Katara

I wake up to the sound of my phone vibrating on my bedside table. I lift my head off the pillow and out of my dreams, and reach for it. When I check the caller ID, I'm surprised to see Toph's name on the screen.

I sit upright and answer the call, pressing the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hi, Katara." Toph always sounds so young on the phone—more like a twelve year old instead of an eighteen year old. I would never tell her that, though.

"Hi, Toph."

The silence stretches between us like the distance between oceans. We haven't talked in weeks.

"Soooo…" Toph drags the word out before she drops into silence. I wait patiently. "Um, maybe we should talk. About things."

"Yeah," I say. "Maybe we should."

"Breakfast at Tiffanie's?"

I pull my phone away from my ear and check the time. It's 7:30. I have an hour and a half until Zuko is going to pick me up, so I can just text him and let him know that I'll just walk over to the Jasmine Dragon when I'm done with Toph. She has school today, but she doesn't start until nine.

"Okay. Meet me in thirty?"

"Yeah. Aang is coming too, by the way. He stayed the night."

That's interesting. "Oh. Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yeah." She pauses, and I think she's going to offer more of an explanation. "See you soon." I guess not.

"Okay."

I hang up the phone and drag myself out of bed. I grab my paint pants and change into them and put on a bra. Zuko's jacket is still hanging off the back of my desk chair. I still need to give it back, I think. So I might as well wear it.

I grab it and head downstairs.

Dad pokes his head through the kitchen doorway when he hears me thunder down the stairs.

"Where are you going so early?" Dad asks me. "I was just about to make breakfast."

"I'm meeting Aang and Toph for breakfast at Tiffanie's." I duck into the bathroom and shut the door. I brush my teeth and hair quickly before I step back out into the living room. "Also, I'm going to help Zuko again today and I don't know when I'll be back. But you know where to find me if you need me."

Dad appears in the doorway again, an egg-covered spatula in hand. He points it at me, and a piece of egg drops to the floor. Momo snatches it up quickly. "Not until eleven o'clock again, okay?"

"Okay." I head for the door.

Outside, it's cold and gray. Fog rings the mountains and floats over the town toward the ocean, but I know by noon it will be burned off and blue sky will take its place. It's how springs on the coast of Oregon work.

I'm grateful I brought Zuko's hoodie. For some reason, men's jackets are always so much more comfortable and warmer than women's, which is why I have half of Jet's hoodies upstairs in my closet.

I pull it on over my head as I start walking into town. I shrink into it, shoving my hands deep into the pocket and letting the hood fall over my head. Bamboo and teak wood fill my senses.

On my way to Tiffanie's, I send Zuko a text.

K Hey slight change of plans. I'm meeting some friends for breakfast, so I'll just walk over after, ok?

I slip my phone back into my pocket. I don't expect an immediate response, and I don't get one. It's not quite eight o'clock in the morning, so he might even still be sleeping. I probably could have waited to text him, but I didn't want to accidentally forget.

When I get to Tiffanie's, a small cafe that specializes in all-day breakfast but also serves the standard variety of lunch and dinner foods, I see Aang's car is already in the parking lot.

I wonder what's going on with him and Toph. It's not unheard of for the three of us to sleep over at each other's house. But it's usually the three of us. Because, of course, Aang is a guy and me and Toph are girls. He's occasionally spent the night at my house, just the two of us, but my dad is also the definition of a Cool Parent, and he's always liked Aang, so he's a little more lenient than Toph's strict parents.

They don't…like each other, do they? I frown as the thought springs unbidden to mind. Surely, they wouldn't keep something like that from me. Toph and I might be in the middle of yet another fight, but Aang would at least tell me. I hope.

Considering we were fighting about him.

I push through the door and am greeted by the smell of coffee and pie and a gust of warm air that sends a pleasant shiver through me. I spot my friends in the corner booth where we always sit. Aang is reading the menu to Toph, and I can see a second menu and a third glass of water waiting for me.

I drag my feet as I cross the room to them. I was prepared to talk to Toph about this. But I don't know why she has decided to bring Aang, and that makes me nervous. Anxiety curdles in my stomach, icy-hot.

