Title: I'd Lie
Summary: "Care to play a game of 20 questions? One for each day you spend here. By the end of those 20 days, I guarantee you'll be in love with me." Fortunately for Toph, some love stories just aren't meant to happen. This isn't one of them. AU Tokka
A/N: I am tentatively posting this story as a spin on the normal Tokka AU. I thought it would be interesting to write a introspective while Toph did not have a crush on Sokka, but, in fact, rather disliked him. I will continue it or not based on the feedback I received, although I do have a very good grasp on the plot of the story so far. Because of this, updates will probably be more regular and consistent then my other stories'. This being said--ON WITH THE TOKKA!!!!!!!!!
I couldn't believe I was agreeing to this.
Really, I couldn't. I mean, sure I'd do anything to get away from my parents—
But this was a bit much.
It wasn't that I hated Sokka Kuruk—
I just really, really didn't like him. And now, as he grinned at me, in a way he must have thought irresistible, I was beginning to dislike him even more.
Sokka Kuruk. The most popular guy in school. He could have gotten any girl he wanted, but unfortunately—
He'd picked me.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek as Sokka waited confidently for my answer. If I agreed to this, there was no way that I could lose anything from it. I got twenty days on the beach, and away from my parents—aka, Mr. and Mrs. Overprotective. So—
Even though I hated to give Sokka a reason to become even more arrogant then he already was, there was really no choice in the matter.
I sighed.
"Yes."
It was obviously going to help me get away from my parents for longer than I'd ever hoped, so…
Why did I have such a bad feeling about this?
Chapter 1: I Really Don't Like You
Hate is a strong word
But I really, really, really don't like you
I really don't like you
—Hate (I Really Don't Like You); The Plain White T's
I plopped my tray down on the cafeteria table, and gazed down, disgusted, at the quivering glop on my plate. I had no idea why I bought this crap every day—
I could have had anything I wanted for lunch. But maybe that was it, the fact that I could have had the best, but I chose this instead.
Or maybe I just enjoyed infuriating my parents, who believed that cafeteria was too strong for their little Tophie's fragile digestive system. Coulda been that, too.
All the same, this was the last day for three months that I'd have to eat at Shaoling Academy. Today was the last day before summer break, and I couldn't decide whether to fell elated or disappointed. Pretty soon, I'd have to put up with the same nannies I'd had since I was three—Xin Fu and Master Yu—and be under constant surveillance.
I'd do anything to get away from that, I thought to myself.
(Here's a tip: be careful what you wish for. Fairy godmothers tend to pop in at the most inopportune times, after all. Mine had decided to take a break, and those fairy regulators musta got on her case or something, 'cause man, she was working her ass off. By "working her ass off" I mean "preparing to either completely ruin my life.")
Back to the story.
"Hey, Toph," an overly loud and incredibly obnoxious voice came from behind me, and I immediately scowled.
"Sokka," I muttered, not looking up from my lunch. Poking at the caked meat with the tip of my fork, I stoutly ignored his presence behind me.
After a moment, however, he went on, sliding into the empty chair beside me, "Care to play a game of twenty questions?"
I couldn't help but snort. "We're not in elementary school anymore, Kuruk," I said scornfully, taking a bite of my so-called meatloaf with a grimace.
"No, no, you don't understand. There's more than that," Sokka said airily. A pack of girls that had been trailing him all lunch squealed, and he shot them a poor attempt at a suave smile. All the same, they giggled and batted their eyelashes at him coyly. I felt sick—was this what the human race had come to? I waited a moment, however, until they'd left—albeit reluctantly—to join the lunch line. Idiotic this may have been, but I didn't want any eavesdroppers.
When I was sure they were out of earshot, I turn to Sokka and glared. "Just leave me alone," I snapped, rising up from the table with my tray clutched in my hands. Sokka followed my steps doggedly.
"You hate you're parents, don't you? What if you could get away from them for twenty days during this summer?" he called after me. I immediately froze, and turned around to face Sokka.
"Where'd you here that, huh?" I asked rudely, eyeing him suspiciously.
Ignoring me, he continued, "My family has a summer house—by the beach. My Dad said I could bring someone for the twenty days we stay there…Care to play a game of twenty questions?" he repeated, waggling his eyebrow. "One for each day you spend at my family's summer house, away from your parents—and with me. By the end of those twenty days, I guarantee that you'll be in love with me. Like I am with you." He smiled at me.
I stared at him. Those eyes, that smile—so many girls had been pulled in by that look. I had to admit that he could have done much worse—Sokka could have had every girl in the school, if he'd wanted to. He could have broken a hundred hearts; ruined a hundred lives. Sometimes, I wished he was like that, just so I could finally have a good reason to dislike him as I did.
But, as it was, I didn't know much about Sokka. Aside from all the excessive flirting and charming smiles, I had no idea what really went on in his life: for all I knew, he could still have been a virgin.
And yet, I still hated him that much. Life is amazing sometimes, isn't it?
