Geez! Now you guys are the one's to judge Katara quickly, here's her side of the story, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: i no own AtlA

Anguish

Katara dismissed her students early that afternoon; she still needed time to think about what Haru had asked her this morning and especially her response. She slowly headed back to her room, pausing every now and then to examine her reflection in the Waterbending arena's many streams and lakes. She stared at the dark circles creeping onto her youthful face, she had had so many restless nights in the past month that she had lost track. Time just seem to flow all around her, she never gave anything much thought before she did it. She would just let things happen to her, her depression and isolation were really messing with her. She remembered what had happened last night: holding hands with Haru was very strange, his rough, dry hands against her delicate, soft ones. She missed the soothing sensation of a certain Airbender's feathery touch. She shivered slightly at the thought of Haru's burly hands, but still, she had just let him grab her hands without a second thought. And then at breakfast, her mouth spoke words that her brain didn't even think about, it was like someone else was controlling her body. She was confused now, more than ever. At first she thought it was just going to be lunch with someone finally willing to listen to her, be then she remembered how nervously he had asked her, and how elated he was when she accepted. Maybe Haru meant this picnic as some sort of date, in which case she had badly misinterpreted the invitation. All she wanted was someone to talk with and express her feelings, but Haru seemed to want more and she wasn't sure if she was ready for that. After all, Aang still might, somehow, be able to forgive her for what she did to him. She had to hold on to that shred hope, that Aang could let her back into his life. And she also needed to apologize to the Avatar before anything else, so she decided to call things off with Haru. She dreaded the thought of crushing Haru's heart, but she was caught off guard by his sudden interest in her. He had been at the academy almost since the beginning and they had barely talked to each other. This was mostly Katara fault, because she chose to avoid him. Haru brought back memories that she didn't like to think about, especially considering the way she felt about Aang. Before even making it back to her room she headed to the Earthbending arena to talk to Haru.

Toph and Haru were dueling as demonstration to their student. Toph focused on attack, naturally, as Haru swiftly blocked the oncoming rocks. Katara crept up from behind the audience of pupils, careful not to disrupt the class. Toph slowed down her attacks to signal the end of the match, and Haru was grateful for it. He was sweating profusely and was relieved to finally let down his guard. Even when Toph was fighting for educational purposes she still attacked with ferocity. Haru took a few deep breaths to regain his strength and look at the crowd of the students who were applauding the duel. His eyes wandered to the back of the audience and his gaze settled on Katara. He blushed deeply and looked away quickly. Some of the student caught his expression and followed his glance; they gasped slightly when they saw Katara standing behind them. A few took a cautious step away from her until the whole crowd noticed her presence. Toph turned around to find out what all the commotion was about and when she saw Katara, she said in a scathing tone, "Come on, we've got better things to do than to stare at the Sugar Queen." She still wasn't ready to forgive Katara for what she did to the Airbender, especially when Aang purposefully let down his guard. The students quickly filed into a line behind Sifu Toph; glad to get away from the psychotic Waterbender.

Haru stayed behind a little to talk quickly with Katara, "Hey, Katara! Sorry about that… are we still on for lunch?" Though she had come to stop the picnic, seeing everyone, even Toph, run away from her like that was just too much. She couldn't stand the isolation anymore! She'd be alone for more than a week and she had started to slip: her mind was always in different places at once, she could never concentrate on one thing for very long, and images of the fight constantly flashed before her eyes, her nights were consumed with replays of fight Aang, she meals were always lonely, her students had come to fear her, anytime she would picture Aang's mangled body she would break down and sob for hours. Katara thought that Haru could be her chance to escape the madness that had become her life. She just needed someone, anyone, in her life right now and Haru was the only willing to do so. And in her desperation for attention she said, "Of course, Haru." Haru smiled a broad grin and ran to catch up with the other Earthbenders, waving goodbye to the Waterbender. Katara sighed softly, unsure of what to think or do next. She just so confused, even though she still hoped that Aang could forgive her, every passing moment made it seem less and less plausible. Ever so slowly, she gave into the idea of never having Aang. She let a single tear slide down her face as she reluctantly let go of her Airbender.

