A/N – O my gosh, guys, I am soooooo sorry that I haven't updated sooner. was being evil and not letting me upload documents. whispers They're in on a plot to keep me from finishing my story. Along with my parents. And my teachers. And the government. eye twitches How's that for a conspiracy theory?

I know it seems like the Zutara is moving fast here, but this is sort of after they 'fall in love,' and this is just them coming to terms with it. That, and the story is only going to be about 5 chapters.

Also, I know that Zuko is kinda OOC, but I have an excuse! I mean, an explanation. His teenage hormones, so long dormant, have woken up and are now screwing with the order of his normal Pompous-Ass Prince-ness. Poor Zuko can't handle the stress, and therefore goes crazy, and does things that it is not in his character to do. So pay no mind. Unless, of course, you like this Zuko, then tell me!

Ok, addressing some things from the reviews. No, Haru isn't really going to be evil. Not really. But if you want to find out what happens, pay attention to mentions of his character, nudge nudge, wink wink.

And there will be no Jet in this story. He was originally going to take Katara on the date, but then he died.  So I had to settle for Haru. And I liked how it turned out.

One last thing. THANK YOU SOOOOOO FLIPPEN MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS!!!!!!! You all made a nube like me feel loved. I am going to print them out and tape them to my ceiling so I can read them every night before I go to bed. Just keep up the encouragement, and I write the next chapter as fast as my little fingers possibly can. Your words feed my creative spirit better than root beer and chocolate. Insert reason why I love the reviews here . Right. Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, Zuko would never wear a shirt. AND HE WOULD STILL BE BUFF!!! (What is up with that???? He better start working out again when he joins the gAang!!!) So I don't own it.

Zuko sighed as Katara finally left the clearing. Now, at last, he could tell the others what was on his mind.

"Guys…" everyone in the clearing looked at him expectantly. "Um, I don't think that

Katara should go out with that earthbending bas- I mean, that Haru guy."

Sokka and Aang exchanged knowing glances, while Toph turned her blank eyes on him, smirking.

"Whatsa matter, Scarface?" she asked mockingly. "Feeling a little jealous?"

Zuko cursed inwardly.

Surely I'm not that obvious.

"I am not jealous!" he yelled. When Toph smirked wider, he realized that he had made the same mistake that he had with Katara, and attempted backtrack.

"I am not jealous!" he said, ignoring the part of him (the little green part) that was trying shout out he was jealous, and what was she going to do about it, "I just think there was something fishy about him. His eyes were strange…" (partly true)

"OK, Scarface," she said, raising her hands in defeat, but still smirking. "Just wondering…"

Now Sokka put his two cents in. "We just thought you might be a little jealous, because you know…" he made a ridiculous kissy face, "you're in looooooOOOOOooooove." He drew out the word, making it multiple syllables.

Zuko stiffened, and he felt his heart rate speed up.

Stay calm, stay calm…

"What the hell gave you that idea?" he snapped. So much for staying calm…

Aang took it from there.

"Oh, no reason." An evil grin split his face. "Its just you stare at her an awful lot when you think no one is looking…"

Sokka interrupted. "And you're acting like I did when I had my first crush…when I was six."

They were right. Damn them all. Zuko managed one last feeble retort.

"I do not have a crush on her…"

Toph snorted. "Stupid, I can tell you're lying from over here. Keep your heart rate down, will ya? I'm gonna go deaf and blind."

"I…you know what? FINE!" Suddenly he was angry, for no apparent reason. The stupid monster thing had finally escaped from his chest, fought off his pride, and now had a stranglehold on his vocal chords.

"YES! I AM MADLY IN LOVE WITH KATARA! I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT HER! AND IM GOING TO KILL THAT BASTARD EARTHBENDER FOR

ASKING HER OUT BEFORE I COULD! HAPPY NOW?!?!?!?"

Aang and Sokka took one look at his furious face and burst out laughing. Toph's grin got wider.

"There ya go, Scarface. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem."

Sokka stopped laughing for a second. "Seriously, Zuko, if you want to ask her out, then you're going about it entirely the wrong way. Katara hates your guts right now."

Zuko's anger faded, and he suddenly felt extremely tired.

"I know. I just…don't know how to act around girls." He looked up desperately. The monster still had a hold on his vocal chords, and was now fighting his pride off tooth and claw to speak. "Sokka…will you teach me?"

Aang stopped laughing and nearly fell off his perch in shock. Sokka's jaw dropped to his knees. Even Toph's normally blank eyes widened a little in shock.

Zuko looked around at the surprised faces. "What?"

Sokka nervously cleared his throat. "Well, um…it's just that…even though you've become less of a prick than when you started traveling with us, you're still kinda…stuck up." Zuko glared at him. "It's true! You haven't actually asked for help or anything…until now."

