Chapter 8: Dares and Decisions
Quick responses to reviews:
Zackmood: Lol, sorry. No evil intentions here, but I probably shouldn't have left it like that. I didn't think about how bad that would be if I were the one reading this. Sorry to leave you hanging like that.
TR13 Reader: Yeah, I've got a bad penchant for cliffhangers, it seems. And I was originally thinking I was going to do that, but I enjoy it more when Katara gets jealous for some reason, so that's why I had her get jealous this time around. And I agree, I think it's very fun to see Katara get jealous.
Ashley Barbosa: Well, it's not going to be quite like that, but I'll just let you find out. ;) And trust me, I know it's not. Most kids shows wouldn't dare talk about genocide or anything like that, not to mention having a government controlling its citizens like Ba Sing Se.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Aang couldn't quite believe his ears. Did he really just hear what he thought that he had heard? Many times had he dreamed of Katara saying something like that to him, but to hear her say it in real life? Maybe he was dreaming. Maybe this whole day was just a dream that he would wake up from and be disappointed that it hadn't come true. He dreamed about her a lot, and his dreams usually were something along the lines of what was happening now, but it just felt so… real.
He was quite tempted to pinch himself, but on the off chance that he wasn't dreaming, he didn't want to make more of a fool of himself than he probably already was. After all, his brain, his heart, and his mouth were all in complete disarray. It was as if what she said had knocked the air out of his lungs and he couldn't think for the life of him. He wanted to say something so bad, but all his surprised and completely flabbergasted mind could do was utter out a low. "Huh?"
If the situation hadn't been so serious for her, Katara likely would have laughed at how disoriented Aang looked, but it unfortunately was quite serious. She was putting herself out there to him, and all she could read off of him was complete and utter surprise. Clearly, he never in a million years would ever have imagined her to issue him such a dare.
But, knowing that what she had said to him was certainly striking, she decided that her best course of action would be to repeat herself and make sure that her intentions were clear. "I dared you to kiss me," was her only reply, doing her very best to not let her fear get the best of her as she waited for his reaction.
So he had heard her right. He wasn't just imagining it or going crazy. But that still left the option of this being a dream which, if it was a dream, he would wake up and be very disappointed. It didn't seem like a dream, however. It all felt so real.
"Well?" The sound of the girl of his dreams broke him out of his thoughts as his attention snapped back to her; a look of impatience mixed with fear on her face as she waited to see what he would say. "Are you going to kiss me or not?"
Aang's poor mind was still grinding, trying desperately to work out how to respond, but it just wasn't going to work. It amazed him how one little dare had made his whole system shut down, and he wasn't sure what to do. Of course there was nothing more he wanted than to kiss the beautiful girl in front of him, but his head was still trying to fix itself.
Fortunately for him, his mind wasn't the only one who could make decisions, and instead his heart decided that it was high time for it to take the reins. Feeling his heart beating rapidly as he looked into her eyes, he finally couldn't take it anymore and leaned into her, taking her completely by surprise as his lips sunk into hers. Despite having dared him to do so, she had not been sure whether he would actually do it or not, and feeling his lips on hers truly had surprised her.
But, once she finally snapped out of her shock, she got the sense to respond and began kissing him back while wrapping her arms around his neck. Both of them couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as they kissed, finally feeling the tension between them melt as their lips moved against each other's. They both had been wanting this for what felt like so long, and they finally got what they wanted.
After a little while of kissing, the two found that they were running out of breath, and although neither of them wanted to stop now, they reluctantly parted. When their eyes finally opened, they looked at each other and couldn't help but notice that they each were sporting a rather deep blush, both unsure of what to say.
Katara, despite having issued a dare that had made her intentions clear and having seen that he had indeed kissed her, still wasn't entirely sure if he did it because he wanted to or for the dare. After all, he did say that he would do any dare so long as no one got hurt. What if he only did it because it was what she had dared him to do?
Knowing that she couldn't allow this uncertainty to continue troubling her mind, she forced herself to focus and spoke the first words in several long moments. "So…" she began awkwardly, feeling her heart beating in a mixture of hope and fear as she wondered what he would say. "You really don't back down from a dare, do you?"
Despite everything that had happened in the last few moments, Aang couldn't help but laugh at this, making unsure whether she should be happy that he seemed to not be disgusted or if she should be worried that he was laughing. Maybe this whole thing had been a joke to him.
