Hi, guys! How are you doing? I'm coming a little late, but with an extra-long chapter, a lot happens in this chapter, so I'm hoping you will like it. Some of everything.
Warning: There is a lot of swearing in this chapter and there is a lot of sexual insinuation.
Your reviews mean a lot to me, and I try to improve or at least think about everything you send me, so please, please review. I'll be very grateful for your assistance.
Response to reviews:
TheQuietReader23 - Thank you very much, I tried making it a funny chapter and with some suggestions from some authors, I was able to make it happen. Thank you very much for your kind words. I don't really know how long this will be, about a month will go by at least, in this storytime.
Bay45220 - Hope to satisfy you in this chapter. There will be a lot of triangle loving don't worry.
Dinobrotrex - Thanks man and don't worry there will be a couple of Azurataang moments.
wil02 - I'm glad you feel that way. There is a lot happening and there are some really complex situations and backgrounds and it's really difficult to put all of that into words, so please tell me if I'm doing a good job. Thank you, that thing about Azula's improvement is something I really wanted to touch on.
Guest - Glad you are liking it.
On we go with this hell of a chapter. Enjoy!
I don't know ATLA or anything else mentioned here.
A hell of a first day.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Monday, at last. Aang thought with a slight smile plastered on his face while he started waking up. The birds just started chirping as he stretched in the bed and reached for his phone to stop the alarm. He opened his eyes and took his surroundings in.
The room was bigger than the one in the temple, and much more cozy in his opinion. Both floor and roof were made of wood, the walls were painted a creamy white. There was a window right in front of him, his nightstand at his left and the door a little farther to that side, at his right he had his guitar and his desk, his wardrobe on the other wall. It was very simple, yet it was comfortable and the red hue coming from the rise of the sun made everything look surreal. He looked at his phone.
6:00 AM. Monday.
1 message.
3 notifications.
It was not time to check his phone, it was time to find meaning and serenity on his first day of school. He took a little pad, rolled it a bit, and sat on it crossed legged with his hands in fist touching together right about where his chest and abdomen connected. He closed his eyes gently and took a couple of deep breaths. The wind coming from the window as a source of calm and comfort, and a connection to the world outside of his mind. He started with an Air Nomad mantra.
"Om Mani Padme Hum" He recited while holding determined sounds to vibrate through his vocal cords.
"Om Mani Padme Hum" Again, and again, and again. The repetition put him in trance, and he remembered the first time Gyatso taught him the sacred mantra.
The sun had just started coming up, revealing in all of the colors of its majestic spectrum. He and Gyatso were walking up the steps of a giant stairway to one of the most secluded places in the Southern Air Temple. His master specified that they needed to be alone for this lesson to prove effective.
They took a turn instead of continuing on the stairs and went inside a room that had nothing inside but a space for a door that led to a balcony without a parapet. They sat on it and contemplated the landscape. The beautiful peaks of the mountain, you couldn't see the water because the floor seemed to be replaced by clouds and the color of the sun reflecting on the watery mist. He awakened out of his trance by Gyatso's voice.
"The teachings of the Air Nomads place a specific importance on letting go of envy, but looking at this, what do we have to envy?" Gyatso said with a smile directed at Aang and his ward just chuckled and nodded.
"I brought you here Aang because I'm going to initiate you in a new habit that hopefully, you will carry until your last days." He let that notion sink in on his young pupil. "We are going to learn about mantras, and chanting". He concluded with a soft smile.
"Chanting in general soothes the senses and sends energy to the chakra centers that most need it." Aang raised his eyebrows in concern but Gyatso seemed to pick up on his doubts. "Don't worry, you will learn about chakras when the time is right. Now, calming sounds are known to help heal the body and mind. Plus, with all the division in the world, chanting allows all voices to come together to show unity and oneness not just of the self, but of the community and world." Aang simply nodded and looked intrigued by this new practice.
"The first one we are going to do is the Om Mani Padme Hum. It's written in old nomad. Om, the vibration or sound of the universe; represents spiritual energy and generosity and purifies the ego, Ma, represents ethics and purifies jealousy, Ni, represents patience and purifies want or desire, Pad, represents diligence and purifies ignorance and judgment, Me, represents concentration and purifies attachment, Hum, the unity of all; represents wisdom and purifies hatred"
Aang looked at his master with an awed expression, ecstatic to begin with the new activity. Gyatso picked up on it, and after a moment of reflection, to let Aang contemplate the meaning of the mantra, Gyatso said. "Come on Aang, chant with me, Omm Manii Padmee Humm" He was speaking the words with a determinate rhythm, and Aang followed.
"Om Mani Padme Hum"
"Om Mani Padme Hum"
He smiled at the memory. "I'm going to be the best I can be. I'm going to help anyone in any way I can. I'll make you proud, Gyatso. And I'll be myself in the Way".
Then he continued with a more quiet meditation. When he finished it was 6:30 AM, so he decided to go for a jog, before eating breakfast, taking a bath, and preparing himself for the first day of school.
"SOKKA! For the love of the spirits, can you PLEASE stop farting inside the car!" Katara said exasperated.
From the driver's seat, Sokka emitted a defeated sigh. "I swear I'm doing everything I can, Sis, I've even rolled down the windows but you know my stomach has a mind of its own in the mornings." He turned his head towards her and grunted."We've had this talk almost every day for as long as I can remember, what do you want from me?!"
Another gas leak was heard from Sokka's butt and Katara made a desperate cry and put her head out the windows to seek some needed oxygenation. "Ughhh! That we talk about this doesn't make it any less disgusting, Sokka!"
