a/n Thank you for all the awesome reviews and waiting so long for an update! This past week or so I have finally returned to 100% and I am determined not to get sick again.
I have a few housekeeping items in the author's note at the end where I also answer a few questions I've been asked.
Without further delay…

Disclaimer: Not my cabbages

~Chapter 10~

-Katara-

Zuko looked like he'd seen a ghost as he stared at the girl in the doorway. Whoever she was, it was obvious he knew her and was shocked to see her. The girl smirked, dropped her bags, and approached.
"Hey Zuko," she drawled, "Fancy seeing you here." Zuko stiffened slightly as she leaned towards him. "What?" she asked, obviously noticing him freeze, "You know I don't bite…hard."
"Hi," Katara interjected, seeing that her old friend was definitely uncomfortable, "I'm Katara. What was your name again?" She stretched out her hand, forcing the girl to move away from Zuko.
"I'm Mai," she replied icily.
"It's lovely to meet you!" Ty beamed, extending her hand as well, "I'm Ty Lee, but everyone calls me Ty." Mai looked Ty up and down once before accepting her hand. The two seemed like complete opposites. Ty's round face, kind smile, and pink clothes radiated friendliness and enthusiasm, whereas Mai had an angular face and haircut that screamed emo. Mai's hair was dark and longer in the back, resting on her shoulders in two deadly pigtails.
"What are you doing here Mai?" Zuko asked, finding his voice.
"As your uncle explained, I'm here to work," Mai smiled. Zuko frowned, as if he didn't believe her. Who is this girl? Katara wondered. She wanted to ask him, but maybe not in front of everybody.
"Well, the more the merrier," Sokka said, "My name's Sokka."
"Yeah," Jet agreed, "And I'm Jet by the way."
"Like a plane?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Maybe," Jet replied with a sour expression.
"Now that we have introductions out of the way," Iroh announced, "Does someone want to show Mai around? Zuko?" Iroh suggested. Zuko froze again, saying nothing.
"I'll show her!" Ty volunteered, shooting her hand into the air. Before anyone could move, Ty was dragging Mai out the door.

Nobody spoke or moved for a moment.
"Mhmm, this is really good," Toph said behind them, breaking the silence, her mouth half-full of grilled cheese. A few of them chuckled. Sokka, Jet, and Iroh went to join their new camper; however, Zuko stayed frozen in place.
"You okay?" she asked him. Without meeting her gaze, he shook his head no and silently walked out of the main lodge. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but decided not to. It was obvious he needed to be alone, so she joined the rest of her friends at the table with Toph.
"What made you want to come here?" Jet asked, scooting over to make room for Katara.
"I've wanted to come here for years actually," Toph replied, picking the crust off her bread.
"So…" Sokka began, "Have you…er…have you always been blind?" Toph's mouth opened in surprise and she dropped her sandwich.
"What? I'm blind! Why didn't anyone tell me?" Sokka opened his mouth but no words came out, "Relax Snoozles," she assured him with a dismissive wave, "I'm kidding. To answer your unoriginal question: yeah, I've always been blind, but it doesn't limit me like everyone assumes. I'm not helpless."
"Well, we're very glad you'll be joining us," Iroh said kindly.
"Glad to be here," Toph smiled as she resumed de-crusting her bread. "Even though my parents are the camp's benefactors, they haven't let me come here until now. It's so nice up here."
"I thought you said you weren't here to admire the scenery," Katara quipped. Toph smirked.
"Well Sweetness, I don't need sight to appreciate something. There's so much to feel in the world, like rocks, earth, and sand." She explained, "My mother especially always saw me as sort of her delicate little daughter, but that's garbage. Once I got Bandit, we were unstoppable." She scooped up a handful of bread crusts and presented them to Bandit, who slurped them up before lying back down beside her, "I had a private teacher to work with me and Bandit. She was the best." Katara smiled. Toph at first seemed to be just a smart-aleck, but Katara could tell there was much more to her than humor.

While they all asked Toph questions and got to know her, Katara wasn't entirely focused on the conversation. In the back of her mind, she wondered where Zuko was. She wanted to make sure he was okay. She used the tried and true bathroom excuse to step outside. Obviously, he wasn't just sitting on the front steps like she'd secretly hoped.

