we're young

Summary: You and Calum have been best friends for as long as you can remember and flashing the light of your rooms has become a signal that you need each other. ((this is a long one guys but I’ve been inactive for like a year so see it as a big comeback lol))

You’re 5 years old and the light flashes twice. You’re already in bed, but not yet asleep, and the flashing lights pull you out of bed and towards the window like an invisible cord. On the opposite side of your window is another window, one belonging to your neighbor. The houses are close together, in your street, and you see the familiar boy standing in front of his window.

“Did you flash the light?” you ask.

“Yes,” Calum answers. “I need to tell you a secret, but you have to promise you won’t laugh.”

You and Calum have been living next to each other your whole lives, and he’s always been your friend. You don’t even remember how you met; you assume you were just babies, because your mom is such good friends with his mom. You just know he’s always been there, and he’s always been nice to you, even though he teases his sister all the time, and surely that grants him the one wish of you not laughing.

“Okay.” “I think there’s a monster in my room.” You notice his voice is shaky.

You frown. “Well, I can’t help you with that. Go tell your mommy and daddy. They can beat it up.” Because at 5 years old, you didn’t think there was any problem out there that couldn’t be fixed by parents.

“I already told them,” Calum says, sounding a bit annoyed with you. As if it’s your fault there’s a monster in his room. “They don’t believe me. They say I just need to go to sleep. But if I go to sleep, the monster could eat me!”

“Leave the lights on,” you offer him. “Monsters don’t like light.” You don’t know if that’s an actual fact, but you’re sure you saw it in a cartoon once.

“Mom would be mad if I left the light on.” Sure enough, Calum’s room, behind him, is dark. After flashing the light, he turned it back off.

You yawn. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about it, then.” It’s late, and you just wanna go to bed. Calum never wants to go to bed; you know that, because he always throws a tantrum when his mom tells him it’s bed time. But you like sleeping, because it lets the dreams into your head.

“Come sleep with me.” You look up in surprise, but Calum looks completely serious. “You can come over Mali’s way.”

There’s a plank of wood between your roof and Calum’s. Mali-Koa, his sister, always uses it to sneak over to your house and talk to your sister, Natalie. They’re best friends, just like you and Calum. But you’ve never used the plank, cause you’d have to climb out of your window first, and that seems scary.

You sigh. But he is your best friend. And Natalie once told you that best friends do everything for each other, so you can’t really say no. Very carefully, you swing your leg out of the window.

“Don’t be scared,” says Calum, and you shoot him an angry look.

“You’re the one that’s scared of monsters!”

He doesn’t say anything after that, and just watches you as you slowly but steadily make your way out of your house and onto the plank. As soon as you reach his window, his tiny hands wrap around your arms and help you into his room.

You’re not scared of monsters. You know that if the monster really was dangerous, one of your cartoon hero’s would come to save you. But you’re still a little nervous, so you quickly jump onto the bed.

Everyone knows monsters that live under beds can’t come out from under them.

Calum joins you, a content look on your face. “You know,” he says, “I won’t forget this. You’re gonna be my best friend forever and ever.”

“Yeah,” you smile, “forever and ever.” And you close your eyes.

————————————————————————-

You’re 7 years old and the light flashes twice. Normally it’s Calum using the emergency call, but this time you have no other option. All you can do is hope he’ll answer.

He does; within seconds he appears in front of his window and opens it. It’s raining, tonight, big droplets of water crashing down onto your roofs.

“What’s wrong?” he says with a worried tone in his voice, when he sees you. You’ve been crying, and your eyes are red and your face is blotched and you can barely get the words out of your mouth.

The Fire Nation: 

Zuko: