This summer is coming to a close
and I'm starting to figure out that I cannot live without you
I hope you're thinking of me, 'cause all the stars above me sing your name
I'll never be the same again
~Summer Song by Chase Coy

From last chapter...

KATARA POV

I heard the humming of voices around me, and felt the gentle pressure of someone else's hand on mine. Someone kissed my forehead. Someone else smoothed the hair out of my eyes.

Yet, through this all, I couldn't muster the strength to even open my eyes. At least I had time to think. The surrounding darkness was comforting, in an odd way. I remembered being struck by Brockam's lightening. And after that... Hearing Zuko scream my name. It had been strangely good to hear his voice, amongst all the pain.

Now I was just floating, in the sea of my thoughts.

I was vaguely wondering who was holding my hand. Was it Aang? Or was it Zuko? I focused on the hand, and once I felt the comforting heat radiating from it, knew it was Zuko. I could have laughed. Where was Aang, in all of this? I was too drained to heal myself, so therefore, someone must have done it for me. I felt a definite ache where I had been struck by the lightening, so they hadn't completed the healing very well.

At long last, however, I felt myself slipping back into unconsciousness. I thanked the spirits and sank gratefully into the darkness.

AANG POV (About an hour prior)

At the moment, I was attempting to meditate. Meditate and ponder life. Thinking about anything else was much too complicated. Every so often, I'd see Katara's blue eyes flash before my eyes, and hurt would mess up my impeccable concentration. The road to becoming less of a child was rough, but I'd do it. I understood Katara's body language. She didn't want me to be so childish around her. Maybe if I grew a little bit, and grew my hair out... Beefed up a bit... Dyed my hair black... Got a scar...

Okay, I couldn't look like Zuko. That was out of the picture. Maybe if I tried, I could look like Sokka. My scrawniness was certainly more suited to looking like him.

Except for the ponytail. I shuddered minutely. Never a ponytail like that.

ZUKO

I was so exhausted. I could barely keep my eyes open, and every few seconds, I'd have to shake myself to keep awake. I kept my gaze stubbornly fixed on Katara's peaceful face, at the way her eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks, and how her lips curved up in a slight smile. This view had robbed me of almost 2 nights of sleep; as well as a decent meal. A sympathetic nurse had brought me some fruit, but I had only picked at it. Her smile- however faint- was all I needed.

But in this case, even that couldn't console me.

The last time I had been this worried was when I had learned of my mother's disappearance. I had paced for days, thinking about her whereabouts, why she would had left me in this hell hole. I had barely eaten then, too. But now was so much worse. I had this feeling that I couldn't shake, the feeling that I cared so much more deeply than should be allowed. Since I had met Katara and her friends, I'd been fighting this creeping feeling. The feeling that I had to protect them with everything I had. Not that Toph really needed protecting- I mean, really- but she, like everyone else, needed a friend.

But this was somehow different- this fierce, pulsing emotion that connected me to the Waterbender girl lying before me.

This emotion was so much stronger than anything I'd ever known.

And it scared me witless.

I had only begun to feel this frighteningly strong pull to Katara a few hours ago, when I'd watched her crumple to the ground. The first time lightening had been aimed at her, I'd taken the fall for her to save her from that horrible pain. I had also taken the fall so that I wouldn't have to witness Katara... my Katara... collapse to the ground like so many others had. I couldn't bear to see her lifeless face, devoid of life and color. I couldn't bear to see her without that lovely, lovely smile... The very thought pained me.

I allowed the tips of my fingers to graze across her cheek, a featherlight touch that somehow reassured me. Earlier today, she had woken, and the relief had almost swamped me. Her beautiful blue eyes, shimmering with a soft smile, staring into mine in a way that should be highly illegal.

Flashback

I was hunched over, staring at the floor with a sort of weary concentration. I glanced back at Katara's face for a moment, and all of a sudden, several things happened. Those bright indigo eyes fluttered open, filled with a dizzying confusion that boggled my own mind.

"Zuko?" She murmured, her eyes flicking to meet mine. I smiled tiredly, reaching for her hand and rubbing soothing circles on her knuckles.

"I'm here, Katara." I replied softly. Katara blinked, a lazy smile spreading across her face.

"What happened to me?" She asked, her voice as innocent as a child's. Her face was calm, and her blue eyes bored into mine with startling intensity.

