Chapter 4
“Hello, earth to Korra. Anyone there?” Korra heard someone calling her name and waving their hand in front of her face.
It took her a moment to get out of her trance and focus on her surroundings.
“Huh? Uh, what? What is it, Opal?”
“You were spacing out there for a bit. You know what to do right?” Opal asked though she already knew the answer and raised an eyebrow at Korra.
“Um… Not exactly…? What did she say we had to do?”
Korra glanced at their PE teacher Ms Beifong, hoping she wouldn't stare at her again. The older woman seemed to hate the girl for whatever reason she didn't know. Maybe not really hate but she definitely didn't like Korra.
Great, staring at me again with the deadliest dead stare you could imagine.
“We have to group up and warm up with a few stretch exercises.” Opal stretched her arms and followed Korra's gaze, then chuckled at the grimace the girl made. “Come on, Korra, she doesn't hate you.”
“Then why's she always looking at me like that?” Korra made a face and tried to imitate her teacher. “You're aunt is scary.”
“I know, she can be pretty weird but overall she's really… nice. She's like that to everyone, so don't worry about it. Let's better start stretching before she comes here.” Sitting down on the floor, Opal spread her legs into a split, motioning for Korra to do the same.
“I know, I know.” Korra sighed and slid to the floor as well, parting her legs and beginning to stretch them.
“So, why were you spacing out earlier? You seem to do that a lot recently.” Opal began and looked at Korra, a hint of worry in her eyes.
Opal, attentive as always.
Korra smiled at the other girl, letting her know that she appreciated her worry. “It's nothing serious, I was just thinking a bit about Mako.”
At those words, her green eyes lit up and Korra thought she could've seen a spark in them. Opal raised her eyebrows and wiggled them up and down, putting on a smug grin.
“Oh really? Tell me everything.”
“No, Opal, I wasn't thinking about that kind of things.” Korra chuckled at her friend, noticing what a good couple she and her friend Bolin would make.
“Oh? So what did you think about then?” Visibly disappointed she turned her attention back to stretching again, now talking more absently to her partner.
“Do you remember when I told you about Mako and his little secret he kept from me?” Korra continued her stretching as well.
“Yeah, you know why he's been acting so weird now?”
“I… No, that's what I've been thinking about. He's still acting really awkward around me in certain situations, like two days ago I asked him if he wanted to go to the xx bar and he was like no, I'm not going there anymore. He said that the staff was rude the last time we were there and the atmosphere wasn't that great.”
“What? That bar is awesome, I thought it was one of his favorites, maybe even his favorite bar. He would always suggest that one when we wanted to go out drinking.” Opal was looking directly at Korra now with a confused look on her face. She as well didn't seem to understand Mako's intentions.
“I know, right? I told him that, too. But he was all uptight about that and kind of overreacted. At least that's how I saw it. He began to yell and bitch around. Said he could change his opinion whenever he wanted to, it was none of my business. I mean, what the hell? No need to be so touchy about that.” A frown was forming on Korra's face as she remembered the fight from a few days ago.
“Yeah, what's his problem? It's not like you blamed him for anything.” She hesitated a bit before adding “right?”.
“No! I did not. I just said that I didn't understand what he was saying. That bar was his favorite after all and all of a sudden he doesn't want to go there anymore? There has to be something behind that. He's hiding something from me, definitely.”
“But why would he do that? Mako's such a lovely boyfriend, you sure that you're not just mistaking things?”
“I am, Opal. It… hurts, y'know. I don't want him to hide something from me that obviously makes him feel awkward whenever we're together. We're in a relationship, he cannot avoid me. Plus a relationship should be built on trust, shouldn't it? Seems like he doesn't trust me, huh.” Korra's face dropped and she let out a shaky breath, trying to calm herself.
Opal reached forward, took one of her friend's hand in hers and gave it a light squeeze. “Korra, no, don't think like that. I'm sure, he will tell you. Maybe it was bad news and he needed a moment to process them first. Maybe it was just a big misunderstanding. Maybe he prepared a big surprise for you, you never know. It's obvious that Mako can't hide any secrets.” She winked at the brunette and smirked at her.
“Opal, you're officially the worst cheer-up-person I know.” Korra looked at her friend and began to laugh as she saw the face Opal made at her.
“Hey! I'm doing my best here, you know. At least I managed to make you laugh. Besides, I can't really distract you while were in PE with Ms Beifong watching our every move.” She puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I'm not the worst, Bolin is worse.”
“Speaking of Bolin, how's it going between you two? Still not on steady ground?” Now it was Korra's turn to smirk at the other girl.
Opal turned red and lowered her gaze to the floor, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. “No, I'm not sure. We were on our third date on Saturday-”
“Really?” Korra leaned forward a bit, noticeably excited about what Opal had to tell her. “Where did he take you? How was the date? How was he?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“All right, slow down.” Opal chuckled nervously. “Um, well, he took me out to ice skating. And-”
“Wait, wait, wait. I thought, you couldn't ice skate…?”
“I can't! Let me finish speaking.”
Korra zipped her mouth and turned back to stretching, but still listened to what Opal was saying.
