You knew this time would come.

When Zuko would come back to his room. You knew it had to happen, since he was human and had to sleep after all. Of course he was just a fictional character, but in this show he looked pretty real and acted like it. So you dreaded when he'd return.

But when he came back, your heart dropped. You realized you were scared. Scared of Zuko? Yes. He can be very intimidating. And when your eye throbbed in pain, it reminded you of what can happen if he got angry like that again.

You were sitting on his bed when he barged in through the door. And when that door flew open, you jumped, yelping from the sudden noise.

Zuko ignored you and went through his drawers. You watched silently as he took off his shirt, revealing a very pale and muscular chest. He quickly put on a long, red tunic, and turned to you.

You cowered underneath his stare. He was stripping you of every ounce of courage you had. A guilty conscience also played a part, since you still felt bad for telling him all that stuff. But did he have to punch you for saying that? Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't.

"Get off of my bed." Zuko said. Before he even finished the sentence, you rolled off the bed, too afraid to get him annoyed. He silently got into the cot and all went silent.

You lay on your back on the floor, staring at the metal ceiling. Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest from fear. Was he still mad at you? Would he attack you in your sleep?

Why was he so quiet?

You tried to remember how nice he was later on in the show, once he joined the avatar. Sure he still had a short temper, but he didn't hurt people. So would he really hurt you? He said he would. Now he would. Later on he wouldn't.

You tried to get situated on the floor, but it was uncomfortable. You didn't even have a pillow!

Then it got cold.

You hugged yourself, trying to get warm. Zuko had all the blankets pooled at his feet. He didn't even need them since he was a fire bender. You would think he would at least offer them to you, since you were on the floor with no blankets, shivering like a freezing statue. But he didn't even say anything. He just lay there in complete silence.

The cold was becoming unbearable. In only minutes you were shivering, your teeth chattering from your body's intense trembling.

Hesitantly, you asked, "Zuko? Can I, maybe, um, have some blankets?"

"No."

That's all? That's all he could say! Just "No"? That's IT? Here you were shivering like some kind of animal, and he wouldn't let you have any BLANKETS?

You gritted your teeth, ignoring the anger you felt and decided to still be nice. "Please? I'm really cold. You're a bender so you're warm. I'm freezing."

"I could care less."

Your eyes narrowed. "B-but you're not even using them!"

"I don't want you touching my blankets." Zuko snapped back.

You took a deep breath and counted to ten. You reminded yourself that you had to stay calm around Zuko, or things could get really ugly. Remember the black eye?

"Can I please have the blankets?" You asked as politely as you could.

"Didn't I already say no?"

You stood up and grabbed the blankets. You tried yanking them underneath his feet, but Zuko quickly grabbed a hold of them. It was like tug-of-war; Zuko was pulling on one end and you were pulling on the other.

"Let go!" You shouted, pulling with all your might. You didn't have as good of a grip as Zuko had, and your feet were slipping towards him, but you still tried your best not to let Zuko have them.

"You let go! These are my blankets—not yours!"

"But you don't need them! I'm freezing here!"

"Stop caring so much about yourself!"

"You're a hypocrite!"

Zuko grunted as he gave one last final, powerful tug and you went flying into him. Both of you fell back onto the bed from the force, with you on top. Thinking quickly and rashly, you straddled his hips and trapped him underneath you the best you could.

Your face was mere inches from his. "Hand them over."

He glared at you daringly. "Make me."

"I will."

"Show me."

Suddenly, both of your eyes, along with Zuko's, looked over on the floor. The blankets lay there innocently, in a little pile. Then you both looked back at each other with a similar realization.

Everything happened in slow motion.

You got off of Zuko to run after the blankets, but Zuko shoved you backwards, towards the opposite direction. You cried out in shock, reaching out for the blankets. Zuko smirked, and hurried after the blankets while you landed heavily on your bottom.

He picked them up and held them up like a trophy. "You were saying?"

"Fine." You pouted, sitting against the wall. Zuko climbed back into the cot, tossing the blankets on his side casually. Wow. He wasn't even going to keep them with him?

"I don't need them anyway." You grumbled bitterly.

"Good, because you'll never lay your filthy hands on them. They'll get peasant germs."

Peasant germs?

"I am not a peasant! Stop calling me that!"

"Then shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"No, you shut up!

"You shut up!"

"No—" Zuko stopped himself. "Really? I stopped doing that endless argument when I was a kid. Grow up."

"Then give me the blankets."

"What do you not understand when I say no?"

"But—"

"—if you say another word," Zuko said calmly, "then you'll be sleeping in the brig. It's your choice."

You shut your mouth. The brig didn't sound very warm, probably colder than it was in here.

You lay down on the metal floor, pulling your knees to your chest in the fetal position. Zuko lay on his cot, grinning to himself like the jerk he was, completely comfortable. Without even a warning, he waved his hand and the room went completely dark.

You closed your eyes, trying to sleep. This was going to be a very long night.


Sometime in the middle of the night you woke up, shivering. It was freezing. You felt like you were going to freeze into a statue.

