Hmmm…. last chapter had some plans formed and we just have to see how closely our characters follow them! I put a little foreshadowing into the story, but it is up to you to have found it! (Hint, hint, it was all throughout the chapter, he, he!) Well, I hope all of you keep on enjoying, reading, and reviewing!

Confused

True to his word, Zuko had the entire troop up at sunrise, as had been the routine for the past few days. They had already been traveling for a while and-according to Aang-were still a few days away from Appa and then they would be off to the island. The early rise was no problem for Zana; however, Sokka had a bit more difficulty. "But Zaaanaaaa!" whined Sokka, his eyes still sealed tightly shut as he attempted continuing his dreams. It had been the third time that she had rolled the young man over to wake him and she was getting tired of it; especially since it happened every single morning. Closing her eyes, Zana was able to feel the beginnings of a monstrous headache spreading from the bridge of her nose back to her scalp. She spoke in a demanding tone, "Sokka! I am serious! Now get up or I'll have Zuko on your back quicker than you can whine my name one more time." With the last words, his eyes sprang open. She had never spoken harshly to him like that before and it took him a second to process it all, but as soon as Zuko's name passed through his mind, Sokka stood up as fast as he possibly could, "So…where are we off to?" Zana gave a pleased grunt that he had finally decided to join the land of the waking, "You know very well where we are going-" "Boy, I can't wait to see Appa again!" the Avatar's young voice interrupted her sentence. Zana didn't mind, though, all she did was gesture towards Aang for the absolutely correct statement.

Zuko looked up from his task of destroying any and all evidence that they had been there to see Zana pulling the Water Tribe boy to his feet. He had made of point of avoiding her every morning, during their watch shifts, and the travels. Zuko was utterly confused by the thoughts that had run across his mind several nights before. He didn't exactly want to do anything until he was able to decipher them. Besides, he knew that even if he did not go to Zana, she would come to him in her own time-and by then, he hoped to have everything all sorted out.

"Nephew, is it really necessary that we always move out so early in the day?" came Iroh's complaining and weary voice from behind Zuko. He turned to face his uncle and gave him a mildly dirty look. Zuko refused to dignify the whine with a response and went back to covering up the fire they had had with an even pile of beach pebbles. It wasn't too much longer before the whole gang was ready to go. The Avatar excitedly rambled on about how he saw how far away his Flying Bison was and how much longer he estimated it to be. Zuko wondered how the boy actually felt on the inside, as he, himself, was mildly filled with nervous anticipation-and if he had those feelings, then he was curious as to what a twelve-year-old boy thought about the whole situation.

Soon enough, all seven of them, including Momo, were all set to head off. Aang led the way with the little Flying Lemur on his shoulder because he really was the only one able to find where his Flying Bison was-though he had offered to use his Bison whistle, there was no need to cause more attention to be drawn to the gigantic creature if he came crashing to their "rescue". All had decided unanimously that it would be best if they just went to Appa rather than the other way around.

Right after Aang came Iroh, Sokka, and Katara. The three of them were happily left to their conversation of where the best cuisine that they had sampled in all of their travels had come from. Sokka vehemently stated that back home in the Southern Water Tribe was the best while Katara argued her point for the food back on Kyoshi Island. Iroh had no qualms with either and just nodded in agreement or disagreement, but rather just enjoyed the entire prospect of having actual prepared food once again.

Those pairings left Zana and Zuko to carry up the rear. Zuko refused to allow himself to look down at her, though he could feel her own amazing eyes attempting to pull his gaze towards hers. His posture stiffened-Zuko still felt slightly uncomfortable about being around Zana after all of the baffling thoughts that he had had. He had promised himself that he would let her come to him until he sorted himself out, but Zuko had been the one to fall back in step with her. It was just too damn hard for him to stay away and it frustrated him deeply.

Suddenly and silently, there was a nudge from Zana's shoulder on the upper part of his bicep-the truth was that she really missed talking to him, not to mention the way he looked at her. Zuko really did not want her mad at him, so he turned his head to look at Zana. Zana was looking for him to start a conversation to end the semi-awkward silence between the two of them. Zuko cleared his throat and spoke, "So…do you really think that it will still take us a few more days to get to this Flying Bison?" For lack of better words, Zuko choked out the last part of the sentence. Zana's eyes staring back up at him seemed fathomless, causing his breath to hitch deep in the back of his throat.

"I trust Aang. He really seems to know what he is doing. Besides, it will give us even more time to prepare," Zana smiled warmly. There was just something in her voice that caused all of Zuko's insecurities to be pushed to the very back depths of his mind and he saw only her-felt only the way he wanted to touch Zana, to kiss her…

Zuko swallowed a large lump that had been growing inside of his throat. Zana missed none of it, "Are you sure you are all right?" There was a mildly amused look in her eyes, as if she was able to tell that he had been thinking about her. "Yes, of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Zuko replied a little too enthusiastically. Zana shamelessly rolled her eyes at his feeble attempt to mask his feelings. In her opinion, he had been acting rather strange the past couple of days and it was beginning to really confuse her. "Was it something I said?" she asked in return, not bothering to answer Zuko's question as she truly considered it to be rhetorical. His amber eyes widened and pupils dilated for just a flicker in time, but it was enough for Zana to catch, "No, not at all," Zuko spoke in an odd tone- It is more just you in general… he thought.

