"May I lay a kiss on this gentle hand that I see before me?..."

Aang picked up an imaginary hand in front of him, as he stood in front of a mirror in the boy's bathroom, trying not to look straight into his reflection and lose the moment. A couple of older boys had walked into the bathroom then, chatting away about the upcoming Earthbending Football tryouts, and Aang immediately placed his arms back at his side, pretending that he had just noticed a pimple in this face.

The end of the school day had shown up out of nowhere that Friday afternoon, and the boy tried not to think about the audition he was supposed to walk in for in less than an hour... knowing it would mean an entire year of being close to the sweetest, prettiest girl of Praying Mantis. Aang was cautious about mentioning the reason for his auditioning... the fact that a dark-haired girl was always dancing in his mind... knowing that his friends from the Southern Air Temple would make fun of him.

Aang could just imagine the dialogue between him and the airbenders...

You're trying out for a play? MmHmm.

What's it called? The Tale of Omashu.

Ooooh, how romantic! Which part are you trying out for? Um... Shu...

REALLY? You want to be the lover-boy? Yeah... I think he's a great character...

Oh really, Aang. Why? Is there some girl you're thinking about...?

And of the course, the entire Cosmic Universe would break loose after that.


There were only a few people who managed to know about his audition for the play. Some of them were the ones who had taken him under their shade of the Oak Tree... and throughout the course of the week... did not mind that an awkward boy with a red bandana sat with them during lunch.

"Aang, c'mon, you know you can do better than that..." Jet was sitting against the Oak Tree, crossing his arms with very intense criticism in his face. "Look over at Smellerbee... pretend that she is the love of your life. Okay? Your LIFE!!"

"What?" Smellerbee winced from her sitting position, turning to Jet questioningly. A slight blush formed below her black make-up marks, and Longshot looked at her with a rare grin.

Aang blushed. The boy had managed to memorize his favorite monologue from the entire play, where Shu describes his feelings for Oma at the first sight of her... but as Aang tried to deliver it refreshingly to Jet and the other break-dancers... he felt that he need his real inspiration in order to deliver his true feelings with the lines perfectly.

"This is hopeless," the boy remarked, throwing his arms in the air. "How am I supposed to convince Haru that I'm a good... a good...?"

"Loverboy?" Jet finished.

"Actor!"

Aang didn't mean to sound harsh. It was the fact that none of them knew about his crush over a pretty girl with hairloops, and he didn't want to give anything away right then and there. He wanted the part of the lover more than anything that week... believing that he could show Katara how amazing of an actor and potential boyfriend he could be.

It was a stupid thought... and he refused to tell anyone about this... but the boy's worst nightmare was seeing Katara play Oma opposite another boy as Shu, and watch them kiss onstage as two lovers before an entire school of people. Aang knew it probably would not mean much between actors, but still... the boy wasn't sure if he could handle such a thing.

He loved the girl's smile too much.

"Aang, it's going to be okay," Pipsqueak attempted, leaning against the Oak Tree and observing the boy. "You memorized the lines... now all you have to do is believe in what you're saying. Show Haru that you are the perfect lead for this play."

Jet nodded, picking up a piece of straw from the ground and placing it in his mouth to chew, and to ponder about a new plan for the boy.

"Kid... tell me honestly..." Jet squinted his eyes, trying to study Aang's overwhelmed, nervous expression in his eyes. "Now you don't have to tell me who it is... but I just need to know."

Aang's eyes rose but they didn't meet Jet's. He knew what was coming.

"Do you have a crush on a girl at this school?" Jet's voice was calm and not at all teasing as he delivered the question.

Aang could hear Pipsqueak give a hearty laugh in the background right as he nodded, almost shamefully.

"Hey Pips, I'm trying to help here. And why are you laughing, when just yesterday you ditched us for a picnic lunch with Jin?" Jet retorted back at the big guy, and immediately, his laughter faded into a blush, looking away from the scene as if he wanted to Oak tree to eat him alive. The young man with the straw in his mouth returned his glance to the boy, and continued to speak.

"Kid, I'll admit it; I've had a crush on someone here, too... for a long time. And this year, I made a promise that I'd finally show her how I felt, because I'm ready for it."

