Senior Year

The great end of the week transferred into a calm weekend, which suited me just fine.  It gave me time to look over the many schematics that I had on my desk, all calling my name to be updated.  One of which was belonged to the project I had started in shop.  The project itself was a retractable shield of my own making.  I intended to make it able to withstand firebending, earthbending, and waterbending attacks.  Knowing the kind of people that liked to gather in Republic City, it was better safe than sorry.  The prototype was in its development stages at the Shop, and problems had already arisen in the firebending protection.  Of course, being me, I spent the entire weekend working on the changes before I was finally satisfied.

The weekend turned into Monday, where the first thing Mako did was announce to the bending teams that he was sponsoring RCHS for the Championship.  The cheering that erupted could have busted an ear drum if the acoustics in the arena weren’t shitty.  Even Kuvira was impressed.  Once the excitement had finally calmed down, she announced that because of these new developments, changes were to be made immediately in regards to the teams.  The only change that was made, though, was that Korra became the waterbender for the former junior varsity team.  No one was surprised to say the least, though Hasook made it clear that he wasn’t happy.  Should’ve actually put effort into it then. 

Speaking of Korra, I had begun to notice that she wasn’t acting herself.  I didn’t know how to explain it; she just seemed…off.  No one else seemed to notice it, not even Opal, who’s usually good at reading people’s emotions.  I noticed the small things:  she would eat slower when she sat with us; when Mako was around, her face dipped into a slight disappointment; and when they practiced, her focus was slightly off.  I tried asking her what was wrong, but there was never a time where a straight answer could come out.  Someone or something was always interrupting her, pulling me to the side, or something along the lines.  And frankly, it was pissing me off.  Like couldn’t the universe give us a few minutes to talk about this?  Seriously?

Monday turned into Friday, the day of the gala in honor of Korra.  As the week had gone on, I learned more and more about the gala itself.  Mr. Arlin had been busy since his first day as our Statistics teacher.  He was extremely vocal in regards to the community, even helping to run a new task force that was in charge of hunting down the chi blockers and their mysterious leader, Amon.  I had found out that the day after Mr. Arlin had called Korra to his office to ask her to join the task force as the Avatar, the gala was announced to honor her.  This worried me greatly.  She’s not just the Avatar, but she’s a student.  She’s not even a legal adult, yet.  Why would Mr. Arlin be pushing so hard for her to join?  Is he trying to get her hurt?

I had voiced my concerns to Dad, but he was all in support of this new task force. “Amon and his people, these Equalists, are hurting people.  People like Mako and your friend Korra, Asami.  They must be stopped,” he had said, a smile on his face trying to reassure me.  Only it did the opposite.  It made me worry that much more about my friends.

I sat at my desk, my dress for the gala already on, as I stared at my Cabbagetop.  Articles upon articles about Amon’s Equalist army were up on my screen.  They were gaining steam against the benders of the city, and the city’s council was having a hard time battling them.  It was becoming a dangerous place to be a bender in the city, which worried me more and more.  They could attack any of us, even Korra.  They could take her bending away.  I bit my lip, closing my Cabbagetop when I heard footsteps coming towards my room.

As I stood, trying to do something other than worry about the Equalist army, Mako walked in, dressed quite well in the clothes I had helped him pick out.  He smiled when he saw me standing by the mirror.  I couldn’t help but smile back.  He always looks so sharp.  God, he’s such a good catch.  As if reading my mind, Mako posed a little.

“What do you think?” he asked, turning so that I could see his back.

I chuckled. “Very handsome.  Do you know if my Dad is ready to go?”

He nodded. “Went to go have the limo pulled up front.  It was nice of him to invite Bolin and Opal as well.  Have you noticed that they’ve been hanging out more and more recently?”

I went over to my jewelry box, opening it and pulling out one of the chains.  Perfect. “Have they?  I seemed to have missed it.  Do you think they make a good couple?” I asked, feigning innocence.

Mako leaned against the dresser, watching me put on my necklace. “Yeah, and they actually do.  I didn’t think Bolin was Opal’s type, but they’re like…two peas in a pod.” Don’t laugh…don’t laugh…don’t laugh.

