"What are you saying Aang?'

There it was. He was trying to dance around it all day but now he had no choice, it was now or never. For the past 6 months, ever since Aang laid eyes on Katara, he had wanted to tell her how he truly felt about her but something would always get in the way. At times it would be his own shyness or nervousness, sometimes Katara's attention would be diverted to that Jet guy or their friends would interfere, or Sokka. Yeah, he always had bad timing, half the time he'd just be running to Katara for safety as a pissed off Toph would chase after him. At other times he'd just have trouble reading the room or their body language and think it would be funny to tease them. Either way, Aang never got around to it. Today however, he finally became an earthbender; he put his foot down and decided to tell her everything. Sure, he danced around his true feelings for a while as he was not a confident individual, however, he had decided that today would either be the happiest day of his life, or the worst. After this, he'd either disappear for 2 weeks due to school holidays or visit the air-temple with his possible girlfriend Katara. It all hinged on the next 30 seconds. The bell had already rung, signifying the end of the school term. These holidays could be the best 2 weeks of his life... all he had to do was say it.

"I- I'm saying that-" He looked away from her piercing sapphire eyes; the same eyes that he had grown so used to seeing. The same eyes he had been mesmerised by upon first viewing, and still to this day. The same eyes that gave him hope and the will to continue. The same eyes he fell in love with.

Hesitating for a moment, Aang gathered some courage as he closed his eyes bracing himself, and after a big gulp, he said it:

"I love you Katara."

He mentally celebrated for not stuttering. It had felt like a million years had passed before he opened his eyes again. He had imagined this day since the day he met Katara. He imagined what her reaction would be. Almost every single time, he'd feel her lean into him and whisper the same loving words before completely shattering his world with a mind-numbing kiss. He was almost certain this would be the outcome today, that his crush would accept his love and return it with equal passion.

However, once he opened his eyes, her expression said it all; she was looking away, her head dipped down, she had taken a few steps back while Aang had his eyes closed and was now tugging her hair. Her face however, was way worse. Her eyes were a darker blue now, not the usual light blue that brought life to his soul, a slight frown tugged her lips and she seemed like she was about to cry, no tears fell however.

"Katara... d- do you-"

He didn't know what to say, he didn't know what he was trying to say. He had hoped he wouldn't have to say anything more, that those three loving words would be enough. They weren't. They weren't good enough. The happiness he brought wasn't good enough. His love wasn't good enough. And to her... he wasn't good enough...

"I- I'm sorry, Aang. I- I don't- I don't think I feel the same way."

Just like that, a knife stabbed right through his heart, he knew he could try to remove it and patch it up all he wanted, but it would never be the same. His heart wouldn't be the same. He wouldn't be the same. And unbeknownst to him, his life wouldn't be the same.

"I- I don't think I have ever thought of you as anything more than a friend. Aang, I- you're my best friend. A-And I l-love you. But not how you want me to. I-"

"Stop. Stop... just. Just stop." Aang pleaded with his hands while taking a few steps back.

'The damage was done, what was the need to grab a hold of the knife and start twisting it, huh Katara? Why? You've said enough. A simple no was enough.' He thought.

She sort of had an idea something like this would happen; she could tell that Aang had a crush on her, almost every boy did. Aang however, wasn't like most boys; he was kind, caring, fun-loving, goofy and a gentleman. But he wasn't her type, or so she thought. She never wanted to hurt him though, it was the last thing she wanted to do. She did love him after all, just not the same way, not romantically. She currently had a massive crush on Zuko: a hot, tall, athletic firebender who caught her eye the moment he stepped through the school doors. He wasn't the best person towards Aang however, he found him annoying and way too goofy and would often bully the boy when he hung around the Gaang. Sokka, Suki and Toph saw it as bullying but Katara's blind eye made her think he was just joking around. Aang, although knowing Zuko's intentions, would just shrug it off and consider it as friends messing around. It was far from the truth but he didn't care. What bothered him most, however, was that Katara would almost never notice Aang's uneasiness around Zuko and when she did, she'd tell Zuko off but then would pretend like it never happened the next day. Katara had been flirting with Zuko for about 2 months now, she had a couple run in's with Jet at the start of the year, but he turned out to be a complete jerk. Zuko however, was different; Aang sensed good in him so he decided to stay friends with Zuko and not call him out or fight with him. His patience however, was wearing quite thin. Especially now that his crush had just rejected him for a boy for, what seemed to him to be stupid reasons; he was better looking, taller, had a nice scar which definitely caught her eye, was moody and dark, had slick jet black hair and had a bad-boy vibe about him. It was pretty obvious to Aang that Katara had a type: bad boys.

However, what baffled him was how inconsiderate of his love she was; can she not see? I was always there by her side. Especially when she needed me the most. I was there when she was bullied by Azula, I was there standing up for her against , I was there for her when Jet tried to force her into something she didn't want to do. I mean, I've been there all this time. I've been nice, not an asshole like Jet or Zuko. I've been helpful and have cheered her up when she needed me to. Was I just blind, all the signs I saw, was it just my imagination? He thought.

