Disclaimer: I own nothing…
I know what you're all thinking, "SHE FINALLY UPDATED!!!"
Hehehe...
Where is she? Jet thought to himself. While still somehow managing to look calm and collected without drawing attention to himself or unconsciously gathering fangirls, he inspected the halls carefully for her. From the little incident that morning. Jet just felt pretty horrible and disappointed with himself, not to mention regretful. How his manly pride had reduced down to being forced to carry out stupid orders and commands by his so-called girlfriend, he would never know. But, right now, all that consumed his thoughts was that he had to look for the girl he had hurt and to apologize to her. He dashed around the corner and spotted Sokka and Suki.
"'Ey Sokka!" Jet called out and walked over. "Have you seen your sister?"
The two males may have been on the same team and all, but Sokka had always hated Jet since the day they first met, and even more since the day he found out that his baby sister was infatuated with his aloof teammate. Sokka eyed Jet suspiciously, and after a long pause, he finally replied, "Why?"
"Let's just say, I need to talk to her about something" Jet implied. Almost instantly, Sokka took a dangerously close step toward Jet. "What'd you do to her?"
Despite that they were practically the same height, Sokka looked down on him and squinted his blue eyes.
"Hey, I didn't do anything go her! At least...not on my own will." Jet said, then stared back at him.
Suki looked back and forth between the two and began to feel awkward just standing there while the two boys stared each other down. She grinned nervously, "Okay okay guys, can you please down the testerone here?"
She pushed the two apart and back a couple steps, but their glares remained unfazed. She looked to Sokka, "Calm down Sokka" then turned around to Jet and gave him an answer, "Katara went off campus for lunch with Zuko."
"...Thanks..." Jet said, finally pulling away his glare and looked at her, "...Suki" and left.
"Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon." a female waitress greeted and led Zuko and Katara to a nearby table. All of a sudden, Zuko wrinkled his nose as he recognized the waitress' voice.
"Um, hi... Ji Yi" Zuko cautiously said, remembering what had happened last time he ran into her with Katara.
"Wow Zuko! Thanks for catching me!" Ji Yi said in an exaggerated manner, and looked over at Katara who scoffed.
"Uhm, no problem, I guess." Zuko replied and helped her back up and proceeded to it back down. But before he could, Ji Yi started talking again.
"You know, you have really muscular arms." Ji Yi complimented and tried to touch his arms again.
"Um, thank you?"
"Yeah, you know, if you ever wanna call or some-"
"Alright alright! We get it, lady." Katara interrupted, and pushed Ji Yi away from Zuko unconsciously.
"Psh, fine." Ji Yi mumbled under her breath, and when Katara wasn't looking, she quickly held her hand up to her ear in a "Call Me" signal and quickly dashed on back to the kitchen.
"Tch can you believe her? She's so naïve." Katara scoffed and folded her arms and sipped her tea. What she didn't see though, was Zuko's mouth slowly curve into a smirk as he suspected something.
"Katara?"
"Hmm?" Katara looked back up at Zuko with her facial expression back to normal.
"A-Are you jealous?" Zuko asked, trying to emphasize the word 'jealous'.
"What? Why would you think that?" Katara asked back innocently.
"Well, it's just that..."
"What"
"...Never mind."
It was not fun. But his train of thought was interrupted by Ji Yi's shrill voice, "Hey Zuko, ahem, Zuko's friend."
Zuko looked over across the table to Katara, in a way expecting her to snap something back at Ji Yi, much like last time.
But...she didn't. She didn't even say anything at all! Immediately, Zuko suspected something was wrong. After all, with Katara being a fairly predictable person, he knew the day she suddenly became unpredictable would be the day that he would know something was going on.
"Um, we'll order something a little later, thanks Ji Yi. And can you tell my uncle I said hi?" Zuko asked with a small gesture of his hands. She furrowed her brows and simply walked away.
Zuko's golden eyes then wandered over to Katara. She was looking down and playing with her fingernails, and her face lacked he usual bright smile she always had on, and her normally lit-up face looked quite pale. Zuko couldn't help but think something was definitely going on. "Katara?"
"..." She didn't look up.
"Katara?" he repeated.