Then he smiled widely. "So I know if you swallowed your pride to ask for help, you must really like Katara! I'll help you." He leaned in conspiratorially.

"Honestly, I'd rather have her fall in love with you than with Haru. You're a much better fighter." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "And I can keep my eyes on you both." Zuko

shuddered. He wouldn't put it past Sokka to sleep between them on their wedding night.

Sokka put on his brilliant smile once again. "But we'll talk about that later!" He threw an arm around Zuko's shoulders, making him look ridiculous because he was at least 5 inches shorter than the firebender.

"The first thing you need to know about girls is a lot of times they speak in codes." He guided them into the trees, walking away from Toph and Aang. "When a girl looks upset, but says things are ok, that means things are not ok. You should ask her again. Then she will either break down into tears and throw herself into your arms, or…" They faded out of earshot.

Aang looked at Toph. "His advice is has gotten better since he gave some to me. He told me to act surly around Katara to get her to like me."

Toph looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, that's a pretty stupid advice…"

Aang looked at her suspiciously, then grinned. "Yeah," he said innocently. "You should be nicer to someone you like."

Toph scowled. "Shut up, Twinkle-toes." She threw a rock at him.

Katara sighed in relief as she sank into the river.

Finally, an excuse to take a bath.

As she scrubbed the filth of travel out of her skin, she puzzled over Haru and Zuko's strange behavior that day.

They both seemed really tense…like they wanted to spring at each other's throats. But they never even met before!

Of course, her smart ass conscience chose that moment to speak.

Don't be naïve, Katara. They were going to fight over you

What?

Stop trying to play dumb. You could tell that they both liked you.

Well, it's obvious that Haru liked me, he asked me out! But Zuko…he's always been such a jerk!

Yeah! Doesn't that remind you of anyone…?

Huh?

If the voice had eyes, it would have rolled them.

Here's a flashback, Commander Clueless.

A younger Katara is sitting outside in the snow, while a boy looking a bit older leans against the wall of the village. She is practicing waterbending, and he is watching her.

Katara stared at her long-time tormentor, Hanuk, in fury for at least the tenth time that day.

"What do you mean by that?" she growled through clenched teeth.

Hanuk grinned wolfishly, his blue eyes narrowed and his handsome features twisted into a sneer.

"I just mean that playing with magic water is all well and good, but girls aren't really cut

out for that kind of work. You should leave the fighting to men, and just go back to the cooking tent where you belong."

A different day. Katara looks about a year older, and she is in a tent, sewing. A different boy is in there with her, and he looks nervous.

Katara smiled at the boy across from her. "Yes Nanu? What is it?"

The boy looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Well…um…I…you see…"

"Yes?" she said, a little more forcefully.

"Um…ireallylikeyouanddoyouwanttodoanactivitysometime?"

"What?"

He sighed. "I really like you, Katara, and I was wondering if you wanted to do an…activity…sometime?" he finished lamely.

Katara's smile froze, and her brain was in overdrive.

Crap…I don't like him like that! But how can I put him down gently…?"

Just then a furious noise came from outside the tent, and Sokka came bursting in, holding Hanuk by his ear.

"Look what I found eavesdropping by the entrance." He smirked and looked at Katara, obviously expecting praise. She ignored him.

"Hanuk," she said coldly. "Nanu and I were just having a nice conversation. Why, exactly, where you listening in on it?"

Per usual, Hanuk ignored her and turned to Nanu, who suddenly was very pale.

"YOU BASTARD!!!" he yelled, taking everyone by surprise and scaring Nanu out of his skin. "SHE'S MINE!"

At this he tackled Nanu and began punching him. It took Katara a few seconds to realize what was going on.

Wait, so, all this time, Hanuk liked me?

I know! Great, isn't it? The immaturity of boys…

"STOP!" she yelled.

Everyone in the tent froze, Hanuk in the middle of pummeling Nanu, Nanu twisting his arm. Sokka was poking them both with his spear, trying to break them up but obviously enjoying the fight.

"Ok," she said calmly. "There is a simple way to solve this."

Hanuk and Nanu looked at her expectantly, and Sokka looked annoyed that his entertainment had stopped.

"I don't like either of you, so we can just forget that this ever happened!" She smiled, and then ran out of the tent.

Katara heard shouts behind her, but managed to get into Gran-Gran's hut fast enough that

they didn't catch up.

She locked herself there, and refused to come out until both boys left for the war.

(A/N: Anti-climatic, I know.)

With a flash, she was back in reality, her inner voice radiating smugness.

Oh…you're right. Hanuk really did act like Zuko... But why couldn't I remember that memory before?

You tried to repress it, for some reason. If I was in charge of your memories, I would have relived it every day. I mean, two cute guys fighting over you. What's not to like?

Wait…if I repressed it, then how did I remember I just then?

