hihihi
Im so sad because I can't concentrate
like, on anything
it's so hard to concentrate and I always get lost on thought without even realizing or meaning to it just happens
and I'm super forgetful and i just have such a hard time in school because i can't concentrate or remember things or pay attention and i literally don't know What's wrong with me
do any of you experience this or know what it is
oh, enjoy reading :> this song reminds me of zukaang haha
♡
The day Zuko came back to school was two days after he had went to the doctor. He was wearing a sweat shirt and sweat pants, which gathered some looks, but what caught most people's eyes was the cuts and bruises on his face.
Since the rest of his skin was covered, it seemed to be the topic of conversation with everyone in the junior class.
Aang had to help Zuko put medication on his stitches between classes in the bathroom or it'd get infected. The rest of the small cuts had scabbed already, so there was nothing needed there.
Aang suggested covering the bruises with makeup, but neither of them had that, and it wouldn't have worked anyways.
"Don't press so hard," Zuko said.
"Sorry," Aang smiled, running his fingers along the thread. "You think the people that did this to you go to our school?"
Zuko thought for a moment. He knew one of them did. Just not the others. "No. Probably not."
Aang finished with the medication and threw the bottle into his bag. "Done. We got three minutes before next class starts."
"I'm tempted to skip class," Zuko rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm. "I didn't sleep at all last night."
"Me neither," Aang sighed. "I'm fine, maybe you should get some sleep though."
"Yeah, good idea," He said, somewhat sarcastically. "I'll just lay down on thr bathroom floor."
"Well, you know where my house is," Aang said. "It's a lot closer than yours, and my parents aren't home until friday. I'm sure Iroh wouldn't want you skipping school."
"I would," Zuko said. "Go, I mean. But I don't... I don't want to walk. There. Alone, is what I'm saying."
"I can go," He offered. "With you."
The conversation was awkward, sure, but it got the point across. Zuko nodded, and they left together.
Aang returned to school after watching him fall asleep, which took only a few minutes. Aang liked how people looked when they were sleeping, and he also knew how creepy that sounded. But everyone looked so peaceful when they were asleep, almost like when somone dies.
Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Suki were all waiting for him when he got to the cafeteria.
"Where's Zuko?" Toph asked.
The rest of the table turned to see Aang walking towards them. Alone, which was a strange sight nowadays. Zuko and him were attatched at the hip it seemed.
"Maybe he got sick," Katara shrugged. "Who knows, who cares."
"I care," Aang smiled at her, setting his bag down. "I have really good hearing, in case you forgot."
Katara snorted a laugh, and shook her head. The rest of the lunch period went smoothly, but Aang felt like it was missing something. This was around the time when he and Zuko would start having a side conversation and then leave the table early to walk together. He missed it, and he couldn't wait for tomorrow.
"So? Where's he at?" Sokka asked.
"He was tired," Aang said, digging through his bag for his next classes' homework. "So he went home."
Toph furrowed her brow, but decided against mentioning the pick up of Aang's heart beat. He didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it.
"Did you hear he got into a fight last night?" Aang said in a low voice, not taking his eyes off his paper.
"Oh, shit," Suki mumbled. "With who? Did he win?"
"Actually, it wasn't much of a fight," he corrected. "More of... as Zuko put it, '3 guys hit me on the head with a bottle and proceeded to beat the shit out me'. But he didn't see them, so..."
Katara covered her mouth to hide a smile. "That's.. terrible. But also kind of ironic, you know?"
Aang gave her a confused look. "I mean, he acted all tough before joining us, and then he goes and gets beaten up. I just think it's a bit funny."
"It's not funny," Toph said.
Kat shrugged. Sokka ignored her, "Is he alright?"
"Yeah, I had to take him to the doctor," Aang rested his head on his hands. "He had to get stitches."
"I've gotten those before," Suki tapped her chin thoughtfully. "It really hurt, 'cause they didn't use the numbing stuff."
Aang stared at his paper again. "I want to know who did it."
"That'll be hard," Toph scoffed. "It'll probably be impossible, actually."
"I still want to try, you know?" He sighed. "Any thoughts? Who could hate Zuko?"
"I mean, probably a lot of people," Toph said.
"He's not exactly the nicest person at first," Sokka chimed in.
"Oh, right," Aang sighed again, checking his watch. "I gotta go."
"There's still 10 minutes left," Katara said, looking at her phone.
"Yeah, but I like to get to class early," He threw his bag over his shoulder. "Bye."
♡
"No, no, it's okay," Ozai reached a bloody hand towards his son. "Come here."
Zuko crawled towards him, vision blurry with tears. "D-Dad... Momma is... She's-"
"Shhhh," Ozai put a hand on his cheek. Ursa's blood smeared on Zuko's skin. His smile faded, and his voice was no longer high pitched as if he was talking to a beloved pet. "I always hated you anyways."
Zuko shot upwards from the bed, gqsping for breath. He looked all around the room before cautiously laying back down. He wiped the glaze of sweat from his forehead and let his eyes close. He'd been asleep for about two hours, and he was still tired.
He heard the front door click, and then unlock. The door squeaked on its hinges as it was seemingly pushed with speed. Then, there were light footsteps running up the stairs. Zuko could tell it was Aang by then, he ways had light feet.
"Hey," Aang smiled as he stopped in the doorway. "How was your sleep?"
"Fine..." He rubbed his eyes. "Did I miss anything important?"
"No, not really," Aang sat on his desk chair. "Your plant is doing really well now that it's out of your care."
Zuko snorted a laugh. "Yeah, yeah... How was everyone?"
"They asked a lot about you," Aang said, in a soft tone. He stared into Zuko's eyes to the point you could see the discomfort in the air.
Zuko snapped his fingers in front of Aang's face. "Hello?"
"Oh! Sorry, I got lost in thought," He smiled nervously. "Uhm, but I have a lot of homework."
"Cool, I'll go home, school is over," Zuko said, looking oddly disappointed.
"I'll walk with you," Aang jumped from his chair. "If you'd have me?"
"Yeah.. Alright," He laughed again, and walked ahead.
They talked about a lot of things on the way to Iroh's trailer. Aang thought it made up for the time he lost during the day, and, secretly, so did Zuko.
"This is me," He said. "Obviously."
Aang looked at the familiar decorations on the trailer. "Yep...."
And then the door swung open, and Iroh was standing on the raised step. "Aang! It's good to see you again!"
"Iroh!" He grinned, bowing his head. "How are you?"
"Oh, the usual," He said wistfully. "Making tea, not doing work."
"That sounds nice," Aang sighed.
"Retirement pays good," Iroh smiled wider.
Aang tried to think of something Toph might say right now. Like, 'Oh, yeah, it sure pays good after you've committed several war crimes.' No, that was stupid.
"Why don't you stay for dinner?" Iroh asked. "We have three chairs for a reason."
Zuko looked mortified, glaring at his uncle. Aang ignored him and immediately said yes.
"This is going to go terrible," Zuko numbled under his breath.
"Y'know, Zuko, typically in my friend group we like to start every experience with a good attitude," Aang said, walking inside.
"I can't believe this..." He cursed under his breath, following Aang.
♡
heapass