She pulled out her phone. She wanted information on Mai; find the connection between this girl and Zuko. It didn't take her long to find him on Facebook. Her old friend had a pretty unique name. Most of the stuff on his timeline were pictures and posts his sister had tagged him in. Then she saw that his relationship status had been changed a few weeks ago from "in a relationship" to "single." She kept scrolling back until she found a picture posted by Mai. It seemed like her sour expression was her trademark, but Zuko's smile captured her attention. From his smile alone, it was obvious that they were a couple. She wasn't sure why it hurt a little to see him with his arm around Mai.
"Hey Katara," a voice called making her jump and quickly lock her phone. She looked up to see Jet.
"Oh, hey," she smiled, her heart still racing. "You scared me."
"I can see that," he replied with a little laugh. "What were you doing?"
"Nothing," she lied quickly, slipping her phone into her pocket, "What's up?"
"Not much with me really," he shrugged, "Sokka, Suki, and Iroh are still in the main lodge. I think I saw Mai and Zuko go off somewhere, which means Ty is probably also in the lodge talking to Toph." She frowned slightly at the mention of Mai. Zuko had seemed pretty unwelcoming, but now they were chatting? "Anyways…" Jet continued, "I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk. Iroh said he'd let us all know when to regroup."
"But Toph-"
"-Has more than enough people bugging her. Come on," he smiled and held out his hand, "let's get out of here."
"Okay," she agreed and took his hand.

-Zuko-

He could still hardly believe Mai was there. When she had texted him that they needed to talk, he figured she would do most of the talking, but apparently not. Instead, they sat in the empty amphitheater. The dock was closer, but he hadn't wanted to meet her there.
"How was Secret Tunnel?" he asked finally, not really caring about her response.
"It was alright," she sighed, "I went with Zhao." Zuko clenched his teeth. Zhao was Mai's ex-boyfriend. He was twenty-something years old, in college, and a complete asshole.
"And how was that?" he asked coolly.
"What do you want me to tell you Zuko?" Mai asked angrily.
"How long?" It suddenly hit him.
"What?"
"How long have you two been hooking up?" She at least had the courtesy to blush.
"Two months."
"Two months!" he repeated.
"It wasn't very often," she said, as if that made all the difference.
"That makes it so much better," he said sarcastically, "Fuck." He ran his hands through his hair, "I can't believe you were cheating on me with him. It's fucking ironic."
"Well, I wasn't getting anywhere with you! After so many months of just second-base with you, I needed it."
"So it's my fault you cheated on me? You do hear how absurd that is, right? If I was so pointless, why did you stay with me that long?"
"Well, if you-," she stopped herself and sighed. The fire left her eyes. After a deep breath, her expression cleared of emotion, she started over. "Look I'm sorry. I really am. I'm sorry I cheated on you. I'm sorry I broke up with you. I'm sorry I went to the concert with-…." She wisely didn't mention his worthless name, "It wasn't very good, if that helps." Zuko scoffed, "It was at a party. We were both drunk; I don't remember most of it. But it showed me that what we have-" he glared at her, "what we had was special and I don't want to lose it."
"You've already lost whatever we were. Remember? You dumped me over the phone."
"At least it wasn't via text," she joked.
"Oh my fucking god. Really, Mai?" He got up, determined to storm off.
"No, Zuko wait!" she jumped to her feet and caught his arm, "I'm sorry! I was an idiot to throw away what we had. I want it back. I want us back." As much as he didn't want to, he winced. Her words dug into what was left of his heart, what was left after she had sliced it to pieces.
"Well, I hate to disappoint you again," he replied without looking back at her, "but that's not going to happen." He yanked his arm away from her grip and walked away.

The bright sun and blue sky seemed to mock his misery. Emotions swirled around in his head. Anger. Betrayal. Sadness. Emptiness. He wasn't exactly sure anymore. He headed to the docks on autopilot.

He saw Jet and Katara strolling by the waterfront, but he felt so distant from it all he didn't even acknowledge them. They stopped talking as he walked pass. He didn't stop, didn't look back. He could see the docks through the thin foliage when he heard someone running after him.
"Hey," Katara said, offering him a small smile. He looked over at her and it hurt. It was like a slow knife twisting through his soul.

