15

As time passed, Neteyam and I started to pretend like nothing happened betwen us. We wanted each other, but we decided that for now we're better as friends. 

A festival took place at the hometree. There was wild dancing. Even Neteyam was dancing around with his sisters, and surprisingly Loak too.

I stood there awkwardly, watching everyone have the time of their life. "Y/n, come join us!" Kiri yelled out. I shook my head, hesitately, before Loak came behind me whispering something to me.

"Neteyam came here only because of you, don't ruin it." With that he pushed me into the crowd, and I started moving around nervously, until someone came behind me. It was Loak, again.

"Don't be so awkward!" He laughed earning a playful eyeroll from me. "Come on." He grabbed me by my wrist, and pulled me in the middle.

"I don't know how to dance like you guys!" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Just follow my steps." Loak smiled. We danced together, and it was fun. It wasn't slow dance type of stuff, it was like the dancing from Tangled.

Neteyam's POV:

I watched her laugh as she danced with him. Why doesn't she laugh like that with me? I know Loak and her are friends, but she never really held my hand like shes doing it with him now. The way shes swaying around him, and how close they are to eachother.. It's driving me crazy.

She's driving me crazy.

And I don't like it.

She finaly turned to look at me, and her beautiful smile faded. Na'yori came to me and started to talk, and without a second thought I cut her off by grabbing her and jumping into the crowd, right by Y/n's side.

I wasn't going to let her win this, like she can be the only one to try and make me jealous. Me and Na'yori started copying their moves, Y/n and me not breaking eye contact once.

I wanted to switch roles with Loak in this moment, and be the one to hold her like that. 

When the music finally ended, I immidietly grabbed Loak and ran off with him somewhere silent. Slamming him against a tree, I started to yell in his face.

"What the hell was that?!" I questioned.

"What the hell, bro-" 

"Why are you suddenly so close with Y/n?" 

He smirked. "I knew you liked her."

I sighed. "Just answer the question."

"Because she's my friend. Besides, if you really don't like her, you wouldn't have a problem with us."

""Us"?" I glared. "And I don't have a problem, nor do I like her. I just care about her, that's all."

"Oh, okay. That's good, because I'm planning to ask her to mate before Ey-" He wanted to walk off, but I stopped him as I cussed him out in Navi.

"Don't finish that sentance." I put my finger in his face, and he slowly moved it.

"Do you like her?"

I sighed, and rolled my eyes. "I do. And she doesn't like me. She made it very clear some time ago."

"Shit, what happened?"

We ended up sitting somewhere quiet together, and I told him everything. "And that's it. Now I'm just waiting on something like a miracle to change her mind."

"I'm pretty sure she likes you too. She's just overwhelmed. You have to understand her, shes in a pretty bad place right now." Loak said.

"I hope you're right." I chuckled and pat his head. "Hey,  sorry for being so rough on you earlier."

"It's fine, I get it." He smiled. We chatted some more, before we heard a female voice approach us.

"There you guys are!" Y/n ran up to us.

"Where did you go?" Na'yori came by her side.

"Who would've known you 2 would become friends." Loak smirked at the two.

"Oh please, we're not friends." Na'yori scoffed.

"Admit you took a liking to me." Y/n smirked at her.

"No.." She blushed. "fine, you're not too bad." 

"I knew it! Does this officialy make me one of the clan?"  Y/n laughed.

"Shut up. Let's get moving, the others are waiting." Na'yori started walking.

Back to Y/n's POV.

We all started heading back to the clan, and I decided to walk beside Neteyam, a bit away from the others.

"Sooo, why did you and Loak leave?"  I asked.

"It felt a bit crowded." Neteyam said.

"Mhm." I  smirked. "So, you and Na'yori a thing now?"

Neteyam frowned. "Well.." The frown turned into a smirk. "I don't know, it's getting real."

I could feel my insides turn. "Oh."

His ears fliched. "What?"

"So I guess you lost feelings?" I  smiled. "For me I mean." He kept quiet and looked away. "That's good, because I found someone myself."

"Oh really?" He laughed as he stopped in his tracks. "And who would that be?"

I smirked, crossing my arms as I got in his face. "Just this sky person. No one  special."

"Aww, I bet you guys are a really cute couple.. If I could just see you human body next to his, like little ants making love." He mocked me.

"Yea, I bet yours and Na'yoris babies are going to be the size of my human body." I talked back.

"At least my kids arent going to be the size of a beetle." He said.

We kept quiet for a while.

"What are we even doing.." I shook my head.

"I don't know, you tell me. You're the one who ditched me." He looked into the distance. "Great, we lost Loak and Na'yori."

