Hey peeps! This didn't take me as long as I thought it would to post. Yay me! This is a good one and I had one of my friends read over it for me (I had homework, yeah I know , bad excuse) and they pointed out a few mistakes. I know I had some in the last chapter but I fixed all of them thanks to the Eagle Eye of Lady Dragonfly. (lol! It rhymed!) But anyway, if you see any mistakes, BE SURE TO TELL ME!!! I went over it with spell check but we all know how reliable that is….
I haven't done the little mini thing at the beginning for a long time but it will most likely be at the bottom of this one. I should start it on the next chapter too.
Don't let me explode! I need reviews!!!!
I'm up to..what? 137? 140? Something like that. I want you guys to know, I really REALLY appreciate all the support you've given me. I mean REALLY REALLY!!!! So thanks again!!!! (tosses out cookies and Poptarts)
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"Are you sure she was with him?" Sokka asked, frantic.
" For the billionth time, YES!" Aang said grumpily.
"Somebody's a little grumpy." Toph commented, picking at her fingernails.
Sokka paced the room back and forth. "What if he kills her? Or holds her ransom? Or-" His eyes widened.
Toph sat on the floor and played with Momo. "She'll be fine, Katara is strong."
Sokka and Aang sighed.
"Besides, she saved his life, he isn't going to kill her for that. Zuko's different than other firebenders, he's got a conscience, and he's been through a lot from what Katara told me."
The boys looked at each other. "WHAT DID SHE TELL YOU!?"
Toph snorted, "Like I'm gonna tell you."
Sokka's hand froze halfway to her face and her flexed his fingers menacingly. "Tell me!"
"I'm blind idiot, I can't see if you are trying to look threatening." She said.
The young warrior shook his head and grumbled something under his breath.
"Bit of a potty mouth aren't we?" Commented Toph.
Sokka looked surprised, "You heard that?"
"Being blind isn't as bad as you think."
Sokka stalked off.
"Toph, I'm sorry about the other day. About how you said I followed Katara around…and stuff…" He lowered his eyes.
The Earthbender frowned. "Yeah, well."
"I do like you…it's just…"
"What? I'm not girly enough? Well here's some news for you bud," She jabbed a finger into his chest. "I'm not going to change for anybody. Ever! I'm my own person and I'll do what I want!" She turned on her heel and marched out the door.
Aang sighed, "Toph come back! I wasn't going to say that." He followed her outside. "Toph!"
She spun around, "What?" She hissed.
"I'm sorry. I know it must've been hard for you when you had no friends, and you were stuck inside all the time."
Toph sighed, "No you don't, you have no clue what it was like for me. I was alone everyday of my life, I had nobody to talk to, nobody to laugh with, nobody to love…"
Aang's eyebrows went up. "What about your parents?"
"Sometimes it's possible to be loved too much." She started around back of the hotel.
He followed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it isn't exactly like you did anything." She said. Aang frowned and Toph could sense something changed inside him. "Did you?"
"I was gone…for a hundred years…all the damage, all the pain, it's my fault. I should've been around to save lives. Because of the danger, your parents hid you from the world, trying to keep you safe. If I would have been there, I could have stopped it." He sat on the ground.
She sighed and sat beside him. "Aang, sometimes things happens and you can't do anything about it, you just have to go with the flow and try to make things better."
He looked up. "I didn't know you were so poetic." He grinned.
Toph punched him in the arm, knocking him over. "Shut up, I have a heart." She sounded serious but she was smiling.
Aang leaned back against the wall of the hotel. "Go with the flow." He muttered to himself. Yes he had made a joke about it, but for some reason, it really stuck. The words had a lot of meaning in them; it was just funny that Toph had said it. Aang let a smile spread across his face and he chuckled a little.
"What are you laughing at Twinkle Toes?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. I was just thinking about when we had first met, and how much you didn't like me."
"Who says I like you now?" She grunted.
Aang grinned devilishly and he folded his arms behind his head. "Ladies can't keep their eyes off me."
"I can."
"True, but I have like, a glow. It radiates off me and pulls them in." He grinned at her smugly.
Toph punched him in the stomach.
"Oomph!" He clutched his stomach. "What was that for?"
She put on her best, I'm-too-innocent-to-have-done-something voice, "I guess my fist was just attracted to you." She grinned innocently.
"I told you."
Toph rolled her eyes, "You have been hanging out with Sokka too much."
Aang rubbed his stomach. "Probably." He stared at the sky, "I wonder where Katara is? It's been nearly two hours. Maybe I should go look for her."
Toph sighed impatiently, "Just wait, she'll be back. Look! There she is!" She pointed towards the left.
