Author's thingy: I'm sorry for the delay. I'm having issues adjusting to online college classes and am taking some classes that are probably over my head. I'll try to do better.

Katara looked around with interest at the main area of Meng's quad, but she wasn't sure if she was really curious or just stalling for time. After all, the quad was identical to hers: The main area consisted of a large room containing a small couch, a coffee table, a little round table with chairs in a modified "kitchen" area. There were three bedrooms: two singles and a double. No bathroom – those who lived in a quad had to share the communal toilets and showers just like everyone else.

Katara knew from experience that the youngest student in the quad would share the double with the next-youngest student with the two oldest having their own room, so she wasn't surprised when Meng led her to a room whose door was slightly ajar where Katara was able to see two small beds in a "T" formation. People sharing a double usually arranged their beds that way so that the room could look bigger than it actually was.

She found herself being actually curious when entering Meng's room. The room itself was neat, very clean and smelled vaguely of peaches. Both beds were made and had bright bedspreads in Earth Kingdom colors. The small desks were spotless and each had some framed pictures on it, a space for a laptop, and a small lamp. Katara knew that Meng really didn't get along well with her quadmates, but she'd seemed to have lucked out in rooming with a girl who was also exacting about keeping her space neat.

Meng waved Katara toward the bed Katara assumed was hers. As she sat, it hit her then that she and Meng had been friends since the start of the academic year, but this was the first time she'd ever been in her room. Katara felt a strange sense of guilt about that, as if the friendship was only surface, though she knew deep down it was more than that. At least for her, it was.

Meng took the chair at her desk and pulled it close to the bed so that she and Katara were just a few feet apart. She cleared her throat a few times before speaking.

"So, I guess we should deal with the camelephant in the room before anything else ..."

Katara felt her insides turn to water. This was it. This was the moment that she'd finally find out if she had any chance in the world with ...

"... Jet."

Katara was beginning one of her favorite daydreams about Aang, the one where he appeared in her room bare-chested and allowed her to trace paths from the cap of his shoulders down the arrows on his arms. With her tongue.

Then she realized what Meng said, and she nearly screamed.

"What?"

"You're here because of Jet," said Meng. "You may think you're not, but you are."

"T-That's ridiculous and you're absolutely wrong!"

Katara heard how shrill she sounded, and hated it. In her mind, shrill was bad. Shrill meant guilty.

"Why are you talking to me this way? Did Sokka put you up to this?"

"Sokka and I barely know each other. But what I do know of your brother, he's not the type that would get someone to do his dirty work for him. He can speak for himself."

Katara grimaced but said nothing. Meng was right. Sokka was nothing if not forthright most of the time, and she'd felt silly the moment she'd made the accusation. If Sokka had known about her little "lunch" with Jet, he would have already been banging on her door demanding she explain herself.

"Maybe I'd just better leave," said Katara, looking toward the door. "I shouldn't have come here in the first place. It's my fault for bothering you at all –"

"No."

Katara's head whipped around. Meng was utterly calm, one leg crossed over the other in the small chair. She looked extremely pretty and demure, and Katara could somewhat understand why Aang had fallen for her so quickly.

"No? What do you mean no?! If I want to leave, I'm leav—"

"No, Aang and I aren't dating."

Katara opened her mouth, but nothing came out except a fairly embarrassing squeak.

"That's what you wanted to know, isn't it? When you texted me asking about my 'status' with Aang?" Meng smiled faintly. "Your text was very diplomatic, but a little cold. You must have been in a hurry."

"I ... yeah. I had to get to class."

Katara thought she sounded very mechanical, but at least she was forming words again.

"So you and Aang are not ..."

"Are not." Meng shook her head. "We're just friends."

Katara understood the words, but the meaning kept getting tangled in the clogged filters of her brain.

Meng wasn't Aang's girlfriend? She'd been forcing herself to come to terms with that reality, and now hearing that it wasn't true threw off her equilibrium.

"But, I thought ..."

She took a breath and tried to calm down. This little talk was not going as she thought it would.

