Here you go, another chapter! Thought I'd put up another update this week seeing as I'm going to be busy over the christmas holidays and didn't want to leave you guys hanging.

Enjoy!

"Humph" Korra huffed to herself as she reluctantly made her way down the hallway to class. Opal, who was walking close beside her, gave her a quizzical look "What was that for?" She asked, to which Korra just rolled her eyes. "Just… do we really have to do this stuff? It's so mushy and silly and… ugh!" She folded her arms and practically glared at the ground.

"It's not that big of a deal" replied Opal as she gave Korra a playful shove, a slightly amused expression on her face "Valentine's day is just that, one day. You don't have to do anything if you don't want to"

"Eh.. whatever" Korra replied with a grumble before she sped up to avoid the inevitable teasing she would endure if she allowed Opal to continue. Asami had watched the conversation with a confused expression as she followed on behind the pair; when Korra shifted ahead however she shuffled forward to walk side by side with Opal.

"What was that all about?" She asked, to which Opal rolled her eyes

"Ugh, it's nothing, well, it shouldn't be but… she has this issue with Valentine's day for some reason. I think she just hates the fact that it's just turned into this big competition to see who gets the most cards." Glancing over at Asami she leaned over and lowered her voice "she doesn't tend to get many and I always thought it didn't bother her, but for some reason she's acting up a little more than usual… but keep this between us, yeah?" Asami swallowed and gave her a nod, a sheepish look in her eyes. If that was indeed the case she felt a slight wave of guilt wash over her; just as she had been heading in she'd had three of the boys from her class bashfully hand her their attempts at valentine's day cards.

She wasn't stupid, it had become pretty clear ever since attending Korra's birthday party that a lot of the boys thought she was pretty. She'd had several of them attempt to get to know her over the past few months but she'd politely turned them down; there was just something about romantic advances that made her uncomfortable. When she'd spoken with her mother about it, Yasuko had just assured her that this was normal. That she would, in time, feel less and less awkward about any romantic advances as she matured; she had given her mother a nod despite still feeling weird about the whole thing.

When they reached the classroom Korra had already taken her seat at their table. Her chin was resting on her folded arms as she stared across the classroom, bright blue eyes narrowed in a glare that seemed to be directed at no one in particular. Opal sat beside her and Asami took her seat on the other side of the table, offering Korra a small smile as she did so. Korra looked up, her eyes brightening for a moment before they flicked back over across the classroom.

They had barely sat down before another male classmate approached, a small red envelope clasped in his hands that almost mirrored the colour of his cheeks. He cleared his throat.

"Umm.. this is for you" he muttered, hurriedly dropping the slightly crumpled envelope on Asami's desk before scurrying off back to his seat before she could offer her thanks. Asami gulped and took the card, quickly stowing it away in her bag. When she looked back in Korra's direction she saw that her gaze had now focused on the source of said card, her eyes narrowing. Trying to brush it off as nothing, Asami began unpacking her books and setting them out in front of her. It was, however, pretty hard to do when she could practically feel the change in Korra's mood; she really couldn't understand what was going on with her. But then again Korra was always prone to intense emotions both good and bad, so she did her best to not think about it too much. It was hard though, because before lessons had even started several more cards were dropped on Asami's desk. None of the senders of said cards stayed around long as the threatening glower of Korra sent them packing; Asami was a little frustrated by her friend's behaviour but secretly she was thankful that she had someone to keep her boys at bay. She had work to focus on after all.

During lunch things were definitely different. Korra was nowhere to be seen, leaving Asami with just Opal for company. The three of them always ate lunch together so Asami was concerned, but Opal just shrugged her shoulders, mumbling something about Korra saying she just needed a bit of space. Apparently that was supposed to be a comfort, but all it did was make Asami worry more. What was she needing space from? She wasn't aware that either of them had done anything wrong.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the dining hall, that answer to that very question was being discussed at length.

"Dude, seriously, you're really being moody right now."

"...Shut up Alec"

"You're just proving my point right now. What is your problem? You haven't sat with me at lunch for months."

Korra grumbled as she sunk in her chair and folded her arms. He had a point. She wasn't one to just wander off and leave her friends like that. "I just.." She sighed "Asami's just getting so many cards from all the boys, it's not fair."

Alec raised an eyebrow "so.. You're jealous?"

"No, no it's not that-"

"Cause any time any boy's shown any interest in you, you've scared them off"

"No, Alec-"

"Then what is it?"

