Katara's POV

When I came in on Monday morning, the sight that greeted me, made me smile. Korra was lying on her bed, holding a teddy bear close to her, with Naga at her feet. The animal raised its head as I entered the room and wagged its tail. I patted her head and went over to Korra's side, brushing the hair away from her face. She mumbled something incoherent before stilling once again. I was about to pull the blanket over her when I noticed the welts on her back. My hand hovered over the cuts causing the girl to awaken.

"Katara?"

"He's gone too far," I whispered.

Korra sat up and stretched her arms, still holding the bear close to her. "I'm fine."

"How can you tell me that when half of your back is swollen?"

She sighed and shrugged. "It's not that bad."

"What did he do to you?"

Korra looked down, wringing her hands together. I knew she would tell me. She always did. "He hit me with the belt and locked me up in the freezer," she whispered. My eyes widened. "I cached a cold but Asami kept me over at her house and took care of me."

I touched her forehead and face, noticing it wasn't warm. I wouldn't let her go to school if she was sick. "Did she give you that?" I asked gesturing to the stuffed toy. A small brush crept on her cheeks and she shook her head.

"A boy."

I raised a brow. "A boy?"

"The captain of the football team," Korra answered. "I've been doing really well. Practice is a little hard but nothing that I can't handle. I love it."

I smiled and placed a hand against her cheek. "I'm glad you're having fun, but you have to be careful," I cautioned. She smiled and nodded. "So, about this boy," I added. "Does he have a name?"

Korra grinned. "Mako."

Mako's POV

For a couple of days after Korra's fever, I kept a close watch on her. Making sure she didn't force herself too much during practice, having been sick and all. But as I thought she would, our star player returned to the field full of energy. Unlike before though, she started to talk to me. When we needed to pair up, she'd pick me as her partner and vise versa. Over the next couple of weeks our friendship grew, and so did my feelings. After about a month, I knew the feelings I had for her were definitely not that for a fellow teammate.

It had been raining today, but we still had practice. I mean the rain wouldn't kill you, just completely cover you in mud, in our case. Korra and I waiting in the locker rooms, doing some small talk while the team showered. Well technically she couldn't shower with us, since they were…uh, group showers I guess? Iroh waited with me, and once it was our turn we took a quick shower, cleaning it up a bit for Korra. Asami came soon after waiting for both her boyfriend and best friend. I went back inside to look for Korra, making sure she was descent.

"Tell me you have clothes on," I said walking inside. I heard her laugh. "Well?"

"You can come in," she said.

I went down to her isle. Her back was turned to me as she put a shirt over her head. Around her shoulders and backside I spotted blotches of bruises. She turned around to look at me and the smile on her face faded when she saw the look on my face.

"I didn't know the guys used so much force," I whispered.

Korra shifted uncomfortably, hugging her arm before shaking her head. "It's a football team. I didn't expect anything less."I shook my head. "Its fine, Mako," she insisted. "I'm not seriously injured. I'll live."

I sighed. "Asami is waiting for you." My teammate gave me a nod and grabbed her bag from the floor, heading towards the door.

"Korra?" I called as she went outside.

"Yeah?"

"Want to have ice cream with me?" I asked.

Korra's POV

I was somewhat relieved that Mako had assumed the bruises I had were from practice. I didn't need anyone else putting two and two together. I knew Asami suspected something, but she hadn't said anything to me yet. I knew she would, and I honestly had no idea how I would handle it. Mako and I had begun to develop a friendship but the question completely caught me off guard.

"What?"

"Would you have ice cream with me," he repeated.

"Well-I-um, I was going to go with Asami," I stuttered. I felt extremely stupid. Never would I have thought that a) I would be nervous to be asked on a date and b) that Mako out of all people would ask me out.

"You guys go ahead," Asami replied. I turned to send her a mini glare. "Iroh wants this game for his…what is it?"

"Play Station 3," he said with a smile.

"But-"

"I'll text you once were done and I'll pick you up," she said waving goodbye at me. I made a mental note to strangle her later.

"Let's go?"

I sighed and slowly nodded, letting him lead me to a near ice cream store.

Mako's POV

I couldn't help but smirk at my tough teammate's nervousness. She had been quiet the whole way, even after we grabbed our ice cream and headed to park to eat it. We sat down right in front of a water fountain, leaning against a large oak tree. Korra took a spoonful of ice cream and focused her gaze on everything but me.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked. The sound of my voice suddenly made her jump. I chuckled and she gave me a scowl.

"Yeah."

"You haven't said much."

"I'm enjoying the scenery," she replied.

"Is the ice cream good?"

She nodded.

"Bubblegum is my favorite. What about yours?"

I shrugged. "Cherry was the first thing that came to mind," I said. "Asami and Iroh are going out to the movies tomorrow night, want to go?"

Her mouth dropped.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

I shrugged again and nodded.

"You don't want to go out with me?"

"Yeah," she answered quickly before blushing at her impulsiveness. "I mean, I don't mind."

I smiled and she smiled back. After that she seemed to get a little more comfortable around me. We talked about random things, such as the things we liked to do, or aspirations. I found Korra was a very smart girl. She was a year younger than me but we were in the same grade level, not to mention that math and science were her subjects. She was amazed by the night sky just like I was. We were beginning a new conversation when a honk was heard. I could have sworn Korra's face went a little pale and she immediately jumped to her feet.

"Tell Asami, I had to go home," she said quickly grabbing her bag.

"Is everything alright?" I called after her.

"Yeah, just go tell Asami," she replied walking away from me.

I shifted my gaze to the man in the car. He was glaring at me and I raised a brow. What the hell was his problem? I looked back one more time before heading to a GameStop nearby.

Korra's POV

Tarrlok had seen me with Mako. Shit. He was going to tell Noatak and I was going to get it. I got up quickly and made my way home walking. Yep, you heard right, walking. I lived about half an hour away from the city. There was an abandoned house near a bridge that allowed getting to the city. I was about to get to the bridge when I heard a honk behind me. I didn't look back and the car pulled next to me.

"Need a ride precious?" Tarrlok asked.

I felt my stomach twist. "No, pervert," I shot at him. He narrowed his eyes and got out the car. That's when I started to run.