Author's Note: So this is my first multi-chapter story…hopefully it turns out okay :) Comments/suggestions welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.

Zuko propped his head on his hand and sighed as he listened to his teacher's squeaky, over-enthusiastic voice. He was in his least favorite class: Chemistry. As he watched his instructor pace back and forth across the room, he found himself staring at the wispy white hair that covered the sides of his teacher's head, and hung from his chin. The top of his head was bald, and the strange hairstyle certainly matched his strange personality. As he strode past Zuko's desk, his name tag, which read "Bumi", bounced up and down spastically.

"And that, class, is why you never leave home without a paperclip!" Bumi cackled, a wild gleam in his eyes.

Zuko rolled his eyes; his Chemistry teacher had a bad habit of getting sidetracked, and would usually take half of class time to tell a single story. But he really didn't mind too much, because the more time his teacher used to tell his ridiculous stories, the less time the students had to spend doing work. He looked up at the clock, and was relieved to see that there were only 30 seconds left of class. After grabbing his books, he shoved them into his black backpack and scooted to the edge of his seat. The bell rang, and he nearly leaped out his seat to get to the door. There were a few mutters of annoyance as he pushed past his fellow juniors, but he couldn't care less. He had planned to meet his girlfriend after school, and as he neared their rendezvous point, he could feel a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth. There weren't many things in his life that made Zuko smile, but Mai was one of them. As he walked out of the doors and into the cool autumn breeze, he could see her leaning against one of the pillars that supported the main entrance to Reiko Academy.

"Hey, handsome," she smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Hey," he said and grinned as she grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together. With every passing day, he couldn't believe that Mai was his girlfriend. He could never seem to figure out what she saw in him, but he hoped she would never change her mind. They turned and started walking down the stairs that led up to the entrance of the school, but both stopped abruptly when they heard a loud voice behind them.

"Where are you going, Zuzu? Surely you weren't planning to just leave us behind!" Azula's words made him clench his jaw in annoyance. He hated being called that.

He turned to see his sister sauntering towards him and Mai, with Ty Lee a little ways behind her. The perky, bubbly girl was wearing her cheerleading outfit, since Azula had just picked her up after practice. She was the captain of the cheerleading team, and she loved to show off her status by wearing her red, black, and gold ensemble whenever she got the chance. She caught Zuko's eye and winked at him, flashing him a smile of dazzling white. He sighed; Ty Lee was an incurable flirt, and she would mess with every boy that came within a mile radius of her irresistible charm.

"What do you want, Azula?" he asked his sister, his voice irritable.

She smiled at him, knowing perfectly well that she was getting on his nerves.

"You and Mai are going to Uncle's tea shop, right? We thought we could tag along," Azula motioned to her and Ty Lee, her sharpened fingernails glinting with their usual polish.

Zuko opened his mouth to snap a reply, but before he could speak, Mai calmly replied to his sister, "That sounds fun, but Zuko and I want to spend some time together for a while. Just the two of us."

Azula's mouth twitched, no doubt in an effort to hide a frown. "Very well. We'll see you tomorrow, then," she countered brusquely, then stalked off back into the school with Ty Lee shadowing her.

Letting out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding, Zuko gently squeezed Mai's hand and they stepped down the remainder of stairs, before heading down the sidewalk toward Iroh's tea shop.

"That was close," he exclaimed, relieved that Azula and Ty Lee hadn't joined them.

"Too close. Did you see that look Azula gave us? If looks could kill, we'd be cold, dead bodies by now."

Zuko smirked and almost laughed out loud. "You have an interesting sense of humor."

Mai looked up at him and smiled mischievously, her dark eyes glittering. "You know you love it."

"Yes. I do love it," he murmured as he brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it.

"What's this? Zuko, being romantic?" she giggled.

He smiled and rolled his eyes, happiness welling up inside of him. He and Mai had been dating for almost a year, and their relationship was only getting stronger. After watching each other from a distance all their lives, they had finally decided to get together. Everyone knew that they liked each other, and had constantly nagged both of them about it since the first grade. It worked, and now they were probably one of the happiest couples in Reiko Academy.

They crossed the street and walked into the Jasmine Dragon, selecting a table close to the front of the shop. The air smelled heavily of the spices, which were used to create the finest tea in the entire city. A waiter approached the table, and asked what each of them would like to drink.

"I'll have a cup of Ginseng tea," Zuko decided.

Mai looked up at the waiter and murmured, "I'll have the same."

The waiter nodded and headed to the kitchen, where various cooking utensils could be heard clanging together. Zuko and Mai started some small talk, but soon they were engrossed in a conversation about the latest action movies coming out. Outside, the sky slowly turned a light shade of purple, signaling that it was dusk. The shop would be closing soon, but the couple didn't mind; all that mattered was each other's company, as they chatted the night away.