0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0

When Haru finally caught up to Toph and her pupils, he quickly asked for permission to leave. Toph reluctantly agree, not knowing of his plans with Katara. The Earthbender rushed into town to pick up some ingredients for the lunch, a blanket, and a picnic basket. His face was glowing as he raced from shop to shop. Something had come over him during breakfast a few hours ago, he hadn't planned to ask the beautiful Waterbender out, it was just a spur of the moment invitation. He looked into those sad ocean blue eyes and took pity on her, but it was more than that. When he saw Katara during his duel with Toph, his heart started to flutter and blood rushed to his face. There was no denying it; he definitely felt something for this girl. There was just something so familiar about Katara, he found her irresistible all of sudden and he couldn't understand why, but he didn't care. This was the first time he had felt this strongly about a girl and he loved the feeling. Even though he didn't know much about the dark skinned girl, he looked forward to getting to know her. He could barely hold in his excitement as he ran from the marketplace to the rolling hills of the Lower Ring to set up the picnic.

After he was certain everything was perfect, he rushed back to the training complex to find Katara and take her to the beautiful clearing. They chatted nervously until they came upon the top of the hill with a majestic dogwood tree swaying over the blanket and basket. Haru held his hand out forward, signaling Katara to take a seat on the woven cotton blanket.

She said, "Wow, Haru! You were right; this is a beautiful spot."

Haru replied sheepishly, "Yea, it's pretty nice. I stumbled upon it when me and guys went out one time. It just looked so peaceful from far away, and it looks even more beautiful with you here." Katara blushed deeply at the comment, but quickly turned to avoid his face. Something was off here; she could feel her emotions stir as her first memories of Haru came to mind. He was the first boy she had a crush on and now the feelings were coming back, but something was nagging her. She pushed the uneasy feeling out of her head and remembered his graceful movements during his Earthbending, his noble efforts to save the wretched man who turned him in. He was such a courageous, well-built man, the blood rushed back to her face when Haru held her hands again. Haru stared deeply into the perfect, deep ocean blue eyes of the stunning Waterbender and he slowly leaned forward, shutting his eyes to savor the moment. Katara sat motionless, waiting, until his lips made the full journey to hers. She felt the touch of his lips and immediately her eyes flew open, she quickly pushed him away.

She knew what has happening, but she couldn't believe it when it happened. His rough, dry lips felt disgusting compared to the luscious, soft, perfect ones of her Airbender. Images of Aang throughout their journey together were forced into her mind. Her eyes began tear up as she realized what had happened. She had become hopeless; by letting Haru kiss her, she was essentially giving up on Aang. She couldn't believe what had just happened! How could Haru do something like this and, more importantly, how could she let it happen! She hadn't talked to him in weeks and all of sudden she lets him kiss her? She ran away with tears dripping down her face, ashamed of what had happened.

0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0

Aang tried to leave before the image of his love kissing another person could be burned into his eyes, but it was just so painful he couldn't forget. The thought of Katara moving on was hurtful, but seeing it take place right in front him was tortuous. Aang soared back into air, willing the glider to speed as fast as it could to whisk him away from this nightmare. I should have expected this, Aang thought, I was stupid enough to leave her and now she's found someone else. This is all my fault, if I had just being willing to take her with me, we could be together right now. But no! I had to overthink every little detail and blow things way out of proportion. Well, at least I don't have to apologize to her; I definitely can't face her now. The only thing left to do now is to return to the Fire Nation. God I hate it there, it's so lonely. Tears dropped from face into the wind as he made his way back to his room to pack. All he wanted to do was leave the training center, and the people in it. He hurriedly jammed his clothes into his bag and headed to the stable where Appa was staying. When Aang swung open the doors, the Sky Bison let out a huge growl, ecstatic to see his master after so many days without him. Appa run up Aang, tackled him to the ground and licked his whole body, but Aang wasn't in the mood for a reunion. He bended himself from underneath Appa's feet and walked to his side. He stomped the ground and sent the saddle flying onto Appa back where Aang bended a small air ball to cushion the landed. Momo came flying from above when he heard the bison growl and touched down softly on Aang's shoulder, licking his cheek and chirping with joy. Aang ignored the flying lemur and jumped high into the air and landed on Appa's head. Aang let out a soft, "Yip, yip," in a resigned voice, but Appa refused to obey.

0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0

Toph felt the ground rumble as the giant bison let out a groan that vibrated through earth. She dropped the roll headed for her mouth and whispered softly, "Not again." Sokka, Suki, and Teo, who were enjoying their lunch, chatting about the things they could do now that Aang had recovered, gave Toph a puzzled look. She quietly let the table and broke out into a dash when she reached the door. Teo yelled after her, "Hey! Wait up, Toph!" and he quickly pushed himself in pursuit of the blind girl. Suki gave Sokka an odd look and they both jumped up and followed the other couple. As they made their way outside toward the stable, Sokka's, Suki's, and Teo's stomach dropped as they realized what was happening. They broke out into a full sprint to the barn while Teo pressed some keys on his armrest to give himself a quick boost. They all arrived to see Aang wrestling with Appa to make him fly, but the sky bison simply refused, he wouldn't leave without the rest of the family on board.