Aang didn't know for how long he was lost in thought... he felt like he had entered the spirit world when Katara said all those things and that any moment now, his friends would arrive to pay their respects to their fallen comrade. He however, was still living, unfortunately, he still had to deal with the sting of rejection but even worse; he had to find a way to get over his love for Katara, which he knew was impossible.

"Aang... I- I'm sorry."

With that, she left. Turning her back on her best friend. Aang knew she had a thing for Zuko but she had also dropped hints that she liked Aang too; all those kisses on the cheek, all those hugs and cuddles, all those late nights spent talking. They all meant nothing. All I'll ever amount to... is a shoulder for her to cry on, and a goofy toy to cheer her up. That's all I'm worth. He thought.

He knew he was being unreasonable. He knew Katara loved him more than the both of them would like to admit, he was her life-line in a way; he kept her going when she lost faith in herself, he wiped the tears off her face and replaced it with a smile when Jet assaulted her, he kept her on her feet and encouraged her when she wanted to give up. And she meant more to him than she even thought possible; she was the reason he woke up everyday with a goofy smile on his face, she was the reason he'd always try to be a better person as she was so perfect in his eyes. The way she was caring, loving, and motherly towards everyone, would always make him want to be just as considerate towards others, even though he was already the most selfless person in the world. She was always there for him too: whenever he'd get cut or bruised, she'd heal him without question. Whenever he'd want to collapse in loneliness as all his friends and family were back at the air temple, she'd be there hugging him and whispering caring words in his ear. Naturally, his heart would immediately be at ease whenever she was around, and he could never truly be mad at her. But, she made a choice, she rejected him. He knew his chances were slim, but the thought of losing her to Zuko made him want to confess asap. However, it only made everthing complicated between them as his love for her was now in the open and he'd look like a fool for even trying. Compared to Zuko, he thought, he had no chance; I'm bald, immature, goofy, nervous and scrawny. No wonder she rejected me. Why did I think I even stood a chance?

As he battled with his thoughts, he began packing his bags for the trip to the air-temple. He initially wanted to leave tomorrow as he wanted to say goodbye to his friends at dinner, but he couldn't. He couldn't... he couldn't face her, not now. It would be even worse since Zuko would be there and although he held nothing against Zuko, even though he was a jerk towards Aang, he knew he wouldn't be able to take it. Seeing Katara look at Zuko they way he'd look at her would mean taking another knife and stabbing him in the heart with it. The damage by then, would be completely irreversible. However, unbeknownst to him, it already was.

After he finished packing his bags, he shot his friends a text in the group chat, he lied and said something about an emergency at the air-temple making him leave early. They all begged him to stay to at least say goodbye, but he had already made up his mind. He sent a 'goodbye, I love you all' text to his friends and Sokka responded with 'Ha, GAYYY' – 'Seriously tho, love you bro, stay safe'. Aang chuchkled at his text and called Toph to tell her goodbye as she obviously couldn't text. He also knew that Toph wouldn't be able to call out his lies and question him as she was quite far away, staying at her family home which was a good 30 minute drive away or a 10 minute Appa ride from his house. Zuko didn't respond in the group chat which he just rolled his eyes at. Surprisingly, Katara actually responded and said 'Stay safe Aang, and have fun. See you soon :) '.

Fake Love – Aang thought to himself. He was wrong, but his anger was making him think irrationally. He didn't know who he was angry at. He couldn't force Katara to love him back so why was he angry. He wasn't angry at her, or even Zuko as a matter of fact. His anger actually stemmed from self-pity; he felt like a loser, he regretted telling Katara his feelings as he thought he had ruined their friendship. But he also thought she wouldn't care; she doesn't care for me as much as she cares for Zuko, so she should be fine with me going. It's only two weeks after all and she has Zuko to keep her company. After having a boyfriend like him, she won't need me and will get over me completely.

One small question continued to linger in his mind as he locked the doors to his house and air-bent himself on Appa's head with Momo by his shoulder. Will I ever get over her though?

He knew the answer... but he didn't admit it to himself. He thought that after spending 2 weeks with his old friends at the air-temple, he'd surely get over her and they could go back to being friends... and his life could go back to being normal. However, he would've been safer staying in Republic City with his friends as a horrible tragedy awaited him back home.

Time flew by as he laid on Appa's saddle by himself, wishing Katara was with him. Aang had planned to ask her to accompany him as she always wanted to visit an air-temple because she found his culture fascinating. After staring at the night sky, he would often pan his head to his side and see Katara giggling as she stared into his stormy grey eyes. He'd smile and pull her closer to him as she'd rest her head on his chest and he'd snuggle himself into her hair, breathing it in. He always loved her scent, and she his. They both needed each other, but the teenagers were too stupid to see it at the time. As Aang closed his eyes in relief, feeling Katara cuddling up closer to him, he let out a deep sigh. However, once he opened his eyes again, all he had to accompany him was a sleeping lemur, a ten-ton fying bison, the nebula stars, and the beautiful Yue who was shining bright tonight. Aang would always talk to Yue in his backyard at night as he loved to mediate when Yue was out but he stayed silent tonight. The waterbender beside him... was gone.

And soon, unbeknownst to him... so would his people.