The Fire Within - an atla fanfic (Zuko x OC)

Is this the Real Life?

I wouldn't consider myself tired of life, per se, but sometimes I really just didn't want to live. I sighed as I pulled my dirty-blonde hair into a tighter-than-tight ponytail, partly due to my anger at my mom's continual attempts to cheer me up, which couldnt possibly be done at this rate.

"Don't look so glum, Ashley, going on this trip will be a great experience. We'll all be together.... family.... fun!..." My mom spoke to me.

I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes at the prospect of this. A vacation? In the middle of winter? But the most unbelievable detail was the fact that this vacation was planned for perhaps one of the worst places: Greenland. I'm not trying to hate on Greenland, I'm sure it is fine, but my family never went on vacations, so it was quite jarring to hear I had to go freeze my ass off up north. It was suspicious to say the least.

I took a reprieve from listening to my mother to looking out the window into the busy street of New York City below. I could only imagine how boring Greenland would be compared to this. At least at my home, I had something to look at besides an iceberg.

"Ashley? Are you even listening to me?" My mom quickly said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Uh huh," I replied, redirecting my attention back to Mom. "I just don't understand why we have to go to Greenland, and not some place more... well, you know, interesting?"

Mom shook her head slowly. "Ashley, you know we need to stay on a budget, and Greenland just happens to be very cheap. Vacations don't come for free. Plus, I looked online, there are plenty of places you would enjoy there."

I scoffed. "Oh yeah? Like where?"

"There are said to be many hot springs in Greenland that are very enjoyable to swim around in." Mom said with smile.

I looked over from my window and tilted my head in consideration. "Hm. That doesn't sound too bad." I always liked to swim, and it was probably my main hobby at the time. I never took it too seriously, as I tended to be more easy-going with these things. But I still spent a lot of time swimming nonetheless. "I guess it will be fine, it is only for a week."

———

I brushed through my hair eagerly as I heard my younger brother incessantly calling my name.

"Ash! Hurry up!" My younger brother called from down the stairs.

I huffed in annoyance. We weren't even running late. "One second, Ben!" I called to my brother as I once again pulled my hair back into a ponytail and looked at myself in the mirror with satisfaction. I grabbed a bag that was laying on my bed and skeddadled down a short hallway into my kitchen. Looking at my brother, I sighed. "And I thought I was impatient." I said with a scoff.

"Sorry, it's not my fault the plane is going to leave soon!" Ben replied as he matched my scoff.

"Come on, you two, let's make this a nice trip, be nice to each other for once." Mom said to both of us. "You both will remember this trip for the rest of you lives."

I raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "If you say so."