Chapter 5
The measly fries Ty Lee and Azula shared after lunch wasn't very filling and as Azula walks to Algebra she hears her stomach growl. She finds herself tempted to go to the vending machine and purchase a bag of fruit gummies but she can't afford to be late to class. The school has a policy of notifying parents whenever their teen is late to a class, and Ozai was not one to tolerate poor attendance.
Two minutes early Azula enters the classroom and slides into her seat, the classroom is air conditioned and Mr. Roku loves to have it cold. The classroom may be even colder than the chilly fall air outside. Neatly placing her homework on her desk Azula looks to see who has arrived to class already. Yue, Ming, Haru, Chan, Rika, Lola, Ron Jian. Nobody interesting for her to observe until class starts. She stares at her boots for what seems like an hour but logically was only a few minutes. I swear I'll fall asleep until class starts soon.
Her thoughts of snoozing were interrupted by the bell and Mr. Roku shuffling in clutching a messy stack of papers that he threw onto his desk. Azula forces herself to sit up, a pain in her back makes her wince. Thank Agni it's friday I need to sleep. Mr. Roku snaps his fingers and states that he needs someone to take roll. Lazy old man what is this middle school?
Despite her distaste for Roku's laziness Azula raises her hand. Roku smiles and hands her the clipboard. Clearing her throat she stands up and starts reading off names
"Chan?" she says sharply
"i come when called" he sneers winking at her. I'm no longer craving gummies
Taking the rest of roll is easy. There are a few missing students, including Ty Lee that haven't shown up to class yet. But they only have a few minutes to do so before they are marked as absent. Azula keeps the clipboard on the corner of her desk waiting for the other students to arrive. Roku clasps his hands together and begins the lesson.
Only three minutes into the lesson Ty Lee bursts into the classroom holding her folder in between her teeth and cradling her unzipped backpack. She manages to say a muffled apology to Mr. Roku before she quickly dashes to her seat. Another cheerleader waves through the glass window before running off to whatever class she is late to, Ty Lee waves back giggling softly. Azula rolls her eyes at the complete disrespect for the class bell schedule.
Ron Jian turns to Ty Lee who is searching for a pencil in her messy pink backpack. "Hey Ty I know you probably didn't have time to do the homework, you know with cheer practice and all so i wrote up another copy of my homework so i could give it to you" he gloats holding out a crisp copy of the homework with all of the answers filled in. Ty Lee gasps in disbelief. oh you have GOT to be kidding me Azula scoffs quietly but not enough. Ty Lee catches Azula shoot the cheerleader and football player a disapproving glare.
Turning her full attention to the lesson now Azula scrawls down more of the notes Mr. Roku has written on the board. He is in love with her, and she's just letting him think he has a chance! Heck maybe he does have a chance
her paper is filled with harshly written notes in bright red ink. Azula sighs and pushes the paper away from herself.
When It's time to collect the homework Mr Roku walks around and picks up the papers from each desk quickly. When he gets to Azula's desk she decides to make Ty Lee squirm a little bit. "oh Mr.Roku you should know something very important" Azula declares making Mr. Roku momentarily pause his trip around the classroom. Azula eyes Ty Lee who is biting her nails anxiously. Ty Lee's eyes plead with Azula not to say it, so she doesn't.
"gosh I'm sorry Mr.Roku I must have lost my train of thought" she sighs turning away from the teacher. Mr. Roku mumbles something about "teenagers wasting his valuable time" and he rounds up the last of the homework. Azula smirks Ha she looked so afraid for a second there I hope she understands that her whole system of getting good grades on the class isn't very stable. With one conversation with Roku I can make sure Ty Lee has to retake this class when she's a senior
Ty Lee throws a pen at Azula's shoulder. Whipping her head around to see who threw It Azula finds Ty Lee staring at her with her arms crossed in annoyance. Azula picks up the pen and slips it into her own pencil case. "your not getting this back" she mouthes to the already angry cheerleader. The lesson runs on and eventually Roku is rambling about his pet dog's sensitive stomach. Around this time of the class period Azula begins to watch the clock.
