Fight or Flight
A/N: Thank you to both my friends, DeepAzulaEyes and AStormIsBrewing for helping me out with this and being my beta's and helping me with grammar and high school stuff. Both of you offered and you're such great friends and writers, I took you both up on it. You guys are great and thank you again. I can't say thank you enough. Oh, and Aang and Toph are 14, Katara 16, and Sokka and Zuko 17. Just to let you know.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, just my husband and three cats. )
Chapter 1
Toph waited in the secretary's office as she heard a teen enter the principal's office. Principal Long Feng was a harsh principal, but he was fair. She had heard snippets of conversation between the principal and his secretary, Joo Dee, about a new student coming in. The new student was a senior, but due to a lot of moving and missing classes, was taking a couple sophomore classes. And Toph guessed that because she was a sophomore, she would probably be sharing a lot of classes with the new guy and would be showing him around. She listened closely to the conversation between student and principal as they started talking.
"Zuko Roku, since you are new here, I wish to lay down some ground rules," Toph heard Principal Feng say. "First, there is no fighting. Period. I've heard you've had some trouble in past schools, but I need to emphasize that the first offense results in suspension, the second in termination. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," the new guy said in a deep, slightly raspy voice.
"I know the transition must be hard, but you'll make due. Also, we value our property and students. A strong mind can overcome any obstacle. Now I have someone here to show you around," Principal Feng said as Toph heard him start walking to the door connecting the two offices.
Toph stood up straight after leaning against the wall and turned to the door. She smiled as she heard the door open and Principal Feng walked through the door followed by the new guy. Toph could feel the slight vibrations of their footsteps and heard the rustling of the principal's suit, as well as the new guy's jeans, t-shirt and backpack.
"This is Toph Bei Fong," Principal Feng said, the sound of movement reaching her as he gestured to Toph. "She is a remarkable young lady who has overcome her disability and is one of our outstanding students."
Toph frowned slightly at the 'disability' remark. Being blind was not a disability. It was just how she was. Toph quickly masked the frown and turned her face up towards where she could hear the new guy's breathing as Long Feng continued.
". . . Though she is a little rough around the edges," the principal concluded with a frown in his voice. "She'll be in all your classes save English and History. Toph, this is Zuko Roku, would you please show him around? His first class is English with Mr. Pakku."
"Yes, sir," Toph said with a smile before turning and heading to the door. She heard Zuko adjust his backpack over his left shoulder before he followed her out.
"Avatar High isn't so bad once you get used to it," Toph told Zuko as she started walking out. "So, you just moved here?"
"Yeah," Zuko muttered in a low voice as he followed her.
Toph nodded as she made her way to the senior English class. Her follower was silent and fidgeting slightly and she noticed many people stopping and turning towards them as they made their way through the high school.
"Why are so many people looking?" Toph asked him.
"What?" He asked, surprised. "Oh, yeah, you're blind."
Toph frowned at the blind comment, but waited.
"I have a scar on my face," Zuko muttered, his voice almost a whisper it was so low.
"Really?" Toph asked, "Is it cool? That must be sweet, having a cool scar."
"No, it's not," he replied, a frown and hint of anger in his tone.
"Ok, whatever you say," Toph said, shrugging. "Geesh, Sunshine, you're just a ray of light to this school."
She heard and felt the new guy stop and could almost feel his eyes boring into her. She stopped and turned to smirk at him. "What?" she asked innocently.
"Sunshine?" he asked. He sounded angry, almost furious, but Toph could hear something that sounded like a hint of a held back laugh in his voice.
"Yeah, all my friends get nicknames, so you're now Sunshine. Well, here's your first class, I'll be by after to get you to biology."
"I don't have any friends," he muttered in a low, dangerous voice.
"Well, you do now," Toph replied, smiling up at him before turning on her heel to head to her own English class.
XXXXX
Zuko took his seat at the back of the class, dropping his burgundy backpack onto the floor. A couple people glanced his way, but he simply glared at them, causing them to look away quickly. He tilted his head forward and let his hair fall in front of his face to shield his scar from the class. He didn't like the uncomfortable questions that went with every new school. But the girl, Toph, she was different than anyone he had met. She was blind, so couldn't see the scar, and thought it would be cool to have a scar. She was definitely weird, and if he had to share just about all his classes with her, this school would at least be interesting.