You watched Zuko's form on the bed, wondering if you could sneak to his blankets without him knowing. Silently, you crawled to the blankets and cuddled up with them, smiling in relief. They were so warm. You covered yourself up with them, already feeling yourself going to sleep.

Zuko didn't wake up.

You found sleep in seconds, but then you woke back up sometime very early in the morning. It wasn't as cold, but it was still dark outside. Zuko was still sound asleep.

You felt guilty again, about what you said. You knew perfectly well he wasn't a spoiled prince—he was quite the opposite. He had a father who didn't care about him, a mother who vanished in one night, and a psychotic sister that plotted his downfall ever since a child. Face it. His life was pretty much screwed up.

He didn't deserve having someone like you fight with him.

"Zuko?" You whispered into the darkness, hoping he was awake yet still hoping he was asleep. He did say earlier than if you spoke one more time he'd send you to the brig.

But that didn't stop you. "I'm really sorry for what I said earlier. I know you're not a spoiled prince, and you don't deserve living in the streets. I know why you're so mean all the time. It was totally wrong for me to say all the things." You lightly touched your injured eye. "I deserved your punch, and I'm sorry. I hope that someday, even though you hate my guts right now, you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

Zuko didn't reply.

Either he didn't want to reply, or he was just asleep.

But still, you felt like you got a weight off your shoulder. You apologized, right? So everything was good now.

Except the fact that he didn't hear you.

Oh well. You could always just apologize later.

You closed your eyes again, and slept for the rest of the night.


You woke up when someone shoved the blankets off of you, a blast of cold air slapping your skin. You shrieked from the sudden commotion, staring up at a livid Zuko.

He looked like a pissed off dragon. Smoke was literally coming out of his nose from the fury inside of him.

Your eyes widened. Great. You definitely pissed him off.

"You took the blankets." Zuko growled.

"I was cold!" You protested weakly, scooting away from Zuko. He advanced towards you, his fists going into tight balls. You shielded your face, clenching your eyes shut. Another black eye did not sound good right now.

"I thought I told you not to take them!"

"They weren't even on your bed." You replied shakily. "I-I thought that maybe I could use them. Come on! I was freezing!"

"I told you not to." Zuko took a step towards you.

"Look, I'm sorry!" You blurted out. "I'm sorry for all the stuff I said to you. I don't know who you are as a person, I just know who you are from the reputation you have. I have no right to say things like that to anybody, not just you. I was wrong, so, so very wrong. I wish I could take back everything I said, but I can't." You whimpered weakly, a tear coming out of your eye. "I-I'm sorry."

Zuko looked down at you with disgust. "I knew you were a peasant. Look at you cowering."

You ignored him. You ignored his disgusted stare, knowing how pathetic you looked. This was better than a black eye, that's for sure.

But then Zuko whispered, "Are you really that afraid of me?"

You opened your eye, seeing his features soften. He wasn't angry like he was before.

"Yes."

Zuko looked away, his features turning back to his little poker face. "Good." His voice betrayed him. He didn't sound proud of your fear towards him.

You waited for Zuko to walk out of the room, and you sighed in relief. Your hair was wild in tangles, since you slept on the floor, and your heart was pounding from the rude awakening.

You took a moment to catch your breath. You swore you saw your life flash before your eyes. You've only seen Zuko that mad once, and that was in the show when Iroh pissed him off. Steam was all over the room! But he's never been that angry before, and it was worse because his anger was directed at you.

You lay back on the floor, closing your eyes. However, just as you relaxed, Zuko came barging in again. This time, he looked more relaxed.

"Get dressed." He ordered simply, tossing some thick tunics at you. "You're getting off here."

"What?" You sat up in a heartbeat.

"We're at the Southern Waters. The nearest tribe we find, we'll drop you off."

You sighed in relief. "That's good to hear."

Zuko glared at you. "That makes two of us. I'll be outside practicing with Uncle. I don't know when we'll find the next tribe; I just know we're near."

Once he left, you got dressed quickly. He must be near the part when he sees the avatar beam. That meant you were going to meet the avatar just hours from now! How exciting that was! Sokka was hilarious and make this entire ordeal much better, and maybe Katara could help you get things together. Why have you come here? Was there something you had to do?

You walked out onto the deck, feeling only a little chilly in the warm tunic Zuko gave you. Iroh was giving Zuko a lesson, just like in the first episode.

You sat next to Iroh, watching them do the lesson. Zuko went against two soldiers and he easily won. Even you could tell he was getting very annoyed.

Then Zuko got mad at Iroh, like in the show. You looked up into the skies, keeping an eye out for the beam to come. Suddenly, it came.

You could hear those walruses things howl like dogs before it came. Every member on the ship looked to see what caused the noise, and then the beam was lit into the air, almost like a firework but not as chaotic.

Zuko said, "The avatar."

Then the beam went out. "Follow the beam!" Zuko ordered, still staring where the beam was. "The avatar's over there. He has to be."