"I don't understand. Prithi told the entire dorm that after that night at the movies, you and Aang were basically making out right on the lawn." Katara pushed away the unsavory images of Aang and Meng kissing passionately that popped into her mind. "Are you saying she's lying?"

"Calling it 'lying' is a bit harsh. She's exaggerating. I did kiss Aang. I also asked him back to my room to hook up, which he declined." Meng blinked slowly. "But that was all. Nothing else happened, and other than a text I sent him asking if he was interested in a bowling night with me, Suki and some other people, we haven't even really talked since then. You're invited, too, if you want to come. Oh, and by the way, we weren't even on the lawn that night. Appa was."

Katara stared. She'd heard Meng talking, but everything after the words "hook up" were nothing but gibberish to her.

"You asked Aang to do what?"

"What can I say? Yolo." Meng shrugged. "Anyway, I'm surprised at how often people forget that Prithi embellishes stories. Remember last semester when she swore she saw the dean of the Earth Sciences Department giving a blowjob to one of the research assistants behind Gwan Building?"

"Yeah ... I do remember that." Katara frowned in thought. "But something was going on with them, wasn't there? The dean resigned over winter break and she and that research assistant are in Ba Sing Se running a vegan bakery."

"They specialize in fruit pies," said Meng mildly. "My point is, there was no blowjob. Dr. Au was kissing the guy passionately, and she did have her hand down his pants, but Prithi transformed that into a spicier story, and people bought it. Even when the real facts emerged, the people who liked the made-up version still say that's what happened."

"But you did kiss Aang," said Katara, somewhat accusingly. "And you seriously asked him to hook up with you?"

"I was fairly sure he'd say no, but I figure it was worth a shot. The kiss was no big deal. Literally just a quick peck."

"A peck?" Katara looked skeptical. "Lips or cheek?"

"Well ... lips. But it was two seconds, at most," said Meng hastily, noting the look on Katara's face. "It's not like we had our tongues down each other's throats or anything."

Katara digested all of this. Her mind was in turmoil, to say nothing of her heart. She was sure Meng was going to confirm dating Aang. Now she wasn't quite sure how to proceed. Slowly, she began to understand what Meng meant about what she wanted to hear and what she expected to hear.

"One of my roommate's friends said that Prithi saw Aang walk away and his tattoos were glowing. She couldn't have made that up." Katara gave Meng a piercing look. "It means he was in the Avatar State, at least for a little while. And he's a fully realized Avatar."

"I'm not sure what that means."

"It means that for the most part, he can control when and how long he's in the Avatar State." Katara gnawed her lower lip. "He's said, though, that sometimes if he's thinking of something heavy or gets emotional, or if he gets knocked around hard, he might slip into it briefly. I don't think a quick peck on the lips would have gotten him there."

"Then he must have been thinking of something, or more probably, someone else, because a quick peck was all it was." Meng gave her a pointed look. "By the way, I kissed him. I don't think he was that into it, actually. I don't have too much of an ego about those things, but it was kind of a letdown."

Katara felt a rush of shame for having been irritated, even subconsciously, at Meng. She had told Zuko that if Aang and Meng met and seemed to like each other, she'd keep her mouth shut and deal with it. It was clear Meng had been hoping for something more substantial than friendship from Aang, and while she wanted to leap for joy that Aang was still on the market, Katara couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness for her friend.

"Meng, I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you wanted." Katara squeezed the younger girl's hand. "You'll find someone fantastic, I know it."

Meng grinned at her. "This what's so great about you, Katara. You're so sweet that you're comforting the girl who had a crush on the guy you're in love with and you actually mean it."

Despite Meng's compliment, Katara hung her head in embarrassment.

"Is it that obvious?" Katara mumbled, her face still turned toward the floor.

"Actually, no it isn't. Even for a mind-reader. You keep up a decent poker face around Aang. Maybe that's part of the problem."

Katara lifted her head and gave Meng a steely stare, deciding to sidestep that little comment for the moment.

"Wait a minute. If you know I'm in love with Aang, then why did you say it was Jet I came to see you about?"

"I didn't say you came to see me about him. I said you came because of him."

