Hi again, guys! Hope you are having a wonderful day. Thank you so so much for the encouragement and the kind words. I will do anything I can to not disappoint you.

This new chapter is more focused on Azula and then later progresses to Aang. Hope you like it, please review it.

Answer to reviews.

Airbender117 - Special thanks to you, your advice was crucial to make this fic a reality, so thanks to you specially. Yeah, my bad, when I was pasting it It got fucked up lol. Yeah, that idea about the diary was awesome, thank you again for suggesting it, it gave me a way to show Katara's struggles. Hope this new chapter is to your liking.

Dinobotrex - Thank you so much for your vote of confidence. I will try my best. Well, that was my idea at first, but then, I don't think you can be IN love with two different people, plus, Azula and Katara are not going to fare well with one another in this fic until much, much later when they find some common ground.

sebitodea122 - Thanks man, your suggestions really helped me to refine this thing. Hey, your story is good, bro. Thank you again for all of your chats.

TheQuietReader23 - Thank you very much, please don't be shy and suggest anything you might like to see either content-wise or how I display it. Yes, you will see about it in the next chapters, basically, Katara is too pushy, and won't let you solve your problems on your own, she always wants to help and that can get people irritated. Yeah, Katara is in a really bad place right now and is desperate for a friend, she will learn how to deal with it in a more healthy disposition later, don't worry, but there will be more angst for her, and for Azula too, even for Aang but there are the corresponding humor and romance to make everything more bearable. Please tell me what you think about this one.

Btw check out A High School Heartbreak, it's a friend's first fic, too.

Reader warning: The next chapter contains innuendo.

On to the next chapter!

I don't own ATLA or anything else mentioned here.


Pretend life and new life.

A Sunday lazy morning breeze coming from the open window of her fancy bedroom grazed her shapely silhouette. The wind kissing her uncovered shoulders as she lay on her side facing the window. She had a smile on her face as the air picked up in speed all of a sudden and seemed to connect on her dry lips, its coolness managing to stir her a little.

Just a second later the alarm from her phone on the nightstand was sent off and her tiny smile morphed into a tiny scowl.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Ughh!" She emitted while she turned to the other side of the king-size bed and without opening her eyes stomped her hand over her phone and turned it off.

A contented sigh escaped her lips at the prospect of sleeping a little more but the hope was quickly shattered when she heard the voice of her father.

Knock! Knock!

"Azula! Wake up!" Ozai yelled from the door.

"Yes, father!" She replied instantly.

Not in the slightest wanting to disobey him she immediately pulled herself up from the covers and went straight to her bathroom at an irritated pace. She looked at herself in the mirror and started her beauty routine.

You have to look pretty Azula. No! You have to look the prettiest! Her conscience suggested. She didn't even know why she had to but she simply did.

She discarded her PJs and underwear and admired her curves. Her pale round, perky and big breasts called to her attention the most. In spite of being only 16 years old, they had developed a great deal, and continued to be the envy of every girl in the school. She didn't even dare think what the boys would like to do with them.

Her gaze lowered and followed the shape of her plain belly and her curvy hips, to her shaved womanhood and then to her long and beautiful legs.

What a waste. Not even one boy would dare talk to me out of fear of my father.

The thought was enough to make her divert her eyes to the bath and sigh in longing for something she never had, as was common with the things that she really wanted but her father didn't permit.

After a really warm bath, she dried off with a red towel and stood again in front of the mirror.

Much better. Much cleaner. Much more presentable. Much more desirable.

She applied all of her lotions and products. Then went to her dresser to get her outfit and underwear. Deciding on a tight red tank-top. If she encountered any boys through the day she would make sure to make them drool. And some grey shorts that were a little looser. Not much tough.

She made her hair, leaving two bangs in the front and a little top knot where she put a fire nation golden insignia to remind everyone that although their bloodline didn't rule the fire nation anymore and was practically exiled, they still carried royal blood.

After reaching contentment with her looks she went to the kitchen to get some breakfast from one of the 'servants' as her father put it and to possibly listen to what her father wanted from her today.

She made it to the luxurious kitchen adjacent to the dining room, and asked the servant for an omelet, after waiting for a while she finally got it and retreated to the dinner table, where her father was waiting for her with a smirk.

"Good morning, Azula! I hope your rest was peaceful." Ozai said while maintaining his smirk.

Azula put her plate as far as possible from her father and sat down on one of the chairs, while moving it to sit the chair made a screeching sound against the floor and her father flinched at the sound.

"16 years and you still don't know how to properly move a chair. Try not to ruin the wooden floor next time!" Ozai said with clear irritation in his voice.