Instantly, Katara raised he head and looked at Zuko wide-eyed. "Huh?"
"Are you okay? You seem...distracted..." he said, a serious look on his face.
"What? ...nothing's wrong..." she replied, avoiding his eye contact, "I'm not distracted."
"Alright, alright..." Zuko backed off. "If you say so."
Katara growled slightly under her breath, "Okay, I'll tell you. I guess I have been feeling a bit distracte--"
"Zuko! Katara! How nice to see my you two again!" Iroh exclaimed with a big smile and made his way to the two. In his hands was a small tray containing two cups and a steaming teapot.
Katara sighed to herself and put on a small grin for the jolly old man. "Hi Iroh, it's great to see you again too."
"Hi uncle. What's that?" Zuko pointed to the teapot his uncle had just set down on their table and took a small whiff. "Mm, it smells good."
"Heh, heh, I knew you would like it, my nephew." Iroh's grin became bigger, " It's my newest tea, this time with a secret ingredient! And I have to say, it's quite delectible!"
"Well, it definitely smells great," Katara closed her eyes and took in the delicious aroma.
"Yeah, thanks uncle," Zuko agreed and poured Katara and himself each a cup.
"Oh, it's my pleasure! Be sure to tell me what you think of it; I'll let you continue with your...date now." Iroh winked slyly at his nephew before heading back into the kitchen.
"Ahem, you'll have to excuse my uncle. You know how he can be." Zuko said, "Um, back to what you were saying..."
"Uh--nah, it was just...nothing" Katara shook her head.
"No, you can tell me Katara" he persuaded, "It's okay."
Katara looked up at her friend for encouragement, and her hesitant blue eyes locked in with Zuko's persistent gold ones. Sighing, she began to slowly explain, "Okay, um, well, this morning...I went to go look for Jet, you know...to ask him out."
"Uh huh," Zuko, even though he, quite reluctantly, had approved her asking that dirtbag out, understandingly nodded.
"Yeah, and I found him in the middle of a make-out session with Ty Lee." Katara felt hot, angry tears well up in her eyes, and muttered under her breath, "That slut."
Zuko listened carefully with concern as he watched the 'like' of his life go through so much anguish, especially if she was breaking down from just explaining what had happened. And from the looks of it, she had yet to tell him the worst part.
"...go on..."
She blinked a couple times to try holding her tears from coming any further. "They saw me staring and Jet, not even Ty Lee, but Jet said something to me."
"..." Zuko looked at her intently.
Katara cleared her throat, "He asked if I was still 'stalking him' and called me a bitch..and that I'd be better off just taking a picture...said it'll last longer." She choked back on her tears, but let a single one fall.
She looked at Zuko for a response. Instead, she just found him still looking at her, this time more intensely. She looked down and took her first sip, "Wow, this is really good."
Zuko broke off his gaze and shook his head at her, "I don't believe this... He actually said that?"
Katara feebly nodded, and began playing with her nails again.
Zuko quickly came to a sudden realization. If what Jet said was the cause of all the pain that was shown on Katara's face throughout her explanation, then... "I'm going to kill that bastard."
"But you know,...in a way, I kind of feel like...I saw this coming, from a long time ago." Katara smiled bittersweetly, "I mean, who wouldn't with Ty Lee being his girlfriend."
"But--"
"Maybe Jet was just...way out of my league...and I'm just not worth it." she lowered her head, and another tear slid down her cheek. Abruptly, Zuko stood from his seat, walked around the table to Katara and stood her up. Grabbing her firmly by the arms, he looked at her straight in the eye.
"Katara! You and I both know that that's complete platypus-bearshit. If that son of a bird, or any other guy for that matter, can't see the wonderful and beautiful person that you are, then they're the ones that's not worth it." Zuko reassured, wiping Kayara's tears with his thumb, getting lost in her shiny ocean blue irises.
Katara calmed down, a barely noticeable smile appeared on her face.
"And besides, I bet there are a million and six guys out there that are ten times better than that prick. Ones who will treat you better." Zuko said, praying his mind that it'll hopefully lift up spirits, "and they'll make you feel like the most special person in the world."
Katara's smile widened slightly at the thought of someone like that. Her Prince Charming would sweep her off her feet and ride away with her in a royal carriage into the sunset. He'd spread all his time with her and shower her with sweet kisses everyday.
