Katara walked under the cherry blossom trees to her new school. The petals gently floated to the ground, coating the path with a pale pink dusting. It was her first day at Omashu High School, and her heart couldn't be beating any faster. The anxiety, the excitement, the happiness and the dread all built up inside of her, ready to explode. Katara's converse-clad feet slapped the pavement as she entered through the iron gate guarding the school.
Her cerulean eyes met with the packs of students that surrounded her, eagerly chatting amongst themselves. Katara had a hard time concentrating on the task at hand with so many things going on around her. She focused on passing through the parade of teens that bustled her in the hallway, to get to the schedules on the small table in front of her. The girl managed to get through and arrived at the papers that held the entire student bodies' schedules. She placed her small, tan fingertip on the pile and flicked through all the sheets, carefully studying them to find her name. When she finally found her schedule, she anxiously looked for her first class.
With a heavy sigh of disappointment, Katara found that her first class was the subject she despised most, trigonometry. With a roll of her eyes, she folded her schedule into a neat square and placed it in her pocket. Then, she adjusted the strap of her baby blue backpack and shuffled off to class.
Moments later, however, the halls began to clear much too quickly and Katara found herself to be the only one left standing in the hallway. Nowhere could she locate her classroom, even after endless walks along the entire panel of the school. Panic coursed through her body as she realized she was going to be late and utterly lost.
"Great, late on the first day. Way to go, Katara," she thought anxiously.
Katara was so absorbed in her thoughts that she found herself just walking blindly. She remembered her surroundings when she walked straight into something hard, however. For a second, the girl couldn't determine what she ran into until she felt the rise and fall of breathing. Jumping back, Katara felt a blush fill her face as her eyes met with a very handsome stranger. The dark-haired teenager smirked at her flustered state.
"Oh god, I..uhh..I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Katara asked quickly, too embarrassed to talk normally. The stranger gave her a smug grin and turned completely towards her. His eyes were breathtaking up close, a rich gold that pierced her insides. The stranger's eyes and smile seemed almost too much to take at once, but as soon as words left his lips, Katara could feel her heart plummet to her stomach.
"Of course I'm okay. You seem to be the one that's lost. I'm not surprised though, you freshmen are always the slowest of the bunch," the stranger replied smugly, his voice hard. Katara felt her jaw drop. "Did this cute guy really just insult me? Who the hell does he think he is!" Katara thought angrily.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Katara thought aloud. As quickly as she responded, she slapped a hand to her mouth. The man's eyes slightly widened, and the smirk on his face disappeared, leaving him rather emotionless. Grunting slightly, he stretched out his hand.
"Give me your schedule. I'll show you where your class is," the boy said quickly, seemingly uninterested. The sudden change in attitude confused Katara greatly, especially since she had just cursed him out!
"What is up with this guy?" Katara thought confusedly.
Nevertheless, she handed him her schedule. Getting to class was more important than trying to figure out what some kid's problem was. He looked over the piece of paper, his amber eyes gliding across the words. Katara was fascinated by how cute he was. It had to be illegal to be that hot.
"What's your name?" she asked without thinking.
The man's eyes looked up from the piece of paper and Katara could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. He gave her a very critical look, like he was studying some rare insect. The very thought scared her, as well as the complex look in his eyes. Katara felt the urge to look away from his scrutinizing gaze, but returned his stare with equal fervor anyway. After a good minute-and-a-half of looking at her, the boy looked away, almost as if in contempt.
"Zuko. And that's all you'll ever know about me, freshman," the stranger said harshly.
"I can't stand this guy," Katara thought in fury. Zuko blankly looked back down at the paper for another few seconds before walking away swiftly.
The girl was rather confused, and so continued to stand in her spot. After Zuko had walked a few feet, he turned his head back towards her, irritation etched in his expression.
"Do you want to get to class or not?" he hollered to Katara. The young highschooler was baffled by Zuko's ambiguous behavior. However, the bell rang ages ago and she couldn't afford to miss another minute of class. She hurried to Zuko and followed him as he started walking once more. The walk was short, too short. Not only did Katara feel idiotic for her inability to find her class earlier, she felt pathetic proving Zuko right, that the freshmen really were slow. At least it was over.
Turning to Zuko, Katara gave a curt nod. "Thank you," she said. The girl wasn't entirely grateful, but he did get her to class, so he deserved some kind of thanks.
Zuko looked away, placing his hands in his pockets.
"Whatever. If you get lost again, just use this," he said offhandedly, while pulling out a small folded piece of paper from his pocket.
Katara received the paper and unfolded it, surprised to see a comprehensive map of the school. This would definitely help her out for the first couple of weeks.
"Can I keep this…?"
"I guess. I clearly don't need it."
