Hello! I'm back! I'm sorry that I haven't updated in forever, but I already have the next chapter written, so if I get more positive responses, I'll upload that soon! Hopefully you guys still like where this is going!

Anyways, Enjoy!

Katara was fuming for the rest of the day. Aang had not only noticed this during their AP Language class but was determined to change her rotten mood.

"Katara! Katara!" Aang called to her from across the Quad. The brunette was practically stomping across the courtyard. Aang beamed like a child on Christmas, which only highlighted his youth. His foster parents had homeschooled him and this advanced learning style had caused him to skip a grade. He was, however, naive to his youthful nature and rather sought his sights on the pretty tan girl who was walking towards him. "Hi Katara!" Aang trilled as Katara sat down next to him. "Your hair looks really pretty today!"

"Thanks, Aang," Katara smiled tiredly, thankful for the compliment even through her bad mood. "That's really sweet."

"Guess what!" Aang prompted her. Katara cocked her head.

"What?"

"I'm trying out for the winter musical!" He smiled. "I'm hoping to be the Beast!"

"You?" Sokka laughed. "You're way too nice to be a Beast."

"You should try out," Aang told Katara, ignoring Sokka's comment. Katara chuckled.

"I don't think I'm up for being in the spotlight just yet," Katara shrugged.

"I think I'm going to do backstage tech," Toph announced. Every head at the table turned to stare at the girl in shock.

"You're going to voluntarily participate in something?" Suki gawked. Toph shot her a glare and tore off a bite of her sandwich with more force than necessary.

"My parents want me to get involved in something," Toph shrugged, her cheeks flushed, "Besides, its the only afterschool activity where I can yell at people and play with power tools and get away with it!"

"Classic Toph," Aang chuckled. Toph smiled momentarily but caught herself and looked away. Katara and Suki made eye contact, eyebrows raised.

"Let's get coffee later today!" Suki suggested. "You have a free period, right?"

"Yeah!" Katara giggled, but her elated mood fell instantly. "Wait, I can't today. I have to do something."

"What?" Suki asked. Katara mentally chided herself; why couldn't she lie well like Toph?

"I have...detention," Katara murmured. Aang's jaw dropped and Toph grinned in glee but Katara cut them both off before anyone could say anything. "It's all Zuko Tanner's fault, though. He was badmouthing me and our family," she looked pointedly Sokka, "so I think I was justified."

"What an asshole," Sokka shuddered.

"He made fun of my goatee," Haru sighed bitterly.

"I'm going to punch him in Physics on Friday," Toph growled. Katara smiled at the support her closest friends gave her. It made the prospect of spending the next hour and a half with the boy in question slightly more bearable.

Slightly more bearable, Katara mused bitterly, but only a little.

"When are auditions, Aang?" Suki asked.

"Today and tomorrow. The cast list comes out the day after."

"Madame Kyoshi is smart to put the list out on Friday," Haru pointed out, "That way she doesn't have to deal with the drama of who's cast and who isn't."

"I wonder who Belle is going to be," Toph chuckled.

"I guess we'll find out Friday." Katara sighed.

Lunch ended and everyone in their gang went separate ways. Fourth block classes were notoriously dull, and even the most exciting classes felt hours too long. Katara waited at the table for a minute and watched her friends go. Sokka and Suki walked hand in hand, giggling together. Katara smiled fondly; as much as her brother could annoy her, she loved him to death, and seeing him happy with Suki was contagious. Katara made a mental note to do something nice for Sokka in the future, but at the current moment, she needed to get to the theatre.

The early autumn sun was beating down in her shoulders, but with her white peasant blouse and high waisted denim shorts, the warmth, like that of a heating blanket, was more comforting than overpowering. The auditorium was at the far back of the school, where there was separate parking. Katara went through the side entrance and emerged in the lobby. She hadn't spent much time in the theatre. Her mother had been a dancer and singer in her youth and college life, but Katara had abandoned any sort of performing at an early age due to severe stage fright. That being said, the moment Katara walked through the theatre doors, she was dumbfounded by the room before her.

"Wow," she gasped. The ceilings were tall and arched. The stone paneling looked rich and expensive beneath the ornate chandeliers and bright stage lights. The theatre chairs were lush, garnet velvet and the curtains too embodied luxury. Columns along the walls made katara feel as if the ceiling above was being supported on the columns alone, and the ceiling, painted a beautiful mural of a night sky.

"Do you like it?"

Katara jumped, startled. Madame Kyoshi smiled mysteriously at her from one of the nearest seats. Katara exhaled, mentally criticising her obliviousness.

"It's beautiful," Katara answered. Her voice reverberated around the spacious hall and she was surprised to find it thick with emotion. Thinking about her mother did that to her. She turned her eyes to the stage. While it was mostly empty, there was the foundation of what looked like a floor with stairs.

"Are you considering auditioning for our winter musical?" Madame Kyoshi asked. Katara shook her head urgently.

