AN: Thank you for the reviews! I love hearing from you guys since it really helps to know if I'm taking this story in the right direction. Enjoy!

Katara's family walked into their small home on a hot Sunday afternoon, still chatting about another exhilarating pro-bending match that they listened to on their neighbour's radio. Sokka and Hakoda hastily made their way to the living room to relax and listen to some blues on their record player, while Katara went towards her bedroom.

"I'll go and get dinner started, Dad," Katara yelled over her shoulder.

"Oh, Katara!" Sokka called out, jumping from the couch. "This came for you," he said, placing a letter in his sister's hands.

"Who's it from?" she asked before looking at the return address. Not waiting for her brother's response, Katara read the name of the sender in the top left corner, and couldn't help the large smile that took over her face as she read: "Haru". She ran a hand over his neat cursive, before her demeanor quickly shifted.

"Sokka, why am I just getting this now?"

"I was out with friends by the time you got home last night. I forgot to give it to you. Sorry."

Katara didn't waste another moment questioning her brother. Running into her room, she kicked her door shut before jumping on her bed. Lying on her stomach, she took a deep breath as she began to open the small beige envelope. The anticipation of Haru's words became more unbearable by the moment, in her excitement she wanted to rip the envelope to shreds, but restrained herself. She took a deep breath before reading his letter filled with details of his family, the Earth Kingdom and his earlier than expected return.

She reflected on just how much had changed in the two weeks Haru had been away. However, those thoughts were soon pushed out as she remembered the prospect of Haru returning in a couple of weeks. She had missed talking to him, always eager to listen and help her; she thought of him often as well. Katara's dreamy reflections on the sweet and romantic Haru were interrupted by a quick knocking on her bedroom door.

"Come in," Katara said as she quickly shoved the letter under her pillow.

"Hey sweetheart," Hakoda said, stepping in. He paused for a moment. "Why are you still in your good clothes?"

"Just resting a minute, Dad," she replied, sitting up and subtly pushing the pillow back farther.

"Oh, sorry to bother you. Could you run a quick errand for me, sweet pea?"

"Sure."

"Great. Could you go down to the pharmacy and pick up my prescription?" Hakoda rubbed his sore back. "I'm really aching today."

"Yeah, let me change, and put the arctic hen in the oven for dinner."

Hakoda gave his daughter a quick smile before he exited her small bedroom.

As soon as Hakoda left her room, Katara walked to her small wooden dresser with the letter and envelope in hand. With great care, she placed the letter back inside the envelope, tucking it away underneath some clothing.

Zuko and his gang had just finished eating a large lunch at Jinpao's Teahouse, and were now making their way to the repair shop to pick up Jian's wristwatch. The four boys walked in a line that nearly took up the entire sidewalk. However, there was no one around to object, for the area was just about deserted. Around this time, most people were in their homes preparing or enjoying Sunday dinners with their families.

Jian lit his second cigarette as he continued taunting Zhu. "Miyuki? C'mon, that's slumming. I can't believe that's all you've been getting lately," he nearly cackled.

"Shut up Jian! Remember that broad, Star, you hooked up with a couple of weeks ago?"

Chang snickered. "Hey, I don't think he wants to be reminded!"

"Screw you guys!" Jian said, spitting on the hot pavement.

Zuko listened to the banter of his friends, chuckling as they recounted their recent "lady friends".

Chang nudged Zuko in the rib. "You've been awfully quiet, Zuko. Score with Mai lately?" Jian and Zhu grew silent, anxious for Zuko's reply.

"Nah," Zuko shrugged nonchalantly.

"And why the hell not?"

"She annoys me to no end, I can't stand her anymore. What I'd give to take back those…instances." Even uttering her name left a sour taste in his mouth.

His friends looked at him like he was a mad man; they would do just about anything to go on a single date with the notoriously picky Mai. There was no shortage of men pining after the wealthy girl, who shot down every one of them. Zuko knew that many men would consider themselves lucky to "earn" a shot with Mai...but he considered himself cursed.

"Zuko, who gives a shit if she 'annoys' you?" Jian asked. "She's hot, that cancels out just about everything else."