Aang's head snapped in that direction, there was nobody there. He turned back to her with a disgusted look on his face. "Do you have to do that?"
Toph shrugged.
"Maybe I'll wait until dark, then I'll go find her." He said rubbing on arm.
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"How could I forget?" He frowned.
Katara looked worried, "What does that mean?"
"It means, there is no way I could forget." He huffed.
Katara shook her head. "Whatever, I don't know why to have to put that wall up around yourself."
"Wall?" He looked confused.
"Yeah you know, the one you put up to keep everybody out. The one made of spite and hate, the one that I can't seem to get through, the one keeping me from getting closer to you-"
Whoa! Wait a second! What did I just say?! Hopping Hog monkeys! What am I thinking?
Zuko's eyebrows lifted. "Uh…"
Katara blushed furiously, and turned away from him. She walked quickly away, holding a hand on her face. She wanted to cry, but he would think she was just a baby so the tears were held back. There was a small grassy hill with a fountain in the shape of the Earth Symbol. Water poured out of the top and trickled quietly down the sides of the bronze and back into the pool of water. Katara walked up the cement path and sat on the edge of the pool. She looked up at the sky and drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, the heat started to leave her face and she calmed.
"What was I thinking?" She asked herself, her heart stilling beating quickly. Stars were starting to pierce the darkening sky and streetlamps were lit. Fireflies danced around the little hill, their little dances were unrefined and quick, yet graceful and entertaining.
"What was I thinking?" she asked herself again, and then she looked at the stars. "What is wrong with me? Why do I feel like this?" She asked them.
Silence. Only the crickets answered with their little songs.
She sighed, she sat in the grass and propped her back against the cement fountain. A cricket jumped onto her hand. "Cricket, I think I'm getting feelings for the bad guy. Is it so bad after he's changed? Fire and Water, we're as much opposites as we could possibly be and the feelings aren't mutual, he's so hard to read. What do I do?" She asked the tiny bug. It chirped at her then hopped away.
"Talking to a cricket?" Came a voice from behind her.
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Aang and Sokka paced the room nervously. "She should've been back by now."
"Where is that girl?" Sokka grunted.
Toph began to get worried, even after all the stuff Katara had told her. "Maybe a little longer?" She suggested.
"NO! We've waited long enough! If something has happened, I'll never forgive myself." Sokka shouted, he went over and walked outside, then headed down the street. Toph and Aang followed. They all split up, searching in different directions for Katara, even Momo flew off. Well, he might have just flown off because he can.
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Katara whirled around. Standing behind her, leaning against a tree was none other than…
"Zuko?"
He said nothing.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, shocked he'd followed her.
He shrugged. "I followed you."
"Well, how long have you been there?" she asked, praying that it wasn't long.
He just stared at her. "The whole thing almost."
Katara's face turned red again. "Oh…"
CRAP!!!!!!, was the only thing that popped into her mind.
"Did you really mean all of that?" He asked, his mind started racing and his heart too.
LIE!!! Katara thought, but before she could react, "Yes."
Double crap!
Zuko stood in front of her, only about a foot away. His mouth kind of drooped on one side, and he looked really, REALLY shocked. "You-you really like me? That much?"
Katara nodded. "I know that you don't feel the same way and you don't have to," she lowered her eyes and moved her hands around while she talked, clearly flustered, "I'm not sure why I like you, because we're so different-" She was cut off. Zuko tilted her chin up to his face and looked hard at her. Then, he kissed her softly. So softly, Katara didn't realize what was going on at first and just stared. He broke away and looked down at her.
"What was that for?" Katara asked.
Zuko frowned. "I don't know, I didn't mean to…it just happened."
"Oh…" She replied, just looking at him. Her heart was beating frantically within her, so hard she was sure he could hear it.
He pulled away from her and headed back down the hill. Part of him wanted desperately to kiss her again but he kept going, he needed to think for a while.
"Wa-wait! Zuko!" Katara called. "Where are you going?"
Zuko stopped, his back to her. "Back."
"Um, can I come?"
His back stiffened, say no.
"I guess."
So much for being alone to think.
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"Katara!!!" Sokka called, cupping his hand by his mouth to make his call louder. HE walked through the street calling for her. Then he spotted a flash of blue. Pushing excitedly through the crowd, it turned out to be a banner on the ground. Frowning, he kept walking.
"Katara!" he called again but there no response except from the people around him covering their ears with their hands then shooting him a dirty glance, or showing him a rude hand gesture. Unfazed, he pressed on.
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Toph ambled down the street then stopped. "Even if I was close to her, I wouldn't be able to really tell, so what' the point?" She asked herself. She kicked the ground in frustration, sending a large piece of rock to jut out of the ground and scare passerby. Then the Earthbender turned on her heel and marched back to the hotel where she sat on the single, slab of rock in front of the door.
