You made it to the first chapter! Woo-hoo! *gives you all cookies* Now, I know what you're going to be thinking once you jump into this… "AU?! And AU translated names? She didn't even warn us! Is she crazy?" Yes. I am. But for good reason since this corresponds with the whole 'reincarnation/meeting in a different lifetime' theme as well. I gave a lot of thought on the names so I'm pretty sure you'll be able to figure out who is who. Now, let's give these Zutara babies another chance to make things work (since we all know how their previous lives as Romeo & Juliet, Jack & Rose, Noah & Allie and Darcy & Elizabeth turned out) ;D Thanks for reading!

~Roze


- Chapter One -

To cross the line takes a tiny step
But will the spark cause the bridge to burn?
My fear entwined with my regret
I beat a path for safe return

~Thing Called Love (Above & Beyond)

"What. Monstrosity. Have. You. Led. Us. To?" A teenage boy with a short half ponytail stared flabbergasted at the small house before him. That's all it was, really. A house. For living in. With a door, windows and a front porch. Oh, and there was a large sign in front of the house too. Not that the teenager bothered to read it since he was still questioning the fact that he and his friends were now standing in front of a random house.

His younger sister whirled around with a goofy grin. "It's not a monstrosity, Shaun. It's a fortune telling place!"

Shaun's jaw dropped. "A fortune-?!" he shrieked. "You know what, Kyanna? Following you was a bad idea! You always lead us to creepy places!"

A younger boy wearing a hoodie, marked with a blue arrow, elbowed Shaun in a friendly manner. "Actually, I'm kind of curious to see this fortune teller."

"Me too!" came a cheerful voice from a girl wearing more makeup than she should have for her age.

Shaun stomped his feet and threw his hands in the air. "Then you're all crazy!"

"Or you're just weird," his sister, Kyanna, teased with a winning smirk while crossing her arms.

"How can you believe their crazy murmurings? They don't even tell your future to you straight! They blabber on about general things that you want to hear!"

"Oh come on, Shaun. It's just for fun! You don't need to take everything they say so seriously." With that, Kyanna stepped up to the front door with her two other curious friends following behind.

She knocked on the door gently and it immediately opened. A young girl with pigtails proceeded forward with a welcoming smile. "Hello everyone. I'm Anne Woo's assistant. Please, come in!"

The group entered and made their way to the nearby waiting area. Shaun rolled his eyes impatiently. He wasn't surprised that they were the only visitors in this bizarre place.

The assistant waited until everyone was comfortable in their seats. "Can I get you some tea or Anne Woo's special blueberry scones?"

"I'll take anything you've got," Shaun said raising a finger.

"Shuan!" Kyanna whispered harshly.

"Hey, she offered."

The young girl merely giggled. "Don't worry. I'll bring back plenty!" She scurried away with light feet.

From beyond a long, royal blue curtain, an elderly woman dressed in elegant robes appeared with a professional stance. "Welcome! Now, who's next?"

The group of friends looked around, trying to avoid eye contact like a student desperately trying to avoid being called on at school because they didn't know the answer. Finally, Kyanna glanced at her friends with a smile, and seeing that no one else was volunteering, was more than happy to have the first reading. "I'll go!"

The excited girl was led to a candlelit room beyond the curtains where she was invited to take a seat on a cushioned chair. The older woman sat across from her as a round table covered with a dark cloth separated them. She held out a wrinkled hand.

"Now, place your hand out and I'll do some palm reading about your future."

Kyanna did as she was told and allowed the fortune teller to trace a finger across her love line, watching with determined eyes. She knew her brother was right about fortune tellers and their tricks to predicting one's future, but that didn't stop her from taking some sort of interest in it. It was stunning to think about. Predetermined destinies already chosen for us? Every word, action and response? Surely that was impossible. What was the point then, when there was already a set ending to the story?

Was it written in stone?

Was was like predicting the weather?

Were humans so predictable that behavior patterns led us down similar paths?

Kyanna cleared her thoughts. She reminded herself that she was just curious. But she also wanted some confirmation, and if a fortune teller was the closest there was to that, it gave her hope- something to believe in. In a way, it was like time travelling: to know one's outcome and prepare for it, although she had seen enough cartoon shows about time travel to become aware of the complications that came with the supernatural ability. But if she had information about what her future held for her, maybe she could have more control of it.