"It's just not fair!" Korra repeated, to which Alec just raised an eyebrow. With a sigh she sat up slightly in her chair "...just, why do they think they can just go and do that? It makes Asami uncomfortable and I felt angry cause..."

"Cause what?"

"...Cause she's more than what they see"

Alec sat there in silence for a moment, blinking in confusion at his friend's admission. "Um.. what's that got to do with anything?"

Korra coughed, trying to cover her face that was now glowing a deep shade of pink "I-I just don't want her to get that sort of attention. She doesn't need anyone else to send her those messages telling her they think she's pretty. Of course she's pretty, she doesn't need them to tell her that. She's so much more than that; she's a great friend and she's funny and she has the best smile and…" she trailed off, realizing how she was sounding. Alec meanwhile tilted his head and chuckled "so...you agree with them, but you don't like how they're giving her those cards just based on how she looks?"

Korra, still red in the face, gave a silent nod. She could feel the heat in her cheeks practically burning. Why was she feeling so embarrassed? However Alec seemed to thankfully be ignoring her and was thinking hard.

"Well then" he said, grinning "why not just write her one of your own? Like, one to tell her she's more than just the pretty that the guys seen. If you're both friends it shouldn't be weird, right?"

"Um..." Korra furrowed her brow and tapped her lip. It didn't seem to be a bad idea, but how what she going to do that? For some reason Asami really had a hold on her and it made her stomach twist just at the thought of it. Looking up at Alec who had the same grin on his face, she took a deep breath "...okay, what do you suggest?" She asked, to which Alec responded with a chuckle as he leant forward in his chair, handing her a crumpled up piece of paper he'd just pulled from his pocket and the stub of a pencil. "Just start writing what you think. We'll make it together yeah?"

After a moment of hesitation, Korra gave Alec a small, shy nod and took the items proffered to her. This was going to be interesting.

After a Korra-less lunch, Asami had intended to engage her friend in conversation but it had fallen flat. Korra seemed even more uneasy than before, fidgeting a lot and avoiding eye-contact whenever possible. It didn't appear that this behaviour was negative, but she still couldn't help but worry as to why Korra was behaving this way. It continued throughout the rest of the afternoon, with Korra making minimal effort to speak despite clearly trying (but failing) to act normal.

It wasn't until the end of the day when Asami was just getting up from her chair to begin filing out of the classroom with the other students that Korra approached her. She hadn't even noticed she was there until a gentle cough caught her attention.

"...Hi" Korra said, shuffling from foot to foot, her hands clasped behind her back "I er… sorry I've not talked to you much, I'm not mad or anything but-" she gave Asami a sheepish smile before quickly pulling out the dark blue envelope from behind her back and presented it to her green-eyed friend "I want you to have this."

Asami looked at the envelope in question confused, but when she opened her mouth to ask Korra just shook her head "just.. Open it? Please?"

With a raised eyebrow Asami did as requested. Tentatively she opened the envelope and pulled out a card. It was very similar to the one given to her for Korra's birthday party, except this time instead of a plethora of different shades of glitter, there was a little drawing of two stick figures holding hands. One was drawn in blue felt tip and had a ponytail while the other was drawn in red felt tip and had very long hair; underneath were the words 'best friends' were scribbled haphazardly. Looking up at Korra curiously, Asami then opened the card, finding there to be a small paragraph inside that said the following:

Asami.

You are one of my best friends. You are smart, funny and I trust you with everything. All those guys don't see you for who you are, which is more than just what you look like.

I like you a lot, and I want to be friends forever.

Korra

p.s. You are also very pretty

Asami read the note in silence, while Korra watched her nervously. She could feel her heart in her eardrums it was going so fast, and it only sped up when she watched the corner of Asami's lips curl upwards and heard her let out a soft giggle. She gulped.

"Um… you like it?" She asked shyly as she tilted her head 'please don't think I'm weird please don't think I'm weird' she mentally pleaded as Asami placed the card in her bag and gave Korra a warm, soft smile "you're sweet" she said softly, taking Korra's hand and squeezing it. Korra blinked "you don't think it's weird? I mean, I was just so annoyed that all the boys just kept sending you all those cards and stuff while they didn't know you for you and I just wanted you to know that you're special and-"

Asami had been watching her friend babble on for a good minute, barely being able to stifle a giggle. Knowing that talking over her wouldn't do any good she pulled Korra towards her and pressed a gentle, friendly kiss on the cheek. "It's perfect, thank you." She said as she pulled back "you don't need to worry so much okay? It's adorable. I'm really touched you went to the trouble of making a card like this for me."

