Sorry, not my best chapter I know. I'm suffering just a bit of writer's block, but the story must go on, so here's the newest chapter!
"Do we have to sit in there?" Aang pouted, staring at the table balefully. Katara groaned silently and looked away. She wasn't a big fan of being in the center of attention either, but there the table was. In the middle of the cafeteria. Furthermore, even though it had the capacity to fit at least fifty people, there were only four people sitting.
"She invited me like a week ago! I have to eventually! Besides," Katara whispered back,feeling the gazes on her back." I get the feeling that this is a pretty big deal." The pair approached the table slowly, holding hands to stabilize each other as the entire cafeteria broke out in whispers. Katara felt Aang's hand get sweaty the whispers got louder and the ogling more blatant.
"Katara, my goddess, I can't believe you've been treated so rudely!" Kuzon yelled, destroying the moment. "Let me pull you out a seat, next to mine of course, and Avatar, feel free to grab one at the other end of the table. I can take care of Katara from here. So Katara, your eyes. Would you call them... 'wave crest' blue or...?"
Katara smiled gratefully at Kuzon. He was in her Leadership class and had a gift for saying the right thing at the right time. She pulled Aang down to the seat next to her and smiled at him. He was eyeing Kuzon dangerously.
"Aang, this is Kuzon a friend of mine from Leadership," she introduced. Kuzon reached out his hand for a shake.
"Congrats on landing the prettiest girl in school!" Kuzon said with a wink. Aang relaxed and shook his hand with a genuine smile.
"Allow me to introduce the rest of the table," Kuzon announced with a flourish. "This woman here, the Governess of Gloom, the Duchess of Depression, is no other than Mai!"
"Hey," Mai deadpanned, lifting a hand lazily then resuming her eating.
"Next up we have her matching mate, the handsome, the angry, the overly emotional Zuko!" Kuzon pointed to Zuko, who was sulking.
He certainly is handsome, Katara thought, glancing at Aang to make sure he couldn't read her thoughts on her face, but he was caught up in the introductions.
Kuzon continued in a stage whisper, "He prefers Scarface."
"Shut up!" Zuko snarled, further proving Kuzon's point.
"And last, but not least, you may not know her by face, but you know her by reputation! And boy, does she have a reputation." Kuzon threw a wink at Aang, who blushed. Ty Lee was already posing.
"It's Ty Lee!" Aang and Katara gave some faint applause, both for Kuzon's improvisation and Ty Lee's one-handed handstand on the table. Ty Lee flipped gracefully back into her seat.
"Oh and guys, these are the Avatar and Katara, so yeah," Kuzon mentioned casually, pointing a thumb at the two. Katara giggled at the contrast as the rest of the table released a unified grunt of a greeting.
"Um, where's Azula?" Katara asked, scanning the room.
"Yeah, she's the one who invited us here," Aang added.
"I'm the one who invited you here," Azula commented to Katara as she gracefully lowered herself into her usual seat, which just happened to be directly across from Katara's.
Where the hell did she come from? Katara wondered.
Katara glared at Azula, offended by the shot at Aang. Amber and azure gazes collided until Aang leaned in between them, deliberately interrupting the tension.
"Sorry Azula, I wanted to see was the cafeteria was like so I asked Katara to bring me with her. Sorry if I overstepped any boundaries," Aang apologized, with the huge grin that had made Katara fall in love with him in the first place. Katara smiled a thank you to him, knowing full well that he hadn't even wanted to come in the first place. He returned the smile with one of his own, a personal smile that—
"Sure," Azula brushed him off testily while tossing her hair out of the way. "Pass me the ketchup brother." Zuko casually snatched up the ketchup and hurled it directly at Azula's head, with a force and speed that would shame a pro baseball player. Azula just as easily flipped the bottle with one hand and flicked off the top, all while it was in the air, then caught it and squeezed it onto her plate of fries.
Everyone at the table, except Mai of course, gaped at the display. Azula and Zuko, feeling the gazes, looked up from their food.
"What?" they snarled simultaneously, golden eyes ablaze. Katara saw a familiar spark appeared in Kuzon's eye. Apparently Azula spotted it too.
"I'm not in the mood for your games today," she warned Kuzon as she ate one single fry.
"And last but not least," Kuzon said, abruptly resuming his performance, "one half of the deliciously dangerous duo, the beautiful—" His announcement was quickly cut off by a knife that had appeared in the table next to his hand. His mouth flapped open and closed as Azula stared at him cooly.
He reached forward and yanked on the knife. "It. It's not coming out."
"Idiot." Azula got up and stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving Kuzon gaping in her wake.
Katara's conscience as a good person battled with her dislike for the girl she'd met today. Finally her conscience won, and Katara got up to follow Azula, but Aang caught her by the arm. "She seems kind of dangerous," he noted.
"It's fine she's nothing that I can't handle you know that," Katara smiled. Aang's forehead furrowed.
"Yeah, but..."
"I'll be fine. Besides, I think she likes me," Katara said, dropping a quick kiss to Aang's cheek before she went after Azula.
"Our knives aren't even sharp enough for this..." she heard Kuzon wondering aloud as she walked away.
"Azula!" she yelled after the receding back. Thankfully, the girl had been walking, not running, so Katara caught up to her fairly easily.
"What?" Azula demanded, whirling on the other girl. Katara didn't back away. Instead, her temper flared further.
"Why were you being such a bitch to everyone at lunch today?" she asked.
"The real question is, why was I being so tolerant of their idiocy before?" Azula countered, rolling her eyes. She moved to walk away again, but Katara caught her by the shoulder and spun her around.
"No, this isn't normal, you're really mad!" Katara realized.
"I'm simply annoyed. But having your combative presence here is really mr calm down, thank you," Azula hissed sarcastically.
"Who annoyed you so much, Azula? Ty Lee? You didn't talk to her all lunch!"
"She's clueless. One couldn't stay mad at her," Azula dismissed the thought. Katara nodded. It would be like kicking a puppy.
"Who, Kuzon? Sure, he can get annoying, but that's no reason to be so bitchy to everyone, or to throw a knife at him!"
"He's an idiot too. He does need to be taught some respect though."
"So who, then? Me?" Katara asked incredulously. Azula crossed her arms and looked away. "I've barely even known you a week!"
"And yet you've already managed to treat me with the most disrespect," Azula replied, with deadly calm.
"What!"
"An invitation to sit at my table is a privilege, not a right. You don't wait a week to accept it," Azula warned. She ended with a glare that would put a king in his place.
"First of all, even if it was your table, why would I want to sit at a table with people who talk down to the guy that I like? Furthermore, sitting at 'your' table isn't a privilege or a right! It's a choice, my choice. And I choose to never sit at your stupid table again!" Katara poked Azula in the chest with every word she stressed. Azula was practically trembling with the effort to keep her temper under control. She needed an outlet.
"I, Azula Ozaison, challenge you to an Agni Kai," Azula growled.
"An official duel here is called a Bender's Trial," Katara replied, a bit confused, "That's some ancient firebending duel."
"You heard me," Azula replied. "There is an Agni Kai chamber nearby. I invite you to duel with me there. Your boyfriend can come as well."
"Yeah well, we'll be there!" Katara retorted, then stomped away. What have I gotten myself into?