Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past
Bold - sign language
It had been a little over two weeks since Lo'ak went beyond the reef, and he had been visiting his new friend Payakan every single day, leaving his friends and family to wonder where he was disappearing to.
He wanted to introduce Ja'lia to Payakan, but he was afraid she would be mad at him if she found out the full story of the day he went missing.
Ja'lia had told him how terrified she was when she found out that he was missing, and it made Lo'ak feel bad for staying with Payakan for so long. But he didn't regret meeting the Tulkun. Payakan had saved his life, and he would forever be grateful for him doing so.
The boy hoped Ja'lia would feel the same if she met the Tulkun.
However, for the time being, Lo'ak decided that it would probably be best to go and see Payakan by himself as the training between the Omatikaya children and the Metkayina children had been put on hold.
Tonowari and Ronal felt it would be best to give everyone a break in hopes that it would diffuse the growing tension between Lo'ak and Ao'nung. Of course, Lo'ak was mad at Ao'nung, but he wasn't going to hold a grudge against him, even though he should've.
No, he understood Ao'nung. Lo'ak knew what it was like to be the disappointment in the family, so if he could take the relief off Ao'nung's shoulders, even for a day or two, he would do it. Because no one deserved to feel that all they would ever be was one big mistake to their family.
And even though Lo'ak felt that way, he was proud of himself for sticking up for Ao'nung, even though he eventually told the truth later that night because Ja'lia had ratted him out. The boy had no idea how she knew he was lying, but after she revealed the truth, he and his parents had a long conversation that he had been trying to get out of his head ever since.
His mother had been heartbroken when she was told the truth, and his father hardly spoke until Neytiri talked with him while Ja'lia healed Lo'ak's wounds.
Jake profusely apologized to his youngest son and promised that he would try to do better. The father promised that he would start acting like how he was before the Sky People returned and that they could do fun things together again.
However, Lo'ak didn't believe him. He would believe it when he saw it, and so far, Jake hadn't made an effort to try and better their relationship.
Instead, he buried himself in more training and avoided Lo'ak at all costs.
And that hurt Lo'ak, but disappointment wasn't a new feeling to him, so he pushed his feelings aside and decided to hang out with Payakan, much to Ja'lia's dismay.
But that was the point, at least in Lo'ak's mind.
He wanted to avoid her no matter what because he was confused by his feelings. After all their years of friendship, why did he suddenly want them to become something more? It didn't make sense to him, and he thought something was seriously wrong.
Besides, it's not like Ja'lia would ever feel the same way.
She deserved someone who could take care of her, love her, and cherish her, and Lo'ak was certain that he couldn't do all of that because of how broken he was. Although, what he didn't know was that he was breaking Ja'lia's heart each time he refused to hang out with her.
Ja'lia thought that she had done something wrong. Something to make him mad.
The girl had spent the entire time since the day after Lo'ak came back raking over her mind to see if she could have said something to upset him, and each time she came up empty-handed. Since the day after Lo'ak came back, he had barely spoken an entire sentence to Ja'lia, and it was like she was going through the five stages of grief.
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.
"It's just, I feel something that I shouldn't feel," He said, confusing Neytiri.
What does that even mean? 'I feel something I shouldn't feel'. Neytiri thought to herself.
"What do you mean?" Neytiri questioned.
"I think," Lo'ak paused, looking down at the ground, "I think that I like Ja'lia," He said barely above a whisper.
"Of course, you like Ja'lia," Neytiri said with confidence, and Lo'ak looked at his mother in shock, "She's your best friend,"
Lo'ak deflated a bit, and his shoulders slumped when his mother didn't get what he was saying, "That's not what I meant," The boy grumbled.
"Then what did you mean? I'm not a mind reader, Lo'ak," She said.
"I like Ja'lia. Like as more than a friend." Lo'ak emphasized his words, and Neytiri sat there frozen for a minute before speaking, "That's great, sweetheart. Have you told her?" The mother asked.
"No!" He all but yelled.
"Why not?"
"Because she doesn't feel that same way," Lo'ak murmured.
"How do you know she doesn't feel the same way?" Neytiri questioned.
