Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA.

This is based on a tumblr post by firebendingzutara


She stares at him over the top of her Chemistry textbook. Her fingers tap on the edge of the book, listening and waiting. He's been staring at his phone for the last ten minutes of class when the teacher allowed them time to work on any homework due over the course of week.

It has been two hours since she posted a new selfie on instagram. It isn't like she is one of those super obsessed girls who post new photos of themselves whenever time is at hand, but this selfie, in particular, is an experiment.

His back is bent forward in an obvious position of looking at his phone hidden on his lap. She rolls her eyes at his stupidity. He is just lucky the teacher had stepped out of the room. Her own phone is balanced on the edge of the table, ready to fall into her lap at a sudden appearance of an AWOL teacher. Her index finger hovers over the refresh button, waiting for his name to pop up as a like. She drops the Chemistry textbook in favor of pushing a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear.

She looks over at him, only to notice his fingers are now occupied by a pencil, tapping back and forth on the lab table. His phone is away, presumably placed into the pocket of his sweatshirt.

A frown mars her otherwise pleasant features as she refreshes her page to no avail. Out of curiosity she checks his most recent likes. She wants to scream in frustration. Out of all the photos he liked, Mai's, at best, subpar selfie in study hall stands out.

When she glances back up, her blue eyes catch a pair of golden ones. She has to calm her breathing. His fingers holding the pencil lift slightly to give her a miniature wave, one she returns with a dumb smile on her face.

It is bad enough that she has a crush on her best friend, but now he won't even like the photos of herself. Something is up with him, but she doesn't know what it could be. So she stares at him, her hand still in a waving position, even after he had long turned around to complete his work.

OOO

He can feel her eyes boring into his back, into his skull. He doesn't know why she keeps looking over at him, but he just knows her doe, blue eyes are staring at him, into him. His fingers slide across the smooth glass of his phone. Without looking at the picture on his feed, he blindly likes it, only to cringe later when he registers that he liked one of his sister's friend's selfie, which had such terrible lighting that he has to chuckle to himself.

But as he cringes from the action, he will feel like a jerk to take back the like the girl had most likely seen; his eyes drift down to the next picture. The top of her curly brown hair comes into view. It's loose and flies off her shoulders with what must have been a sudden gust of wind. Her eyes sparkle in the sun, and her smile, though it is only hinted, still reaches her eyes.

His best friend, but his finger hovers over the heart with hesitation. Though his knowledge of selfie categories are slim, he would place this one in the flirtaious box. His finger still hovers over the picture, and with a sudden decision his finger slides down the page to the next photo.

It pains him, in away, to keep passing over her pictures. They are beautiful; no she is beautiful, and she always makes him feel like he has a worthwhile life in front of him. On that wasn't conceivable to him until he met her long ago. To him, it is wrong to have feelings for his best friend, the same best friend he did everything with, including running into the girl's bathroom to console her when she found out her mother died. Or when she stayed all night with him the hospital when Ozai burned the left side of his face off on the hearth. She hid from the nurses when visiting hours were up.

Though she wasn't the only one who told him he was still handsome after he found out he would live with a permanent scar, her words were the only ones he considered true.

He likes her, and it would be wrong to like a flirtatious picture of her as a best friend. His hand finds the off button of his phone, and he sighs as he shoves his phone back into his red sweatshirt.

He brushes his black, shaggy hair away from his eyes and proceeds to pick up a pencil. When the tapping of the pencil irritates even him, he looks up from his work and catches her staring.

He controls his face from morphing into a goofy smile, deciding it would be best just to give a slight wave of the fingers. She returns his gesture with a fake, plastered smile. Her eyes, to him, are smoldering.

What is wrong with her?

OOO

Their feet, in sync with each other, clip evenly on the sidewalk. She keeps her head down, avoiding any eye contact with the person walking beside her. She keeps one hand tightly clasped on the strap of her shoulder bag, while the other one clutches her phone tightly.

Neither of them have said a word, which is unlike them as she is usually bubbling over with joy at the day she had, and he walks beside her nodding and commenting at appropriate moments. On a good day, he may even contribute with his own anecdotes.

Today, the gray clouds swirling above them perfectly reflects her mood. The anger and jealously she didn't know she could produce, simmers to a boil. Her teeth grit in frustration and at the first touch of a raindrop, she explodes.

"Why didn't you like my selfie?"

"W-what do you mean?" He coughs and stutters.

"The selfie," she says with utter calmness, "that I posted not three hours ago."

They've come to a stop now. The sheets of rain cut into their clothes, matting the fabric to their bodies. Her curly brown hair weighs down her head as it becomes soaked. Her once bouncy curls are now straight strands sticking to her cheek. Raindrops slide down her face in a semblance of tears.

"Right. Uh.. I didn't see it."

"Bullshit!"

His golden eyes narrow. "And how would you know?" he says, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Because you're a terrible liar, and I might have been spying." She mutters the last part.

"Fine, yes I didn't like you're selfie." He sighs with exasperation and wipes the water off of his face.

"But you liked Mai's! Why didn't you like mine?" She hopes the jealousy doesn't show in her eyes as she wines to him.

He holds up a hand to stop her. "First of all, liking Mai's selfie was a complete accident. And for why…. I uh I mig- I might possibly, slightly have a minor, tiny crush on you. And it didn't seem right to like your selfie as a best friend. It would have been... dishonorable," he rushes.

"Y-you do? You like me?"

He shrugs shyly, a light blush showing through on the skin of his good cheek. "What's not to like?"

A sly smile pops up on her lips. She steps in front of him, leaning slightly forward to brush a ghost kiss on his soft lips. Before he can comprehend, she pulls away with her mouth parted and droplets running off of her nose. A tint of pink shows through her darker skin tone.

She giggles at his dumbfounded expression. "W-wha-"

"We always did have common interests." After a moment's pause and a tap on her chin, she says, "Now can you like the damn selfie?"


Yes, I know I should be working on Falling to Pieces, but I saw the post, and I produced this.

My tumblr: shatterinseconds

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