Aang took a small breath, knowing that this anxiety must not be anything new at Praying Mantis High. In his mind, he wondered how long it would take for him to finally approach Katara that way... and he also wondered which mysterious girl at the school had been worth thinking about in Jet's mind for so long. Wait a minute, Aang panicked. What if... what if it was KATARA!?

"So listen..." Jet continued, noticing how the boy had quickly looked from the ground to meet his eyes with determination, "you might not be ready to tell this girl of yours how you feel yet... but make this monologue your chance to tell the whole world how you feel. Don't worry about sounding like an everyday Loverboy. Make it your own."

Jet gave the Aang one of his signature pats on the shoulder, with Momo climbing down from the Oak tree to land on the other one. The boy smiled with that reassurance from his friend, and from the comfort that Momo gave from the familiar squeaking he made.

Make it my own, Aang repeated to himself easily. Make it my own...


...and there he was, back in the boy's bathroom, staring into the mirror as the red bandana covered his head and the light sweat that was forming under it. In a few minutes, the boy knew that he would have to head to the school auditorium for one of the greatest challenges of his life. Carefully, he turned the water faucet and cupped his hands to drink a little, to soften his mouth and his nerves. He couldn't help but imagine the lovely waterbender's face from the puddle in his hands.

Why was it almost impossible to feel his legs at that moment? His stomach felt queasy, and he had trouble just looking straight at himself in the mirror. Is this what true love feels like? Aang wondered. He wasn't sure if his nervousness was mainly due to the audition he was about to make... or the fact that he would have to see Katara in the auditorium, and express his cryptic feelings for her, right then and there.

Aang exited out of the bathroom, as if he'd relived his first revelation of being the Avatar-in-Training, and took a small breath of the element he knew well. All of a sudden, his legs were becoming less like air and more like stone, like the entire forces of the Earth were preventing him from fulfilling this great task of auditioning. After only a few steps down the hallway... Aang had to lean against a wall to gather his thoughts and take a breath.

"You okay, Twinkle Toes?" The young, familiar voice approached him from the opposite side of the hallway, wearing her Earthbending Football helmet for the after-school tryout drills. "Um, did you know your heart's going at the rate of a small Kangarabbit right now?"

"Toph, you gotta help me," Aang was struggling to keep himself upright, leaning against the wall. "I can't go there by myself."

"Go where by yourself?" Toph raised an eyebrow and grabbed a hold of Aang's side before he slipped near to the ground. "You mean that silly audition"

"Yes! Please...I need inspiration!" Aang closed his eyes, taking another full gulp of breath as Toph kept a hold of his weight with her small body. "I need you to come with me!"

"What for?" The little girl was so confused, keeping hold of Aang's side. She wondered if it had been best to get to Football drills early and set the field with the other boys, instead of dealing with this crazy kid.

"I...um..." Aang bit his lip and clenched his fists bravely. "I need to pretend that I'm in love with you!"

At that, the little girl let go of her hold, letting the unsteady airbender to meet solid ground stomach-first.


"Thanks so much for coming, Sokka, and Suki..."

Haru held a clipboard under his arm while he made a quick applause to his friends onstage.

"No problem, Mr. Director!" Sokka teased dryly, but then coughed another few words. "Um, I know that the part of Shu involves a lot of commitment, and I'm already swamped with the lab reports I have to do for Mr. Mechanist... and the camping trips I'm doing with the boy scouts... and the--"

Suki elbowed him annoyingly from the side.

"–but I'd be more than happy to take any part. Anything at all... especially if I get to fight with a sword." Sokka smiled over at Suki for approval, but she just rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Same here, Haru," Suki spoke up from the stage. "I'll be okay with a small part, since I have Kyoshi drill team practice on most days after school."

Haru took his clipboard out and jotted down a few notes accordingly, "alright, I'll make sure I keep that in mind. The cast list should be up by Monday morning. Thanks again!"

The young pair held each other's hands as they walked down the stage, and Haru was sitting himself back down on the front row of the theatre right when Aang and Toph stepped into the door. Aang was practically carrying Toph's little body into the auditorium like a baby. A very reluctant, screaming baby.