After that, the conversation stopped altogether and Sokka did his best to hold everything in. About 5 minutes later Katara was looking out the windows at the passing trees and the different houses that accompanied them. She looked up and saw the branches of different trees brush against each other and an irrational thought crossed her mind Great, even fucking trees have friends, and a more serious look found its way in her face. She took a deep breath and sighed.
"I'm sorry, I'll try to hold it better, Sis" Sokka said apologetically and Katara smiled for a moment, but as fast as it came it vanished.
"Thanks, Sokka. But it's not about that" She said, defeated. They stopped at a red light and her brother seized the moment to turn and look at her straight in the eyes and put a hand on her shoulder gently.
"What is it, Sis?" He asked softly with a concerned look and she sighed and looked at him with watery eyes and a frown.
"I-I'm scared and...a-and I'm nervous and it hurts that I don't have f-friends, Sokka" Katara said holding back a sob.
At that moment Sokka moved to his side stretching the seat belt to the limit and hugged her, she hugged him back instantly and he whispered while he patted her back gently. "It's going to be ok, Sis. Don't wor-"
But he was interrupted by Katara and an indignant tone. "It's not, Bro, nobody is going to sit with me in class, nobody is going to talk to me, and I'm going to be all alone at lunch. This sucks!" She said exasperated and a little angry, shaking a bit.
He backed up and took her cheeks in his hands, her lower lip was trembling. "Look at me" when she did "I have a good feeling about this year, I know that most times my instinct have leads me to do stupid things" and she snorted remembering the stupidities Sokka did in his younger years following his superior instincts, he smiled in response "But I'm really sure about this, you are going to make new friends this year. I know it! Ok?" She nodded with a smile but it still didn't reach her eyes, so he added "And after I catch up with my pals at lunch a bit I promise that we'll sit together, ok?" She nodded again with a more calm expression and a genuine smile.
"Thanks, Sokka, you are a really great brother, you know tha-" But the end of the sentence was interrupted by a loud horn and Sokka hastily took command of the vehicle and passed the interception before the green turned to red.
After a second, a smirk found its way on Sokka's face and he said "You were saying, Sis?"
"Ha. I'm not saying it again, bro!" She smiled, and then added as a remark "A taste of your own medicine...you really are the worst with timing, so there you go" Sokka laughed at this, as if remembering some anecdote, but then a more genuine smile rested on his features and Katara noticed this and smiled too.
"You are a really great sister, too". And for a second they smiled at each other and all their fights and irritation with each other were forgotten and replaced with mutual sibling adoration.
The rest of the ride was spent in comfortable silence as Katara examined her outfit, usually, she didn't really want or care for the attention that dressing pretty brought, but today she was hoping to meet a certain boy more officially so she put the extra attention to her looks, not that she wanted him to like her for her looks but it still would be a nice addition. I really hope I see him today. She thought and released an excited sigh thinking about him.
When they reached the parking lot Katara rushed out of the car and made herself scarce, like if she was trying to hide or something, or so Sokka thought, in reality, there were other reasons. Sokka saw this and sighed, now beginning to think that their talk didn't really help her that much, but he knew that he couldn't really do more than just be there for her.
He continued in his way, trying to reach his friends, he went through the front doors of the school and started walking down the hall. At his sides the lockers and some students leaning on them while talking in groups, they still had some time until class so it was expected that not everyone had gotten to school yet.
Before he reached a cross intersection he noticed two really beautiful girls, one of them was smiling at him, she was really hot, she was wearing a white skirt that almost reached her knees and a pink tank top with some red flowers coming from the bottom to the top, as he got closer he heard her say. "Hey, cutie!" with a welcoming smile.
He smirked at her in return and was about to make his move but he heard another more menacing tone coming from the other girl. "What do you think you're doing? Keep going, peasant!" and she glared at him with intensity. Sokka just sighed angrily, Azula, and continued on his way.
"Azula!" Ty Lee whispered angrily and glared at her friend. "You better behave when we see that Airbender boy again!" She said with a serious look, quite rare for Ty, Azula noticed this and raised an eyebrow.
"I can't promise you I won't" She said with a mischievous little smile, Ty fixed her with a scowl and sighed in irritation, but then her more cherry disposition returned remembering that the hot guy could show up at any moment.
"Anyway...where's Mai?" Ty Lee asked curiously.
"Ha. You are not going to believe this. She met with ZuZu boy when we arrived and I swear I saw a scowl and furrowed eyebrows on her face" Ty Lee gasped. "I know, a once in a lifetime occurrence"
"She must still be pissed at him about yesterday. Poor Zuko" Ty concluded looking down for a second.
"He's a little pus-" But before she could finish, Ty Le was squealing and opening her locker to check on her looks one last time before she pointed at the boy with the tattoos that was coming their way.
Aang had had enough girl attention at that point, from the moment he entered the parking lot after being dropped by Appa to seeing the hopeful look in Ty Lee's eyes. At least I have met her before, maybe she just was unusually horny the other day, but I don't really want to talk to her now. But then he remembered he told he would meet her at school and exhaled a defeated sigh through his mouth, he made his way towards the bubbly girl and her friend, the one that was supportive he guessed, from what he saw yesterday.
