One of These Days
by Unwritten Bliss

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. There, I said it.

Prologue:

Summertime had flown by as if school had never ended. She was surprised that she didn't feel any remorse for starting her sophomore year at school too soon. Not that starting sophomore year was bad, she had a feeling it would be great! Moving up from freshman…yeah, it was great. Freshman year hadn't been the best for her. Subconsciously her tan hand lifted from the place on the wheel to her chest, rubbing where her heart was, and where the pain was.

Immediately a shrill voice reached her ears and she jumped, placing her hand on the wheel at ten and two, her eyes wide. "Katara, keep your hands on the wheel," the boy beside her shrilled, "And stay at the speed limit!"

Katara blinked and looked at her speed monitor. She blinked and glanced at her brother. "Sokka," she started, "I'm going forty in a forty-five speed limit."

Her brother was gripping the car seat with such force his tan knuckles were turning bleach white, his eyes wide and glued to the road. "Keep your eyes on the road!"

Katara was ready to stomp her foot on the left pedal and force her brother out of the car. "Well if you want to be a backseat driver, why don't you just drive!" she snapped angrily. She hadn't gotten her driver's license yet, turning sixteen in the winter, and her brother had been kind enough that morning to allow her to drive his silver jeep to school.

"Technically, Katara, he's not a backseat driver," said a perky voice from behind. Katara glanced back at the young teenager behind her and scowled slightly at his words, "Because I'm the one sitting in the back, and your brother is the one in the passenger's seat."

"Thank you, Aang!" Sokka said with a snort, his eyes dragged away from the road to look at the thirteen-year-old. Sokka looked at his sister now, his eyes narrowed, "See, Aang gets what I'm saying!"

Katara rolled her eyes. "He didn't say that, Sokka," she said angrily. Slowly she turned into her high school's parking lot. "Uhg, I forgot about this," she grumbled, "About never being able to find a parking spot."

Her brother rolled his eyes and looked out his window, searching. Finally he spotted one. He jumped up in his seat, slamming the top of his head against the roof of the car, and he pointed eagerly. "There, there, there!" He said. Katara saw it and nodded determinedly. That's when Sokka felt the pain in his head and he rubbed it, sitting back down, "Ow…" he grumbled.

Aang laughed and said in a sing-song voice, "Self-inflicted pain!", quoting what the fortuneteller had said when they had visited her earlier in the summer.

Katara narrowed her eyes as she reached the spot; she could do this. She slowly turned the wheel, nearing the slot. That's when suddenly a roaring was heard from in front of her and just as the tip of the jeep was nearing the slot, a motorcycle wheeled into the lot.

The smoke settled down around the bike, having been speeding to get the spot. When it settled, Katara and Sokka were on their wit's end. Sokka rolled down his window and leaned out, yelling at the top of his lungs, "You stupid idiot! What the hell were you thinking? Can't you see this spot is ours?"

A leg was pulled over the motorcycle, and a black helmet with flames painted on it was pulled off. The man's back was faced toward them, and he slowly shook out his hair, which was black and shaggy. "Hey, Idiot," Sokka called, "I'm talking to you!"

The head slowly turned, and Katara's eyes widened. Those eyes…they couldn't be normal. Golden eyes pierced through Sokka, and Sokka slowly slid back into the car with an 'eep'. A red-pink scar covered the left side of his face, over his scar, and his hair was indeed shagged over his eyes. He wore a leather jacket, and bellow that Katara could see a black shirt and he was wearing black pants with suspenders hanging off of them. Something was written on the black shirt, but she couldn't read it.

"Forget it," grumbled Sokka, "just find another place."

"What? No! This was Katara's!" Aang yelled angrily. He opened the car-door and breezily jumped out of it. He walked up to the young man and put on his meanest face.

"Aang!" Katara and Sokka said at the same time as Aang began to speak to the young man. The man's eyes narrowed at the child's words. Katara was freaking out by the time a hand was removed from the leather jacket's pockets.

Katara was out of the car before she knew what she was doing, and she could hear Sokka cry out while trying to step on the pedal that would stop the car from rolling into the man's motorcycle. Whoops, she thought, should've put it into park.

"Hey!" she snapped angrily. The man's hand was grasped around Aang's collar, and the boy had a look of utter disbelief written on his face. "Hey you!" Both boys turned to look at her, and she had her hands planted firmly on her hips. "What the hell?" she snapped.

She stomped up to the young man and pried his fingers from her friend's collar. Then she turned her face to him and glared at him, her blue eyes narrowed. "Who the hell do you think you are, grabbing my friend's collar like that?" she asked angrily, "And who the hell do you think you are taking my spot!" her voice was a near-yell.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. Her hair was pulled into a loose braid down her back, and two strands of her hair, falling from her forehead, were pinned back into the beginning of the braid. Her skin was a tan color, her hair the color of earth. And her eyes were a piercing blue. He immediately hated her. He leaned forward, growling in her face, and she stumbled back, surprised. He glared at her. "Is your name on this spot?" he asked, his voice deadly.

Katara's eyes had widened sufficiently from the point when he had leaned forward and growled. She had had no idea that a human could even growl to begin with! She shook her head. He nodded and sat back up, his full height. He towered over her, and she just realized that. He had to be at least eighteen! She gulped. That means he's a senior, she thought.

"No," Aang started, "but she was here before you!"

His head snapped toward the young boy and his eyes glared into him. Aang shuddered under his gaze. The golden eyes turned back to Katara, who was now fidgeting with her silver crop top. "Forget it," she grumbled and she looked away. "Have it, I didn't want it that badly anyways. I'm sure there's one over there, Aang. Get in the car."

When they got into the car, Sokka was placed in the driver's seat and he was beating his head against the wheel. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," he growled angrily.

"Yeah, I know," she said softly, "I am. Just go." Sokka glanced at his usually happy sister and shrugged.

"Fine." He started the car, pulled it into drive, and drove away to find another parking spot, leaving the man to stand by his motorcycle with a smirk on his face.

Maybe this new school wouldn't be bad after all.