Korra's POV
"I want to take you out tonight. Maybe we could go for dinner?"
That's what Asami said. After she told me, out of habit, I agreed. She's my best friend, I couldn't just ignore her. Even if something like that happened between us. Due to the embarrassment of remembering it, I sprinted out of the cafeteria immediately when the bell rang. I felt bad for leaving her behind, but I couldn't look at her and keep a straight face.
Dinner?
As I walked through the semi-crowded halls absentmindedly, I bumped into someone.
"Korra." Bolin greeted with his usual smile. He then looked at me with concern, probably because I made it too obvious. "What's wrong?".
"It's nothing." I lied. Although he knew it wasn't, he simply smiled and walked beside me. Bolin may have been scary-looking on the outside, he's actually a big softie. He doesn't pry too much and he doesn't stick to me either. He gives me space, at the right times, even when I don't ask for it. I'm thankful for that.
"Hey, you wanna go watch a movie tonight? My treat!" He asks joyfully.
"I can't. I have a dinner date with Asami." I said carelessly. I felt flushed instantly, as I realized how I worded that sentence.
"Oh cool." Bolin permitted, completely unaware of the situation I was in. "You should patch things up with Asami. You're best friends after all."
Yeah. He's right. Asami's just maybe gonna clear things up between us. We'll maybe just apologize to each other and forget what happened. That's a lot of maybes though.
~~~~
When the bell finally rang, dismissing us from our last class. I made my way out the door with Bolin. During class, Bolin offered to give me a ride home. I agreed because well, who would turn down an offer home in a nice and comfortable car, for a bumpy and stinky ride on the school bus?
He dropped me off, kissed me goodbye on my forehead, before leaving. I didn't know what it was, but somehow his display of affection was bland to me. It didn't sit quite right and after I felt a little uncomfortable. I dismissed the idea, categorizing it as one of my useless thoughts.
I went inside my empty house once again, only to find it not empty after all.
"Korra." My mother said. She sat on one of the corner armchairs we had in the living room. She looked dull, as usual with her dark gray suit and tied up hair. At that moment, I remembered vaguely a time when my mother kept her beautiful dark brown, almost black hair down. It used to always sway smoothly against her shoulders, making her look younger than her age.
I was momentarily distracted when the sound of her clearing her throat brought back my attention. Then she stood, with her arms crossed across her chest. She continued to stare me down.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, breaking the tense silence.
"As far as I'm concerned, this is still my house." She remarked. She shifted her weight on one leg and leaned against the chair behind her.
"You don't get to say that." I retaliated, as I came inside the living room. I stood in the middle of the room, in a stance. I wanted to prove myself to her. Tell her that she had no control over me anymore. What better way to do that than to challenge her self-appointed authority?
She stood there, dumbfounded. Her eyebrows lifted slightly, sending a slight shiver down my spine. Then she simply smirked mockingly.
She then stood up and headed towards the dining table, gesturing me to follow her. I did, and she sat in a chair on one end of the long table and I sat across from her.
"Let's just get this over with." She demanded. "Your father is going to trial. That's the end of it."
I stood up in dismay. Then I remembered the time when Mr. Jones and I went to the DA's office. I thought about my father and his sober self. I've been so distracted with petty things that I forgot about him. I forgot about my promise to my father.
My mother simply grinned menacingly. It was as if she knew what I was thinking. I silently cursed at her abilities as a lawyer. Being able to tell when someone was anxious was one of them.
I shook off my worries, for now, and regained my poker face.
"Well, I'm the victim and I pressed the charges on him." I retaliated.
"You are underage. I can very well rule you off as a confused victim, a kid overruled by her emotions." She threatened, unshaken that she intimidated her own daughter.
She sighed audibly and stood up. "Well, I have to go sort out this nonsense. Something a child like you can't understand." She remarked.
She was headed towards the door when I stood up abruptly, making the legs of the chair screech on the wooden floor. She stopped and glanced back.
"Just give me a reason. Why?" I pleaded. I could feel myself falling apart. I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to know.
"Why?" She asked, trying to fake innocence from all of the cruelty she forced on me, from the years she ignored me to the constant verbal abuse whenever we're in the same room alone.