"Brockam struck you with lightening." I muttered, my fists clenching into tight balls of anger. Katara only nodded, her face never straying from a gentleness that caressed my tired eyes.

"I'll be okay... Zuko. Don't worry." Her voice grew quieter by the word, and her fingers brushed against mine for a mere moment. A shock ran through me, and I tensed. Then her hand slipped off to dangle by the bedside, and her eyes closed slowly.

And then she was gone again.

End Flashback

I sighed heavily, rubbing a hand through my coal black hair. She looked so small amongst the starched white sheets of the healer's wing, so innocent, so vulnerable. Fiery Katara. I chuckled a little, imagining her when she was awake. Her eyes would be glittering with laughter.

Suddenly, the door opened a crack, and Sokka stuck his head through the opening. I looked over my shoulder, shaking my head and smirking a little. Every moment I was around his baby sister, he grew closer to figuring out my secret.

"You're still here?" He asked quietly, his eyes tired and concerned. I nodded once, politely, stiffly. The chair I was sitting in hadn't done a thing for my aching neck muscles. I'd have to have these metal torture devices replaced by something a little more...comfortable.

"Of course." I murmured, leaning back in the chair a little. Sokka rubbed his hand across his face before pulling up an equally uncomfortable metal chair. He sat down next to me, leaning over and dropping his face into his hands.

"I just can't believe it." He muttered, exhaling heavily. I glanced over at him questionably. His head only sagged lower as he began to explain.

"Katara. She's always been so strong...It's just really difficult to see her hurt." Sokka sighed heavily, reaching out to straighten out the crisp white sheets. I nodded to him, feeling just the slightest bit awkward. Sokka had never really opened up to me before, and while it was a nice deviation from him trying to kill me, it also made me uncomfortable.

"I know the feeling." I said softly, reaching across the space between me and the lifeless girl I loved to gather her hand in both of mine. It was almost unbearably cold- like holding an ice cube in my bare hands.

We sat like that for some time, sitting wearily in a heavy silence, staring intently at the girl we both cared for.

Whenever her eyelids twitched, or one of her muscles would spasm, we'd both leap to our feet and ready ourselves to see her eyes open.

And of course, nothing would happen.

The nurses bustled about around us, shaking their heads at our exhausted state and offering us some pillows to make those dreadful chairs slightly less so. Sokka gratefully accepted his, and mine too- when I refused.

"She's been in here, what, 8 hours?" Sokka asked hollowly, yawning and putting his feet up on the end of her bed.

"Yeah." My reply was clipped- I was nearing the stage of exhaustion where my mouth was having trouble working.

"She better wake up soon." The words were interrupted by a huge yawn that bared his teeth to the entire room. I tilted my head back, shutting my eyes for a brief moment and slipping into a world much darker than this one...

"Come on, Sparky, snap out of it."

When I opened my eyes again, Toph's face was inches away from my own. I frowned, inching backwards and forgetting I was still leaning back in my chair. I was reminded of that when I fell backwards rather ungracefully.

"Good one." Sokka howled with laughter at my topple, and Toph sniggered next to me.

"Am I really that scary?" She stuck her tongue out at me teasingly. I glared at her before righting myself and my chair.

"Toph and I were discussing the rather...strange appearance of caring when it comes to your attitude towards Katara." Sokka said, his eyes lit with an all too familiar- and annoying- deviant gleam.

"We got pretty close in the past few months." I replied lightly, sitting down again and wincing when Toph delivered a kick to my shin.

"How descriptive." She drawled, shaking her head in annoyance.

"Well what else is there to say?" I played along, leaning back in my chair and shutting my eyes. Sokka snorted.

"Look, Zuko, no offense, but you and Katara wanted to kill each other not that long ago. I mean, I understand the connection you guys have, but it just seems like...more." I opened my eyes at the statement, raising my eyebrow at the sudden emotion in his voice. He was staring at his sister intently, and leaned heavily against the metal bedpost nearest to him.

"I love my sister, Zuko. I don't want her to get hurt again." The words were quiet, veined with a deep sorrow that I could relate to.

I remembered the times when I had wanted to protect Azula with my life- when I would have died for her. We had been bonded with such an intense connection.

And just like that, it had been severed. I shook my head slowly. I'd never let that happen to Katara and I...because now I knew, I could never be without her.

"Sokka, I'm not going to hurt her." I muttered, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees. Sokka chuckled lowly, darkly, and turned away.