The teacher came in, elderly with long white hair and introduced himself as Mr. Pakku after introducing Zuko as the new student. Zuko just nodded his head, trying to hide his scar more for the introduction before the class went into the discussion on The Canterbury Tales.
He focused on the discussion, especially when word came that there would be a test the next week, but didn't write any notes since he had finished the story with his last school. Instead Zuko glanced around the room as Mr. Pakku asked several questions of the other students. Many posters of novels lined the walls, including Gone with the Wind, Of Mice and Men, and a poster of a mural with the poem, The Mariner, on it. The teacher was animated in his passion for the literature, gesturing as he went over several lines before he explained them in a more stoic stance.
The bell eventually rang and Zuko waited until everyone else filed out of the room before he picked up his backpack and made his way out. Just as he reached the front of the room, he saw Toph's head pop in. She turned towards him and smiled.
"Thought you were going to ditch me for a second. C'mon, it's on the other side of the school and we have three minutes."
With that, she turned and hurried away. Zuko lengthened his stride until he was behind her and followed her through the long hallways. As they hurried onto the next class, he studied her. She was short, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulder, but she held herself tall and proud. Her black hair was tied up into a bun with a green headband holding it back and her long bangs fell in front of her face, shielding her eyes. She wore loose jeans and had a loose green t-shirt on with an empty looking green backpack slung over her right shoulder. He wondered how she knew where she was going and how she obviously missed running into people and objects as she expertly dodged around a group of freshmen.
"You can ask later, if I can ask you something," she said suddenly as she turned a corner.
Zuko glared at her before realizing that it wouldn't work with her. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, scowling.
"You're wondering how I get around," Toph said, shrugging. "Don't worry, everyone does, but I only give info out when I can get some back in return. Here it is, c'mon."
A strong smell hit Zuko as he turned to go into the classroom, and he wrinkled his nose as he saw a tub filled with green things up in front. He reluctantly followed Toph into the class and found it was a lab setup. A dozen long tables with sinks were set up in the class and Zuko saw that all were crowded save the one Toph went to. A boy about Toph's age was there, with short black hair, grey eyes and a goofy smile. Toph turned back towards Zuko and motioned with her hand for him to follow her. Sighing resignation, he went to her table and sat as far away from the two as he could. Unfortunately, that was one chair between him and the blind girl.
"Hi!" The boy said enthusiastically, waving his hand at Zuko. "I'm Aang."
"Oh, Twinkles, this is Zuko," Toph said, gesturing to Zuko. "Sunshine, Aang."
"He has a nickname already?" Aang asked cheerfully.
Zuko wanted to pound his head into the table at the constant cheerfulness of the kid, but with great restraint, held himself back and merely frowned.
"Yep," Toph said smugly. "Remember, Twinkle Toes, you got yours on the first day too."
"Yeah, I guess I did," Aang said, rubbing the back of his head and blushing slightly.
Zuko was curious about the kid and Toph's nickname for him, but brushed it aside. It didn't matter to him and he'd probably be moving in a few months anyways. A grey haired woman came up to their table and smiled at Toph and Aang before turning to study Zuko.
"Zuko Roku, I presume?" She asked gently.
"Yes, ma'am," Zuko replied.
She nodded. "I'm Dr. Yugoda. I hope you enjoy biology. Since there isn't any other spot available, I'll have you paired with Toph and Aang for labs." She smiled once more at him before turning towards the front of class and began speaking in a louder voice as she made her way to her desk in front of the class. "As most of you know, today is dissection. We are studying amphibians, so one person is to come up and get your materials, scalpels, and frog. I want the frog dissected and labeled by the end of the hour. If you have any questions, I'll be making my way around the room. Start."
Aang bounded up and headed to the front of the room as Toph cleared the boy's stuff off to the side. She kicked her backpack under the table and waited anxiously for Aang to get back. Zuko watched her carefully as Aang returned and set the tray holding the dead frog belly up in front of her and then set out the tools and pins around the frog in almost a dining table setting. Then the boy moved to the far edge and took out his notebook.
"I'm a vegetarian. Can't stand killing or any of that stuff," Aang said, obviously seeing Zuko scrutinizing his behavior. "So Toph does the dissection and I take notes."
