Author's Note: I have nothing better to do with my life than to write crappy fanfiction, so here is the real first chapter. Woot. I love Toph, just so that everybody knows. Toph is my absolute favorite character in Avatar. I want to be best friends with her. Also, I ship her with Sokka, and I don't know if I'm going to include that in this story. It might be hard to, but there may be hints of it. The problem is that I also love Suki. Oh, Avatar causes me such inner conflicts. OH, and also, I know that there are some major similarities between this and the actual show. I wanted to keep part of it, but I wanted to change it too. I didn't want to copy scenes directly from the show, so I added my own shit to them.

Chapter 1

The first night had been incredibly awkward. After eating dinner, they had all laid down to go to sleep. Toph, Sokka, and Aang fell asleep immediately. Katara and Zuko, on the other hand, did not. They had too much on their minds.

Zuko was twisting around and turning, trying to get comfortable on the rocky ground. Each time he flipped over to get in a new position, Katara's jaw clenched even more. She couldn't sleep, and the constant noise from Zuko was not helping her. Zuko twisted around a couple of more times before finally settling down. Katara breathed a sigh of relief. She shut her eyes and tried to relax, but Zuko flipped around again. "Would you stop moving?" Katara whispered, trying not to wake everybody up.

"I'm surprised you can hear me over the sound of your brother's snoring," he whispered back. Katara, for the first time in a while, realized that her brother was, in fact, snoring. She was so used to it by now that she didn't notice it anymore.

"You are the one that wanted to join our group. You can easily find another spot to sleep, or you can leave for good," Katara whispered angrily. She was praying he would do the latter.

"I will do neither," Zuko responded, twisting around again. Sokka let out an exceptionally loud snore, and Katara threw her sleeping bag off herself. She started walking away, dragging the sleeping bag behind her. "What are you doing?" Zuko asked her. She turned around. He was sitting up now, staring at her. She tried to avoid looking at his bare chest. It was awkward.

"I'm finding another spot," she said. She began walking again before stopping to add something else. "And put on a shirt!" She didn't wait to see his reaction.

Katara found a spot away from everybody else, but she still didn't sleep. When everybody else got up, she was still lying down, staring at the ceiling of the air temple.

"I'm ready to start firebending!" Aang shouted, and Katara fought back the urge to scream. Katara was easily annoyed when she had enough sleep, but when Katara didn't sleep enough, she was a monster.

She stomped towards the rest of the group and stood there staring at them. "Uh, Katara, are you okay?" Aang asked, petting Appa, who let out a loud noise of satisfaction.

"Oh, I am perfectly fine. I am wonderful. Today is wonderful," she said, her right eye twitching. Aang smiled nervously.

"Um, well, I'm starting my firebending training today. You look like you could use some more sleep… Why don't you take a nap?" Aang asked calmly, and Katara glared at him.

"No! I am watching you. I'm not tired at all. I don't need a nap!" Aang shut up after that. It was no use trying to argue with a tired Katara. She was even more stubborn when she was tired.

Zuko walked up next, and he looked perfectly rested. Katara wondered how he had gone to sleep if he was complaining about her brother's snoring. How was it fair that he got to sleep and she didn't? She silently fumed while staring at him, but Zuko ignored her.

Everyone made their way to an open spot where they could practice firebending. "Okay, Aang, show me what you can do," Zuko said.

Aang looked like he put a lot of effort into what he was doing, but a small puff of smoke was the only result. Sokka watched, biting his lip to hold back laughter. Toph stood there idly. "Is it supposed to make that sound?" Toph asked. She had no idea if fire had actually come out of Aang's hand, but she had never heard that sound come from any firebender before.

Aang scratched his head and laughed nervously. "No, I don't think it is," he said. He was embarrassed.

"Watch me do it," Zuko said arrogantly. "You might want to back up," he told Katara, only sparing her a side glance. She didn't want to, but she backed up. She remembered what had happened when Aang had lost control while firebending before, and although she knew that Zuko was a lot more trained than Aang, she was still cautious.