Without breaking their eye contact, she reached her hand over and wove their fingers together. Zuko turned away and stared forward, unable to mask the small grin growing upon his normally icy face. Zana knew how he would react; all she had wanted to do was melt his frozen façade and she was well aware that it was actually the smallest of gestures that did so. Slowly, Zuko's thumb caressed hers and without missing a beat or turning his head from the backs of their companion travelers, he tugged her into the thick brush to their side so they disappeared into the woods.

Zana held in a yelp of surprise at Zuko's actions only because she was curious as to his plans for them. She was not daft; she knew what he wanted-Zuko was a teenage boy, after all-but Zana found herself shocked that she was beginning to want the same…

A light blush began to show on the high part of Zana's cheekbones and she prayed to every Spirit that she could name in the three-second span that Zuko would not notice. She wanted so badly for him to see the more prominent, strong side of her rather than the new and unfamiliar self-conscious view. He continued to urge her deeper into the forest, his hand warm against hers.

Zuko had absolutely no idea what he was doing-it was only a short time ago that he had been avoiding Zana as best as he could, and then he was dragging her away from the rest of the group just to be alone with her. She was definitely beneath his skin and he knew deep down that there was no way to get her out. Zuko stopped as soon as he was sure they were far enough away from the others who, he hoped, had continued walking in the opposite direction with their absence going unnoticed. Zuko quickly turned on his heel and, using Zana's built up momentum to his advantage, crushed their lips together with every pent up emotion that had been pooling inside of his core. To his surprise, she gave in quickly and released his hand and proceeded to place hers on his collarbone. He responded likewise and gently began to caress the softest spot on her cheeks, just below her darkly lashed eyes. There came a barely audible moan from the very back of Zuko's throat as their lips parted and met ravenously.

His hands traveled from the velvet smoothness of Zana's cheeks to the nape of her neck beneath the collar of her tunic. There, Zuko's fingers found the abnormal silkiness of a broad scar. They lovingly traced it as if his very touch could heal any and all ailments Zana possessed-physically and emotionally. Finally, Zuko pulled back for air. He had nearly been drowned in the luxury of Zana's lips on his.

When Zana could no longer feel Zuko's deep and longing kisses on her, she slid her eyes open reluctantly as if it were all a dream and if she awoke, it would all disappear. But when she did, everything was as it should have been-Zuko was panting shallowly and hungrily. There was something peering through his dark-amber eyes, something that looked like lust to Zana. She was still enclosed comfortably in his steady arms, but what had once felt like such a warm and strong hold, felt slightly suffocating to her.

Zuko just could not take it all anymore. It was no longer good enough to just kiss Zana and have her in his arms: he wanted so badly to tell her that he had feelings for her that he had never associated with any other being. By the Spirits it was so tempting to just outright and tell Zana that he most likely loved her…

That whole ideal was still so new to Zuko that he wasn't even really sure of the way that he felt. Though, whenever he was around Zana, all he wanted to do was hold her, protect her-though he knew very well that she was perfectly capable of doing so for herself-and truly show her the feelings he had contained so carefully inside. It was so difficult for Zuko to admit aloud exactly what ran through his mind, that all he was able to do was lean forward again and cover Zana's mouth with his. Zana tensed up at his touch. She had seen the new look in Zuko's eyes and she was distraught over what she saw. She knew that it was no longer a mere affection Zuko had for her-that he wanted something more. Zana, however, was not quite ready to give him what he desired.

Zuko gave in to his whims again and allowed his palms to travel down her back, caressing her spine lightly. When his fingers found the lip of Zana's tunic, which fell to her mid-thigh, they smoothly slid beneath the fabric and the only thing separating their skin.

Zana felt what Zuko was doing as he distracted her with his lusty kisses and the whole sensation sent white-hot bolts shooting up and down her spine. His hold tightened around her being and he pulled her lower body tight against his, allowing her to know-to feel just how badly he wanted her. Zuko was completely consumed by a little voice inside of him that kept urging him to go further.Zana knew that her inner self told her to stop resisting, that she cared enough for Zuko to allow what they were doing to go further, but her heart told her that she needed to hear something from his mouth first… Zana's lips reluctantly pulled away from Zuko's as his fingertips began to graze her bare midriff and toy with her waistband on the low of her hips. "Zuko," she began breathlessly, "Not until you say you love me…" A knowing smile played on her lips. Her body yearned for what Zuko was doing to her and Zana knew that if Zuko cared for her as much as his actions showed, they would both get what they wanted so badly.

