Avatar High School

salsa

zuko's pov

- what does mai like talking about? - i ask erity.

- she likes talking about star wars, physics and music.

- why does she hate the second star wars trilogy?

- trick question! she loves it, because her favorite character is anakin skywalker.

- good! you're getting it fast.

its nearly 6pm and erity and i are reviewing what she learned. i dont really know why i am doing this, mai is not that though.

i guess i just like the way i feel when i'm around erity.

- we're done for today, aren't we? - the girl gives me a smile, which makes my heart flutter.

- guess we are. but don't think you'll get away with me easily! - i point a finger at her and harden my voice, just to soften it again. - is it okay if we practice it tomorrow at lunch?

- sure! we were going to meet anyways...

we stare at each other thinking about what to say and she breaks the silence, as always.

- i gotta get home, but its too dark outside.

- oh! i can take you home, no problems. can we go walking? sorry, my uncle's got the car. - i say, already getting the keys to the shop.

- thank you very much! - she says and we leave the tea shop. i send a quick message to uncle and he replies with a smiley face.

what's that supposed to mean?

erity and i start walking in the cold night. here in ba sing se you can see the stars shining really bright.

- where do you leave?

erity seems confused by the question, but soon starts laughing at herself.

- im such a dumbass. i was going the wrong direction.

the girl facepalms as we turn back.

- no problems. - i giggle at her dorkyness.

we continue walking in silence.

- we just talked about mai the entire day - erity suddently says. - and i barely know two things about you.

- oh, what do you want to know?

- hm, what type of music do you like? - she says and looks at me. i feel a strange feeling in my stomach when our eyes meet.

- i listen to rock, alternative and sometimes old music.

- whats your favorite artist?

i blush. this will destroy the image i took days to give her.

- i like ABBA. - i look to the other side, avoiding her face.

- YOU LISTEN TO ABBA? - she says a little bit too loud. - i love ABBA!

- you do? - im reliefed. i thought she was going to make fun at me.

- yes! i have my headphones with me right now, do you wanna listen to them? - i nod with my head and she searches her purse for them.

- here they are! - she pulls white ones and inserts them in her phone. - luckyly, i downloaded all of their songs on spotify.

she gives me one and i put it in my left ear, while she puts hers in her right ear.

we are walking closely so the headphones won't fall and i feel the music starting.

can you hear the drums fernando?
i remember long ago another starry night like this

- yes! this is my favorite! - she says with a smile.

i start whispering the lyrics and she soon starts doing the same thing.

they were closer now fernando
every hour every minute seemed to last eternally
i was so afraid fernando
we were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die

we both take a deep breath before the chorus starts.

- THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE AIR THAT NIGHT, THE STARS WERE BRIGHT, FERNANDO! - we both sing and start laughing with euphoria.

whoever sees us right now will think we are lunatic. we are singing, dancing and interpreting the song like we're in a concert.

though i never thought that we could lose
there's no regret
if i had to do the same again
i would, my friend, fernando
if i had to do the same again
i would, my friend, fernando

we start dancing to the song like its salsa, careful so the headphones won't fall and destroy the magic of the moment.

my hands are holding her waist and from a sudden impulse i pull her and we spin in the air.

the moment we're on the ground again we start laughing like crazy.

if i had to do the same again
i would, my friend, fernando

the lyrics of the song end, but we continue humming to the melody.

when it stops, we finally realize: im holding her body and she only has one leg supporting herself on the ground. our faces are at least 2 inches away from each other.

even in the dark night, i can still see she has a few freckles on her nose.

we get out of our transe and go back to our normal position, our cheeks burning like fire.

the next song is Dancing Queen and we also start dancing and singing, although this time there is no salsa.

i get a little bit sad when we get to her house.

erity stops the song and asks for her headphones. i clean it a little bit on my shirt (which makes her laugh) and give it to her.

- thank you a lot, zuko. - she is standing in front of me and staring straight to my eyes. - i had a lot of fun today.

- me too. - i stare back at her. we start getting closer and i can feel that strange feeling on my stomach again, but she speaks before anything can happen.

- im glad we are friends. at first i really thought you were an asshole, - i frown. - but you are actually a really nice guy. - i soften my face again. - thank you again, for helping me with mai.

a sad feeling starts to form inside of me when she mentions mai, but i refuse to let it out.

- thats what friends do, right?

- yeah!

she enters her house and says "bye!" before closing the door.

- yeah, we're friends. - i whisper to myself as i come back home.

when i arrive at the tea shop (that is also where i live) i see uncle sitting in the couch of our living room.

- how was your date? - he smiles brightly at me.

- it was not a date... - i roll my eyes. - but, still, it was amazing.

i get to my room and lay on my bed, to start staring at the ceiling.

do i have feelings for erity? i can't! she likes mai and, also, im helping her conquer her!

im such an asshole. i swear i have never seen someone sabotage themselves in such a creative way.

i cant just let this feelings happen. i have to push them away and continue to help erity, so eventually they will disappear!

its a bad idea, but its the best i've got right now.

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i think this is my favorite chapter until now. zuko and erity dancing was just so fun to write.

also, the music Heather, from Conan Gray applies a lot here.