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Aang flew overhead, scanning the streets determinedly. Every time he thought he saw a flash of blue, he'd swoop down for a closer look but it was never who he sought, and he's sweep backup into the sky. He had to fly lower and lower because of the darkening night, eventually, he thought it was just better to walk and save himself the trouble of crashing into chimneys and steeples. As he walked along, he felt tears tug at his eyes at the thought pf never seeing Katara again. He heard the trickle of a fountain and went to check it out. Then he heard someone mumbling to somebody else, just as he left to walk away, he recognized it as Katara's voice. Quietly, he tiptoed up through patch of trees surrounding the little hill until he could see clearly.
She seemed to be talking to herself; he looked closer and saw a tiny cricket on her hand. He stifled a laugh and was about to show himself when someone spoke to Katara.
Out of the shadow of a tree a man emerged, every fiber of Aang's being was ready to strike should the man hurt her. Katara seemed to recognize the man and stood up. They started talking loud enough for Aang to make out their conversation.
"What are you doing here?" Katara asked the stranger.
He shrugged. "I followed you."
"Well, how long have you been there?" she asked, sounding a little uneasy.
He just stared at her. "The whole thing almost."
"Oh…" Aang couldn't really see her because of the fading darkness but he felt like she blushed when she said this.
"Did you really mean all of that?" He asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
All of what? Aang thought, and leaned in closer.
"Yes."
"You-you really like me? That much?" He sounded beyond surprised. If Aang could see his face he was sure it would be kind of slack.
WHAAAAAT?!?!?! Aang screamed in his head.
Katara nodded. "I know that you don't feel the same way and you don't have to," she moved her hands around while she talked, clearly flustered, "I'm not sure why I like you, because we're so different-" She was cut off. The boy stepped in close tilted her chin up to his face and looked hard at her. Then, he kissed her.
Aang felt his heart shatter into itty-bitty, teeny-weeny, miniscule fragments. He stood, his feet planted on the ground. Everything felt too heavy to move, and tears stung at his eyes. A tear slipped down his cheek, as he stared, as much as he wanted to turn away he couldn't. He just stood there, burning the moment into his soul, painfully.
"What was that for?" Katara asked, sounding surprised.
The boy frowned. "I don't know, I didn't mean to…it just happened."
"Oh…" She replied, just looking at him.
The boy turned and headed away from her. Katara stood there in a daze then ran after him.
"Wa-wait! Zuko!" Katara called. "Where are you going?"
ZUKO!?!?! Aang's mind raced, he jumped up and ran to a tree that was closer to them. "Zuko?" He whispered, "She kissed…him?"
Zuko stopped, his back to her. "Back."
"Um, can I walk with you?"
"I guess."
Aang watched her trot happily up to his side and walk with him. Aang slid down the tree he was leaning against and crumpled into a little heap at the bottom. He felt angry and broken and upset all at the same time. It was bad enough she had kissed another guy but Zuko? He's supposed to be the enemy! He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. Tears of anger and heartbreak welled in his eyes, silently slipping down his cheeks and dripping onto his knees. He felt like the itty-bitty, teeny-weeny, miniscule fragments of his shattered heart had been crushed into a fine powder then burned. (A/N: A bit of irony there, eh?) He sat there for about twenty minutes, rolling in self-pity, then he stood.
"I can't believe I was stupid enough to think she would like me at all." He scolded himself, "I was dumb, and she's too beautiful to even look at someone like me. I was an idiot." He plodded up the street, thinking about all the mean things he had said to her while Appa was missing, and how he wished he could take them back. "Then maybe she'd love me." The gate to the stable was unlatched and swinging lazily on it's hinges. Aang went around to shut it and just as he did, a blue hem disappeared inside. Anger surged through him and jumped the gate and stormed inside, he heard faint mumbling from inside Katara's room then heard her giggle.
"Stop it!" She laughed.
Steam almost whistled from Aang's ears as blood rushed to his face and adrenaline pumped through his veins.
"No one is here right?" Drifted to Aang, he threw open the door and raged in.
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Katara and Zuko had walked in silence the whole way back. She became uneasy and started to doubt the kiss had even happened. In her mind she made excuses for their lips meeting, "He had tripped." Or "He has narcolepsy, and he fell asleep for a second." She made up the wildest excuses and frowned the whole walk back.
