Author's Note: So far the entire story has been told from Azula's and Jet's perspectives, however, the following two chapters will explore the point-of-view of the entire main friend group. I borrowed the idea from Scrubs when JD decides to stop narrating and allows the supporting characters narrate instead. Enjoy!

Chapter 28: Omashu Day Perspectives (Part 1)

Jet

Spring semester started with the inevitable changes and challenges that came along with any new semester, but to Jet, it all felt like one big blur. Days floated into the next, and Jet was left feeling completely detached. All he could think about was that note. Azula loved him. What was he supposed to do with that information?!

Love was a concept with which he was unfamiliar. He had known his parents' love up until the age of eight when it was suddenly taken away from him. While he had been fortunate to have experienced physical love with many women, emotional love was something he had never felt. Sure, he had been crushing on Mai pretty hard, but it wasn't love, just an infatuation. Something fleeting. For most of his life, he wasn't sure he was even capable of loving anyone other than himself, which in turn, made him love himself a little less.

Could he love Azula? Did he already love her? She was his best friend, his closest confidant. He trusted her completely. She went out of her way to make his life better. She made him better. But how would he know if he was in love with her or not? And even if he did love her, would he dare risk the best friendship he'd ever had for such a gamble? They were barely adults – surely their relationship wouldn't last forever…

Fortunately Azula was none-the-wiser to Jet's quandary. He had slipped the note back into her hoodie just as if it had never fallen. He never told a soul. This knowledge was his and his alone. Jet tried his best to act normal around her. It was easy in a way since they hadn't spent much time together since the start of the semester, and not because Jet was actively avoiding her or anything. Yes, he had taken on more shifts at the student center café, but Azula was also adjusting to life on crutches and pushing everyone away who tried to help her. She was so damn stubborn sometimes.

He sighed as he finished closing up the café for the day. With Omashu Day three weeks away, students were already starting to go overboard with all the heart-shaped pastries and sickeningly sweet coffee drinks. All the hopeful romantics were just making him feel worse about his confusion, the war within. He just hoped the new semester was going better for his friends.

Zuko

"I want to break up."

Zuko closed his laptop and looked over at Mai who was studying on his bed.

"Sorry…" she chuckled lightly. "That came out way more dramatic than intended."

"It's okay. You knew you could back out of this arrangement at any time. Just… why now?"

She shrugged and looked away. "I don't know… I guess I was thinking of asking Ty Lee to be my date for Omashu Day…?"

"Mai, that's great!" he smiled encouragingly.

"Really? You think I should go for it?"

"Yeah, why not? You've had a crush on her for a while now."

"Yeah, but… what if she says no?"

"Well – "

"What if I ruin our friendship by asking? Or what if she says yes and she's outed as a result? I'd be outed too! I don't know if I'm ready for that…"

"Well… these are all risks you'd have to consider." Zuko gave her a sympathetic look. "But let's go over the possibilities. One: you ask her and she says no. This doesn't mean you can't be friends. Maybe things would be a little uncomfortable for some time, but you'd eventually move on. But for what it's worth, I don't think she would say no. You two have been spending a lot of time together lately…"

"Sorta. She's been spending extra time with both me and Azula because she still feels bad about what happened over winter break. Even though we've already told her a hundred times we forgive her."

"Could be an excuse to see you more though."

"Who knows?" she sighed.

"Okay, let's keep going over the possibilities then. Two: You ask her and she says yes. Then you have the option of keeping your relationship private, or – "

"With her social media presence, it would be nearly impossible to keep things private. Someone would find out."

"Even if that happened, people lie and make up rumors about influencers all the time."

"That's true…"

"Maybe she'd even consider giving that life up for a chance at something real?"

"I don't know if I'd even want her to do that though… not for me anyway."

"Mai." He stared at her intently. "You are worth it."

"Thanks, Zuko," she smiled. "But what about you?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you think this would be a good opportunity to, you know, ask out your crush?"

"Oh no," he dismissed immediately, "I-I can't do that!"