"Because she doesn't. Look at me, Mom," The boy motioned toward himself. "I'm me, and she's Ja'lia. She's one of the most beautiful people I've ever met. She's kind and caring, and she has the most beautiful smile. I'm always getting into trouble, and I haven't even finished my warrior training yet. Ja'lia deserves someone who could protect her, and it's not me," He sighed, and his mother placed her hands on either side of his face.
"Lo'ak," She softly said, and he glanced up at her, "Would you ever let something happen to Ja'lia?"
"Of course not."
"And has she ever said anything about you getting into trouble?"
"No," He shook his head.
"Did she ever say anything about you not finishing your warrior training?" Neytiri questioned, and the boy once again shook his head. "The bond between you and Ja'lia is as strong, if not stronger, than the bond between your father and I,"
"But that doesn't mean she likes me," Lo'ak quickly added.
"But how would you know if you won't even ask her?" Lo'ak shrugged his shoulders as he looked back down at the floor.
"I don't want to ruin our friendship," He whispered.
"You're already doing that by ignoring her," Neytiri informed. "Have you been paying attention to Ja'lia?" She asked, and Lo'ak remained silent. "She's devastated that you won't hang out with her, talk to her, look at her, or even sleep beside her. In all the times you two had gotten into fights, you never let her go somewhere on her own by herself at night," Neytiri scolded, and Lo'ak felt his ears go down in shame.
"I'm sorry," He apologized. "I thought that if I ignored her the feelings would go away,"
"Is that what you want?" The mother asked, "Do you want your feelings to go away?"
"No,"
"Then I suggest you get your head out of your ass and go apologize to her before it's too late." She said, standing up and pulling her son up to his feet. Lo'ak was at a standstill, so Neytiri went behind her son and pushed him out of the Mauri pod, almost knocking him over.
After Lo'ak had been pushed by his mother, and ran all around the village in search of his best friend, who he had been ignoring. So far, he had no luck finding her, but when he saw Neteyam, Kiri, and Tsireya hanging out, he ran over to them.
"Guys!" He shouted, panting to catch his breath.
All three teens looked at him, and when they saw who it was, they all glared at him.
"What do you want, Lo'ak?" Kiri asked
"Have you seen Ja'lia?" He questioned.
"No, and even if we had, we wouldn't tell you where she is," Tsireya said bitterly, and Lo'ak furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Did I do something to make you guys mad?" He asked, causing his two siblings and friend to scoff at him.
"I don't know, Lo'ak. Does ignoring your best friend constitute doing something to make us mad?" Neteyam said sarcastically.
"I don't need the sarcasm, Neteyam. I'm going to apologize to Ja'lia for my behavior." Lo'ak said.
"No," Neteyam immediately said.
"No, what?" Lo'ak asked, confused.
Kiri gave her brother a hard glare before answering him, "No, you aren't going to apologize to Ja'lia. At least, not until you tell us why you were ignoring her,"
Lo'ak clamped his mouth shut when he heard the ultimatum his sister had given him. He didn't want to tell them why he ignored Ja'lia. He wasn't ready for his feelings to be revealed to more people than they had to be. The boy barely had enough courage to tell his mom why he had been ignoring the girl.
But, he knew they wouldn't help him unless he gave them something. So, he came up with a stupid excuse.
"I was mad at her for telling Mom and Dad that it was Ao'nung's idea to go beyond the reef. Especially when they wanted to tell the Olo'eyktan and the Tsahik the truth," Lo'ak said, quickly coming up with an excuse as he hoped it was enough to satisfy his siblings.
"You're such an idiot," Kiri rolled her eyes.
"That's low, Lo'ak. You're such an asshole," Tsireya said, disappointment evident in her tone.
"I can't believe you ignored her for two weeks because she told the truth," Neteyam said, bewildered.
"Great," Lo'ak clapped his hands together. "Now that we all know what a terrible person I am, can someone please tell me where Ja'lia is?" He asked, sarcasm laced through his voice.
"She's gone to the same place every day for the past week," Kiri explained.
"And where is that?" Lo'ak asked as he felt his patience wearing thin.
"I don't know where exactly," Kiri said, and Lo'ak let out a frustrated groan, "All we know is that she said it's your guys' spot," Tsireya added.