Maybe she could have prevented it from happening.

Her free hand raised to twiddle the memento dangling around her neck for comfort. An older version resembling herself flashed through her mind and she tensed for a moment before refocusing her attention to the fortune teller examining the palm of her hand.

"So, do you see anything interesting in my love line?" Kyanna asked with returned excitement.

Anne Woo applied more pressure on her palm. "I see a great romance for you- the man you are going to marry!"

Kyanna's eyes widened as she leaned forward with interest. "Tell me more!"

"I can see that it will be a long journey before you two are finally together. There will be times of separation and struggle, but when you are reunited, it will feel… complete."

"Wow!" Kyanna exhaled staring at her life story sketched on the palm of her hand. Then she locked eyes with the fortune teller in admiration. "Is he going to be handsome? Oh- I hope he's tall!"

The older woman chuckled. "Do not worry. You will be attracted to him," she reassured taking a pause, "…in ways others may never fathom." There was a calming silence as the bewildered girl kept her bright, blue eyes on Anne Woo, waiting to hear more.

Leaning forward, the fortune teller slowly whispered, "You might even cross paths with him this week."

Kyanna couldn't hide the huge smile crawling upon her face. "Oh thank you so much! What about any important events in my future?"

The elderly woman gladly took her time answering the girl's questions.

Minutes later, Kyanna stepped back into the waiting area following Anne Woo. She wasn't surprised to see that Shaun was munching mindlessly on the snacks provided while her other friends, Aaron and Suzie were… having a staring contest? Well, whatever keeps them occupied.

"Who's next?" Anne Woo asked kindly.

Shaun began to stand up, stretching his back. "Okay, let's get this over with."

The fortune teller immediately frowned. "Your future is full of struggle and anguish, most of it self-inflicted."

Shaun's jaw opened about to speak, but before he could protest, he shut his mouth and frowned suspiciously back at the woman. "Why do I feel like I've heard this before?" he muttered to himself.

"I'll go!" Aaron leaped up and Anne Woo gestured him to follow her.

When Kyanna took a seat on a nearby sofa, her best friend jumped into the seat next to her with a smirk. "So? What did she tell you?" she piped raising her eyebrows.

"Tons of great things! She read my life line and told me I was going to live a good life as long as I followed my heart and to make decisions for myself and…" Kyanna trailed off as she caught sight of Suzie eyeing her in a manner that said she wanted the juicy details.

"And your love life?" she pressed on.

Kyanna bit her lip, glancing around her to make sure no one was truly around and that her older brother wasn't listening in. "She told me about the man I'm going to marry! I might even meet him this week," she said in a hushed voice as her cheeks started heating up.

"No way!" Suzie said in astonishment.

"I'm so excited! I can't wait!" Then she softly gasped. "I need to make sure I look good for him! Suzie, can you help me with my makeup?"

"Of course! Oh! We should totally go shopping soon! Buy some new cute outfits and makeup!" Suzie squealed.

"Yes!" Kyanna agreed as she and her best friend locked fingers and did a mini victory cheer in between giggles.

Shaun took one look at Kyanna and Suzie before throwing himself all over the food again. He shook his head. "Girls."

x - x - x

Nearing the end of the day, the four friends walked back down the quiet streets to their neighborhood. The golden sun was beginning to dip into the horizon, bringing life's colours along with it. Living in a smaller area away from the busy traffic had its perks. As they strolled down the wide street, the road in front of them appeared to stretch on forever. During this time of the day especially, there were rarely any cars that drove by, making it perfect for the friends to claim the entire street as theirs.

Aaron always enjoyed walking straight down the middle of the road, treating the space between the two yellow painted dividing lines as a tightrope. The nine-year-old boy stretched his arms out pretending to balance on the imaginary tightrope and leading the group into the opposite direction of the sun.

Suzie pulled out a golden paper fan that she had skillfully folded herself from origami paper. With a flick of her wrist, she opened the fan unreeling the ribs and then snapping it back together. She continued this repeated motion while Kyanna watched her in amusement. Suzie had always loved making paper fans since they were in elementary school, since it was one of the first and easiest origami to fold. Then the two of them would bring their paper fans outside during hot days at recess and fan themselves to keep cooler. Suzie maintained her love for her hobby and the fans in particular. It was like her good luck charm, keeping her spirits up.