Zuko made a big show of swirling his arms around before sticking his arm out. The same thing happened to Zuko that had happened to Aang. A small puff of smoke came out of his hand, but the accompanying sound was what made Katara lose it. She burst into a fit of laughter, unable to control it. While Katara laughed, Zuko tried over and over again to produce fire, with no avail. "What is happening to me?" Zuko shouted, in between his different attempts to firebend.

Katara finally calmed down. "Maybe you're just not as good at firebending as you think you are," she said smugly, feeling very awake all of the sudden. Zuko growled and tried once again to firebend.

"Let's take a break," Aang offered, trying to ease the awkwardness. Zuko ignored him and kept trying.

"It was fun while it lasted, but it looks like we are going to need another firebending teacher. Hope you had fun, Zuko. Bye!" Katara said, putting her hands on her hips. Zuko growled and turned towards her, extending his arm. Fire shot from his hand, and Katara ducked just in time. She looked up to see Zuko staring wide-eyed at her. "Did you just shoot fire at me, you insuffer—" Before Katara could finish, Sokka had budded in. He was holding Katara back now.

"Wait, don't you see what is going on?" Sokka asked, and there was no response. "Zuko's abilities are fueled by his hatred. All we have to do is have Katara talk to Zuko at every lesson, and he will be able to firebend!" Sokka concluded, and Toph cackled from her spot on the sideline.

"Oh man, that will be good," Toph said, and Katara rolled her eyes, knowing that Toph wouldn't see it.

"I don't hate Katara," Zuko said defensively. He looked guilty for shooting fire at her, even if it was an accident.

"Well, that's funny, because I hate you," Katara said, venom pouring out of her voice. Zuko looked unfazed.

Aang finally cut in. "Alright!" he yelled. "Katara, go find some food with Toph. I think we need to figure out what is going on, and fighting isn't solving anything." Katara huffed but walked away.

"Hey, wait! I never agreed to this!" Toph argued, but Katara dragged her away. "I never get to have any fun," Toph whined.

"Just come on. They don't want us here right now," Katara said, beaten. "Can you quickly get us to the forest?" Katara asked, and Toph stomped her foot. A rock elevator appeared, and they climbed on it. Soon, they were near the forest. They walked into the forest, and Katara quickly spotted some berries.

"Why do you hate Zuko so much?" Toph asked Katara, and she stopped immediately. She was surprised by the question. Toph didn't sound angry. She just sounded curious.

"Because I trusted him," she said simply, not bothering to provide any more details. Toph sighed loudly.

"Care to elaborate, Sugar Queen?" Toph said, her sassy side appearing. Katara gathered the last of the berries from the bush and turned towards Toph. Toph was rubbing her feet on the ground, kicking some rocks without earthbending.

"We were in prison together at Ba Sing Se. He tried to make me feel sorry for him, and it worked. I almost healed his scar," Katara exclaimed, and Toph stopped kicking.

"Wait, Zuko has a scar?" she asked. Katara wanted to laugh. Zuko was constantly sulking about that scar. She wondered what his reaction would be to Toph's question.

"Yes. It's a burn. It's on the left side of his face, from his eye to his ear." Katara began looking for more berry bushes. She needed some food for Aang to eat, since he would not eat the fish that Sokka caught for them.

"Well, that's news to me!" Toph said, sounding somewhat irritated by her lack of knowledge about Zuko. "How did he get it?"

Katara was annoyed by Toph's questions about Zuko, but she tried to hide it. She just wanted to gather some food and take a nap like Aang had originally suggested. She didn't want to think about a certain banished prince. On the other hand, she didn't want to start a fight with Toph. They had argued a lot before, and it was never enjoyable. Katara wanted to stay on good terms with Toph.

"I don't know. He doesn't talk about it. He didn't even tell me when we were in prison together. I think it has something to do with Fire Lord Ozai, though," Katara said, staring at the ground.

"So, his dad burned him?" Toph asked. Katara looked back at Toph, glad she couldn't see the expression on her face. Katara gulped.

