somewhere only we know

two

freshman year, second semester.

"hey dad, i'm home." asami called out at basically nothing as she set her backpack on the floor by the entrance. she had no idea why she still told him she was home. he never cared.

ever since her mother's death, her dad has never been the same. yeah, he usually worked overtime and went on business trips for a few weeks but now since her mother passed it's been worse than ever. he goes on even longer trips, stays working till the crack of dawn and basically either sleeps or stays in his office.

asami's mother is who she wants to be. she was caring, smart, passionate about her goals, loving, etc. but, ever since her passing, it's affected her greatly. doesn't help the fact that her father puts his anger out on asami either.

"yeah. there's some takeout in the fridge if you want it." she heard from the office upstairs and shrugged, walking over to her kitchen and taking out the small white box.

as she was eating, she felt her phone buzz from her back pocket and zuko was written over the screen.

she loved zuko. he was her bestfriend ever since they were little kids. asami's mother and zuko' mother were both super close and the teenagers met through their parents. since they both have something in common, losing their mothers, they bonded greatly and in a way, act protective over eachother since they have very similar relationships with their parents.

asami slid up and answered the phone. "hey, what's up?"

"hey. i'm going to eat out with a few friends. do you wanna come?"

she thought. "hmm. depends. who are they?"

"cmon, i think you've met them before. remember? ty lee, opal, suki."

"oh. i don't know. i have some homework to catch up on."

"oh come on, don't be lame. it'll only be a few hours."

she thought for a second before answering. "fine."

she heard ty lee gasp from the other line and it felt like someone picked up the phone. "yay!" she heard ty lee's voice and laughed.

"give it back." she heard zuko say as the audio kept buffering.

"alright, i'll see you in 30."

"okay." she simply said and put the phone down, climbing upstairs and getting ready for a day out.

-

she giggled softly as suki and ty lee bickered over who knows what and threw a cherry at zuko's face.

"ah, you bitch!" zuko half screamed and covered his left eye.

"see what your dumbass did? you hurt scar boy!" suki exclaimed and felt a pang in her side from zuko.

"i told you not to call me that." he joked, still holding his eye.

"excuse me? MY dumbass? you were the one who started fighting in the first place!" ty lee exclaimed and angrily went back to drinking her milkshake.

"i'll go get zuko an ice bag." asami said softly and slid out of the booth.

"thank you asami." zuko said and she waved it off.

"i'll come with. i have to go to the bathroom anyway." opal slid out of the booth behind her.

as she stood beside the cashier waiting for her ice bag, she felt opal softly shake her shoulder and she turned around. she felt her heart drop at the sight.