Not everyone was all flowers and sparkles about the day coming to an end though. Shaun kept a frown plastered on his face as he marched behind Aaron. "Great. I've nearly wasted the last day of the weekend before we start off the fourth quarter."

"Aw, don't be grumpy, Shaun," Aaron said, happily turning back to look at his friends. "Hey! I know! Why don't you all come over to my place? I have a great new videogame for four players!"

Shaun appeared to be considering Aaron's suggestion. "Can I kick Kyanna's butt in the game?"

"Sure, if you're good enough," Aaron shrugged innocently.

Shaun's face brightened and he whipped around to his sister. "Oh yeah! You're going down, Kya!"

"Not if I beat you first!" she retorted.

"No, you're all going down!" Suzie chimed in.

They all raced to Aaron's house located further up the street...

And were greeted by a huge white fluffy dog. The dog ran towards the group, greeting his owner and almost knocking him over in the process. Aaron let a laugh escape as his dearest friend licked him affectionately. "Hey there, Appa!"

Kyanna and Suzie joined in on the fun and playfully pet Appa's soft fur. Shaun, on the other hand, simply rose a clenched fist near his mouth and cleared his throat.

"Greetings, Appalachian!" he said in a professional (and deeper) voice.

"Do you have to call him by his full name every time?" Kyanna eyed him like he was the goofiest person she had ever met. He probably was.

"He's got a mighty great name for a Great Pyrenees! Legendary! He deserves to be called by his rightful title! Not by some dinky cute nickname!" Shaun defended. Appa took the opportunity to playfully tackle Shaun as well, knocking him over and getting a laugh out of everyone. The teenager smiled and finally stroked his fur as well.

"So what's this new game?" Suzie asked as they entered Aaron's house and headed straight to his bedroom.

"Ta-da!" Aaron held out the videogame case displaying a collection of powerful fighting characters charging outwards from the center of the cover. Everyone gave each other their game face and settled themselves in front of the television screen.

After hours and countless rounds of fighting in every single stage as various characters, the group decided to call it a night. For the final results, Aaron placed first, Kyanna second, Suzie third and Shaun last (not necessarily meaning he did the worst; it was all a very close call). Kyanna let out a dominating victory cry, rubbing her win in her brother's face.

Shaun merely grouched. "Yeah, yeah, that's only because you all decided to gang up on me. But you have to admit that I'm the best at controlling the guy with the space sword!"

Kyanna paused to study her brother's form. "Fine, I'll give you that," she said with a heartwarming smile.

Suzie let out a long yawn. "Well, I'm getting really tired now. We should probably head back to your place."

"You're sleeping over?" Shaun questioned.

"Don't I always?" She flipped her short brown hair and Kyanna could've sworn she saw Shaun blush.

"I suppose so. It's not like I hang out with you girls at your sleepover, so I don't know when you're over or not."

Aaron also yawned and shut off his game system. "Thanks for a great day! Wish I could say I'll see you guys at school tomorrow," he said already collapsing onto his bed.

"Just one more year!" Kyanna reassured and then caught sight of the time. "Oh-no! It's super late! Gran's going to yell at us again for being out so late on a school night! Goodnight Aaron!"

The boy sat up in his bed, his hoodie falling back when he rose to reveal his short dark brown hair. "Goodnight Kyanna. Goodnight everyone."

Before Shaun left the bedroom he abruptly stopped, making Suzie run right into his back. Her eyes widened as she brought her arms in front of her chest but Shaun didn't seem to notice her reaction. "Wait, how come we don't get a personal goodnight?" Shaun remarked to which Aaron rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous smile.

"Oh, well you two didn't say goodnight to me personally yet either, so I just-"

"Oh stop trying to imply something, Shaun," Suzie interrupted as she pushed the teenager out the door. She turned to give her friend a final friendly farewell. "Goodnight Aaron.'

Aaron gave a weak chuckle as he collapsed back onto his bed.

x - x - x

The next day at school turned out to be another typical day of learning. Third quarter tests were over and new topics for the fourth quarter greeted all the students of Sozin Middle School on a very bright and early Monday morning. Much joy. But all the students complied with the unavoidable setting, each to their own extent.

