Don't look creepy. Don't look creepy. Don't look creepy. Bolin thought to himself. He was wearing a hat that covered his face and took a scarf from his brother to cover his face. He wore a long coat to cover his probending outfit. He was going to be late to practice if he waited any longer. He stood across the street from Hariti's house. He was pretending to read a newspaper while leaning against a wall. He was staring at the house waiting for someone to come out.

No one looked at him twice as they went about their merry way. It was noon and most people were going deeper into the city to get a lunch. It had only been two days since Bolin last saw Hariti. Korra and Mako had lectured him about the three day rules but he ignored it after the second day. I'll just wait outside her house for an hour then I'll leave. Bolin had said to himself that morning.

Three hours had past and Bolin was still staring at the same page of the newspaper. Mako was going to be mad if Bolin was late to practice over a girl. "Hariti! We are going to be late for lunch!" Bolin heard across the street. He looked up and saw Hariti's father leaving the house. He still wore long regal looking clothes.

"Coming Daddy!" Bolin's heart skipped a beat as he saw Hariti skip out of her house. She wore a fancy Water Tribe dress. Her long hair was braided into a neat braid. Her father stepped into their new looking automobile with Hariti right behind them. Bolin hid as they drove past him.

He smiled widely as he headed toward the Probending Arena. When he got there he was five minutes late. He quietly snuck into the training room and peered around the corner. Korra and Mako were nowhere to be seen. Bolin gave a sigh of relief. "I'm in the clear." He whispered.

"Well, well, well, look what the polar bear dog dragged in." Bolin heard behind him. He spun around quickly and saw two eyes glaring at him. Mako had his hands on his hips while Korra had her arms crossed.

"Hey guys." Bolin said with a fake smile. "Boy traffic is terrible today, isn't it?"

"What did I say about being late to practice?" Mako said.

"But it's only five minutes." Bolin complained.

"Five minutes leads to ten. Ten minutes leads to twenty. Soon you'll be skipping practice all together." Mako said as he leaned against the wall. Bolin stuck his lip out and got the saddest look he could think of. He knew this wouldn't work on Mako but Korra was still new. She didn't know all of his tricks yet.

Korra got a sad look on her face. She turned to Mako. "It's only a first offense." Korra suggested. "Let's let him off easy this time."

"But Korra." Korra placed a hand on his arm. She gave her own pouty face to him. Mako sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine but only this one time." Korra and Bolin both cheered and hugged Mako.

"Let's just practice." The three of them had been a little rusty on their probending. They trained extra hard that day and didn't stop till the sun was starting to set. They were all out of breath and sweating badly. Bolin lay on his back on the floor. "N-No more….must…..get…..oxygen." Bolin wheezed.

Mako wiped his forehead. "That's enough for tonight. Let's go get some rest." The three benders were heading to their respectable showers when a large shadow cast over them. The shadow was cast by Toza, manager of the Probending Arena.

"Oh no you three aren't going anywhere." He blocked the doorway so they could not escape.

"Why not?" Korra said sizing up their manager.

"Your team, along with the Golden Temple Tigerdillos, will have a probending match."

"But the season doesn't start for another two weeks." Mako protested.

"Some rich family wants to throw a party with some friends here at the arena. They requested they see a probending match as entertainment." Toza said.

"And why did we get picked?" Bolin complained.

"You and the Golden Temple Tigerdillos are the only ones I can get on short notice."

"Well forget it. We're tired and just finished a long practice. Maybe next time." Mako said as he pushed past Toza.

"They're willing to pay." Toza called to him. Mako kept walking toward the men's showers. "They're willing to pay five hundred yuan…..each!" Bolin's mouth fell open, Korra started blinking rapidly, and Mako froze in his step.

"Each?!" Bolin yelled.

Toza smiled. "You bet your life I said each. But if you're not interested I guess I'll go find another team to fight tonight."

Mako turned around and gave Toza a fake smile. "We'd love to fight tonight." Toza smiled and nodded his head. "I'll go tell the family. The match starts in one hour."

Almost an hour later The Fire Ferrets stood in their waiting area. The stadium wasn't full but a huge group of people sat on the left side and talked amiably amongst one another. Bolin looked out to see if he knew any of the people. They all looked too rich to be going to the Probending match. Toza appeared and went to talk to the man sitting in the middle of the group. Bolin's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He jumped away from the open wall and clung to the wall.