"No, I don't," he finally agreed with a smile as he looked at her, his smile diminishing a little as he thought of what he had to ask next. "But… Why did you dare me to kiss you?"
Feeling a sudden surge of fear in her, despite knowing that it was ridiculous as she had just dared him to kiss her, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, forcing herself to focus as she looked back up to him. "I… I like you, Aang," she got out, her fear at an all time high as she awaited his response.
Aang couldn't help but be surprised from hearing this, even if the fact that she had dared him to kiss her seemed to be a rather large indication that she liked him, but it was still hard for him to register. The girl he had been crushing on ever since he met her had not only dared him to kiss her, but had confessed to liking him as well.
Once again he found himself wondering if he was dreaming or not, but upon looking into her eyes and seeing the fear in her eyes, he decided that he really wasn't dreaming. This was happening right here and right now. And he was going to tell her how he felt, too.
"Katara, I… I like you, too," he finally got out, earning a wide smile from the beautiful girl in front of him from his words.
"Really?" she couldn't help but ask hopefully, her smile only growing as he nodded in affirmation. Unable to help herself, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him fiercely, taking him completely by surprise once again. This was the most surprised he had been in a long time.
Once he finally got over his shock, he managed to get the sense to kiss her back and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as he finally got a good taste of her lips. Her lips were so sweet, and he never wanted to forget what they tasted like.
They couldn't keep going like this forever, however, and eventually parted for breath, looking into each other's eyes with smiles on their faces as they did so. "So…" Aang began with a sheepish laugh as he rubbed his neck nervously. "What do we do now?"
"Well…" Katara smiled as she kissed him again, unable to keep her smile in check as she did. "Now that we know we like each other, maybe we should go on a date."
"Okay," Aang agreed with a smile back at her, still being quite amazed that he had been given the opportunity to kiss such a beautiful and amazing girl. "What did you have in mind?"
"I don't know," she admitted thoughtfully as she tried to think of something, her eyes lighting up as she remembered something that she loved doing. "How about on Friday we go see that movie we've been talking about?"
"You mean the one that made Sokka fake gag when he heard about it?" Aang asked with a chuckle, making her laugh as she nodded. "Alright. We can do that." A frown found its way onto his face as he thought about something. "But wait. We have band practice that night."
Katara rolled her eyes, clearly not worried in the slightest about his concern as she responded. "We have band practice almost every night, Aang. I think we can afford to take a day off. Besides, it's not like Sokka shows up to practice all of the time."
She had a point, he knew, and he certainly wanted to go on a date with her. He was being crazy for being reluctant about this. Feeling excitement fill him at the thought of going on a date with her, he finally smiled back at her and nodded his agreement. "You're right. Maybe it's okay if we skip just one practice. So, we're going to the movies on Friday?" he asked hopefully, making Katara laugh as she gave him another kiss.
"Yes, we are," she told him with a smile, making him smile back at her as they shared another kiss. But as they pulled apart, a question came to Aang's mind as he wondered about something.
"Should we tell the others?" he asked, wondering what her response would be as he did so. He knew that she wasn't a very secretive person, but he also knew that she did not like being teased by her friends most of the time.
It appeared that his suspicions were correct, as a look of thought crossed onto her beautiful face as she pondered on this. "I don't know," she admitted with a shrug, clearly seeing how this question was something they needed to discuss. "I don't want to keep secrets from them, and I definitely don't want to keep us a secret, but I know what Toph and my brother will do if they find out." She looked up at him curiously. "What do you think we should do?"
Although keeping it a secret sounded good to him as well, as he was no fan of Toph's teasing, but didn't really mind Sokka's 'Oogies' as he called it, he decided that the best course of action would be to tell their friends. After all, they would find out eventually, and the sooner it was out, the sooner their friends could get the teasing out of their system.
With this decided, he replied. "I think we should just tell them. As much as I don't want Toph to tease us, they'll find out eventually, and I'd rather just get it out of the way."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Katara sighed a little in resignation, knowing that Toph would only get angry if they tried to hide it from her and tease them all the more for it. "Okay, we'll tell them. But," she added as she looked him in the eyes. "We're not telling them until Friday. I at least want a couple days of peace before they start teasing us."
"Deal," Aang agreed with a smile, earning a smile and a kiss from the beautiful girl in front of him before he stood up. "Well, we should probably get back. I'm sure my Guardian is wondering where I am right now."