Kyanna breezed her way through her classes, not really caring too much for the classes but still putting forth her best effort that she could muster up. The classes weren't excruciatingly difficult. To her, all it took was time and practice to understand the material. As long as she turned in homework and studied, she was good to go.

During the 6th grade lunch period, Kyanna and Suzie sat in their usual spot toward the back of the cafeteria talking about last night's occurrence.

"He wears cologne!" Suzie recalled taking a bite out of her apple. "I could smell it when I bumped into him last night."

"Uh-huh." Kyanna listened while soaking up the excess grease out of the school lunch's pizza with a napkin. "And?"

"It smells good!" her best friend cried out as if she had never smelled cologne before in her life, despite being a makeup queen.

"Yeah, that smell is practically everywhere in his room."

Then Suzie said something that made Kyanna nearly drop her grease-soaked napkin. "You think it's what?"

"I think it's kind of attractive," Suzie repeated shyly, diverting her eyes.

"My brother? Attractive? Well, if you think so. Honestly, I never expected you to be interested in him." She picked up her pizza and took a bite.

Her best friend leaned forward. "You know what the fortune teller told me? She said the guy I would be with would have an irresistible scent."

Kyanna tilted her head. "That could be anyone. All cologne smells good."

"But this one is really good!" Suzie clasped her hands together and looked up as if she was praising Shaun like a celebrity. Kyanna almost rolled her eyes at her best friend's actions.

"Just don't rush into it," she warned and then her eyes skimmed behind Suzie just in time to see someone glaring at their table. She waved a hand in front of the infatuated girl. "Hey! Snap out of it! The Demon Princess is staring at you like you're crazy," she said in a low voice.

Suzie blinked and made a look of disgust. "Asandra? Is she still looking this way?"

"Yes," Kyanna replied and saw Asandra surrounded by her two best friends, giggling at each other with a smoothie in each of their hands.

"Ugh. Can I throw your grease soaked napkin at her face?"

"You know she would do something 'unspeakably horrible' to get back at you." Kyanna didn't really have a problem with Asandra, at least not yet. Alessandra Agni, also known by the students as the Demon Princess, ruled Sozin Middle School. She might as well have ruled the entire region.

You were crazy if you didn't know who Asandra was. She would engrave the name into your mind, make you repeat it until you were saying it in your sleep. Her personality especially made her simply unforgettable after just one encounter with her.

After hearing all those rumors about the Demon Princess, Kyanna made sure to stay out of her way. Luckily the only encounters she had with Asandra were when she was hanging out with Suzie, but even then she was never directly involved with her. The girl always interacted with Suzie in a rather… extravagant way.

Suzie had had Asandra as an assigned partner for a science project to create a successful rocket out of a plastic bottle and other personally chosen materials, and apparently Asandra bossed Suzie around the entire time, shut down her ideas and created everything to her own preference. "I've never felt so disrespected! It's worse than your brother's sexist remarks!" as quoted by Suzie. It was then that she decided to learn tessenjutsu, utilizing her precious origami fans to defend herself from the Demon Princess.

She wasn't the only one to hold those opinions. Numerous students complained how inhuman and terrifying Asandra was (never to her face of course). But sadly to say, she wasn't an ugly face to look at. She was actually decent. Okay, she was pretty. To sum it up, everyone both feared and respected her. Everyone except for Suzie and Kyanna that is, or at least that's what they wanted to believe.

"I'm not afraid of her," Suzie finally stated taking a sip of her water.

"You should be," came an ominous voice. The two best friends turned to the side where Asandra confidently walked past their table accompanied by her best friends Marissa and Teresa- Alerissa as their trio was known.

"You think you can control everyone with your high and mighty act, but you'll never break my walls!"

"Sooner or later fan-girl. I mean, look at you; you easily gave in to the guy after just one whiff of his cologne. You'll come around." Then Asandra continued walking past their table with a satisfied smirk. "Teri, Mae," she addressed her friends as they followed close behind and out of the cafeteria.

By this time, Suzie was about ready to explode, her face already turning beet red. Kyanna stepped in before her friend embarrassed herself even more. She placed a comforting hand on Suzie's arm. "It's okay. Don't let it affect you. Asandra has ears and eyes everywhere and knows everything." Her friend whipped out her perfectly folded paper fan hidden in the sleeve of her long-sleeve shirt and held it out aggressively in the direction Alerissa left.