Chang and Zhu nodded, voicing various affirmatives.

"No." Zuko shook his head vehemently. "Her seemingly sweet voice is like nails running down a chalk board. Her outwardly soft touch is like scalding acid…you guys can have her."

Chang let out a puff of smoke. "What, are you a poet now?"

His friends continued to laugh at Zuko's remark; if only they were so lucky as to have Mai! They soon switched topics, gossiping about the latest news at the dojo. On joining the conversation, Zuko decided to join his friends in a smoke as well. Digging into his pockets, he swallowed an explicative as he found them empty…yet again. He mentally backtracked, and concluded that the carton must have fallen on route from the teahouse.

"Hey guys, I think I dropped my cigs a few corners back, I'll catch up."

The three boys waved Zuko off as he retraced his steps rather quickly. He found the carton in no time, letting out a sigh of relief once he spotted the nearly full pack in the middle of the sidewalk. As he bent down, he heard a voice call his name from the doorway of a clothing store.

"Zuko?"

He stood up, finding his friend Takumi, a buddy whom he sparred with on a regular basis.

"Takumi, how are you doing?" Zuko smiled as the friends exchanged a brief pat on the back.

"Ah, nothing much. Just picking up some things for my mom," he said, lifting up the pair of paper bags he clutched. "I haven't seen you in the ring lately."

Zuko paused, looking down the corner, wondering how far his friends would get if he continued his conversation with Takumi. He finally concluded that he'd catch up with them eventually.

Katara quickly walked to the back of the pharmacy, stopping at the large counter where the prescriptions were dispensed. She couldn't see any of the pharmacists, and she really was in a hurry. Impatiently, she tapped the small golden bell which lay to her right, hoping someone would come to assist her soon.

"Coming!" An out of breath Mrs. Wu appeared a few moments later, grabbing the counter for support. Her face lit up when she saw her favorite customer. "Ah, Katara. How are you doing, dear?"

"Just fine, in a bit of a rush though. I'm here for Dad's prescription."

Mrs. Wu disappeared, whistling a tune. She came back with a small paper bag, containing Hakoda's pills. "Is that it, dear?"

"Yes ma'am," Katara said, handing the woman the exact cash as she took the prescription.

"How's your father doing? Not working too hard, is he?"

"I think it's impossible for him to do so," Katara quipped, laughing. "But he's doing well, just the occasional back pain."

"I heard you got a job down at Ozai's estate?" Mrs. Wu continued, ignoring the fact that Katara had mentioned she was in a hurry.

"Yes, ma'am I did. I really enjoy it compared to waitressing."

"That's good, you're such a hard worker, compared to the laziness I see in young people today," Mrs. Wu remarked clicking her tongue.

"I try, ma'am."

"And may I add, you're looking very lovely today, Miss Katara," the older woman winked.

Katara looked down at her favorite dress. A light blue piece, that drew in at her waist, before tapering, and ending at her knees. In a hurry to reach the pharmacy before the early Sunday closing hours, she had just thrown her hair up, but thanked the kind woman for her compliment nonetheless.

Walking out of the small and cold pharmacy, Katara smiled as the sun's rays greeted her, accompanied with a gentle breeze. The bus stop was a couple of blocks away, but Katara didn't mind the walk in the midst of beautiful weather. Placing her father's medication in her bag, she checked her purse to make sure that she would have enough money for the bus fare to take her home.

Preoccupied with the contents of her full handbag, Katara didn't notice the small bump on the sidewalk. Completely miscalculating her next step, she tripped over the pesky bump, her handbag flying from her arms. Luckily, she fell rather lightly, but all the contents in her bag spilled out onto the empty sidewalk. Katara resisted voicing a strain of expletives as she bent down to pick up the numerous contents which now lay in the street.

She heard a group approaching her, and tried not to hinder their movement as she moved to the side. She was forced to look up however when a cigarette butt came crashing down mere inches from her hands, crushed into the pavement by a large brown dress shoe. Looking up, Katara's eyes widened to the size of saucers, as she recognized the stranger in an instant. Oh no, please no….