Aang looks up at me. I see him take in the unfamiliar jacket I'm wearing, and I mentally face-palm myself. What were you thinking, wearing it here? I scold myself. Now I'm going to have to explain Zuko, right after we get done talking about...this.

"Hi, guys," I say.

I suddenly feel like an interloper, like I don't belong in this corner booth at Tiffanie's with my two best friends anymore.

"Hi, Katara." A red flush is creeping up Aang's neck.

As usual, Toph's expression is neutral. She turns her head in my direction, her sightless eyes looking almost directly at me. It's almost unnerving how well she can see despite being blind.

"Morning, Sugar Queen." Even the sound of my nickname doesn't calm my nerves.

I sit down on the opposite side of the booth from Aang and Toph. We've sat like this for years, but today it feels different. My anxiety coils a little tighter in my belly. I look between the two of them, looking for a sign. Looking for something.

And I see it, in the purplish-blue mark poking above the collar of Aang's sweater.

My mouth suddenly tastes like ash and I swallow hard. I grab the glass of ice water sitting near me and I take a drink, averting my eyes from the two of them. An emotion is pulsing through me, hot and insistent, but I don't quite know what it is. Anger? Hurt? Betrayal? I don't know.

"I'm not going to say sorry for what I said." Toph breaks the silence, her voice its usual biting tone. "You might not think I'm right, but I am, Katara."

My hand grips the glass. It's so cold against my hand that it stings, but it helps temper the fire that is burning inside of me. I came here to talk. I wasn't expecting an ambush.

"Just tell me what's going on," I grit out. I stare at Aang, turning the full intensity of my gaze on him. He seems to shrink into himself. "I think I deserve that much."

"Katara," Aang begins. "It's not like that, okay? Toph really wants things to be okay between the two of you."

"Really?" My tone is incredulous. "But you won't say sorry."

Toph narrows her eyes at me. "Because I'm not wrong, Katara. What I said? It was the truth. And you need to accept it."

I look between the two of them. "I'm assuming that she's told you all about it, huh, Aang?"

I think back over the last few weeks. At first, Aang texted me every day. Sometimes it was about the argument Toph and I got into. Other times, it wasn't. But the texts started to slow down, until we would go days without speaking. It was starting to feel like I'd gotten into a fight with him just as much as I had Toph.

He rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah. She did."

I close my eyes as heat rises in my cheeks. I don't even remember how the fight started now. We had just been talking about plans for spring break, and then she had said something about Aang, and somehow it had devolved into the two of us yelling hurtful things at each other. Because she thought I wasn't fair to Aang.

Because he's in love with me and I refuse to acknowledge it.

And maybe Toph is right. Is it wrong of me to know how my best friend feels and not even offer him one conversation about it? Maybe. But I've always been afraid. The three of us, Aang, Toph, and I, we've always been close. My dad used to call us three peas in a pod. Sokka calls us the Unholy Trinity. And I've always been worried that if Aang and I confronted this thing that sits between us that it would disturb the balance of our friendship. That what we had might crumble into dust.

"I'm sorry." I'm looking at Aang when I say it, and I can see the hurt that flashes through his eyes.

"It's okay, Katara." He offers me a watery smile.

"No, it's not okay, Aang!" Toph slaps her hand on the table hard enough to rattle our glasses. She turns her head back to me and jabs an accusatory finger in my direction. "You have led Aang on for years, Katara, and he's too nice to say anything, but Aang is tired of waiting in the wings for you!"

"I never asked him to do that! I didn't want him to do that!" I struggle to keep my voice low. I don't want to cause a scene at Tiffanie's. I glance over at Aang. "I never meant to do that."

"You've kept him around like a puppy on a leash. Running to him when you and Jet fight, crying on his shoulder, relying on him to be your boyfriend without actually being your boyfriend."

Toph's words lash at me like a whip and hot tears burn in my eyes. Her words aren't true. They can't be true. I never did that.

"No." My voice trembles. I shake my head. "He's my best friend."

"Who cares about you a lot more than just a friend!" Toph's mouth twists into a scowl. "And you know it. You've known it for years."

I look at Aang, but he's not looking at me. He's not looking at Toph either. He's looking out the window, his face turned to the right, his jaw working as he struggles to contain his own words and emotions. I can see the hickey more prominently now.