"and final thing for the students in my history class, please meet with your partners tonight to do more research on the project, i suggest the library it's a good place to find helpful information on your topics!" he advises before wiping down the whiteboard. Azula feels Ty Lee's eyes burning into her back. I guess we have to study again tonight, at least it'll be at the library and not my home.
The clock hits three and the teenagers file out of class eager to enjoy their Fridays. Azula once again makes it out of class first and starts striding down the hallway. And just like she expected Ty Lee catches up to her quickly. "Azula what was that?! we got along so well today during lunch I thought you'd finally gotten over your need to make me suffer-" she grumbles. Azula's lip curls into a smile "I don't have a need to make you suffer Ty Lee, i simply thought It would be funny to mess with you" Azula explains calmly not looking at the other girl. I didn't need to do that though, now she's upset
Ty Lee frowns and keeps following Azula down the stairs towards the parking lot. Azula turns to face her "don't be a stalker Ty Lee" she says reaching to get her car keys out. Ty Lee sighs, exasperated with Azula's behavior.
"Did you not hear Mr. Roku? we have to study at the library now!" Ty Lee half-yelled. Azula hears the beep of her car and reaches for the trunk so she can throw her bag in. Ty Lee crosses her arms and watches Azula shove her backpack in and close the trunk with a click.
"Okay Ty Lee, get in the car then" Azula groans and Ty Lee's face melts into another pearly grin. Azula turns on the engine and smiles when she hears the hum. She puts the car in reverse and backs out of her parking space. Ty Lee buckles her seatbelt and goes on her phone to find directions to the library. Azula assures her there won't be any need, Ozai used to make her spend sundays at the library from eight to five so she could be well educated, more educated that her classmates.
Azula still feels very hungry, and her stomach makes sure to announce that with a growl. Ty Lee cover her hand with her mouth and snickers softly. "Are you hungry Azula?" she says smiling. Azula pauses at a stoplight "yes of course I am, you ate half of my fries" she remarks. The light turns green and Ty Lee spots a cafe a few blocks ahead. She gasps loudly, "Azula omg can you please pull over that cafe is so yummy and you're hungry too! i would kill for some food right now!" she squeals widening her eyes at the driver.
Azula wants to keep driving and not give into Ty Lee's pleading but her stomach is louder than her brain and she turns the car into the small parking lot for the cafe. Ty Lee jumps out of the car and runs to the trunk so she can retrieve her wallet. Azula pulls down her sunglasses to eye the cafe, it's quaint and homey. But it looks a little old and shabby too, it better not have any health code violations. Ty Lee pulls her bedazzled wallet out of her backpack and turns towards the cafe still beaming with excitement.
When the two girls enter through the cafe's pastel pink doors Azula is surprised to see that almost all the tables are full and a few people are waiting for takeout. The lady behind the counter shoots Ty Lee a smile and comes over to seat the pair of teens. "hey Adela can we have a table for two please" she chimes to the woman who she has obviously met before. Azula follows along as they are seated at a table with pastel blue chairs and a bright orange table. The color scheme of the cafe makes Azula's head pound.
"oh gosh look at all the options" Ty Lee gushes opening the menu. Azula mimics her and does the same Hm garden salad, homestyle burger, crepes, soups, sandwiches... She doesn't know what to choose either. But when she moves her menu away from her face Ty Lee decides for her.
"Okay Azula you should get their mac and cheese i know you'd love it!" Ty Lee chirps pointing to it on Azula's menu. Not having any alternative Azula nods and closes her menu. Ty Lee breaks into chatter almost immediately
"I had such a crazy dream do you want to hear it?!" she starts describing the dream to Azula before Azula can even respond. I don't think i'll ever get a word out around her honestly. Ty Lee rambles about her dream about how the city floated into the sky on some sort of Bison bear combination. Azula nods along listening to the girls dream but then an awful thought runs up her spine. What if she knew about the dream I had? then i'd be in real trouble
Azula's fearful expression is clear to Ty Lee, who reaches over and shakes Azula's hand which is resting on the table.