"Hey, look, Zhu," Jian turned, yelling back to his friends. "It's that bitch waitress who spilled that tea on Zuko…where is he anyway?"

"Yeah, I remember the broad," Zhu replied, looking down at the spilled contents that littered the street.

Chang walked over to a small book that lay a few feet from Katara: Love Amongst the Dragons. He picked it up, as he leafed through it quickly.

"Jian, Zhu; you know if coloreds read?"

Katara jumped up, afraid that he would damage the book. She had bought it with her own money, and it was a rarity when she had the extra money to buy things for recreation.

"Stop it!" she exclaimed, lunging for the book which Chang held out, teasing her. He moved out of her reach swiftly, as Katara barely recovered her footing. He knocked his head back, letting out a roaring laugh as he tossed the book to Zhu.

Katara didn't want to jump towards Zhu as well, for she knew the boys would just keep tossing it to each other. They will not reduce me to "hog-monkey in the middle"! Katara stood rooted in horror as she watched Zhu rip off the cover, and proceed in ripping out the pages as well while also setting some of the pages alight. Chang and Jian watched, laughing hysterically. At times like this, she really wished she developed her bending skills.

"What you gonna do about it, bitch?" Zhu asked smiling; it was no fun unless he provoked a reaction.

Katara wanted to cry, as she watched the destruction of her book. Why where these men humiliating her yet again? Hadn't they had their fill at the teahouse? What had she ever done to them?

Jian picked up the small purse that lay near his feet, as he watched Katara's chest moving rapidly, in a vain attempt to control her emotions. He clutched onto the bag tighter, as Katara moved toward him. Jian took in account her figure in her cheap dress, and briefly gave her a thorough once over.

"You're not that disgusting for a colored," he said, licking his lips with a smile. The husky tone made Katara's stomach knot.

"Give it back to me, you filthy pig!" Katara yelled as she went to reach for her bag; it was more important than her book.

"Whoa, we've got a feisty one fellas!" Jian piped up, turning to his snickering friends. He spun to avoid Katara's reach. "Yeah, you ain't that bad at all," he added gutturally, moving a hand to her hip.

Finally, at her breaking point, Katara spat in his face as she grabbed her bag, with unexpected ferocity, she bended a small water whip to his face from the water in a nearby puddle. The feel of his thick hand on her hip revolted her, and she would not tolerate the humiliation for another moment…no matter the consequences. Chang and Zhu took large steps back, simultaneously sucking in a large breath.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Jian roared, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve. He took hold of Katara's small wrist with such momentum and force, that she fell to her knees in pain as his hand began to heat up.

She dared to look him in his eye, as she bit her lip to suspend the hot tears which threatened to burn her cheeks. She looked around to see if anyone was nearby, but the streets were completely empty; not even the engine of a car could be heard in the distance.

"You, nasty piece of Water Tribe filth," he said, spitting next to her.

"Go to hell!" Katara said with much more confidence and control than she felt.

Jian raised his hand to smack the waterbender across her face, and back into her place, when a great force toppled his body against the hot pavement.

Zuko had finished his conversation with Takumi, happy that he had the opportunity to catch up with his sparring buddy. Saying good-bye to his friend, Zuko finally lit his first cigarette of the day, when he took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the weather. He figured that his friends were already in the repair shop by now, so he took his time taking the necessary turns to get there.

He reached the corner before the shop, when he heard the cackling of his friends. Zuko smiled and shook his head as his imagination drifted to the possible topics they could be discussing now. However, it was when he heard the screaming of a woman that he became alarmed. Jogging to turn the corner, Zuko found his friends, but he found Katara too. On the sidewalk, various items were strewn about, with Chang and Zhu off to the side their arms crossed, sitting back like they were watching a show. Next, Zuko's vision locked onto Jian, and the death grip he had Katara trapped in. Zuko's legs were glued to the pavement, his mind quickly analyzing the situation. Jian was a big guy, and compared to Katara's small stature, he may as well have been a giant. The wrathful combination of automatic rage took over Zuko's body, as he dropped his cigarette, charging at Jian with all the might he could muster.

