Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. :(
Enjoy reading!
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Chapter One: Beach Party
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Katara's POV
I've had the time of my life fighting dragons with you. That sentence had been going around my mind all afternoon. Since the war ended, I've been having lots of this sort of sentences floating through my mind. Another one that won't go away is:It was a decision she'd regret for the rest of her life.These sentences just always make me feel so… peaceful.
"WAKE UP, SUGAR QUEEN!" Toph shouted. I'm going to be honest here, Toph surprised me so much that I fell out of my tree. I know what you're thinking, what the hell am I doing in a tree? I was in a tree because trees are calming. Well it was calming, before a certain someone decided to wake me up.
Anyway, much to my annoyance, Toph was laughing her head off, she somehow found me falling out of a tree funny. I started ranting at her, as you do, on how dangerous it is to knock someone out of a tree. I could have fallen on my head! Or broken a neck! How would she feel then? I asked her, and apparently she would feel happy because then there'd be no one to rant at her all the time. I was very offended, told her so, and promptly left the orchard, deciding to walk around the palace in search of something to do.
After fair bit of walking around the palace, I found myself in the kitchen, where a bunch of bored teenagers were sitting around the table. So, being a bored teenager myself, I joined them.
"Seriously, we need something to do. With the war over, we're all totally bored!" Aang said. Toph rolled her eyes.
"Thanks for stating the obvious, Captain Obvious!" She exclaimed. Aang mumbled something about just trying to start the conversation.
"Why don't we… have a beach party?" Sokka suggested. No surprises there, it usually is Sokka who comes up with fun ideas. We all agreed, there was really nothing else to do, and beach parties are fun. Besides, the palace was right next to the beach, so it wasn't a long walk.
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We were at the beach in no time.
I unrolled my towel in a particularly sunny spot of sand, and plonked down, Suki and Toph doing the same next to me. The boys were setting up a game of Bend Ball. Then the game was set up, and Oh. My. God. Zuko had just taken off his shirt. Believe me, a shirtless Zuko is a very good thing. He has really, really, nice muscles! I guess all those days of firebending training has paid off! I couldn't take my eyes off him, but I must have looked pretty stupid, because the next thing I knew Suki was snapping her fingers in front of my face.
Stupid Suki.
The boys started playing, but I was pretty much too lazy to join in, so I just relaxed. Mmm, the warm feel of sun on my skin. I could get used to this.
"So, Katara, you and Zuko, huh?" Suki said, a cheeky grin on her face.
Well, Suki, you may have hit something there. But no way was I going to tell her that!
"No! Zuko? Are you serious? We're just friends!" I flustered. I could feel my ears going a little red. Stupid ears! I pulled my hair over them.
"I can tell you're lying!" Toph said, laughing. Oh crap, I'd forgotten about Toph and her ability to tell if someone's lying. Oh well, I'll just have to keep denying it.
"I am not!" Hopefully, I sounded believable.
Toph was about to reply to that, when… WHAM! I was sprayed with a tonne of sand by Zuko. He had got bored of playing Bend Ball, and had come to sit down next to me, skidding as he sat down. And of course, his skidding had gotten me covered in sand. I gave him a frown, and dusted the sand off. I just hoped he hadn't heard any of that conversation. To change the subject, I began to rant at him why he shouldn't skid when he sits down, but he interrupted me.
"What aren't you?" He asked. Typical. Trust Zuko to be listening in on conversations that were none of his business.
"She's in lo-" Suki began, but I launched myself at Zuko to block his ears, knocking him onto his back in the process. Zuko CANNOT know what Suki is about to say! I'm positive that he only likes me as a friend.
I did my best to make sure he hadn't heard any of that conversation. I had successfully covered Zuko's ears.
Triumph!
No thanks to Suki and Toph, that little triumphant moment didn't last long. They were both giggling.
"And that is our cue to leave!" Toph said, and her and Suki left, laughing and staring at us. Well, Suki was staring anyway. Toph was probably staring with her feet. I was confused for a moment, until I looked down. I was sitting on Zuko's stomach, and my hands had come off his ears, and somehow found their way to his bare chest. Mmm, those abs… No! Focus Katara! This probably did look a little funny, and Zuko had gone red. I felt myself blushing, and I quickly got off him.
"Oh my g-gosh! I am s-so sorry!" I apologized quickly. I gave him a hand, and pulled him up.
Good job Katara! You've just killed any thoughts he might have had of you not being a total weirdo. And even if he doesn't think you're a weirdo, he probably thinks you're a perve now. Congratulations.
"It's ok." He said, awkwardly, smiling an awkward little smile.
"So… um… What's up?" I asked, trying to sound normal. All I wanted to do was change the subject.
"The sky." He replied, grinning. You could've heard crickets. Oh, Zuko.
"Yeah… maybe you should just leave the jokes to Sokka." I said, laughing.
"Maybe I should." He replied. Sokka must've heard his name, at that moment he came over. As usual, he had food on his mind.
"Hey, Zuko! Buddy!" He said, a sheepish smile on his face.
"What happened now?" Zuko replied. Over the time that Zuko's been in the gang, Sokka and Zuko have become quite good friends.
"Well, I was kinda hungry, so I was wondering… would you mind making everyone some of those meat kebabs you're so good at?" Sokka asked, grinning.
Zuko rolled his eyes. "Sure, have you got any meat?" He asked. Sokka started steering Zuko away towards the small fire they'd started earlier.
"Yes, my good friend, yes I do." Sokka replied. Zuko said something else, but I couldn't hear what it was.