"Good morning, father! I had a wonderful night's sleep, how about you?" She made sure to ignore his previous remark while maintaining a smile on her face.

Ozai looked at her straight in the eyes and didn't say a word while he took a couple of sips of his coffee. The silence made Azula impatient.

"What did you have planned today, father?" Azula asked in a gentle tone, trying to get a response from her father.

"I would like for you to review last semester's notes to start the year ahead of all those fools" Ozai said nonchalantly.

Azula sighed profoundly as if asking the spirits for a reason, but her father seemed to catch up on her mood.

"Ba Sing Se High School is populated by the best of the best of the next generation. We have to show them the superior mindset of the Fire Nation, Azula. Everything you do at this school will have a repercussion in your future, and I have great expectations from you, my daughter. So you better start acting up and meet them!" Her father finished sternly.

I don't care about your expectations!

"Yes, father!" Azula replied in a compliant tone while maintaining her lips in a thin line.


After two hours of intense revision and studying, Azula was exhausted.

Studying this hard on a Sunday morning? Spirits, why?! Azula thought while banging her head against her desk.

I need my comfort, NOW!

She took the laptop that was at the far end of the huge desk and placed it right in front of her. She looked at her sides and at the windows to see if there was someone near for some reason and she found nobody there, no sounds either. So she opened Google.

Typing…. Kittens

Google search… Click.

Images… Click.

She looked around one last time. And focused on an image of a basket holding six kittens inside, some black, some brown, some gold. And a huge smile found herself plastered in her face, the smile reached her eyes.

"AWWWWWww…." She whispered. "That is soooo cuuuute!" She said while raising her tone a couple of octaves at the end.

Most tiny animals she found ok. Nothing to write home about. But cats? And little kittens? Were her complete and utter demise. Her weakness without a doubt. The one thing that brings her soft side to light.

She spent the next 15 minutes opening different images of kittens and squealing all the while. Until she heard a knock on the door and the subsequent opening of it.

She panicked and tried to do too many things at once. Close the search, turn around, and get rid of the huge smile that was still on her face. In her haste, she clumsily clicked too many buttons and pressed the wrong things on her keyboard. The result was her laptop freezing on an image of a tiny and utterly adorable white kitten. And while in other circumstances she would have welcomed the spirit sent image, this was not one of them. So she hastily closed her laptop slamming it against the keyboard and praying that she didn't break it and turned around to find Ty Lee and Mai just entering her bedroom.

A panicked Azula was not something you see every day and even Mai was surprised. "What were you doing, Azula?" Mai asked with some confusion.

"N-Nothing. Nothing at all!" Azula explained while dismissing her with her hands.

Ty Lee gave an inquisitive look at Azula and shrugged. "Hi, Azula! How are you today? Your aura seems really pink right about now!" Ty Lee said in a high pitched voice while she sat on the bed, Mai doing the same a couple of moments later.

"Hi, Ty! Hi, Mai! I'm doing alright, and you?" She responded with disinterest and not looking at them in the eye.

"I'm glad! We are doing great, too!" Ty Lee squalled with a huge smile.

"Alright, alright, would you bring down the pitch Ty? Thank you!" Mai said while rubbing her ears.

"Sorry!" Ty Lee said while shrinking and offering an apologetic little smile.

"So…what are we doing today?" Ty asked.

"We are going to buy some groceries and then I don't know" Azula said and later sighed.

"YES!" Ty Lee squalled.

"Ty!" Mai screamed.

"Sorry…. again!" Ty Lee responded apologetically.

"No need to get so excited, it's just some groceries." She stood up from her chair "Alright, let's get going!" Azula said while putting on some perfume.

"I know. I know. But they have those little pet shops inside whit all those little puppies and kittens, and they are just soo cuuute!" Ty Lee explained.

Azula perked up and found a little more motivation to go to the supermarket. They went straight to the garage and got in Azula's Tesla Model 3. Got out of the driveway and drove to Walmart while listening to the hideous music coming from Ty Lee's phone.

Azula looked at Mai curiously. "Shouldn't you be with ZuZu?..." Mai looked at her quizzically "It's Sunday I mean." To which Mai sighed in disappointment.

"He's practicing his forms with your dad" She said with some hurt in her voice at the thought that Zuko decided to spend some time practicing instead of with her.

"Ha, he's still trying to catch up?... Poor ZuZu" Azula concluded with a smirk to which Mai paid no attention.

A while later they got out of the car in the parking lot of Walmart. "Finally" Mai said in a monotone.

