Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 14: New Friends

First, it was denial.

Ja'lia thought that maybe he was just upset with his father and that maybe he needed some time to process what had happened, and she happily gave it to him.

Second, it was anger.

It was the second day of Lo'ak not speaking to her, and she started to get pissed off. She wanted to yell at Lo'ak and beg him to tell her why he was acting that way, but eventually, she decided against it.

Third, it was bargaining.

She tried to talk to him and persuade him to do something with her, but he pushed her to the side and told her he was busy. Leaving her heart to tear into two.

Then, it was depression.

This was the state she was currently in, and it terrified Neytiri. Ja'lia had been doing so well. She was smiling again. She was happy. So what could have happened to make all of her progress disappear overnight? That's when the mother started to pay attention to Ja'lia specifically.

Neytiri noticed that Lo'ak had basically refused to hang out with Ja'lia and that the boy no longer wanted to sleep beside her. Instead of the two disappearing in the middle of the night together, Ja'lia would come back by herself while Lo'ak would still be asleep. Even when the two had horrible arguments, they still slept beside each other back home, and Lo'ak would never let Ja'lia go somewhere on her own.

So, what happened between the two teens?

The mother didn't have a clue, but she was certainly determined to find out. She didn't raise her son to disrespect women the way he was disrespecting Ja'lia, and she would be damned if she allowed him to do so.

Neytiri was currently looking for her son when she saw him exiting the ocean with a bright smile on his face. She immediately raced over to him and stood in front of him with a scowl on her face, and her arms crossed over her chest.

"We need to talk," Neytiri said, and Lo'ak looked up at his mother confused.

Lo'ak quickly followed after his mother and saw that they were heading back toward the pod. He wondered what she had wanted to talk about, especially since she didn't seem happy with him, and he wasn't aware of anything that he had done wrong.

Once they were in the pod, Neytiri closed the curtain to tell the others that they weren't currently accepting guests. Lo'ak let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that no one else was in the pod.

"Sit," She demanded, and Lo'ak instantly sat down and crossed his legs.

Neytiri paced back and forth around the pod as she tried to think of how to start the conversation. She was beyond upset with Lo'ak and his behavior, but she didn't want to upset him or say something she couldn't take back afterward.

Once she was able to gather her thoughts, the mother sat down in front of Lo'ak and grabbed Lo'ak's hands into hers, making up stare up at her with his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Did something happen between you and Ja'lia?" Neytiri asked, causing Lo'ak's shoulders to tense at her question.

"No, why would you think that?" He said nervously.

"Because you've been avoiding her. You won't hang out with her, you won't talk to her, you won't let her sleep beside you, and you let her leave the pod on her own at night," She listed off all the things they used to do together every day.

"Nothing happened," Lo'ak whispered, and Neytiri forced the boy to look her in the eyes.

"Don't lie to me, Lo'ak," She said sternly, causing the boy to sigh.