"Yeah, we probably should," Katara agreed, although she would have been content with just sitting there with him all night. Taking the hand that he offered to her, she stood up and met him face to face, feeling relieved that he felt the same as she did. Giving him a quick kiss, she held onto his hand and started walking. "Come on. Let's go home."
Unable to keep a smile off of his face as he found himself missing her lips already, he allowed her to pull him away to his car, feeling excited for their upcoming date.
A couple days later, it was the day they both had been waiting for for what felt like so long. They had only known each other for a little while, but both had been wanting to see if they could have a chance with the other since the day they met, and they were both rather happy that they had been given that chance.
Despite having kissed several times, both were rather nervous for their date. Neither wanted to do anything to mess up in front of each other, but they were both far too excited to let their fear get the best of them. Even if they knew that their going on a date would be the subject of Toph's teasing and Sokka's grossed-out remarks for a while.
Luckily for them, they wouldn't have to wait for long, as the movie they had agreed to go see started only a few hours after school had ended. The only problem, however, was that Aang would have to pick up Katara at her house while the others went to practice. They had both agreed that they would tell them before they went on their date, and thus had decided that Aang would come inside.
And so, it wasn't long before Katara's eyes widened as she heard the doorbell ring, knowing that it was her date waiting for her at the door. Feeling excitement and butterflies fill her, she shook her feelings off and took one last look in the mirror, smiling in satisfaction of her appearance before she made sure she had her wallet with her and made her way downstairs.
Taking no time at all, she finally made her way to the front door and opened it, a smile crossing onto her beautiful features as she saw the young man she liked standing at the door. They had both agreed to keep their date casual, but he had chosen to wear a gray button up shirt that served to make his eyes stand out even more than they already did, which she liked a great deal.
"Wow," Aang couldn't help but breathe out as he looked upon the girl of his dreams, seeing that she had chosen to wear a pair of jeans and a blue tank top. "You look great."
"Thanks. You do, too," Katara smiled as she kissed his cheek, taking his hand and pulling him inside as she closed the door. Now knowing that it was now or never, she squeezed his hand and tugged on it. "Come on. The sooner we get this over with, the better."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Aang agreed with a sigh, finding that he was not looking forward to Toph teasing them. "Lead the way."
Dropping his hand, Katara led the way over to the garage door and opened it, being not surprised to find that their fellow bandmates and friends were already there.
"There you guys are!" Sokka exclaimed as he looked over to see them standing in the doorway. "Where have you been? We've been waiting for you for twenty minutes!"
"Sorry Sokka," Katara answered him somewhat apologetically, even though she knew that he would get mad regardless because of what she was about to say. "But we're not doing practice tonight."
"What? Why not, Sugar Queen?" Toph asked in surprise, a clear look of suspicion on her face as Aang and Katara shared a look of agreement.
"We're going on a date," Katara finally answered, earning a dropped jaw from her brother, a look of surprise from Zuko, and wide eyes from Toph. After a few moments of pure silence, it was Toph who spoke first.
"It's about time," the young drummer snorted while sporting a mischievous smirk on her face, taking Aang and Katara both by surprise as they heard this. "What? We all knew it would happen eventually."
Aang, having had no idea that they all had known about his feelings for their lead singer, couldn't help but sutter out in surprise. "Y-you did?!"
"Duh," Zuko decided to speak up next, snickering a little from the surprise on their faces as he did so. "It was pretty obvious."
"A little too obvious if you ask me," Sokka groaned in disgust, making Katara roll her eyes as she saw that he was making no effort to hide his disdain of this. "Just go on your date. We'll practice again tomorrow."
Despite her strong surprise of what had just happened, Katara couldn't help but smile a little. Her brother would never be able to hide his disgust at the thought of her dating someone, but at least he wasn't trying to stop her. "Thanks, Sokka," she told him appreciatively, making Sokka smile a little and nod to her as she took Aang's hand. "Come on. Let's get going."
"And where are you two lovebirds going for your date?" Toph asked with laughter in her voice, making the couple blush in sync as they turned around to address their friend.
"Not that it's any of your business," Katara began with her hands on her hips. "But we're going to see a movie. Bye!"And with that, she once again took Aang's hand and started dragging him out of the room, leaving the three other members of their band alone in a matter of seconds.