They got a cart and got inside through the sliding doors. And as soon as they got in Ty Lee went for the motion of jumping inside the cart.

"Don't!" Azula said sternly but was meet with Ty Lee's best puppy eyes and a little pout. "Ughh! Alright, get in!"

"Yes!" Ty Lee responded with a toothy smile on her face.

They wandered the place while picking the things in the list Ozai made and putting them in the cart with Ty Lee all the while submerging her in a sea of different products.

They made a turn in one of the corners of one shelf.

"Rice, got it. Noodles, got it. Caf..." Azula recited while checking the list.

"Look, girls!" Ty Lee whispered and pointed to a boy at the far end of the shelve.

Both Mai and Azula perked up and looked in the direction the finger was pointing and were met by a boy about the same age as them. He was wearing grey sweatpants and a tight yellow t-shirt. He was really tall and muscular but they couldn't really see his face because he was sideways facing the shelve but they did notice his tattoos.

"Wow! He looks really hot" Ty Lee said casually and Azula snorted while Mai stayed indifferent.

"I'm going to talk to him, wait here," Ty Lee said and miraculously got out of the cart without breaking or dropping anything on the floor. And before Azula could respond she was on her way.

Azula did her best to seem disinterested but she could help but be curious about the guy. So she managed to stay casual while looking in front of her at different types of teabags. Ugh. This reminds me of uncle. But all the while she was stealing glances their way.

She watched as Ty met the boy with a smile and he reciprocated. Azula didn't miss the way Ty Lee would push her arms together to the side and to the front trying to get him to look at her boobs. Ty Lee was wearing a very revealing outfit. And she watched as the boy tried his best not to lower his gaze. They seemed to chat a little while and then Ty Lee got in his face while she whispered something in his ear and the boy went all red in the face but gently took Ty Lee's shoulders and pushed her back a little bit. Ty Lee's face dropped a little bit but he seemed to have reassured her somehow because a while later she was coming back with a neutral expression on her face but the beginning of a smile was starting to appear instead.

When she reached them she exhaled a little sigh and Mai asked. "So…? How did it go?". While Mai tried to show disinterest but something in her voice showed the contrary. She must have been interested in the boy too.

"Well…Okay, his name is Aang, he is an Airbender and is in exchange here for the next year, he goes to our school, and he is reallyfucking hot!" Ty said while biting her lip.

"Interesting, really interesting. And you got a date out of him?" Azula asked.

"No, he rejected me" Ty Lee said looking down at her feet.

"What?! Nobody rejects you. What did you say to him?" Azula now asked, really intrigued.

"Well…I may or may not have told him that I would love to see his package…" Ty Lee said in a small voice while blushing a bit.

"What?! Ty, can you be any more of a slut?" Azula asked with some indignation while containing her blush thinking of said appendage.

"Wait! You didn't see it! He is wearing grey sweatpants and I could see it. And let me tell you, I am very impressed" Ty Lee responded trying to sound justified.

"Ughh! I can't believe you. You can just go looking for sex with a boy you just met, Ty Lee!" Azula countered but at the same time was intrigued. If Ty is impressed that must mean he is really big.

Ty Lee turned from embarrassed to irritated. "Well, what do you know? You don't know how it's like! You didn't even have your first kiss!" Ty Lee said with a raised tone. Mai looked between the two and thought Finally some entertainment.

"W-well…Well at least I'm not a whore!" Azula said with a scowl. But the moment the words came out of her mouth she regretted saying them because the look on Ty Lee's face and her watering eyes was heartbreaking and the next thing she knew Ty Lee was running straight out of the supermarket.

"Ughhh!" Azula said while putting her head in her hands. Then she looked up at Mai with a pleading face but was met with Mai's gesture of slowly shaking her head as if saying Don't even think about it. You. Go!

So she went to the entrance door, got out of Walmart, and saw Ty Lee sitting at the border of the sidewalk while hugging her knees. Azula approached her from behind and sat beside her while looking to the side at her friend.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it" Azula tried her best to sound sincere and she was in part.

"Y-you don't understand-d" Ty Lee said while looking at Azula while some tears streamed from her cheeks.

"What don't I understand?" Azula asked.

"You don't understand what its l-like…to have six sisters that are identical to y-you…you don't understand what's like to have nothing for yourself" Ty Lee said while trying to stop the tears.

"Having guys in that way makes me feel like they are choosing m-me. L-like I'm s-special." She said while choking on a sob.

A short silence pass between the two. "But you are special, Ty" Azula said compassionately.

Ty Lee looked at her in the eyes and said "Really?" with hopeful eyes.