"I'm gonna hold you to that. Cause if you do...I'll have to kill you. And bury you in some random woods out in the middle of nowhere."

"Oh well, that's fine." I shrugged.

"We have an agreement?" Sokka held out his hand, his face completely serious. I nodded, biting my lip in order not to laugh.

"Indeed, sir, we do." And we shook on it, with Toph as our witness.

And just as Sokka turned to leave the room, complaining about starvation, he looked over his shoulder and fixed me with a look that made my blood boil.

"You better not touch her..." He insinuated, narrowing his eyes at me. I shoved myself to my feet, insulted- and slightly hurt.

"Don't you DARE make me out to be like that." I snarled, my lip curling in anger. Toph chuckled lowly at the two of us, backing up to allow us more room- understandably.

"I can make you out to be anything I want you to be, Zuko! You're in love with my sister!" Sokka accused, turning to face me. I flinched at the words, hardly able to process that he had figured out my secret.

"How do you know that?" I whispered bitterly. Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Come on, I'm not stupid. It's so obvious. You're lucky that Katara is as oblivious to guys as she is- or else she would have definitely picked up on you." Somehow, his boomerang was in his hand, and he was waving it around dangerously.

"Put that away." I said quietly, gesturing to the weapon.

"Don't change the subject. Admit it- you love my sister."

"I'm not going to say anything on that subject." I could feel myself growing steadily more and more irritated by the moment.

"Then I'm not putting this away." Sokka held the boomerang in a more threatening manner.

"So now you're threatening me?" I snorted, amazed that he could become so hostile so quickly.

Not that I had any room to talk.

"It involves Katara! Of course I'm threatening you."

He was holding the boomerang awfully loosely. It was making me just the slightest bit edgy. So I positioned myself in a more defensive stance, and watched Sokka narrow his eyes at me.
"I really wouldn't play this game with me, Sokka. I'm warning you." The words came out as a low growl, resonating in the tense air between us. Toph whistled.

"You've got to admit, Snoozles, he's pretty intimidating when he's pissed off." She chuckled, leaning backwards against the wall and crossing her arms. I snapped my head around to glare at her, and then realized that Sokka was readying his boomerang. I bent myself lower to the ground, twitching my wrists so that they cracked.

"I don't care." Sokka muttered. Before he could send the weapon flying towards me, I sprang at him, tackling him to the floor and pinning him down.

"Oh my god." Sokka's voice was extremely small. I snorted.

"That's what you get for saying that sort of stuff, Sokka." I hissed, keeping him pinned to the ground.

"No, you don't understand..." He whimpered. I rolled my eyes. Big baby.

"What he's trying to say, Zuko, is you're bleeding all over the floor." Toph commented dryly. I cast a glance down at my stomach, and noticed his boomerang was lodged in between two of my ribs. I drew in a deep breath as the pain hit me all at once.

"You actually stabbed me." I stared down at Sokka's rather upset face with utter disbelief.

"I'm sort of amazed too."

The sound of the fourth voice shocked me, and I swallowed loudly.

Katara was kneeling on the edge of her bed, her eyes wide with amazement. She shook herself once, and clambered off of the cot to hurry towards us.

"I leave you boys away for ONE SECOND and look at what happens!" She muttered under her breath in irritation, pushing me none too gently off of Sokka and helping her brother to his feet.

"Boys? That's hurtful, Katara." Sokka whined. I struggled to my feet, but before I could, large cuffs made of rock encircled my arms and legs. I groaned.

"Sokka, you're such a numbskull. Can't you control that stupid boomerang of yours?" Katara rolled her eyes, giving him a rough shove. Sokka hung his head in shame, sighing heavily to himself.

"Come on, Toph, let me out." I moaned.

"You're bleeding everywhere. If you move, you might hurt yourself further." Toph drawled, stifling a giggle. Katara walked over to me, kneeling by my side and putting a hand on the piece of wood sticking out of my abdomen. I winced.

"Gentle." I pleaded, hoping she would be merciful. She delivered a glare dripping with sarcasm my way before yanking Sokka's beloved weapon out of my stomach. I yelped.

"That wasn't even remotely gentle." I moaned, pressing my cheek to the floor and gathering myself.

"Zuko, why exactly were you tackling my brother?" She asked coolly, tossing the bloodied boomerang onto the floor carelessly.

I flushed nervously.

What the hell was I going to say?

Hope you liked it (:

3 Reviews or no next chapter, my dearies! :DD

~nightfall26