As he neared them to talking distance he couldn't help but gawk at their outfits, but he paid special attention to what Ty Lee's friend was wearing, a black jean that was really tight and a red blouse that had two intricate dragons sewed at the front like facing each other. Again, he could help but notice her pretty hair and the two tick bangs in front that really suited her, her delectable lips and her golden eyes, but most of all, although he wouldn't admit it to himself, he noticed her cleavage. His eyes widened at the sight but he quickly recovered and blushed lightly before coughing and making the last step towards them.
In his gawking, he didn't notice both girls returning the favor, especially the golden eye beauty. At this short distance, she could understand Ty Lee's horniness. The boy was gorgeous without a shadow of a doubt. His grey eyes, his short black hair, the sexiness of his tattoos and how it contrasted against his pale skin and muscled biceps, his jarp jaw, and those appetizing lips. I wonder how they taste. She thought before shaking her head. At that fortunate moment, Ty Lee spoke with clear delight showing in her voice.
"Hi, Aang!"
"Hi, Ty!" He said with a cute smile. My one little pet name already? Ty Lee thought while her smile widened. Azula paid special attention to his voice and decided that its deepness suited his looks.
"Nice to see you again!" And then he looked expectantly at Ty and then back at Azula, Ty Lee caught on and spoke again.
"Oh...Sorry, Aang this is Azula, Azula this is Aang!" She said as Azula and Aang made eye contact, he extended his hand for a shake and Azula found herself in trance and agreed to the gesture.
"Nice to meet you, Azula" Aang said with a smile.
"Yeah, nice to meet you too" Azula said with a stupid smile before shaking herself out of her stupor again. At this, his smile widened and he inched closer to whisper in her ear.
"I saw how you consoled Ty Lee yesterday at the mall, great job!" He said with admiration. And although he didn't know why Ty was crying it must have been serious, so he paid his respects to the helper.
Azula shivered at his closeness and then looked at him incredulously and said with a raised eyebrow "Oh, yeah, it was nothing". To that, he smiled and looked back at Ty Lee. Might as well learn something while we're at it. He thought.
"So, Ty, were you born here in Ba Sing Se? Your eyes' color is almost gold. And what can you tell me about this school?" Aang asked intrigued.
Ty Lee smiled at his questions and responded. "No, cutie. I was born in the Fire Nation but my father found work here so we all moved here." She answered while softly stroking her ponytail. She was doing her best trying not to blush. He's too fucking hot, this should be illegal. She thought before responding to the other question."This is one of the best High Schools in the world, you should see their sports plan, it came really handy for me because they have this acrobatics program and I really ..."
At this point, Azula was staring hard at Aang giving a special hungry look to his lips. I really wonder what they taste like. She thought while her breathing became erratic and her cheeks flushed pink.
No! What are you thinking about? Are you crazy?
But look at his charming smile, confident but gentle, and his ey-
Stop! Get your act back together! You need a distraction.
As her conscience suggested this, the perfect opportunity presented itself. A young boy about her age with a nerdy outfit, some glasses, and a wheelchair was passing by and looked at her in the eye but couldn't stop himself from staring at her bosom for a split second. She smirked and lashed out at him.
"What are you looking at, pervert?! Do you need help jerking off?! Or does your girlfriend takes care of that?" Then she laughed maniacally. "Who are we kidding? You don't have one! And you probably never will! Plus, does your thing still work?" She said while pointing at his hips and smiling curiously.
The boy's eyes watered but did his best to not let the comment get to him and contain the tears. He hastily made his escape and continued down the hall as people watched him.
When she looked back at her friend and the other boy they were looking at her with widened eyes and Aang was looking at her with disappointment, furrowed eyebrows, and a frown. I overdid it. She thought while looking down then back up.
"I-I'm so-sorry I have to go" He said while he made his exit and went after the hurt boy. Ty Lee couldn't even say goodbye and said girl turned to her fuming, Azula knew that Ty was pissed, and the discussion began.
Down the hall, Aang made his way to the boy and when he reached him his heart broke as he saw the tears rolling down said boy's cheeks. The boy looked at him in shame for crying in front of him. But Aang bent down and put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.
"Hey, It's okay. Get her words out of your head and breath with me" He said gently and then inhaled and exhaled looking as calm as he could. He looked at the boy expectantly. "In" He inhaled "And out" He exhaled. The boy paid attention and copied him. After a couple more breaths he had calmed down and Aang said. "I'm sorry. I don't know why she said that, that was really mean" He said looking up the hall to two girls who were still engaged in discussion.
The boy laughed and looked at him incredulously but when Aang didn't laugh he questioned. "What do you mean you don't know? Don't you know who that is?"
"I'm sorry. No, I'm new here" Aang responded.
"Oh, it's ok. I guess I should warn you. That was Azula, she would be a Princess of the Fire Nation if her family wasn't banished from their lands. She's a pain in the ass, really competitive, and extremely mean. And her father is a weirdo, too. I'm telling you if you don't want problems don't go near that girl again" He finished safely.
"Oh, wow. I didn't know" He said while looking at Azula. She must be one troubled girl then. He thought in sympathy and remember what he promised at the beginning of his day, at that reminder he looked back to the boy with concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"
Said boy smiled and nodded. "Yeah, thanks." Then he remembered something. "Sorry, I'm Teo" He said while extending his hand for a shake.
Aang took it with a gentle smile on his face and said "Nice to meet you, Teo. I'm Aang".
"So, what's your first class, Aang?" Teo asked.
"Oh, here." He took the schedule he printed in his house and looked at it. "Algebra with... Jeong Jeong?" he asked puzzled.
"Welcome to the club!" Teo said while he smiled. "You can sit with me and my friends if you want" He offered.