Toph screamed at the Avatar, "What's the big idea Air Head? Where do you think you're going?"

Aang responded, "I-I have to go."

"Where? Everything you need is here!" Sokka yelled at the Airbender. His best friend had finally gotten better and now he just decides to leave, something was definitely up.

"No, I need to go back to the Fire Nation Capital. There's some uprising or something that I have to deal with," Aang said, trying to be strong.

"Well how 'bout you hop off Appa and then we discuss what we'll do, together," Suki chimed in, desperate to keep Aang from leaving. No one understood why he was in such a hurry to leave, only a few hours ago he seemed happy enough at breakfast. Suki assumed things didn't work out well between Aang and Katara, but she didn't know why Aang had to leave so suddenly, again.

"I-I can't take you guys with me," Aang said hanging his head in defeat. This is why he didn't want to say goodbye, too many people with hurt feelings that he had to face. It would be much simpler and a lot less painful if Appa had just obeyed.

"Why not, Aang? We were willing to risk our lives to save the world once, and we're willing to do it again," Teo argued.

"Not all of you are," Aang said, this time tears started to form on his eyes as the image of Katara kissing another person forced it's way into his mind. It was just too much handle, to think that Katara had already fallen in love with someone else. Although he shouldn't be surprised, while Katara had been the only girl for him, she always seemed to have an eye on another boy. He was stupid for thinking that he could leave Katara and expecting her to still be single by the time he had returned. He should have taken a clue from the fight; Katara wanted nothing to do with him, because she was interested in someone else. He flashed back to rescue attempt of the Earthbenders held captive on the Fire Nation rig. How could he be so naïve? The only reason Katara had suggested that risky idea was because of Haru, because she had a crush on the tall Earthbender. He cursed himself for not seeing it earlier, he never had a chance with the beautiful Waterbender, he was just some other guy to her, nothing special. The only thing that could remotely set him apart from other guys was the fact that he was the Avatar, but that still didn't make a difference. He thought back to the other boys they had encountered and one stood out in particular, Jet. How could he have missed the obvious flirting between him and Katara? He remembered the way Katara first looked at the tall, handsome, Freedom Fighter, the look of love radiated from both of them. He had been the goofy, tiny boy in the background, while Jet and Katara were both chatting it up. He never even stood a chance against men like Jet and Haru, and he finally realized that. It was time to let Katara go, she was a grown women, and he was still a young, childish boy. Perhaps now he could focus on Avatar duties without the heartache of missing Katara. Now he could finally sacrifice himself for the good of world, without a second thought. Now he was free to become the peaceful Avatar the world so urgently needed. That kiss closed the door on Katara, but opened the possibilities of others, namely the Avatar State. He could now finish his training with Guru Pathik and help end rebellions across the world.

Appa let out a terrifying growl that snapped Aang back to reality. Sokka breathed out softly, knowing that Aang had a habit of being stubborn, and asked Aang innocently, "Do you at least want to say goodbye to Kata—" Aang's eyes shoot a look of fury at Sokka who quickly closed his mouth, realizing he had struck a raw nerve. Things never seem to work out for the two of them, Sokka thought, I wonder whose fault it is this time.

Toph yelled at Aang, "Why, Air Head? What's wrong with you? Why can't you just bring us along with you? We have always helped you, even when you've done so stupid things, so why can't we come?"

Aang looked down, from atop Appa's head, at the blind girl, and said softly, "This is something I have to do alone." Sokka, Suki, Toph, and Teo all let out a simultaneous sigh as they all realized that Aang had made up his mind, and that was that. Aang leaned down and rubbed Appa's head affectionately, regretting that he hadn't given the proper care to the sky bison, and whispered in his ear, "Come on, boy. I really need to leave now, the world needs me." Appa let out a soft growl of defeat, feeling the torment of his master, walked forward and licked the rest of Gaang. The four-ton bison walked out into the open air, and with one swift motion of his tail, the remainder of the Air Nomads sailed into the air. Aang look back down at his friends, his heart full of sorrow as he embarked on another lonely, self-sacrificing journey that could lead him anywhere.

Hopefully this'll help you Kataang lovers, but please hang on for the next few chapter. Although Aang and Katara won't be together, everything will work out!

Please review! just write me a few simple words telling me how i did