"Why not? You think it's a good idea for me to take the risk, but you shouldn't?"

"My situation is totally different! You know Ty Lee is gay. My crush is straight!"

"You don't know that for sure."

"Well if history has anything to say…"

"I don't know. He did seem pretty okay with his gay kiss on Ember Island during that game."

"Yeah," he conceded, nodding. "I noticed that too."

"So think about it, okay?"

"Okay…"

She seemed content with that response. "So… how do you think we should handle the 'break up'?"

"Oh, I don't know," he laughed. "Knowing our friend group, we'd really only need to tell one person for everyone to find out."

"Yeah, our friends have no boundaries," she snickered. "But I meant in terms of who broke up with who, you know, just to get the story straight."

"There's nothing straight about our story." Zuko was proud of himself for that one.

She continued laughing. "Well, I guess we can just say it was mutual. That we both realized we're better off as friends. If I do end up successfully asking Ty Lee out, then they'll all learn the truth soon anyway…"

"Yeah, good point. Okay sure, that sounds like a solid plan." He stood up from his desk and walked over to his 'ex-girlfriend', with his hand extended. "Well, Mai, it's been a pleasure doing business with you."

"A handshake? Really? After everything we've been through?" she asked flatly before pulling him in for a hug.

"Yeah, you're right," he smiled as he hugged her back. A hug from Mai, and especially one initiated by her, was a rare gift. "Thanks for everything, Mai."

"Likewise."

Mai left his room shortly after their 'break up', leaving Zuko alone with his thoughts. He slumped down on his mattress and ran his hands through his unruly hair. Mai was really going for it. If only he could be that brave…

But he wasn't. He had much more on the line. He lived in the same house with his crush, his probably straight crush… it was a totally different scenario. For now, he'd have to live vicariously through Mai. He really hoped Ty Lee would say yes.

Ty Lee

"Well, this is Ty Lee signing off and sending all you beautiful people my love and positive energy. Don't forget to subscribe for more content!" she said cheerfully, flashing a coy smile at the camera before ending her livestream with her iconic wink. But her smile faded as soon as the camera was off. She put her phone away and lay down on her back on her dorm room floor. When the camera was on, she felt connected to so many people, all her adoring fans, but once the camera was off, it was painfully evident how lonely she was. And the feeling was only getting worse.

She truly loved her fans, well, most of them anyway. Not the ones who made lewd comments about her body, particularly her boobs. But for the most part, she loved her fans, and not just because of the attention they gave her. Her followers made her feel special, something she hadn't felt growing up in a matched set of identical sisters. Growing up with Ty Lin, Ty Lat, Ty Lao, Ty Liu, Ty Lum, and Ty Woo hadn't been easy for her self-esteem and sense of identity. Being on social media made her feel like she stood out, like she was someone worth following.

But social media was also holding her back. She couldn't live as authentically as she wanted to since everything would eventually become public. While she had no shame in being gay, this was not something she wanted everyone to know. She had confided in her friends, and, so far, none of them had leaked it. She was thankful for that, really thankful, but… in a perverse way, she kind of wished they had. Then everyone would know the truth and she wouldn't' have to keep wearing a mask all the time. This was the price of fame though. She would lose some of her biggest supporters if she came out. And she would lose even more followers if she found herself a girlfriend. One of the reasons her social media presence was so successful was because people thought they had a chance with her. She wasn't naïve.

No, despite the airheaded persona she put on in front of an audience, she wasn't naïve. And she knew now that she couldn't have things both ways. She couldn't have her following and also a fulfilling love life. She would have to choose, and she hated making decisions. If only she could leave everything up to the universe. If only the universe could show her some sort of sign to steer her in the right direction…

That was it! She'd wait for a sign, a sign from the universe. It had to be something big, something obvious. And she'd give the universe until Omashu Day to make up its mind. What better day than the holiday celebrating love?

