Confrontation of the Spirits
A Zutara Modern Day AU
By smartcheer917

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. The only thing I own is a really cute pen that my buddy and me decorated in gym class today. And all of the ridiculous things that I say are mine, but you can say pocket itching if you like. Power to my pockets.

For about an hour, the two stayed in Katara's room. Doing the obvious, but not getting all too far. Zuko was still trying to push the want of alcohol and nicotine from his mind and replace it with the girl he was kissing. Katara was just waiting for the...CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK

Zuko lifted himself off of Katara for a moment.

"What was that?" he asked her,

"Just Sokka," She said playing with some of his hair, "The steps creek." Zuko looked down at her.

"Should I hide?" He asked

"Nah," She said.

"I don't even like my sister. If I found someone in her room making out with her I would probably kill them. I don't think I can outrun your brother."

"So? Let him find us." She said. Zuko shrugged and resumed kissing Katara.

Sure enough, as Sokka came up the hall and heard movement in his sisters room. Deciding to try and make up with her again, he opened her door.

"Katara I..." He dropped his jaw when he saw his sister and one of the schools juvenile delinquents making out in her bed. His face twisted into one of anger; ready to lash out when he figured what she was doing.

"At least your cloths are on." He said, attempting to control his head and closed the door, running back down the stairs to run this off in the park. Zuko lifted himself off of Katara again and looked at the door. Katara scowled for a moment then flashed a smile at Zuko.

"What was that?' He asked her,

"What was what?" She said, running her hands over his clothed torso.

"Your brother, no reaction? Do you make out with guys in your room all the time?"

"Not really?" Katara said, gripping his shoulders, "Most people are normal."

"Did you and your brother have a fight?' He asked her,

"Why do you care?" She asked him, "It's just my brother."

"Katara, are you only making out with me to piss off your brother?" He asked her, leaning on his elbows to her side. Katara opened her mouth, then looked down. Zuko looked at her, devastated for a moment before it disappeared and his face of a mask of blank anger.

"Whatever... just... whatever." He said and got up to leave. Katara looked around for a moment, then at Zuko trying to climb out the window and not fall to his death.

"Zuko wait," She said, getting up and coming near to his side.

"What?" he snapped at her, "I'm sorry, I just thought you might like me."

"Just, come in? Please?" She said, reaching out and grabbing his arm, "I do like you, its just... come in would ya?" She tugged his arm.

"I don't take orders from you." He said. He turned to swing his weight and almost fell out the window to the ground except for the fact that Katara was holding onto him. He hung there for a second before she used all of her might o pull him towards her and into the room. They landed on her floor with him on top of her.

"Zuko, I like you but it's just that I caught Sokka making out with my best friend earlier in the night. I probably wouldn't have considered making out with you as fast, but I still probably would have." He looked at her with stony eyes. "How about we start over and... watch another movie?" Zuko looked to the floor to the left of her head.

"Yeah, sure." He said. Katara smiled and he lifted himself off of her to his knees. She got up and went over to her DVD collection. She pulled out a tan box.

How about this?" She said and he nodded. She got out the movie in and set it up, the crawled onto her bed. Zuko sat on the floor, leaning against the side of her bed.

"Zuko," She whispered," Come up here!" He looked up at her.

"I think I'll stay here..." He said,

"No, I think you'll come up here." Katara whispered back. He looked up at her and shrugged.

Maybe he'll get to make out again.

He climbed up onto her bed and leaned against the wall it was pushed against. Katara sat next to him. They watched the movie in silence from there on.

Zuko looked at the girl next to him. He wasn't really enjoying this movie that much, he didn't like movies that much anyway He just watched them the same way he watched life. In a way, movies were like like life for him. On the outside, looking in. Judging the characters every move and using that to figure what the final outcome would be before anyone else knew it. Of course, movies always followed the same pattern. The hero never dies, always gets the girl, and will always get to use a gun to kill the opposing force in some way. Using those basic rules and other things, like the director, in the first few minutes he would figure out what the outcome was going to be, and what the entire plot of the movie was going to be and therefore was never surprised when people did things and didn't get scared.