"Okay, I made it to audition with you. Now do you mind if I went to Football practice? I'm supposed to train the new kids!" The little girl's voice was jumping into a high pitch with all of her frustration, being cradled over Aang's arms.

Aang was gritting his teeth, partially thankful that Toph couldn't use her full Earthbending capability inside the school, much less in this carrying position. "Just a couple more minutes Toph, please!"

"Uh, Aang..." Sokka raised an eyebrow as he made it to the last step. "Are... you... CRAZY!? Put her down!"

"I can't, Sokka," Aang continued to pull Toph into the auditorium kicking and screaming, and down the first few rows of chairs. "I just need her for moral support."

Aang needed someone he was very comfortable and familiar with to help him through this grueling audition. In spite of Toph kicking and screaming over his arms, he couldn't think of anyone else to better fit the role. Jet and his crew were off practicing their dances elsewhere around the school... and he didn't have time to find them.

Suki then released her hand from Sokka's and approached Aang with a very concerned, yet warm glance. "Aang, it's okay. I'm sure Sokka and I can stay and watch, if you're feeling nervous... right Haru?"

Haru nodded from the behind them, nervously, with the role of leadership still being new to him.

"Yeah, Twinkle Toes," the little girl retorted over Aang's arms, finally giving the kicking a rest. "I gotta get to practice!"

With a small second of reassurance from the people in front of him, Aang looked at Toph with guilt, believing that there wasn't anyone else who'd help him give a more comfortable audition that his Earthbending Football partner. Yet in all of his disappointment, the young airbender had to do what was right... and he set Toph down, and she immediately huffed herself back in a standing position and stomped out of the auditorium without so much as a goodbye.

"Don't mind her," Haru noted, getting out of his seat and approaching the airbender's sad face. "Earthbending Football's her life, trust me. It's one of the few things Toph would ever miss deliberately."

Haru extended a hand to the boy in a professional manner.

"I'm Haru, by the way, the director of The Tale of Omashu." Quickly checking his auditioning schedule, he added, "Oh! You must be Aang. Great... well Katara should be coming in a few seconds, she signed up to audition with you."

The young boy's heart skipped a beat, and Sokka and Suki couldn't help but glance curiously at his face of shock. "Wh... What?"

"Yeah," Haru replied simply. "She specifically asked me if I could schedule her to audition with the new kid. I guess she wanted to support you just as much as--"

Suddenly the door burst open a second time.

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late..." Katara almost stumbled over her own tennis shoes as she came in on a rush, and it was the first time Aang had seen the girl with her hair down, with a tennis band keeping her hairloops in place. Despite her panting breath and how she wiped her sweaty hands over her short blue tennis skirt, Aang had to blink to keep telling himself he was still alive over such beauty.

And he couldn't remember his first line. Monkeyfeathers!

"Great! You're both here." Haru took the liberty of giving his friend Katara a hug, which made Aang involuntarily blush with jealousy. The director then returned to the front row, and Sokka and Suki found a pair of seats in the front row as well. "Alright, so we're going to make this quick, since Katara, I know you have to get to Water Tennis drills in a few minutes..."

Katara nodded to Haru, then gestured for Aang to take a seat on the stage, before going up on the platform herself.

"So instead of doing three scenes, I'm just going to give you two the last one with Oma and Shu... the one we all like to dub 'the kissing scene.'"

Everyone gave a small laugh, except for Aang. His nerves were jumping just by the warmth of Katara's presence next to him. Suddenly, the fact that Sokka – Katara's brother - was watching them together was giving the Aang the most uncomfortable, worrisome thoughts.

"Alright, Aang. Did you memorize Shu's lines?" Haru asked up to the boy, pen on his clipboard.

The young airbender used all the energy he had to make a full nod, but then looked back at Katara and her smile, and he seemed to grow less tense with every second they were up there.

"Katara?" Haru acknowledged then.

"Actually, Haru, I'm really sorry... I looked at the script a few times this week... but with all the Water Tennis preparations, I just couldn't..."

"Not a problem, you can use the script I have here." Haru quickly stood up and handed the girl a small booklet that said Omashu and made a note in his clipboard "It's page 27."