The prospect of leaving her fate to the universe was very exciting to her. Feeling invigorated by her decision-less decision, she jumped up onto her feet and headed out the door. Since the return to campus for spring semester, Ty Lee had been doing her best to make up for her bad behavior during winter break by supplying Mai and Azula with little gifts here and there. She had tried to show her remorse by helping Azula get around on her crutches, but Azula would not accept any such help. While the Fire Nation roommates kept assuring her they had forgiven her, she still couldn't help but feel guilty. So this time she would go to the local flower shop and pick them up something pretty. Some pink peonies would be the perfect flower to brighten their day.

Katara

Tomorrow was Omashu Day, and naturally, Katara was all set with her plans with Haru. She should have been happy. She should have been happy. But she wasn't. She thought a jog in the crisp winter air around the campus pond would do her some good, but she was having trouble staying present. About halfway around the pond, however, she saw Zuko sitting on a bench, reading, and decided to run up to him.

"Hey, Zuko!" she greeted, slightly winded.

"Oh, hey Katara," he said, peering up from his grad school entrance exam prep book. "I didn't know you liked to run."

"I don't. I just… needed to clear my head."

"What's going on?" he asked, making room for her on the bench.

"Oh, it's silly. Don't you worry about me. I mean, you and Mai just broke up like a week ago, I'm sure you have other things – "

"I'm good actually. Mai and I are better off as friends."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," he assured her. "So if you'd like to tell me about what's going on with you, I'm all ears."

"Well… okay then." She took a seat next to him. "So I, umm…" She sighed, not knowing where to start. "…lately I've been reconsidering my relationship with Haru. I-I'm not going to break up with him before Omashu Day of course, that would be cruel. I'm not even sure I'm going to break up with him at all, but… I don't know, I just feel like… something's missing."

"Hm. Well, what do you think that is?"

"I don't know! And ugh, I hate saying it out loud. Haru is such a great guy! He's kind, loyal, strong, such a hard worker, and not to mention easy on the eyes…"

"Yes, he's… quite handsome…"

"…he treats me really well, but… I don't know, I guess I just wish he were less studious and more fun and adventurous. Spontaneous! I wish he laughed more and took himself less seriously sometimes."

"Well maybe you could try to coax him out of his shell a bit…"

"Maybe, but… there's one more thing. Something I can't change." Her chest tightened as the words formed on her tongue. "I… I can't stop thinking about Jet. Please don't tell him."

"I won't, I won't," Zuko assured, putting his hands up in mock surrender.

"Thank you," she whispered, breaking eye contact. "I-I'm a horrible person, aren't I?"

"Not at all. You can't help how you feel."

"I know."

"So, what is it about Jet?"

She was quiet for a moment. "It was our kiss on Ember Island, I… I felt like I was on fire! And I've never felt that way with Haru…" She groaned and dipped her head back. "Before you say anything, I know Jet doesn't feel that way about me. I don't have any hope of being his girlfriend or anything. But I also feel like I should end things with Haru if I don't feel that spark with him… What do you think?"

"Yeah… I'd say that's a pretty good sign you should break things off with him. After some safe buffer period following Omashu Day of course."

"Yeah. You're right." She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for listening to me rant. I'm feeling a bit better now."

"Anytime."

"You know, this is nice. Just the two of us hanging out. I feel like we haven't really had a chance to do this before."

"Yeah," he smiled. "This is nice."

"Oh, spirits, I know!" she said, straightening up as she was suddenly struck with a brilliant idea. "I should set you up with someone! For Omashu Day!"

"Oh, Katara, no, I-I don't think – "

"Please," she begged. "I've always wanted to play matchmaker! And there's this girl in my psychology class I think you'd really like – her name is Jin. She's a freshman, super cute, a hopeless romantic just like me – "

"That's really nice of you, sh-she sounds great, but, uh, it's too soon – "

"But I think you two would really hit it off! Please, Zuko, just give her a chance, I think you'd really like her – "

"I think I'm in love with your brother."

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay with updating. I caught COVID right after my birthday and it threw off my entire schedule. I'm feeling a lot better now! Thank you for your patience, and as always, thank you for reading!