I have returned! (No, I don't have Avatar's ownership with me…)
Katara couldn't have been more miserable. Was she really that ugly? Did all the other girls around her really think so?
She cried for hours, doing nothing else as she sat in her room, sulking.
Suki tried to talk to her, tried to get some sense into her friend. But it was to no avail.
Suki stood outside Katara's door. "Katara, don't listen to them. They're just—"
"Suki, you don't know what you're talking about!" Katara snapped. "No idea! You weren't being made fun of by all those other girls in town!"
Aang heard the commotion and stepped in. "Is she okay?" he asked Suki.
She shook her head. "I don't know what's gotten into her, Aang," she said. "She's…" She trailed off.
He nodded. "I'm gonna talk to her." He reached for Katara's doorknob.
Suki grabbed his hand. "Aang, maybe we should just let her be. She wouldn't listen to me."
He struggled out of her grasp. "Maybe not…but she might listen to me. I can help her." He opened the door.
Katara was crying on her bed. She looked up at Aang. "Wh-why are you here?" she asked through her sobs.
He ignored her. "Katara, what's the matter?"
She refused to meet his eyes. "Y-you don't w-want to kn-know."
"Katara…" Aang sighed in exasperation. "Of course I want to know. Please tell me what's wrong. Please talk to me…"
"A-Aang…I—" She struggled with words. She looked up at him. "Do you think…that I'm pretty?"
He was startled by her question. "O-of course I do! I think you're beautiful! What kind of question is that?"
She sighed shakily. "I—I was walking alone in the city, a-and I came across a group of your fangirls…and they told me that—"
"Whoa, slow down," Aang said, raising his hands and sitting next to her. He wiped away fresh tears from her cheeks. "You shouldn't believe anything those girls say. They're—"
"They're right," Katara cried. "They were much prettier than I am! Do you know what they said? They said that I don't deserve you. That I—"
"They're wrong, Katara, they're wrong!" he argued. "They're right in that you don't deserve me, though. You deserve better than me! You're a princess. A princess, Katara! I don't even know what I did to deserve someone as amazing as you! They're stuck-up snobs, stuck-up snobs! They're supercilious jerks, and you shouldn't listen to them." He took a deep breath and calmed down. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, but—"
He was cut off in surprise when Katara threw her arms around him in a hug. "Aang…you're the best."
"I—I what?" he asked. "Sorry, I'm just…confused."
A small, timid smile came to her face. "It means a lot, what you said…it's nice to hear it from you."
"I'm glad." He put his arms around her. "You're beautiful, kind, caring, and compassionate. Don't let anybody ever tell you otherwise. I love you so much…there's no reason why you wouldn't deserve me. In fact, sometimes I wonder if I deserve you."
"You're so sweet," she told him.
"Do you feel better?" he asked her.
"Hmm…" She pulled away from him.
He had a puzzled expression on his face.
Her smile grew larger as she kissed him softly.
After a while, she pulled away. She giggled at his confused face.
"Now I do."