"And I love getting my hands dirty," Toph said as she cracked her knuckles. "Ok, Twinkles, where do I start?"
"How can you? You're blind!" Zuko asked, incredulous as she picked up a scalpel.
Toph turned her face to him and her expression was as if she were studying him. Her expression hardened for a second before a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Twinkles directs me where to cut, but he doesn't like it. If you want to help…."
"Fine," Zuko growled. He moved to take the scalpel from her, but she held on with an iron grip.
"I said help, not do my job. Now put the scalpel where I need to start and we'll go from there," Toph said with a smirk.
Zuko almost let a sigh out, but instead frowned at her and moved her hand to the throat of the frog, positioning the scalpel perfectly. Aang started saying instructions, and Toph started the dissection. As she neared the end of the cut, Aang told her when to stop and then proceeded onto the next cut. Zuko again positioned her hand and scalpel and soon was into the dissection. Once all the incisions were made, Zuko pinned the skin back and then watched as Toph put two fingers into the frog as Aang called out for organs to be found and labeled. Helping label the organs with pins that Aang had prepared, Zuko wondered about the pair. They were both odd, and complete opposites, but worked well together. They knew their strengths and weaknesses and helped each other.
"Yuck. Toph, is it a boy or girl?" Aang asked, sticking his tongue out at the directions for determining sex.
"Girl," Toph stated confidently. "Sunshine, here's the ovary."
Zuko growled at the nickname she seemed to love and quickly wrote the label on an unmarked pin and stuck it into the yellowish tissue. Toph just smiled and called out for other things to be pinned before setting the unused pins aside. Aang got up and took the scalpels and pins to the sink to be cleaned as Dr. Yugoda approached the table.
"Well done, Toph," the teacher said with obvious pride. The elderly woman turned to study Zuko. "And did your new classmate help as well?" the doctor asked Toph.
"Oh yeah, he's better than Aang in this area. He helped out tons," Toph said, smiling at Zuko.
Zuko frowned at the blind girl, but tried not to make it look too menacing to the teacher before Dr. Yugoda turned to him and handed him a packet of papers.
"Zuko, I know this is your first day, but we're going to be having a test this Friday on the anatomy of the frog and basic taxonomy. This is what will be covered. If you need any help, come see me, or talk to Toph."
Zuko took the packet and began glancing through it as the teacher headed off to another table. The 'basic' taxonomy covered everything from plants to mammals, from phylum to family in some areas. He sighed as he put the packet into his backpack.
"So, how'd you get your scar?" Toph asked in a low voice as Aang took the frog away.
Zuko glared at the blind girl and kept silent. She waited, but then frowned slightly.
"Ok, so maybe not that info. Hmm, let me tell you something about me and maybe that'll help," Toph said, looking like she was deep in thought. "I get around because I can feel vibrations of people and objects. I also hear really well, can feel air moving around me and that kind of stuff. You just moved here, right?"
"Yeah, you already asked that," Zuko replied in a low voice. He knew she was looking for information on him, and he was reluctant to give any, especially to a girl he had just met.
"Is it your dad or your uncle you're living with?" she asked.
"Wait, how would you know that?" Zuko asked her, narrowing his eyes as he studied her.
She rolled her eyes and smiled slyly. "I live across the street from you. I heard you and him move in on Saturday. Now tell."
"Uncle," he replied. He was watching Aang, hoping the boy would come back soon to stop the conversation, but the boy was talking with another table that had already cleaned up.
"That's cool. Where's your dad?" Toph asked.
Zuko just glared at her, pulled out his backpack, and started flipping through the papers the biology teacher had just handed him.
"Fine, give me the silent treatment," Toph sighed before smirking at him. "But just to let you know, I mastered the silent treatment. I'll wait. What are you looking at?"
Zuko glanced at her and saw she was curious. "The papers the teacher just handed me. She said you could help. How? And how are you good at that stuff anyways? It all felt the same."
"Ah curious aren't we?" Toph asked with a smile. "I have models at home, and the organs feel a little different. It took a while, but I've gotten better. I can help you with the taxonomy too."
"Let me think about it," Zuko said. The bell rang and Toph grabbed her backpack and started heading out of the door.
"Math's next. C'mon, Sunshine."
