Finally finished this one! Woo! This one's another two-parter, so the next chapter will be up in the next few days, not long to wait!

Enjoy :3

After having her over for just that one day, Asami soon found that Korra was even more attached to her than before. Her visits to her house became almost constant, with Yasuko often joking that the young girl had moved in with them.

Speaking of Yasuko, she seemed to really have taken a shine to Korra; often asking her daughter if she was coming over to visit. This surprised Asami as she thought that someone as loud and excitable as Korra would have been too much for her mother to handle, but as it turned out, the two got along incredibly well. She'd asked about it on occasions, to which Yasuko would smile and say "well, she makes you happy, doesn't she?"

This was very true, Korra brought out a side of Asami that she didn't know existed. In fact, the two of them had managed to get into trouble together.

It had started when Asami had persuaded her friend to work with her on a project for the school's science fair. It had been going well when Korra had managed convinced her that their papier mache volcano needed to have a more… dramatic eruption if it was going to win them first prize. Asami had used her brains to increase the strength of the ingredients somehow (Korra just kinda tapped out the minute she'd started explaining it to her) and the end result was.. Well, definitely dramatic. The volcano had exploded, shooting foam high in the air and covering them, the judges and almost half of the other students in the hall.

They had been sent to the principal's office having been accused of pulling a prank. Asami was truly scared, having not been in trouble before. She expected to be subjected to a stern talking-to and having her mother called about the event, but to her surprise, Korra stepped forward and took the blame. Usually she prided herself in being able to avoid punishment, but this time she was upfront and honest, explaining to the principal that it had been her idea, and was therefore her fault.

Asami quizzed Korra about this as they left the office, to which Korra turned to her and gave her a lopsided grin, shrugging her shoulders "can't have you getting in trouble" she said "you don't deserve it." Asami had wanted to point out that Korra didn't exactly deserve it either, but Korra just waved her off, insisting it was fine.

From that point on, the pair barely went anywhere without the other; teachers often joking that they were joined at the hip. This wouldn't have been that much of a stretch from the truth as Korra almost always walked arm in arm with her dark haired friend whenever they went anywhere.

Opal, who had to begin with joked about the pair being so close, began to feel more and more left out the closer the other two got. She tried her best to keep quiet about it because she didn't want to upset either of them, but she was finding it increasingly harder to just stand by and let herself be isolated from them like this.

It all came to a head when, one day, she and Korra were walking out of the school together; Asami had left earlier that day due to not feeling well, leaving the two other girls by themselves. This hadn't been the case for a long time, and Opal wasn't going to just waste this opportunity to talk to her best friend again.

She was still her best friend, right?

She cleared her throat, watching as Korra's eyes flicked over to meet hers. Giving her a small smile she spoke "so… what are your plans for this weekend?" She asked, tilting her head sideways as she silently prayed that Korra would be free. It had been ages since she'd come and visit her, and she was eager to ask her to come over and hang out like old times. Her hopes however were shattered when Korra's eyes lit up. "Oh! Well, mum says I can take my bike out for a spin now that it's fixed, so I was gonna pop over to see Asami and hang out for a while" she grinned "Her mum said I'm welcome whenever so-"

She stopped when she noticed Opal's expression shift from curiosity to almost.. Frustration?.

The dark haired girl furrowed her brow "you… you okay Ope? Was it something I said?" She asked hesitantly. She hadn't seen Opal like this before, it worried her.

Opal bit her lip and sighed, realizing it was impossible to hold back her feelings anymore. She folded her arms as her shoulders slumped slightly

"Why do you always spend time with Asami now?" Her tone was flat, with a hint of irritation "I get it that you guys are close and everything, but you never hang out with me." She hesitated "It's like we're not even friends anymore."

She stood there in silence, her eyes glued firmly to the floor as she waited for a response. She didn't have to wait long.

"...Wait, what?" Korra's voice displayed the shock she was currently experiencing. Opal looked up to see the other girl staring at her wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"You heard me" She said, narrowing her eyes and giving a disgruntled pout.

"B-but...Ope..." Korra took a step forward, reaching out a hand which Opal pulled away from. "I'm sorry I.. I didn't think..." Her eyes were filled with worry "I would never want to lose you as a friend I-... I'm so sorry"

Opal eyed her hesitantly. Korra wasn't lying; at least she didn't look like it. She'd always worn her emotions on her sleeve and as a result was a terrible liar. With another sigh she met Korra's gaze, waiting to see what else she had to say.