"Oh no," she laughed nervously, "Trust me, you wouldn't want to put me on that stage. I'd ruin the entire thing."

"Everyone has the ability to be on the stage," Madame Kyoshi smiled slightly. "Anyway, I'm going to have you staple together sheet music and scenes for our first round of auditions today. Mrs. June has told me that you will be serving detention today until four-thirty."

"That works for me," Katara shrugged. She followed Madame Kyoshi who led her to a seat in the fifth row. The seats had armrests that could be pulled up to transform into a small desk surface. Katara spent ten minutes stapling piles of sheet music. She was just getting into her groove when someone took the seat one over to her right.

"You're late," Katara noted bitterly.

"I'm sorry," Zuko said. Katara froze at the sincerity in his voice.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm sorry," Zuko repeated, not breaking eye contact. "Not just about being late, but about what I said." Zuko studied Katara's face with something she couldn't quite read in his eye.

"Why are you saying this?" Katara asked with scrutiny.

"You were pissed," he shrugged.

"So you're apologising because it's convenient," Katara clarified. Zuko blushed and Katara couldn't keep herself from giggling. Zuko smirked at her.

"I talked to your friend," he murmured awkwardly, "the blind girl-"

"Toph," Katara corrected.

"-Toph, right."

"What did she say to you?"

"She cussed me out first," Zuko nodded. Katara smiled fondly at the thought of her friend, "And then she told me that I'd been an asshole to you."

"You were an asshole," Katara pointed out. Zuko cringed but forced himself to stay quiet. She was right. It would be inconvenient to argue with her, especially when they had detention together.

Katara still didn't trust Zuko, but they worked in a strangely calm silence together. She would group the separate sheets of music or lines of a scene into separate piles and hand them to Zuko, who would staple them and toss them into separate piles. Soon, the two grew familiar with the scenes and the songs for the different parts.

"My sister's going to be here today," Zuko broke the silence.

"Azula?" Katara asked without looking up from her work.

"Don't sound so excited," Zuko snorted.

"She's not my favourite person, I'll be honest," Katara admitted. "Who's she trying out for?"

"The same every single girl in this whole school seems to be trying out for," Zuko sighed before brandishing his freshly stapled music packet, "Belle."

"I love Belle," Katara found herself saying, "I used to watch Beauty and the Beast all the time growing up. It was my mother's favourite fairytale."

"Mine too," Zuko sighed, "My mother's, not mine," he corrected himself. When he looked up to get another packet, Katara was staring at him with the bluest eyes and the most tender expression. Zuko realised that no one had looked at him like that in a very long time.

"Hi, Zuko!"

Ty Lee appeared in the row behind them. Zuko noticed that Katara immediately busied herself with more papers, her face red.

"Azula wanted me to get her the sheetmusic for Belle's parts," Ty Lee explained, "Not that she needs it, of course, but just to be safe."

"She'll have to wait till everyone else get theirs," Zuko replied in a monotone. Katara stifled her laughter, but when Zuko caught her eye and grinned, she had to mask it with a "cough".

"Okay," Ty Lee sighed, looking concerned, "She's going to be angry…"

"Tell her I refused," Zuko explained, "that way she can't blame you."

"Thanks, Zuko!" Ty Lee trilled, instantly back to her bubbly self before she bounced away. Katara watched her go before smiling.

"What?" Zuko asked.

"That was nice," Katara admitted unwillingly.

"It happens occasionally," Zuko muttered, moving his head so that his bangs covered his scar. "Azula's a bitch, but that doesn't mean she can treat everyone else like her personal slaves."

"Zuko," Katara stopped his rant. He looked up with a fiery expression that made Katara flinch.

"What?" He growled.

"You're ruining the sheet music," Katara murmured softly. A pang of guilt shot through Zuko's conscience; she was scared of him.

"Sorry," he mumbled, smoothing out the paper. Katara bit her lip and looked away as she continued to collect the papers. She moved her head so that her long curtain of wavy, chocolate brown hair fell like a divide between the two opposite teens.

"Alright, everyone who is auditioning, please sit in the top section of seats!" Madame Kyoshi announced. She had moved up to the stage and was now looking out over the crowded theatre of students. Katara looked over her shoulder and was shocked at the number of students who were moving to the back section of the theatre, away from where Katara and Zuko were working.

"Today we're going to get most of our auditions done, and tomorrow will be a callback day if a decision can't be reached. Otherwise, you can expect a cast list to be up tomorrow at lunch."

A low murmur rushed through the auditorium like a sharp breeze. People were clearly shocked at alacrity with which the cast list would be up. Katara sighed and turned back to finishing her work as quickly as possible. After leaving detention today, her association with this musical would cease to exist.

"Can I get the auditionees for any ensemble role or any technical role to come to the stage," Madame Kyoshi asked, "The winter musical is a no cut programme so everyone will be able to at least work on stage as extra cast members or as extra hands backstage. We will divide roles in tech theatre once we begin working."