Korra and Mako gave Bolin a look. "What is it Bolin?"

"It's him!" Bolin yelled. "Hariti's father is out there!" He peeked around the corner and confirmed his suspicions. Hariti's father talked amiably to Toza. Sitting next to him, looking bored, was Hariti. She still wore her formal dress but she had no one to talk to. Bolin felt bad as he saw her look sad.

Korra placed her arm around his shoulder and stared in the same direction. "Where is she? Is she the Water Tribe girl next to that stern looking Earth Kingdom man?" Bolin tried to push Korra back.

"SHHHH! She might hear you." Bolin whispered. Korra ignored him and looked again. "She seems to be wearing an older fashioned Water Tribe dress. I remember Master Katara showing me one that belonged to her mother." Korra gave a loud laugh. "Unlike some girls she can pull it off."

Bolin looked again and agreed with Korra that the dress looked old fashioned. She did stick out among all the others. Their outfits looked newer and shinier. Hariti's dress looked worn but fit her nicely. Bolin blushed and looked away. Mako ruffled Bolin's hair. "Ah little bro! Are you blushing?" Mako joked.

Bolin pushed away and put his helmet on his head. "Welcome ladies and Gentlemen!" Toza's voice echoed in the arena. The Fire Ferrets stood on their platform and waited for their cews. "On my left are the Golden Temple Tigerdillos!" Bolin heard cheers as the Tigerdillos took their steps onto the platform. "And on my right are the Fire Ferrets!" Their platform rose and they found themselves on the field. Bolin avoided looking at Hariti.

"Let me introduced the Fire Ferrets!" Toza yelled. "We have Mako, the Captain and firebender of the team. Next we have the one and only Avatar Korra as the waterbender on the team. And finally we have Bolin the earthbender!"

"Go Bolin!" Bolin heard from the crowd. He looked up and saw Hariti cheering his name and waving at him. He smiled widely and gave her a big wave back. Hariti's father gave Bolin a stern look. Bolin shrunk back and gave him a little wave.

Toza turned to the two teams. "Now I want a good clean match. Stick to the usual rules and try not to kill each other." Toza joked with the two teams. He waved his arm and yelled. "Fight." Bolin was on his toes waiting for the first attack. He blocked the waterbenders attack and struck back with a piece of earth. He immediately ducked to avoid a blast of fire over his head.

The Tigerdillos were tougher than Bolin had remembered. They never focused on only one player. They would switch players after one of them was done. Mako and Korra switched places to confuse them. Mako looked at me. "Distraction plan number 23!" Mako yelled. Bolin nodded. Mako jumped in the air as Bolin rolled under him. Mako stood on Bolin's back and blast fire toward the nearest opponent. He was pushed back two levels. Bolin swiped his legs and sent a piece of earth flying, hitting the two remaining opponents. One went over the edge while the other was caught by his teammate.

Korra, Mako, and Bolin went ahead and attack the two remaining opponents with no mercy. Being hit by all sides they were easy to knock off the edge. The crowd cheered as the Fire Ferrets jumped around in excitement. Bolin looked at the stands and saw Hariti cheering loudly. He gave her thumbs up and she gave him one back.

"And the Fire Ferrets win round one with a knockout." Toza yelled to the crowd. "The Tigerdillos still have a chance though of beating the mighty Fire Ferrets."

The Fire Ferrets went back to their starting place and waited for the next round to begin. Bolin saw Hariti's father talking to Toza. He thought he saw him slip something in his pocket but he wasn't sure. The Tigerdillos played dirty tricks throughout the whole round. Korra was knocked over the side and Toza counted it as a knock out. "Come on Toza!" Bolin yelled. "That was a foul!"

Toza just shook his head. "I count it as a knockout!" He yelled back.

"Rigged!" someone in the stands yelled. Toza ignored it and let the game go on. The firebender used a continuous flame throw technique. The fire got so close to Bolin that he jumped off the side. Mako was left alone with the cheating team. He tried his best but he was eventually pushed off the ring.

Korra, Mako, and Bolin huddled up and put their heads together. "Why is Toza letting them cheat?" Korra asked angry.

"That guy slipped him some money. Toza's a good man who never takes a bribe. I don't know why he's doing it now." Mako said frustrated.

"Should we cheat?" Bolin asked.