"That's what makes her even more horrible," she said never taking her eyes off the now empty doorways of the cafeteria.

x - x - x

The last period of the day came around and Suzie and Kyanna were in the middle of passing notes when all of a sudden, the lights went out. A sound of surprise escaped the students in unison as their eyes adjusted to the dimmed lighting from the sunlight alone. Heads were turning this way and that while the teacher was trying to settle down the students.

"What is going on?" Suzie said slowly, noticing how even the lights in the hallway were out.

"I'm not sure," Kyanna replied, glancing at the clock. There was still twenty minutes of school left. She almost felt bad for the teacher. The female teacher was obviously trying to keep her students in control but after something unusual like this happening, trying reverting back to the day's lesson was a lost cause.

A couple minutes later, a loud beeping resonated throughout the school building before a male's voice sounded. "Good afternoon everyone. Sorry about the sudden lights out; it seems that we've hit a technical issue which will, unfortunately, take some time to fix; so as a result, you're all dismissed early and we'll see you all again tomorrow morning!"

The classroom went up in cheers as everyone grabbed their books, shoved them in their backpacks or just carried them and leapt out of their seats to the door. Meanwhile, the teacher tried to shout over all the commotion but with little success. "Okay, class! Make sure you do the homework for tomorrow! I'll be collecting it!"

Kyanna and Suzie packed their supplies as quickly as they could and make a beat for the door as well.

"Early dismissal! Yes!" Suzie cheered.

"Fifteen minutes earlier but I'll take it!" Kyanna added as they ran to their lockers conveniently in the same hallway.

Out of nowhere, Shaun appeared shouting wildly in Kyanna's face. "Kya! Isn't this great?! Maybe for once I won't miss the beginning of Earth Rumble 6!"

"You're walking home?"

"Uh yeah!" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The busses are still leaving at the usual time! But if we run, I'll make it in time for the show! Now, hurry up!"

"Wait! I have to use the bathroom! Really bad!"

"You have to what?!"

"I'll be right back!" she said immediately swinging her backpack over her shoulder and taking off down the hallways.

"If you take too long, I'm leaving without you!" he yelled after her. "Girls always take so long in the bathroom," he grumbled to himself, but his anger faded when he noticed Suzie still grabbing her stuff out of her locker. Suzie caught him staring at her and nearly dropped her textbook. They both froze in silence for a couple seconds.

Shaun shuffled his feet in place with his arms behind his back. "So… you wouldn't happen to like Earth Rumble 6, would you?"

x - x - x

Kyanna's hands rested on the lock of the bathroom stall when she heard an all too familiar cackle echo throughout the bathroom walls. She was more than certain that Alerissa had just entered. Great. Maybe she could just sneak past them or make a run for the door. But knowing Asandra, there was no way she would be able to just leave without some sort of interaction with her. She decided to wait it out, at least for now.

"Those pathetic construction workers struck the power line. Unreliable amateurs," Asandra's voice rung out with her signature arrogant tone.

So that's why all the lights went out Kyanna concluded. She hated to admit it, but that girl sure knew how to get her information.

"Why do we even need a new football field? The school's already got budget cuts and what do they do? Spend what money they have left on a football field." That was Mae's voice. Kyanna could tell by the monotonous sound of boredom that defined Mae's soul.

Then a chipper higher pitched voice chimed in. "Don't worry! Asandra's got it all worked out already. A little donation with the help of Mr. Agni and the school will be on great grounds again!"

"Teri, don't spill out all our generous plans when there's someone else listening in," Asandra teased, and Kyanna pressed her lips together. "So are you going to come out or keep hiding in there like a little girl?"

Kyanna took a preparatory breath. Everything will definitely be alright, she reminded herself. It was a line taken from the main character of her favourite animation series when she was young. She and her mother used to watch it together. Years ago, Kyanna wanted to become stronger like her mother, but lacked the strength to; so in order to raise her spirits, her mother repeated to her the invincible spell as recited by the main character in the show. The phrase remained with her, keeping her going through the roughest times. Oh the things she did to keep herself sane. She wasn't necessarily afraid of Asandra. She just didn't want to have to deal with her.