Korra shuffled from foot to foot as she rubbed her own arm nervously. "...I've been a rubbish friend, haven't I" she said. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yup" Came Opal's reply, to which Korra winced. Opal rolled her eyes "hey, you said it!"

"I know I know.." Korra sighed and reached out, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder "look. You're right. I have been hanging out with Asami more without thinking about what that might do to you. You're my best friend; always have been and always will be. I mean it"

She offered the short-haired girl a nervous smile, to while Opal just raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching slightly. "So… does that mean you're gonna come hang out with me this weekend?"

Korra scratched her head "um..." Opal glowered at her, to which Korra raised her hands defensively "hey hey! I'm sorry! It's just that I kinda promised Asami that I'd go over and help her out with something. You know I take promises seriously!"

Opal continued to glare, letting out a huff.

Korra bit her lip before an idea popped into her head "oh! I know! How about I go to your house in the morning and we can hang out for a bit. Then you and I could both go and see Asami! She's your friend too after all. And it means you and me could spend ages together and I get to keep my promise!"

Opal eyed her companion silently for a few moments. It wasn't exactly what she was hoping for. But she had gotten an apology and would be spending time with Korra after all. It was definitely a start. Letting out a sigh and shaking her head, she looked up to meet Korra's excited gaze and shrugged. "Alright alright" she said, to which Korra beamed and clapped her hands together.

"Great! It's been so long since we've all hung out together, I'm so excited!" She paused for a moment "so...am I forgiven?"

Opal stared at her silently "well… I don't know" she confessed, earning another worried look from Korra. "If you promise me that we'll hang out more often, then maybe I will."

She was teasing Korra a little bit there, but after all she had been practically ignored for the past month… so she reasoned that Korra should at least be made to stew a little longer on the guilt she'd made her feel. Only a little longer though, she wasn't heartless after all.

Korra responded with a nod "yes, yes I promise! I ultra promise!" To which Opal couldn't help but smile slightly. She knew that Korra always kept her promises, so she relented and decided to give her a shot. "Alright" she said as her arms dropped from their folded position.

"Can I give you a good old Korra hug?"

She snorted and looked up at Korra who was standing there, arms outstretched and a hopeful smile on her face. Chuckling a little she nodded, quickly finding herself wrapped in Korra's arms.

The darker skinned girl hugged her tightly and murmured in her ear "You're my best friend. The bestest friend I've ever had and I promise you I'll never stop thinking of you as my best friend, okay?"

Opal was taken aback by the sincerity of Korra's voice, feeling herself getting a little watery-eyed, which she hid by burying her head in Korra's shoulder.

"You're being cheesy" she said softly, a teasing tone returning to her voice. Korra pulled back and pouted, crossing her arms "I'm not!" She whined to which Opal raised an eyebrow smugly

"Oh you SO are" she said as she stuck her tongue out "you're a cheesy weesy mess"

"Well, this cheesy weesy mess happens to be your cheesy weesy mess" Korra retorted as she too stuck out her tongue before giving Opal a playful shove. Opal staggered back before narrowing her eyes and returning the shove with more gusto than her companion. With a squawk of surprise Korra fell backwards, landing firmly on her backside as her legs waved in the air.

Opal stood there laughing hard, doubling over and clutching at her sides as the mirth overtook her. Korra gave her a disgruntled pout and got up "meanie..!" she whined, brushing herself down.

"Takes one to know one!" Opal replied teasingly, earning herself another pout from Korra.

She shook her head and threw an arm around her pouting friend's shoulders "aww c'mon, you kinda had that coming let's be honest." Korra huffed and gave Opal a look, quickly followed by a giggle as her friend pulled a stupid looking face in an effort to cheer her up.

Both girls began laughing at themselves as they walked out onto the playground, arm in arm.

The following days saw that Opal was significantly happier than before. Sure Korra was still spending a lot of time with Asami, but she always made a point of making time and space for her and Opal to spend some quality time together whenever she could. Having her best friend back once again meant everything to Opal, they had been friends before either of them had even learned to walk; sure she was sharing her time with Asami, but she'd much rather share her friend than lose her completely.