"No. We need to show we are better than them by not cheating."

"But how?" Korra asked.

"We just use some 'tricks' instead of cheats." Mako said with a smirk.

"You mean….."Bolin gasped.

"Yes sir. We finally get to use our little circus act."

"You are so cute when you're bad." Korra joked giving him a peck on the cheek. Mako smirked proudly.

"Let's do this!" Bolin cheered. The broke from their circle and stood in their places. Bolin kept jumping around excited.

"Let the final match begin!" Toza yelled. Immediately Korra and Bolin jumped to the sides and balanced themselves on the ropes. Mako bowed to his opponents. "Ladies and Gentlemen may I present some Butt Kicking!" Mako shot fire from both hands, knocking the opponents to his left and right down one ring. Bolin and Korra sent earth and water heading toward the one in the middle. The one in the middle jumped back in shock. Mako jumped forward and spun in a circle sending flames out of his hands and feet. Korra splashed water on the flames creating smoke. Bolin took this chance to jump into the smoke. He picked up three earth coins and sent them in the general direction of the opponents. The smoke quickly faded and one of the teammates had been knocked off the ring.

The other team wasn't sure what to do. They tried to hit the teammates but they kept running and jumping around, no one knew what they could do next. The waterbender sent water toward Bolin but he quickly dodged it. He stuck his tongue out and made a face. "Missed me!" Bolin yelled.

"And now for our final act!" Mako yelled. "The three bender ladder." Mako raised his hands in the air. Bolin quickly jumped and placed his feet in Mako's hands. Korra climbed up on Bolin's back and stood on his hands. The crowd went crazy. Korra jumped off Bolin's hands and sent water heading straight toward the two opponents. They rolled backwards toward the final ring. Bolin jumped off next and sent earth coins heading their way. They were on the edge of the ring now. Mako finished it off with a simple fire blast. They fell off and landed in the water.

"And the fire ferrets win!" The crowd jumped up and cheered loudly. Korra, Mako, and Bolin jumped into a group hug. Bolin looked up and saw Hariti standing up and waving wildly toward him. He waved back and gave her a big smile. The Fire Ferrets were quickly pushed off the toward their waiting area.

Toza came pounding in and gave each of the Fire Ferret's their money. "What was that back there Toza? You let them cheat." Mako yelled as he accepted his money.

Toza sighed. "That is Hiresh Feng, a rich noblemen from Ba Sing Se. He has had a lot of influence since her moved here with his daughter. If you anger him, you can kiss your job goodbye."

"So he told you to let us cheat?" Korra asked.

"He said to make it more interesting. I couldn't say no. He pulled money out of his pocket and handed it to Mako. Burn that money for me. I don't like bribes." With that Toza ran out of the room. Mako stared at the money and let it burn in his hand.

There was a light knock on the door. "Come in!" Korra yelled as she took her helmet off.

"Hello?" A sweet voice said. Bolin's eyes widened as he turned around. "Hariti?" Hariti stood in by the door and peeked in. When she saw Bolin her eyes lit up. "Bolin!" She walked toward him and stood in front of him. "Congratulations!"

Bolin felt his face blush slightly. "Thanks! How did you get back here?"

She looked down at her feet. "I snuck off."

"Seems you are dating a bad girl." Mako joked. Hariti looked up and her face turned slightly pink. Mako laughed. "I'm only joking."

"So you snuck back here just to see me?" Bolin asked with a cocky smile.

"They were just going to another party. I wouldn't be missed." Hariti shrugged her shoulders.

"We were going back to Air Temple Island to have a victory dinner. You can come along if you want." Korra offered.

Hariti nodded. "Thank you. That would be a lot of fun."

Korra smiled. "Awesome. But," She pointed to her dress. "Let's get you out of that." Korra grabbed Hariti's hand and led her out of the room. "We'll be back boys."

After Bolin and Mako got dressed they waited for Korra and Hariti. Soon Korra came out in her usual attire, carrying Hariti's dress. Hariti was right behind her. She wore a light blue, long sleeved tunic that went down to her knees. She wore black pants with fur boots to match. Her hair was unbraided so her hair rolled down in soft waves. "Let's go boys." Korra put her arm around Mako's arm and led him out of the room. Bolin let Hariti leave first. They walked side by side and followed Korra and Mako. Tonight they would have a party at Air Temple Island.