Aang's smile widened and his eyes sparkled at the prospect of making friends. "That would be awesome. Thank you" He finished with a hopeful look while they made their way to the room chatting all the while.
After a heated argument with Ty Lee that was left unsettled. They made their way to their respective classes and Azula activated her tryhard mode. She took notes, listened to the lecture, made the exercises suggested, and reread what she wrote. Perfection, his father's voice echoed in her head. There were no friends in her 1st period, not that it mattered, Azula paid exclusive attention to the teacher's every movement.
Before she knew it she was making her way towards her 2nd-period class, History. As always she went it for a front seat and waited for everyone to make it in while he glared at everyone that dared cross her a look.
But when a certain grey-eyed boy made it through the door her expression softened and she prepared to be met with an angry expression from his part but was surprised when she found only a gentle smile and a compassionate look her way. She smiled instinctually for a second but she erased it from her look and put on a glare to scare the boy, but she was surprised again as his expression didn't change as he made his way to a seat at her left and a little back. Before she could look at him again the teacher entered the classroom.
"Welcome back class! I'm sorry for the delay" He said as he placed his suitcase on the desk at the front. He was wearing a really weird outfit and had dirt all over him. He took the flat hat that he was wearing and put it down. "For those that forgot, I'm Professor Zei and I'll be your History teacher. We don't have any new st-" He stopped as he looked straight at Aang."An Airbender?! My... My...look at those tattoos. You must be a master, and so young!" At this point the entire class was looking at Aang, some girls giggling and Azula remained looking straight forward, waiting for the damn class to start and stop wasting time.
Aang's first reaction was to shrink in embarrassment but when he mentioned his master status and understood the interest of the teacher in his culture he smiled proudly. The professor was making his way to his seat and Aang stood and extended his hand and said with a smile. "Hi, I'm Aang."
Zei took his hand and shook enthusiastically. "I'm sorry for my attention but it's not every day that we see an Airbender in Ba Sing Se. You'll be really useful when we talk about Avatar Yangcheng and I can't wait to better understand your astonishing culture. Please introduce yourself to the class" Zei said with a gentle smile as he looked at the rest of his students.
Aang was prepared this time, unlike in the first period and he nodded. He turned to the rest of his colleagues and smiled at them. "Hi, everyone. I'm Aang, I'm an air nomad, I come from the Southern Air Temple, I like all kinds of animals and I play the guitar and sing." A lot of girls were in a daze as they watched him. He turned to the professor. "Thank you so much for the interest and respect you show towards my culture, I'll help you any way I can." Zei nodded and hastily went back to his desk to begin the interrupted class as Azula thanked the spirits.
"Okay, now that we are all settled we are going to start revising the concept of the Avatars and their impact on our world, as everyone knows..."
Almost half an hour later, and about the same time of introducing how the Avatar Cycle began and how the most important Avatars made the world we know a reality. Zei was about finished, so he introduced the homework for the next week.
"Alright, now, for homework there will be a group project about the past four Avatars where you'll tell me about them, what their most important feats in your opinion were and why, and what they could have done better or where they slacked." He said before taking a deep breath and looking at a list in front of him. "Okay, the groups will consist of two people that I have already selected". He read the firsts names and looked at Aang with a smile. "First group, Aang and Azula. Second group, Haru and..."
Azula sighed. You have got to be kidding me.
What? It's perfect. I have to do a class project with a really sex-
Stop! Don't finish it I swear!
Then she looked at her left and back and found Aang looking at her with a smile, he then nodded and she found herself smiling as well before shaking and looking back front, where she saw that the teacher was packing his things and the class was over. She got out of the classroom and waited for her project partner.
When he finally exited she was waiting by the door and took a hold of his loose shirt and pushed him into a locker while glaring at him.
"Lister here, boy! I expect the best and anything lower than a 100 will mean your end. Got it?" She said with a stern voice. He nodded with an amused smile and she continued. Fucking idiot, with his fucking charming smile, and those delightful lips- STOP! She blushed at the thoughts "Alright, you better deliver. We start today after school at my house. Here, give me your phone!" He did as she asked and she put her number on it. "Contact me and I'll send you the address. Now get out of my sight!" She said angrily because she could make sense of why she was still blushing.
Look at yourself, turned to shambles by a good looking guy. What a disgrace!
Aang just chuckled and nodded and then made his way to the next class thinking about what had gotten that girl so worked up. He didn't really mind her words but was curious about where all of that was coming from, and he made a promise to himself that he would help to calm her down.
She had just left her 3rd-period class and was making her way through the halls. No new friends still, even less, a lot of picking from her classmates for being a nerd and an outcast. No sightings of Aang made everything even worse, maybe it was another Ba Sing Se School that he was going to? And what made everything worse were the looks one idiot was giving her through some of her classes. The same idiot that turned her dad and brother into the super protective machines they are today. Jet.
She growled inside and her face turned from expressionless to extremely angry, angry at that arrogant scumbag and angry at herself for falling for most of his traps. But she didn't want to remember how he used her loneliness as an excuse to introduce himself, she didn't want to remember how he used his looks and charm to hypnotize her, she didn't want to remember how her desperation made her agree on a couple of dates, she didn't want to rememb-NO! I don't want to remember!
She tried to calm herself by breathing profoundly for a couple of seconds and then continued on her way. The day had truly turned to shit and now, one of her toughest challenges awaited her, the cafeteria. She adjusted her outfit a bit, checked for her backpack, put on a smile, and went through the door.
