Rising Sun

Stitches

The very first day of another year with dumb peers, frowning teachers and dull days to come, how lovely.

Zuko was a junior in a better-than-mediocre highschool. Truthfully, nobody really knew why he kept studying in that specific state school. He was significantly intelligent, and should've been quite rich since he was the son of Ozai Kasai, one of the richest people in Fire Nation.

Being the supposedly richest and most attractive kid in the school wasn't the only thing drawing attention towards him though. Of course, he had a very visible scar on his face that made curious teenagers start gossips and make up stories about him. Zuko loathed people because of that. They all thought he was just a mystery with a cool background story. Things had to stay that way anyways. Nobody needed to know about his tragedies. He was better of with people being curious rather than gauche and fake.

He was heading to class with his bag on his shoulders and his dearly loved sketchbook, fingers yet to be dark with graphite. He was thinking furiously about how the hell he was going to endure another year in this place. Maybe he could keep his poker face on all the time and draw whenever he was bored? It worked the last two years. This year though, it was going to be different. He felt a pinch of hope in his heart before coming back to reality with a sudden touch on his arm.

"Excuse me, do you know where the nurses room is?"

He looked down on the nervous freshman before him. The boy had a deep cut on his palm, he was kind of bleeding everywhere. Zuko noticed the blue arrows on his thin arms when he glanced at the wound. The boy looked at him with worry and guilt in his gray eyes. Zuko snapped out of it when he noticed the freshman was getting impatient.

"There is no nurses room in this school."

"Oh gods I'm fucked." he almost spat out the last part. The boy was getting annoyed.

Zuko knew he had to help the boy. The bell was about to ring, but - screw it. He wasn't going to pay attention to the class anyway. It had been difficult for him too, being a freshman.

"Could you please calm down? There's a first aid kit on the main corridor. We can at least wrap it up."

"You really don't need to- I mean, just tell me where it is, I'm sure I can handle it."

Zuko looked at the wounded hand. It was covered in blood and so was the boy's shirt.

"Do you know how to stitch?"

"My finger?!" you could tell that he was panicking by his tone.

"Spirits, just follow me alright?" with that, Zuko started walking to the end of the hall. The kid did as he was commanded. Zuko felt a little guilty since the boy was kind of shy. He wasn't going to snap at a damn freshman, right?

"Now, that needs to be cleaned, stitched, and bandaged. Sit down."

They both sat on the floor beside the wall. Zuko was getting curious about this kid. What were those arrows on his arms, and his smoothly shaved head? He didn't want to get distracted. He grabbed the antiseptic from the box and reached out for the other's hand.

"This is going to hurt, bad. Luckily, your hand will go a little numb so the stitching part won't be as painful."

"I don't know how to thank you, I am making you skip the class on the first day of school!"

Zuko smirked lightly, "I think you should be  the one worrying about skipping classes on the first day." He pressed the soaked cloth on the wound. The boy already looked too fragile, now he was holding back tears.

"It's okay, now comes the scary part."

The smaller boy squirmed in pain but kept silent. He didn't want to annoy the upperclassman that was helping him.

"Wait, how do you know how to stitch a wound?"

Oh boy, he asked a dangerous question. Zuko stiffened, but didn't want to scare him.

"I had to learn."

The boy wasn't stupid. He was naive but he knew when to stop. Moments of silence and the needle piercing through his skin passed.

"By the way, what's the name of my kind saviour?" he had a bright smile on his face. His eyes were smiling too, unlike most people Zuko had known. There was his uncle, he couldn't think of any other.

"Zuko." he managed a small smile. "and who are you?"

"I'm Aang, i guess it's too obvious that I'm a freshman."

"You should be fine now. Try not to disturb it too much." Zuko said as he finished his job with the poor boy's hand.

"Wow, just wow."

Aang looked confused but amazed at the same time. When he looked at Zuko to thank him again, he noticed the scar covering the boy's left eye. How could he not pay attention to that? He had golden eyes that almost pierced through his soul when he was caught staring.

"You should go now. The first lesson is almost over." His cold tone broke Aang's heart. He could tell that the scarred boy had a tough life, yet he was gentle in some ways. He would surely remember that face.

"Right, uh... Thanks again, it was very nice of you. Probably won't be able to write shit today, huh?" He nervously forced a chuckle.

Zuko's lips curved slightly. "Yeah, you won't." He turned around and began his walk to the nearest empty classroom he could find. He needed some time to think.

"Wait!" He heard the eager kid say. "Where can I see you again? I mean, if you don't mind maybe we could-"

"I'll be around here." He said softly. With that, he disappeared in the hallway.