"Psst, Sugar Queen!"

Katara jumped at the voice that hissed from the stage. Toph was standing on the edge of the stage, grinning somewhat madly.

"Sorry you got stuck with Sparky," she spat viciously.

"I'm sitting right here," Zuko growled. "Or are you that blind?"

Katara gasped in outrage, and Toph gritted her teeth.

"You're gonna pay for that," she threatened in a dangerously measured voice, filled with pure loathing. She looked as if she had more to say, most likely things that would get her landed in detention for the next week, but at that moment Madame Kyoshi called her away once more. Katara whipped her head around and glared at Zuko, who was still stapling papers without a care in the world.

"What the hell was that?" She growled.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked, taken aback.

"Forget being peaceful or whatever," she whispered, "You really are the meanest, cruelest, and most selfish person I've ever met."

"Because of what I said to Toph?" Zuko asked in shock, "I was just defending myself! She attacked me!"

"You're insane," Katara thought aloud.

"Well send me to Northern Tribe and call me crazy," Zuko snickered. Katara laughed in disbelief.

"Wow, way to actually listen to what I said about leaving Northern Tribe out of this," she sighed in a sad tone. Zuko's jaw dropped slightly.

"I-I forgot," he stuttered, "I didn't mean-"

"Save it, Zuko," Katara shot with fire in her eyes. Zuko felt as if he'd been struck; Katara said his name as if it was a curse word.

Auditions went far from smoothly. Only thirty minutes in and there had been three meltdowns on stage, twenty-three voice cracks, and one interpretive dance. Zuko kept his eyes glued to the stacks of papers he and Katara were now sorting into separate stacks for the future rehearsals, but looked up when Katara gasped.

Madame Kyoshi unsurprisingly had a surplus of people auditioning for Belle and The Beast, and instead of having them audition separately, was randomly picking a girl and a boy to sing a duet of Tale As Old As Time. That wasn't what Katara was gasping at though.

"Oh shit," Zuko groaned. As fate would have it, Aang, auditioning for Beast, was paired with none other than-

"Azula Tanner," Azula spoke confidently into the microphone. Madame Kyoshi nodded from her seat dead centre in the lower auditorium. Azula smiled at her, like a beauty queen or pageant star. Katara's heart went out to the boy behind Azula. Aang, while having grown since the prior year, still seemed amazingly small compared to the larger than life energy Azula was forcing upon the audience. However, when Madame Kyoshi raised her eyebrows at him, Aang hurried towards the microphone and murmured his name. Madame Kyoshi nodded towards Mrs. Wu, the music and art teacher who was playing accompaniment for the auditions. The moment the familiar set of notes played through the air, Katara felt sadness mingle with nostalgic joy within her. She loved the song, Tale As Old As Time, but the melody only caused her to think more and more about her mother. She forced herself to pretend to work, but she and Zuko couldn't help watch the performance.

Azula walked up to the microphone and an expression that resembled wistfulness washed across her usually hard face. Then she opened her mouth and sang the girls' part of the now-duet.

"Tale as old as time

True as it can be

Barely even friends

Then somebody bends

Unexpectedly"

Katara cringed inwardly. Azula followed the melody, but her voice was harsh and grating against her eardrums. Thankfully, Aang moved forward and, after somewhat forcing Azula out of the way, began to sing:

"Just a little change

Small, to say the least

Both a little scared

Neither one prepared

Beauty and the Beast."

Katara beamed up at her best friend. Aang had a sweet voice that reminded her of flowers. Zuko, however, noticed the way that the bald boy smiled in glowing adoration at the brunette to his left.

The music faded out and the audience clapped in applause; Katara joined in enthusiastically, offering a supportive "whoop," followed by a call of "go Aang!" Zuko grunted in jealously before mentally reprimanding himself. Why do I care that she's cheering for that stupid kid? Zuko asked himself angrily.

Then next hour and a half passed slowly and tensely. Katara was very obvious in wanting to ignore Zuko, and the constant singing and repetitive music was giving both teens a headache. Finally, auditions were over, and Madame Kyoshi approved of their world.

"And you're sure neither of you want to audition?" Madame Kyoshi asked in finality.

"Yes," Zuko and Katara both answered simultaneously with identical confidence. They both made fierce eye contact for a brief second before looking away from each other pointedly. Madame Kyoshi watched the interaction with mild curiosity but easily forgot it and collected the materials the two teens had prepared.

"In that case, I hope you come see the musical in December."

Katara and Zuko watched Madame Kyoshi leave. The moment the door shut behind her, Katara stood and left. Zuko could only watch and ponder why exactly, after a life of disobey and disorder, he'd never come close to he felt guilty and yet the blue-eyed brunette, so much his opposite, left him with his stomach in knots.

Well, that's the end of that Chapter! P.S. Reviews make me feel like writing posting more.

Peace and Love,

Tyra