With them gone, Toph couldn't help but snicker as she turned to her grossed-out friend. "Wow, you handled that surprisingly well, Snoozles. I thought you were gonna try to stop them."
"What's the point?" Sokka sighed as he took a sip of the pop he had to his right. "I could try to stop her, but she's eighteen and she never listens to me anyway."
"Aww. That's not true, Sokka," Toph put on a fake apologetic smile as she put a hand on his shoulder. "No one listens to you."
Zuko snickered again as Sokka rolled his eyes, but decided to ignore her comment as he took another swig of his drink. "Whatever. So, are we going to practice?"
"What's the point?" Toph shrugged as she set her drumsticks down and stood up. "Without our lead singer, it won't really work. But, now that we have some free time, we should go out and do something."
"What should we do?" Zuko asked, although he couldn't keep the hint of curiosity out of his voice as he looked at his friend.
At this, a wolfish grin spread over the young drummer's face as an idea came to mind. "I know. We can go see the movie that Twinkles and Sugar Queen are seeing and… cheer them on. I think that'd be fun. What do you guys think?"
Zuko grinned as well, nodding in agreement, but it was Sokka who was not so keen on this idea. "Toph, I already got enough oogies before they decided to go on a date. The last thing I need is to see them get mushy on their date," he told her with clear disgust in his voice as a frown found its way onto his face.
Rolling her eyes, Toph punched him in the shoulder rather hard, making Sokka gasp in pain as he rubbed it gingerly. "Come on, Snoozles. It'll be fun. This is the perfect chance to tease them."
He knew that she had a point, but he still couldn't help but be wary of seeing his sister get lovey-dovey with his best friend. Then again, he knew that he would certainly enjoy making their date less fun, even if that meant that Katara would yell at him later.
Feeling better about this, Sokka finally smiled and nodded his agreement. "Alright, let's do it. But do you even know what movie they're going to see?"
"Of course I do, Snoozles," Toph smirked as she grabbed her phone off of the table and put it in her pocket. "Now, come on. The sooner we get there, the more fun we'll have!" Needing no more encouragement, the two guitarists followed her out of the house, looking forward to teasing their friends.
"Wow. There's almost no one here," Aang couldn't help but exclaim in amazement as he looked at the nearly empty theater. "I thought there would be more people."
"This movie's been out for a while," Katara informed him as she led the way up the stairs to the middle of the theater, right where the best seats were. "Honestly, I'm surprised they're still playing it."
"Well, it's lucky for us they are, then," Aang grinned as he took his seat, putting his drink down and placing the large bucket of popcorn that he had purchased between them. When he was sure that everything was secure, he looked up to the screen and was not so surprised to find commercials playing there. "Wow. I thought that only cable had commercials."
A curious look crossed onto the young woman's face as she heard this. "You've never been to a movie theater before?" she couldn't help but ask, her curiosity overriding her sense to not ask what she was thinking.
"No, I went to the movies a lot when I was a kid," Aang assured her with a smile. "I just haven't been to one in a long time. If I watched movies, I usually waited until it was on dvd because I spent so much time on my music."
Katara nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. So, what do you think Toph and the others are doing right now?" She was rather disgruntled when she heard the familiar voice of her friend as she said.
"We're right here, Sugar Queen." Katara could only glare at her friends as they walked up to the seats behind them, though she noticed that Zuko had brought Mai with and had moved to the other end of the row where they immediately started making out. "Miss us?"
Letting out a sigh of frustration, she turned around in her chair and glared at her brother. "This was your idea, wasn't it?" she challenged, but became surprised as he shook his head.
"Nope. You can thank Toph for this one," he told her without a care in the world as he started getting into the many snacks he had bought, his eyes lighting up as he poured a box of his favorite candy into his mouth. "Mmmm," he hummed with a full mouth. "These are so good!"
Rolling her eyes, Katara attempted to keep her anger in check and turned back to Aang, putting an apologetic smile on her face as she did so. "Sorry about them. I had no idea they would come here."
"It's okay, Kat," Aang laughed, giving her a reassuring smile that instantly made her feel better. "All that matters is that we're here together."
Katara couldn't hold back a wide smile from hearing this, but Sokka just made a fake gagging motion and decided to ignore them as he looked to the screen, watching it display the various commercials that were on it.
"Why didn't Suki come with you, Sokka?" Katara couldn't help but ask as she looked back at her brother and noticed that his girlfriend wasn't there with him.