She had assumed that Korra had discussed the change of plans with Asami so she'd kept quiet about the topic, but in fact Korra hadn't told Asami a thing. See, her thinking was that having Opal show up unannounced would give Asami a pleasant surprise and warrant a genuine positive reaction from her, therefore showing Opal that she was cared about as much as Korra was. She knew that Asami had mentioned that she'd wanted to spend more time with Opal as well, but she'd always assumed the other girl was busy and decided not to bother her. Also, Korra knew she had become a bit of a distraction when it came to Asami finding free time. She was a very intense person and often didn't give Asami time to think, let alone voice her ideas of hanging out with Opal. She felt guilty about that. Opal had been the one who'd introduced Asami to their little friendship group, and she had unwittingly pushed them all apart.

She hadn't even thought about it until Opal's outburst, and despite her current cheery demeanor she still felt a twist of guilt in the pit of her stomach every time she caught herself getting in between the two other girls.

So, when Saturday morning rolled around, she made sure that she was up bright and early. Senna was shocked to find her daughter already in the kitchen scoffing down a bowl of cereal before she herself had even gotten dressed. When she voiced her surprise and asked for an explanation, Korra stopped briefly in between mouthfuls of coco pops to mumble out "going to Opal's" before continuing to stuff her face.

After practically chucking her now empty bowl in the dishwasher, Korra rummaged through the shoe box and grabbed her favourite pair of blue and white trainers. Quickly she sat on the bottom step and pulled her shoes on, thankful now more than ever that the fasteners were velcro and not laces; even at 8 years old she still struggled to tie her own laces. Well, mainly she just lost patience, but still.

"Bye mama!" She called as she opened the front door, only to find herself being tugged back by the collar of her t-shirt.

"Oh no you don't" her mother replied firmly "not without your jacket. You remember what happened last time right? We can't have you catching another cold!" Korra pouted but took the light blue jacket from her mother's hand and pulled it on as she turned back to the door only to be grabbed again as Senna firmly zipped up her jacket. "How long will you be out for?" She asked as she adjusted the zipper. Korra shrugged ""Umm… well, I'll probably be out all day she said, tapping her lip "I'll be at Opal's in the morning and at Asami's in the afternoon.. Is that okay?"

Senna chuckled. She knew that regardless of what she said, Korra's stubborn streak would mean she'd do whatever she wanted anyway, but the fact she was at least asking was something.

"Of course love" she said as she ruffled her daughter's hair "just be careful on that bike of yours, we've only just got it fixed remember?" She eyed Korra sternly, very much aware that the only reason that her bike had to be repaired in the first place was because Korra had run head first into a lamp post and severely damaged the front wheel. It was a miracle she hadn't been injured.

"Speaking of.." Senna continued as she rummaged around in a bag by the door "you'd best put this on" she handed Korra a brand new cycle helmet and her daughter quickly put it on, but not without Senna double checking that it was put on securely despite her daughter's whines.

Once she was done, Senna pulled her daughter into a hug and planted a kiss on her forehead as she pulled away "have fun love" she said warmly, to which Korra beamed and nodded "will do mum!"

"Promise?"

"Ultra mega promise!"

And with that, Korra bolted out of the door and round the sideway to grab her bike. Senna watched as her daughter pulled the small blue and white bike around to the front of the driveway and hopped on it, gaining acceleration as she peddled down the pathway. Once she was out of sight, Senna smiled softly to herself and returned indoors, closing the front door behind her as she made a mental note to call Su in about an hour to check up on things.

*Twenty Minutes Later*

"INCOMIIIIIING!" Yelled Korra as she skidding round the corner and up onto Opal's driveway, where she almost cannoned into a shocked Wing and Wei. As the twins scurried out of the way they revealed an equally as shocked Opal who seemed to have been in the middle of defending herself from her younger brothers. The two of them had always loved pulling pranks on their older siblings, and it seemed that Korra had gotten there just in time.

She had barely enough time to get off her bike before she was almost barreled over by a squealing Opal. "You're here!" She cried excitedly before flicking her head round to glower at her younger brothers.

