Rival
Toph and Ty Lee walked throughout the grocery store wandering down which ever aisle seemed to call out to Ty Lee at the time. Not far behind them was the ever present Kuzon, but walking alongside him was none other than Huiliang Bei Fong.
"I know how busy you are, Mom," Toph said. "You didn't have to come."
"But I wanted to, dear," her mother replied. "And besides, I couldn't leave poor Kuzon all alone with you girls. You'd eat him alive."
Toph grinned slightly and Ty Lee giggled as she pulled something down from one of the shelves. Toph had no idea why Ty Lee wanted to go shopping all of a sudden, but she had not gotten the chance to hang out with her recently so she took the invitation.
"So, Toph," Ty Lee began.
Oh boy, here it comes.
"How are you and Aang doing?"
"Did Mom put you up to this?"
"No. But when she found out she wanted to know too," Ty Lee answered with a smile.
"Well, if she wants to cut out the middle man, then she better get up here where she can hear me," Toph said rather loudly. Huiliang caught up to the girls with a speed that would have made Aang proud. "You could have just asked me, Mom."
"I didn't want to but my nose in after we've been getting along so well recently," Huiliang explained. "But since you already know . . ."
"Okay, okay. We're doing fine I guess."
"You guess?" Ty Lee repeated.
"He's doing fine anyway. I'm going out of my mind because of these stupid fangirls that have been popping up. When did he get popular?"
"Dear, Aang is a very charismatic person," Huiliang said. "He's kind and friendly, and people are just drawn to him."
"And he's hot."
"Ty Lee!" Huiliang gasped in surprise.
"What? It's true! I'm sorry, but that boy is h-a-w-t!"
"Not helping!" Toph groaned as she jabbed her friend in the arm. "The worst part is he's so totally spacey about these kinds of things. He's got no clue when it comes to girls. He doesn't think twice about complimenting a girl if she smiles and says 'hi', and that just encourages them to do it more often!"
Huiliang just smiled at her daughter's frustration. She had not seen this side of Toph since she was a little girl.
"Just put your foot down," Huiliang finally said. "Let everyone who's interested know that he's yours."
"Wow," Ty Lee grinned. "You go, Mrs. Bei Fong!"
"How do you propose I do that?" Toph asked. "I'm not about to start hanging all over him wherever we go."
"Just plant one on him," Ty Lee suggested. "And make it a big showy one! Right in front of everyone at your school!"
"I had better not hear of you doing any such thing, Ty Lee," Kuzon's voice called from behind them.
"I haven't, Daddy," she replied. She turned back to Toph and Mrs. Bei Fong with a sneaky smile and whispered, "Doesn't mean I'm never going to."
"So what is it we're doing here anyway?" Toph asked, trying to change the subject.
"I'm getting baking supplies," Ty Lee answered. "Gotta get ready!"
"Ready for what?"
"Valentine's Day, silly!"
"But that's not for another month," Toph said.
"I got a lot of baking to do!"
Great. One more thing to worry about, Toph thought. No doubt those stupid fangirls were going to shower Aang with their affections then too. And wasn't there some kind of school dance for Valentine's? Another thing to not look forward to.
Even in the sanctity of her room, Toph could not escape the thought of those fangirls. Especially that track team girl. What was her name again? June. Toph's muscles tightened at the very thought of the girl. She pulled Aang's jersey down over her frame and grabbed the ball with the worn out skin lying on the floor. Ty Lee waited for her patiently outside her door.
"So, where're you going now?" she asked when Toph emerged.
"Heading to the field. If you don't mind bumps and bruises you can come play with me."
"I don't mind at all!" Ty Lee grinned. "Just let me tell Daddy and I'll be right back!"
The afternoon sun was warm and crisp on Toph's bare arms and legs. January was barely half over and any trace of winter were all but gone already. As she and Ty Lee walked down the crowded streets together, Toph did her best to ignore the cat calls and wolf whistles that followed them.
"What are you wearing to get so much attention?" Toph asked her friend.
"It's not just me, silly," Ty Lee laughed. "If you'd show off those legs a little more you'd get used to that kind of attention!"
"You've gotta be kidding."
"Remember how Aang reacted at Christmas? Even he could barely help himself, and he's one of the shy ones. Just imagine how they'd act if you wore a skirt once in a while."
"Not gonna happen."
"Hey, I'm just trying to help you keep Aang's attention on you," Ty Lee said.
"I don't need help keeping Twinkle Toes. I need help getting rid of that stupid fangirl."