Unlike the girl he was watching the movie with.

She jumped at every turn. Wheater it was this guy trying to burn the heroine, or the heroine slapping the hero. She gasped. Every time. It was strangely annoying.

"How could you not see that coming?' He finally asked her when the bar blew up from all the alcohol over the floor.

"That doesn't mean I can't gasp at people dying."

"Even the Nazis?" He asked her, eyebrows raised

"Even the Nazis." She replied. He sighed for a moment, the put his arm around her.

"Katara, you are one strange person." She leaned her head on his shoulder,

"I know." She said.

Plop

Plop

Plop

Plop

She listened secretly as the boy ran though the woods. She got a feel for what he was about as he ran past her. His speed, his agility,

The boy ran into a tree.

His intelligence. She watched as he picked himself up and cursed the tree.

Oh yes, he would be an easy target to hurt her brother.

A ringing filled Katara's ears. She ignored it and snuggled deeper into her warm, firm, pillow.

Her pillow that just moved.

Katara opened her eyes and looked up. She had fallen asleep in Zuko's arms, him holding her tightly. Her DVD player had turned itself off, and her phone was screaming like crazy to be answered. She looked at the sender and picked up.

"Hello?" She said, trying to wake Zuko up.

He was already up, but decided to let her think he was asleep.

"Katara?" The voice on the other line asked, "I've been calling for an hour."

"Ty Lee, what do you want?" Katara asked, "I already told you that I'd meet you around 3 for a run before swimming starts..."

"It's not that," He voice lowered, "Be careful tonight, and whatever you do don't go after anybody."

"Ty Lee what's going..."

"Don't ask. I can't make the run. Sorry." And she hung up. Katara looked a the phone funny, then closed it. It was around eight thirty in the morning. Katara tossed her phone aside and looked at Zuko. He looked so peaceful when he slept. Katara smiled slightly and reached forward brushing some hair out of his eyes. He grabbed her wrist and opening his eyes.

"Don't touch the hair."

"Someone's a grumpy-puss." Katara said, smile fading

"I just don't like my hair touched. I have tog et going." He kissed Katara for a quick second then got off of her bed.

"Talk to you later." He said and slipped out her window with more ease then the night before considering that he had actual light showing him where he could step now. Katara watched him leave and sighed.

She didn't usually spend the night with boys. It wasn't like she was Ty Lee Yukai, with boys following her around and writing her more love notes than could fit in her locker but she knew that she had guys that admired her. She ignored most of them, she didn't have the time or the will for a boyfriend but something about Zuko was different. He seemed to understand. She looked at herself in the mirror. She might as well make the run anyway. Maybe call Suki...

No. Can't call Suki. Mad at Suki.

Well, this wasn't going to be a fun weekend.

Katara looked hopelessly around the school's large open grounds. The area was done up with random bursts of streamer paper running from a light to a tree. Tacky rollaway carts flooded the walkways. Booths for winning flea infested prize sat on the edges with people advertising the toss of a weighted ball to a certain spot that was covered with plastic anyway. Unstable rides with long lines sat in the open courtyards, the screams of their occupants piercing through the night in a manner which one may find joyous. Everywhere around her was people. People laughing. People eating cotton candy. People dancing. People making out.

It was the annual fair to celebrate the end of the November. Fall sports were coming to a close, winter sports were starting try-outs and the weather had started to change, like tonight was about 42 degrees with a wind chill near 40. Katara pulled her coat closer and wished jeans were made of something thicker. She wandered through the crowd.

Truth is told she didn't have many friends outside of her small group of 6. She had just cut everybody else off about a month ago and nobody seemed to care about what she did anymore. Not that she cared. None of them knew what had happened. Her father had kept it secret for a reason. She didn't talk about it. Her brother didn't talk about it. Nobody talked about anything. She shook her head and found an empty bench near the ride the ride that spins around and never seems to have a line. She threaded her fingers though her hair and looked at the ground.