"Yes."

Toph had recognized that the conversation was over, and Katara was glad. She gathered the rest of the berries in complete silence. Toph tagged along, kicking more rocks along the way. "Okay, I've got enough." They made their way back to the edge of the cliff, and Toph made another rock elevator.

When they returned, Zuko, Sokka, and Aang were sitting in a circle, looking grim. "I got some berries," Katara announced. She was calmer than she was earlier. Instead of being annoyed and tired, she was just tired. She wanted to lie down.

"Food!" Sokka screamed, running and grabbing a handful. Zuko gave a quick glance at the berries that Katara was holding.

"Those are poisonous," he said blankly, and Sokka froze in his spot. He hadn't taken a bite yet, but he was close. Katara blushed and looked down at the berries she had gathered.

Zuko was right. She had picked up poisonous berries because she was distracted by her thoughts of Zuko. "I could have died!" Sokka said dramatically, throwing the berries to the ground.

"You once drank cactus juice and then licked some unknown substance from the wall of a cave. I think you would have survived, Sokka," Katara said, dropping the load of berries she had drabbed. "I'm sorry guys. I'm just a little tired." Katara sat down and rubbed her eyes. Toph sat next to her.

"How was firebending after we left?" Toph asked. Zuko groaned and fell backwards, making a loud thud. "I'm going to guess that means it didn't go well."

"We are just having a rough time right now. That's all," Aang said, trying to make Zuko feel better. Katara looked at Zuko who had his hands on his face in embarrassment. She smirked. "I think there is some truth to what Sokka said. Zuko has always used hatred and anger to drive his firebending, but since he is on the good side now, he doesn't know where to draw his power from."

"Don't talk about me like I am not right here," Zuko commented. His voice was muffled due to the fact that his hands were still covering his face. Katara let out a small giggle. "Enjoying the sight, Katara?" he shot at her. She immediately stopped smiling and shut up. She didn't respond.

"Maybe if we annoy Zuko enough, it will make him able to firebend," Sokka said, poking Zuko's leg repeatedly. Toph cheered and quickly crawled over, joining him. "See, if we get him all riled up, he will probably be able to firebend again." Toph and Sokka continued poking Zuko until he shot up and shouted.

"Enough!" Sokka stopped poking, but Toph poked a couple of more times. Everyone stared at her, but she didn't notice. When Zuko groaned, she stopped.

"Hey, Zuko burned my feet. I think I deserve a few extra pokes." Katara smiled at Toph's logic, but when she saw that Zuko was glaring at her, she stopped.

"Don't get mad at them. They're only trying to help," Katara said, her eyes still locked with Zuko's. They had a mini staring contest, as each of them tried to stare down the other. They were interrupted by Aang.

"We just need to find the source of firebending. For airbenders, it's the flying bison." Katara nodded at Aang's idea. It was smart. Toph slapped her hand on the ground in excitement, which caused a rumble.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "But Aang is right. I learned earthbending from the badger moles. If Zuko can find the source of firebending—well the real source of firebending—then he will be able to firebend again."

"Hate to destroy this newfound optimism, but the original source of firebending is dragons. The dragons are extinct." Aang tilted his head.

"Didn't Avatar Roku have a dragon though?" he asked, and Zuko tensed.

"Yes, but there aren't any dragons anymore, okay?" he shouted, and everyone was taken aback, even Katara. Why was he so angry about this?

"Is there anything else, though?" Katara asked, trying to help the situation. Zuko was silent for a moment.

"Well, we can go to the ancient Sun Warriors' civilization, but they died out a long time ago…" Zuko didn't sound pleased with the idea. Aang smiled though.

"Great! We can take Appa and look for it tomorrow."

Everybody was quiet for a couple of seconds, until Sokka reached out and poked Zuko one more time. "What is wrong with you?" Zuko screamed. Sokka quickly backed up.

"I just wanted to explore all of our options!" Sokka said defensively, his hands up in defeat.