A/N: I'M NOT DEAD! Seriously though, I am so sorry, dear readers. Life just kinda slapped me upside the head with NHD, school, competitions, etc. I ask not for forgiveness, but understanding. I promise, if I start a story, I have every intention to finish it, it just might take a while. Honestly, most of the times I don't update is because I don't have the motivation or energy to just check . Literally just sending me a PM or review saying, "Hey, BakingQueen, it's been a while with this story so update?" will probably be enough to get me to update within the next couple days or so. Anyway, my goal for this story is before its 3 year anniversary in March, but realistically, that probably won't happen. That being said, ON WITH THE STORY.

Chapter 19: Aftermath

Last Time:

"Aang's got a girlfriend, Aang's got a girlfriend," Sokka sing-songed around him.

"Oh, shut up," the airbender blushed, snickering internally as he imagined Sokka's reaction to who his girlfriend was.

"Come on, man. Did you see how fast he grabbed his phone and how his face lit up?" Teo chuckled. "Dude's whipped. She says 'jump', he says 'how high'."

The airbender shook his head at his friends and read the text message, smiling as he read what he owed her.

"It's a deal. 3" he texted back, very aware of his friends reading over his shoulder.

"So what if I'm whipped?" he asked, directing the question at Teo.

Aang smirked.

"At least I have someone to be whipped by," he said knowingly as the other guys burst into laughter at Teo's expense, aware of his crush on a certain blind earthbender.

"Not cool, man, not cool."

The conversation continued on, not really drifting back to Aang and Katara, and the airbender zoned after a while, reflecting on the past 6 hours.

He hadn't cheated on his girlfriend, his friends now knew about his girlfriend, Katara wasn't mad at him, and he owed her a lot of kisses; it was going to be a good day.

"So..." Aang said sheepishly, rubbing his head as he walked closer to his girlfriend, lying on her side on her bed after school that day.

She raised an eyebrow at him, beckoning him to her.

"You have quite a bit of explaining to do mister," she said pointedly, snuggling into him as he laid down next to her. "You also have quite a bit of kisses to give."

The airbender chuckled, kissing the top of Katara's head and holding her close.

"Where shall I start?"

"With the kisses or explaining?"

"Both, I suppose."

"With the explaining, when you decided that telling the school about us, spurring the gossip mill to outrageous extents, without consulting me first AND THEN ignoring my numerous texts and calls was a good idea."

Aang gulped.

"With the kisses, well, we'll get to that after you finish your explaining."

"Um, okay, well- you see..." the airbender stammered.

Katara stared at him expectantly, eyebrow still raised.

He sighed.

"There's no good answer to that, is there..."

The waterbender smirked.

"Nope," she said, popping the 'p'.

A few moments of silence passed as the girl's expression turned to a frown.

"Seriously, Aang. I know we're joking right now, but it kind of hurts," she said, turning away from him and hugging herself.

"Love, I-"

"No, Aang. Let me talk. Please?"

The airbender reluctantly nodded, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the nape of her neck lovingly.

"I just- I know you didn't mean to hurt me. I know, alright? But, 12 times, Aang- 12 times I called you because you didn't show up and had given me some lame-ass excuse about not feeling well. Why did you need to lie?"

She paused, allowing Aang time to give an answer, of which he had none.

Katara sighed.

"And even beyond that, the next day you're spilling your guts to Azula of all people about having a girlfriend, and within the next hour, the whole school is going on debating about whether or not I'm pregnant!"

Katara's voice shrank.

"Why couldn't you at least give me some warning, Aang? Just a, 'Oh hey, Katara. By the way, I'm going to tell everyone about us, alright?' At least then I wouldn't have been so caught off guard or vulnerable. I know you didn't mean to hurt me; I know it shouldn't hurt; but then why does it still hurt?"

"Oh, Love," Aang whispered, not knowing what the right words were.

"Spirits, I'm sorry."

He pressed his chin to the top of her head.

"I never meant to make you feel that way. And honestly, I'm pretty mad at myself."

The waterbender shifted, turning towards him with a frown.

"Why, Sweetie? I might be a little mad with you but why are you?"

The airbender flinched.

"You want to know what happened?"

Katara hesitantly nodded.

"When I went to Azula and Zuko's, Azula gave me a dare."

"And?" the waterbender tentatively asked.

"She dared me to make out with Ty Lee."

The girl's eyes widened as she gulped, not sure if she wanted to hear what happened.

"I actually considered it for a second, Tara. And I hate myself for that."

"...Did you?"

Aang shook his head vehemently.

"Spirits no. You called at just the right time."

A few moments of silence ensued.

"...is that why you called me 'Dad' and said something about an emergency?"

The airbender blushed sheepishly and nodded.

"It was the only thing I could think of to get out of there. I went straight home and thought about what I was going to do. I didn't actually fully decide until about 10 minutes before the bell rang, so I couldn't give you any notice."

"What were you considering?" Katara asked with a bit of hesitation.

Aang smiled and gave his girlfriend a kiss.

"The only two options I had were telling everyone that day or telling them I had a girlfriend and waiting. I didn't want you to be too mad at me for lack of notice, so I went with the latter."

Seeing his girlfriend's reaction, Aang swore it could've powered their whole school for the rest of eternity.

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Really, my love."

"So we're going to tell everyone at the Valentine's Dance?"

"That's the plan? If you don't want to, we don't have to."

"No, I really want to. It's just... what about your reputation?"

The airbender didn't miss a beat and kissed her again, on her nose.

"Darling, at this point I'm far too in love with you to give a fuck."

Aang didn't think it was possible, but Katara smiled even wider, embracing him tightly.

She pulled herself up the bed and kissed her boyfriend, not caring about anything but the fact that he loved her and she loved him.

The boy eagerly kissed her back, cupping her cheek and tangling his hands in her hair.

When they finally broke away, they lay in blissful silence, holding each other's hands.

"Aang?"

"Yes, Penguin?"

The waterbender smiled and pecked him.

"I forgive you, you know. For the whole considering the dare thing and telling everyone."

"Really?" Aang asked hopefully. Even he was still mad at himself and now his ferociously-tempered girlfriend was letting it go without a second thought?

"Really. I know you'd never do that to me, Sweetie, and it wasn't really your fault that you did what you did. I love you."

The airbender grinned, peppering kisses all over Katara's face.

"I love you too, Kat. Thank you."

The girl smiled, cuddling into his chest.

"Forever and always, Aang. Forever and always."

A/N: Squee! Another chapter down, just about a thousand more to go. When this story was still in its outlining stage, the last chapter was supposed to be the climax, but right now, we're not even halfway through. There is plenty left to come. Also, I know this was supposed to be the Ball, but honesty, this kind of aftermath chapter made more sense, looking back. We all know Katara wouldn't be the type to take it lightly, and the acknowledging of trust in each other and forgiveness in Aang considering the dare was an important milestone in their relationship. Hope to see you all, dear readers, in the next week (fingers crossed)!