"Sorry for distracting you from your girlfriend." I rolled my eyes.

"She's not my girlfriend, I still like you! Okay?" He barked. "But you don't like me back."

"Who told you that?" I frowned.

"You did?"

"No I didn't."

"So do you then?"

"What?"

"Do you like me back.

I thought for a moment. "Did anyone ever tell you how stupid you are?" Without wasting any second, I jumped into his arms, and kissed him passionately. "Does that answer your questi-"

Cutting me off, he pulled me in for another, longer kiss. "Yes." He smiled. We kissed some more, before I pulled away.

"We can't let anyone know about this tho." I said.

"Fine, but let me enjoy the moment." He tried to kiss me, but I put my hand over his mouth.

"Later. The people are waiting for us." I grabbed his hand, and we ran back to the clan.

We all danced some more, until it got late, and we all decided to go to sleep. Neteyam winked at me from his hammock, before falling asleep, both of us with a smile on our faces.

The next day, Grace and I were sitting together at the shack as she was smoking and I was drinking coffee, trying to avoid a terrible headache.

"My head hurts like shit." I scoff. Today was a very special day, when I become one of the clan. Grace wasn't happy about it.

"Y/n, can we please talk about what you're about to do?" She questioned.

"I don't wanna hear it." She was scared I wasn't strong enough.

"It can kill you Y/n!" She yelled.

"It's the last step, I'm doing it, wether you like it or not." I walked over to my link, her following after.

"Just listen to me.The navi them selves somethines die because of this. The venom can take you to the ende of death." She said as I sat into my link, as Norman set it up. "And the psychoactive  alkaloid in that worm. We don't know wat it does to the brain."

"I'll be fine."

"Calibrating 30 seconds." Neteyam stated.

"Whatever happens to the avatar, youre here." She pointed to my heart.

"My real body is out there!" I yelled, both of them shocked at my outburst. "I have to go all out. I have to become one of them."

"And when are you going to inform the clan about Quaritch's plans?" I kept quiet at her words. "Neteyam will be heartbroken."

I teared up. "Stay out of my bussines." I didn't wanna talk to her like this, but I didn't need this topic.  Not now.

"The link is ready." Norman sighed.

When I woke up in my avatar body, it was still nighttime. 

Neteyam took me to some area, and started painting my body in preparation for the dream hunt. 

"Y/n." He said. "This isn't a smart choice."

"I wanna be one of the people. I'm doing this." I said.

"Mother says it is difficult for an alien mind to survive the dream hunt." He looked up into my eyes. "You could die."

"I'm aware, but that doesn't mean that I surely will." I stated. He moved his hand on top of mine, and placed the  other one on my cheek. I leaned towards, and as we were about to kiss, someone entered the room, making us quickly pull away from each other. It was Kiri.

"It's time." She said.

Neteyam pulled me off the ground, and gave me a reasuring smile, before the 3 of us made our way to the bottom of the hometree. Neteyam and Kiri went into the circle of Navi who were gathered for the ritual. In the distance, I noticed Norman and Grace giving me worried looks.

I walked to the centre of the circle, surrounded by elders, adults and children, while an older Navi played the drums.

I stood in front of Neytiri, as she clensed my body with burning herbs. She chanted in a low voice in Navi as she continued. I looked over at Neteyam as she did so. From my angle it looked like he was praying.

Putting the herbs away, she grabbed a piece of wood, plucing a purple worm out of it.

"Oh wise worm, eater of the Sacred tree! Bless this hunter with a true vision.." She said loudly.

I opened my mouth, allowing her to place the worm inside. I started to chew on it, before Jake came from behind, placing a scorpio like creature on the back of my neck. I closed my eyes in pain, as the crowd started chanting in a circle. When I opened my eyes, the crowd was no longer there. I was in the desert, in the middle of nowehere. I looked down to see my body turn into sand and fly away. 

I blinked, and I was no longer in the desert. I was riding a direhorse, and getting chased by a bunch of vipervolves. Suddenly, a viperwolf jumped on me, grabbing me by the leg and pulling me off the direhorse, throwing me into a lake. I blinked again, and was surrounded by the people again. I'm alive.

"It is finished." I heard Neytiri.

Neteyam ran up to me and sighed in relief as he hugged me. "Thank you great mother.." I could hear him tear up. He pulled away, wiping a tear away.

"Are you crying?" I smirked. "I told you I'd make it."

He put his hand on my chest. "I'm glad you're alive."

Jake came beside me, putting his hands on my shoulders. "You are omaticaya now. You are a daughter of Eywa, my child."

All the people from the crowd started putting their hands on my body. My back, my arms, my chest.

I was one of them now, and nothing can take that away from me.