"Meng ... it's been a really weird day and I'm getting a headache," said Katara, rubbing her forehead tiredly. "You're going to have to spell this out for me. How are those two things not the same?"

"You expected me to say Aang and I were together," said Meng. "You wouldn't have liked that and it would have made you sad, but it also would have given your subconscious the green light to hook up with Jet."

Katara reared back and nearly knocked her head against the wall. Meng's words were almost the equivalent of a punch in the face.

"Oh for the love of Tui and La, how many times and to how many people do I have to say this?! I don't want to be with Jet!" Katara's fingers balled into tight fists in the bright blanket, wrinkling it. "Thinking someone is a little cute does not necessarily mean I want to fuck him!"

Katara thought she could probably be heard all the way over at the Common, but she didn't care. Zuko being a jerk about this was one thing. Even Sokka needling her was expected. But Meng? Meng, her good friend, was piling on, too? It hurt.

Meng looked unperturbed by the outburst. "Maybe you don't want to ... with him. But he's giving you attention – something Aang can't do because of what you're doing for your brother and the Fire Prince."

Katara's anger flowed out of her so quickly she half expected to see a puddle of water on the floor.

Suddenly, all she felt was a sharp fear. Her suspicions at The Terrestrial Taco had now been confirmed. Meng did know the truth about Sokka and Zuko. Katara saw all their careful preparations blowing up in her face.

"Please ... please ... you can't tell anyone." Katara's voice shook. "Zuko will go to jail, and he won't be Fire Lord ... Ozai might send someone to hurt Sokka –"

"– Katara, of course I won't tell anybody," said Meng. "But I'm a little confused as to why Aang doesn't know. I have to be honest with you: At first I thought Zuko was cheating on you with Sokka and you didn't know. Then when we got to TTT, I realized what actually was happening. When you were trying to stop Aang from going in that alley to find them, that's when I realized he didn't know anything about what's going on or about your role in all of this."

Katara nodded slowly. "You're right ... he doesn't know any of it."

"But why? Aang's no bigot, and he's good friends with Zuko and Sokka. Why keep him in the dark?"

Katara stared at her hands. "Because he's the Avatar."

There was silence. Katara glanced up and saw Meng staring blankly at her, as if to say "And?"

Katara heaved a sigh. The headache was getting worse, but she supposed she could hang in there for another 15 minutes or so.

"When the peace treaty ending the war was signed, Aang made a promise to every nation's leader that he would help them uphold their laws. All of them. Even the ones he didn't personally agree with." Katara paused. "If Aang knew about Sokka and Zuko, he'd be bound by his promise to report Zuko to Ozai. If he didn't report him and it was discovered later that he knew all along, then Ozai would have a ready-made excuse to exit the peace agreement: If the Avatar doesn't keep his word, why should he?"

"But we're not in the Fire Nation." Katara could not recall Meng ever looking angry, but she did now. "We're on as close to neutral territory as it gets. And Aang is the Avatar, yes, but he's only one person. He can't be expected to police the citizens of every nation!"

"True, but he's not expected to do that. Under the treaty, if he sees something, he's got to say something ... and Zuko is a little different than the usual Fire Nation student. Maybe if the student's family had enough money or influence, it could be kept quiet. But Zuko's the crown prince. If he were outed right now, it could literally topple the government. Of course we know Aang isn't a bigot, and we hate keeping this from him, but Sokka, Zuko and I agreed that it was the safest for everyone."

"Okay. I suppose I understand all that. But here's one thing that I'm not getting. You're breaking up with Zuko – well ... ending your 'arrangement' with him – soon. I could see it in one of my Flashes from the night at the movies," said Meng. "I'm assuming Zuko isn't going to suddenly stop liking guys on the date you chose, so why is there an end-date to you being his beard?"

"In two months, Zuko will be formally invested with the title of Crown Prince," said Katara. "He'll be exempt from prosecution from everything except capital crimes ... and thank the Spirits, Fire Lord Azulon reclassified that law as a non-capital crime in the early years of his reign. Fire Lord Sozin thought that all people practicing 'unnatural lust' should be slowly burned to death."

