?" I shrieked.
"Two. Don't worry though, I'll be back in time for your decision. Promise." And then she smirked, looking over her shoulder at me once and then picking up a few things including her bag, and disappearing out.
🔥🔥🔥
I walked out into the garden that night, going to sit beside the pond when I heard rustling.
"Who's there?" I called out, putting my fists up in defense. "Come out where I can see you."
"Mei?" a male voice said. I groaned out loud.
"It's Ayame."
"I don't really care." Zuko said, stepping over a bush.
"You should care."
"I don't."
I scowled, turning to walk away from him before he caught my arm and turned me towards him. "Are we always going to argue every time we see each other?"
The only thing I was thinking was that how on earth did he catch up to me so fast? "I guess so. I mean, that's what friends do don't they?" I turned away again, leaving him friend-zoned and standing there but he pulled me around again, not roughly, but not gently either.
"You want to sit?"
I rolled my eyes but followed him anyway. "What do you want?"
"I just want to talk," he said, looking a bit annoyed. "Why do you always ask so many questions?"
"I just want to know why you're so interested in talking to me today."
"There's nothing interesting, I just have no one else to talk to."
I glared at him, stopping abruptly. His shoulder bumped into mine. "I'm not interesting?"
"That's not what I meant." he said gruffly. "Can we not start this again?"
I walked past him, sitting at the edge of the pond. The cold breeze was whispering inaudible hissing sounds as is rippled through our clothes. He sat next to me.
"So. What do you want to talk about?"
"Anything," I shrugged.
"You know, I don't hang out with Mai just to annoy you." He ran a hand through his open hair.
"I don't get annoyed," I said in defense, a little too quickly.
"You know, I'm not stupid," he rolled his eyes. "Maybe quiet, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid."
"You, quiet?" I scoffed. "Even when you're quiet you're loud."
He shrugged and lay back as I skipped a few pebbles in the pond, rippling my reflection.
"Can I ask you a question?" he asked after a second.
"Sure."
"What made you come back?"
I stared straight ahead, pondering over his question. "I never came back. I just got here." I raised an eyebrow at him.
"No, I meant . . . " he cleared his throat, suddenly embarrassed, "come back . . . to me."
"Oh." I blushed, trying not to look at his face and using more skipping pebbles as an excuse. "I guess I just never fit in with them."
"Right." The leaves rustled above our heads, the light from the moon reflecting silver against the water. One of the pebbles sank before it could do anything, so I flicked my index finger upward and the water shot it back out gently, tossing it ahead three more times. I grinned. Zuko turned his head towards me. "Can I ask you another question? Promise me you won't get mad or try to kill me."
"I have to hear it first," I joked, but then I nodded, serious, "promise."
He took a deep breath. "You know, you never had to show your Firebending to them. You were perfectly fine without it. You're as powerful with water as you are with fire, and the Avatar could've accepted you then too. You could've lived your lifelong dream, so why ruin your chances by ever showing them your other ability?"
Instead of punching him, I thought about what he said. Finally, I answered, "maybe in the end, you can't keep everything a secret. Maybe in the end, you learn that if someone doesn't accept who you are the way you are, they're not worth it. All team Avatar did was look past my good points and see my one flaw, so eventually, in the end, I had to leave. I'm not evil, Zuko. But maybe that's how people see us now, even the best of us."
Zuko sat up slowly, looking at me and putting two fingers under my chin, tilting my head up to face him. He smiled. "One thing. Firebending is not a flaw." I laughed and he pressed his forehead to mine, his golden eyes shining. I tried to lose myself in the moment but something was holding me back. I pulled away standing up and turning my back to him, trying not to choke up as he asked, "what's wrong?" his voice tinged in hurt.
"You can't have both, Zuko." And then I walked away in long strides to get away from him faster, wiping my eyes. He couldn't have us both. He'd have to make up his mind sooner or later, and I wasn't the one who was going to spoil him.