Like Zuko's a few months ago, huh? a little voice in the back of her mind giggled.
What?
Hey, I'm just saying...
She stopped listening to the voice and replied, "What if that guy never shows up?"
"He will...and for all you know, he could even be at this very shop right now..." Zuko silently gulped, slightly hoping she would catch what he was trying to imply.
"O-Oh..." Katara uttered and the two found themselves unconsciously leaning closer to each other, their faces just mere inches apart.
"...and you might just not know it yet..." Zuko breathed, his hot breath tickled her lips as their eyes both gradually started close...
"So Zuko! Katara! What'd you--" Iroh burst out of the kitchen happily, until he saw what the two teens were in the middle of and his smile was quickly replaced with a sly and devious grin, "--think of my new tea?"
Zuko and Katara swiftly separated from each other, both feeling slightly disappointed, at the sound of Iroh's voice. Heat quickly rushed to both of their cheeks.
"Actually, nevermind. I can come back later. You two can continue..." Iroh whistled innocently.
An uncomfortable silence filled the air between Zuko and Katara until it became simply unbearable, and Zuko decided to break the tension. "Ahem, well, uh, I think lunch is probably over by now. We, we should head back."
"Um, yeah. Let's go." Katara concurred. The two quickly paid the bill and rushed back to Ba Sing Se High. And, as they expected, they were already five minutes late. Without saying a word, they carefully turned the doorknob of their class so they could sneak in without the teacher noticing. They pushed the door open and tip-toed in.
"You two are tardy." Their teacher announced, while writing something on the board. He set the marker down and turned to face the students. Immediately, countless heads turned to look Zuko and Katara. "How peculiar, both of you not only late, but arriving both at the exact time..."
The entire class burst into firs of hushed whispers and giggles. Zuko and Katara quickly muttered an apogu and walked to their designated seats, avoiding any dye contact with their fellow classmates.
Why's Zuko keep coming into my head? I don't think of him that way... at least, I don't think I do... But, that little thing that happened between us at the tea shop... Katara pondered. Walking out of her last class, she headed to the parking lot for Zuko. She unsuccessfully managed to dodge the frantic teens looking for their cars and waited for Zuko. Just then, a big hand landed on her shoulder.
Katara turned around to see who, but her eyes squinted into an angry stare as she furrowed her brows, wrinkled her nose, and slightly frowned.
"Okay, just hear me out. I was looking fir you all day--"
"Just leave me alone," Katara said, trying to keep calm. She would never forgive him of what he said to her.
"But, Katara--"
'Honk! Honk!' "Hey Katara!"
Katara and Jet turned around and saw Zuko in his car waiting for her at the curb. "Come on!"
Katara looked back at Jet and gave him a quick death stare before walking to Zuko's car. Jet's brown eyes looked at her as she walked away from him. From there, his eyes wandered over to Zuko, who was glowering right back at him. Zuko furrowed his brow, as did Jet, before driving away.
Still stalking me bitch? Why don't you just take a picture? It'll last longer.
Ugh, that bastard Katara thought, feeling her angry tears coming on once again. Katara rubbed her eyes furiously and slammed her head onto her pillow and let out a long-awaited scream. Before she knew it, she fell into a deep sleep, her tears still upon her face.
In the house next door however, a certain golden-eyed fellow lay on his bed as he tossed his baseball up into the air. All that was going brought his mind was Katara, and their almost kiss earlier that day.
"...with Jet hopefully finally out of the picture, maybe this is my chance." Zuko told himself, and caught the ball, "I need to to take the chance while I still have it."
Are you sure? What if she's not over him yet...?
"But, I have this...feeling...that she is. It may have only been a day, but she tends to get over her crushes fairly quickly. Especially when they do horrible things to her, like what Jet did. Then again, she does hold pretty tight grudges." He threw the ball up again.
But still, you know first hand how unpredictable she can be.
"Alright, I'll give her a week or two. But if I see that she's over him, I'm taking my chances." Zuko caught the ba in his hands and threw it aside as he prepared for sleep. "Just a week."
A week later...