Zuko growled again, slung his backpack over his shoulder and followed Toph out of the room and to the next class.
XXXXX
Toph sat back and listened to Mr. Mechanist as he droned on about the wonderful world of Algebra 2. She heard Zuko and all the other students, a mix of students from sophomores to seniors, scribbling as fast as they could to copy the formulas the teacher was writing on the board. Toph soaked the little nuances up that the teacher said, but knew the math already. What she was really interested in was the new guy.
Zuko had a 'bad boy,' 'I don't care about anyone or anything' attitude, but she could tell it was only on the surface. She knew he was hiding something, but didn't know what. She was the same way. Toph knew she couldn't bug information out of him like she had with Aang and Katara, but she could wait like she had done with Sokka. The best thing Zuko needed was someone to help and listen, and she planned on doing just that. She heard Zuko moving behind her and smelled a little bit of the preservatives used on the frogs as he leaned towards her.
"Don't you do anything in this class?" Zuko hissed to her from behind her.
"Just listen," Toph whispered back.
She heard him sigh and then the scribbling of his pencil continued. All too soon the bell rang and Toph hurried to chemistry with Zuko on her tail. Unfortunately, chemistry was one of the two subjects she didn't like. She sat in her normal seat in the back and took out her recorder, laying it on her desk. She smelled the familiar scent of burnt chemicals as soon as she had entered the class and heard Zuko take the empty seat on her right and turn towards her.
"It's a recorder," Toph said to him. "I don't do as well with physical sciences, so I need to listen to the lectures a few times."
Zuko grunted something that sounded like whatever and then the sound of him pulling out paper and pencil followed. Toph concentrated on the lecture, focusing on the elemental names as Mrs. Hama started with the basic elements and then went onto pairings like H2O and CO2 and how they were connected. Near the end of the lecture, Toph noticed Zuko had stopped writing and was just listening. She wanted to ask him, but waited until the bell rang before she stopped the recorder and slipped it into her backpack.
"Lunch is this way," Toph told Zuko as they started heading out of the classroom. "Why'd you stop writing back there?"
"I know chemistry pretty well," Zuko replied in an even tone. "I just didn't finish it. Two schools ago."
Zuko sighed. Toph dropped back and punched him lightly on the arm.
"What was that for?!" he asked, anger in his tone. It also sounded like he was rubbing the spot she had punched.
"Stop being depressed. And that's how I show affection. I'm starving, so hurry it up!"
Toph picked up her pace again and heard Zuko lengthen his stride to keep up with her. She smelled the pizza long before they reached the cafeteria and picked up her pace even more. Soon they were in the cafeteria and she pulled her lunch card out of her pocket and picked up a slice of pizza before heading towards her regular table. She felt Zuko stop and stare at where she was going and before he could move away, she grabbed his arm and pulled him after her.
"I'd rather sit alone," he growled to her, trying to pull his arm free of her.
"No way," she said as she pulled him to her table. "I'm here to show you around and help you adjust, so that's what I'm doing. Sit."
XXXXX
Zuko glared at Toph as she told him to sit. There were three people already sitting at the table. Aang, and two others, a boy Zuko's age with brown hair and blue eyes and a girl a year younger with the same appearance, though much prettier. Both were wearing blue jeans, and the girl had a navy baby doll top on while the boy had a white t-shirt. Zuko assumed the two were siblings, and started to back away, but Toph sat next to the girl and pulled Zuko's arm down so that he was forced to sit next to the blind girl and across from Aang. The only fortunate thing about the encounter was that his scar was facing away from the group. Aang smiled at Zuko, but continued eating while the older pair looked from Zuko to Toph and back again.
"This is Zuko, he's new," Toph said, gesturing to Zuko before pointing towards the boy. "That's Sokka, I call him Snoozles."
Sokka rolled his eyes, sighing before smiling and turning back to Zuko.
"Nice to meet you," Sokka said, holding his hand out.
"Yeah, sure," Zuko muttered.
The teen withdrew his hand and frowned at Zuko before sighing again and starting on his sandwich. The blue-eyed girl started glaring at Zuko.
"And this is Katara, who I call Sweetness," Toph said, gesturing to the blue eyed girl.
"You need to learn some manners," was all the girl said before she started on her own sandwich.