Thankfully, I managed to hold in my laugh and keep my composure.  I looked at myself one more time before grabbing his hand and leading him downstairs. “Who would’ve thought huh?” I said, smiling as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

The gala was packed with important people from around Republic City and the four nations.  To see some of these dresses suddenly made me feel quite underdressed for the event.  I walked in, arm linked with Mako’s, with Dad leading the way and Bolin and Opal right behind us.  Bolin was dressed in a similar style to Mako only with a green theme.  After being invited to the gala, Opal had gone straight to her mom, Suyin to get help picking out a dress, and boy did Su have taste.  The best way to explain her dress was that it made her look like an elegant emerald; it was a jaw dropping dress.  Seriously; I need to start asking Su more on her opinions for dresses.  Opal always seems to one up me. 

“Wow,” I heard Bolin say from behind me. “This is amazing. “

As we continued to walk through the crowds of people, my eyes began to search.  Those blue eyes were bound to show up if I searched hard enough.  Where is she?  This is all for her, so she’s got to be here somewhere.  Five minutes had passed as I continued to allow Mako to lead me around, following Dad as he spoke to some of his acquaintances, my eyes searching for Korra.

“And let me introduce you to Hiroshi Sato, one of the greats innovators that Republic City has to offer,” I heard Mr. Arlin say, bringing my attention to him.

It was then that I saw her.  The dress was obviously a traditional Water Tribe make, but damn it did look stunning on her.  She looks like a princess in that dress; it’s so…her.  Her hair, which usually hung in a style she called wolf tails, was pulled back into a bun.  She looked annoyed, I wonder how many introductions she’s had to go through tonight at this gala, but that goofy, cute smile made an appearance when she noticed me.

“Asami!” she said, walking over to me.

I met her halfway, pulling her into a hug.  Damn.  She smelled really nice. “Hey Korra,” I said, leaning back. “That dress looks good on you.”

That earned a blush and a soft smile.  Again.  That weird feeling whenever she does that smile.  Ugh, I need to stop. “Thanks.  Yours looks amazing,” she said as we let go of each other.

We shared a nice moment of silence before Bolin practically ran over to us. “Korra!” he shouted, practically barreling into her.  God, Bolin, you’re at a gala! 

I rolled my eyes as Bolin pulled Korra away with Opal in tow.  Korra looked at me over her shoulder, offering an apologetic apology as they walked towards the refreshments.  I felt an arm around my waist, looking over my own shoulder to find Mako standing behind me.  I smiled and leaned against him.

“Want to dance?” he asked, stepping to the side so that I could see the not-as-crowded dance floor.

I smiled. “Sure, but only if you can keep up with me.”

I grabbed his hand and led him out onto the dance floor.  It wasn’t a terribly fast song, but it wasn’t too slow.  My hand on his shoulder and his on my waist, we began to dance.  It took us a bit to adjust, but eventually I could tell when he decided to let me lead.  Not bad.  Now if only…  Then the song changed into a faster tempo.  Perfect.

I smiled at Mako, picking up the side of my dress so that I wasn’t going to trip as we danced.  Hand in hand, I led Mako around to a faster dance, a smile on both of our faces.  Not too bad, Mako.  I laughed as I suddenly changed direction on him, but it still didn’t phase him as he quickly adjusted.  We danced from one end of the floor to the other, some of the couples moving out of the way as they noticed how in sync we were with the music.  I laughed again when Mako changed the direction on me for a change, but he was unable to deter me as I adjusted with the spin.  We traded spins back and forth, and it was fun to watch Mako try his hardest to keep up with my dancing background.

The fun song came to end, transitioning into a slow dance.  I smiled as I wrapped my arms around Mako’s neck, his arms sliding around my waist to pull me closer.  I laid my head against his chest, a sigh of content escaping my lips.  God this is just…perfect.  I smiled, opening my eyes slightly as Mako adjusted us so that an incoming couple wouldn’t bump into us.  And that’s when I saw them.