"I gave her a week, and she's not over him. She's gotten so…crushed; she even became a bit depressed!" Zuko explained loudly. "What am I supposed to do uncle?"
"But…didn't you two kiss last time you were here?" Iroh said over the counter, as he prepared some of his special tea.
"Well…we didn't actually kiss; it was just something that came out of nowhere, heat of the moment I guess." Zuko said looking at the green tiles on the floor as Iroh came out of the kitchen.
"Hmm, I see. Well, why not try cheering her up? Invite her to a fun day at an amusement park, or maybe have a delightful movie day with her; something with just the two of you together. Perhaps that might cheer her up." Iroh grinned and elbowed his nephew.
"That's so…actually, it doesn't sound that bad." Zuko replied as he began inventing new ideas and ways to bring up Katara's mood. "I'll consider it. Thanks uncle."
"Oh, no problem my troubled nephew." Iroh and Zuko sat down at a nearby table. "By the way, how are your little…uh, tutor, is that what it's called? With that friend of Azula's?"
"Who? Mai?"
Iroh nodded as he took a sip.
"Oh, um, not bad I guess. She's improving a lot."
"Ah, I see."
"Why?"
"Oh, no reason/" Iroh answered quickly. "Well, it seems our time is being cut short." He gestured toward the sudden flow of customers at the door rushing to the counter.
The next morning, a Saturday, Zuko was already wide awake as he cleaned up his living room. After hearing Uncle Iroh's advice, he decided to go with one of his ideas. He looked up at the clock as the big hand hit '8'.
I don't think she's awake yet, he thought, but ultimately decided to wake her up anyway. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone and texted Katara:
Hey, what are you doing today?
Ten minutes later, and his phone vibrated. He pulled it out of his pocket again and chuckled lightly, "About time she woke up."
He opened his phone and read Katara's reply:
Sleeping in? Maybe some homework later.
Zuko started to type up a reply when he suddenly received another message from her:
Why? What are you doing?
Zuko smiled as he had hoped she'd say something like that. Quickly typing up a reply, he clicked send.
At Katara's house, she was busy leaning over her bathroom sink brushing her teeth. On the other side of the counter, her blue cell phone started to ring again. She picked it up diligently after spitting, rinsing, and wiping her wet hands on a towel and looked at the message.
Me? I'm gonna be enjoying a nice movie marathon with you.
Katara wrinkled her nose in confusion. A bit taken aback by his sudden proposition and she typed up a response.
A movie marathon? Why all of a sudden?
Within seconds, another reply came.
You'll just have to come over to find out. Come over at around lunchtime.
Katara agreed. But, somehow, she couldn't shrug off the feeling of curiosity. An hour passed and Katara dialed a number on her phone and put it against her ear. After trying to come up of reasons as to why Zuko would do that, she gave up and decided that she had to discuss it with somebody.
"Ring…ring…Hello?" a female voice greeted.
"Hey Suki, I need your help…it has to do with Zuko." She sighed.
"Okay, wait," Suki said, and came back a few seconds later. "Okay, I've got some popcorn and my soda. Shoot."
"Okay…" Katara exclaimed and explained.
Lunchtime…
Katara stood in her most comfortable sweats and stood outside her neighbor's house. Ringing the doorbell, she waited patiently. She looked around and caught a small glimpse of the curtain behind the window moving a bit. She heard the sound of the door unlock and it swung open. It was Azula.
"Hi…Azula."
"It's you. My dork of a brother spent the entire morning rudely interrupting my beauty sleep trying to groom up this place. Personally, I think--" Azula groggily explained with her arms crossed.
Out of nowhere, a toned arm pushed Azula aside, and greeted Katara happily. "Hey Katara, come on in."
Katara smiled sweetly and stepped in as Zuko gestured her inside. Azula was right; it was much neater than the last time she was there.
"Trust me 'tara, this is gonna be the best movie marathon of your life." Zuko cheered.
To be continued…
I dedicate this chapter to my friend Erica; she bought me food. :D
Review!!
Oh yeah, and also, I forgot to mention this in my last chapter, but please please please don't send me reviews that ONLY says "update!" cuz, althought I appreciate it, it does get pretty old...and a bit irritating if that's all my reviews say. So yeah... :D
-zkjanie