Azula placed a hand on her shoulder and responded with a smile while nodding. "Yes, really".

Ty Lee smiled and embraced her tightly. "Thank you, Azula!"

Yeah yeah yeah. Now get off me! I want to see those kittens you were talking about. Azula thought but at the same time enjoyed the hug.


From the other side of the door and a little farther into the parking lot, Aang looked at the scene with a smile. The very straightforward girl (Ty Lee was her name? yeah) hugging one of her friends while being comforted about something. They must be really good friends he thought.

He refocused on his task and continued carrying the cart full of groceries to the far, far end of the parking lot next to some park where Appa was waiting for him. He smiled at his furry friend.

"Hey, boy! Missed me?" He asked with a knowing smile. Appa grunted as if confirming his suspicions and Aang embraced him for a while. "Me too" He sighed in content and then air bent the cart on Appa's saddle and started emptying it there, all the while trying not to break anything as he blushed of embarrassment at the many times said thing happened and he had to go back inside and buy said broken product again.

Once finished he air bent the cart back down, and went on his way to put it where it belonged. When he arrived he saw that the girls were no longer there and he remember the conversation with the blunt girl.

He was in deep concentration looking at the different types of tea that were in front of him. He was trying to buy what Uncle told him but at the same time, he intended to become better acquainted with 'The Art of the Tea' as Iroh put it, when he was interrupted by the sound of some light bouncing at his right, to which he turned towards.

A young girl about his age was looking at him in the eyes, scrutinizing him, and then after a while smiled flirtatiously. Aang smiled shyly in return and the girl spoke. "Hi, cutie! My name is Ty Lee!" while she extended her hand.

Aang took it gently and shook it. "Hi, Ty Lee! My name is Aang. Nice to meet you!" he said with a more confident smile at seeing her blushing a bit.

"It's not every day that one meets such a handsome guy like yourself" She said in a flirty voice with half-lidded eyes.

He examined her face and decided that she was pretty, really pretty with her toothy smile, her brown eyes, and long ponytail. "Thanks, you are really pretty too" He responded nonchalantly.

"Thank you! So, are you new here? And what's up with the tattoos, they are really sexy" She said with a smirk realizing that she was making him blush. He was trying his best to not look down. She was wearing a short-sleeved pink t-shirt that revealed her pale stomach and was really tight on her bosom, and a pink skirt that was too short for her troubles.

He laughed nervously. "Y-yes, I got here j-just last week. I'm an exchange student from the Southern Air Temple going to Ba Sing Se High School. And my tattoos represent my mastery of airbending" He said proudly.

"An Airbender?! Wow. And you go to our school too? Awesome" She said with a huge smile. Then she stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulders."I always wondered where those tattoos lead" She said in a really flirty voice as she looked him over and noticed his grey sweats and something really long caught her attention. She took a shaky breath and put her other hand in his other shoulder, then she said in his ear. "I would love to see what you are hiding down there" She said while looking down and then back up.

Aang blushed crimson red, took a deep breath and composed himself, and then put his hands on her shoulders gently and pushed her back slowly. He put on the most sincere smile he could muster and tried to turn her down with extreme care. "I'm flattered but I'll pass for now. I'm new here and I'm just settling down" When he saw her face drop he quickly added. "But I would love to know you better, maybe we can meet at school." He said giving her an encouraging smile.

She perked up again at his words and smiled. "Yes! That would be great." She said while nodding frantically.

"Ok, Ty Lee. See you at school." He said while getting back on track and waving at her as she went back to her friends not before dropping a quick "Bye cutie".

He shook himself out of his memory with a light blush and a sigh.

She was really attractive but I'm not like that. He reassured himself.

On the way to his bison, he recalled one of the reasons why he decided to move, his breakup with his first love and first girlfriend, and many firsts more. Luena. He remembers her pretty face, her loving smiles, and touches, her grey eyes... But he didn't want to go that route again. The breakup wasn't ugly. It was due to her family moving away from the temple and not being able to work a distance relationship. It was a mutual agreement but it hurt nonetheless.

He decided he needed a break, to meet new people and new adventures so when Gyatso - his only father figure in his life - understood him and suggested if he wanted to move to Ba Sing Se and live with one of his old friends Aang was ecstatic. In the summer he planned his move, said his goodbyes, and moved in with Uncle Iroh – as he liked to be called. And was surprised and relieved to find that Iroh was a gentle old man well educated in the Way of the air nomads.