On a silent exhale, Kyanna stepped out from the stall and washed her hands as quickly as possible, noticing the Demon Princess adjusting her topknot bun in the mirror while Teri stretched her legs with the incredible flexibility she had and Mae stood motionless against the wall with her arms crossed. Just as she was about to leave, Asandra stood in her way.

"Did you say something?" she said with an incredulous look.

"Um, no? I didn't say anything," Kyanna answered.

"Exactly. Show some respect to royalty."

Kyanna wanted to splash Asandra's face with the sink water. Just because Asandra's father was a successfully wealthy and well known businessman in the area didn't mean she had to treat his daughter like royalty.

"I will treat others the way they treat me, and right now this is what I'm getting from you. I hope you like yourself," she countered with a strong voice, making sure to keep her eyes firmly locked with Asandra's golden eyes. Without another word, she moved past Asandra and her friends and disappeared into the hallways.

The Demon Princess tried to appear unfazed. She was normally a natural at keeping her emotions in control, yet the short encounter with that ordinary girl was enough to tilt that balance by just a hair.

Just a hair.

She convinced herself that it was practically nothing, for just this once.

Just this one time.

Unfortunately, Teri had to bring up that blatant fact. "Why'd you let her go?"

That was a mistake for her to say. But Asandra regained control of her emotions and brushed the comment aside. "She's not worth the trouble. A Princess knows how to pick and end her fights maturely and with honour." Then she pulled out her cellphone which had just vibrated notifying her of new text message.

I'm in the back. We're leaving without your brother so hurry up. –Dad

A victorious grin crept onto Asandra's face. Her two best friends knew something good was up and awaited her orders.

"Girls, let's find something to annoy my brother."

x - x - x

When Kyanna finally reached her locker again, she noticed that both Shaun and Suzie were gone. "I didn't take that long, did I? Maybe I can still catch the bus!" Kyanna ran to the reserved parking space for the busses only to see that her bus was already leaving the parking lot. She pondered her options: walk home by herself or make a futile attempt to chase after the bus like an idiot.

She choose the former.

It wasn't like the walking route home was new to her. She and her brother had walked down that route countless times before. But this was the first time she was doing it alone. As Kyanna progressed down the sidewalk, she mentally noted that being by herself was definitely better than having an annoying older brother nagging and teasing her every second of the way. And after all, Kyanna was eleven years old now. She could take care of herself.

All was going well and Kyanna was beginning to enjoy the tranquil sounds of nature. She admired the lively colours everywhere she turned. The time she had alone always left her with an assortment of thoughts; and as a result, she was always trying to occupy herself to keep her mind busy- hanging out with Suzie, focusing on her studies, stepping forward and taking on the adult responsibilities that would have been her mother's if she were still alive.

With a nostalgic look, Kyanna pressed a hand to her neck where a silver chained necklace with a circular amulet engraved with the letter K decorated her front. This was the last memento she had of her mother before she was brutally ripped away from her life. A jarring memory flashed in her mind but she shook her head to rid of it. She refused to think about her last moments with her mother and how she could have saved her. She already spent years dwelling in sorrow about what she could have done if only she were stronger. It had been three years now. Kyanna convinced herself that she did indeed grow stronger and would continue that growth. She didn't want to be the helpless little girl she was back then.

As Kyanna turned a corner, something distinct caught the corner of her eye. Two older looking men lurked carefully from a distance, clearly staring her down while trying to appear inconspicuous. Kyanna returned her posture forward, continuing to walk casually. She noted how suspicious the men appeared with their hands in their jean pockets and the way they glanced around… probably to make sure no one was watching them. Or maybe Kyanna was being paranoid. Surely they were just friends taking a stroll around the block.

After a couple seconds, Kyanna pretended to reach back to fix something from her backpack and she noticed how the two men had also turned the corner and were still following her. Kyanna swallowed. Not wanting to alert her followers, she kept a steady pace and looked around at her surroundings to find a distraction- something…anything to keep her safe! Her heartbeat hitched and she gripped the straps of her backpack tighter, her palms already starting to sweat. As her breathing increased, she spotted another student turning from another street into the direction she was heading in. At least… she hoped it was a student. He was young and carrying a backpack- that was good enough for her!