She seemed to know where he was going on instinct and followed him without question onto the dock. The sun beat down on them, but he couldn't feel its warmth. He felt numb.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly. He said nothing. "Don't forget, you pinkie promised to answer that question truthfully," she reminded, nudging him playfully. His lips twitched up almost into a smile before the numb feeling returned. "Zuko?" He closed his eyes for a second, hoping to ease the pain he felt.
"No," he finally replied, shaking his head slightly, "I'm not okay. I never expected to see her here," he said after a minute. "I didn't really think I'd see her again at all really." He paused, but Katara kept quiet. He took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself. He knew if he said the exact words aloud, it'd make it more real. Like a coward, he wanted to delay the moment, but the time had come. "She had been hooking up with her ex-boyfriend for the last month or so we were together."
"Oh Zuko," Katara said sadly, putting a hand on his knee to comfort him. "I'm so sorry."
"We were together for eight months until she ended things a few weeks before camp."
"Why do you think she came here now?"
"I don't know, but…she said she wanted to get back together." Katara didn't say anything for a moment.
"And what do you think about that?" She asked cautiously, "Do you want to? Can you forgive her even though she…"
"I don't know," he replied honestly, "When she broke up with me I was...I was not in a good place."
"Did you love her?"
"I thought I did, but-"
"Now you don't think so?"
"Yeah," he sighed, "I don't know…I don't think she ever felt the same. I was just a side note or a distraction or whatever. I know you might not want to hear this, but when Mai and I were together… I felt whole. I felt more complete than I had in years." It was her turn to look away, a sad look marring her otherwise perfect face. He raised his hand to tilt her head gently back to meet his gaze. "Katara…the last time I felt like that. The last time I felt complete was wi-"
"You guys coming?" someone called out behind them. Katara and he quickly swiveled their heads to see Jet. Figures, he thought.
"In a minute Jet," Katara called back before turning back to Zuko. "What were you about to say?" The moment was lost. He couldn't tell her now. But he did need to warn her about Jet.
"Listen Katara," he said seriously, "I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier because of Toph, but Jet isn't the guy you think he is. He has a girlfriend." There he had said it.
"You mean he had a girlfriend," she clarified, seemingly unsurprised by his words. "Jet said he broke things off with her a few months ago."
"Wait. What?" This didn't make any sense. "When did you talk to Jet? When did he tell you this?"
"He explained everything just before we saw you actually. It's funny you brought it up. He said you might say something like this, but I didn't think you'd be that petty."
"No, no, he told me very clearly he has, as in currently has, a girlfriend."
"Maybe he was kidding or something," she shrugged. "Look, it doesn't matter. We should get going." She stood, effectively ending the conversation.

She hadn't believed him. Jet had gotten to her first. Shit. Zuko would need to find proof for her to accept the truth.

-Katara-

They walked in silence back to the main lodge. She wasn't mad at Zuko, just a little disappointed that Jet had been right. Her old friend had been having a tough day, so she wasn't going to hold it against him. He was sad and confused. No matter what he said or what anybody said about him, she felt connected to him and just wanted him to be happy.

When everyone got back to the lodge, Iroh went through more how the camp worked, mainly for Mai's benefit. All the while, Katara studied her, trying to see past the exterior to the girl inside who could cause Zuko so much pain. Katara could see her, very faintly. Mai was a master at being impassive; she gave little away.

Iroh also explained the responsibilities of each of the staff members. Mai would primarily stick with Toph through the program, despite Toph's argument that she'd be fine.
"Your mother and father made me promise that a staff member would be with you at all times," Iroh told her calmly. She opened her mouth to object but Iroh went on. "This also means that Mai will be staying in one of the camper cabins with you."
"I'm twelve! I think I can sleep by myself," Toph protested.
"Again, this was part of my agreement with your parents," Iroh explained.
"Whatever," she replied with a huff and crossed her arms. Katara had to fight back a smile. She had learned quickly that Toph was tougher than most people gave her credit. She said exactly what she thought and didn't hold back. Her manners left much to be desired, but this place was a summer camp. From what Toph said of her home life, things always had been very proper and refined, so this was a taste of true freedom. Even with Bandit, Toph had probably never been this free. Bandit took her job seriously, but when Toph released her, she was the sweetest dog Katara had ever met.

The day went on. Mai and Zuko effectively ignored each other, despite Iroh's attempt to strike up conversation between them. She wasn't sure why he was forcing them together. From Zuko's exasperated expression when Iroh recommended they cleaned up the main lodge after dinner, he wasn't sure either.