The girl rolled her eyes and smiled softly. Maybe he was a little nice, in his own kind of way.
"Thanks again. My name's Katara, by the way," she winked before opening her classroom door.
"I really don't care, by the way," Zuko snarkily replied, walking in the opposite direction.
Katara shook her head in disgust and walked into her trigonometry class, shooting a sheepish smile at the teacher.
"I...I kind of got lost. Really sorry," she said, painfully aware of the stares she was receiving from the class.
"Just find a seat, Ms. Katara. Don't let it happen again," the teacher advised sharply. Katara quickly scanned the room for any empty spots. The only seat left was a desk near the window at the very right. Katara quickly retreated to her seat and anxiously pulled her notebooks and pencils out from her bag. The guy sitting next to her noticed the stressful aura Katara had around her and a small grin appeared on his face. He poked Katara's shoulder, causing the girl to jump slightly in her seat. She looked up to the guy sitting next to her, alarmed.
The smile he had was friendly and boyish; it was a warm, soothing smile that had made Katara forget why she was so panicked in the first place.
"First day, huh? Yeah, me too. Don't worry, I heard this class is a cinch if you just compliment the professor's outfit. She gives you an A, for absolutely horrid fashion sense," the boy whispered quickly.
Katara held back a giggle at the boy's talkative way of speaking. It was somewhat cute though, and she found herself smiling at him.
"I'm Aang by the way," the guy said openly.
"I'm Katara."
"I know." Aang replied with a snarky grin. Katara couldn't help but grin back. The two turned back towards the front and focused for the last half hour of class. The bell rang and the class got up from their seats immediately. Aang walked alongside Katara like they had been best friends all year long. Katara gave him a questioning look that he seemed to ignore.
Aang was very different from most people Katara knew. He had this comfort, this easy-going-ness to him that Katara had never exhibited before. His eyes met hers and then they quickly shifted their look to the teacher as the pair walked by her desk. Katara could somehow understand what he was trying to express to her. Katara stopped short in front of the teacher's desk and then so did Aang.
"Umm, Ms. Kyoshi, I love your suit, by the way. It really complements your makeup," Katara said as enthusiastically as possible. Ms. Kyoshi's painted red eyes brightened at her comment and she managed to look a little less scary than usual.
"Why thank you, Ms. Katara. I'll see you in class tomorrow," Ms. Kyoshi said politely. Katara smiled back then glanced at Aang, who gave her thumbs up and a grin. The pair finally left the classroom, full of laughter.
"Maybe this won't be so bad after all.." Katara thought as she laughed alongside her new friend.
The two separated ways to get to their next classes. Katara found the map Zuko gave her to be very helpful, and she managed to be on time for her other classes.
Katara placed her small lunchbox, wrapped tight in a cherry red cloth, on her desk. Untying the cloth from the square container, she tried to avoid any eye contact with her peers, trying her best to blend in. It was always hard during lunch on the first day of school; you didn't know who to sit with. While others had found where they fit into the social puzzle of high school, Katara was the awkward puzzle piece of a hundred that no one ever knew where to put. She was satisfied with invisibility, however; it made everything easier. The girl continued to struggle with her lunchbox, unable to figure out the complicated knot that she somehow managed to tie the same morning.
"Need some help?" a cheerful voice sounded. She looked up to a tall figure hovering over her. Aang rested a strong hand on Katara's desk, a half grin brimming on his handsome face. His eyes shone a light gray and held a look full of mischief. His skin was flushed from the September sun's golden beams streaming from the nearby window, while his short brown hair glowed as well. Katara only focused on Aang's jokes and banter in the morning, but now that she got to study him more closely, she realized how hot he really was.
Katara suddenly realized she was staring and lost her composure.
"Uh...umm..I think.." She began to stutter. Aang merely laughed at her embarrassment happily.
"Here." Aang took the box from Katara's hands. Their fingertips brushed against each other and Katara felt her pulse quicken. She watched him carefully as his fingers entwined with the fabric and quickly undid the knot. "What took me more than five minutes took him five seconds," Katara thought stupidly.
"Thanks." Katara said, smiling.
"No problem. So, how'd your first day go?" Aang asked, leaning against the desk next to Katara's. His laid-backness made the guy even more appealing to Katara; here she was a bundle of nerves and stress while Aang played everything off like it wasn't a big deal.
"Ahh… it was pretty good. But, this one dude I met was pretty mean," Katara frowned as Zuko came to her mind.
"What do you mean?" Aang asked, his brows furrowed slightly.
"I don't know. He was helping me in the morning to get to class. The guy was pretty cute, but was rude too," she said, careful to not to talk about how she got lost.
"Huh. What was his name?" Aang asked, intrigued.
"Zuko," Katara replied tersely.
