Howdy, y'all! So, this is chapter two of my story, and I hope you guys in enjoy it. The chapters mainly set in Zuko's POV. Still kinda boring so far, but I promise I'll make it more interesting soon.

The first day of school had finally ended, and the group of friends crowded into Zuko's car. Originally, they planned on having more cars, but Sokka's dad, Hakoda, had to come use Sokka's car, due to his own car having broken down earlier in the day. Song's car was totaled in a crash a week ago, Jet's care was being borrowed by one of his friends, and Ty Lee was too lazy to drive this morning. Therefore, the thirteen members of their group had to pile into the red suburban, chaotic as it was.

It was quite an interesting arrangement. Zuko and Song were sharing the shotgun seat, with Song squished up against the window in a comical fashion. In the second row, Aang and Jet sat in the seats, with Suki sitting on the floor in between them. The back row was even more crowded, as Katara, Teo, Azula, and Ty Lee managed to squish in three seats. In the trunk sat Sokka, Yue, and Toph, the latter of whom was complaining about motion sickness. The only comfortable person was Mai, who had the drivers seat all to herself.

"We're going to get arrested for cramming this many people into a seven-seat car," said Katara, inching closer to the windowsill to give everyone more space.

"We're only six people over," said Sokka.

"That's almost double!"

"I swear," said Azula, rubbing her temples. "If you do not stop yelling in this small space, I'm going to throw you in the nearest lake and make it look like an accident."

"Sorry for not wanting to go to prison."

No one argued with her, as everyone knew arguing with Katara would turn out bad. She was a sweet, caring girl, but her angry side frightened even the strongest of men. Not to mention, she was as stubborn as an ox and would give her right arm to have the last word in a fight.

Suddenly, Mai had to slam on the breaks, due to a car cutting her off. This caused Suki to fly back into Azula's lap, Toph into the back window, and Song further into the side door. Azula groaned and tried to shove the older girl off, but only succeeded in elbowing Teo.

"I think I just cracked my ribs on Teo's wheelchair," said Toph, gasping in pain as Mai swore at the driver in front of her.

"I'll take a look at Toph," said Katara, having already studied under the nurses at the local hospital long enough to identify broken bones.

She tried to unbuckle and climb into the truck, but Mai had to stop again, sending her flying into Yue. Ty Lee glanced over the seat to make sure Katara was alright, but was instead hit in the face with Teo's wheelchair as Toph tried to move it off of her.

"This is like a bad sitcom," said Zuko, moving to the center console to give Song some room.

"I think it's hilarious," said Mai, complete with a perfect deadpan.

When they finally got to the ice cream shop, the car was still miraculously in one piece. They were not without a few causalities, however, as Ty Lee had a black eye, Toph had bruised ribs, Suki had twisted her ankle, Katara had bruised her head, and Sokka had his cheek cut open. The thirteen emerged from the car, causing many onlookers to stare at them as if they were aliens. One little kid had even laughed and called them "the clown car."

Once they were safely inside and had ordered their ice cream, they crammed a few tables together and sat down, conversing about their day. However, before Zuko could get into the conversation, his cell phone rang. He picked it up and realized it was his father calling, the first time in a month or so. He briefly considered not picking it up, but he knew it wouldn't do any good.

"Hello?" said Zuko, picking up the phone and moving towards the corner of the shop.

"Zuko, I'm having a formal party for work, and for reasons I cannot disclose to you, you're invited."

This was normally how conversations with her father were: without greetings, cold, and to the point. It was strange, however, that his father was actually inviting him to something, as most of the time his father wanted nothing to do with him, preferring his younger sister when one of his children were needed.

"Your sister is invited, too," he said, as if reading Zuko's mind. "Pass on the message to her. I've already talked to your mother, so you two are going regardless of your own opinions. Dress formally and bring a date; your mother has the rest of the information."

Immediately after finished his sentence, his father hung up. Zuko wasn't quite sure what to do, but he managed to catch Azula's eyes and waved her over. As much as she despised talking to her brother, he knew she'd be curious as to what Zuko's mysterious phone call was about, so she went over to the corner of the store without an eye roll or complaint.

"Well?" she asked.