"Yuck. All right, I can see how important it is to you to protect your brother and Zuko. And Aang, too, for that matter," said Meng. "But now that I know the backstory on all of this, I'm even more amazed that you're being so careless with Jet. I know you can't help it that he likes you, but you haven't exactly been pushing him away. I know this is a big campus, but rumors can spread like wildfire – as we all know."

Katara opened her mouth to refute that, but then thought about what happened at lunch that day and guiltily decided it was best not to go there.

Meng gasped suddenly and her eyes widened.

"You saw him today? You were talking to him ... and you let him touch you? After how he acted at the movies the other night? Katara, what are you doing?"

"How did you ..." Katara began, and then stopped. Right. The Flashes. She'd just been thinking about eating lunch with Jet, and Meng could see into her mind.

"It ... it wasn't like that! He approached me! And I told him to get lost ... at first."

"At first?" Meng sounded skeptical.

"Yes! Zuko and I argued about this on Friday, and Sokka wasn't happy ..." Katara took a breath. "I just didn't want to deal with more drama. But then Jet and I started talking and ..."

"He charmed you." Meng looked very displeased.

"Yes ... I mean no. He apologized for how he acted in front of the Multiplex," Katara said. "And then he said he needed a favor ... and then he told me – Meng, this is amazing – he told me he's descended from a Southern Water Tribe Waterbender! During the early parts of the war, Fire Lord Sozin started systematically stealing Waterbenders from the South Pole. He couldn't do that in the North Pole because the Northern Water Tribe had built walls ..."

Rapidly, Katara gave Meng the background on the Stolen, her talk with Jet, and Aang's interruption. She noticed Meng's eyes go slatey when she got to the part about Jet's flippant remark to Aang. But when she mentioned that Jet went to apologize to Aang and the two men were in conversation for several minutes, Meng looked thoughtful, giving one of her infamous "Hmmms."

"I was the only Waterbender born in the Southern Water Tribe for more than a half-century after the last Waterbender vanished from our villages. My mother was murdered because of what the Fire Nation took from us." Katara blinked away tears. "And now I find out they didn't all die in cages like animals. One escaped, and she had a husband, children ... a life! I want to know all about her, and Jet promised to tell me everything in exchange for my helping with his project."

"Except I think both of us know that Jet also wants you to help him with what's projecting in his pants."

"Meng!"

"I'm being serious. Look ... nothing you say will leave this room, and even though it may seem that way, I'm not judging you. Jet has made it obvious that he's interested in you. He's not my type – his ears are too small for my taste, for one thing – but under normal circumstances, I'd stay out of your business and let you have your fun. But this is different."

Meng glared at her. "If you really want to help your brother and his boyfriend, you're going to have to keep your cool around Jet. Please don't let this situation that you're in with Sokka and Zuko mix your head up so much that you think Jet is your soulmate or something. He isn't. You shouldn't even be talking to him, let alone letting him put his hands on you in a romantic way ... and in public!"

"It wasn't romantic! He only put his hand on top of mine for a second!"

"A second?"

"Maybe more than that ..." Katara blushed, remembering that she'd only broken the contact when Aang had come along. It had been more than a second. Definitely.

"Okay, you've made your point. But Meng, I'm ... I'm so lonely." Two tears rolled down Katara's cheeks, and she hastily wiped them away. "You have no idea what pretending to be Zuko's girlfriend has been like for me. It means not being able to be touched or touch someone or kiss someone or be held or ... be special to someone. Not having any of that and having to pretend I have all of that while seeing so many people around me in actual loving relationships has been so hard."

Meng's face immediately softened. "Oh Katara."

"I feel horrible about the circumstances Jet grew up in, and I'm intrigued about his tie to the Southern Water Tribe. And okay, yes, I think he's more than just a little cute. But ..." She hesitated.

"But ...?" Meng prompted.

"But ... when he snapped at Aang this afternoon, I wanted to smack his face." Katara colored, feeling suddenly ashamed. "He didn't seem so cute and interesting to me anymore. It was only for a second, and he did apologize, but for a few moments, I didn't even like him as a person and I was definitely not thinking about doing anything romantic with him. You have to believe me!"

