Disclaimer: ZutarianWriter is too tired to say it, so I'll say it for her: SHE DOES NOT OWN AVATAR! GYEAH! BD

A/N: Third chapter editing. Coming along good. Don't know the characters as well as I used to. But I'll get there guys! Don't worry.

Katara jumped, startled at the smooth, low voice behind her. She turned around, smiling luminously at her school guide. "Hey, Zuko? What's up?"

He remained completely straight-faced. "If I'm going to give you a tour, we'll have to make it quick. I don't want anybody seeing us." He looked to the sides, making sure he wasn't being watched by a rather sneaky Mai. She could pop out of nowhere. Literally.

Katara mocked the serious expression on Zuko's face. "Yes, sir," she said in her deepest voice, fake saluting him, her lower lip sticking out and her eyebrows furrowed together. Zuko simply glared, walking away and muttering something about annoying freshmen. Katara scowled, catching some parts of the mumbling. "Asshole," she muttered. Zuko whipped around, staring down at her.

"What?" he spoke sharply.

"Nothing. . ." Katara dismissed, waving a careless hand around.

"This is the gym," he explained, about half an hour into the tour.

"Yeah, I know. We have first period together. Remember?"

"Yeah. . .you can come here whenever you want to. I usually come here during lunch, not that it matters to you, or anything." He went to the gym occassionally to work off stress. . .and to get a breather from his girlfriend.

"What do you do while you're in gym?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I practice martial arts. Northern Xaolin Kung Fu is my specialty," he added, his chest puffing up a little.

"So, you have an interest in Chinese martial arts?"

Zuko nodded. "Yes. Do you?"

She turned away, a light dusting of pink warming her cheeks. "Don't tell anyone this, but I do Tai Chi. Track comes second," Katara admitted.

The corner of his lips twitched upward into a hint of a smile. . .this attempt alone hadn't been seen in a very long time. "I'm glad someone else has an appreciation of Chinese martial arts."

"You sound like Counselor Iroh," Katara accused, putting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow at him. She had met the guidance counselors before they had gone to class. Iroh was a jolly, round elderly man. He was super sweet and polite, and Katara had liked him a lot.

"He's my uncle," Zuko told her. She gasped, her mouth in a small "o".

"Really?" He nodded. Katara clapped her hands together, taking a deep breath. "Well, I guess I'd better be getting back. Class will start soon."

Zuko nodded once more. "See ya around." He watched her leave. There was something in the way she jogged that seemed very familiar. . .he shook his head, and as the bell rung he went back to class.

xXx

"Ugh!" Katara grunted in frustration, a hand fisted in her hair. "This is SO CONFUSING!"

"You'll get it. You're, like, the smartest sister ever!" Sokka assured her.

Katara raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Are you cheating off of my homework again?" She was in all advanced classes, so all of the information she was taught was for two years in advance academically, which is what Sokka was learning. Except for science. Sokka had science down pat very well, like it was a gift or something.

"No!" Sokka looked horrified, holding his textbook to his chest, peering at her paper before writing something on his own. Katara sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I'm going outside to get some air. Please, don't set our new house on fire, okay, Sokka?" Before he could defend himself, Katara slammed the doors behind her.

Katara walked along the sidewalk, arms swinging at her sides. One thing she liked about the town is that people were out and about, but it was quiet and peaceful. In her heart she felt a warm glow, like she belonged her, like the environment itself was like her home. Her sapphire eyes caught sight of a dense forest off to the side, which nobody seemed to be walking into, as there were no paths set into it. Quickly, she did what she does best and sprinted towards the shady paradise.

Light from above filtered through openings of leaves in the tall forest, so tall in fact, it seemed the leaves were a sky of their own. This whole forest was its own separate world. Katara strolled through the leafy grounds, kicking around the crunching autumn leaves, enjoying the darkness that enveloped her body. Then, she found a low branch on one of the trees, and she pulled herself onto the branch, then onto another, and then another. Soon she was at the very top of the tree, the ground at least twenty feet below her. She spent her afternoon in this mystical, quiet world, enjoying the breeze that whipped her braid behind her. Katara lept from tree to tree, her laughter echoing through the woods and causing the birds to chirp in response. The teenager lept to one tree, but she missed slightly and only her hands could reach it. She roughly grabbed onto the branch, with thankfully seemed sturdy enough to hold her from the sudden fall. She dangled in the air, hopelessly in danger. Katara tried to pull herself up more than just a few times, but she couldn't muster the strength to do so. Her fingers began to sweat with anxiety, making her fingers finally slip off of the branch when a strong hand grabbed her tan one, her other arm on the upper arm of the stranger. A boy with unruly brown hair smiled down at her, his eyes twinkling in the dim light of the forest. He wore a form-fitting, long-sleeve black shirt and long maroon pants. His deep brown eyes were the light in the darkness. "Need some help?" his placid voice asked her, with the slightest hint of amusement in it.

Katara nodded slowly, a blush creeping its way onto her round cheeks. He pulled her up and onto the branch, still holding her so she could regain her balance. She tripped slightly, falling into the chest of the mysterious boy. Her face became more red, slowly lifting her head up to look into his eyes. "Careful, there," he cautioned, steadying her. She searched his eyes, lost in a daze. "Are you alright?"

Those three words broke her out of her daydreaming. "Y-yes, I'm fine," she said, wiping the dirt off of her mini-shorts. Doing anything to keep herself from looking up, and feeling her heart jump into her throat.

"That could've been a really nasty fall. You should be more careful. I'm Jet, by the way," he held out his hand.

"Katara," she said, shaking his hand. "I'm new here."

Jet chuckled. "I can see that." She punched him in the arm, and he grinned, rubbing the now bruised spot. "You're welcome."

She smiled. "Thank you." Jet nodded, jumping down from the branches and landing safely on the ground below. Katara slowly descended, making sure she was never off when she climbed down. The gentleman even assisted her off of the bottom branch, which he guided her foot to the ground carefully. "I have to be going home, now," she pointed towards the direction of her two-story house and ran towards there at lightning-speed, eager to get away from him as fast as possible to calm her heart down. Jet held out a hand, his mouth opening, but he shut it, the hand falling to his side. He picked up his stuff and ran off in the same direction she did.

xXx

Katara went upstairs to her room, ready to unload her stuff from the boxes. She found a box labeled "childhood items". She opened it, and filed through the objects. Dolls, drawings, coloring books, and. . .a picture. She picked it up and, curious, she walked back to the bed and sat, blowing and wiping the dust off of the frame with the pads of her fingers. She stared at a small, tan girl with a boy. She squinted, recognizing the boy's black hair and friendly, warm eyes. She turned the photograph onto the back, reading:

Katara & Zuko, 1995

She gasped, and then turned to the frame back to the front. She pressed the pad of her finger over Zuko's face, unmarred in the picture. Her blue eyes widened. "Oh my God. . ."

A/N: Tada! Trying to go along more the characters' personality. Read and review, please and thank you!