"Azula Azulaaa did you see a ghost?" she questions. Snapping out of it Azula smiles weakly and shakes her head, "of course not carry on or whatever" she waves her hand at Ty Lee. Ty Lee's grey eyes sparkle mischievously and she lowers her voice to a whisper. Azula is almost intrigued to hear what the girl has to say.
"do you wanna know why I was so late to class today?" Ty Lee whispers slowly. Azula shrugs and Ty Lee continues "so I was talking to Nico and I guess the conversation went on for farrrr to long so I didn't hear the bell then he tried to kiss me and I had to dodge it SO QUICKLY" she admits "I also had to go tell Melanie so that made me even more late!" Ty Lee is giggling now. But Azula doesn't see the humor in any of it He tried to kiss her? Nico's a dirtbag he's sleazy and horrible why would she even waste her time engaging in conversation with such a sickening man
"Thats great Ty Lee. But you couldn't kiss Nico not with Ron Jian on your eye all the time" Azula exclaims watching the waitress shuffle around tables serving plates of warm steaming food. Ty Lee slaps her hand on the table in shock
"AZULA RON JIAN?!?OH HE'S JUST MY FRIEND" Ty Lee persuades laughing at the idea of her and Ron Jian. Azula raises her eyebrows at Ty Lee and Ty Lee turns pink.
"Well i guess he may have a crush on me, but you know when boys like you and you don't want to hurt them so you play along?" Ty Lee asks hopefully. Azula stares back at her exhausted by Ty Lee's blindess to the effect she has on the boys and girls. At their school.
"I wouldn't know what that's like" Azula says cooly as she fiddles with the fork on their table. Ty Lee tilts her head to the side
“guys think your hot, but I think they just assume you won't like them"
"and why is that?" Azula says leaning forward a little on the table. Ty Lee turns red and starts to stutter, "well I don't know if your open about it..but they all assume you like girls?" Ty Lee quickly looks down at her hands and Azula processes the information. Why would they think that? when have i ever given that impression, i haven't dated a girl.... or a guy
Breaking the silence the waitress puts two plates of food down in front of the girls one bowl of steaming hot mac and cheese, and another of vegetable soup. Ty Lee squeaks in excitement and thanks the waitress. Azula picks up her fork her stomach screaming at her to dive in.
"it's fine if your not open about it tho! It took me a long time to come out as bi" Ty Lee assures Azula who doesn't look up from her mac and cheese. I do like girls in that way but certainly not guys..and not Ty Lee either contrary to what Zuko will say. Azula looks up at Ty Lee who is dunking a piece of bread into her soup.
"I do like girls, but I don't like to date" Azula says as quickly as she can turning her face down to the bowl of pasta before she can turn red again. Ty Lee nods and bites into her bread, "cool, good to know"
What in Agni's name does she mean by that?!?
The two are very hungry so they dive into their food and don't leave room for conversation. This bodes well for Azula since she truly doesn't want to talk to Ty Lee about her endeavors with boys anymore. But this cafe is amazing the food is almost perfect. The only time Azula has ever loved a dish so much was when her mom used to make her old recipes. I don't want to think about her right now. Every time Azula thinks of her mom she starts to feel sick and she uses all her willpower to not run to the cafe bathroom and hurl.
Ty Lee finishes her soup and looks at Azula who is trying to control her breathing. "are you ready to go?" Ty Lee asks. Azula nods and waves the waitress over. The check is smaller than Azula suspected but she leaves a hefty tip, the service and the food was great. Getting up to leave Ty Lee frowns "Azula i can pay for my own food" Ty Lee says reaching for the check.
"Ty Lee please if you want to pay me back later you can, can we please just go" Azula sighs. Giving in Ty Lee gets up and the two leave the little cafe.