Meng started to say something, but reconsidered it. She studied Katara for a moment.

"Aang doesn't know how you feel about him, does he?"

Katara shrugged helplessly. "I-I don't know. He had a crush on me when we were kids. We were so young when we were learning waterbending. Master Pakku didn't even teach girls before I came along, but he made an exception because my Gran-Gran had been the love of his life, and I basically strongarmed him into taking me as a student. I was so intent on showing I belonged there that I didn't really think of much else at first, but Aang and I got close. Then Aang had to move on for earthbending training. He asked me and Sokka to go with him, and I wanted to so bad, but there were Waterbenders discovered in the Southern Tribe that Master Pakku wanted me to train ... I'd be a Master Waterbender like him. Aang said I couldn't miss out on that opportunity, and so i decided to go back home and he left. I was so upset ... I was sure I'd never see him again, but I did a few years later at a state funeral in Omashu."

"Was it for King Bumi I?" Meng sounded awed. "Aunt Wu was there. She was very distantly related to the king's first wife. She said the Avatar gave a really moving eulogy."

Katara nodded, remembering the gangly teenager who was even then growing into a handsome young man, standing quietly at the side of the earthbent burial mound of the deceased monarch. He'd been dressed in his formal saffron robes with crimson sash, with the tasseled wooden medallion upon which the Air Nomad symbols were carved hanging around his neck. Katara thought he'd looked like an Air Nomad prince, a wonderful representation of his lost people. His speech was respectful, funny, kind, and heartfelt. There hadn't been a dry eye in the palace when Aang had finished. Through her tears, Katara remembered feeling a warmth that had nothing to do with how hot it was that day in the royal burial fields.

"I messed up," confessed Katara. "He had been living in Omashu more or less as part of the royal family. All these highborn Earth Kingdom girls were following him around like turtle ducklings on a breadcrumb trail." Her lips curled his disgust. "I didn't want to seem like I was another drooling fangirl, so I kind of played it cool around him. I guess it was a little too cool. I just wanted to talk to him without his entourage around, but I never got the chance, and after a while, I just gave up. When I got home, I accepted a date from a guy that had been in Sokka's class and he became my first boyfriend. Sokka told me later that Aang didn't think I wanted to talk to him at all and was really down about it."

"I can understand that. He probably thought that you only saw him as just some little kid you used to hang out with."

"But that wasn't it at all!" Katara sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I just didn't want to look like I cared about him only because he was the Avatar and ended the war. He means so much more than that to me. He always has!"

More tears came so quickly that Katara had to bend them away because wiping them wasn't cutting it.

"Aang is the only man I want," said Katara in a watery voice. "It's one thing if he doesn't want me. Then I'll deal with it and move on. But what if he does like me? Sometimes I think he still does. If it weren't for Sokka's and Zuko's situation, I might have been able to talk to him honestly about my feelings. Maybe I could be with him right now. And I think ... I think sometimes I resent Zuko and Sokka for involving me in their ... thing. Zuko and I argued after the Jet thing, and Sokka took my side, and for a split second I thought, 'If they break up, I'll be free.' And then I felt so horrible for thinking that!"

"But you were being honest with yourself," Meng said in an unusually stern voice. "Sokka and Zuko are in a horrible situation, and it is not their fault, but you have every right to feel resentful. I honestly think that your resentment is making you subconsciously act out. Hence the Jet situation. You want to do the right thing by Sokka and Zuko, but doing the right thing is chaining up your heart. Nobody can take that kind of pressure for very long."

Katara started in surprise. She'd never considered that, but ... it made sense in a way.

"They both stand to lose so much if their relationship is discovered before Zuko's investiture. They keep reminding me that I only have to keep this up for two more months, but ... who knows what Aang will be doing or who he might be doing in two months?" She gave a slight groan, running frustrated hands over her hair. "He could have easily started dating you. Right now he might be meeting his next girlfriend. It won't take long for someone to snatch him up. He'd been on campus two weeks – two weeks, Meng! – before that Yee-sing, or whatever her name was, got her hooks in him."