A sea of students greeted her eyes, all engorged in their own conversations, that calmed her a bit, she had no one's attention. She sighed recognizing the bad of what that meant and went to the line with a little pout.
Minutes later she found herself at a table, alone, with her tray, as she looked down at it she recognized with a smile that her brother would be proud, yep, a lot of meat. She laughed a little as a couple of anecdotes resurfaced, then she dived right in.
At least no one is bothering me and my bro will be here in a while. She thought, but then again, that negative part, the one that recognizes that her bro was her only friend took hold, and her little lips turned down into a frown.
A couple of tables to her right, Aang was watching Katara with a smile as she seemed to remember something and laugh, but then turned concerned when he saw a frown accompany her beautiful features. She seemed really depressed, the other day at the tea shop she wasn't really in it either. I could see it in her eyes. He made the move to get up from his current table - that he was sharing with Teo and Teo's friends - but before he could get up, Teo, at his left, questioned him.
"Going somewhere, Aang?" Teo asked with a raised eyebrow being well aware of whom Aang was watching just a couple of seconds ago.
"Yeah, I'm going to talk to that girl" He said as he pointed at Katara with a smile.
"Katara?" Aang nodded and Teo asked using his intuition. "You got a thing for crazy girls or something, Aang?" Aang looked at him quizically.
"N-no, why?" He asked without thinking.
"Well, first Azula, and now Katara, that girl is-"
"No! I don't want to know, I don't care!" Aang responded, harsher than expected by the look of the other boys at the table and Teo himself, so he receded. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean - look, I don't care about that stuff, she seems depressed and I want to try to cheer her up, ok?" He asked with a gentle smile. Teo nodded and Aang added looking at the whole group. "You guys are awesome, thank you for letting me join your table, I'll come back after a while, see you guys later!" He concluded as he took his tray and went to Katara's table.
As Aang approached he noticed her outfit, blue jeans that fit her well and a white t-shirt with a cute penguin imprinted at the front, he also noticed her hair and the loopies that he saw past Saturday, and he blushed. Her skin, her moon earrings. She looks so cute.
Katara was eating peacefully while looking down at her tray, not really paying attention to anything but her food as she felt the bench she was sitting at move a little from some kind of impact. She looked at her side and her eyes widened.
There, just a feet away was the guy she had been thinking about nonstop for the past two days. He was just there looking at her with a genuine smile and some pink-tinted in his handsome facial features. She couldn't help but appreciate him again, he was wearing blue jeans, much like hers, and had a really loose grey t-shirt that had a little tornado imprinted at the front, the looseness of his t-shirt wasn't enough to conceal his muscles, the implied softness of his skin and the delicious curvature of his collarbone. She blushed, smiled, and diverted her gaze in front of her all at the same time. Then he spoke that sweet deep voice of his.
Spirits. It's him! He's just sooo sexy. She thought.
"Hi!" He said softly and Katara turned her head towards him again, they both smiled at each other and Aang tried to conceal that he knew her name already, trying not to embarrass himself.
"Hi!" Katara responded. She pretended to have remembered him from somewhere in spite of having stalked him on Facebook, Instagram, and Google, and said. "Wait, you seem familiar. Where have I seen you before?" She asked with every questioning gesture she could muster.
He frowned at the thought that she didn't remember him but his smile returned with his playfulness. "Guess" He said.
Katara smiled. "Mmmm...I got it! The Jasmine Dragon?" She asked with a knowing smirk.
"Ding Ding Ding! Congratulations! Your prize is a handshake! But first I must know the name of the winner" He said goofily.
She laughed at his humor then smiled sweetly and nodded."The name's Katara" She said extending her hand.
"Aang" He said as he took it and both experienced the same symptoms the last time they touched.
"Nice to meet you, Aang" She said his name with added sugar, and his smile turned into a smirk.
"Nice to meet you, Katara" He imitated her tone and after a second they both laughed.
A couple of tables down Sokka was watching the scene in disbelief. A couple of words and he already made her laugh and smile? This is not good, not good at all. At that moment he remembers a year ago how the same situation, only with a different boy... Jet. - He spelled the name in his mind with complete rage - ...had not ended well for Katara. But I can't leave my table yet. Ugh! He thought with a frown as he looked back to his sister's table.
At said table Aang was proud of himself for seeming to have lifted her spirits, but he wanted to be completely sure, and noticing how things were off to a great start, he elevated his level of goofiness to the maximum and said "Hey, Katara".
Okay. Don't fuck this up Katara, we need a friend right about now or I'm going to go crazy.
"Yes, Aang?" She asked as he noticed his inquisitiveness.
"I need to ask you something," He said while narrowing his eyes and looking around as if people were actively trying to listen. She nodded with a raised eyebrow and worry started to consume her, thinking that maybe he was going to ask why she was all alone. He looked at her with a smile and all that worried her banished.
"What?" She asked.
"Please... Come closer" He whispered weakly making a grabbing motion with his hand.
"What?" She asked again curiously with some amusement
"Will you go Ice Skating with me?" Aang asked in a clear, happy, and hopeful tone as he put on the goofiest of smiles you can imagine, it reached everywhere, his cheeks, eyes, nose, and forehead.
Katara just looked at him weirdly surprised and said. "Uh, sure...I-I guess". She wanted nothing else but to get to know him better but it was still a little weird to be asked to a date so early on. Wait, a date? Is this a date? She thought with a blush coating her cheeks.
"Great!" Aang said with a cheerful."What about tomorrow, at 7 P.M.?"
