Aang Gyatso was not expecting to get jumped as he headed out of the back of the school after his first day of sophomore year at Four Nations High School. After all, he barely knew anyone yet having just moved into town, so it's not like he had made any enemies. He didn't even like fighting. So to say he was surprised when three upperclassmen jumped him was an understatement. A tan and muscular guy with shaggy brown hair pinned Aang against the rough brick wall of the school. Behind him stood a lanky, quiet teen with slicked back hair as black as a crow feather, and beside him stood a smaller girl with a tomboyish look and red hair.

"Look what we got here," the guy pinning Aang to wall said, a smirk spreading across his face, "Fresh bait from out of town. Where ya from newcomer?" Aang frowned, thinking this guy must be the ring leader from the way he was acting.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Are you hard of hearing?" the older kid shouted at him, pressing him harder against the wall. Aang sighed. He hated these type of people. However he wanted to avoid a conflict if he could.

"I'm from Eastern Air City. Now, can I help you with something?" Aang said, looking the guy right in the eyes.

The guy looked confused. Usually his victims would cower in fear, or at least avoid his stare. This guy however looked at him straight on. And his tone had no fear in it. His lips drew back in a snarl. He did not like this new kid.

"Watch your tone! Do you know who I am?"

Aang shook his head.

"I'm Jet. And these are my friends, Longshot and Smellerbee. We run this school, so you better learn to show some respect," the guy said.

"But doesn't the principal run the school?" Aang said, his brow furrowing.

"Don't be smart with me! Of course he does! But we run the hallways."

"Ah. I see. So you're bullies," Aang said nodding.

"Shut up smartass or you're gonna get hurt!" Jet shouted. Aang then came up with a plan. A plan that could very well work considering the seemingly low intellect of this guy.

"So," Aang said casually, "Do you guys want my money or something? Because if so, you could've just said so."

Jet blinked. This guy was just too weird. Never had anyone he bullied just straight up offered to hand over their money.

"Um, yeah."

"Then let me down and I'll give it to you, then we can both be on our ways. Sound good to you?" Aang said matter of factly.

"Okay," Jet said, still befuddled at the way this boy was acting. He took his arms away from Aang's shoulder, allowing him to step away from the brick wall. However, before Jet realized what was happening, Aang suddenly made a dash for it.

"HEY!" Jet shouted, "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SMARTASS!"

Aang ran hard and fast, feeling the wind caress his cheek as his feet pounded the dirt path that wound through the wood behind the school. He dared to look behind him after ten minutes or so of running and saw no one. However, as he looked behind him, he failed to see the girl just ahead of him and ran into here with an "oof!" Both Aang and the girl tumbled to the ground, Aang landing on top of her in the most awkward of positions, his legs straddling her hips and his face pressed into her chest.

"Ah! Get off of me you weirdo!" the girl shouted, pushing Aang off of her and scooting away.

"Oh! Um, er, crap. I'm really sorry! I swear, I did not mean for that to happen! You see, I was running from some bullies and I looked behind me for a moment to look for them, so I didn't see you there! I'm really, super sorry," Aang said, his words coming out of his mouth in a jumbled rush. For the first time, he stole a glance at the girl. His eyes widened and his heart quickened at the sight of her. She was beautiful. She had an olive skin tone and mesmerizing blue eyes that looked as if the sky was entrapped in them. Her hair was the color of dark chocolate, falling down her back in waves, two little strands in the front put up in little loops on each side of her head that connected in the back in a bun. Her lips were pursed in a frown as she glared at him. A blush crept its way onto Aang's face as he felt himself get lost in her wondrous blue eyes.

"I don't see any bullies after you," the girl said, narrowing her eyes. Aang opened his mouth, but it was as if he had lost the ability to speak. His tongue suddenly felt very dry and his throat felt like it had closed up on him, making him mute.

"Okay. You know what? I'm going home. Frankly, I don't buy your story. I don't see any bullies around and I'm not risking sticking around with a possible pervert. Just, stay away from me, okay?"

Before Aang could protest and try to prove his innocence, the girl had picked up her stuff, and jogged away without looking back. Aang groaned, falling back on his back and covering his face with his hands.