"Father's invited us to a company party."

"Let me guess, it's mandatory?"

"We have to dress formally," he said, nodding. "And bring dates. Mom's got the time."

"Lovely," she said sarcastically, though Zuko knew she would use this to grab her father's attention; more than anything, she wanted to take over the company.

The others were starting to look at them quizzically, so the siblings joined their friends at the table. Zuko's first thought should have been to invite Song, but he needed to impress his father. Though she was a good person, she wasn't the brightest, and definitely not the type to bring to a formal dinner hosted by one's successful dad with whom the relationship was already stained.

Ultimately, he wanted to invite Mai, but that would go wrong many levels, as Jet was the jealous type and Mai's family owned the company that rivaled his father's. He needed someone who was intelligent and could carry on a good conversation, while still being able to come of as a nice individual. Someone who had a good heart, but was still classy and worldly. Then it hit him.

Katara.

Unfortunately, that would piss of Song, Teo, and Aang, assuming that she even agreed to go. Song wouldn't understand why Zuko didn't want her there, and there was no way for him to explain without coming off as a jerk. Teo wouldn't want him going to a party with his girlfriend, though that would be a perfectly reasonable reaction. Aang would just continue to be heartbroken.

No matter what the verdict, it just seemed like a bad situation in the making. He decided to call Katara later and ask her about it, as she always seemed to know the right thing to do. As much as the two argued, she really was a great friend.

"Are you okay?" asked Song, gently touching his arm.

"Yeah," he lied, focusing on his ice cream.

After everyone had been dropped off at their houses, Zuko and Azula finally returned home, about to sort out the mess they'd just been signed up for. Zuko was relieved when his father was no longer part of his life, even though it left his mother poor and the two siblings with many complications, but at least their father couldn't do anything to mess it up anymore. He'd been cruel, hateful, and cared nothing for them. Throwing their father back into the equation made everything instantly more complicated, and even though it might ruin his chances of ever becoming successful, Zuko knew it wasn't worth it. Still, some twisted part of him wanted to reconnect with his father, and more than anything, impress him.

"Why," he asked his mother, as soon as he walked in living room, where she was sorting through the mail.

"Don't be upset," she said, motioning for him to sit beside her. "It's for the best."

"How is it for the best?" he said angrily.

"Don't throw a temper tantrum, Zuzu," said Azula, walking to her room.

"Don't call me that," he shouted. "I'm done talking about this."

His mother said nothing more, only looked after him sadly as he stormed off into his room. Upon slamming the door, he whipped out his phone and called Katara. If anyone knew what to do, it would be her. Their friends jokingly called her "the mother of the group," but really, the description wasn't too far off.

"Hello?" she answered.
"Hey, Katara, it's Zuko. I need your help."

He explained his worries of the party and his anger at his father. Though she didn't make a sound, he knew she was listening, patiently as she always did. How she managed to absorb the drama of their group and somehow make it all better, he didn't know, but he knew he needed to do something nice for her. Her birthday was coming up soon, perhaps he could throw her a surprise party, if girls even liked that kind of thing.

"Zuko, do you even like Song?" she asked. "In a romantic way, of course."
He hesitated before answering. "I don't know."

"If you don't, there's no point in leading her on. I'll go with you, once I ask Teo if he's comfortable with it. I don't think I should, though, if Song doesn't know."

"Right."

"I understand you're upset and nervous, but it isn't fair to Song if you take that out on her. About your father, don't be so worried. Even if he's not there to care about you, you've got plenty of family who would give up so much for your. Your mom loves you, your sister, even though she doesn't like to admit it, cares about you, and you've got all of us. We aren't going to let anything happen to you."

"Part of me wants to stay away from him, and another apart wants to impress him."

"You're a good person, Zuko. If he's willing to pay attention to you, you'll impress him."

"Thanks, Katara."

"No problem. I'll talk to Teo, and you talk to Song, and we'll talk about it more tomorrow."

"Night."

"Goodnight. Don't worry so much."

Hanging up, he knew he was probably over reacting. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that the entire thing was going to end badly.

Thanks for reading, and don't be scared to review! I like critiques, and I don't bite :)