A/N: This chapter takes place about three to four weeks after the last chapter. In this time, Zuko has been stalking Katara and attacking her.

Chapter 4: Running

"So would you bend for me, Katara?" Sokka asked Katara as they waited for the bus. "I haven't seen you bend since the day we discovered you were the Avatar."

"Okay, first off, we did not discover I was the Avatar. I discovered it. Besides, I don't really want to," Katara clarified.

"Please, please, please, please, please, oh, pretty pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaase?" Sokka begged her.

"Fine," Katara spat out. "Anything to get you to shut up." Katara motioned to the sewer. A giant orb of water floated towards her. "Now just stay there, Sokka." She flung the water up in the air like a ball.

"Wow! Where'd it go?" Sokka asked Katara. "Did you make it disappear?"

"Not quite. It's right….here!" She let the water fall and soak Sokka. "That's how I waterbend," she grinned.

"Quite impressive, Avatar," a voice said from behind Katara.

Katara's face drained. "Zuko," she whispered.

Katara turned to face Zuko. "Zuko," she said quietly. "What do you want?"

"You, Avatar," Zuko's lips tightened into a grin.

"Well, at the moment, I'm not free to go with you," Katara said, trying to keep a calm face and not show that fear was closing her throat. She swallowed and nearly choked on her own spit. She looked at Zuko's eyes and saw eyelid. She followed his gaze downward and almost screamed when she realized what the object of his attention was. Her chest was rising and falling and her shirt was only making it worse. Zuko was being a perverted teenager.

He raised his eyes and smiled. "Scared?" he asked.

"No," she said as she shifted her stance. "Just doing some deep breathing exercises. You know to get ready to whoop your butt." She smirked. "Hope you don't mind getting beat by a girl."

"Who says you'll beat me?" Zuko replied. He made daggers of fire. He rushed forward and swiped at Katara. She jumped away and summoned the water from the sewer. He charged at her again and she threw up a shield of water.

"Attack him!" Sokka yelled. "Don't just dodge him!"

"You think it's that easy?" Katara asked as she dodged Zuko again.

"Yeah!" Zuko replied, turning towards Katara.

"Yeah, what he said," Sokka agreed.

"You think it's so easy? You do it!" Katara tossed her water to her brother.

"I can't bend!" Sokka panicked.

"Well, since you passed on the ball, I guess I'll just attack your brother," Zuko smirked.

"Katara!" Sokka pleaded with his sister as Zuko ran towards him.

"You're lucky I'm a nice sister," Katara said as she jumped in front of Sokka. In one fluid motion, she gathered all the water around her and cracked a whip at Zuko. Zuko breathed out a huge blast of fire. Katara was forced to withdraw her whip and throw up a shield. She couldn't see through the steam their colliding attacks created. Katara's eyes darted about, looking for a glimpse of Zuko.

"I can't see!" Sokka shouted to Katara.

"Oh no! What a tragedy!" a very familiar sarcastic voice interjected.

"Toph!" Katara smiled.

"None other!" Toph grinned. "Looks like I'm just in time too. It appears you could use my assistance."

"Hey what about us?" Aang's voice asked.

"Oh yeah. I brought Twinkletoes and Suki along too," Toph said touching Katara's shoulder. "He's on your right. He's running towards you."

"Thanks, Toph. Aang, dispel this steam, will you?" Katara asked.

"No problem," Aang brought out an airbending staff and created a huge gust of wind. The steam roiled away, leaving Zuko naked. (Not literally. He just has no cover now. It's figurative.)

"There you are," Katara smirked. She gathered the water around her in a circle. "I won't lose to you!" The water began to spin and flagella snapped out, cracking lethally. I'm losing control, Katara thought. I won't let that happen again.

"You did not allow yourself to bend… NO! You tried, but in your mind, you refused to let go, to just react with bending. You refused to use the power…No, you should still think. Just don't over think and rely on purely your physical abilities. Bending comes from the spirit. When you rely on your brain and strength, you don't allow your spiritual energy to flow. Therefore, you can't bend."

No! Katara glared at Zuko. I won't refuse it. I'll let it flow through me. I won't be afraid anymore!

"Let's go!" she shouted as she ran towards Zuko. "This ends now! I won't be afraid of my power anymore!"

Was she drowning? No, she was more of floating. Stars surrounded her. The universe. What was that in front of her? A glowing star. Brighter than all the others. She was falling now. Falling towards the earth. What was happening? She couldn't feel her past lives. Wasn't she in the Avatar state? Why did she feel like she was in control?

Katara saw the world and Zuko charging at her. Katara screamed and ran from him.

"Katara?" her friends called. "Where are you going?"

Anywhere but here, Katara answered in her mind.

"Avatar, you can't avoid me forever," Zuko whispered in Katara's ear as she stood at her locker.

"I'm going to be late to class," Katara said moving away from Zuko. He grabbed her wrist.

"We fight now," he said tightening his grip and increasing the heat emanating from his hand.

"OW!" Katara pulled and squirmed. "Let go! That hurts."

"Make me by fighting me."

"No, it's against the school rules. We'll both get in trouble," Katara searched for some water. A water fountain caught her eye. She pulled Zuko towards it. He braced himself and kept her away from the fountain.

Katara got angry now. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? "Let go!" She grabbed at the fountain. "I mean it, Zuko. Let go! Now!" The fountain exploded and water rained down on the couple.

"Haaah," Katara breathed on Zuko. He let go of her in surprise as the water soaking him began to freeze. After freezing Zuko, Katara turned and ran to class.

Katara got off the bus alone, her brother out on a date with Suki. She began to trudge through the freezing rain.

"Avatar! You can't run away from me forever!" Zuko shouted at Katara.

"Well, that doesn't mean I can't keep trying!" Katara threw back at him as she sprinted towards her house. I can't beat him without the Avatar state. I'm not strong enough.

A fireball crackled by her ear. Rainwater rushed by her in the sewer. She shoved the water behind her. "Go away!"

"I won't stop hunting you until you're on our side!" Zuko said.

"Leave me alone!" Katara summoned a gigantic wave and brought it down on Zuko. She brought it up around him creating a bubble. She froze it. Zuko began tapping it experimentally with his knuckles.

"You won't be getting out of there anytime soon," Katara grinned. "That ice is a foot thick."

"Katara?"

"Mom!" Katara whirled around to see her adoptive mother staring at the two combatants.