The stupid voice smirked (well, not really, but you get the picture) Well, I'm a very talented conscience, and I managed to dredge it up. You're not good at hiding things from people. Even yourself.

Katara sighed. It figured that the little voice in her head would be obnoxious. Because, of course, she really didn't have enough obnoxious voices outside of her head.

At the sound of one of the obnoxious voices she swore.

"…and there is NO good answer to 'do I look fat in this dress?' If she ever asks you that, run far, far away."

What the hell was Sokka doing, tramping through the forest? More importantly, why was he talking to himself about girls? The questions were answered when she heard an indistinct boy voice say something back.

"No," Sokka replied, "if you tell her she looks nice, it'll only make things worse. She'll accuse you of lying, and get even angrier. Just run away."

It must be Aang. But who would he be asking advice for? I guess he's gotten over me, since he didn't really react when I told him I was going on a date –

You mean a date-that-isn't-a-date her voice corrected smugly.

Whatever. That's not the point. Who would he be asking advice about?

It would be nice to find out, her curiosity put in.

I agree with curiosity. It would be an interesting conversation to listen to.

You're my conscience! You're supposed to stop me from doing things like listening in on conversations.

I had a change of heart. Just grab your clothes and go to the other side of the stream. No one need ever know you heard anything, except you.

Before she could debate it anymore, she jumped out of the water, grabbed her dress, and sprinted to the other side of the stream, putting it on hastily. Just as she was hiding herself in a bush, the boys came into view. Sokka was first, swaggering as well as he could with his arm around the shoulder of…Zuko?

Zuko? Why would he be getting girl advice from Sokka?

Told you he liked you.

It's probably some other girl.

Don't be stupid.

Shut up.

Zuko pushed Sokka's arm off his shoulder, and flopped down onto the bank, looking weary. Sokka looked irritated for a second at being snubbed, then sat down next to him.

"What's wrong, Zuzu?"

Zuko sent a glare in his direction, then sighed, and put his head on his knees, staring in

the direction of Katara's bush. She noticed that when his face wasn't in a sneer, he actually was pretty…hott.

You see? You like him too.

I do not.

You called him hott. With two t's.

So?

So you don't think he's hot, you think he's hott. That's a major difference. A majorly

good difference.

She could practically feel her conscience doing the happy dance in her head.

Katara and Zuko, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

Will you shut up? I'm trying to hear what they're saying!

Gosh, it's your mind. You keep it down.

She focused on eavesdropping again.

"…too much stuff to remember, and she already likes someone else. I'm pretty sure I blew it with the whole 'act like a jerk' thing."

Sokka put a hand on Zuko's shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry. She really is too nice for her own good sometimes. If you apologize, and don't do it again, then she'll forgive you."

Zuko sighed. "That's the thing. Katara's too good for me."

Her heart melted a little, and she could feel a blush starting.

Told you he was talking about you.

SHUT UP!

"She's smart, a good fighter, nice, independent…" he sighed again. "Not to mention one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen. (Katara was nearly swooning at this point) With eyes like the-"

"Ok, that's enough! This is my little sister we're talking about."

"Right. Sorry."

Sokka flinched.

"What?"

"All your apologizing and asking for help. It's creeping me out."

Zuko visibly bristled. "I'm trying to be nicer, but if you'd rather me stay a prick, then just say the word!"

Sokka laughed. "Still the irritable fire prince, aren't we?"

Zuko lay back down on the bank. "I'm really trying to change, but it's…hard. I haven't

been this considerate of other people for years."

Sokka looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Look, maybe you should save all those feelings for when you and Katara start going out. Another lesson – if you're touchy-feely around other guys, they'll…"

Katara had heard enough. She quietly crawled away, quickly getting out of earshot of them.

So…when are you going to congratulate me on my wonderful perception of teenage boys?

Not now. I need to think.

Fine. But I will nag you until I get it later.

Katara got back to the campsite, got a brush from her bagand started fixing her hair. It

was relaxing, and helped her think.

So Zuko really does have a crush on me…dumbass, everyone knows that you shouldn't be mean to someone you like.

Maybe he didn't know. After all, he didn't have much of a social life before joining us…

Yeah…wait. Didn't I tell you too piss off, conscience?

There was a noise that sounded like an embarrassed cough.

Actually…that was your common sense. She can be a bit…rude sometimes, I'm afraid. I am your conscience, but I was on vacation. She was merely filling in for me.

Katara groaned, and proceeded to bang her head on a tree for about five minutes.

Is that really necessary?

No, but it makes me feel better.

Riiiiight. Anyway, the last time Zuko really had interaction with his peers was before he was banished. And even then, he probably didn't have many friends, because he was crown prince. On top of that, his nation and your nation are at war. He must feel very uncomfortable, liking you that way.

You're right. Damnit, it would be so much easier to just hate him.

