Chapter Text
Zuko had to go to school.
He had debated it with himself for days, but there really wasn’t any other option for him. He needed to earn his father’s trust back- and he couldn’t do that if he wasn’t even getting himself an education. And besides, he still wanted to keep a semblance of normalcy in his life, even though so much had changed.
This train of thought led him to the front steps of Ba Sing Se High School. A fitting name for a prison for unsuspecting teenagers.
It was the middle of the year, so he knew he would stick out like a sore thumb- not that he wouldn’t already with the huge scar that marred his face. He already dreaded the questions he was sure to get as to where the scar had come from. Of course, he could never reveal the truth about that, so he would have to think up a good cover story.
He realized he had been standing there for too long while other students passed him and entered the building. He was probably going to be late for his very first day.
Not that it really mattered to him. Nothing seemed to really matter to him much these days. Who could blame him though, for not caring? There wasn’t anything left in his life for him to care about.
Sighing, he dragged himself up the steps and into the school. He had gotten his schedule the day before, dodging any questions about his parents.
His goal was to stay hidden and out of the way until his father decided he could come back home. Which would probably be any day now.
He wandered the halls, searching for the room number on his schedule, but this school was so much larger than the private school his father used to send him to. In other words: he was lost. Great.
“Hey! Are you lost?” A loud, cheerful voice called from behind Zuko.
“None of your business,” Zuko grumbled without turning around. Had it really been that obvious?
He heard the person hurrying to catch up with him, but Zuko didn’t even slow his pace. The person fell in step next to him and Zuko glanced over to see a younger boy- he must be a freshman- with a glaringly bald head staring back at him.
“You must be new.” The boy smiled.
“You must be deaf,” Zuko retorted.
“I’m Aang,” the boy told him, pointedly ignoring Zuko’s comment. A moment passed while Aang waited for Zuko to fill the silence. “What’s your name?” He finally prompted.
Zuko sighed. “I’m Zuko. And I don’t need your help, so you can just go.”
“No, no! I’ll help you find your class.” Aang reached out for Zuko’s schedule and he reluctantly handed it to him.
“Room 514. I know exactly where that is!”
He reached out again, this time to grab Zuko’s hand. Before he could stop himself, Zuko flinched away from the other boy’s touch.
He didn’t like people touching him. It wasn’t that big a deal.
Zuko looked at Aang uncomfortably for a second, until thankfully he brushed it off and kept walking, assuming Zuko would follow. He did, but only because Aang still had his schedule in his hands.
Two hallways later they were at Room 514- English class. Aang waved goodbye to Zuko and hurried off to his own class before the bell could ring. Zuko didn’t even respond.
He knew that was rude, but his mind had already moved on to bigger things, like walking into that classroom.
He took a deep breath and opened the door, entering the room. Some people looked up at him, noticing his unfamiliar face. And then more people looked at him when they noticed how unusual that face was. Zuko tried to ignore it and keep his face from flushing as he hurried to a desk in the back of the room.
Luckily, the teacher walked in right after that as the bell rang. Zuko wondered if Aang had made it to his class on time or if he would be late because of him. Oh, well. Zuko didn’t care either way.
Then the teacher decided to say the worst string of words she could have possibly chosen. “We have a new student today! Would you like to introduce yourself?”
Zuko gulped, and willed himself not to fidget with his hands as he stood. He saw at least twenty pairs of eyes staring back at him. Was it hot in here? Zuko let his face fall into a scowl.
“I’m Zuko,” he announced stiffly, and then sat right back down. No one needed to know anything about him besides his name. It was certainly better off that way.
The teacher must not have cared enough to comment, and she moved onto the lesson. Zuko let his mind drift as she droned on. He had forgotten how boring school was and he found himself wondering how long he should wait before he started skipping.
People kept sneaking glances at him, and he met each one with a glare, trying to look as menacing as he could. He needed to avoid making friends and enemies in this place. Either one would just be a pain.
Eventually the bell rang, and class was over. He quickly got up and left the room. He didn’t have any stuff with him- not even a backpack. He hadn’t even remembered he would need that stuff until he was on his way this morning and saw a kid whizz past him on a bike, with a loaded backpack hanging from one shoulder.
He found the next class much more easily this time, which was good, because he didn’t see Aang in the halls. Not that he was looking for him or anything. It was just hard being surrounded by so many strangers. He chewed his lip as he sat down in the back of the next classroom. All these people were going to send his anxiety through the roof.
As he got more and more weird looks, and had to introduce himself to another class, his stomach churned. This was a bad idea. Everyone thought he was weird or ugly- just because of the scar on his face. He could tell from the look on their faces when they saw him for the first time.
He wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to go. He was blushing, and he kept his eyes downcast. Whenever he did look up, it was to send another one of his glares at whoever was staring in his direction.
The bell rang and Zuko left the classroom as fast as he could. He hadn’t heard a single thing the teacher said the entire period. That was fine though- it wasn’t like he’d been planning on doing the assignment.
He headed outside, not even checking his schedule to see what he had next. So much for getting an education.
He was suddenly hit with a longing to go home. To be safe in his room, where no one would look at him funny and he could be at peace. But reality just as suddenly crashed back into his thoughts as he realized he might never see his home again.
He shook his head. Of course he would see his home again! Father would change his mind soon and invite him back. He would apologize for kicking him out and things would go back to normal.
That’s what he kept telling himself, at least.
He sat outside in the grass, struggling to control his breathing. He wasn’t panicking. He wasn’t so weak that he couldn’t handle a single day of school. He was fine.