Before he knew it, Zuko was on top of Jian, both sprawled on the hot pavement. He could hear Katara's shrieks mingle with Zhu and Chang's shouts. Katara scrambled away from the two men who lay on top of one another, clutching her slightly burned wrist, thankful that she was free from Jian's painful grip. Zhu and Chang got up with a start, wondering when Zuko had found them and why he had tackled Jian. Jian pushed Zuko off him, as they both shot up into standing position.

"What the fuck, man!" he yelled, shoving Zuko in the chest, sending him back a few paces.

Zuko pushed him back even harder, still furious as he yelled, "Were you about to hit a woman?"

"She spat at me and used waterbending on me, I needed to teach her a lesson!" Jian hissed as he looked at Katara, who watched the encounter wide-eyed.

Zuko's eyes narrowed. What had he walked into? "Don't look at her, you're dealing with me!"

Jian spat out some blood which salted his mouth. His head began to ache from the sudden impact it had endured. "Are you crazy! What do you care? She's just a barbaric bitch. Hell, you'd think—"

Jian didn't have the time to finish his insulting tirade on Katara, for Zuko's right fist collided with his jaw, a cracking sound resulting before the two ended up on top of each other once again. Zuko was able to get a few punches into Jian's ribs before he was pulled off, kicking, by two strangers.

Once Chang and Zhu saw Zuko was restrained, they picked up the now bloodied Jian from the sidewalk, looking at Zuko in fear and confusion. Osamu, the Fire Nation owner of the watch repair shop, and his son, had heard the commotion from their store, when they came out to see the fight.

"Zuko! What the fuck is wrong with you?" Jian hardly got out, fluid over taking his throat before he spat out even more blood.

Zuko looked back at Katara, who stood frozen in fear. Was she afraid of him?

"You're a fucking prick!" Zuko finally responded.

"Fuck you, man!"

Zuko tried to get a running start at Jian again, when Osamu and his son tightened their grip on him, yanking him back with full force.

"Agni, Zuko, calm down!" Chang yelled finally regaining his voice.

"You all make me sick!" Zuko spat. "Get off me!" he yelled at Osamu and his son, who immediately backed away with their hands up. Zuko was as hot as a firecracker.

Zuko took another look at Katara, who had picked up her bag, still looking frightened.

Osamu addressed the colored girl he hadn't noticed until that moment. "What are you doing here young lady?"

"They were attacking her!" Zuko yelled, before Katara could respond.

"Zuko, stop being irrational! We're your friends!"

"Get gone, girl!" Osamu yelled at the mute colored. She was obviously the starting point of this conflict, and he didn't want her prolonging it.

Katara stayed in her place, still shocked by everything that had unfolded; Osamu's words did not register.

"Are you deaf, girl? I said get gone!"

Without further encouragement, Katara gave Zuko one last look of gratitude before she fled.

Zuko watched her scurry away, "Katara!" he called. She ignored his call, and his gaze fell on the ripped and burnt pages of what must have been her book, and his anger boiled up once again.

"You know her?" Zhu asked.

Zuko turned to Jian and pointed a finger at the young man who was hunched over in pain. Osamu quickly stood in front of Zuko, pushing his finger away.

"You get going too, before I wise up and phone the police."

"If the cops need to be called, it's on them," Zuko said pointing once again. His statement resulted in three dirty looks from the guys who he once considered to be his friends.

Osamu brought his voice down to a quiet hush, addressing Zuko solely. "No need to be getting the police involved because of…her. You hear? Now I know you're heated, and I don't know what you all have going on with that girl, but don't let some peasant land you cooling off in a cell for the night, you understand?" The older gentleman finished, placing a hand on Zuko's shoulder.

Zuko's vision clouded with anger as he violently shook off Osamu's hand and made his way to go find Katara.

"Katara?" He called out, running up and down various avenues even when it became evident that she was long gone. Zuko wanted to see if she was all right; he could only imagine how bruised and scarred her wrist must have been from Jians heated grip.

After turning a few corners, and calling for her more than several times, he finally gave up. Trudging to his car, he ultimately felt defeated. He rested an arm on the roof of his convertible, and laid his head on top, filled with just a barrel of confusion and various other emotions. With his head resting on the car, Zuko missed Katara's gaze follow him from her standing position on the public bus.

