Zuko was sitting home, doing homework on the eighteenth, which was a Friday night. He sat at his desk, scribbling out math problems on a piece of paper. He was interrupted when his cell phone rang from in his sweatshirt pocket. He reached into it and answered it. "Hello?"

"Zuko, it's Celeste." Celeste said on the other line. Zuko smiled, remembering he had given her his number after the dance.

"Oh, hey Celeste. What's up?" he asked.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to come over and watch me practice. Zula and I were going to go out to eat after and I wanted you to come."

"Will Rue be there?"

"I haven't heard from Rue since yesterday, so I'm sure he won't be here."

"Well, I guess I could come over for a little bit." He said with a grin.

"Great, I'll see you soon. Bye." And they hung up. Zuko grabbed his car keys and left for Celeste's house.

Once again, there was ice on his tires and he had to use his firebending to free them from the driveway. Boy, he hated winter. He got in his car and drove off to see Celeste. When he arrived, he was welcomed by an elderly woman at the door. Celeste mentioned that her grandmother would be staying with her during the holidays. The elder woman looked up at him and smiled with her dentures. "You must be Zuko." She said in a shaky voice. Zuko thought about how lucky Celeste was, he had never met his grandparents before they died, and his uncle was the oldest relative he knew.

"Yes, is Celeste around?"

"She's in her room. Go on up there." The old lady let him in. He took off his boots and coat and hung them up on the coat rack and made his way up the stairs. He could hear her heavenly voice coming down through the hallway as he made his way to the door that was cracked open. He knocked on the door and Zula opened it and let him in.

"You're just in time." Zula said. "We're going over 'Silent Night'. That's what she'll be singing at the state competition." And Zula closed the door behind him.

"How many CD's did we sell?" Zuko asked.

"All of them within a matter of minutes. It was incredible. Ever since the announcement of her victory at the city competition, the student body has been very supportive. They sold like hot cakes." Zula explained. "The competition is in six days now. Let's get ready."

"Will you be coming, Zuko?" Celeste asked from her bed.

"I have a race, but I'll be there on time."

"Promise?"

"Promise." He confirmed and then looked around her room.

Her walls were pink with posters of puppies and boy bands on them. There was a desk with all of her school work spilled out on it against one wall. There was a single window with white curtains and some stickers on the glass. Her dressers were white and atop them was jewelry galore. Zuko looked at her bed and saw the powder pink comforter and matching heart shaped pillows. It was a typical teen girl's room. He turned towards her dresser and saw a picture of a necklace on the wall. The necklace was gold with diamonds dangling off of it. It looked expansive. "It's what I want for Christmas." Celeste pointed out. Zuko knew what it was like to want something expensive for Christmas. He still had his eyes on the Prodigy. And after winning the race he would have enough for it.

"Start singing!" Zula commanded and Celeste sighed and stood up straight. She began to sing.

"Silent night…holy night…all is calm…all is bright…" she went on. Zuko leaned back against the door and listened to her beautiful voice again. He kept it a secret, but he had been up all forever one night doing nothing but listening to her CD. And then he stayed up the next night watching the video of her singing as well. No doubt, he was crazy about this girl.

"No, no, no!" Zula interrupted. "It's an F sharp, Celeste! Get it right."

"Sorry." She apologized.

"Don't yell at her." Zuko reprimanded his sister.

"Sorry, I just wanted to make sure everything is perfect." Zula said. "Now start again, Celeste." And Celeste cleared her throat and began to sing again.

Celeste practiced for a few hours straight and then Zula decided it was enough. So the teenagers got their coats on and prepared to go to McDonald's. They figured it wouldn't hurt to have a little fast food. But before they left, Celeste did the introductions between Zuko and her grandmother. "Zuko, this is my grandmother, Grammy Emiko."

"Call me Grammy." She said. Zuko smiled. He thought about calling the woman Grammy and chuckled to himself. "So this is the boy you talk about all the time, Celeste? You're right, he is handsome." Zuko looked at Celeste who blushed.

"Uh, Grammy…we should be going. Bye." And Celeste pushed Zuko out of the doorway. Zuko grinned to himself.

"You think I'm handsome?" he asked. Celeste exasperated and shrugged. He smiled. "Even with the scar?"

"Hey, that scar means nothing to me Zuko." She told him. "You are who you are."

Celeste decided to go in Zuko's car and Zula followed. Zuko asked Celeste if she really wanted Zula to be her manager, and Celeste gave an unexpected answer. "She's alright, but she's after the money, not to be my friend. And that's not what any singer needs." Zuko looked at her surprised. Was it true? Zula was just using Celeste? Now that she mentioned it, it did seem like something Zula would do.

The teens walked into McDonald's and bought their food, but Zuko paid for his and Celeste's. They sat and talked, but Celeste didn't talk much. She looked like she felt guilty about something, and excused herself to the bathroom. "Ugh, she always goes to the bathroom right when she's done eating." Zula said and sipped her milkshake. Zuko grew worried again when she came back with red eyes and a runny nose. He knew something was up, and he was determined to figure out what. Sooner or later, Celeste would have to tell him what was going on. So he just dropped her back off home without saying anything on the subject. But all night all he could think about was what could have been wrong.