At this first opportunity, Kyanna darted forward trying to look excited as she ran to catch up with the guy. "Hey! There you are!" she shouted. The student turned around to look at her and Kyanna noticed he looked beyond her for a split second but maintained his demeanor.

"I thought you left without me! How's it going?" she continued with her act, looking up at him with a smile after finally catching up with him.

The teenage boy stared back at her a little confused, and Kyanna darted her eyes between the two older men and the student's gaze. She felt a little bad that she had dragged this guy into her dilemma but at this moment, he was her last hope!

What the teenager did was nothing like what Kyanna expected. He stretched his left arm out as an invitation, but also to flex his muscles (showing the two men just who they were dealing with) before wrapping it around Kyanna in a side hug to make their fabricated friendship appear more believable. Then he swiftly sent a menacing glare in the two men's direction.

"Oh, hey!" he finally replied with a smile. Kyanna lightly blushed at his touch. She quickly caught him staring at her… chest?! "Ka...taro-A! Katara! Nice to see you! What's up?"

Oh, never mind. He was looking at her necklace.

Kyanna almost laughed at his lame recovery. "Just on my way home. My brother's a jerk and apparently I took too long in the bathroom, so he took off without me. Can you believe him? And then on top of that, I miss my bus! So here I am walking home."

"I feel you," the boy replied facing forward with his arm still tightly around her. "The only reason I'm walking home is because my dad is mad at me, so he picked up my sister and immediately drove off."

Kyanna noticed the hurt in his voice and her smile dropped. "Wow, you must've really upset him."

"Yeah, but I don't want to talk about it."

"Not a problem," she said but didn't want their façade to end just yet in case the two men were still lingering behind them. She desperately sputtered out the first thing that came into mind. "So uhh, that math test!"

The subject change seemed to catch the guy off guard as well. He blinked rapidly and met her gaze with a stunned look. "Uh, yeah! It was… stupid!"

Stupid? Was that really the best he could do? Kyanna bit her lip to hold back her laughter for the second time. "I'm pretty sure I screwed up half of the word problems. Ugh, why do they have to word everything like a trick question?"

"Like how women talk."

Kyanna gave him a did-you-really-just-say-that look. "Ha Ha," she replied slowly. "Not all women are like that, you know. And I thought dealing with my sexist older brother in the house was already bad."

At her response, the student glanced down at her with a sorry look. "I'm just kidding around."

"You better be." She glared at him.

"I am. You're right. My mother was never like that." He looked away as if he was in deep thought and Kyanna's eyes softened in realization. She felt her necklace again and then also gazed into the distance.

"My mother was never like that either," she said softly.

And as those words left her mouth, she felt a sense of unity between her and the random student she had met mere seconds ago. It was almost unbelievable that they were able to connect so easily and converse as if they had known each other their whole lives already. Well… that's what they were pretending to do anyways for the sake of losing the stalkers. She just didn't expect it to go this smoothly.

No one said anything after the mention of their mothers, but Kyanna felt the silence to be… comforting, not at all awkward or tense like how it usually would be. She could feel her body warm up being so close to him. And that's when she remembered what the fortune teller predicted for her.

"…the man you are going to marry… when you are reunited, it will feel… complete. You might even cross paths with him this week…"

Was it possible?

Was this… the guy?

No, Kyanna, you're getting way ahead of yourself she contradicted internally, but couldn't help wondering if the guy beside her really was the one.

No, no, that's ridiculous she argued again. Fortune tellers aren't one hundred percent accurate. There's no guarantee that he's…

Kyanna shifted her eyes upward to take a good look at him. And she nearly drooled. …holy fudge. Not that I would mind if we got together.

Kyanna hated her thoughts for being at war with each other.

The two students turned another corner and gave a sigh of relief when the two older men were nowhere to be seen. The boy immediately removed his arm around her and they slowed to a stop before facing each other. Kyanna looked around nervously before speaking.

"Hey, thanks for playing along. I don't know what would've happened if you weren't there."

The other student hesitated a bit, keeping his eyes from meeting hers directly. "You're welcome." There was no emotion in his voice though, and Kyanna wondered just how much of their conversation was actually an act. He didn't look like he was going to say anything else either so she took the initiative to talk.

A cunning smile crawled upon her face. "But really though? Katara? What kind of a name is that?" That seemed to make him flustered and he lightly blushed.

