Chapter Text
Bolin crashed the cymbals and snare with a brutal fervor, which made them shake violently with their treatment. Mako swung the neck of his bass and furrowed his sharp eyebrows and rocked his head back and forth in time with the tempo. Opal was completely oblivious to anything outside of her guitar and the music she produced. Korra herself was utterly lost in the feeling of her fingers skirting over the fretboard as she picked out notes with a rarely found zeal. Korra tilted her head up to meet the microphone and inhaled deeply to-
“How about you, Korra?”
Korra snapped out of her reverie, the noise of the instruments replaced with a whirring air conditioning unit and a coughing student. She sat up straight, wiping the drool that had gathered at the corner of her mouth.
She had absolutely no idea of what had taken place for the duration of time that she fell asleep in class.
Raiko tapped his foot impatiently, and raised an eyebrow. He must have been expecting an answer of some sort, by the way he and the other students strung about the room gazed her way expectantly.
“Uhh…” Korra rubbed the back of her neck nervously, a habit she had developed since a young age, her eyes darting around the classroom, searching for just about anything that would get her out of this situation.
A slight, almost barely noticeable scratching noise sounded on her right. Korra found the source of noise, trying her best not to move her head. Bolin glanced up at her urgently, repeatedly underlining a number.
“Eighteen thirty-four…?”
Korra looked back up at Raiko, and he seemed impressed. He nodded slowly. “Yes. Eighteen thirty-four.”
Korra breathed a sigh of relief, and went back to listening but not understanding what was being said. She turned to Bolin, and mouthed a small thanks. The boy shot Korra a grin and thumbs up. What would she do without that boy?
-
Korra rocked back and forth on her heels, a box of noodles between her fingers. Mako stood next to her, furiously tapping the screen of his phone. His signature scowl was in place, but it was fastened tighter than usual. Several people walked past them, in groups, and in pairs and walking alone. They chatted idly, increased their pace, or were completely oblivious to the people trying to avoid them as they stared at their phone and not at where they walked. The late afternoon sun was blocked by dense clouds, and allowed everyone a little relief from the stifling heat.
Korra stopped her movements, peering at the taller boy. “Who’re you talking to?” She inquired.
Mako looked at her through the corner of his eye for a brief moment, before flitting back to his phone. “Tanho wants to borrow my bass.”
Korra frowned at the mention of him. “Why? Doesn’t he consider his jazz his child or something?”
Mako scoffed. “Of course he does. He wants to play for some girl he met at a club.” Mako smirked at his phone. “I guess this is the closest thing I’ll get to him admitting a precision is better than a jazz.”
Korra laughed at the notion. “All about subtext, I guess.”
Bolin burst through the doors of Narook’s that they were standing next to, turning to them. “Got the goods?”
Korra held up the box, giving it a light shake. “Right here.”
Bolin walked past them, sticking his hands into his pockets. They followed him, Mako pushing his phone into his pocket upon replying to Tanho with a satisfactory “fuck off”. Korra sidled up to the stockier boy, trying to start a conversation. “Guess what gossip I heard today.”
Bolin made a show about thinking hard about it. “Hmm… I don’t know. What did you hear?”
“People think that Lin and Kya are banging.”
Bolin levelled Korra with an incredulous stare. “And how might you know that?”
Korra increased her pace slightly to see Mako better, who walked on the other side of Bolin. “Pre-Med students said she wouldn’t shut up about how great her weekend was. Plus, her scarf didn’t hide all the marks.”
Mako added to the conversation. “Lin came to class with a funny walk and a turtleneck. The dots connect well enough.” He mused.
Korra huffed out a breath, folding her arms petulantly. “I can’t believe an old lady is getting laid more than I am.”
Bolin threw his head back in laughter. “You probably just have some bad luck.” He patted her shoulder sympathetically.
“Wait.” Mako piped up. “Have you been looking for anyone lately?”
Korra frowned, taking offence to the question. “Why yes, I have been looking for someone. And it hasn’t been working out too well for me. What, are you guys magically expecting me to walk into a-“
Before Korra could finish her sentence, she felt her body colliding with someone else’s, her feet tangling with theirs and Korra’s momentum sending them to the pavement. Her head smacked against the person’s collarbone, just as her hands connected with the ground.
Korra’s eyes opened, having closed during the fall. She snapped her head up so fast it could’ve caused whiplash.
Cyan eyes landed on light green ones, and Korra’s breath caught in her throat. Korra was now laying on top of a woman- a beautiful woman, to be exact. The woman had a sharp jawline, pale but slightly flushed skin, red-painted and parted lips and eyebrows that were currently high on her forehead. A chest rose under Korra’s, and a hot breath fell on her temple.
“Holy shit I’m so sorry!”
Korra scrambled to her feet, her cheeks aflame with embarrassment. Korra couldn’t believe she just knocked the prettiest person in the entire block flat on their ass because she wasn’t looking at where she was going. She wanted the pavement to crack open and swallow her whole for her inexcusable clumsiness.
Korra extended her hand to the stranger, who used it to pull herself up. “It’s alright. I’ve had worse things happen this week.” She spoke. Even her voice sounded gorgeous.
This girl must have had a good three or so inches on Korra, as she had to look up at her. Korra noticed a phone on the ground, and she bent down to pick it up. “I-I’m not usually this clumsy, I don’t know what happened.” Korra stuttered, handing the girl her phone and rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
The woman took it, her hand briefly touching Korra’s. “If it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t looking where I was going either.” If Korra wasn’t so busy beating herself up inside, she would have taken a few more seconds to appreciate the dazzling smile the girl offered. She moved past Korra, continuing on her way and leaving a very dazed person to wonder if the events that just transpired actually happened.
Korra looked to Mako and Bolin, a little lost for words and coherent thoughts. The latter’s mouth hung open, his eyes like saucers. The former shook his head disapprovingly, making “Tisk” noises.
“The only hot chick you meet for an entire month and you don’t ask her out.”
“Rrgh!”