"Well, what about that?" I demand to know, my tone sharp and accusatory as I gesture to the mark on his neck.

Aang's hand flies up to cover it and a red blush creeps over his cheeks.

Toph doesn't need sight to know what I'm talking about. "Like I said, he got tired of waiting."

I clench my hands into fists on my thighs. "So, what? Did you bring me here to gang up on me? To throw accusations in my face, just to tell me you two are together now? Is that it? 'Cause if it is, I don't see the point in making me feel bad about the fact that he used to like me, since he's obviously moved on now."

"It wasn't supposed to go like this," Aang mutters.

I stand up. "Well, it did." The tears spill over and run down my cheeks. I scrub them away. I stuff my hands on the pocket of Zuko's sweater. "So what, are we not friends anymore?"

"I still want to be your friend!" Aang tries to stand up, but he's stuck between the table and the booth and Toph, and he drops back into his seat with a frustrated sigh. "Katara, you're my best friend."

"But I keep you around like a puppy on a leash." My voice breaks and more tears fall. My heart is breaking too. "Is that how you really feel, Aang?"

"Maybe this wasn't the best place to talk about this," he murmurs.

"Yes," Toph says at the same time.

My chest shudders with my sobs and I want to curl in on myself. I want to fold myself like origami until I'm small enough to disappear. I wipe my tears away on the sleeve of Zuko's sweater.

"Whose jacket is that?" Aang asks me. There is a note of accusation in his voice, and I can almost laugh at how hypocritical that is.

"A friend's," I reply tersely through my tears.

Aang's mouth presses into a line, but Toph barks out a harsh laugh.

"Another guy you've got waiting around for you?" There's a cruelty in her voice that I have always known is there, but I've never been on the receiving end of it. "Wow, Katara. If you're that unsure of your relationship with Jet, why don't you just break up with him?"

The words fly across the air and embed in my skin like arrowheads. She cuts me with her words, and if I don't get out of here I'm going to bleed out. But I'm not going to run without drawing some blood of my own.

"Why don't you just mind your own damn business, Toph," I snap. "This is my life, and I don't need you judging it, or-or acting like you know what the hell I'm doing." I look over at Aang then, biting down on my lip so he won't see the way it trembles. "And you! Is this what you really want? You want her getting under your skin and into your head?" I shake my head at his shocked expression. I throw my hands up. "But hey, don't let me stop you two from being happy. If you want to be with someone who does all your talking for you and puts your so-called best friend down right in front of you, then by all means, have at it. I'm done. "

I turn on my heel and stalk out of the restaurant before I explode.

I let my feet carry me as tears blur my vision. I don't hear the cars on the street or the voices that ask if I'm okay, because of course I can't go anywhere in this town without running into someone I know. All I can hear is my ragged breath and the scrape of my sneakers on the sidewalk as I go.

Zuko

I wake up in a foul mood. Azula's call kept me up, and I spent the night tossing and turning. Even the thought of seeing Katara again today can't seem to push my conversation with my sister entirely from my mind, and it has no effect on the emotions that course through my veins.

I'm angry with Azula, and I'm angry with myself. I'm mad that Azula was able to pull my words from my lips, like a magician pulling a ribbon from a spectator's mouth. But part of me also feels relieved. Saying the words I wouldn't quite dare to think even to myself out loud makes it feel more real. I think I'm finally ready to let Mai go.

Uncle is already awake and brewing tea in the kitchen.

"You're up early, even for you," he remarks as he presses a cup of tea into my hands. "Are you that excited to see Miss Katara again?"

I scowl at him. "Katara has a boyfriend." Surprise flashes across his face, but before he can comment on it, I press on. "Azula called me last night."

Uncle's face becomes a neutral mask. "Oh?"

"Yeah." I take a sip of my tea. It's hot and it burns my tongue, but it grounds me. "Apparently, Mai is...I don't know. Depressed or something."

"Is that so?" Uncle moves into the living room and sits down on the sofa. I follow him because I know that's what he wants. "Have you spoken with her?"