Meng made a soft clucking sound and shook her head.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about Aang finding a new girlfriend as much as you should worry about running him into someone else's arms because he doesn't think he can trust you."

Katara stared at the girl. "Can't trust me? But ..."

Meng held up a hand and Katara slid into silence.

"Like Jet, Aang thinks you're off the market. Unlike Jet, he's not flirting with you under the nose of you supposed boyfriend. Also unlike Jet, Aang and Zuko are very good friends. Without knowing the entire situation about your and Zuko's 'relationship,' if Aang sees you getting all moon-eyed over Jet every time he turns around, what conclusions are he supposed to reach except that you're at the very least flirting with a guy behind Zuko's back – and possibly doing more than just flirting – and that if you'll do it to one boyfriend, you'll do it to another?"

Katara mulled that for a very long time. She felt tears stinging her eyes again and she took a deep breath.

"So you're telling me I have two choices – Never see Jet again, which would soothe Aang's suspicions, but it would also mean never learning Ticasuk's story. Or continue to see Jet and help him as he's asked me and learn about a key part of my heritage ... but risk Aang writing me off as a cheating bitch and never having a chance to be his girlfriend, even when I do 'break up' with Zuko."

She managed an ironic smile amid her tears. "Both those choices really, really suck."

"I agree. So we're going to have to come up with a third option."

Katara gave Meng a curious look. "A third option? What do you mean?"

Meng didn't seem to be paying close attention. She was looking at her phone and suddenly her eyes lit up.

"Okay, it's just as I thought. There's more than one section of 'Bending for Nonbenders.'"

The abrupt change in topic made Katara blink.

"Okay, and ...?"

"And I'm a Nonbender. So what would seem more natural than me taking that class also?"

"But ... you're not taking that class. Are you?"

"Nope." Meng gave a sly smile. "But Jet doesn't have to know that, now does he?"

Meng's eyes went to her phone again and she began typing something rapidly.

"You said you saw him at lunchtime. This class meets at 9 in the morning, at 12:30, at 3 in the afternoon and then at 5:40. I assume Jet wasn't skipping class to talk to you, so I'll just say I'm in the 12:30 class,'" Meng said. "So, I can go with you to Ting Library and tell Jet that you told me about his ancestor and I was so fascinated that I decided to do my paper on Waterbending, too. And you felt you could kill two rockbirds with one stone by meeting with us both at the same time."

"So what is this ... you're going to chaperone us?" Katara looked at her askance. "So that no strange rumors get back to Aang?"

"Or Zuko." Meng raised a brow at her.

"Or Zuko." Katara flushed. She'd nearly forgotten about him.

"Meng, I understand what you're saying ... maybe more than even what Sokka told me the other day. But I don't really need you looking over my shoulder to make sure I'm not letting Jet bend me over behind the building or taking him behind Gwan Building to suck him off. None of that's going to happen."

"I know that – now. But I don't trust him at all. I partly want to be around Jet longer than I have been so I can use my Flashes to get more insight into his personality. All I've been able to tell so far is that he's dark inside ... very dark. I haven't had enough exposure to him to be able to tell much more."

"I think seeing your family immolated by the Rough Rhinos will make you pretty dark." Katara's voice was harsher than she meant it to be, and she glanced away.

Meng shuddered. "Yes. I suppose it would. But there's something else there. Not just sorrow and not just rage. I don't know what it is, but I do know I don't like it at all, and I have a bad feeling that whatever it is, could be dangerous."

Now Katara shivered. She remember a couple of times during their talk that afternoon, that a baleful look had come into Jet's eye. It hadn't lasted long, but between that and his outburst toward Aang, she had to wonder if Meng might be right about there being something dangerous and hidden about Jet.

"Okay fine. You're in. But what about going to the Republic of Noodles, afterward? Should we not do that?" asked Katara. "Jet probably won't mind you coming. I mean, he did invite Zuko."

Meng gave her an intense side-eye before saying, "Oh how nice. I'm sure Zuko really would enjoy sitting there eating noodles while two people with Southern Water Tribe blood bond with each other about an unspeakable tragedy that his family caused."