"Great, now she thinks I'm a pervert." He sighed as he stood back up, brushing the dust off his pants. As he picked his backpack up off the ground though, something caught his eye. He walked over and saw it was a journal peeking out from under a bush near where he and the girl had fallen. He slowly picked it up and opened it to the page just inside the cover to check for a name. There, in neat, cursive writing was the name Katara Taqqiq.

"Katara," Aang murmured to himself, the name rolling off his tongue like sweet honey, "So that's your name." He then noticed she'd written her address in smaller lettering down near the bottom, probably there for whoever found the journal to return it to.

X X X X

"Sokka, have you seen my journal?" Katara called out to her older brother as she searched her room for the little book where she wrote her thoughts down.

"No, I haven't touched your journal since you threatened me back in seventh grade not to touch your stuff!" Sokka shouted, his voice carrying above the sounds of machine gun fire and screams from his video game.

"Well, I can't find it anywhere!" Katara said.

"Sorry sis, I have no idea where it is!"

"Crap," Katara muttered, "This has just been the worst day."

She thought back to where she had last had it, remembering last seeing it when she was writing some thoughts down while walking down that path in the woods. Right before that strange boy had ran into her. Her eyes widened. What if he had somehow gotten a hold of her journal? That notebook contained all her deepest, most private thoughts, and if he had it…

"That pervert!" Katara shouted in anger. Just seconds later, Sokka burst into her room, a baseball bat back from his little league days in his hand.

"Pervert?! What?! Where?!" her overprotective brother shouted, his eyes darting around the room, scanning it for any perverted men preying on his younger sister. Katara rolled her eyes.

"Sokka, there are no perverts in my room."

"But you said…"

"I said 'that pervert', past tense Sokka."

"A pervert was in your room in the past?" Sokka said, clearly confused, "Why one earth would you let a pervert in your room?"

"Sokka, I've never let a pervert in my room."

"Then where is the pervert?!"

"Can we please stop saying pervert?!" Katara said exasperated with her brother.

"Fine. But if there is a perv-" Sokka quickly changed words at Katara's glare, "I mean, um, sexual offender, you let me know."

"I will, now will you please get out of my room?" Katara said sighing. Sokka nodded, loosening his grip on the baseball bat and leaving her bedroom.

"Jeez," Katara muttered, "He can be so tiring sometimes." She searched for her journal for another hour or so before finally giving up and going to bed.

X X X X

Katara was awoken by something hitting her window. She groaned, trying to ignore it at first. However, it did not stop, so she slowly got up, pulling a robe on over her blue nightgown and walking over to her window. She yawned as she drew back the curtains, then let out a shrill scream.

There, perched in the tree outside her bedroom window, a handful of small pebbles in his hand, was the guy who had barreled into her in the woods.

"SOKKA! PERVERT!"

In a flash, her brother was in the room, looking still half asleep and very disoriented.

"What? Where?" Sokka yawned.

"Outside of my window in the tree!"

"Huh?"

"Oh for Pete's sake, I'll just take care of it myself," Katara said, snatching the baseball bat, which Sokka once again had grabbed to use as a weapon if necessary, from her older brother's hands and stomping downstairs. She stormed out into the front yard and glared up in the tree.

"Come down from there creep!" Katara shouted up at the boy.

With unbelievable speed, the guy scurried down the tree, jumping off the last branch and landing lightly on his feet.

"Sorry to wake you up. I just thought…" Aang trailed off, his eyes widening a bit as he saw the baseball bat she held threateningly.

"Uh, what's with the baseball bat?" he asked, gulping

"What's with you being outside my window in the middle of the night?" Katara shot back.

"Touche," Aang said, laughing nervously. He then held out her journal.

"I actually just wanted to return this," he said.

"My journal!" Katara gasped. So he did have it. Great. All Katara's worst fears were coming true. So perverted guy had read her journal.

"Yeah, I-"

"You creep! How much of it did you read?!" Katara shouted angrily, cutting him off.

"Wait, what?"

"Is this what you do for fun, tackle girls in the woods and steal journals containing their deepest thoughts, huh?"

"No! That's not it at all!" Aang protested, putting his hands up an innocent gesture.

"You weird sicko! Get over here!"