She smirked menacingly again. "It's because you're your father's daughter."
I blankly stared at her. How could she emotionally scar her child because she simply shared the same genes as the person she had come to hate? Was that even fair?
But before I could try to retaliate, she spun on her heels and left through the front door. With that, she left without another word.
~~~~
This looks ridiculous on me, I said to myself as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I was trying on a very revealing cocktail dress, and it wasn't going very well. I scattered and tried on every other outfit I could find, from jumpsuits to skirts and other uncharacteristic ensembles.
I wanted to be ecstatic tonight. After all, this is the first time Asami and I had gone to dinner together. I wanted to enjoy myself. But I just couldn't shake off the awful feeling that my vile mother left me. After the tenth outfit I put on, I finally lost my senses and threw a tantrum.
I lost it and bawled. The tears couldn't stop. No matter how many times I tried. I've been faking self-control, constantly tiptoeing around others, trying not to trip over them. For so long, I've been worrying about the opinions of others.
Several hours must have passed with me crying on the floor. Then suddenly, the door bell rang. I realized that I was a mess. I had let Asami down.
I rushed downstairs and opened the door.
"Hey, Ko-" she hesitated as soon as she saw me. Her optimistic smile turned to a frown as she looked at my messy hair, runny mascara, and overall depressing aura.
"Korra what happened?!" She exclaimed as she ushered me inside and sat beside me on the couch.
"I'm so sorry, Asami. I just.." I broke down once again, cursing myself inwardly for being such a hot mess in front of Asami.
In less than a second, she wrapped her arms around to comfort me. The action took me aback, but because I was too upset, I craved that embrace. I really needed someone to comfort me and be there for me. Asami was the only one that could do that. Her hugs always made me feel better.
But this time, I couldn't help but notice her. Like, really notice her. I could smell her sweet daisy scented perfume, how she would softly draw circles around my back that calmed me down, how her hair smelled like strawberries and how beautiful her skin was. I noticed how her silky red maxi dress clung to her beautiful body in all the right places. I couldn't help but stare.
But before I could go any further, she broke the embrace and faced me, making me long for her touch again.
"Tell me what happened." She said softly.
"My mom came over, and she threatened me," I explained, holding back the tears threatening to come out again. "She heard about how I wanted dad to be set free without charges."
"I don't understand," she said. "I thought you father hurt you."
"He only did that because he was drunk and he wasn't himself." I reasoned. "He didn't mean it." I protested. I always knew that Asami never took a liking to my father. It was because he always treated her indifferently whenever she was around. But no matter how much she hated him for hurting me, I couldn't do the same. He's in pain and I needed to help him. The first step is getting him out of jail.
I was about to cry again when Asami grabbed my hands and held them in hers. The sensation of her warm touch gave me chills. It was like electricity rushed through my veins, making my blood boil and my cheeks heat up.
A tear escaped my eyes and suddenly, Asami reached her hand up and wiped it away. But when it was gone, her hand stayed in place, softly cupping my cheek. We stared into each other's eyes so intensely, memorizing every tint of color under the light.
She inched her face closer to mine, and every inch closer, I swear I could hear my heartbeat increase in tempo and dynamic. I was scared that Asami would hear it. But even though I was embarrassed, I didn't want the feeling to end. In fact, it was killing me, how slow Asami was moving. How she would bite her bottom lip and smirk just a little, to tease me.
I leaned in and kissed her.
No.
Ding Dong
The bell rang and interrupted us. We both flew back to the opposite sides of the long leather couch. Feeling slightly confused, I stroked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. I brushed myself off and went to answer the door.
"Korra!" An overwhelmed Mako came rushing through the door. He was sweating like he just ran a 200-meter race. His eyes were frantic.
Once he noticed Asami sitting on the couch, he calmed down a little and looked at me, trying to say something, but was too out of breath.
"Mako, breathe. Tell me what happened." I advised.
He breathes slowly, trying to form a sentence.
"We..got to..hurry to the..hospital." He managed to say in between breaths.
"Bolin...got into a car accident."