"Mai? No. She won't answer my texts." I huff out a breath. "Azula says she'll have Mai call me, but Uncle—"

I cut off, pressing the burnt tip of my tongue to the backs of my teeth. The words I spoke to my sister in a heated conversation in the middle of the night feel a lot bigger today. More real. More final. And I know that I'm ready to let Mai go, but saying the words out loud to Uncle makes it an inevitability, and frankly, it's a little daunting.

"What is it?" Uncle prods me gently. I can feel his eyes watching me.

"I don't think I want her to." I speak the words quietly, but they're a proclamation anyway, and they carry through the room and hang in the air like incense.

"I see. Does Miss Katara have anything to do with this?"

"Katara has a boyfriend." I scrub my hand down my face. "I should have expected that, I guess. She's beautiful, kind, and funny." I let out a sigh. "I'm an idiot."

"No, you are not." Uncle rests his hand on my shoulder. "I am disappointed to hear that about Katara, but that doesn't mean she can't be a good friend for you." He hesitates. "And that you can't let things be with Mai."

I look over at him. My heart is aching in my chest, but I'm not heartbroken over Mai. "How, Uncle? Mai has always been there. For everything."

"You treat her like a security blanket, nephew." His eyes pierce me. "And has she really been there? From what I recall, every time things get hard, she leaves"

"But she always comes back."

"Zuko, a good woman should always stand by your side. Through the good and the bad. She wouldn't leave you during the hard times. She would help you through it."

I pinch the bridge of my nose between my fingers.

"You find comfort because she is familiar. But she has hurt you, too. The life we are building here is a chance for you to start over, to leave behind the toxicity you have dealt with your whole life. Make things right with Mai if you must for your own peace of mind, but do not run back to her because you're afraid."

A painful lump has risen in my throat. It's hard to breathe around it but I can't quite swallow it down. I'm even more surprised to find tears are stinging in my eyes, and I blink them away. His words seep into my skin and into my bloodstream.

I think back over the years that Mai and I have dated. It started when we were sixteen, and we've been off and on for the last five years. Mai has never been an expressive person, at least not in words. She's been there for me, through the death of my mother and the trauma of my scar, but when it came to problems in our relationship, she always broke things off. She runs away, like Uncle said. And this time, when I was the one who was leaving, she ran away too.

Uncle continues, oblivious to my internal storm. "Katara seems like such a lovely girl. Even if you can't have a romantic relationship with her, you should try to forge a friendship. When was the last time you had a friend who didn't want anything from you?"

I scoff at the question. "I can't remember."

"Exactly, nephew. Perhaps this girl's friendship is what you need." I meet his gaze. His amber eyes are soft, and they are almost begging me to listen to him. Little does he know I'm hanging onto his every word. "Sometimes, blessings disguise themselves. Perhaps that is what she is for you."

I nod my head to show I'm still listening. I'm thinking about Katara again.

"What will you do about Mai?" Uncle asks me.

I shrug. "That mostly depends on if she ever talks to me again."

"And if she does?"

"Then I'll let her get out whatever she needs to get out, and then I'll tell her it's over. We're done." When I say the words, it feels like a weight falls away. The weight of her expectations and mood swings, of her inability to talk about our feelings. It all falls away. And I'm left with a feeling I'm not sure I've ever known: freedom. I take a sip of my tea. It doesn't burn this time. "And if she never talks to me again, then we both know it's over."

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I startle, wondering if somehow the universe conspires against me that much that it would choose that exact moment for Mai to text me. But when I check my phone, I see it's a text from Katara, and instead my heart skips a beat.

K Hey slight change of plans. I'm meeting some friends for breakfast, so I'll just walk over after, ok?

Dismay washes over me, and it's stupid. It's not like she's canceling. She just doesn't need a ride.

"Is that Mai?"

I look up at Uncle. "No, it's Katara."

He smiles in that knowing way he has. Then he checks the time. "How do you feel about omelettes?"

I'm not really hungry, but now that I don't have to pick up Katara, I'm not in a rush. "Sure," I say.

I get up with Uncle and follow him back into the kitchen. He puts his records on. Today he's listening to Dean Martin. Together we make breakfast. We don't say much beyond what involves breakfast, and I allow myself to get lost in thought as I slice bell peppers and shallots.

I forget to text Katara back.