Korra was by the refreshments, seated at a table, but no Bolin or Opal around.  A quick look around, and I found those two dancing not too far away from us.  I looked back towards Korra and saw that a guy was with her, a drink in both their hands and laughing at something the guy had said.  A flare of fire erupted inside me.  Who the hell was this guy?  The guy was tall and lean; his beard was short and trimmed.  I could see Korra say something, and the guy laughed, leaning closer to her.  He said something back, and that smile, the smile she would give only to me, appeared on her face.

I shook my head as frustration started to build up.  She just probably met a new friend here, someone she can relate to maybe.  I tried to focus on dancing with Mako as the dance changed to a slightly faster tempo, but my mind wouldn’t leave Korra.  I’d look over every once in a while, and they were still together at the table, laughing and talking to one another.  I shook my head again after the fifth time.  Why am I so angry about this?  There’s no reason to be this angry, especially over some guy. 

The anger never subsided though, and only to seem to grow when the gala had ended.  By the end, Mr. Arlin had managed to trick Korra into joining the new task force to help stop Amon.  I could see by her reaction that she didn’t want to be a part of it.  She shouldn’t be a part of it!  She’s a student for Spirit’s sake!  But when I tried to talk to her afterwards, the guy beat me to her.  I had to stand off to the side, watching them as they left the gala together.  The fire inside me never died; there was something about this guy that my instincts told me wasn’t right.  He’s not right for her.  Something tells me he’s going to hurt her, but I won’t let him.

The new guy never left Korra’s side after the gala, and I never stopped believing that he was up to something to hurt her.  She starting dating Leu, weird ass name to match the weird ass feeling I had, a month after the gala.  He wasn’t the only change that came into her life after the gala, just the one that pissed me off the most, for no reason I may add other than that weird something’s-wrong feeling I had about him.

Since Mr. Arlin managed to trick Korra into working with the task force, she had been going on dangerous assignments with them to stop the chi blockers.  More than once, she would come to school with fresh new bruises on her arms and neck from their attacks.  If her behavior before the gala was weird, now it was beginning to get scary.  Everyone began to notice how it was affecting her; Kuvira even began to voice how she needed to take a break from practices so that she could get enough rest for school.  Korra, of course, objected to the suggestion.

“Championships are coming up, and I need to be ready to go.  I promise, I’ll be at my best,” she had said, a smile on her face, but not the smile I was looking, hoping, for.

It was until days later that I was able to finally have a real conversation with her.  The first real conversation we could have since before the gala.  Bolin, Korra, and I had been released from math early due to Mr. Arlin having to leave to a matter in regards to the task force.  Bolin had decided to take advantage of the early release to run to the local store for a snack before practice, while Korra and I headed towards the arena.  Our walk was a slow one, and all the new changes that had started to appear after the gala were becoming more prevalent.  She didn’t smile as often, the bruises were starting to appear more and more.  She looked like a ghost of herself.

“Korra, is everything ok?” I asked.

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at me, smiling a small smile.  It was a miniature version of the one she usually gave me.  God this is horrible seeing her like this. “Yeah, I’m fine, Asami.  Just…a lot on my plate, ya know?”

We continued to walk in silence until I spoke up again. “Korra, I’m worried.”

She looked at me confused. “About what?”

I grabbed her hand to and stopped, causing her to stop with us. “About you.  All these late night assignments with the task force.  This Leu guy.  You haven’t been the same since the gala, and it’s really worrying me.”

She looked at me for a minute before pulling me into a hug. “I’m ok, Asami.  I promise, if this becomes too much, you’ll be the first one to know.  Ok?” she whispered.

I sighed, hugging her tight. “You better.”

At practice, she was more of her energetic self.  She laughed a little more like her old self.  It felt as though the old Korra was back with us, even if it was for a short time.  Even as I watched her leave, I felt as though it wouldn’t be the last time I’d see our Korra again.  I hate this gloomy side of Korra.  I clenched my fists.  And to hell would I continue to let her suffer like this.  I made Korra a silent promise as I walked to my car.  I was going help her get through this, and nothing was going to stop me.