I turned the opposite direction to find Suki and Toph, who were having a sandcastle competition. Toph of course was winning, she'd found a quite earthy bit of sand, and was using her earthbending to make her castle look awesome. Suki's castle on the other hand… well, lets just say it was kinda hard to tell what it was. So, me, being kind and helpful Katara, decided to help Suki with hers.
This sand is not sticky at all. Let me tell you, this sand is actually impossible to get to stay together.
No wonder Suki's having such a hard time!
"So, where did Zuko go off to?" Suki said, winking at me. Trust Suki to bring up the unwanted subject.
"He went with Sokka to make kebabs." I told her, ignoring the wink.
"Oh, ok." She said, and then thought for a moment. "Katara, it's obvious you like him." UGH. Why does she have to keep bringing this up? I will NOT admit to anything!
"I do not!" I said, defiantly.
"You are such a liar. If you don't like him, then why does your heartbeat increase rapidly when he's around?" Toph said, pretending to sound innocent.
"Well, I-" I began, but was cut off by Suki.
"And why do you always blush when you talk to him?" Suki asked. I swear they're deliberately trying to put me under pressure. I turned my nose up.
" I am having nothing more to do with this conversation. Goodbye." I said, stood up, and stormed off.
Hmm. Maybe storming off wasn't such a good idea. All the boys are with Zuko, so I can't talk to them, or Toph and Suki will suspect something. And if I sit by myself, then Zuko is bound to come over, thinking something is wrong, so then they'll suspect something there, too.
It's a lose – lose situation.
Aang chose that moment to come over and talk to me. Fortunately for me, he didn't bring Zuko.
"Hey, um, Katara, can I talk to you?" He asked, not sounding at all like his usual Aanginess. Hm. This didn't sound good.
"Sure. What do you want to talk about?" I replied.
"Well, I've been thinking a lot about, you know, you and me." He said, gesturing between us. Uh oh. This isn't sounding good. "And, well, you know how we kissed and stuff, well I really like you, so do you want to, um, be my girlfriend?" He asked, looking hopeful. Oh no! This is bad, really bad! Yeah, we kissed that one time, but that was a while ago, and I don't feel the same way about him anymore. I see him more as a little brother now… and plus, I think I'm in love with Zuko.
"Aang… I don't know how to put this, but –" I started, but I was cut off by Aang, who had stood on his tip-toes, and was kissing me, on the lips! I pushed him away. Oh no… this can't get any worse!
"Aang! I'm really sorry, but I don't like you like I used to… I mean, I'm not in love with you anymore." I said, speaking very carefully. As I spoke, his eyes drooped, and he seemed to find the sand very fascinating.
Luckily, I was rescued by the delicious smell of kebabs. The smell had already carried Toph and Suki over, so I took this chance to go.
When I reached the fire, Zuko was just finishing putting 3 kebabs on everyone's plates, with an extra one for Sokka and himself. Aang's kebabs of course, since he's a vegetarian, were just assorted fruits.
I took a bite into the kebab.
Mmmm, these are delicious!
There were other various appreciative sounds coming from the others who had started eating. Zuko looked pleased.
"Wow, Zuko, these are good!" I exclaimed, through a mouthful of kebab.
"Yeah, she's right, these are like dying and going to heaven!" Toph said, happily. The others agreed.
"Actually, you should take over cooking completely!" Sokka said. I shot him a look. "Not that Katara's cooking is bad or anything." He quickly apologized, giving me a sheepish grin. We continued eating in silence, food like this is way too good to ruin by talking while eating.
By the time all the food had gone, the sun had set, and the only flame was from the fire.
I couldn't get Aang off my mind though, I kept seeing his face after I told him I didn't like him that way anymore. And of course, Zuko has to deliberately make things worse, by still having no shirt on, and being super cute and hot. So that was another boy on my mind.
We were about to leave, when Toph had another idea.
"Let's play Truth or Dare!" She squealed happily. Toph loves this game, she somehow finds enjoyment in making other people's lives miserable. We all shot each other a glance, we all know how bad Toph's version of Truth or Dare can be.
But none of us wanted to annoy her by not playing, (I have no idea why not, she's always quite happy to annoy us), so we sat down in a circle beside the fire. Toph placed a bottle in the middle of the circle, and spun it.
Oh gosh, this had better not land on me! If I get horribly embarrassed tonight, Toph is going to be one very sorry earthbender in the morning.
The bottle spun, for a few seconds, and then stopped.
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AN: And that was the first chapter of I'd Lie! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
If you're wondering why I chose I'd Lie as the title, it's because I think the song fits Katara and Zuko's relationship.
Most of us Zutarians like to believe that although nothing is with them in the series, they do have a secret thing for each other: "If you asked me if I loved him, I'd lie."
The chorus fits too, apart from the part where it goes "His favorite colors green" and "Born on the 17th". I have absolutely no idea when Zuko's birthday is, apart from it being in the winter. :P
Another thing you might be curious about is Bend Ball. Bend Ball is basically just soccer, but you have to use your bending to move the ball. Unless you can't bend, and then you're allowed to use your body.
Lastly, I'm going to talk about Aang and Katara's brief kiss. Aang still likes Katara, but she only sees him more as a brother than anything else. And, of course, Kataras in love with Zuko, so yeah. Don't worry though, Zutara fans, there won't be any more Kataang kisses, although there will be a near one with someone else I'm sure all Zutarians will remember and hate very much. *Troll face*
In the next chapter, we will see a game of Truth Or Dare (Toph Style), and there will be a few shenanigans to do with that.
Please review, and tell me if you liked or didn't like the story, or give me some helpful suggestions. And, if there's anything you think I can improve on, let me know!
- Just2Cool