"Zuko, be quiet."
He hushed up immediately just as I leaned in. Confusion colored his face as he watched me, his lips twitching anxiously as I neared. Was he playing dumb or did he honestly not know? I couldn't tell at this point. I stopped short though, and bit my lip as he turned away and released the breath that he had held in for so long. He looked relieved to see that I had stopped advancing to whatever I had intended to do, and it stung.
"What are you doing?" he demanded once more, though in a much quieter tone. He glanced over my shoulder, obviously apprehensive to see if Aang were coming. Sokka, he could take; Aang was another story. Sokka had rage and a boomerang; Aang had rage and the four elements and the Avatar State combined. Aang had gotten much better with controlling his anger, but I never really knew anymore. I felt like he was slowly catching onto what was happening between Zuko and I. Or, at least what I thought was happening.
I shifted my stance, turning away slightly to look out over the lake. I had so much pent-up energy inside of me, I needed to bend at that moment. It'd attract attention, though, so I turned back to face Zuko. "You know we can't…" he started hesitantly, covering his mouth and looking down at the swampy ground beneath our feet. He seemed to be fighting some internal battle at that moment, and I wanted to pull him into my arms like I had done so many times before. "Katara…" he said quietly, and I could hear in his voice the strain in it to keep calm. "This has gone on for too long. There are just too many people involved…Aang, Mai…" he sighed and looked back up at me. "I'm the Fire Lord, Katara. I can't be doing things like this. Do you know what people would think if they found out about this…about us? Nobody would trust me anymore; I'd be a joke."
I felt like he had slapped me in the face. This had never meant anything to him, not at all. I wondered why I had wasted so much time hoping that maybe one day this could work out. That Aang would understand and still be able to look me in the eye without despising me, that Mai would get over it somehow. (But what did I care about Mai? Nothing.) Instead, I had to put my whole heart out there and just have him burn it.
"Katara, wait!" he said, grabbing my hand as I turned away. I slapped him off of me. He wouldn't make a fool of me anymore.
"What do you want?" I demanded, not bothering to keep quiet anymore. Aang, please come save me… It was a terrible thought but I had no where else to go.
All of my worries melted away as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, gently pressing his lips to mine. I was so confused at that moment; my head spun uncontrollably. Part of me wanted to pull away and run away, while another part of me wanted to stay there forever.
I hated it.