Korra chuckled as she took in the interaction in front of her "Sure am!" She said with a grin "Seems I interrupted something." The twins groaned in unison and folded their arms dejectedly.

Opal nodded "Yeah… I don't know what they were planning but they had me cornered" she said, her arms still wrapped around Korra's neck "so yeah, you saved my butt"

"Happy to help" Korra said with a grin as she stuck a dramatic pose "Korra to the rescue!"

Opal couldn't help herself. She giggled and leant up, giving her friend a small kiss on the cheek "my hero" she said teasingly.

"Ewww!" Said the twins in unison, causing both girls to shoot them a glare.

"What's the problem?" Opal said, sticking out her tongue

"You can't do that!" Wei said, his arms still folded

"And why not?" Korra interjected, folding her arms in response.

Wing piped up "cause you'll get cooties!"

Korra looked at Opal and they both rolled their eyes. Opal wrapped an arm around Korra's waist as she responded "now way, everyone knows girls only get cooties from kissing a boy!"

"Well Korra's pretty much a boy!" The twins protested in unison. This wasn't a surprise announcement. The pair had deduced from very early on that Korra was boyish because, to them, she behaved just like a boy would. It'd been brushed off by Opal and Korra as just kid logic; they were the youngest of the Beifongs after all.

Opal waved her brothers away, rolling her eyes as the pair walked off. Once they were out of sight, she turned to Korra and grinned "so" she said excitedly "what do you fancy doing today? Obviously Wing and Wei are just being pains in the butt so we don't wanna deal with them, I think Jr's busy out helping dad with some stuff, and Huan's locked himself in the study; said something about 'honing his individuality' or something like that" she rolled her eyes again "so we hopefully won't be bothered by anyone"

Korra scratched her head in thought before a familiar smell hit her nostrils. She sniffed, her eyes widening "is you mum cooking something?" She asked, to which Opal nodded "oh yeah! She said something about baking something sweet cause you're coming over. What with it being a while since you last came over and all."

Korra raised an eyebrow and poked her friend's nose "yeah yeah, don't remind me" she teased as she made her way to the front door "we can talk plans in a bit, right now there are sweet things awaiting me!" She strode inside, Opal following behind as she chuckled a little to herself. Korra was the more food-centred person she'd ever known.

It didn't take them long to locate Opal's mother, Su, who was currently in the middle of opening the oven. She looked at and smiled wide as her eyes alighted on Korra. Quickly closing the oven door she strode over and pulled the dark-skinned girl into a hug "Korra! It's so lovely to see you again!" She said warmly. Korra grinned as the woman pulled back and nodded happily "same here Su!" she said as she clasped her hands together eagerly. "I was told you were making food?"

Most parents would have considered Korra's change of conversation a little rude, but not Su. She'd watched the girl grow up and was the closest thing Korra had to a second mother. So, instead Su just laughed "ahh Korra, always about the food aren't you hmm? Well you're right I suppose. I've been busy making some of your favourites" she said as she gestured to the stack of choc-chip cookies piled high on a metal cooling rack. Korra's eyes lit up and she reached a hand forward only to have it batted away.

"Careful!" Su exclaimed, tutting a little "they're still hot! I can't have you burning those fingers of yours now can I? Now, how about you two go play elsewhere for a little bit while these cool down, then you can have as many as you want, okay?"

"Okay!" The two girls said in unison as they headed out of the kitchen, Korra reluctantly leaving the cookies behind.

Opal suggested that the two of them sat and watched tv for a while, at least until they ate. Korra had agreed and the pair finally agreed on a back to back marathon of looney tunes; the show was wild and wacky and exactly what the two girls loved more than anything. Well, not more than cookies obviously, Korra loved cookies more than pretty much anything.

Before they knew it two hours had already passed, and Su called them to let them know the snacks were finally ready. Korra piled a plate high with the chocolate treats, earning her a tease from Opal about being a 'greedy guts' which of course Korra denied.

"So when do you fancy going to see Asami?" Opal asked as she looked over at her friend. Korra looked up, her mouth full of several cookies that she had to quickly chew and swallow in order to answer Opal's question. "Um… I don't know" she confessed "I didn't really give her a specific time, just said I'd be over in the afternoon." If it was up to her she would be going there already, but she wanted to put Opal first. After all, the only reason she was here in the first place was because of her poor friend management skills. Opal thought for a moment "well, it's like, nearly 10:30 now, how about we go at 1? That gives us some time"

Korra's eyebrows shot up "wait, really? You sure?" She was surprised that her companion wanted to go so soon.