Zuko was completely taken aback by Zana's words. He hadn't expected her to say anything, just to go along with him, but no matter how hard Zuko pushed himself, he was unable to say the words Zana wanted him to. He released her waist and slid his hands back from under the edge of her tunic. Zana let her own arms slide from Zuko's body, but she was unable to mask her hurt, as he did not say the words she prayed and willed him to.

Zuko's expression hardened. He was baffled as to what to say to Zana's demand. His mouth opened as if to start a sentence, but all that came forth was a minute noise from the back of his throat. Zuko's mind spun and the words he just did not know how to say stuck to his tongue. He gave a great gruff noise and frustratedly ran the hands that had once been on Zana through his dark hair. He wasn't quite sure if he loved her or not-though before the whirlwind of activity had begun, Zuko had nearly convinced himself that he did-but whatever it was that Zuko felt for the girl in front of him was slowly being clouded by aggravation. He, in no way whatsoever, wanted to completely allow his guard to collapse and tell Zana what was running back and forth through his mind.

"Zana, I-" Zuko attempted to begin once again and paused at the look on the girl's face. She was frowning at his lack of the words she really wanted to hear-her coal-black hair concealing nearly half of her usually soft face. Zana's arms slowly crossed her chest as her anger levels increased. "I just…," Zuko was so close to saying that he didn't know, but he saw those words probably would have stung her more than not saying anything at all.

Tears pricked the backs of Zana's eyes and threatened to unleash themselves right then and there, in front of Zuko. She was sure that he had more feelings for her than a slight attraction: it was the way he seemed to open up to her, the way he looked at her-according to Iroh-like he had never looked at anyone else before in his life, the way he touched her, how she felt about Zuko. She had hoped that he reciprocated those very feelings so they could both get what they needed and wanted.

Before the tears were able to spill over, Zana forced words out, "It doesn't matter…" Zuko knew that she didn't mean those words by the hurt undertone to them. It made him so angry that he was the one to cause Zana so much pain and he just wanted to take her into his arms and make it all better, but he knew it wasn't that easy. He had stepped into a completely unknown realm of passionate emotions that had to be released and spoken, but it was definitely something he was not good at and it would take a lot of getting used to. Before Zuko could say anything more, Zana gave a gruff and upset sound, "I am…going to go and see if I can find Aang and the rest of the group. They'll be worried if they don't see that we're there following them." With the last half of the sentence, she pivoted and turned back to the direction they had come. All Zuko could do was watch her receding frame as it pushed its way through the trees and fallen brush; leaving Zuko to contemplate alone.

Zana exited the tree line into the blinding morning sun. Looking to the left and right, there was absolutely no sign of her traveling companions. She gave an aggravated sigh and began walking north. It was the direction they had been traveling in that direction earlier, so it seemed logical that the rest of the group would continue to do so. Zana unconsciously gave a hard blink, causing a tear or two to travel down her cheeks. She frowned and swiped them away, pissed off at the fact that she had been crying so much since she met Zuko. She prided herself in being such a strong person, but it had become so hard to control herself. Zana quelled her tears and sped up her pace to a slow and silent jog to catch up with Iroh and everyone else quicker.

It was a mere matter of minutes until she caught sight of the slowly moving troop. She was a little surprised at how they didn't seem to question why Zuko wasn't telling them to speed up, as their pace was a sluggish crawl. Silently, Zana slipped into her place behind Iroh, Katara, and Sokka who were still pretty absorbed in their conversation. Aang was up ahead playing with Momo happily in their own little world. She gave a quiet sigh and pushed the heels of her palms into her eyes, attempting to shove away her distracting thoughts. Zana refocused her gaze on the small group. Knowing that Zuko would want her to keep the pace up, she called ahead, "Hey! Let's keep going! We need to make better time today." All of the others turned to look back at her and had odd looks on their faces-they hadn't heard a sound from the rear of the pack in a little over an hour.

"Ok, but where is my Nephew?" Iroh looked slightly confused. Zana came up with a quick excuse, "He thought he heard something a ways back and he went to check it out. He should be back soon enough." The words were good enough for the travelers and they returned to their previous occupations and doubled their pace. Zana tilted her head towards the light blue sky. It really was a beautiful day to travel, but it was all suppressed in the back of her mind and all that was prominent was the fact that if Zuko had told her he loved her, then she would have done anything for him…

Zuko stayed in the same stance that Zana had left him in. He glared at where her back had once been, willing and commanding her to come back to him. Zuko gave a great growl of frustration and his fists were engulfed in impulsive flames. He simply stood there breathing heavily until he realized it was all useless. He knew that he wasn't the type to just tell a girl he loved her so he could get what he wanted-not that he had ever really gotten the opportunity before, but he told himself that he had much better morals than that.

Zuko extinguished his hands and stared at his upturned palms. He knew that he had such strong feelings for Zana, but he was not sure if he should or even how to express them. His teeth gritted and he decided to give up on the whole idea for that point in time.

Even though the whole thought process, Zuko's mind flicked to a different topic and he headed deeper into the woods to help relieve himself of the growing pressure in his pants.