𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞- 𝐧. 𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲

logical

Neteyam's POV

As I approached Naya who was sitting by herself, I could hear soft cries coming from her and I wasn't sure what it was.

"Naya? What are you doing out here?" I finally said, Naya stops what she's doing and wipes her face with her hands but still not facing me.

"Oh nothing, just needed some alone time." Naya sniffled, I knew she was crying, but why?

"Are you crying?"

I start to worry as I walk up to her and kneel next to her so I can see her face more clearly, but even then she turned her face away from me

"What? No. Im fine, seriously." Naya stands up as she covers her face with her elbow

"Naya—

"Look I think you should go," she says cutting me off, "I'm sure Tala is probably waiting for you anyways."

Tala? The girl who was talking to me at the fish bar? Is she seriously upset over that?

"Tala? Is that what this is about?" I asked concerned, but she shook her head no.

"No, of course not. I just don't want you near right now okay?" She finally says, those words began to hurt. If only she knew how much I wanted to be near her.

"Sorry.. I gotta go," she says turning her back away from me just like that night at the beach and every other chance I get to talk to her she just walks away.

And every time I let her go, but not this time

"Naya!" I shout as I ran after her, "Naya wait!"

I began to jog to catch up to her because she was walking away like I was hurting her in some way. We stood along the shore, opposite side of the direction of the festival where you could hear the music playing in the back.

I finally catch up to her as I latch on to her arm hoping she wouldn't push me away again. "Naya, please" I say desperately

Naya did stop, she was finally giving me a chance. I smiled at her but it quickly faded once I saw the expression on her face and it looked like she was ready to scowl

"Please, Naya. Talk to me" I breathed, nervous of how she was going to react.

"I can't" she whispered as she sniffles once more.

"why not?" I asked, stepping closer to her. She couldn't even look me in the eyes which really started to concern me.

She didn't answer me, only stared at her hands that were fiddling with each other.

"Is it about Tsireya? Did you guys get in a fight?" I say quietly, she shook her head. The atmosphere was tense, there was a bit of silence that filled the awkwardness

She began to distance herself once more as she stepped up her paces and started walking away, why did she walk away? I didn't understand.

"Can you for once stay? Why do you always walk away from me? Like I'm some sort of disease?" I tell her, she stops in her tracks but doesn't turn to face me so I'm basically talking to a wall.

"Everytime I try to talk to you, you always find a way to avoid me! Please, if I did something wrong for you to dislike me so much tell me!" I yell out, Naya slowly turns to me but doesn't walk up to me.

"I don't know about you but I can't stand another minute without you. It's killing me that I'm not able to talk to you because you won't let me. I miss talking to you, what do you not get about that?!"

Naya finally walks up to me close enough to see the tears glimmer on her cheeks, she puts a fist and hits it up to my chest.

"I'm sorry" she whispered, her voice getting raspy. "I'm sorry but I can't talk to you anymore, let alone be with you all the time."

My faces furrows, "what? What are you even saying?"

"Look whatever you think we have, just forget it. We have way too much going on in our lives okay? So it's best if we keep this mutual and move on."

She wasn't being serious, after everything?

No, I'm not agreeing to this. She's crazy if she thinks I'm just going to give that away and be okay with it. I shake my head adamantly

"No, Naya. You can't just agree to make me feel what I feel then take it back because you think it's what's best for me. That's not for you to decide."

She's startled by my words, I think she expected me to let her go without a fight like I usually do. But she made me realize she's the kind of person you fight for.

Her eyes are focused on the ground, but mine are focused on her.

"Neteyam." She says, her voice barely above a whisper. " you're duties lie with your family, they need you. I'll just be a distraction.

I laugh, but my laugh is short and humorless. "Are you listening to yourself? Whatever happened to being real? Or was that another lie you fed me?"

I grip the nape of my neck and take a step away from her, now I was the one keeping distance. I've never been angry at her before, but I am because this hurts. It hurts to know everything I shared meant nothing to her, that I don't mean shit to her.

Her eyes are wide and she's watching me struggle through every single emotion.

I see her glance back at the village as if she's contemplating leaving me once again. I step forward and put my hands on her shoulders, forcing her attention back on me.

"Don't walk away from this."

Her shoulders drop with her sigh, "Neteyam, I don't have another choice."

"Yes you do!" I say trying to keep it sincere, "forget about everything that happened this week. I know it was a lot and I know my family only brings trouble. If that's what you're so worried about, please let me worry about that. It has nothing to do with you."

I grab a hold of her hands and squeeze them, "Naya, I don't care what happened or what will happen. All I care about is you. Being with you, seeing you. Don't you get it? I like you, Naya. But I need to hear it from you because this can't all be one sided from my part. If you don't, I'll agree to walk away and we can go back to being strangers. But if you say you do I promise you won't regret it.

My hands travel to her face, remaining firm on them. Her eyes finally firm on mine.

A tear slowly falls down her cheek. She shakes her head. "We can't, Neteyam—

"Do you? Yes or no? That's all I need to hear."

"You need to be there for your family, for Lo'ak. The last thing you need is a distraction. We'll alter everything just to be together, and it shouldn't be that way."

I ignore what all she just said, because it's not the answer I'm looking for.

"Do you? Or do you not?"

For the love of Eywa say that you do

She inhales a shaky breath, "I do, I really like you Neteyam. I think I've always had feelings for you, I don't know where they came from but it's killing me each day to keep distancing myself from you."

I smile at her, "good, I'm glad we both agree on something." My lips met hers and it felt like I was on hallelujah mountain again, except this adrenaline was different.

"Our feelings can confuse us together, this is all new to me too." I whispered as we both laughed at our newly found feelings.

-
A/n
This chapter was a lot better, ending that situation already cuz I missed writing Neteyam and Naya scenes :)