Smoke in My Eyes
Rated: M (for adult themes, alcohol and tobacco use, language and sexual situations)
Disclaimer: No profit of any kind is being made from this piece of fanfiction.
Summary: In which it started at prom and ended up at a bakery.
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you keep my eyelids from getting wet
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"You look so beautiful, Katara." Gran-Gran stated, beaming with pride as she watched her granddaughter come down the steps in her formal wear.
The dress was a deep dark blue, the length of the gown going all the way down to her ankles. The straps were an inch wide and crisscrossed on her back. There was a slight slit on the right side that reached up to her knee. The finishing touches were dark blue heels, matching silver thin bracelets on each wrist, light blue teardrop earrings, and her late mother's necklace around her neck.
"Thank you," Katara replied with a smile, giving Gran-Gran a hug when she reached the bottom.
Gran-Gran pulled back after a moment, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "You look so much like your mother."
Katara hugged her again, trying to hold back her own tears.
"Now, now." Gran-Gran rubbed Katara's back soothingly. "No need for tears. Besides, you don't want to ruin your make-up," she half-joked, stepping back from the hug once more.
Katara lightly dabbed the corners of her eyes with her index finger, thankful that her black eyeliner didn't smear off.
"So, is Sokka driving you?"
"No. He has a date tonight. He's still in the bathroom putting another gallon of hair gel on his head."
Gran-Gran chuckled and walked over to the hallway closet, opening it up to pull Katara's white cardigan off the hanger. "The girl with the short dark red hair, right? What was her name again?"
"Her name's Suki. She's really sweet," Katara said as she shrugged on the cardigan her grandmother held up for her.
Katara zipped up the light jacket halfway before picking up her black purse from the small table next to the closet.
"Hm. So how are you going to get there?" Gran-Gran asked.
"Jet's picking me up."
There was a weighted pause.
"You know I do not approve of that boy, Katara."
Katara gave her pleading eyes. "He's changed, I swear. He really has turned over a new leaf."
"I don't know…" Gran-Gran started to protest, then stopped, a sigh finishing her sentence. "I'll take your word for it, but I want you back home by 10PM."
Katara could not help but groan. "Gran-Gran, that's way too early."
Gran-Gran gave her a stern look.
Katara sighed. "Fine, 10PM it is."
A car honked from outside their home.
"Hmph, can't even come up to the door, the nerve," Gran-Gran said irritably, going over to the living room window to peek outside.
Katara rolled her eyes and thought; he probably doesn't want to face your wrath. She then picked her keys from the bowl on the table and opened the front door.
"I'll see you later!"
Katara dashed out before Gran-Gran could get another word in edgewise.
Once in the car, Katara carefully bent into the seat, careful not to crease her dress too much before shutting the door.
"Hey, babe. You look amazing."
"Thanks! Same to you," Katara greeted back, buckling up. "Now let's get out here before Gran tries to get pictures."
Jet smirked. "I don't think she'd want me in them."
They both laughed and a few seconds, Jet shifted the gear to drive and together, they drove off to their high school prom.
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"You look great, Katara," Jet complimented for the fourth time since the moment they were in the car until the moment they reached the school parking lot.
Katara smiled, leaving her cardigan and purse underneath it in the car, closing the passenger door. "Thank you. You're looking mighty sharp this evening yourself." It was true, when Jet climbed out of the car, the lights in the lot showcased his outfit nicely. He had on black dress shoes that shined, black slacks, and a dark green long sleeved dress shirt, a white tie and matching belt finishing off the ensemble.
Jet grinned a bit, coming over to her side and holding out his arm, which she gladly took a hold of.
"Shall we?"
"Let's!"
The pair walked into the building, hearing the music as soon as they opened the front doors. Their fellow classmates were scattered in different areas of the hall that led to the gymnasium, all of them decked out in formal attire.
Moments later and they were dancing the night away. The songs varied from really bass driven beats to pop, with a few ballads thrown in for good measure.
On the third slow song, Jet pulled Katara close and whispered into her ear, "I have a surprise for you."
"Hm? What is it?" Katara asked as she lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at him.
"Probably be best to show you elsewhere," he stated mysteriously.
Katara gave a nod. "Lead the way," she replied, excited.
They left the gym and walked down the hall a ways, the rest of the school was essentially deserted by then and only their footsteps could be heard once the thump of the music faded.
Jet glanced around before reaching inside his pants pocket to retrieve his wallet. He pulled out an item, keeping it hidden in his fist.
"Well?" Katara was getting a little anxious.
Jet took Katara's hand and placed something thin and rectangular in her palm.
Katara blinked, confused, until she looked down. She let out a gasp. "Is this a key?"
Jet smirked, running a finger down her cheek. "Yeah."