"Hungry?" A voice asked, she looked up to see Haru, her original tutor that she had accidentally made out with and told to get lost.

"Hey Haru." She said as he held out a small container of popcorn to her. She shook her head and he sat down next to her.

"You okay? You haven't been to good lately, you hardly ever talk to anyone any more."

"Just some issues..."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No," Katara said, tracing circles on her leg.

"Katara," Haru said, covering her hadn't with his, "I came over here for a reason." Katara looked up at him.

This was unexpected. Haru opened his mouth to say something...

"Hello Katara." Katara looked up again to see Zuko, glaring down at Haru and her.

"Hey Zuko. This is..."

"I know who this is." Zuko glared at Haru. Haru looked at the ground for a moment.

"I'll see you around Katara." He said, getting up and scurrying away as fast as he possibly could.

"Okay?" Katara said as she watched him run off.

"What was that?" Katara asked Zuko,

"Lets go somewhere else." He said, reaching for her hand and pulling her forward.

"Zuko!" Katara said as he pulled her though the crowd, "Where are we going? And why were you so rude to Haru? Answer me!" He continued to pull her along. They dodged small children and teenagers until they came to rest in one of the buildings many weird deformities. Zuko pushed her against the wall with a smirk. She glared at him,

"Zuko what is going on?" She asked him,

"That guy was hitting on you. Mind me if I'm jealous." Katara raised her eyebrows,

"Well we aren't officially going out, so your opinion doesn't really matter."

"Really now? So would you have said yes if he had asked you out?"

"Maybe I would have, maybe I wouldn't have." She stuck her chin out at him. He smirked

"Well we both know that's foolish. He could never kiss better than I could."

"Aren't we arrogant?"

"Yes, we are. But I know this for a fact." Katara gave his a sarcastic look.

"How do you know this? You try him out?" Zuko curled his face in anger.

"What? No! Me and a guy?!" He snapped, "Don't be ridiculous. We used to be in band together."

"Band Geek."

"I am not, at least not anymore. Anyway I used to play trumpet and baritone and tuba. Haru played the triangle."

"What is a baritone?"

"A brass instrument."

"What does playing a brass instrument do?" Zuko leaned in close to her face.

"Strong lips." He said and kissed her. She snaked her arms around his neck, "Can't beat that." Katara nodded.

"I agree." She said and he leaned in and kissed her again, harder this time.

Sokka wandered around the carnival. It was useless, life in general. He had no mother.. His father deserted him. He wasn't close with his Gran-Gran. His sister hated him. His sister best friend had taken up hiding from him even though multiple people had seen her at the carnival.

The death had shaken him, and also awakened him. It tore him up inside that his mother was killed. IT tore him up even more that is had hurt his sister as deeply as it did. He could never bring himself to comfort her, even though she never seemed to cry anymore. He could barely even look at her at times, she looked exactly like their mother. I shook his head and came to rest on an abandoned cotton candy stand. He heard footsteps behind him, but prepared for this smoothly.

"Are you taking to me now?" He asked without turning around. He could literally hear the smirk that graced the face of whoever was behind him. He furrowed his brow and fell into darkness, words dying on the tip of his tongue.

The next chapter will be a few more days than normal; explanation will come then once I figure out what I am actually doing. Drugs are bad. I hope no one loses interest!

Yay Tuba! Had to make Zuko a tuba, just had to. All the emo band kids are tubas. At least at my school. Plus Tubas are smexy. Haha. I haven't been to a carnival in forever. I had gym again today (the teacher pretty much lets me do whatever I want and steers clear of me now). This football player freaked out and beat up the kid playing catcher because he was in his base path to throw him out and his explanation was 'I have a right to my base!'

Needless to say I was rolling on that nasty floor laughing my face off at the scene.

Review?