Zuko wasn't in any better of a mood except he KNEW he had kissed her and he had meant to but…Why? He couldn't remember what he thought or anything. Something in the back of his mind just urged him to do it until he did. Just like when he had hurt Katara, he never would have cared before but that time he involuntarily comforted her. He comforted her! Suddenly, he was hit with a bad headache and he didn't feel like himself, it was like somebody else was taking his mind. He clapped a hand to his forehead but as suddenly as the headache came, it was gone and he was left standing there with a hand on his head and wondering what the heck had just happened.
Katara glanced over at him then looked down at her feet, she didn't say anything but a small grin pressed at her lips. Zuko turned and saw her.
"What are grinning about?" He asked gruffly, a little too gruffly.
Katara suppressed it quickly. "Nothing." She turned her head away.
Zuko was unconvinced. Bt didn't say anything. They were now at the hotel but the front door was locked so they went around back. Katara reached for the door but Zuko grabbed her hand.
She looked scared, "What?"
"You never answered me, what were you grinning about?"
Katara blushed, "Nothing."
He cocked an eyebrow, "Yeah right. Tell me."
She took a deep breath. "You really want to know?"
Zuko shrugged. "Whatever."
"This." She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the mouth.
Zuko was in the process of rolling his eyes when she kissed him so he didn't see it coming or else he would have drawn away. His eyes widened and he looked down at her hair.
Her hair smells so good. Was the only thing running through his mind. Strangely it wasn't, Get Away! or What the hell? It was about her hair.
Katara pulled away and they stood in silence for a while, neither knowing what to say.
"Um….er…it's kind of…uh…cold…maybe we should go inside." Zuko said and opened the door for himself, and walked inside. He held it open, "You coming?" He asked.
Katara shook her head. "Nah, I'm gonna stand out here for a little while."
Zuko shrugged and went inside. Katara waited until she was sure she heard his room door slam then she squealed with happiness but also screamed with confusion. She had already come to the conclusion that she liked Zuko a little bit but she still felt confused. There was a small tie to Aang and she felt like she was being unfair to him, Katara already knew Aang liked her. She'd known it for a while but she didn't want to face it, because she was afraid of breaking his heart. Shaking her head she opened the door and slipped up the stairs quickly then entered her room. Toph was lying on her bed by the window and sat up quickly as Katara entered.
"Was that you I heard squeal?" She asked.
Never beats around the bush does she? Katara thought.
"Well…" She told Toph about everything that had happened during the evening, the shopping, and the dancing, then finally….
"WHAT?!" Toph exclaimed. "You kissed him?!"
Katara pressed a finger to her lips, "SHHH! What if Sokka hears?"
Toph waved a hand at her, "Oh they're gone. They went looking for you."
"What?"
"Don't worry, they'll be back soon. So what was it like?" Toph asked slyly.
Katara blushed. "What?"
She puckered her lips and made kissing noises.
"Stop it!" Katara giggled.
Toph continued to make the face.
"Okay, okay. No one is here right?" She asked.
"Aang's outside the door now." Right as she said that, the door flung wide open and scared both the girls so bad they fell backwards off the bed.
"Katara!" He screamed.
Me: Bwaa ha ha! Cliffhanger!!!! (laughs manaically)
Katara: Aw, that's mean!(hits me)
Sokka: Nah, it keeps them interested.
Katara: It's mean!!!! (hits him)
Sokka: (Rubs head) Okay, it's mean. Jessi, you're mean!
Me: (still laughing)
Zuko: (mocking) Yeah, you're mean Jessi!
Katara: (glare)
Me: I'm mean? You're the one who was all-nice in the season finale, it was scary mind you, then you went all evil after Katara offered to heal your scar!!!! What is wrong with you?!?!
Zuko: (grin) It's in the script. I do as they command me.
Me: You are an idiot!!!!(beats him with a large crowbar)
Zuko: (cowers) Where'd you get that anyway?!
Me: Hmmm...(looks at it) You know...I really have no clue...(tosses it aside and continues laughing evilly)
Okay, I absolutely HATED the season finale!!!! Toph all the sudden realizes she can bend metal; Aang leaves b/c of a vision of Katara getting hurt; Sokka leaves b/c Aang had a vision; Katara freaks out b/c she sees Zuko and Iroh, then gets captured by Azula and put in a cave; Zuko acts all nice, too nice, so nice it's scary, then he gets captured by Azula after trying to act noble, and thrown in the cave with Katara; Aang and Iroh save them then a fight breaks out; Everybody fights and Katara kicks Azula's ass; Zuko stops the fight between Azula and Katara; Aang goes into the Avatar State and gets killed by Azula's crazy lightning; Katara brings him back to life…..WTF!?!?! It was INSANE!!!!! AAAAAHHHH!!!! (runs in circles)
Okay, ranting over.
Leave a review and I'll get back to ya!!
Peace!!