Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
A/N: I forgot to post this in the first chapter, so I'm posting it now. I'm writing this fanfic as part of a challenge. The guidelines for the challenge are in my profile, as is the link to it. Now... on to the story!
Chapter 2 - Just Hungry, Just Friends
As Appa sailed through the air, Katara, Sokka, and Aang found small ways to entertain themselves. Sokka picked at Appa's fur, Katara rested on her back and stared at the sky, and Aang stared discreetly at Katara. Suddenly, Momo jumped onto Aang's shoulder, startling him.
"Momo!" Aang giggled, picking up the lemur and giving him a hug.
Katara and Sokka both looked up. Katara smiled and said, "I guess we're all a little bored, aren't we."
Sokka, on the other hand, just rolled his eyes. "Of course we're bored! We've been flying nonstop for 3 days! Besides, I haven't had a good meal in a while. I'm hungry." Just then, his stomach rumbled. Now it was Katara's turn to roll her eyes.
"Calm down, Sokka. Aang and I have been up here just as long and you have, and you don't see either of us complaining!"
"Of course you're not complaining!" Sokka almost shouted. "Both of you are just buckets of sunshine, aren't you. We could all go a week without eating, and both of you would just look on the bright side and say 'at least it's a beautiful day!'"
"Katara's right, Sokka. Besides, we're almost there. Just a few minutes and we'll be there."
"We better be!" Sokka said.
When they finally landed, Sokka jumped off Appa's back and kissed the floor. "Land!" He exclaimed.
"Wow," Katara said, and Aang couldn't help but smile.
"Come on guys, let's go find something to eat!" he said.
"Finally!" Sokka said.
As they all walked toward the nearest town, Aang began to fall behind the brother and sister. Katara, noticing, also slowed her pace. Sokka, on the other hand, was too excited about the idea of food to slow down.
"What's wrong, Aang?" Katara asked.
"Oh," Aang said. He hadn't realized that he had slowed down. Noticing that he was now alone with the waterbender, however, he saw his chance to talk to her.
"Well… actually…" Aang stammered. "I actually wanted to talk to you."
"Sure, what is it?" Katara asked him.
Aang sighed. Here he was, about to tell Katara his true feelings about her, and he couldn't even think of what he was going to say.
"Aang?"
"Oh," Aang replied. "It's actually kind of…"
"Kind of what?"
Summing up his courage, Aang decided to just come out with it. What did he have to lose?
"It's actually about us."
Katara's features froze, but she continued to walk. "What do you mean?"
Aang looked away in embarrassment. "Well, we've been traveling together for a while, and, well, I really like you. I mean, really like you."
This time, Katara looked away. She remained silent for a while, and Aang began to think she would never talk to him again. He began to apologize, but Katara stopped him.
"Aang," she said.
Aang could tell by her voice that she didn't feel the same way about him.
"Aang, I'm really sorry, but I just don't know what to say. I mean, when Aunt Wu told us our fortunes, she said I'd marry a powerful bender. Since then, I've always wondered if she meant you. But…" Katara stopped walking and faced Aang, who also stopped. "I don't think it's meant to be. I think you and I should just be friends. Do you understand?"
Although Aang felt like his heart had been ripped open, he forced a smile and said, "Of course I understand. I guess we just weren't –"
Suddenly, a loud thud sounded in front of them, and dust flew up all around. Suddenly, Aang realized that Sokka was nowhere to be seen.
"Sokka!" he yelled, but got no reply.
Katara's eyes widened with fear as she realized what had happened: her brother had been captured.