"O-Ok. Wait, is this like...like a d-date?" She responded while her blush intensified and she looked away.
Aang blushed in response but he said "Oh...I was thinking like more of a get to know each other"
"Oh.." She couldn't hide the disappointment from her voice. "Of course". What was I thinking? Of course, it's just a friendly reunion. It would be weird otherwise. She shook her head and asked. "So...why ice skating?"
"Umm...I don't want to assume or anything but your blue" Beautiful "eyes kind of suggest that you are from the Water Tribes, so I just thought you'd like it" He responded with a gentle smile.
She smiled in return. "Of course. Thank you, I love ice skating! It's been a while since I've gone tough" She said while lowering her voice with every word spoken at the memory of the last time she went with her mother. I miss you, mom. Aang watched first with a smile and then with concern as her face contorted but then she quickly recovered and said. "Anyway...do you want my number so we can organize it? Or-"
"Yeah. That'd be great. Here!" He said as he handed her his phone. She typed her number and added her name, she thought about adding a little blue heart at the side of her name but she decided not to and gave his phone back to him. "Nice. I'll send you a message so you can have my number" He said with a smile.
What a pretty name. He taught of Katara as he watched her contact.
Trying to make conversation. "Alright. So...you're an Airbender?" She asked with her own smile.
"Yeah, I'm from the Southern Air Temple" He said with a proud smile. Katara noticed.
"That's awesome. I've never met an Airbender before." She said in awe."Do you have any tricks?" She said hoping to see the rare sight. He nodded with a sly smile and asked her to turn her face a little to the front. Then he blew a soft but concentrated breeze in the form of lips and they touched her cheek softly as if imitating the real act. She blushed and he smirked at her and chuckled under his breath. She smiled as a response.
"Alright. So...you're a Water bender?" He asked with the same curious smile she asked him before. She was already in love with his playfulness.
"Yeah, I'm from the Southern Water Tribe" She said with the same proud smile. And Aang noticed and chuckled.
"That's awesome. I've been there once with my guardian. The solstice festival, really beautiful, the way your people danced and the costumes. The way everyone treated us like family. It reminded me of my people at the moment." He relived with a treasuring smile.
She analyzed him, the tattoos, the coming back to his people, his t-shirt."Thank you! I've been to a couple of those. I always loved them." Then she decided to be a little more courageous. "You really love your culture, don't you?" She asked and he nodded with a crooked smile. "That's one thing we have in common then. I love my heritage." But before they could continue with their chat, Sokka showed up and sat at the other side of his sister.
"Hey, Sis!" He said as he got their attention and smiled at Katara. Then he inclined forward and glared at Aang. "Who's this?" with a doubtful tone that Katara didn't catch, she was too happy to see her brother.
"Sokka!" Katara said and hugged him, he winced a little and Katara released him. "Are you hurting somewhere?" She asked in a sweet and caring tone. Aang smiled at her concern.
Sokka laughed and then winced again because of the movement. "You know my luck, Sis. I was late to 3rd period so I ran to the Science room, but the floor was wet and I slipped. I hurt my tailbone" He closed one of his eyes and one side of his nose and lip perked up as if experiencing the pain again. His sister sighed and shook her head.
"You idiot...Come on, show me." He did as she asked and she took some water from her bottle, coating her hands in it, and then hovered over his injury, the water light up and Sokka relaxed. "There you go, Bro" She said as she smiled.
"Thanks, Sis" He said gratefully. Aang was watching the scene first amazed by Katara's concern and their obvious good sibling relationship and then in awe at Katara's abilities. That's when Sokka remembered and his scowl returned. "So...Who's this?" He said as he nodded at Aang.
"Oh! Sorry! This is Aang, you remember him right? He was our waiter at the Jasmine Dragon." She said sweetly.
I haven't seen her smile like that since before mom died. Sokka thought as he examined her sister.
"I remember you, Sokka. Hi! How are you?" Aang said as he extended his hand in front of Katara right to Sokka. He took it and shook it firmly, very firmly.
"Yeah...I remember." He said narrowing his gaze - Aang noticed and so did Katara - but before anyone could say anything else the bell alerted them and they cleaned up and met at the door of the caff.
"So...I have Geography next. You guys?" Aang asked smiling as they made their way through the hall. He loved traveling and made great friends in different parts of the world and always cherished when he learned something new from a new place, so this subject was his shit.
"Me too!" Katara squealed. "With Zhao, right?" She asked hopefully.
Aang looked back at his schedule and nodded. Before he could do anything else Katara took his hand and showed him the way leaving a very preoccupied Sokka shaking his head.
Unfortunately, they couldn't talk during class because weirdly, the teacher - Zhao - who was really strict had already planned where everyone was going to sit. He claimed he visited every naval port of the world in his years in the Fire Nation Navy and continued telling stories of his adventures. And as soon as the class started it was over.
Fortunately, they both had P.E. together, so they went to the locker rooms side by side. When they came out they ogled at each other. The tight fittings for either were a delight to look at. Aang's firm ass showing through his shorts. Katara's breasts were much more noticeable now with the sport's bra. Aang's pecs and basically every part of his body. Katara's booty and chocolate skin.
Could she be any more perfect? Aang thought while blushing.
Oh my spirits! I'm about fainted. Katara thought while trying to compose herself.
On the way to the track - as they were informed they needed to go - they stole glances at each other and blushed. They were too shy to talk to each other while they got there.