Aang glanced at Katara, noticing how she blushed with embarrassment by not being prepared. He smiled back to her with support, telling her through his mind that there was nothing to be ashamed of. The boy admired those tiny, almost invisible dimples, from the girl's cheeks.

"Okay... lovers! Ready for the audition?"

Katara and Aang flinched back into the moment, turning their heads to see Haru look up at them.

"Sure, I think so!" Katara spoke foolishly for the two of them, opening up her booklet to the page.

"Alright... Katara, let's start with Oma's line: I struggled to find my way home through the light of this blissful moon..."

The pretty waterbender followed along with the script, and she spoke her lines in the most comforting eloquence that Aang had a privilege hearing from aside.

...but these woods are so deep, and I feel like a small bird confined to an endless cage. Could it be that the moonlight is playing a trick with my eyes tonight? Does the great moon spirit desire me to encounter a new sense of guidance to help me home?

Katara paused and moved her book slightly lower to her face, glancing to prompt Aang. The boy gasped and realized it was his turn to speak. It was the moment when Oma runs into Shu in the dark woods of the Earth Kingdom, and Aang's mind was caught off guard.

"Um... M-may...May I..." the boy felt his head trickle new drops of sweat as he tried to remember his line, and as Katara continued to look at him, it all seemed to be too much.

Haru spoke up. "It's alright Aang, just relax and take a deep breath."

Aang listed to Haru's voice, closing his eyes tightly to get his mind back into the scene, remembering what Jet had advised him to do. Make this moment your own.

Make the world know how much you love Katara.

The boy's fingers then began to flex themselves into a relaxation, and as he took a deep breath and opened his eyes to the girl at his side, it was like Aang had seen those beautiful blue eyes for the first time. He had never felt so at peace.

"May I... lay a kiss on the gentle hand that I see before me?"

Aang didn't realize how his voice had changed then, and his mind was so calm, he almost forgot that his mouth was even moving. The monologue formed itself in his mind and came into existence with his voice, word-by-word like tiny drops of sweet honey... never taking his eyes off the pretty girl that sat next to him.

"It's like an angel has fallen from the sky, and here I am... a poor warrior... lucky enough to find you in the woods, lost within these mortal realms."

Katara gaped, from flattery or from amusement, nobody could tell. Her eyes looked at the boy's calm presence, wondering how in the world he had managed to remember his lines so well. Quickly, she remembered she was supposed to speak then, and looked at the book.

"Great warrior, your words flow as serenely as the river I hear, and yet I am as much a mortal as you. A warrior, nonetheless from the Eastern cliffs of the Earth Kingdom, the enemy of my village. How can I trust my enemy to set me free, within the dark lurking of these woods?"

Aang couldn't help himself, listening to the girl's lovely voice speak to him like that, and he drew himself closer as he answered.

"Trust this heart that whispers to you now, saying that Shu is no longer an enemy to your people, of the Western prairies. I surrender my sword and my spirit of an Eastern warrior to you, my missing star of an unknown name."

Aang could hear Suki giggle out in the audience, and as the boy finished his line, he noticed Katara eyes raised higher, blushing at the boy's moving closer, and the intensity of those words as they escaped his mouth. Quickly, she opened her booklet again.

"This gesture is a noble one, young warrior, and you kneel to me as though I were the great Moon Spirit herself. But let it be known that I am Oma, from the spiritual bird of the same name. My heart is flattered, singing your very name to me in a language I have never heard before, and it asks me to trust you. But how can I trust my enemy in a language that is unknown?"

Katara set the book down, having finished her lines for the part of Oma, and her face anticipated to hear those last few lines of Shu, with Aang's serene-looking eyes still gazing at her.

He smiled, leaning closer to Katara.

"It is a language that moves the very ground from our feet, whose whispers tell the mountains to rise and the vast rivers to flow and give life to our people. It is a language, an aura that has existed within us since the beginning of mortal man, where few are blessed to understand. Its whispers have led me to you in these woods, fair Oma, and with a small kiss to your hand, I surrender my heart as well."

Without giving her a warning, or without a single moment's thought to do otherwise, Aang leaned his lips to the girl, and planted a light kiss on her cheek.