"Easy, Sugar Queen. He's like me in that, remember?" Toph asked Katara.
"How could we forget, Toph?" Sokka asked, starting to laugh. "You came in, loud, rowdy, and out of control. And you took us along for the ride!"
"Yeah, but it was fun," Aang said. "And now we're all best friends."
Zuko glanced at the group discreetly through his hair as he ate his pizza in silence. They were a motley crew, each moredifferent than the last, but held together by something he hadn't experienced in a long time. Trust and friendship. The scarred teen turned back to his food in silence and just watched the group out of the corner of his eye, either ignoring questions directed at him or giving a one word answer.
The group finished and started talking about upcoming tests and general gossip. Zuko was about to grab his bag and head out of the cafeteria just to get some space and air when a senior with spiky brown hair and brown eyes sauntered over and slid next to Katara. The chain reaction almost pushed Zuko off the bench of the table and he turned to glare at the newcomer.
"Whoa, Katara, better control your dogs. Both of them," the senior said, smirking at Toph before turning to smirk at Zuko. He stopped and stared as he noticed Zuko's scar and Zuko noticed that Toph had tensed up next to him and it looked like she was glaring at the senior as well.
"Get lost, Jet," Katara said, pushing Jet off of the bench. "And control your hormones. I don't control my friends. That's why they are friends."
Jet frowned at Katara before trying to smile sweetly at her, but at that moment, Katara got up and headed out of the room. The rest of the table stood up as well, Aang and Sokka frowning at Jet as Toph stepped over the bench and poked Jet in the chest.
"Leave her alone Jet, or you'll deal with all of us," the blind girl told the senior.
Jet frowned down at Toph in a mocking way before he lifted his eyes and met Zuko's glare. Fear flashed through Jet's brown eyes for a second before he turned and left. As soon as Jet left, Zuko noticed that the entire cafeteria had been silent, but now conversation was striking up again. Zuko picked up his backpack and quickly left the cafeteria, just trying to be alone. However, his personal guide had other ideas.
"Sunshine, wait up!" Toph called from the cafeteria doors as he walked through the empty hallways.
"Leave me alone," Zuko growled back to the girl.
"Only if you really want to be," Toph said as she caught up with him.
He looked at her, puzzled, but shrugged it off and continued walking.
"I didn't know Jet could be intimidated that easily. You must have one impressive look. And just so you know, your history class is the other way," Toph stated, walking beside him easily.
Zuko rubbed the bridge of his nose and turned around, scowling at Toph's little superior smile.
"Thanks, by the way. Jet's a real pain. He's Katara's ex, but still thinks she cares. Here it is, senior European history with Mr. Zhou," Toph said as she stopped next to room 90.
"Guy's a jerk," Sokka said, coming from behind Zuko. "Mr. Zhou thinks he's all that. And so does that jerk, Jet. Hey Toph, why can't that be his nickname?"
"Because the one I have for him I can't say in public," Toph smirked.
"Burn," Sokka said with a smile before he turned to Zuko. "Thanks for saving my little sister. Although I know she doesn't appreciate it. C'mon, Zhou's a real stickler for being on time."
"I'll see you guys in gym," Toph called as she turned and walked away.
"See ya, Toph!" Sokka called, waving to the blind girl. He then glanced at Zuko and walked into the classroom.
Zuko followed the blue eyed teen into the class and sat in the back next to Sokka. Soon the class was full, but silent as they waited for the teacher. Mr. Zhou came in from his office, large sideburns on his large, round face and sneered down his nose at Zuko when he saw him. After introducing Zuko as a new student, the class started with Roman history and went from there.
Zuko knew he didn't like Zhou, but history was his best subject, so he just focused on the discussion and the notice that there would be a test the next week. The class groaned discreetly over that news and Sokka made a face when Zhou's back was turned. Zuko almost smiled at that, but kept his face emotionless as Zhou turned back to the class. When the bell rang, the class cleared out faster than any other class Zuko had seen. Sokka motioned for the scarred teen to follow him to the boy's locker room and they got ready for gym.
"Aren't you a senior?" Zuko asked as he and Sokka made their way out onto the field.
"Ah, he speaks," Sokka said, grinning at Zuko to which Zuko frowned back. "Yeah, I'm a senior. So what?"