"I-it was the first thing that came into mind when I saw your K necklace!" he defended.

"That wouldn't be the first name I would think of starting with the letter K."

"I blanked out, okay? And before you came, I was craving taro bubble tea and my annoying little sister just happened to surprise message me with a video of the hamtaro theme song."

Kyanna crossed her arms teasingly. "All I hear are excuses. And you thought changing taro to tara would make it sound more like a girl's name?"

The guy was practically fuming now, much to Kyanna's enjoyment. "You appeared out of nowhere and gave me no time to think! I'm not bad at coming up with names! It was just bad timing!"

"Relax, I'm just teasing. Thanks again for all your help," she said earnestly while bringing her arms back to her side again.

The boy calmed down, giving her a sincere smile after their little quarrel. And then there was silence again.

Kyanna brushed a loose hair behind her ears as a nervous habit. "So uh! You attend Sozin Middle School too huh?"

The serious, determined look was back on his face, and Kyanna's face fell in disappointment that his smile had once again dwindled faster than she could imagine. She mirrored his expression involuntarily. But on the plus side, he was finally maintaining eye contact with her.

"Yeah- my last year in middle school," he answered.

"Darn, you're two years ahead of me. No wonder I never see you around."

More silence. Kyanna wondered if she was trying too hard, but she expected something more from a guy who had just helped her out of a sticky situation. From the way he was acting now, it was like he was trying to avoid her like the plague. Did he dislike her that much?

"Well, I have to be getting home now," he said nonchalantly.

"Oh, right. Don't want your dad to be even more upset."

He gave her a deadly glare and in that instant alone, Kyanna felt a sudden rush of chills penetrate her body.

"Sorry," she croaked. "I probably shouldn't have said that-"

"It's okay. You didn't know." His eyes wandered aimlessly before resting below her eyes. Noticing where his attention was, Kyanna gripped her pendant, interrupting his gaze. He met her eyes for a pure second before cutting their connection. "Bye." He turned to leave, but Kyanna took a step forward.

"Wait! We'll see each other around school, right?"

The teenager merely stared back with cold golden eyes, his pale skin radiating a tense atmosphere. His eyes locked with hers as if he was searching for something lost, hoping to find it within her.

"I'm sorry. I don't think we will."

x - x - x

Kyanna paced back and forth in her room with a scrunched up face.

"I'm sorry. I don't think we will," she repeated for the umpteenth time in her best manly impersonation, and then threw her hands in the air. "Who does he think he is anyways? Telling me that we can't even say hi to each other in the hallways. I wasn't even asking if we could be friends! Ughhh! Stupid-! Self-absorbed-! Jerk!" She released an angry growl. "I don't care how handsome he looked! Or the fact that he saved me- no, he didn't even save me! He was just…" But she drifted off, remembering when he had wrapped his arm around her, acting like her bodyguard. She had felt the tightness of his muscles squeezing her close to him, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks at the distinct memory.

"Sounds like someone's in looove," came a strikingly annoying voice in a sing song tone.

Kyanna was snapped out from her reverie. She twirled around to face her brother in the open doorway. "Shaun! How long have you been standing there?! Get out! And I'm not in love!"

"That blush on your face tells me otherwise," he continued to tease but then crossed his arms as he leaned against the door frame. "Gran's been calling you to dinner for like five minutes now and said we can't start eating without you! So I told her I'd come to get you myself, just like the nice brother I am."

That last statement triggered her built up anger. "Yeah- the 'nice' brother who left me to walk home from school by myself!"

"We've walked that route hundreds of times before, Kya. It's not like you were going to get lost."

"No, but two suspicious older men could've kidnapped me!"

That seemed to catch his attention and his expression shifted to that of seriousness and concern. "Wait, what happened?"

As quickly as her anger fumed, it left her as she exhaled. She didn't want to involve Shaun on any more of her personal business. She didn't even want to remember it anymore. "Nothing. I'm fine now, and that's all that matters."

Shaun was all right with that answer.

"Okay," he said upliftingly. "Let's eat! The food's getting cold!" He dashed back to the dining room with a sulking Kyanna following slowly after.

"Darn!" she muttered to herself as a realization hit her. "I didn't even ask the jerk what his name was."