Author's Note: My Zutara story starts off between "The Western Air Temple" and "The Firebending Masters". I really wanted to start something simple, but also I wanted to know how Zuko tried to befriend Katara again. If there any suggestions please tell me. I would be grateful for reviews. I hope you enjoy. Also let me know if I misspelled any names or words, thank you. I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, I am manipulating the characters for this story.

Katara had just finished threatening Zuko's life. Zuko could not feel upset or angry because he knew that what Katara said was true, it had to be. She was not going to trust him for a long time; he had betrayed her in Ba Sing Se. She did not want to see him; she threw water at him while he tried to be her prisoner. If it wasn't for Toph or Aang, he wouldn't be there.

That evening, the gang sat around a fire that Zuko had insisted he ignite. He felt like he needed to pull his own weight. He saw everyone help set up dinner, Katara made food while she ordered Sokka and Aang to find everyone. Tao, The Duke, and Haru helped bring bowls to Katara that Toph made out of the stone from the Air Temple. Katara didn't even allow him to ignite the fire she was using to boil water for the rice.

Things were never easy with Katara, Zuko concluded. Zuko sat between The Duke and Toph. "You can lighten up you know," he heard Toph whisper to him.

"Are you sure? I feel like Katara will bite my head off at any moment." He tried to keep his voice from showing any emotion, but failed. Toph smirked, so Sugar queen had threatened his life.

"She won't do anything with Aang around. Anyways Aang likes you. He says you saved him before but you weren't yourself." Zuko thought back to the night when he had disguised himself as the Blue Spirit and saved Aang from Zhao. He didn't regret his decision then, he felt lost again. After officially joining the group, everyone but Katara had accepted him. Why did he want her approval so bad?

Everyone continued to eat until the tension between Zuko and Katara had reached a boiling point. If looks could kill, Zuko would have been killed multiple of times. "Katara, stop staring at Zuko. He already feels out of place. You are making things awkward," Katara tried to take Aang's advice but she felt it was useless.

"If he wouldn't have shown up, he wouldn't feel out of place. We could have found someone else to teach you firebending. You didn't have to take him in Aang. He is worthless to us." At that Katara stood up, washed her dish in the fountain then cleaned the water from the fountain. Katara stalked off to her room that she was unhappily sharing with Toph. She grabbed her towel and soap and began to walk off to the small river they had found near the temple.

As she walked down the hall, she noticed a certain firebender's room, he had a picture of his uncle and some lady with long black hair. He traveled light. He had several pieces of clothes thrown across his bed and a blanket. Katara heard footsteps coming her way, she continued forward, removing any thoughts of the firebender.

"Katara. Where are you going?"

"Sokka, I'm going to wash up before I go to sleep. Is that a crime?" Katara's anger began to surface again, but who was she anger at.

"Can you lighten up? Zuko is trying to help us and all you are doing is pushing him away," Sokka rarely said anything smart. Katara was caught off guard.

"I'm not pushing him away. He is worthless." Little did Katara know that Zuko could hear every word she spoke. He knew what she thought of him but he hoped he had been wrong.

Zuko returned to his room and closed the door rather loudly to inform anyone within hearing distance to know his presence. Katara and Sokka both looked to wear the loud slam came from and realized it had come from Zuko's room. Katara's usual brown cheeks instantly turned to bright red, she didn't know he could hear her. What did it matter.

He knew how she felt about him, she hated him, hates him. She pushed Sokka out of her way and continued on her journey.

Once she made it to the river, she noticed how blue the water was. Maybe she could wash up and forget about the events of the last few days. But the universe was not in her favor.

As Katara stripped down to her bindings, she became self-conscious. What if Zuko saw her like this, vulnerable and exposed, no he wouldn't. No one had told him of the small river, she hoped. Katara descended into the cool water and swam around for several minutes. She began to think about what Zuko had told her about his mother.

His mother had been taken by the fire nation but that was impossible because his mother had to have been fire nation. He thought he knew everything just because he was few years older than her, well she would show him. Who was she angry at anyways. It wasn't necessarily Zuko's fault their plan had failed on the solstice. What if he knew about it though, he could have told his father. Why did he have a scar.

Katara couldn't get a grip on her thoughts, they all swirled around Zuko and his past, and his reasons for doing what he did. But did she really want to know. Of course not, but then he would exposed and she could play with his emotions like he did to her when he stole her mother's necklace. Maybe she could peek through his things and take whatever he has as leverage in case he tried to hurt Aang. That wasn't so bad.

After Katara's bath, she returned to her room where Toph had been waiting. "Sugar queen you need to apologize to Zuko." Katara was rather shocked considering Zuko had burned Toph's eyes, well feet.

"No. He doesn't deserve it. He hasn't proven himself."

"He hasn't done anything to you or any of us."

"YOU ARE WRONG! You wouldn't understand; none of you would." Katara stormed out her room. She rounded a corner and came to quick halt when she bumped something hard. Katara looked up and met the amber eyes of Zuko.

"Are you okay? I didn't see you. I'm sorry," Zuko offered his hand out to Katara. She slapped his hand away, "Get away from me."

Katara continued to run to the other side of the temple; she didn't care who saw her or what they were saying. She needed to figure things out before she lost her mind.