𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚. | zuko x sokka

1

It was Zuko's first day at his new high school since his father had moved in with his uncle. He was very nervous simply because he had never really been a people person. Not to mention, he had a huge new  burn scar over his left eye.

His father, a CEO of an insanely successful company, had never been the best to him both growing up and now. His father always seemed to favor his younger sister, Azula. His father was never the nicest person, to anyone around him. But, this had been the first time he ever physically abused Zuko, instead of his normal verbal abuse. His mother died when he was young, so it's not like he had her to protect him at all anymore.

He hated remembering what had happened. He was still so hurt over the whole thing. His father had found out that he had a boyfriend, and refused to accept Zuko for who he is. Zuko refused to change himself for his father's acceptance, so he was disowned. He refused to pretend that he was something he wasn't. He was gay, and he wasn't ashamed of it.

His uncle, Iroh, took him in as his own. He was eternally grateful, but upset nonetheless. He didn't want to restart his entire life by moving schools. He knew he wouldn't fit in, and he knew he'd get questions about his scar. He definitely wasn't ready to answer that question to almost anyone, especially strangers. The only person he was comfortable with talking about it was his uncle.

His eyes opened widely as his alarm clock scared him. He sighed, and pressed his closed fist against the alarm clock in attempt to shut it off. He sat up and took a deep breath, his amber colored eyes skimming the room as he thought about the day. What if someone asks me about the scar and humiliates me? He thought to himself.

Zuko sighed deeply before standing up. He pulled on a plain black t-shirt along with jeans and a red flannel. He combed out his semi-long hair, and it fell in front of his eyes. He really didn't want to stand out, but knew that would probably be impossible considering he had a scar that took up almost half of his face.

When he was first burned, he had lost his vision completely in his left eye. As it began to heal, he got his vision back, but it wasn't as good as it was before. Every time when he would clean his wound, it would remind him of the moment it happened.

He remembered himself begging his father for mercy, begging him to just let him leave, promising that his father would never see him again. He remembered how the burn felt, and he could hear himself screaming in pain. But, no, that wasn't enough for his father. He believed Zuko needed to be taught a lesson. A lesson that wouldn't stick anyway.

After Zuko grabbed his book bag and his lunch, he and his uncle left to head to his new school. He was super nervous. He had never gone to public school before, he had gone to a prestigious private school his whole life by the orders of his father.

Once he arrived, he said goodbye to his uncle and walked into the main office of the school. The principal gave him his schedule and showed him to his locker and homeroom.

The teacher introduced herself as Mrs. Carlson, and seemed like a kind person. She seemed to be of Latina descent, and had tan skin and dark brown eyes, and her curly hair was up in a ponytail. She dressed in black dress pants and a white, long sleeved button up top.

Zuko skimmed the room, and only two boys his age seemed to get his attention. One had semi-long, shaggy, black hair and tan skin, and had a toothpick hanging out the corner of his mouth. He smirked very smugly when his eyes met Zukos, and Zuko immediately looked away, uncomfortable by the situation.