Katara looked up at him. "To a hotel room, I bet," she said skeptically.
Jet frowned, removing his hand. "Well, yeah, of course it is."
"You can't be serious?"
"C'mon, Kat…" Jet pressed close to her body, leaning his head toward her neck. "Don't you want to continue that aspect of our relationship?" He laid kisses slowly up and down the side of her neck.
Katara shivered, damning him for remembering one of her weak spots.
Jet gave a tantalizing lick from the base of her neck to all the way up to her ear lope, giving it a slight nibble. "Don't you want to have fun again, the kind of fun that's sweaty and wet and so good it's sinful?" He breathed into her ear.
As much as she wanted to feel that again, the temptation was definitely there, she could not forget what happened after their fun.
She pushed him away. "No, because the last time we had fun, you didn't call me again. In fact, you mysteriously lost all forms of contact afterwards."
Jet sighed and had to resist rolling his eyes. "Katara, I told you I got busy when I started college. Coupled with work, I rarely had time to sleep, let alone call you."
"For five months? Sorry, but I really find that hard to believe."
"Well, it's the truth. So are we good now? Can we go to the hotel or what?"
Katara felt her anger rise. "You know what, I don't want to go to the hotel. In fact, I want you to be as chaste as possible for the rest of the night."
"You're fucking kidding me? All because I thought ahead?"
"No. Because you just assumed I'll just go to bed with you!"
Jet ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Unbelievable. So what, now you're back to being a frigid bitch, is that it?"
Katara slapped him hard across the face, the sound of it ringing throughout the hallway.
"Screw you!"
Jet watched her storm off, not bothering to stop her, as he cupped his stinging cheek.
"Good riddance," he mumbled.
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Katara did not know where she was going once she exited the school; she was just letting her feet carry her as far away as possible from him, and was thankful that her high school was part of a neighborhood that had shops and cafes just a handful of blocks away.
After a few moments, she realized that she was still holding the hotel key. She looked down at her fisted hand, felt the edges dig into her skin and renewed anger and hurt swelled up inside.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She tossed the key out into the street, hoping a car would come by later to crack it into smatterings.
She passed by a few eateries and coffee shops. Many of them had one too many customers in them and Katara did not feel like having prying eyes on her, knowing they would whisper about the girl in her prom dress with red rimmed eyes and smeared eye liner.
Just when she thought her luck had run out, she stopped at an empty establishment called Lo & Li's Bakery, and looked inside window to make sure it was indeed devoid of clienteles.
Katara was just about to walk to the door when she heard another one open up on the side of the building. Curious, she peeked down the alleyway to see a young man step out, lighting a cigarette.
"Um, excuse me? Is this place open?"
The young man pocketed his red lighter and glanced her way. "It won't be in fifteen minutes."
Katara gave a small sigh in relief. It was something.
She thanked the guy and headed inside, taking a seat at a table in the corner.
A short moment after, the guy came back inside, walking over to his only customer. "What will it be?"
Katara twisted a napkin in her hands. "Water, please."
The young server did not bother taking out the small notebook from his apron. He did, however, take note of her state of dress and her distressed face.
With that in mind, he went back to the front counter, filled a glass with water, and then took out one of the few remaining chocolate chip cookies from the display case, placing it on a plate.
He came back, placing both items in front of her before taking a seat across from her.
Katara stirred out of her thoughts when she noticed her order. With an addition.
She glanced up. "I didn't order this."
"It's on the house," was his simple reply.
"Oh. Thank you." Katara was taken aback by the gesture, but picked up the cookie anyway and took a bite.
The young man looked out the window. "Judging by your attire, the time, and your face, I'll say that you were at your high school prom, but left early because your date was a jerk?" He glanced back at her to gauge her reaction.
Katara blinked, surprise evident all over her face. "That pretty much sums it up."
He took the lighter out of his beige slacks and twirled it around in his hand for something to do, peering out the window once more.
Katara watched him silently as she ate the rest of the cookie, washing it down with some water. She noted his features, thinking he was probably popular with the young women at his school, with his short black hair, his strong cheekbones, punctured by his eyes, which were an interesting shade of amber.
The silence was gnawing on her nerves. "So…" She glanced at his name tag. "Zuko, I'm not holding you up from closing, am I?"
He stopped the motion in his hand and looked at her. "No."
"Oh. Okay." She polished off the water.
A pause.
"Did you want to talk about it?" He asked.
"Talk about what?"
"Your jerk of a date. "
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A/N: First, chapter title credit goes to Alexz Johnson's "Pleased to Meet You." Secondly, I want to note right now that this story will start off as bumbling romance between the main characters, but this will take some serious turns and will be noted in each chapter what exactly garners a warning.