I'm In Love With A Monster

This Will Be Good for You

Zuko sighed as his uncle's jalopy jerked to a halt. As if reading the young vampire's mind, Iroh turned to look at him. He reached out to place a hand on his nephew's shoulder before remembering his recent aversion to touch and retreating.

"This will be good for you," Iroh assured.

Zuko scoffed, not even looking up, his downward gaze causing his black hoodie to cast a shadow over his face.

"Yeah, whatever," he replied.

Iroh gave a resigned nod before getting out of the car and heading to open the trunk.

Zuko followed and grabbed his duffel bag from the trunk before closing it and the two went inside.

They went into the office and were greeted by a slender woman with long straight dark hair. She smiled at them with a grin so big it looked physically painful, revealing the dimples on her cheeks. Her thin eyebrows were raised high on her forehead as she spoke.

"Hello. My name is Joo Dee. Welcome to the New Horizons Institute of Learning. How may I️ assist you?" she asked, smile unwavering even as she spoke. While Iroh found it endearing, Zuko was downright creeped out.

"Hi Joo Dee. I'm Iroh and this is my nephew, Zuko. He's a new student here," Iroh explained.

"Welcome, Zuko," Joo Dee said.

Zuko was silent and did not even so much as make eye contact. He simply folded his arms across his chest.

"He's shy," Iroh justified.

They then went about the formalities of giving Zuko his class schedule and room assignment before Joo Dee informed him that another student would be there shortly to show him around. Iroh offered to stay and help his nephew unpack, but Zuko insisted that he went home.

After a few awkward moments of silence where he waited in the room as Joo Dee merrily typed away on her desk with the same disturbing smile, the door swung open.

In walked a brown skinned girl with thick brown hair and bright blue eyes adorned with a white flowy top and a blue skirt.

"Hi, my name is Katara. You must be Zuko," she said, reaching out a hand for him to shake.

He looked her up and down with his arms folded for a moment before speaking.

"Germaphobe," he lied.

Katara nodded understandingly before awkwardly retreating her arm back to her side, awkwardly wiping her hand on her skirt as if there was something on it.

"Okay then. I️ guess I'll just get to showing you around then," she said.

Zuko only responded with a shrug before reaching down for his duffel bag.

She led him to a large open space with sofas, tables, and bookshelves. The room was occupied by several students, and the sight forced Zuko to break his stoic unfazed demeanor. It was hectic scene with books and other objects floating around, a whiteboard with a marker writing on it that no one was holding, and even a student sitting crosslegged but floating in midair.

"This is our common area," Katara explained, her tone surprisingly nonchalant.

She looked at Zuko briefly and took in his shocked expression before speaking once again.

"We have all kinds of supernaturals here. This school is a safe space away from human interference where we can just be ourselves," she continued.

Zuko couldn't help but cringe slightly at her words. He wasn't supposed be there — wasn't supposed to be one of them. He didn't want to "be himself." He wanted to be human again.