Suki gasped loudly, placing a hand over her mouth, and Sokka's eyes had practically popped out of their sockets, speechless.

Katara didn't know what to say, much less do. She just sat there mesmerized, her hand planted quickly onto the cheek that had been touched by Aang's lips. Before she knew it, she was giggling! Her eyes had closed and she was laughing at the mere surprise and personal gesture of it all. And yet it was something that made her feel so warm.

Aang just watched her reaction, smiling.

Haru was too impressed to say anything, and jotted down a few notes onto his pad excitedly.

"Aang, are you sure you've never acted before? You're a natural loverboy!" Haru smiled, jotting down some more notes on his clipboard.

"Thanks!" Aang propped himself off the chair to quickly turn away from Katara, and let her breathe the moment of shock out of her mind. She was caressing her cheek, getting herself back into reality from that unexpected kiss that the boy had stolen from her.

Sokka, for some reason, looked as if he had transformed into a dark guardian in a matter of seconds.

"Maybe we should get going..." Suki knew that face rather well, tugging at Sokka's shirt as the eyes were starting to stare menacingly at the young, innocent smile of the airbender.Katara then came down from the stage and traded looks with her brother, telling him mentally that no harm had been done.

"Haru, I gotta head to practice." Katara approached Haru to hand back the booklet, briefly brushing Aang's bare arm with her own as she did so. She didn't seem to think anything of it, but to Aang, it was a wonder that he had not melted right there. "Of course, I'll be up for any small part in the play. My Water Tennis matches are the first priority this year."

"But you'd be a great Oma, Katara!" Aang suggested positively, hopefully. The girl just glanced at the boy with a slight blush, before waving a hand to everyone.

"Anyway, I'm off to Water Tennis. Let me know how everything else goes, okay, Haru?" Katara smiled at the Director just as she and Sokka and Suki left the auditorium.

Haru was jotting down more notes in his clipboard, while Aang reminisced silently in the theatre, wondering if his raw feelings had reached Katara.

"Well, thanks so much for coming Aang. I'm certainly looking forward to working with you!" Haru said happily, as if half of his worries as a director had suddenly disappeared.

"Thanks, Haru..." Aang said in a dream-like sigh, and then grabbed his bag from a chair and worked his way up the auditorium steps. "I'll see you on Monday."

The boy walked the few dozen steps up the auditorium and grabbed a hold of the exit door, and just as he was opening it, another face was staring back at him from ajar. It almost made the boy jump backwards in unexpected surprise, seeing those big familiar brown eyes returning the same shocked face to him.

Aang blinked.

It was the girl he had seen from the very first day at school, back when he'd been filing out registration forms in the office. The boy had noticed her sitting in the back, taking notes quietly in a few of his classes as well. What was her name? Anji? Onga?

She gasped at the big silver eyes that had caught her in mid-entrance to the theatre, clutching a small notebook in front of her as if it were her signature armor. Her long bangs barely made her eyes noticeable, but as she stared at the boy with the red bandana... they gradually rose into a more intrigued, intense look. And her cheeks suddenly blushed a light pink color.

"On Ji? Hey, you're here!" Haru had called out from afar, making the young girl wince and look over that direction. "Listen, nobody else is set to come in for another 10 minutes, so you can start interviewing me now, if you want."

"Um...sure thing, Haru." The girl hesitated to even step into the doorway, as Aang still held it slightly open from the inside. Carefully the boy raised a curious brow as he moved the door entirely open for On Ji, and with a nervous glance back at him, the girl clutched her notebook tightly and ran down the stairs to meet with Haru. Her cheeks had been blushing almost into a red.

Aang looked over as On Ji began to talk to Haru, wondering why she'd acted so strangely to him just then. But before he could think more thoroughly about it, the boy shrugged and exited the theater, happily remembering the small kiss he gave the girl of his dreams.

He couldn't wait to see what Monday's cast list would reveal.


A/N: I hope I captured the auditioning process credibly; it's fun, but man... it can be nerve-wrecking. Anyway, for the sake of shipping I'm gonna narrate about other kids as well, but Aang'll still be the main character. FYI: Praying Mantis was founded and is run by Fire Nation, but there are kids from every nation attending the school. Yes, every nation. wink --MM