"She has martial arts practice," he told her, his mouth still full of food, making him spray on his sister who quickly took on a look of disgust at this.
Wiping off the crumbs from her face, she turned back to look at the screen as all the others did, though she noticed that Aang had discreetly moved his hand over to hers and took it, making her smile as she squeezed his hand in return.
Sokka, having been the only one who noticed this, once again rolled his eyes and continued munching on his snacks when one of the commercials caught his eye.
"Are you in a band?" the voice came from the screen, making Sokka's eyes widen as he listened to it. "Do you want a chance to win a record deal with Roku Records? On April 15th, Roku Records is holding "The Battle of the Bands" at the Metro Center. If you're in a band and want a shot at a musical career, then "The Battle of the Bands" is your chance! Sign up now!"
"Did 'oo guys 'ear 'dat?" Sokka exclaimed with his mouth still full, annoying Katara as he sprayed even more food on the back of her head.
Shaking it off in disgust, she turned around and glared at her brother. "Sokka, can you not get food all over me?"
Rolling his eyes, he finally swallowed his food and decided to ignore her. "This is the perfect chance for us to get into the big leagues!" he exclaimed excitedly as he looked around at all of his friends. "We need to sign up for this!"
"I don't know, Sokka," Aang began a bit nervously, not being as confident in this idea as Sokka clearly was. "Maybe we should just keep playing gigs."
"Oh come on, Twinkle Toes," Toph spoke up this time, making Aang wince as he felt a little food spray on him as well. "This is just what we need to make us famous! I can already feel the love," she sighed happily, making Katara roll her eyes as she looked back at Aang.
"Maybe they're right, Aang," she shrugged, not being as on board with the idea as their friends, but knowing that it definitely sounded like it could be good for them. "It can't hurt us to try, can it?"
Seeing that she wasn't against it, Aang knew that he couldn't argue with her and, after a moment of silence, finally nodded his agreement. "Okay, we can give it a shot, I guess. What does Zuko think?"
Every head turned over to Zuko and were not so surprised to find that he was still making out with Mai, making Sokka fake gag a little as he saw this. Not that he was against them dating, but he didn't like seeing anyone else kiss in front of him. After a few moments of them looking, the couple seemed to realize that they were being watched and reluctantly split apart. As Zuko finally looked over at them and saw that they were waiting expectantly, he said a quick "Uh, yeah. Sure. Whatever." before resuming making out with his girlfriend.
With that settled, the four other friends looked at each other and nodded in agreement. "Alright, then it's settled. We're going to compete in the Battle of the Bands," Sokka declared loudly, earning a shush from someone behind him, making him smile sheepishly and lower his voice. "Sorry."
Finally, the commercials stopped playing and the movie began, making Katara become excited as she shushed her brother. "Be quiet, Sokka. The movie's starting." Sokka, despite wanting to annoy his sister, decided that he would be good for once and actually remained quiet.
Toph, however, made no such promises as she decided that she would do what she had come there to do. "Twinkle Toes and Sugar Queen, sitting in a tree," she whispered to them, making Katara roll her eyes and Aang blush as he heard it. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G."
Sokka, seeing this as a fun opportunity, forgot all about his unspoken promise and decided to join Toph in her teasing. "Aang and Katara, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G."
Sharing a look, the new couple's tormentors shared a grin and took a breath before saying in sync. "Aang and Katara, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-"
Before they could finish, Katara decided that she had more than enough of their teasing and grabbed Aang's hand, whispering to him. "Come on, Aang. Let's get away from them." Not giving him the chance to reply, she started dragging him just as he managed to grab his drink and the popcorn bucket, allowing her to lead him to the very back of the theater where they wouldn't be disturbed.
"Good work, Toph," Sokka grinned as he looked at his friend, feeling satisfied that they had come there to do what they had planned to do.
"Thank you, Snoozles. You weren't so bad yourself," Toph grinned back, deciding to look back at their friends and laughing as she did so, making Sokka raise a brow at her.
"What's so funny?"
"Just don't look back there. You won't like what you see," was Toph's only answer, making Sokka's eyes widen as he immediately looked back and saw his little sister kissing his best friend. Groaning in displeasure, Sokka slid down in his seat and tried not to think about what he had just seen, dearly wishing that he could scrub that memory from his mind.