While Mai, Zuko, and Suki cleaned up, Katara helped Toph get settled in one of the cabins. The girl sat on a different bunk with Bandit at her feet while Katara made the bed.
"So what's up with you and the captain?" Toph asked.
"Me and who?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at the girl.
"The captain, Captain Obvious," Toph explained, "But maybe he's more of a prince, since his uncle does run the place."
"You mean Zuko?" Katara's eyes widened and she quickly turned back to the mattress.
"Duh. What's the deal with you and his highness?"
"You make him sound like a knight in shining armor or something."
"Whatever. Quit stalling Sweetness."
"Nothing is going on between us."
"Really?" she asked, her disbelief evident, "You two seemed pretty cozy when we met earlier."
"We were just talking. We used to be friends."
"Uh-huh, sure."
"Come on, we better get back to the main lodge. Your bed is made and your bag is underneath."
"Okay, okay," Toph relented, "Could you grab something for me first?"
"Yeah, what?"
"Front right pocket," Toph instructed, "There should be my playing cards." Sure enough, Katara found a pack of braille bicycle cards.
"I didn't know they made these," she commented.
"Yeah, no one expects the blind girl to be good at poker, but just wait and see." Toph grinned and took Katara's arm. The two of them and Bandit headed back to the lodge.

-Zuko-

He would have to have a talk with his uncle in the morning. What was he thinking, hiring Mai? Was he trying to get them back together? He knew that they'd broken up, but what were his exact words? 'I heard you and Mai broke up. I'm sorry to hear that. I do not like seeing you in pain.' Did he think bringing Mai here would end his pain? If so, he was sorely mistaken. Mai's appearance only made him realize and accept the feelings he still had for Katara. He sighed slightly. He needed to find proof of Jet's mystery girlfriend. He wanted Katara to know the truth. But how?

Inspiration struck when he saw Jet tuck his phone into his pocket. He just needed to get the phone off him.

When Katara and Toph returned, Toph announced a game of Texas Hold 'em. Zuko wasn't much of a gambling man (even with fake money), but he would bet Jet was. Sure enough, Jet was one of the first to join Toph, followed by Sokka, Suki, Mai, and surprisingly Ty. If he joined them, this could be his chance. He noticed Ty had her phone sitting on the table.
"Hey," he said as casually as possible, "Maybe we should put our phones on a different table."
"Why?" Sokka asked.
"To make sure no one cheats? We could easily look up strategies or whatever and Toph would never know."
"You wimps better not cheat," Toph warned. "His highness is right. Put the phones on a different table." Sokka shrugged and handed his phone over. So did Ty, Suki, and reluctantly Jet. Ha! He thought triumphantly.
"I'll just go put these over here," he said, getting up. "Actually, I'll be right back." He carefully slipped Jet's phone into his pocket, "I have to go to the bathroom. You can deal me in later."
"Yeah, okay. Don't take too long, the game may be over by the time you get back." Toph said, shuffling the cards with a grin. As quickly as possible, he slipped outside.

Under the bright bathroom lights, he examined Jet's phone. It was an iPhone of some sort with a four-digit passcode. From the smudges, it looked like 2-7-8 were definitely involved, which meant one number was pressed twice. What is it? he thought, staring at the numbers. Probably not a birthday or a birth year since the numbers were wrong. A word maybe? C-A-S-T? P-A-S-T? R-A-T-S? A-R-T-S? T-A-R-S ? Then it hit him.
"He wouldn't," he muttered, but typed in the numbers 8-2-7-2. The phone unlocked. "Fucker." Jet's passcode spelt T-A-R-A.

a/n

What did you think? How were the scene(s) with Mai? She definitely brought some drama with her. Snatching Jet's phone was a risky move on Zuko's part. Will it be worth it in the end? What will he find?

Quick shout out to the guest who pointed out that I wrote "Mei" at the end of the last chapter [it's been fixed cuz that was embarrassing]! I once knew a girl named Mei and old habits die hard I guess.
I've been asked a few times about my formatting. Currently, I single-space my dialogue so paragraphs stand out better; however, if you think it's ineffective and detrimental to reading I'll change it in a heartbeat. So lemme know.
Also, I'm not sure how many chapters this will end up being. Maybe around 18? I don't know. Sorry!

Thanks for reading/reviewing/following! You guys are the best!