He heard the bell ring again and he had officially missed all of third period. Better luck next time, he guessed.
He slipped back inside for his next class… which was lunch apparently. He glanced at his schedule again. Maybe he should just go back outside. That would be much easier than trying to deal with the noisy, crowded cafeteria. But his stomach rumbled and he figured he couldn’t pass up lunch now.
The cafeteria was just as bad as he imagined it would be. Rather than spend his time standing around, hoping he would spot someone friendly enough to let him sit with them, he instead sat himself down at an empty table and glared at anyone who tried to join him. Including the group who’s table he assumed he’d stolen.
He realized then that lunch required money. Money he didn’t have. He groaned inwardly- he hadn’t even thought of that. He wasn’t the best at thinking things through.
An annoyingly cheerful voice cut off his dismal thoughts. “Hey! Zuko!”
Zuko groaned out loud this time and turned to face Aang, who was, of course, grinning at him. Zuko scowled back.
“What do you want?”
“Come sit with me and my friends! You don’t have to sit alone, you know.”
Zuko opened his mouth to tell Aang to leave him alone when he saw the hopeful, innocent look in Aang’s eyes. He sighed.
“Fine. But don’t expect me to talk to you.”
Aang nodded and smiled at him again like Zuko had just made his day. Zuko couldn’t imagine why this kid would want the scarred, angry new kid to sit with him, but whatever.
Aang led him to a smaller table with three other people already there. Suddenly, Zuko was uncomfortable. So naturally, he glared at them.
“This is my new friend, Zuko,” Aang announced to the others as they took the empty spot on the bench.
“I’m not your friend.”
The others stared at him, but Aang just kept on going. “This is Katara.” He pointed to a girl with tan skin and brown hair. “This is Toph.” He pointed to a shorter girl who he noticed had very strange looking eyes. “And this is Sokka.” He pointed to a boy who must have been Katara’s brother, because their resemblance was undeniable. He was also undeniably cute, but Zuko decided not to dwell on that.
“Nice to meet you,” the girl named Katara said, offering a smile. She seemed unsure, probably because of Zuko’s outburst a minute ago. First impressions were not his strong suit.
He nodded at her, though he didn’t ease his expression. They all sat in an awkward silence for a minute, while Zuko avoided making eye contact with anyone.
“Did you already get your lunch?” Sokka asked. He must have noticed Zuko’s lack of a food tray.
It would probably be easier to just say he already ate, but he hesitated too long.
“You forgot to bring money, didn’t you?”
Zuko glared at the boy for a second before slowly nodding his head, willing himself not to blush. He hadn’t exactly forgotten- he just didn’t have any money to begin with.
“That’s alright- I’ll treat you.”
“No.” Zuko was not taking handouts.
“Consider it a welcome gift,” Sokka tried again.
“I’m not letting you do that.”
“You can pay me back later then,” Sokka sighed.
Zuko wasn’t sure how he was going to get the money to pay him back, but it was the best deal he could think of.
“Fine.”
The two of them stood and got in the back of the dwindling lunch line, and they waited in awkward silence until they reached the front. Sokka got them both pizza, handed a tray to Zuko, and let him follow him back to the table.
Zuko didn’t realize how hungry he had been until he started eating. He tried not to look like a starved animal while he devoured his overly greasy cafeteria food. And if anyone noticed, they didn’t point it out.
The others fell into comfortable conversation until the end of the lunch period, but Zuko stayed quiet. He didn’t know why these random kids were being so nice to him, but it did not mean they were going to be friends. Hopefully he would only be stuck at this school for a week or two before his father let him go back home and he could forget this ever happened.
The bell finally rang, and everyone got up to head to their next class. “What do you have next, Zuko?” Aang asked.
“Um…” he dug his schedule out of his jeans pocket. “History,” he said finally, after he unfolded his slightly crumpled paper.
“With Mrs. Dee?” Toph asked. That was the first time the girl had spoken directly to him. She seemed less open than the rest of their group, not that he could blame her.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Walk with me.” And with that, she left the cafeteria and headed down the hall, not even checking to see if Zuko was following her. Aang shrugged at him, and he decided he might as well follow her so he wasn’t late to class.
He caught up to Toph and fell into step beside her. He noticed the way the other kids in the hall made sure she had plenty of room to walk and didn’t bump into her. They weren’t scared of this short, slightly rude girl, were they?
Zuko studied her carefully as they walked, trying not to make it too obvious. He had never seen eyes like hers before… actually they almost made her look as if she was-
“I’m blind. If that’s what you were wondering,” Toph said casually.
Zuko started, surprised. How had she known he was looking at her then?
“Just because I can’t see you doesn’t mean I can’t feel you staring at me.”
Zuko blushed, caught in the act, and was suddenly glad she couldn’t see him.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“It’s fine. I’m used to people staring at me because I look a little different. But before you ask- yes, I can get around just fine and no, I don’t need your help.” She held her head up high, and Zuko could appreciate the confident way she carried herself, and how she didn’t let her blindness stop her from getting around just like everyone else.
“I understand that feeling,” Zuko admitted without thinking.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“About people looking at you because you’re different,” he clarified. She didn’t answer, and that’s when he realized she was blind! Well, he already knew that, obviously, but that meant she had no idea he had a scar.
“I’ll just trust you on that one,” she told him, assuming he had just come to that conclusion.
Then they got to their class and they sat down in the back of the room. He noticed that even though people still looked at him curiously, they seemed less inclined to outright stare at him with Toph in the seat beside him. Maybe they were scared of her after all.