Korra meanwhile was unable to process the information. She had gone stock still, her eyes wide as saucers and her cheeks going from a soft pink to a deep scarlet in a matter of seconds. She didn't know what to do until Asami poked her cheek "hello? Anybody home?" That shook her out of it. She coughed and rubbed the back of her neck "oh! Yeah… Yeah I'm here. Sorry. Glad you liked it" she looked down at the ground and shuffled her feet awkwardly, causing Asami to chuckle and give her another playful poke. "You're a dork" she teased "sweet, but still a dork."

"I-I'm not a dork!" Came a whining protest, to which Asami giggled "you so are" she replied, sticking her tongue out.

"I'm not a dork!"

"Uh.. yeah you are!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"I'm gonna get you now!"

"Never!"

The two girls laughed amongst themselves as they hurried out of the door despite protests from Mrs Windslow who they had almost crashed into in the process. After giving their brief apologies the two of them saw the empty hallway and broke into a sprint, Korra finding herself lagging behind her taller, long-legged friend. Eventually she gave up the chase, leaning against the doorway to catch her breath "okay.. Gimme a minute.." she said as she huffed, but Asami just stuck out her tongue and continued running down the hall. As she did so, Korra caught movement and watched as something fell out of Asami's bag. She jogged over to find that it was the card she'd given her. Not willing to let her friend leave it behind she picked up the pace, noticing Asami was out of sight by now and probably already in the playground by now. She hurried outside and glanced about her, letting out a groan of frustration as she watched her companion rounding the corner. As she ran after her once more however her mother grasped hold of her shoulders having spotted her heading across the playground at speed "not so fast you monkey, where do you think you're going?" She raised an eyebrow to which Korra was quick to reply. "Asami dropped something, I need to give it back to her!" She would have told her mother what it was, but she still felt a little embarrassed about it. Her mother, having given her a curious look, simply shook her head "Is it school work?" Her mum asked.

"Well no but-"

"then you can give it to her tomorrow." Came the firm reply "I'm sure Asami won't mind missing whatever it is she dropped, and if you're that worried you can call her when you get home, okay?"

"...Okay.." Responded Korra reluctantly as she stuffed the card back in her own bag. During the car ride home she couldn't stop thinking about it. Sure it was just a card but she'd spent a lot of time on it, Asami needed to have it. So, once she was home and had finished her homework (well, made a mess of her desk and scribbled a few random notes on her book to make it look like she'd done her homework) she casually slipped down the stairs. Her mum was out in the garden tending to her vegetable patch, and with her dad still not home from work yet she saw her opening. It wouldn't take her too long… Bike to Asami's house, drop off the card, bike back. That would take 20 minutes tops and her mum usually spent an hour or so in the garden before starting to prepare dinner so she wouldn't even notice she was gone, right? She wouldn't even have to worry about locking herself out as there was a gate connecting the front and back gardens that was short enough for her to vault over.

Having convinced herself she crept out of the front door, closing it carefully behind her so as not to make a sound and pulled her bike out from round by the side gate. The card was firmly tucked in the main compartment of her rucksack so as to not lose it as she sped off down the road, a slight wave of excitement following her as she did so.

As she sped around the final bend in the road, her excitement crash landed. She could see Asami's house from a distance, not by the light of the setting sun, but by flashing lights. Blue and red ones. Slowing to a halt at the end of the driveway she could see the lights belonged to police cars; there were a lot of them too, looked like at least 4 or 5. Korra didn't know much about police, but she what she was sure of was that the more police cars the bigger the problem.

"This is a crime scene kid, police only. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave" came a gruff voice that caused Korra to jump.

"Uh...Lin?" She said carefully having now recognised the officer as Opal's Aunt. It seemed Lin recognised her too, and her expression hardened "Oh.. you." The woman sighed "What are you doing here? Kid your age shouldn't be out so late, it's not safe."

"I… I came to see Asami" Korra replied after a hesitant silence "she lives here.. Is.. is she okay? What happened?" Her voice wavered slightly towards the end of her sentence. Lin regarded her for a moment before she let out another, almost sad sounding sigh before responding in a tone of voice that was much softer than before. This was very unlike her.

"Listen kid…I can't tell you what happened but... Asami's fine, okay?" She leant down and looked Korra in the eye "She's okay. But what I need you to do for me is to turn around and head back home right now, is that understood? This place isn't safe right now and the last thing I need is for you to end up in trouble as well"

For a moment, Korra opened her mouth to protest, but the look in Lin's eye made her quail and slowly nod, pushing her bike back out onto the road. As she turned the bike around and headed back the way she'd came she glanced back to see Lin still watching her intently.. It looked like she wouldn't be able to head back there any time soon. Now however she was worried, very worried. Lin had said Asami was okay, but what did she mean by saying that her house wasn't safe? What had happened? A million and one questions buzzed in her brain all the way back down the road.