"AH!" Aang shouted, dropping the journal and barely dodging the swing of the baseball bat Katara had aimed at him, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"GET OFF MY FRONT LAWN YOU PERVERT!" Katara shouted chasing him with the baseball bat.

Sokka was watching out the window, wide eyed, from up in Katara's bedroom.

"Katara's going to kill that poor guy."

Aang finally sprinted out of their front yard, running away from the wrath of Katara and the baseball bat in her hands as fast as he could.

"THAT'S RIGHT! YOU'D BETTER RUN!" Katara shouted as Aang ran down the street, away from her. She then turned and picked up her journal from off the ground, before heading inside with a "hmmph."

When Aang was finally a good distance away from her house he slowed down, panting.

"Jeez, Shakespeare was right. 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'!"

X X X X

Despite having been chased with a baseball bat by her, Aang still couldn't help but be drawn to this beautiful girl with her fiery temper. So that's how he found himself waiting for her the next day after school on the path he had first met her on the day before. After a couple hours had passed with no sign of her showing, he was about to give up, thinking maybe she took a different way home today, but then he saw a figure making its way up the path. As the person got closer, Aang was able to see it was in fact Katara. However, when Katara realized who it was that was standing in front of her, she narrowed her eyes and before Aang could react, rushed towards him and punched him square in the jaw. Aang let out a grunt as the blow connect, stumbling back in surprise, then looking at her with wide eyes. He clutched at his throbbing jaw bone in pain as Katara put her fists up in a defensive position.

"What was that for?!" Aang asked in disbelief.

"What do you think?!" Katara retorted sharply as she prepared to take another swing at him.

"Wait! I'm not trying to hurt you! I promise!" Aang shouted, putting his hands up in the air to try and show that he really meant what he said.

"Fine," Katara said, crossing her arms, "You have exactly one minute to explain yourself."

Aang nodded.

"So yesterday these three people named Jet, Longshot, and Smellerbee cornered me outside the school and tried to take my money, but I ended up tricking Jet into letting me go then made a run for it. I saw this path and sprinted for it, hoping I'd get far enough ahead of them that they would give up on trying to catch me. I didn't know you were on the path and had looked back to make sure that Jet and his friends were not behind me when I ran into you. I promise I didn't see you and it was a complete accident. And the way I landed on you was an accident too! I would never purposefully do that to a girl! After you left, I saw your journal on the ground. I opened the front to see if it had a name or anything and saw your name and address, so I decided to return it. I had to find your house first though, which is why I didn't get it to you until late that night near midnight. Which seems kind of sketchy I know, but I swear my intentions were good. I never read any of what you wrote in your journal too, that is besides your name in address. I don't just go snooping in people's personal belongings like that. I promise, I am not a creep! Please believe me!" Aang finished, a bit out of breath from talking so fast and trying to explain all that in just a minute. Katara just looked at him, her eyebrows raised. She thought for a moment before speaking.

"Well, I can believe the part about Jet and his friends. They're all jerks."

Aang sighed in relief.

"Yeah, they are," he agreed.

"But how do I know you're telling me the truth about the rest of it all?"

"I don't have any way to prove it," Aang sighed, "But I do give you my word that it is all the true. I don't know what else to say besides that."

"Fine," Katara sighed, "I believe you."

Aang perked up immediately, completely forgetting about his bruised jaw bone.

"Really?" he said happily. Katara nodded.

"I'm glad."

"Why?" Katara asked.

"Oh," Aang said, blushing slightly, "Um, it's just that I think you seem like really cool girl, and, um, I'd like to be friends with you," he finished lamely.

Katara surprised him by laughing.

"What's so funny?" Aang said, pouting.

"I'm sorry," Katara said, still giggling, "It's just a really weird situation. The guy I thought was a pervert turning out to just be a shy guy that got caught up in a strange situation and now wants to be my friend even after I chased him around the yard with a baseball bat."

Aang began to laugh as well.

"Yeah, that was a little over the top of you to do."

"Hey, I didn't know any better. At the time all my mind could process was that the guy I saw in the woods earlier that day was up in the tree outside my window. I was a bit shocked," Katara said.

"Yeah, I guess that probably wasn't the best way to return the journal," Aang said grinning, "But I didn't want you thinking I was a pervert all night long!"

"Well showing up outside my house in the middle of the night probably wasn't the best way to do that," Katara said grinning as well.

"Yeah, sorry," Aang said sheepishly.

"It's okay. Now I just got to explain to my brother that the guy outside my window last night was not in fact some creep," Katara replied.

"Um, maybe I could walk over and explain what happened to him myself?"

"Inviting yourself over, huh? Getting a little ahead of yourself there, aren't you?" Katara said, smiling.

"Oh!" Aang said, his face growing an even deeper shade of red than before, "I...uh, I didn't mean... ah, well…"

Katara once again laughed.

"I'm just messing with you. You can come over. Although I am starting to wonder if you really meant you just wanted to be friends," she added with a wink that sent Aang's heart pounding.

"Anyways, I suppose you know the way there due to your little excursion last night, but I'd prefer we not have ourselves a repeat of yesterday's events, especially if we want to show my brother you are not in fact some kind of stalker, so why don't you just walk home with me?"

"Y-yeah. Okay," Aang stammered nervously.

"Come on then. Don't just stand there looking so unsure of yourself," Katara said smiling kindly at him. Aang swallowed and nodded, following in her steps down the path.

"So, should I be worried about your older brother?" Aang asked.

"Nah. I mean sure he can be overprotective, but he is really just a big narcissistic goof. Once he gets to know you, you'll be fine," Katara replied grinning.

"Narcissistic goof, huh?"

"Yeah," Katara said laughing, "He's always making muscles in the mirrors, then if I catch him, he pretends he denies he was ever doing it. It's really funny actually."

"What about your parents?"

Katara face saddened a little bit and Aang immediately regretted asking, worried he may have brought up some unpleasant memories.

"My mom… she died when I was just a little girl. She was in a car accident. She was coming home from work one night. She had taken a taxi. They were at an intersection and a drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned the car. The drunk driver made it out alive, but my mom didn't…" Katara murmured.

Aang timidly laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm really sorry Katara."

"My mom didn't deserve to die. She was too kind, too generous. If anyone should have died, it should have been the drunk driver. He took my mom away from me, yet he walked away from the accident alive. It's just...it's…it's so unfair!"

Aang wasn't sure how to respond to this. He had never known his parents. He'd grown up in the foster system until his adopted father took him in and became his legal dad.

"I...I never knew my parents, but that must have been really hard for you," he finally said.

"You never knew your parents?" Katara asked, glad to have moved away from the subject of her departed mother.

"Yeah, I grew up in the foster system. It wasn't the easiest life. I was always on the move from place to place, family to family. I felt like nothing more than a piece of baggage being handed from person to person, like I didn't matter. That is, until my dad adopted me. He finally gave me somewhere I could actually call home. He made me feel like I did matter. I'm beyond grateful for that and always will be."

"Wow. That sounds like a really tough childhood…" Katara murmured.

"Well, it is what is is, you know? It is in the past and now I have a father who loves and cares about me, so in the end, it all turned out alright," Aang said, smiling slightly, "So what about your dad? What's he like?"

"My dad is a cop, so he works mostly night shifts. He sleeps most of the day due to him being on duty at night, so we don't get to see him all that much. I know why he does what he does, but it can be difficult with him being gone so much.

"I'm sorry," Aang said.

"It's okay. I know the reason he does what he does. It does suck sometimes though. With my mom gone and my dad constantly away working, I had to grow up pretty fast. In fact, even though he's older than me, I kind of took on the role of mom and looked after my brother at a young age. I had to learn to cook, do laundry, and all that kind of stuff," Katara explained.

"Wow."

"What?"

"Just, well, it's impressive how you took on that role so young. That couldn't have been easy," Aang remarked.

"I mean, it wasn't easy, but I got used to it," Katara replied.

"Well, I must say you are quite the girl Katara Taqqiq," Aang stated, smiling at her.

"Oh, well, thank you," Katara said, "No one has ever really said anything like that to me before. Not even my ex-boyfriend."

"Well, he must have been a complete idiot," Aang said.

"Oh trust me, he was. I don't even know why I dated him. He was a complete jerk."

"Who was he? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Don't laugh," Katara said.

"Why would I?"

"You've met him."

"You don't mean…"

"Yeah. I used to date Jet."