"You're taking gym with a sophomore?" Zuko asked.
"Oh, you mean Toph," Sokka said as they both saw Toph making her way to them in the school colors of a green t-shirt and black shorts. "All classes take gym together. Feng made it so that we have to take a gym class every year. It's supposed to 'bring the classes together and create unity'."
Sokka hooked his fingers into quotation marks and rolled his eyes at the end.
"Or some b.s. like that," Toph said, smirking as she reached them. "Sunshine, Twinkle Toes and I are going to study at my place for the biology test. You can join us if you want. It'll be at four."
"Probably not," Zuko said, frowning at her.
She shrugged as a white haired man with a scar over his right eye blew a whistle. Both Toph and Sokka hurried over to the instructor and Zuko walked quickly to join them. Zuko watched Mr. Jeong as the instructor studied him while stating that they would be playing soccer. Mr. Jeong smiled at Zuko as he noticed the scarred teen studying him before splitting the class up into teams. There were enough for three teams so the teams cycled every fifteen minutes.
Zuko watched as Toph played striker, brutally charging through her opponents with the ball and crossing it. Whenever it was crossed towards her, she stepped back and let another sophomore take the kick.
"She can't see the ball in the air," Sokka remarked, seeing Zuko confused about how passive the blind girl was when the ball was flying towards her. "She can't see like we can, but in other ways, we're the blind ones."
Zuko glanced over at Sokka and saw the teen deep in thought. Sorrow was all over the blue-eyed teens' face.
"Toph's been my best friend since she started going to school in her sixth grade year, my eighth grade year. And last year, she really helped me when my girlfriend was killed in a car accident," Sokka said slowly, emotion lining his voice. Zuko just continued to watch him, feeling a familiar pang in his chest. "Toph was there for me, and just being there helped me a lot," Sokka continued. "She's really good at waiting till you're ready and then listening."
Zuko turned to stare at his hands and saw the small scars on them. They were now dark, healed by doctors and time, but the memories remained.
"We all have problems," Sokka said, noticing Zuko staring at his hands, the teen's fingers tracing the old scars absently. "And Toph's really good at picking us out because of that. But she doesn't let many people in. Just give her a chance, she's a good kid who wants to help."
Zuko nodded once, but before either could say anything, Mr. Jeong called for Sokka and Zuko's team to face off against Toph's team. Toph smirked as she stood against Sokka as the blue eyed teen went as striker on Toph's side. Zuko was behind Sokka as left defender. Toph brought her head up and grinned at Zuko as her team kicked off. Immediately the ball was passed to her and she came blazing down the side of the field.
Sokka tried to stop her, but she was already past him. Soon she was past the junior midfielder and then it was her and Zuko. Zuko looked at her style and jogged to meet her, kicking out and causing her to go around, but quickly he was running alongside her, keeping her as far out as possible.
"Ooh, Sunshine's got moves," Toph teased as they neared the eighteen yard mark.
Zuko remained silent, and when Toph tried to move in, Zuko got between her and the goal, slowing her and keeping her from crossing the ball effectively.
"It's going to take some fancy footwork to get the ball away from me," Toph smirked.
"Really?" Zuko asked.
Toph looked shocked for a second and Zuko dove one foot in, grabbed the ball and pulled it behind him and then to his right and up the field. He let a corner of his mouth rise to a smirk as he started running down the field, pursued by Toph. The blind girl was surprisingly fast and before she caught him, he booted the ball up to Sokka. Both he and Toph came to a stop at the halfway line and Toph punched him in the arm.
"Nice moves there, Sunshine. Bet they'd love you for the soccer team," Toph said as she got her breath back.
"Can't," Zuko replied as he watched Sokka take the ball in towards the goal. "I move every few months, so no commitments. Why aren't you on the team?"
"They won't take a blind girl," Toph answered simply.
Sokka scored and they separated to start play again. Zuko actually enjoyed himself for the rest of gym. He enjoyed moving his muscles and facing off against the fast blind girl, but all too soon, it was over. After changing, Zuko started walking home and arrived to his uncle making tea.
"So how was your first day at your new school?" Iroh asked his nephew as Zuko walked in the door.
"Crazy, but I think I'll like it here," Zuko said as he made his way to his room to flop onto his bed.
A/N: And don't forget to review!