"I'm sure" Opal replied, giving her friend a sheepish grin "you've been the only one out of the two of us that's visited her, and if what you say is true about her house I'd really love to explore it. Is it really that huge?"

Korra nodded as she took another bite of a cookie "Yup! Biggest house I've ever seen" she said before stuffing the rest of the cookie in her mouth "itsh aweshumsh!"

Opal let out a soft giggle at her friend's terrible table manners "well, once you've finished that last cookie, how about we go go out back? I've got this new game I really wanna play! I've been trying to get Wing and Wei to play but they don't think it's 'cool' to play games with their big sister. Speaking of those two! I really want to get them back for them trying to prank me out there earlier, I'll be needing your brain to help me get something together-"

"Opal? Sweetie?"

The pair both looked up as Su entered the room, her phone in her hand and a slightly… worried expression on her face.

Opal looked at her mum with a confused expression "what's up?" She asked, Korra sitting up to join in the conversation too.

Su drummed her fingers on the back of her phone "well, I don't want you to stress or anything but I just wanted to give you a quick warning. I've just had a text… it seems your Auntie Lin is coming to pay a visit today"

Opal and Korra sat in silence, looking at each other nervously. Finally Opal spoke up "...When's she coming over mum?"

"Well, she said she's already on her way so.. Maybe in about half an hour?"

Opal stood up, looking over at Korra "I've changed my mind, let's go see Asami right now" Korra didn't even try to protest, getting up and shoving the last cookie in her mouth before brushing herself down.

Grabbing her hand Opal dragged Korra out of the doorway, mouthing 'thank you' to her mum as the two of them sped out of the house.

Once out, Korra let out a huff of air. "Good call...Your Aunt scares me"

"She scares everyone" Opal replied, snorting a little as they headed to the garage to get Opal's bike. She wasn't wrong there. Lin Beifong was the local chief of police, and she took her job very seriously. Too seriously to be honest; woe betide any criminal that crossed her path.

"She's not that bad though" Opal continued "she looks big and scary on the outside, but she's a big softie. Well, at least I'm told that anyway"

Korra snorted "That I find hard to believe. She hates me!"

"She doesn't hate you!" Opal protested "she just…well, you kinda get under her skin a bit too much"

"What, because I keep calling her medusa?" Korra responded. This nickname was due to the fact that Korra had determined that one look from Lin was sure to turn anyone to stone.

Opal rolled her eyes "well that, and there's also the fact that you threw a water balloon at her face."

"That was an accident! How was I supposed to know she was going to walk right into the line of fire in the midst of one of our epic water fights?"

Korra remembered the day all to well. The look on Lin's face as water dripped down it had been absolutely petrifying. It had taken Su almost an entire hour to convince her sister that getting a water balloon thrown at her on accident was not to be considered a crime of 'violence against an officer' and that Korra was far too young to be taken to jail anyway.

Opal waved a hand "aaanyway, we won't have to worry about seeing her now, how about you go grab your bike and we'll get going?"

Korra nodded, picking up her bike from the spot it lay in the driveway. Once on she rolled over to Opal who was just hopping on her own dark green bike.

With a grin, Opal spoke again "right, which way are we going?"

"Well, we need to head past school first" Korra replied, earning a groan from Opal "I know I know! But it's the only way I know to get us there. Then after that-" She rummaged around in her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper "I had mum print me off the directions to Asami's house from there, just in case I get confused."

"Oooo look at you! All organized for once!" Opal said teasingly, to which Korra just rolled her eyes "yeah yeah, laugh it up" she said with a chuckle "you won't be teasing me when I save us from getting lost in the middle of nowhere!"

"Whatever!" Opal replied as she blew a raspberry in her friend's direction. "So! School first, right?"

"Right!"

"Race ya!"

Korra narrowed her eyes and smirked "oh, you are so on!"

The two girls laughed loudly as they both began peddling as fast as they could down the road, around the bend and off into the countryside.

Hope you all enjoyed it! Reviews and critiques are always welcome.

See you in the next chapter!