"What? Why?" Aang exclaimed.

"Believe it or not, he used to be sweet before he became popular. We'd became friends in 8th grade, and started dating a year later. That year he became pretty popular. It went to his head, and about four months into our relationship, I found out he was cheating on me."

"Oh… I'm really sorry," Aang murmured.

"It's okay. As I said, he is a jerk now, and I am not the type of girl who dates a jerk."

"That's good."

"Anyways, we're here," Katara said, stopping walking. She led him up the driveway, and up the steps to the front porch, before turning to him.

"Okay, so let me do the explaining about last night before you say anything, okay?"

Aang nodded, and Katara opened the door, motioning for him to follow her inside.

As Aang walked inside, he was impressed by the neatness of the little house. He and his adoptive dad lived in an apartment and it looked nothing like this. He looked over at a picture that hung on the wall that showed a very young Katara with who he assumed was her older brother. He followed Katara up the stairs and waited nervously as she knocked on her brother's bedroom door.

"Sokka, open up! I got someone for you to meet!"

Aang heard some grumbling, then the door opened to reveal a lanky young man with his hair pulled back in a man-bun. He wore a videogame headset, and his face featured a nice five o'clock shadow. He looked Aang up and down, and his brow furrowed.

"Wait… isn't that the guy from last night? That pervert you were talking about?"

"Turns out he's not a pervert," Katara explained, "I misread his intentions."

"And what exactly were his intentions of coming over well past midnight?"

"He came to return my journal to me which I had dropped on the way home yesterday."

"Hmmm," Sokka said, rubbing at his chin, then looking at Aang and asking, "Is this true?"

"Yes. That's the truth. I just want to return your sister's journal. I promise," Aang sputtered.

"Okay then," Sokka said shrugging, "I don't have a problem with you being here then."

"Oh. Um, thanks," Aang said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah," Sokka replied, nodding at him, then sticking out his hand, "I'm Sokka by the way."

"I'm Aang. It's nice to meet you," Aang responded, shaking his hand.

"Anyways, we're going to go to my room now. Talk to you later Sokka," Katara said, grabbing Aang's hand and causing him to blush.

"Just leave your door open!" Sokka shouted as she dragged Aang down the hall.

"Shut up Sokka, you're not dad!" Katara shouted back before pulling Aang into her bedroom and shutting the door. Aang took a moment to observe Katara's room while she put her bookbag down and took off her shoes. Her walls were painted a light blue, and she had a queen bed with blue and purple chevron stripes. On her wall hung a picture of Katara as a little girl with a woman Aang took to be her mother.

"Well," Katara said, turning back towards Aang, "Now you've met my brother."

"Yeah. He seems cool."

"Cool? I don't know about that," Katara said laughing, "But he's a good brother at the end of the day. He looks out for me."

"How much older than he is you?" Aang asked.

"Two years," Katara responded, "He would be a freshman in college this year, except he decided to take a year off and work before going to college."

"Oh, gotcha."

"It's not that he's not smart. He's just not a big fan of school and needed a bit of a break before heading off to college."

"I understand," Aang said, "So, if he's two years older than you, I guess that makes you a junior?"

"Yeah," Katara nodded, "I am."

"Okay, cool. I'm a sophomore."

"Is this your first year at Four Nations High School?" Katara asked.

"Yeah," Aang replied.

"So, today was your second day at the school then. How is it so far? I mean, besides being ambushed the other day by Jet and his friends."

"It's alright. I like most of my teachers."

"That's good!" Katara said.

"Yeah," Aang nodded.

They talked for a couple hours before Aang had to go home. Gyatso was making dinner tonight and has requested that Aang be home by 6:15. As Aang walked up the steps to his and Gyatso's apartment, he whistled to himself happily. He couldn't believe he'd been lucky enough to meet Katara. She was amazing. They had just talked while he was over, but it was the kind of talking you don't get bored of doing. He felt as if he could talk with her for hours.

"Dad, I'm home!" Aang called out as he opened the door to the apartment. There was no answer.

"Dad?" Aang called out again walking into the kitchen.

He almost threw up at the sight that met him.

There, laying on the floor in a pool of blood, was the man who had finally given Aang a permanent home.