But once they did, they couldn't really pay attention to each other. The P.E. teacher - Piandao - made them do the 1-mile test, to check their physical condition. Boys and Girls separated. Aang excelled and Katara struggled, she didn't really like running, she was more of a swimmer but she did her best. Once finished they did some stretches and then Piandao informed them of the sport plan and program.
They got back to the lockers, changed, and when side to side to the last class of the day. They were both glad they got three classes together although for this first day they didn't really use that time to get to know each other.
"If it wasn't for you, I'd be lost in the halls for hours" Aang chuckled while Katara guided him to the correct classroom.
"You'll come around, you'll see" She smiled at him as they reached the class.
They quickly sat together in a double seater and a double desk in the front. Fortunately, the only rule from the teacher in the Biology Class was that no water and fire benders sat together - weird.
"Alright class. Pay attention. Today we are going to learn about Water and Life, how intricate is their relationship." Hama said with a wicked smile. "You are all talking, tool-making, learning bags of water. The human body is 60 to 70% water. And it's not just humans—most animals and even tiny bacteria are made up mostly of water. Water is key to the existence of life as we know it." She continued.
Wow. This is awesome. Katara thought completely captivated and started scribbling notes in complete concentration, sticking a little part of her tongue out in the gesture. Aang looked at her and smiled knowingly. This was a topic made for Katara.
That's just too cute. He thought as he watched her. He knew they wouldn't get to chat in the class and he was ok with it. Just looking at her learning something she was truly passionate about was enough.
At 4:00 P.M. the class had finished and Aang was waiting outside of the classroom for Katara as she happily asked Hama a thousand questions and the old woman replied enthusiastically. After a couple of minutes, she emerged with a proud smile on her face due to her love for her heritage and what Hama had told her.
Aang chuckled at the sight. "You really really liked that class, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I loved it" She said blushing.
"I'm glad! You are really into your culture." and I loved watching you enjoy learning about it.
"Yeah. Most of the history of the South was passed from people to people instead of on books and having Hama here is really great because of that." She finished and then looked at the clock and panicked. "Sorry, I have an extra class right about now and I'm kinda late. Healing class" She said while she hurried down the hallway, but she stopped turned around, and gave Aang a hug. "Thank you for today! I really needed a friend." She said sweetly while he hugged her back.
"There's nothing to thank. I really enjoyed being your friend today" He replied and let her go. They looked at each other in the eyes and Katara started her walk.
"See you tomorrow, Aang!"
"See you!"
Aang sighed contently while he watched her go and then remembered he had a place to go to. He took out his phone and examined the new friends he made in his contact list.
Azula
Katara
Teo
He was proud of his day, he learned a lot and enjoyed every part of it. But there was still something important to do. He clicked Azula's contact.
Azula.
Last seen at 4:00 P.M.
Text: Hey! It's Aang. Can you give me your address? I'll be there in a couple.
The house was huge. No, it was a mansion. Appa dropped Aang at the door and he gave the bison a well-deserved thanks and goodbye. Then he knocked on the huge door that had dragon heads instead of normal handles.
Moments later a man with a suit answered, upon introducing himself the man said that Azula was waiting for him in her room, and proceeded to show the way. The same man knocked on the door and Azula's voice said "Come in". He opened the door and Aang made his way inside.
He was really surprised, the room was beautiful, almost everything was red, different shades of it, but still red, a big kingsized bed, a big desk, a big wardrobe, everything was big in this house it's seemed. He looked at the desk and found Azula looking back in her chair with a narrowed gaze. "You're late" She deadpanned.
"I'm sorry. I was talk-" He responded but got interrupted.
"I don't care! Now let's start" Azula responded calmly.
"O-Okay" Aang answered nervously.
"I've already started on with Roku - with his mistakes particularly" She said as she narrowed her eyes at her notes.
"Nice! Well, I guess I should start with Yangcheng and then we could share what we wrote" Aang suggested, Azula just hummed positive and they started on their own. Aang took the other chair at Azula's side and that's when he noticed what she was wearing, some really short white shorts and a red tank top, really casual, but still. She looks hot. Aang thought and blushed but then scolded himself for objectifying women like that and refocused on his work. Azula was totally captured with her things.
Some 15 minutes laters Azula finished. "Finished. Why don't you take a look?" She said with a proud smile hoping to impress him. What? What do I need to impress this monk for?
"Alright." He said and closed the distance, making Azula nervous at their proximity. Aang inclined his head towards the notes but a the same time towards Azula's face. Her harns were covering her writings but she didn't notice, she was looking at him, really looking at him. When he took her hand gently to make space and their fingers brushed Azula froze and her face heated, her breath hitched in her throat, and found the room much too hot for her pleasure.
She stood up hastily and excused herself to the bathroom not before telling Aang to check on what she wrote on the internet, unfortunately, she didn't remember what she last used her computer for.
In front of the mirror, she took some deep breaths and washed her red face. "What is happening to me? This is just some idiot with good looks" It must be because you don't normally interact this much with boys. "Yeah, of course! It's just that. How didn't I think of that?" She said confidently recovering her bearings.
She took a last deep breath and opened her bathroom door to access her bedroom, and found Aang laughing loudly at something on her computer. She grunted at him thinking he was slacking and asked. "What are you laughing at?" She asked indignantly as she made her way to the desk.
Aang just looked at her and burst out laughing again, after a while, he recovered and responded "Nothing! Nothing at all...KittenLover26" And then again he laughed without reserve.
Azula was mortified, this was something absolutely no one. NO ONE! can know about. She stood in front of him, he was still seated and laughing. She took hold of his shirt and pulled him up, looked at him straight in the eyes with a deadly look, and said. "Look at me you little shit. You tell anybody about this? Anybody! And you're dead! Got it?"