"Isn't the avatar supposed to be some old guy?" You wondered aloud. Iroh chuckled.

"He's been alive for a hundred years. He would be lucky to have lived that long."

"That's why I need more challenging lessons, Uncle." Zuko said angrily. "If I need to face the avatar, I need to be ready. All these basics won't help me. He probably has all the elements mastered!"

Only air, you thought to yourself.

After awhile of Zuko arguing with Iroh, Zuko went to the front of the ship with the eye instrument that let him see. Like a binocular, only with one eye. You didn't know what it was called at the moment. A telescope?

It was a long time before Zuko said something interesting. The rest of the times were false alarms. But then he said something familiar, "I found the avatar." He paused. "And his hideout. That coward's hundred years of hiding is over!"

You looked past him to see the southern water tribe at a great distance. There were little beams of smoke coming from it, from fires, and you could see igloos surrounding the tribe. You looked to the right to see the huge fire nation ship in the ice, where Aang and Katara must've shot out a fire nation help signal.

Aang was going to get kicked out of the village. But then he'd come back at the right moment. You remembered that.

Maybe it would be cool if you talked to Aang in private before he fought. The idea of talking to the avatar made butterflies swarm in your stomach. Perhaps he knew why you had come here!

Without even thinking, you took one of the emergency life boats and threw it in the water. It landed heavily, but upright. Zuko barely noticed before you jumped out, hoping you'd land right in it.

"Hey!" Zuko shouted, right as you jumped out.

"Good riddance!" You shouted back, your voice breaking off once you flew in mid-air. But then you landed perfectly in the life boat. There was a long oar for you to steer with. Somehow you knew how to steer it, which was odd because these oars were different than the ones in your world. The entire life boat was shaped differently, too. Not by a lot, but it still was.

"She stole my boat!" You could hear Zuko shouting on his ship. You hurried towards the glacier-like land, the boat crashing violently into the icy shore.

You didn't waste your time running towards the tribe. It wasn't hard to find. Voices were easy to be heard in this barren wasteland, and you could hear the villagers from a mile away.

However, just as you turned a corner, you ran into something huge, bulky, and hair.

Could it be….?

"Sorry! Appa didn't see you coming!"


Don't you just love cliff hangers, when a chapter ends rather abruptly? I hate them when I'm reading a story, but I love them when writing!

Mwahahahaha :D I'm evil, aren't I?

So? How'd you like the chapter? Is Zuko too mean? Well guess what? He was very mean in the beginning, if you don't recall. He was always grumpy in the first episodes, probably the entire first season and half the second, because he had many issues going on. So if you're looking for a nice, gentleman like Zuko, then you won't see him until part two. You will start liking Zuko in part one, near the middle, but he won't really start to return those feelings until part 2, where the romance REALLY begins. Like I said, Part 1 will be probably only 10 chapters long, it'll be very short. It'll be just about you finding out why you came into the avatar world and getting accustomed. And then you start developing feelings for the banished prince.

How romantic, right? ;)

Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews! You all rock! Here's a shout out to all my beautiful reviewers:

xxoholly14: Sorry, but to be honest I don't remember you. I don't remember anything from the reviewers from the original. Sorry! I suck at remembering stuff. Hell, I could forget my birthday if I wasn't reminded. Gosh I feel terrible! D: But I'll remember you now! Thank you for reviewing the original, and now this one! I'm truly flattered! I hope you liked the chapter! :)

WhiteWolfz100: I love the story, too! Glad we have mutual feelings!

ElDragonRojoX: Thanks! I had to work on a selfish, jerk-like Zuko. I've stopped watching the first episodes long ago, because there are so many other ones, and I kind of find the kind and considerate Zuko VERY hot. But I love all Zuko's, even the mean one in the beginning xD Sorry if I got some wording wrong, I don't have the episodes at hand so I can't remember every single work coming out of their mouth. Thanks for the review!

Destiny: Me either :D I wanna get started on it now, but I must wait. Thanks for the review, Destiny!

Amri Ishvique: Yes it's hard to say it, right? It's technically everybody, but I wanted all my beautiful readers to find this more personal. When I first started reading fanfiction, I used to copy a story that I really liked, put it on microsoft word, and took out a character's name and replaced it with mine. It was like making me feel like I was really into the story. And after writing so many OC's for avatar, I decided to do something different. To let everyone join in! :D Thanks for the review!

purpleexplodingpandas: Wow. I really like your pen name xD how'd you come up with that? THANK YOU! I feel so bad for telling the girl who had Playing With Heat off, but oh well. Gotta move on, right? I hope she forgives me, though! I forgive her. But thank you so much. I'll never forget your pen name.

See all those beautiful people? They rock :3 Of course all the beautiful people who read my stories rock! I'm not going to beg for reviews, since almost everybody does, so if you have time feel free to leave one. :D If you don't, then don't worry about it. I'll update anyway.

Until next time, people! Stay beautiful!

:)SmilinForYa:)

PS: I have a surprise for you people next chapter :D You'll see soon enough!