Azula knows that the ride to the library will be very short and brief. Ty Lee hops into the passenger seat and babbles about how good the food was. Before Azula can put the car in reverse, Ty Lee grabs Azula's arm gently and gives it a squeeze. "I'm sorry if i'm intruding but you seemed kind of upset in there for a second, your breathing was all ragged, are you all right?" she says speaking in a soft tone that could make even the most stern people melt.
Azula fights the urge to pull her arm free but she shakes her head, "I don't know I just remembered somebody I wasn't very fond of" she says sharply. Ty Lee rubs Azula's arm asking if she wants to talk about it. When Azula shakes her head Ty Lee nods and let's her arm fall back by her side. Azula feels a ball in her throat Agni she really is trying to get be to show vulnerability, no way
Putting her hand on the passengers seat when she reverses the car she feels Ty Lee lean back into the seat, her neck brushing against Azula's hand. Azula's breath catches in her throat and she pulls the car out. Ty Lee gazes out the window as the sky grows darker. The remaining rays of sun manage to shine on her face. And for a second Azula watches her she truly is beautiful it's good that she is smart enough to use it to her benefit.
The library is a big old building that has been slowly crumbling down for a few years now. Yet people still go in to read despite the chances of the roof falling in at any given moment. Studying does not sound very appealing right not to either of the two girls and they both sigh before entering the building. A really old man stands behind a little checkout area he waves the girls over and asks them if they are looking for anything in specific.
"Anything on the 100 year war?" Azula asks leaning on the counter as the old man nods and points toward an isle far in the back. Azula nods and starts walking towards the section of the library the man pointed to. Ty Lee runs after her eyeing the people in the library. Azula immediately starts scanning the shelves her eyes gleaming even in the darkness of the library. Ty Lee's eye catches on an older yellow book on the top shelf with "100" on the spine. She hooks a foot on a bottom shelf and begins to climb. Azula turns around and her eyes widen.
"TY LEE GET DOWN NOW" she hisses through her teeth. Ty Lee hooks her index finger on the book's spine and pulls it out.
"Azula catch it!" she whispers back throwing the book down. With ease Azula grabs the book. Ty Lee looks at the ground it seems awfully far down. Azula buries her face in her hands
"Ty Lee don't be dramatic just hop down" Azula begs of the girl on the shelf.
"Catch me!" Ty Lee suggests
"absolutely not" Azula shakes her head. Ty Lee rolls her eyes
"azula come on then at least stand under be just in case" she pleads. Azula steps under where the girl, tucking the book under her arm she prepares for the worst. Instead Ty Lee laughs on her way down.
"Hee hee I just realized you can see up my skirt from that angle" she giggles slowly making her way down the shelf. Azula feels blood flush to her face and she states that she's not looking and she will leave the library right now unless Ty Lee manages to hurry up.
"Okay OKay" Ty Lee says making it to the ground. Azula sighs in either relief or exhaustion, maybe both. Ty Lee grins looking from the book and then Azula's annoyed face.
"well I got the book didn't I" she beams as Azula walks over to the library reading area. Ty Lee throws herself onto a beanbag and yawns loudly. Azula narrows her eyes She better not dare to fall asleep right now. Ty Lee beckons for Azula to get on the beanbag chair so they can look through the book together. Azula hesitantly looks at the navy bag and sits down next to Ty Lee. The beanbag however dips in under their added weight. The pair find themselves hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder, and arm to arm.
Ty Lee looks unfazed and reads the back of the book but Azula tries to hide how nervous she feels right now. It reminds her of the couch and of her dream. Ty Lee's skin is smooth against Azula's arm and her vanilla pefume fills Azula's nose and clouds her sense. Ty Lee leans closer to point out a funny picture in the book and Azula draws in a sharp breath. Ty Lee squints at her, "what's wrong with you? are you having a heart attack or a stroke?" Ty Lee questions jokingly.