He stopped laughing abruptly at the word dead and gulped, then nodded. Then he stood up to try and give her the chair again, Azula was rounding him and on the other side of the chair. But then Azula remembered that she didn't want to be teased about it either so she abruptly turned around and walked really fast trying to get on his face with a pointed finger but in the motion, she tripped on the leg of her moving chair with such force that he couldn't react in time and she pushed him hard, he landed on the carpet red floor with a tumph with her on top of him.
They were pressed from toes to waist tightly together. Azula had one hand on his chest and the one that she intended to use at pointing was placed on his neck gently. He had one hand on her waist and the other on the floor propping himself up a little. They were face to face, just inches apart. Both mouths agape.
Azula looked at his grey eyes and Aang at her golden ones. Then both eyes diverted to their respective lips. Azula's hand moved on her own and cupped his cheek while she brushed his lips with her thumb gently and with the other slowly traced his collarbone. Aang exhaled a shaky sigh from the experience of having such beauty on top of him. But that was enough to shake Azula out of her trance.
"GET OFF OF ME!" She yelled while she tried getting up.
"I-But I'm not eve-" Aang tried to say but she was already up.
"SHUT UP" She said seemingly extremely shaken by what just happened.
"I'm sor-" Aang tried apologizing, for what, he didn't know, he had nothing to do with the fall but was again interrupted.
"GET OUT!" She yelled again without looking at him.
"But the proj-" He tried arguing.
"SOME OTHER TIME. GET OUT!" She yelled again.
Aang didn't need to be told three times as he took his things and went straight for the door and closed it.
Once she didn't hear his steps. She took a deep breath trying to compose herself but it proved futile, she was panting and sweating, her face was beet red, and her fingers trembling. She flopped down on her bed with a sigh. "What was that? And why did I enjoyed it so much?" She asked herself truly confused.
That's just hormones, don't worry. That idiot hopefully learned his place and won't try anything ever again.
"Yeah. That's probably right" She said with some doubt.
Get back to work!
"No! I need some venting right now! I need a distraction" She said as she looked at her laptop. "I need to kill somebody" She concluded wickedly.
She opened the folded computer, connected her mouse, and headset with a microphone, and placed them in the proper place. Then she logged on COD and joined a match. She started stomping on the fools. "Why don't you ask your grandma to play for you? I'm sure she would do better". "Take that, you fucking bitch!". "Suck my dick, noob!" Her insults and remarks intensified and made every other player angry at her but she couldn't care less.
Until...someone sniped her. "You fucking camper, why don't you come to the middle of the map and stop being a pussy"
"What did you just said, you little bitch?" The voice of a girl responded.
"Pussy bitch!" Azula screamed at her microphone and was met with silence, she smirked guessing that she won the argument but then she hears the same girl again.
"Wait...Azula?" The girl said.
"How do you know me? Are you some hacker or something?" She questioned sternly. "Cheater!" She concluded.
"No, idiot! We go to the same school, I'm Toph Beifong!" The girl asserted.
"Oh! Ohh! The little blind girl from the Beinfongs?" Azula said expressionless and heard a grunt in response. Positive.
"Now your username makes sense, The Blind Bandit" She connected the dots, but then found something was off. "Wait, aren't you blind? How the fuck are you playing?"
"Yeah. Well...It's a long story" Toph said, not really wanting to tell it, least of all to Azula, but was too entertained sniping noobs to care.
Azula was in the shop looking for what to buy when she responded "Do tell. I have nothing better to do, and I really need a distraction, long day" She finished with a sigh
"O-Okay, well...my father..." Toph started.
After getting back home with Iroh, doing a bunch of chores for him, feeding Appa, asking for advice from the old man concerning 'a friend that was depressed' and 'a friend that was unstable and angry', taking a bath, eating dinner, and doing his homework Aang found himself on the mark of his windows, looking to the beautiful skies, reflecting on what the fuck did just happened today. The temple was much more serene than this. But I kinda like this. It's like I can be more helpful here.
A beep from his phone interrupted his thoughts and he went to check it out. He remembered the message he received in the morning.
Gyatso.
Last seen at 5:04 A.M.
Text: Good morning, Aang! How are you doing, young pupil? Hope you're ready for a new adventure starting today. Please tell me how it all went later. Anyway, I'm contacting you in part because Momo has lost his mind and regrets wholeheartedly not coming there with you, and we are feed up with him haha. That sneaky lemur eats like a bison. He's making his way there, to you. It'll probably take him a week of travel, so expect him next Monday. Okay, on with my meditation. Good luck, Aang.
He smiled at the message one more time and decided to respond after checking the new message. He opened the other chat.
Katara.
Online.
Text: Hey, Aang! How it's going? My dad and brother decided that before we do anything alone together they need to meet you formally for a dinner at my house - they are really overprotective - sooo...I'm inviting you for this next Saturday, is that alright for you? And also, we can go Ice Skating tomorrow but my dingus of a brother has to come. Is that ok? you get to see him fall on the ice :)
He's smiled at the text and remember Iroh's advice.
"Don't rush things or pressure them, be patient, and just be there, and when they finally open up, listen, really listen, okay? You'll know what to do then, but never, never try to fix them, it's something they have to do on their own, although you can offer the needed support or release OR relaxation." Iroh said wisely with a serious look.
Then again, everything that happened today flashed through his mind, and he could help but think. What a hell of a first day!