Dumping my lunch into the trash, I considered my options. Sokka, or my parents? Sokka, or my parents?
All in all, it was a win-win situation. There was no way I'd fall in love with anyone, let alone Sokka. The only hard part would be putting up with the moron for an entire twenty days.
So, even though I didn't realize it then, Fate already had things all mapped out for me.
I turned to face the coordinator of this deal, a pained expression on my face.
Although Sokka's confident smile remained on his face, I detected a bit of anxiety in his tone as he asked, "So? Are you in?"
I sighed. I couldn't believe that he'd roped me into this.
"Yes," I bit out, through gritted teeth.
"We'll pick you up tomorrow, at ten thirty," he told me, unable to keep a trace of smugness out of his voice.
I scowled. "Fine," I gnashed out, stalking back to my seat and slamming my empty tray down on the table. It was only after a moment that I noticed Sokka following me.
As he slid into the seat beside me, I pointed out coolly, "Hey, genius, it doesn't start until tomorrow, remember?"
"We are going to get to know each other," Sokka told me with authority. After a moment's thought, he added, "And you're right. I am a genius, aren't I?" Shooting me a self-satisfied grin, he leaned back in his seat, hands behind his head.
"Hmph," I snorted.
"So, baby…" Sokka sidled up beside me, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I wanted to shudder at his very first attempt. God! If this was what those twenty days were going to be like—well, things were gonna be complete hell. "What you're favorite color?" he asked smoothly.
Shoving him off, I snapped, "Gerroff a' me! Don't got one," I said after a moment, frowning at a ruffled Sokka. "'M colorblind." Reaching into my pocket, I withdrew a chocolate Crunch bar—for emergencies only—and tore into it.
"Oh!" Sokka drew back, surprised. He seemed to be thinking hard, and I treasured the few seconds of silence. "So…" he furrowed his brow in confusion. "It would be like living in an old movie, right? Just black and white?" he asked, uncertain.
For a moment, I felt like slapping him. Then, I realized: This was Sokka. He probably wouldn't know anything about colorblindness. "No, I just can't tell colors apart from each other sometimes," I answered at last.
"Oh." Sokka paused. He seemed to be struggling with something. "Um…I got a black eye in seventh grade. And there were a bunch of colors…and stars…and stuff. Does that count?"
I rolled my eyes. "It's not a contest, doofus."
Sokka looked disappointed. "Oh." There was a moment of silence, before Sokka voiced yet another question: "Do you like boomerangs?"
This time, I turned to stare at him outright. "Um, no."
Horror flickered across his face. "What kind of monster are you?!?!" he cried melodramatically, drawing back from me as if terrified. "Boomerangs are the only reason I get up in the morning!" Sokka paused. "Well, boomerangs and you," he seemed to feel the need to clarify on this point, and for what must have been the fifth time during the conversation I rolled my eyes.
"It's true," Sokka insisted. "You're the peanut butter to my jelly! The rock to my roll! The…the boomer to my ang!"
"You are really bad at pick-up lines, you know that?" I drawled, examining my nails with boredom. As if Sokka could ever really be in love with me. Hopefully, by the end of the twenty days, he'd realize that and simply give up on me.
Sokka looked offended. "I can too come up with a could enough pick-up line—!"
"Sure you can," I said, unconvinced. Yawning widely, I stretched my arms and scooted back from the table, hand over my mouth. "Sorry, Kuruk, but I gotta go. Gym calls, after all."
"I'm good at Gym!" Sokka karate-chopped in mid air, and he dropped to the ground, slithering around on his belly. "I'm quick like a ninja!" He darted up, shifty eyed. "And strong like…like a bear!" Snatching for something to lift, in order to prove his strength to a thoroughly uninterested—yeah, that's right, me—Sokka soon found himself in the possession of a giggling fangirl.
Looking down at her, he blinked. "Err—hi?" Sokka squeaked, cheeks steadily turning red. Interesting. However a lady's man he seemed to be, Sokka was woefully innocent.
I tucked this piece of information away in the back of my mind, waiting to bring it out when the time was right. I'd save it for the summer house, and embarrass Sokka so badly that he wouldn't know what hit him.
Accepting the opportunity that had come in the form of giggling girls and an embarrassed wooer-of-my-heart, I swaggered off to Gym, whilst plotting my Revenge on Sokka.
I was prepared for anything that Sokka could throw at me. No matter what, I swore to myself, I would not fall in love with Sokka.
Nothing was gonna happen during those twenty days. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Nothing.
(Aside from the obvious throttling, of course. Come on, this is Sokka we're talking about.)
You know those times when Fate seems to sneak right up on you?
When you think everything's gonna turn out just peachy, but it doesn't happen at all like you think it will.
Well, this was one of those times.
See, I was forgetting Sokka's original request: "Care to play a game of 20 question?"
And, no matter how childish it seems, let me tell you this:
20 Questions is a lot less innocent a game then you'd think.
Man I loved writing this:D. Please, tell me what you thought of it!