Author's Note: Thank you to all who reviewed last chapter. Sorry for how long it took me to get this one up; final year, exams only a month or so away, I'm sure you can feel for me and find it in your hearts to forgive me for being a little distracted. Hope you enjoy this little installment.

Chapter 8

Katara was out of bed late the next morning. She didn't feel like going to school. All she wanted to do was return to the hospital and sit by Aang's bedside. Surely he'd wake up soon, and she'd finally be able to give him the picture. Katara ran her fingers over the artwork and tucked it into a plastic pocket on her desk. Aang's puppy, Momo, had a bad habit of rummaging through her belongings and chewing on things he shouldn't, but Katara had quickly learned that the creature she was babysitting for her friend while he was sick didn't like plastic. The picture would be safe.

Ms Joo Dee gave her a dirty look as she came late into her first class. Katara made a mental note not to open her school-bag too wide or take her sketchbook out, just in case the smiling woman realizing it was no longer in her confiscation box. She sat down and started her work, feeling sluggish and unable to concentrate. Outside, the clouds from the previous day had cleared to make way for the sunlight. The clear blue sky made her smile for a moment. Yesterday had reminded her of home in the south, and today reminded her why she could appreciate pleasant weather. By recess, she wished it would rain again, but the horizon showed no signs of hope.

Suki was not at school; she'd explained to Katara the night before that the hospital was low on staff after an outbreak of pentapox. She'd been forced to take the rest of the week off of school to help cover for the absentees. Without Suki around, Katara found Sokka joining in a game of frizzbee with a group of boys. Katara recognized Jet among the gathering and wrinkled her nose when he waved at her. She wandered around the school complex and found herself absently walking towards the back fence where she and Zuko had walked the afternoon before. A boy sat against the metal wires as if waiting for her, head bowed over a book and black mop of hair hanging over his eyes.

"Hey," Zuko said, lifting his head and tucking the book away. "I didn't see you there."

Katara stopped and looked hesitantly over her shoulder. "Sorry, I was just wandering around. I didn't realize you were there either."

He gave a soft chuckle and stood up awkwardly. "Um… did you make it to the hospital?"

"Oh… yeah, I did." She bit her lip.

Zuko frowned at her. "You don't sound too happy about that. Is everything alright?"

She shrugged. "I finished the picture I was drawing for Aang."

A flicker of a smile crossed his lips. "What does he think of it?"

"I wouldn't know. Something happened not long before I got there and he'd slipped into a coma."

Zuko rubbed his arm uncomfortable. "Sorry to hear that." She just shrugged again and didn't look back up at him. "How are you holding up?" Katara scowled up at him and then dropped her eyes back to the ground. Zuko leaned back against the fence. "I'm sorry."

"You should be," she blurted out.

He rose an eyebrow and put his hands up defensively. "I didn't mean sorry like that. I didn't do anything to be sorry for."

"If you'd just let me go straight to the hospital after detention -"

"Hang on a minute, how is that my fault?" he cut in.

"You -"

"I was rescuing your stupid sketchbook, which I didn't have to do!"

"You -"

"No, you're right. Whatever. I'm the bad guy. Ozai's son, Red Army supporter, blah, blah, blah."

"Alright, stop it!" Katara yelled. "Just stop it." Zuko scowled at her as he leaned in to the fence, waiting for her to talk. "I'm just... I'm sorry, I'm just upset that I wasn't there for Aang when he needed me."

Zuko gave a heavy sigh, as if calming himself. "I'm sorry I kept you so long yesterday."

"No. It isn't your fault, just… just, don't worry." Her anger quickly faded and she started backing away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come over here."

He shook his head. "No, it's okay. Stay." He reached forward and gently grabbed her forearm. She didn't resist his touch and glanced up at him again. Their eyes met and she noticed a faint tint rise in his cheeks. "Um… sit down with me."

Katara gave a weak smile. The grass was still damp from the rain, but it didn't worry her. "What were you reading?"

Zuko shoved his hands into the pocket of his jacket to extract the book and read from the cover, "Omashu: The Story of a War-Torn Love. It's not my pick," he added quickly. "I have to study it for literature."

"You do literature?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah…" She gave a giggle. "What's so funny?" He scowled at her.

Katara shook her head. "Nothing. I just didn't picture you as the literature type."

"You got a problem with my classes?"

"No, not at all!"

Zuko smirked and tucked the book back into his jacket. "I guess you don't do literature then."

"I do, actually," she said proudly. "My class is studying The Dancing Dragons."

"That's a good book. I had to study it a couple of years back too."

She frowned. "Not my kind of book."

"No?"

"Too much male dominance for me." Zuko raised an eyebrow at her and she started laughing. "I'm sorry, I'm a bit of a walking, talking political statement if you hadn't noticed."

Zuko shook his head. "It's okay. I like it."

"I mean, you've seen my sketchbook..."

"Yeah. I didn't mean that earlier, by the way, when I said your sketchbook was stupid. It's not."

"No, it's not." She played with a blade of grass for a moment. "Thank you."

Somewhere behind them, the bell for class rang. They walked back to the building in silence and went their separate ways to get their books, only to pass each other again on their way to class. The hallways were deserted and they were late. "What class do you have now?" she asked, leaning against a locker.

"Psychology with Ms Joo Dee. Joy of joys."

Katara cringed. "Sounds like fun."

"Yourself?"

She rolled her eyes. "Science with Mr Long Feng." Zuko grinned and started walking towards his classroom again. "What are you doing tonight?"

Zuko stopped and turned to face her again. He frowned in thought and tired to place the answer to her question. "Um, I'm going out to dinner with a girl." He noticed the slight drop in her smile and felt bad for saying it. "It's Uncle's fault; he set me up," he quickly added.

Katara pursed her lips and smiled. "Have fun."

Author's Note: And a touch of jealousy to help kick things into gear... A little more tugging at each other's throats and they'll be lip-locked, I promise. Zuko might be going out to tea with Jin, but Katara is well on the way to... well, you'll see. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review :)