Sokka had been pacing the kitchen floor for the past five minutes, as his father and sister sat at the kitchen table, both in silence. Katara had returned from what should have been a quick stop at the pharmacy, bruised, scraped and burned. Hakoda and Sokka had nearly jumped over the couch when they saw the state of her. She had recounted her run in with the three boys to them, trying her best not to cry. When she had finished, she looked at her father who had remained silent for most of the recollection.

"Who the fuck do those rich firebenders punks think they are?" Sokka continued his tirade, wearing a hole into the kitchen floor.

"You watch yourself Sokka!" Hakoda finally snapped at his son's speech. "Your mother wouldn't tolerate that language, and neither will I."

"Dad, did you even look at Katara? You can see the imprint of a hand wrapped around her wrist. The scrapes on her knees aren't bad, but they're still there! Give me a shot at them, and we'll see what they look like!"

"Sokka, please!" Katara sniffled. "I'm fine, I promise. I'm just making a big deal out of nothing."

"No, Katara!" Sokka yelled, slamming a fist on the small wooden table. "Katara, for once, you don't have to be strong for us. Let us be there for you. You know what…I'm going down to the police station right now!"

"Son, sit down," Hakoda commanded his child.

"Dad, I'm not gonna let them treat my sister like that in public, and get away with it! Why are you not furious? They attacked your daughter!"

"Sokka! You better sit your skinny butt down this instant, or so help me!" Hakoda yelled, the aggression in his usually soft voice startling Katara.

Sokka took a deep breath as he pulled a chair out.

"No one is going down to the police station."

"But—"

"Hush. Think things through for once! What will you accomplish by going down there, huh? Those four rich Fire Nation boys? No punishment or justice will come to them; we all know it to be true." Hakoda sucked his teeth. "Not a darn thing is going to be resolved by you busting into that station, huffing and puffing."

Sokka crossed his arms.

"Now, our family has been through worse. We'll keep our chin up, pride intact. Katara is a strong young woman. We're not gonna let some four hotheads reduce this family to disparity…not after everything we've been through," Hakoda affirmed, his voice cracking under the intensity.

"Dad, it was only three of them."

"Does it make a difference, Katara?"

"It's only because of Zuko that you don't see a hand print across my face as well. That brute was ready to hurt me, but Zuko didn't give him the chance. He really saved me, who knows what would have happened if he didn't show up?"

"Thank La he did." Hakoda said sullenly, the thought that his daughter wasn't even safe in broad daylight terrified him. "He didn't have to do that, and it took a lot of guts for him to take on his friends like that."

Katara wiped her eyes. "Yeah, I like him."

Hakoda and Sokka snapped their gaze to Katara.

"One noble act doesn't change him or his family," Sokka snarled.

"Then what does it do Sokka?" Katara asked, she too becoming angry.

Her brother remained silent.

"How dare you slander him like that, when he was the only one to come to my aid."

Sokka hung his head.

"I've concluded that he is a decent man, not the perfect one, mind you. And he deserves our gratitude if nothing else. He can't help the color of his skin or his bending nature, but you can help your rudeness."

"Katara is right, of course." Hakoda concluded the discussion, seeing that tension was quickly rising. "I think we're all tired. Let's just take it easy tonight."

Zuko had gotten home about ten minutes ago, walking right past the living room trudging up the stairs to the second floor. Aang and Azula had been playing cards and listening to the radio when they saw Zuko come in, his knuckles bloodied. They followed him up the stairs, calling his name, gaining no response.

When Zuko finally got to his bedroom, he finally acknowledged his sister and friend. Shutting the door, he told them why he looked the way he did, and what had happened to Katara. Azula and Aang sat on Zuko's bed, listening to him recount the details.

"Oh Agni, poor Katara!" Azula exclaimed, covering her mouth as she heard what had happened to her maid and friend.

Aang was silent, fixing his gaze on Zuko's window, shocked to the same extent as Azula. "It looks like you got Jian good," he finally spoke up, referring to Zuko's bloodied knuckles.