Lo'ak didn't even utter a 'thank you' as he turned on his heel and sprinted into the direction of the forest.
Of course, that's where Ja'lia would go. Why hadn't he thought of that before? He could have already apologized and earned her forgiveness if he hadn't been so bullheaded to think she would be out in the open.
No, when Ja'lia was upset, she wanted to be as far away from people as possible. It was the only way she could ensure that she wouldn't lash out at anyone when she was upset, especially if it wasn't the person she held a grudge with.
As he ran through the forest, he leaped over fallen tree branches and ducked when something was in his way. When the cave finally made its' way into Lo'ak's line of sight, his pace slowed, and he mentally prepared himself to be yelled at, punched, kicked, bitten, and anything and everything in between.
If Ja'lia felt that's what he deserved, then he wouldn't fight her on it because he had been stupid, irrational, idiotic, and every other synonym known to man.
Once he approached the cave, he slowly pushed the vines out of his way and saw Ja'lia sitting up against one of the cave walls with her eyes closed, and her head leaned back.
The boy slowly approached her, and he slid his back down the wall to sit beside her.
"Lia?" He said softly, and Ja'lia's eyes snapped open as she looked at her.
"Lo'ak? What are you doing here?" The girl asked.
"I'm here to apologize. I shouldn't have ignored you. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm so sorry, Lia," Lo'ak apologized.
Ja'lia searched Lo'ak's face and saw how genuinely sorry he was, but she couldn't set aside the anger she felt when she looked at him.
He said that she hadn't even done anything wrong. He shouldn't have ignored her, so why did he? Why did he put her through hell for two weeks, making her think that she must have done something to upset him?
But, she didn't want to yell at him. If he was going to apologize, then she would let him, but she wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily.
"Why did you ignore me?" Ja'lia questioned.
"I- I can't tell you, at least not yet," He excused.
"You can't tell me?" She scoffed in disbelief.
"Please, don't be mad at me. I'll tell you soon, just give me time, okay?" Lo'ak said, and Ja'lia reluctantly agreed with his request.
She obviously wanted to know what his problem was, but forcing him to tell her wasn't going to solve anything. In fact, it would probably make things worse.
"Fine, but I'm definitely mad at you now," Ja'lia said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I know, but would you feel better if I showed you where I'd been disappearing too?" He asked, and without hesitation, Ja'lia immediately nodded her head.
It had been killing her that he wouldn't tell anyone where he was disappearing to. At first, she thought he was going to their spot to get away from everyone, but when she started to go there every day, and Lo'ak wasn't there, she lost all hope of knowing where he was.
Ja'lia allowed Lo'ak to pull her onto her feet as he quickly pulled her along with them. The girl had tried to ask where they were going, but Lo'ak ignored all of her questions as he continued on his determined mission of getting one step closer to Ja'lia forgiving him.
He called for an ilu and waited for Ja'lia to get on first before he connected his queue and gently placed his hands on her waist.
Soon, they were underwater and racing toward the tulkun who had saved Lo'ak's life, and once they got closer to Three Brothers Rocks, Lo'ak and Ja'lia resurfaced above the water, and Lo'ak called out to the Tulkun.
"Brother!" He shouted, and Ja'lia gave him a puzzled look.
After a few seconds of waiting, the huge sea creature made his presence known, and Ja'lia looked at the animal with wide eyes, and her jaw dropped.
"I- you- Is that a tulkun?!" She yelled.
"Lia, this tulkun saved my life," Lo'ak claimed, and Ja'lia continued to gap at the boy as he forced himself off the ilu, and toward the giant animal. "Brother, this is my best friend, Ja'lia," Lo'ak signed, introducing the tulkun to Ja'lia.
The tulkun squeaked in what Ja'lia assumed was a greeting. Ja'lia quickly returned the greeting once she shook off her initial shock.
What the hell is going on? I thought the tulkun hadn't returned yet. Ja'lia thought to herself.
Ja'lia was perplexed by the appearance of the tulkun, who was alone, but she decided that she would hear Lo'ak out in his explanation.
This better be good, or I'm going to kick his ass. She thought to herself.
Unedited. 06/29/30
Word Count: 3,122
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