Katara's jaw dropped. It hadn't occurred to her until that moment that Jet's invitation, as well-meaning as it sounded, might actually have been Jet wanting to twist the knife a little more in revenge for Zuko's comments at the movies. Maybe Jet hadn't let the situation go, as he'd claimed, and possibly he'd planned to use her to put Zuko in an extremely uncomfortable position.

She hid her face in her hands. "I'm an actual idiot, aren't I?"

"It's okay." Meng patted her gently on the shoulder. "Loneliness and horniness can make us do really dumb things sometimes."

Katara raised her head, wanting to refute the horniness accusation, but one look at Meng told her not to even waste her breath. After all, she kept her magic wand plugged in almost all the time now ... and not for back massages.

"I guess it's for the best that we keep it simple. No dinner afterward," said Katara, bowing to the inevitable. "We'll meet Jet at Ting and then head back here afterward, I guess."

"No, we're definitely going to the Republic of Noodles afterward." Meng beamed. "We're just not inviting Zuko. We're inviting Aang."

"That sounds good – wait, what?"

Katara gaped at Meng, who just smiled peacefully at her in response.

"Like I said, we have to have a third option for this situation. There isn't one readily available, so we're going to have to create one. This is where it starts."

Meng looked at her phone when the text notification chime sounded, studied her screen intently, and then smiled even wider.

"Oh good. Aang says he's got no plans and he'd love to come."

Guest: I'm updating! I'm sorry, college round two has been kicking my ass a little. I will try to be more prompt with updates, thanks for your patience!

Kataangforeverrr13: Lol, I know what you mean! After 2 am I kind of can't write a thing and am pretty useless. Thank you for stopping in and reviewing! I hope that you will continue to enjoy!

Natec183: Updating! Sorry for the long wait!

Hhaileyynicholee: Hello! Wow, this is a pleasure and honor! I love your stories so much, your Kataang Week fics were incredible, so I'm very thrilled that you're reading my little story! I also really liked the idea of Meng in the show and hoped to see her again the same way we sort of saw the little girl from Kyoshi Island. Someone asked if I was going to have Toph in this fic, and she is coming, but I sort of wanted there to be a neutral party, if that makes sense? I was too lazy to make an OC but then I remembered Meng. I actually am not really a Zukka shipper either. I adore Sukka and Maiko, but Zukka was needed for this particular storyline. LOL, so glad you liked that scene! I have to admit I enjoyed writing it probably more than I should have! XD

Unoriginalpoet: Well hello there! ;) You have some really interesting theories, and I can say that you're not far off the mark with a couple of them. I did want to confirm that Jet has been at RCU since the fall semester (this will come up more later) and so yes, he was already at the school when Azula approached him. I am curious, now that you've read this chapter (If you have read it :D) how does your idea of Katara's text to Meng and their subsequent conversation stack up against what actually happens?

Guest: Thank you so much! I'm chugging along!

Zgod584: Thanks so much! I hope the conversation was interesting, if not what you expected. Looking forward to reading more of your story! Aged-up Aang as a starting concept? Yes, please!

Dilettantism: Wow, that is a super-mega compliment! Thank you so much! I know that some are a little skeptical of modern AUs because it doesn't feel like the real characters or the original setting, and I understand and respect that, but I like sort of stretching myself a little! My beta didn't get the "Chin's List" joke at first, so I'm glad that you liked it and laughed so I feel better about putting it in here! And lol, no, I wouldn't do anything wild like that. I can already imagine the pitchforks if I'd done something like that!

Honeysucklebee: Thank you so much! I try to end my chapters "naturally" because in my mind, I have this sense of where and how they should break, but I'm so glad you don't find the chapters too long or too short. Great question about timeline! Some of that has been answered in this chapter, but just to sketch it out a little more, the war ended here the same time when it ended in the ATLA canon, except Ozai decided on peace and to keep being Fire Lord for a while. Katara was not part of Aang's adventures, so aside from Bumi's funeral, they lost touch after he left the North Pole. Aang saw Katara for the first time in years during his first month at RCU, but unfortunately he had already started dating Yee-Li at that time. (Girl works fast!) He dated Yee-Li for about two-and-a-half to three months – from the beginning of Fall semester to just before the start of Spring semester. I hope that helps! I may go back when I'm done the story and smooth out the rough edges so the timeline will be a little clearer.