"Not nearly good enough!"

"Zuko calm down, please. Someone will hear. You don't want father to find out, do you? You're lucky he's gone for the weekend or else…you know he already thinks you're reckless."

"I don't care what father thinks! I prefer he consider me reckless, than a coward who would watch an innocent woman be assaulted by a man twice her size! You know how small Katara is, and Jian is nearly a mountain! She looked so scared…" Zuko's voice trailed as he turned his back on Aang and Azula who shared a confused look.

"And the worst part is," he continued, "they're gonna get away with it, and they'd do it again if given the chance."

"You've seen their true colors Zuko, it's not your duty to associate with them after this."

"Hell, Jian will be lucky if I don't kick his ass again when I see him at school tomorrow!"

"If what you said you did to him is true…I don't think he'll be able to make it to school," Aang quipped.

"I wonder how Katara is," Azula added thoughtfully. "Zuko," Azula said standing, "your knuckles, let me clean them."

"No, I'm fine."

Azula ignored him as she walked into his bathroom to get some water and anything to clean the wounds.

Aang looked at Zuko, who stared out the window, hand on his hip.

"Zuko I've never seen you this way about anyone—I mean… anything before."

"I couldn't watch her be brutalized."

Aang looked at Zuko, as he heard Azula run the tap in his bathroom. "Zuko, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Zuko looked at Aang, afraid to utter another word.

"Ready?" Azula said, walking in. "Sit down Zuko."

He voiced no complaint as he sat in between Aang and Azula. His sister picked up his right hand, and proceeded to clean it.

"You better hope father doesn't find out."

"No…he will," Aang commented lightly.

Azula gave him a quick glare, as Zuko remained silent.

"It was a noble thing, Zuko, what you did for Katara. I'm sure she's thankful."

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Aang looked down at his hands as Azula remained silent.

All Aang could think about the rest of the day was Zuko's last statement: what was happening to his friend?

Katara woke up Monday morning, dreading going to work and having to face Zuko. She didn't want to admit it; but she was thoroughly embarrassed. Katara kept reminding herself that Zuko considered those three pigs his friends; how different was he? A couple of kind conversations and similarities didn't mean anything significant…did it?

Mercifully, Jin asked few questions on the car ride to the estate, and Katara silently went about her chores. She didn't see Zuko that morning, she figured that he had left for class early. Perhaps he was avoiding her too…

Humming a comforting hymn, she walked up the spiral staircase to Zuko's bedroom to put his clean laundry back in his drawers. She actually smiled when she saw that his room was clean for once, and she wouldn't have to do too much cleaning. She was thankful even for the small blessings.

She went about putting the clothing in the appropriate drawers, as she looked out at the ashtray on the balcony and it was…empty? Usually she had to empty it every two days, but she had been noticing that Zuko had been smoking a little less lately. Finished with the clothing, she looked at his bed which looked messier than usual. She shook her head as she approached the bed, still baffled that anyone could stand such a mess.

She walked to the linen closet on the hall, getting a new set of red sheets which complimented the shade of red on his canopy bed. She started off with the pillow covering, but as she lifted the large pillow, she noticed something under it. She picked up the small book which appeared under the pillow: Love Amongst the Dragons. She sighed sadly, remembering that her own copy had been destroyed yesterday, she was happy at least that Zuko was reading it. Judging from the little bit she had read, she considered it a good read.

Katara examined the book a little more closely, and realized that it must have been brand new; not a single page frayed or torn, with the spine perfectly intact. Curious, she picked it up, opening the cover. She blinked rapidly several times, sure that what she was seeing was a mirage of some sort. Neatly inscribed in black ink, Katara read:

For Katara, hope you don't miss the old one too much – Zuko.

Katara sat on the bed, holding the book in her now trembling hands…Zuko had bought her a book? Not only did he come to her rescue yesterday afternoon, but he was moved enough to replace her destroyed book.

"My goodness…," she said to herself as she flipped through the several pages. She truly was moved; it was a very kind and unexpected gesture. Boy…I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover. He's nothing like those boys.