Aang almost choked on the bagel he was chewing as he heard the guy's name.
"Zuko? Dark, cocky, kind of a jerk who never looks out for anyone...that Zuko? He helped you?" Aang asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. So he's always like that? I just thought he had a bad morning or something.." Katara said.
"Definitely. He used to go to my junior high, although he was older than me. I didn't like him very much. For some reason though, he's pretty popular among the girls."
Katara laughed, "I can see why he's popular. But, he's a jerk, that's for sure."
"What? Why is he popular? Seriously though, I can't believe that he actually helped you out...He usually keeps to himself," Aang said, baffled.
"It's because he's pretty handsome. And, I don't know either."
"Huh, go figure." Aang said. Many girls strolled into the classroom, and all of their eyes focused on Aang. Giggles and smiles passed between the girls, and Katara could tell they were checking him out. Zuko wasn't the only one popular with the girls. Aang seemed annoyed at the unwanted attention.
Katara continued to look on in confusion at the girls. Seeing her face, Aang grinned slightly as he thought of something.
"Well, Zuko's great and all, but what about me, Katara? Do you think I'm cute?" he asked, eager. He held back a laugh as the girls checking him out looked on, offended.
Katara started to blush, not sure what to say. "He's cute and all...but I don't know if I should say that!" she thought frantically to herself.
While Katara debated her answer, the fangirls were whispering to themselves, and one girl spoke too loudly.
"I can't believe he'd ask such an ugly girl a question like that!"
Katara froze in her thoughts, her heart plummeting. She felt herself grow confused. "They couldn't be talking about me...right?"
Aang heard the girl's nasty comment and felt himself grow irritated. He stood from the desk and slammed his hands on Katara's, a look of determination on his face. The boy stuck his tongue out at the girl who spoke the rude comment, and then turned to Katara. His eyes held great intent and ramped up Katara's heartbeat. They were now eye level with each other, Aang leaning closer to her. Katara's blue eyes were wide in shock.
He leaned closer, and Katara felt herself begin to blush uncontrollably. Aang placed his cool lips on the girl's warm cheek, and then leaned back, a smug grin on his face.
"What do you think now?" Aang said softly, but still loud enough for the others to hear. He kept his eyes on her, the mischief more evident than before. Katara understood immediately and found herself smiling at him. Anyone who looked at the two would think they were hopelessly in love. But the look they shared held mischievousness.
"I think...that you're a pretty good kisser," Katara said smugly. The girls eyes widened and their jaws dropped at Katara's response. Even Aang looked surprised, the smile still on his face as his eyes widened slightly, a small blush beginning to show. The clique, unable to cope with the sight before them, stormed out of the class in outrage. As soon as they departed, Aang and Katara burst out in laughter, high-fiving each other.
"I'm flattered, Katara. Really, I am," Aang managed to breathe out through his chuckle.
"Did you see their faces? But really, Aang, I didn't know you had so many fangirls," Katara said as she wiped tears from her eyes.
"It's not as glamorous as you'd think. They're mostly bitches. They're not fun like you, Katara."
"Yeah...apparently they're not ugly like me either." Katara tried to say jokingly, but her face revealed the hurt she felt inside. She obviously didn't look like those girls, with light skin and fine hair. Being the new girl only made her stand out even more. Aang turned to her and punched her arm lightly.
"Don't say that, Katara. You're so much more beautiful than them, I promise," Aang said with a smile, causing Katara to blush. The boy couldn't help but be a little happy inside at the girl's flushed face.
"Th-thanks," Katara replied, a bit nervous. The bell rang and Katara immediately began to clean up her desk.
Aang grabbed his bookbag from the floor and slung it over one shoulder, his white dress shirt collar tugging towards the side, revealing his strong, lean neck and collarbone. A chain hung around his neck with a small blue arrow pendant at the end. Katara felt her stomach churn at how more and more attractive he seemed to get by the second. She pushed the thoughts away and got up from her desk, brushing off her jeans. Suddenly, Aang slung his arm over her delicate shoulder like they were best pals.
"Come on, Katara. Let me walk you to class," He said with a wink. She just rolled her eyes, and grinned back at him.
A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this new Zutara fanfiction! It was a lot of fun to write; I just love the school stories. ^-^ Stay tuneed, because there's a lot of romantic goodness coming up! It'll be updated soon, too. x3 I think this story formed because I've been in a bit of a Zutara AU craze for a while... My fantasies became this, ahaha. Please review, favorite, and follow, and let me know your suggestions and ideas.
Also, if you're a Naruto fan, check out my other story, Tasukete: Save me! I'm super excited about that one as well. Ahh, writing fanfiction is so fun. xD I find myself blushing and fangirling during the writing process, LOL.