"'Fangirl'? Not 'fangirls'?"
"There's this idiot on the track team that won't back off," Toph growled. "Every time I hear her voice I just want to smack her around! She's always following him and flirting with him, and it's driving me nuts!"
"And Aang's totally clueless," Ty Lee added. "No wonder you're stressing over it. Why don't you just tell him?"
"Cause then he'll get all weird and paranoid about all the girls he hangs out with. Like you and Sugar Queen."
"He's not that dense, is he?"
Toph just turned her blind eyes towards her friend and scowled.
"No way!" Ty Lee laughed.
There were a lot fewer people around the area of the track than there were on the sidewalks, and Toph was glad for it. She would be able to blow off more steam if she did not have to worry about anyone in the immediate area getting hit by one of her wild shots. As the grass tickled the bottom of Toph's feet, she found a series of familiar vibrations out on the field. Zuko was off to the side of the others, just resting it seemed. The other three were all moving in unison in what felt like some sort of dance. These were Katara, Aang, and the one person on the face of the planet that Toph did not want to be anywhere near: June.
"Hey everybody!" Ty Lee called out as she ran to them. "What'cha up to?"
Aang turned towards the girls as Toph followed after Ty Lee and she could here the usual smile in his voice.
"Hey, ladies," he called back. "Katara's showing us how to do Tai Chi Chuan!"
"I didn't know you knew how to fight, Sweetness," Toph said, doing her best to ignore the other girl.
"Oh, I don't use it to fight," Katara explained. "I just use it for meditation and exercise. It also helps people to relax and unwind."
"Care to join us?" Aang asked.
"Do you think she can even do it?" June's irritating voice grated Toph's ears like nails on a chalk board. "She's a bit rough for Tai Chi, isn't she?"
"I'll agree with that!" Zuko yelled from the sidelines.
"Tai Chi may not be my thing, but I do know one thing that no one else here can match me at." Toph slammed her ball down on the ground with a vicious shove and stomped her foot down on top of it. She pierced June with her blind gaze. "Wanna play?"
Aang was already dragging Zuko to the center of the field by the time Toph had issued her challenge.
"Soccer?" June asked. "You can't be serious."
"It's not soccer," Toph replied. "There's only one rule: ball can't stop for more than three seconds. Anything else goes."
"Sounds like fun," Zuko said.
"Sounds like a trip to the hospital waiting to happen," Katara added.
"No one's ever been hurt too bad before," Aang explained.
"Who else has played?" Ty Lee asked.
"Just me and Toph."
"Sounds like a lot of fun," Zuko corrected himself. "I'm with baldy."
"Me too," June said as she leaped over to Aang's side.
"Fine by me," Toph grinned. "Me, Sugar Queen, and Bubble Brain are gonna kick your butts."
The game was on before anyone other than Toph or Aang was prepared. Toph launched the ball with her foot and it past dangerously close to June's head before she fell to one side. Aang himself was after the ball like a bolt of lightning and returned it to the other side of the field with a single powerful kick. As the ball rolled along the grass, Ty Lee flipped upside down and grabbed it with her hands before rolling back onto her feet and throwing it towards Katara. Before Katara could get control of the ball however, Zuko stood between her and it. He spun gracefully on his left foot before planting his right firmly down in front of his and extended two clasped fists into the ball, propelling it back the way it came.
"Got to move faster," he smiled over his shoulder.
"I'll show you fast!" Katara retorted as she ran after him.
As the game progressed, Toph and June's interactions became more and more aggressive. After a hard impact to her stomach, Toph had later retaliated by knocking the ball into June's leg as she ran, causing her to trip. After an hour of play they all sank onto the grass, breathing heavily. Toph and June were more exhausted than the rest of the party, but no one would have been able to tell by the way they were glaring at each other. Toph was just about to do something about June's attitude, but Aang did something instead.
"That was a blast!" he exclaimed as he threw himself over Toph's shoulders. His long arms draped around her as his chin rested on the top of her head. "We have got to do this with teams more often!"
Toph could feel June's hand curling into a fist in the grass. It was a pretty upsetting feeling knowing that Aang would never turn a fangirl away because of his thick skull. Then again, it was just as satisfying knowing that even if one of those fangirls never got the hint, Aang only give her this kind of attention.
"That sounds like a great idea, Twinkle Toes," Toph grinned smugly. "You really oughta play with us more often."
"Yeah!" Aang agreed, completely unaware of the situation. "You should definitely come play with us again!"