He and Iroh became fast friends in the short week that he had been here and was eager to help the old man with everything that he wanted. That's how Aang ended up working as one of the waiters in the tea shop. His pay was the wisdom that Iroh bestowed upon him, and he was thrilled to listen to his every story. He had always had a soft spot for old people and it was no different for 'The Dragon of the West' as Gyatso called him.

He was here to clear his mind and continue learning. So when he got to his bison the little frown that found his way in his face at the thought of his ex-girlfriend gradually banished to a hopeful smile, and a caring look also at the sight of his best friend, Appa.

He gave the bison a quick hug, patted his big nose, and whispered words of comfort to the bison, who now was very far away from his friends as Aang was. Aang felt bad for taking the bison from his home but he remembers that Appa wanted to come with him and that gave him a stronger peace of mind and let that thought go as he air bent himself on Appa's head. "Appa, Yip Yip!"


Later in the evening, after all the clients were attended and the little performance was finished, after they both closed the Jasmine Dragon, ate dinner, and took a bath, they found themselves in the living room upstairs, watching a documentary on Netflix about the flora and fauna of the world. The name of the show was Planet Earth – a favorite of Iroh.

They sat on the couch in front of the T.V. watching a Polar Beard Dog in the South Pole as he wandered the frosty tundra while the deep voice of an old man stated facts about said beast.

[The polar bear dog's front legs are stocky and muscular in contrast to its more slender hind legs. It is covered in a thick white fur coat, which helps it stay warm in the harsh climates of its natural arctic habitat. The polar bear dog has a long tail…]

"And you said you have a friend who has a Polar Bear Dog as a pet?" Aang asked with doubt clear in his tone.

"Yes indeed, it's a magnificent beast, very loyal too, much like your bison…without the flying part of course" Iroh finished with a belly laugh.

"Sorry about my doubtfulness, but they do seem a little violent" Aang commented as the Polar Bear Dog went on the hunt for an Otter Penguin for dinner. Aang cringed at the sight. The next sequence showed the same Polar Bear Dog sharing the meal with his cubs, and then Aang remembered that it was OK, that it was nature's Way.

"They are, but only when provoked or hungry…really like almost any other animal. They make great mounts also, if you want to travel by land through some difficult terrain they are the best there is." Iroh finished sagely as the commentator seemed to talk about what Iroh just said, plastering a proud smile on the old man as it went.

[ …these animals can be trained as mounts to cross the snowy plains of the polar regions]

"I remember Gyatso once telling me – In reference to the bison - that 'animal companions have more love and compassion in them than most humans'." Aang finished sagely.

"That's true, Aang. What the bison are for you and the air nomads the Polar Bear Dogs are to the people of the poles. I bet that when you introduce the friends you make here to Appa they will be scared as you are of this magnificent beast on the screen" Iroh predicted. "That only shows that we are predetermined to fear that we don't know"

Aang pondered this wisdom and nodded thinking about the people of the Water Tribes that must feel the same connections to their animal companions as he feels for Appa.

"So…Aang, talking about friends, how is that going?" Iroh asked with a smile.

Aang refocused on Iroh and returned his smile. "Well, there were those girls at the tea shop, and of course the Water Tribe siblings, too" He said as he blushed thinking about the beauty that was seated at said table yesterday.

Iroh noticed and smirked. "Any… lady friends?" He asked in amusement.

Aang laughed and shook his head. "I don't even know her name, Iroh"

"If I remember correctly, it was Katara" Iroh said in a pensive disposition while furrowing his eyebrows.

"Katara…" Aang recited the name like a prayer, as if testing it with his tongue. Katara and then with his mind.

"Lovely girl. Anyone else?" Iroh asked hoping for a negative answer.

"Yes, she was really beautiful" Aang confirmed with a light blush and a dreamy smile. "Emm..ahh. There was this girl I met at the supermarket today, she said she went to Ba Sing Se High School, she was pretty too." Aang said while he recalled again their conversation and cringed at her straightforwardness.

"Ha…You airbenders and your charm," Iroh said while laughing and remembering his younger days with Gyatso, but then his expression turned serious and then raised an eyebrow while he said. "Mmm…you better not break any girls hearts, Aang"

Aang looked at him in astonishment, he would never ever do that. "O-of course not! I-I would never do t-that, Iroh" He replied while stuttering. Iroh did his best to contain his laughter and amusement but it later spilled out in a full belly laugh.

"I know Aang, I was just messing with you" Iroh finished while coming down from his comedic high. Aang relaxed in return and flopped down on the couch again from his previous more serious upright position.

After a while of watching the documentary, Iroh stood up and retired to his room, not before saying "First day tomorrow, my boy, sleep well"

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings" Aang said with a hopeful smile and a spark in his eyes.