Zuko sat in his history class, his head in the clouds. The entire period he had wondered if Katara had found the book he bought for her. He left the bed extra messy that morning just to draw her attention to it. He fondly remembered the events of last night after Azula had cleaned his knuckles.

"Jee!" Zuko addressed the off duty chauffer who sat in the kitchen.

"Yes sir?"

"Come here," Zuko said, standing in the living room, as the tall chauffer quickly made his way to him.

"Don't worry; you're not in trouble," Zuko assured the man once he was in front of him. "Follow me."

Zuko led him to the foyer, making sure no one was around. "Alright, I need you to run an errand for me."

"Of course, sir."

"I need you to go to town and buy a book."

"A book?" Jee nearly exclaimed, unable to mask his surprise.

"I know, I know, but yes, a book." Zuko pulled out a small slip of paper from his pocket, handing it to the chauffer.

"Listen, I don't care if you have to go to the next town over, visit every bookshop in the damn county. I want the book tonight."

Jee looked at the paper quizzically. "Of course sir, anything else?"

"No, but make sure it's that one," he said, pointing at the paper in Jee's hand. "This is very important to me. Oh, don't tell anyone…it's a gift for someone."

"Of course, I'll get going then, sir."

Zuko patted the chauffer on the back. "I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

Zuko was snapped out of his memory when he heard the professor angrily calling his name from the front of the room.

"Zuko! Would you be so kind as to answer the question?"

Zuko looked around the room, all eyes on him. How long had he zoned out for? "Sorry sir, could you repeat it?"

Rolling his eyes, the professor posed the question to another student who was more alert, as the rest of the class refocused their attention to their textbooks. Zuko was able to concentrate for the remaining thirty minutes of the class; however, his mind did occasionally drift to his plan.

Zuko was the first one to flee the classroom, not wasting any time socializing in the courtyard. He couldn't help but notice the whispers that followed him all the way to the parking lot, the same way they had when he walked into class. He was well aware that he'd be the school's hottest gossip until the end of the week.

Approaching his car, Zuko found Mai waiting for him, checking her hair in the side mirrors. Rolling his eyes as he audibly scoffed, Mai jolted rod straight.

"Zuko," she said frowning.

"What is it now, Mai?" Zuko asked, standing next to his car.

"What happened yesterday?" she asked, pouting.

Zuko pulled the keys out of his pants pocket. "Oh, you mean you haven't heard?" he nearly snarled sarcastically.

"Don't be like that, Zuko. Tell me what happened, we can talk, right?"

"Agni, Mai, I'm not in the mood, okay!" Zuko ran a hand over his face to try and calm down a little as he watched Mai winced at his brashness.

"What's been wrong with you lately, Zuko? Things haven't been the same between us." She took a step towards him, as Zuko reacted taking a step backwards.

Finally, he had had enough of Mai and her persistence. "Mai, just leave me alone! I don't know how direct I must be to make you realize that I want nothing to do with you. This 'us' you keep talking about, doesn't exist!" Zuko could see the moisture collecting on her eyelids, but he wasn't through. "I'll be polite when your family is over, but I don't want to talk to you anywhere else. Now I'm sorry it had to come to this." Zuko finally opened his car door. "But I'm through and I'm sick of dropping hints."

As Mai's first teardrop fell, Zuko felt like a boulder had been lifted from his shoulders. He jumped into the driver's seat, starting the engine. Mai stood next to the car still, pretending that the conversation wasn't over. When she saw that Zuko was serious about the end of what she considered to be a relationship, she knocked on his windows as people began to take notice.

"Zuko, you can't do this!" she fussed. "You can't just end things like this!"

What the hell is wrong with this woman? "Mai, get the hell out of my way, unless you want your feet run over!"

Zuko pulled out of the parking spot like a bat out of hell, his tires screeching all the way off the campus. Mai jumped back, as she watched Zuko speed off, a couple of students jumping out of his way. She wanted to let out a scream for him to come back, but she knew he was long gone. She tried to control her emotions and put on a cold, stoic face. Turning to make her way back to her car, she spotted the Aang gawking at her.

Narrowing her eyes marred by smudged make-up at Zuko's lanky friend, she threw her head back, stomping off in a furry.