Azula can't help but look at Ty Lee really look at her. Her slim pale arms that turn the pages of the book, her mousy brown hair that sits in it's signature braid so perfectly. The way her lips move when she reads to herself and the grey of her eyes that manage to shine whenever she laughs. Ty Lee appears to be perfect, not a flaw in her face or her body. Azula thinks what she's feeling is envy but it's something else it burns in her chest. She exhales a little too loudly and Ty Lee looks over at her.
Does she know I was staring? I was simply admiring her features, why can't i just study. Azula begins to read along in the book too. Despite the warmth of Ty Lee's body next to her own it's easy for her to stay focused on the war and the story of nations fighting. Maybe an hour goes by of them reading together in silence that is only broken when Azula types down an interesting fact from the book into her notes app so they can use it during the project.
The lights flicker, Ty Lee looks around and gets up. "the library is closing we have to go" she says quickly. Azula rises from her seat in the beanbag chair and nods. She checks out the book using her library card which makes Ty Lee hold back a chuckle. Pushing past the old doors of the library Azula looks for her car. Ty Lee looks at the sky and sighs when she see's the sunset.
"Azula look the sky is pink, ugh it's so gorgeous" she cooes her hands folded across her chest. Azula shoots a glance at the sky and opens her car door. Ty Lee takes a minute or two to get in the car obviously mesmerized by the sky. Azula doesn't mind though, she's too tired to be annoyed. When the two finally hit the road Ty Lee takes advantage of Azula's exhaustion and seizes the aux cord to play Clairo.
"Sofia" starts to play and Ty Lee hums along as she gazes lovingly at the sky outside. Azula doesn't mind the song but it's not her favorite. The lyrics are interesting to her though
You know I'll do anything you ask me to
But oh my God, I think I'm in love with you
Standing here alone now, think that we can drive around
I just wanna say how I love you with your hair down
Baby, you don't got to fight, I'll be here til the end of time
Wishing that you were mine, pull you in, it's alright
The song is soothing and the lyrics make Azula's chest ache in a way she's not familiar with. She turns to Ty Lee who to her surprise has already been watching her closely. Azula stares back and breaks the silence
"so where is your house? so i can drop you off" she says turning her eyes back to the road.
"just three more blocks it's the peach colored one" Ty Lee says as she continues to hum along to the song.
The peach house is fairly large and Azula stops the car so Ty Lee can get out. Ty Lee hops out and pulls her phone from the aux making the song stop. Azula nods in Ty Lee's direction as a goodbye but the cheerleader pauses before she gets out of the car. She climbs back in the seat and leans towards a confused Azula. She lifts Azula's sleeve gently and notices the patch. Azula is flooded with embarrassment but Ty Lee smiles so widely Azula realizes there is nothing to be embarrassed about.
"You got a patch! I'm so proud of you!" Ty Lee cries clapping her hands together. Azula rolls her eyes
"It's no big deal" she informs a giddy Ty Lee. Ty Lee hugs Azula, Azula responds by keeping a hand on the wheel and looping the other around the other girls waist. Ty Lee plants a kiss on her cheek before pulling away. Azula grips the steering wheel quickly feeling the other girls lips on her cheek made her chest feel tight and her breathing shallow. She breaks the hug letting a still enthusiastic Ty Lee slip out of the car.
Still gushing about how good this is for Azula Ty Lee shuts the car door and runs into her house. Azula zooms off as fast as she can she really is doing all of this for a project...but then again was this all for a project.
Later that night when she's in bed Azula catches sight of her whiteboard in the corner of the room and begins to doubt herself for the first time, her hand rising to her cheek she ponders the possibility that Ty Lee may be genuine. She's snapped out of these thoughts when she hears movement in the living room downstairs. She knows it's not Zuko because she saw him go to sleep in his room half an hour ago. I swear if i have to fight a damn robber right now Azula tip toes down the stairs holding a heavy hairbrush she has to chuck it at an intruder.
But whoever is standing in the living room is far from and intruder. He sets his briefcase down and turns to face Azula who is now pale. Azula meets his eyes and manages to get some words out
"Welcome home Father"