A/N: Here is the 1st chapter! I feel so guilty, I should be working on Sokka's Diary, but I couldn't help but write this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy! And now, time for the disclaimer!

Ozai: OOOOHHHH!!! PICK ME!!!!!!

Tangy: Hmm… I think Aang's done it already, so has Katara, and Sokka does it all the time…

Ozai: MMMEEEEEEE!!!!! I WANT TO DO IT!!!

Tangy: Zuko and Mai have both done it, though reluctantly.

Ozai: PRETTY PLEASE WITH PINK SPRINLKES AND LOTS OF YUMMYLICIOUS CHERRIES ON TOP!!! PICK ME TO DO IT!!!

Tangy: Ty Lee is too annoying to have do it, Azula might kill me…

Ozai: FOR THE LOVE OF SOZIN, PICK ME!!! FIRE LORD OZAI! MMMMEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Tangy: Ozai's too much of a wimp to do the disclaimer…

Ozai: o.O WHAT?!?!?! HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!?!? WHY NOT ME?!?!?

Tangy: Hmm… Toph, how 'bout you do it?

Toph: Gladly. Tangy does not own "Avatar: The Last Airbender" or any of its characters.

Ozai: NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tangy: What's his problem?

Separated We Are

Chapter 1

The colossal ship docked at the harbor in the icy South Pole. An incredibly cold breeze was blowing as Aang and his advisors exit the ship and stepped onto the snowy land.

Aang looked around. The South Pole was impressive, though not nearly as impressive as the North, but incredible all the same. The giant buildings were made of ice. The grounds were scattered with beautiful ice sculptures and fountains. Many people were scurrying about, doing errands and attending to business. Some were catching fish, some bending the tides of the sea, some were children building snowmen. The city was thriving.

But the bustle of the city quickly stopped as one woman shouted, "Look!"

Everyone turned to see the orange and yellow clad man with the blue arrows on his hands and the tip of his forehead. Nobody moved, nobody made any noise, until –

"The avatar is here!"

Almost immediately, the hundreds of people started cheering, applauding. Aang sighed. This was what he hated.

He took a step, then another. He began walking through the crowd. Looking around he saw older woman sighing. He saw men clapping and attempting to shake his hand, and with some, he did. There were teenage girls, giggling flirtatiously, uncontrollably. Aang sighed once more. That was what he had expected. Children stared hopefully up at him, like he was a hero. They thought he was. But Aang knew it was not so.

Another thing he also noticed was that everyone, everyone was cheering. Not one person was not making noise. Except for that one person over there.

Aang snapped his head back. Never, never had someone not shown excitement while he was there. This person, whoever it was, was different, he could tell. And it intrigued him. So he scanned the crowd, searching for that one person…

And he found himself staring into the eyes of the one, unique, non-cheering person. He found himself staring into the gorgeous eyes of a girl.

oOoOo

All had been quiet in the freezing South Pole. The people were walking about and Katara had been practicing her bending, as usual. That is, until she spotted the avatar standing on the shore.

Katara chose to say nothing. The folk in town would surely find out on their own.

"Look!" someone shouted. Sure enough, everyone was gawking at the avatar by the harbor. And soon, everyone erupted in cheers. Everyone that is, except for Katara.

She stood there in the crowd, watching the avatar walk slowly by. Just watching. He was incredibly handsome, as the rumors said, but she did nothing to show it, nothing to make a fool of herself.

Katara was amazed, though, at the expression on the boy's face. Was it annoyance? Boredom? Disapproval? Was it possible that the avatar, of all people, was one to hate attention?

To her surprise, Aang stopped ambling through the throng and looked out at the people. What is he doing? He seemed to be searching for something. Or, rather, someone.

And then his eyes stopped. He had found the one he was looking for. He was looking at Katara.

oOoOo

The girl Aang was looking at was beautiful. Her chocolate brown hair was long and tied into a braid and hair loops. Her simple, blue dress complimented thin figure perfectly. And her eyes, the ones he was making contact with… well, they were the best part. Big and a shade of blue that could give the ocean competition, they were sparkling with the glow of the beating sun.

He stood there looking at her, she looking back. The crowd had seemed to notice his not moving and stopped cheering. They waited, waited with bated breath, wanting to know just what he was going to do next.

Aang put his foot forward, ready and determined to talk to this girl that made him feel… something. Something wonderful. But before he could move any further, he was pulled back by Jeong Jeong.

"What are you doing?" he demanded in a harsh whisper.

"I'm going to talk to her," Aang answered, never taking his eyes off the girl in the crowd.

"You cannot waste your time here talking to mere peasants," said Long Feng, coolly.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," said Iroh. This was why he was Aang's favorite advisor. His belief was that Aang should be able to live a normal life every once in a while. But despite his efforts, Iroh was usually outvoted by Jeong Jeong and Long Feng.

"No," said Jeong Jeong. "We must not tarry. We have to be at the palace by midday. We have no time to lose talking to townsfolk."

"I don't want to talk to everyone," argued Aang, getting somewhat annoyed now. "Just that girl."

It was weird, the feeling Aang had in the pit of his stomach. It was as if he didn't talk to the girl, that one particular female, he was going to be stabbed with a thousand knives. And if he did, his heart would forever beat musically.

Why was it the sight of her that did this to him? There were plenty of others here, why her? What made her different? Of course she was beautiful, but there was something more…

He needed to talk to her. Meet her. Get to know her. "Please, if you just –"

"No," said Long Feng, louder than necessary. "The peasants are peasants. They beg and they are worthless. Let us go, now, people are staring."

Long Feng pushed past Aang who was still gaping at the girl. He knew his controlling advisor was wrong. Peasants were people too, but he was in no place to argue. Iroh and Jeong Jeong knew that the peasants should be treated better as well, but thought it wise to move along. They all knew Long Feng was one not to argue with.

After what seemed like years, Aang pulled his gaze from the Water Tribe woman's eyes and moved after his advisors: the demanding one, the logically thinking one, and the wise, caring one.

The crowd was quiet.

oOoOo

Katara and the avatar gazed into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. She felt tingly inside. It was strange. She had never felt this way before.

Even when the crowd had quieted, even when Aang was arguing with the three men beside him, they never broke eye contact.

Katara loved his eyes. A shade of lovely gray that, somehow, were not dull. They were big and sparkling, full of happiness and care. This man, she could tell, was nothing like Princess Yen.

And though she could stay there forever more, the avatar turned his head, rather ruefully, and walked ahead reluctantly with his advisors.

The crowd was quiet.

Katara felt disappointment flow through her. The warmth that had filled her despite the icy wind had left. She couldn't explain why, but she was sad he had left.

Giving a small sigh, Katara turned and went back to training, despite all the eyes upon her.

A/N: Omigosh, I am SO sorry about the lateness of this! I am also going to try to get Sokka's Diary updated, hopefully by tomorrow at the latest. So keep an eye out!

I really hope you like this chapter, though, despite the amount of time it took to get it updated. I worked hard on it! It wasn't that I had writer's block or anything, it's just I procrastinated typing it up. So sorry, once again! And Sokka's Diary is still alive, I promise! It's not something I'm about to let die!

Oh, and to anyone who can guess who said this quote, I'll mention you in the next author's note, along with the answer! So here it is:

Jealousy is like Godzilla, your friends being the town.

Good luck! Oh, did everyone have a good Christmas? I did! Have a happy New Year too!

Ozai: I still don't understand, why not ME?!?!?!?!

Me: Just shut up already!!!

Tangy