“Okay, so he took me out on an ice skating date. As you know I cannot ice skate, so he suggested to teach me. And to be honest, it was pretty fun. He was so sweet as he explained the basics to me and secured me so I wouldn't fall. He held my hand almost the entire time to make sure I wouldn't slip. He was so cute! And funny, okay, no, he's always funny, but on that day he was even funnier than normal, like how's that possible?” Her face was literally glowing as she talked about their date and Korra had to refrain from laughing.
Instead she smiled brightly at her friend and listened intently to her words.
“It's Bolin, you never know what he's about to do next.”
“Exactly!” She almost screamed the words out of excitement, earning a warning look from her aunt/teacher. “And after ice skating”, she continued in a more hushed voice “we ate dinner at his place. It was just spaghetti and he also apologized for the dinner for being so decent but I swear, those were the best spaghetti I've ever eaten. It was so romantic!”
Maybe it wasn't really the food she liked but more the person who made it.
Korra grinned at her conclusion and smirked about her next question. “So… did you two kiss?” She raised her eyebrows in expectation and glanced at Opal.
“We did! Bolin was so embarrassed, I didn't took him for a shy person. But that just makes him even cuter, he's such a dork.” She smiled to herself, clearly still on that date in her mind.
“You've fallen hard, Opal.” Korra chuckled at the girl.
“I know, and I love it, I've never felt that way before. It's so new and thrilling!” She sighed dreamily.
“I'm really delight for you two, seriously. You make such a great couple and it's so good to see you happy.” Her words were full of warmth and support, but Opal could still hear the slight disappointment in them.
“Korra, you will figure things out with Mako, I'm sure of it.” Opal's hands found Korra's and gave them a squeeze.
“I hope you're right.” Korra's voice was unsure and filled with concern and doubt, but she still forced herself to smile even though she didn't feel like smiling at all.
Their conversation was harshly interrupted as Ms Beifong shouted across the sports hall to the class to gather into a small circle around her. Opal gave Korra a last comforting look before they both stood up to meet the rest of the class in the middle of the gym.
The rest of the PE class went by quickly. Next was history.
Great. What we're we talking about again last week? Fuck.
As Korra made her way to her classroom, Asami was already sitting at her usual spot at the window. She was looking outside and Korra could not not admire how beautiful she looked as the sun glistered on her face. Asami noticed her coming in just seconds later, smiled and waved. Korra smiled back, gave her a quick wave and sat down one desk behind her.
“Hey, what's up?” Asami turned in her seat to face her and grinned at the girl.
She kinda looks cuter than usual. Maybe she did something with her hair?
“Not much, actually. Just really tired and exhausted.” Korra sighed heavily and laid her head on the table.
“You and tired? Wow, you don't see that everyday.” She chuckled lightly and the sound of it was like music to Korra's ears. “Why?”, she asked and began to play with a strand of the brunette's hair.
“School, sleep, job, Mako, basically just life.”
“Wait, Mako?” She raised her voice a bit. “Again?”
“Yes, Mako. Again.” Korra closed her eyes and tried to collect her thoughts.
“Oh man, what's wrong with you guys?” Asami murmured more to herself than to anyone.
“I don't know, you tell me. I've already told you the thing with the bar right?” She looked up at the other girl and gave her a questioning look.
Asami simply nodded and rolled her eyes, signalizing her sympathy for Korra. “I don't understand him. He's never been like this.”
“I know... Asami, what should I do?” Korra almost pleaded for her friend's advice.
She didn't want her relationship with Mako to end. She'd fought so much for this, for them. It would be a waste to throw it all away again. But the more she thought about it, the more she doubted her feelings for the boy. At one point in their relationship, something in her brain clicked and she noticed what they had at the moment wasn't any different from their friendship before that. They were still acting the same, talking the same way and about the same things. Sure, there were romantic moments now and then, but to be honest these were really rare.
What if I'm forcing myself to like him, to continue this relationship? What if actually I don't want to be his girlfriend but just simply his friend?
It was nothing new for Korra to force herself to like other people. She didn't want to hurt them, so she just pretended to like them. She was doing such a good job on that, she mostly didn't even realize it herself that her feelings weren't real.
“I don't know, maybe confront him?” Asami suggested though she didn't sound convincing.
Korra snorted. “You think, I didn't try that yet? He won't talk, no matter how often I'm asking him, no matter how much I shout at him or tell him that I'm gonna break up with him. He won't open up, and I don't know what to do anymore.” Her despair was clearly audible in her voice and her words were shaky.
“Korra.” Asami's tone was firm and yet soothing, forcing the other girl to sit up in her chair and look at her. “Whatever decision you make, whether you're going to end all this or trying to keep the relationship up, I will support you as best as I can. I will never leave your side, I will never abandon you. I want you to know that.” Her hands found Korra's on the table and she interlaced their fingers, her warmth spreading through Korra from head to toe.
“Yeah, I know.” They smiled lovingly at each other. “Why can't Mako be more like you, Asami?”
The words caused the girl to laugh and the sound alone was enough to raise Korra's spirits. “Not everyone can be like Asami Sato.”
“You two over there, no flirting.” Ms Pema, their history teacher, called out to the two girls as she made her way into the classroom along with the rest of the class.
A few students chuckled. Asami gave Korra a last squeeze and looked her in the eyes one last time before turning around to face the blackboard again.
Yeah, why can't Mako be more like Asami.