No luck, missie. As your conscience, I demand that you forgive him when he asks you.

FINE! I guess I'll just avoid him for the rest of the day. It's almost sunset, anyway.

She finished getting ready, and was leaving the campsite when Zuko and Sokka walked back in.

"…and that's what you should do when you admit -" Sokka froze, seeing Katara.

"Admit to Katara that I like -"

"LEACHY NUTS!" shouted Sokka, gesturing at her, while Zuko turned around and

blushed scarlet.

"Umm…yeah. I really like those leachy nuts…Yum?"

Katara gave both of them a strange look, then left the clearing, going towards the village.

Zuko sat on the ground and put his face in his hands.

"Way to go Sokka. Now she thinks I'man asshole and insane"

"No, she probably thinks your high on cactus juice or something."

Zuko groaned and lay flat on the ground.

"Its ok, Zuko. I act like that all the time, and she still likes me. You have to remember, even though she's really mature, she is only 14."

"14? I thought she was at least 16!"

"Nope. Anyway, she likes to have a little bit of fun, so if you don't stop being emo and

angsty all the time, she won't go out with you."

Zuko gave him a strange look. "What's emo?"

"Emotional, I think."

"But you just told me emotions were good!"

"Good emotions are good. Emo means you're always being depressed and angry and stuff." Sokka held out a hand to silence Zuko. "No more questions! Didn't you notice that Katara left to go on her date-that-isn't-a-date five minutes ago?"

Zuko sighed again. He was doing that a lot lately. "Yeah. I knew it would be too much to ask to keep her from going on the date with that smooth-talking earth bastard."

Sokka narrowed his eyes. "Wait, Haru was smooth talking? That's funny…when I met him, he was really shy and awkward…"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "I was trying to tell you before I thought something was wrong with him. And you just thought I was jealous."

Sokka grinned. "But you were jealous, weren't you? He probably just hit puberty, or something. Anyway, I don't want to go chase after Katara to tell her she can't go out to dinner with Haru because you think his eyes are too close together. If you know what's good for you, you wouldn't want to either."

Zuko grunted in agreement. But he was kind of worried. The thing that happened to the bastard's eyes for that second when they were shaking hands…it was wrong. The jealousy, passive for so long, began stirring.

"But something funny happened -"

"No buts. Katara can go on the date, when she comes back I will interrogate her, while you listen. Then we can castrate him together if anything happened."

"Fine," Zuko said grumpily. But he was already planning his escape from the group. "I'm gonna go for a walk and think…" he groped quickly for an excuse "about all those things that you told me."

Sokka beamed proudly. "Yep. I sure gave you a lot to think about, didn't I?"

"Way to go, Scarface. You've done the impossible – inflating his ego even more."

Toph and Aang walked back into the clearing, Toph smirking, and Aang rubbing bruises.

"Where did you guys go?"

"We were -"

"We were getting in some earthbending practice while you guys were busy."

Sokka looked suspiciously between them. Zuko stood up quickly.

"I'll just go on that walk now," he said hastily.

When he was out of sight, he turned in the direction of the village.

I'll just go check things out…to make sure she's all right…

Katara had met up with Haru at sunset, just where they planned to meet. He smiled at her.

"You look really nice, Katara." He gave her his arm, and they proceeded to the inn to have dinner.

He looks really nice too…

But not as nice as Zuko sang her common sense.

Damnit, why did you come back? And why did you lie to me?

I told you I would be back. And technically, I wasn't lying, since I was filling in for your conscience then.

Whatever. Just leave me alone for the date.

No can do, ma'am. I am your common sense, after all. I can't just go away.

AAAAARRRRRGHHH!!!

That was uncalled for.

Now they were at the inn, and Haru sat them down at a table.

"So, now that we're settled, let's catch up, shall we?"

Katara smiled, and told him about their trip to Ba Sing Se.

A/N – Soo…..how was chapter 2? Was it good? Did you like Katara's arguments with herself? I loved writing them, and my friends who read it before said that they were funny. This is definitely the funniest chapter by far. After this, it'll start getting a bit more serious and stuff.

Sorry if I didn't do Toph, Aang and Sokka right. I don't really know their characters. Advice on them is welcome!

Also – to my Avatard friends in real life, who read this before I put it online – THANKS A BUNDLE!

Julia

Megan

Joe

Gabby

And DIJO!!! My home skillet biscuit, if you're reading this, CONGRATS ON FINALLY FINDING THE STORY!

Ok, Pleeeeease review! I want your praise! I mean, opinions! kicks ego Seriously, constructive critism is welcome. NOW STOP READING THIS AND REVIEW! NOW!!!

Preview –

We find out why Haru has been acting so weird.

Katara admits that she likes Zuko (only to herself, though)

We see an old 'friend' (nope, not Jet)

Please R&R again!

Zukofangirl0802