Bay45220: Thank you! I hope this chapter answered your question and that you will tune in for more!

Wilson1144: He absolutely is! His natural bent toward being a peacemaker and trying to work everything out, but he also sort of wants to feed Jet his teeth. He also doesn't want to jump the gun with Zuko, and is confused because of Meng's pronouncement that Zuko and Katara are in love with other people. Hope you liked Meng and Katara's discussion! Really interested in your thoughts on it!

TheQuietReader: A lot of the questions you have will be answered in the next couple of chapters, but some will not be answered for a little bit. I hope you don't mind! It will be worth the wait. I really enjoyed writing Zuko and Sokka's talk, because I think that sometimes, when you're kind of just wrapped up in your own situation, you don't realize how unfair or unkind you're being to other people. Zuko and Sokka are good people in a terrible situation, and I wanted to just sort of put it out there that they are starting to understand that this is taking a toll on Katara. No worries, I love long reviews! I hope you enjoy the rest of what I have in store!

Ashley Barbosa: Thank you, and no way would I give up on this story! It's really the only relaxation I have outside of classes, lol! Yeah, I am looking forward to the responses when Zuko and Sokka begin their matchmaking in earnest haha! Toph is definitely going to make an appearance, in fact very soon. I think probably about 15 or so chapters, because I decided to cut down slightly on the very explicit and nearly pornographic lemon. Maybe 18 or so if I decide to add the lemon back in, but at a less explicit level. I also love Meng so much! She had such potential as a character!

Bilal Siddiqui: A beta is a person who reads the story before it is published and suggests changes. This helps a story stay on track with fewer mechanical or continuity errors.

Kataangreader: Thank you for continuing to read the story! I hope you also continue to enjoy!

Whataboutsecondbreakfas4: You ask a really good question. Motoko is not a good person, but she isn't a bad one either, does that make sense? She's cheating and that's wrong, but Jet is on another level of badness and he's using her, which she doesn't realize, so I can understand your feelings on it. Stay tuned on that, though!

Wil02: Yeah, I think I took a lot of Aangst (ha!) from some of the comics, mostly Love Is a Battlefield from the Lost Adventures. Poor Aang was so confused and hurt by Katara, and I wanted to have that same sense of him being heartbroken and not sure what to do, but translate it to him being slightly older and more mature. So he's not doing "volcano moves" (eesh). He's trying to reason it out in his head. His guilt over his feelings for Katara are clouding his judgment. And thank you! I love being entertaining. My mom always said I'm a huge ham, lol!

Merendinoemiliano: Thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoyed!

Lalaanddiki: Lmaooo, your reviews always cheer me up and crack me up. You have an amazing gift! I'm glad that the chapter came along when you needed a boost, and that you liked it so much. I'm always nervous about that, since you don't want to completely fall on your face in front of the person you dedicated your story to! LOL, Zuko is going to be every bit the awkward turtleduck you're expecting, but Sokka is going to see some things that he is going to want brain bleach for. I'm looking very forward to that! The next chapter should shed light on the Haru/Jet feud. It's not a huge part of the story, but it ties in to the overall theme. And I know I've said this to you offline, but thank you again for having my back! *3*

Aanglovergirl: LOL, well she sort of does? Verbally, I guess. And yeah, there are very few clean hands in this fic. I'm like Marie Kondo, though, I love mess!

Bruuuuh: Hopefully this chapter answers your questions about the evolution of Katara's feelings for Aang, though I agree that Katara is definitely a mystery! She is the hardest for me to write. I identify much more with Aang. But I'm getting an education. No, Aang's thing with Yee-Li was literally that she got to him first and Aang was in a relationship before he knew it and before he ran into Katara. Just a timing thing, as so much in life is! And oh man things are not going to be very simple at all. Zukka being idiots trying to get Katara and Aang together? Hold that thought, lol!