When she had got home, her mother had been beside herself with worry. Her dad was now home too and the pair of them took turns giving her a stern lecture about leaving the house without permission. Promptly grounded and sent to her room, Korra was unable to tell them all that had happened; she really wanted to explain but she didn't want to anger her parents any more than she already had.

So, by the time the following day came around, Korra was tired, stressed, and unable to say a thing in case it got her into even more trouble. She was almost falling asleep at her desk by the time lessons began, and it was only when Opal poked her did she bring herself back to the land of the living.

"Dude, you okay?" Said Opal carefully, her eyes full of concern as she observed her usually energetic and bubbly friend almost drained of all possible forms of energy. In response Korra just shrugged "Eh..." She replied as she glanced around them. Asami wasn't here. She was always early to class. The pang of worry hit her once again, made worse when even Opal voiced her concern about the absence of the usually prompt companion.

She'd wanted to tell Opal what she'd seen, what she'd heard, but before she got the chance Mrs Windslow entered the room and began the lesson and requested they work in silence. This didn't help Korra at all as she was unable to focus on anything on the paper in front of her, instead finding herself still worrying about her green eyed friend's location. It didn't go unnoticed as Mrs Windslow approached her desk and knelt beside her "are you not understanding the questions?"

Korra gulped "erm.. No it's just-" she hesitated "-It's weird not having Asami here. I hope she's okay"

"I understand" Replied Mrs Windslow in a tone that wasn't firm like Korra had expected. Glancing up Korra met her gaze to see something else in her eyes. She looked… sad? That was weird. Watching her stand up and head for the door, Korra eyed her in confusion, what was going on? A few minutes later she returned, tapping both Korra and Opal on the shoulders "can you both come with me please" she said softly, to which the pair looked up at her; Korra in confusion, Opal in surprise. They both nodded however and quietly pushed back their chairs, ignoring the looks they were getting from their peers; to them it surely looked like they were in some sort of trouble.

That was exactly what crossed both the girl's minds as they followed Mrs Windslow out of the classroom, but it was Opal that spoke up "are we in trouble, miss?" She asked hesitantly, to which their teacher looked back at them and shook her head "no no, don't worry about that" she said almost abruptly. It was as if she didn't want to talk too much.

The rest of the walk was in silence before Mrs Windslow stopped at the headmaster's door and knocked. A muffled 'come in' came from inside and the door was opened, Mrs Windslow ushering both girls inside. They'd never met their headmaster before, so this meeting was intimidating to say the least… but there was something about the atmosphere in the room that made it worse.

"Ah, please take a seat" said the bearded man behind the desk, to which the duo silently obeyed. After shuffling some papers he cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses as he did so "so… I'm sure you're wondering why you're both here"

They nodded.

"Well, It has come to my attention that the two of you are close friends with a certain Asami Sato, is that correct? And that you are both aware of her absence today?"

Again, they both nodded to which the man sighed again "then, I hate to be the one to tell you this, especially with you and your friendship still so young.. But Ms Sato will, I'm afraid… Not be returning to this school."

There was a deafening silence for several moments as the girls sat wide eyed, before Korra stood bolt upright "What? Why?" She exclaimed "is she in trouble? She's never done anything wrong, why can't she stay?"

"It wasn't our decision, I'm very sorry" said the headmaster softly in an attempt to calm the now frantic girl "you can be sure we didn't want her to leave either, but her family insisted that she needed to be taken out of our school immediately. We would never let a student go so quickly in any normal situation, especially one such as talented as Asami..." He adjusted his glasses "but we were informed that some urgent family matters had come up and she needed to leave the very next day."

By this point, Opal was sat in shock, her eyes wide but her mouth shut. Korra meanwhile stood in front of the desk, her fists clenching as a sob threatened to escape her "but.. That's not fair!" She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes "She can't be gone, she can't be gone!"

"I...I didn't get a chance to give her her card back..."

…. The happiness could only last for so long huh? Was only a matter of time.

Just so you know, from this point on things will be speeding up somewhat, with timeskips between chapters getting bigger and bigger. I have a huge amount of character development to cover and I want to get it all in without dragging it out too much.

Hope you all enjoyed cute innocent kid Korra and Asami, cause that's not gonna be the case any more. Sorry! D: