Chapter two of my Aang/Onji fanfic.

I do not own "Avatar: The Last Airbender," nor do I own the characters. This is just a fanfic.

The next day, Kuzon's dance party was the only thing anyone could talk about. Ms Kwan hadn't yet arrived for History class, so the excited students just sat on their desks, talking eagerly about last night's events. Some had even taken to wearing their sashes around their heads, like Kuzon did. It was partially as a mark of respect for the young dancer…but also because the headmaster flinched whenever he saw anyone wearing a red headband. Kuzon himself, however, hadn't arrived yet.

Onji just sat at her desk, twiddling her thumbs nervously. She knew Hide was out of the picture, so she didn't have to worry about him anymore. But she also knew that Kuzon liked the tanned girl he had danced with the night before. That meant Onji had to try extra hard to get his attention. She just had to make sure she kept her cool when she talked to him.

Sure enough, Kuzon himself strolled into the room, followed by bright cheers from his waiting classmates.

"Way to go Kuzon!"

"Great party last night!"

"When's the next one?"

Kuzon just smiled modestly at the compliments and friendly thumps on the back. Onji smiled at the sight of him…and then turned bright pink as he looked at her.

"Hey Onji," he said brightly, walking over to her desk as his 'fans' dispersed.

"H-hey Kuzon!" Onji said a little too cheerfully as she jumped to her feet. "I, uh…I just wanted to say that…" She gulped. "Ihadareallygreattimeatthedancepartylastnightthankyou!"

Kuzon raised an eyebrow and smiled unsurely. "Um…sorry, didn't catch that."

"Sorry, I just…" Onji felt herself turning as red as the sash around her waist. "I…I had a great time last night, Kuzon," she said, looking at the ground. "Th-thank you."

"Hey, no problem," Kuzon replied with a smile. "Just remember, there's nothing wrong with expressing yourself every once in a while."

He walked over to his desk behind her, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder as he passed.

Onji blushed. Why was she screwing up like this? She was fine when she talked to him yesterday, what was so different today? She sat back down at her desk. Yesterday you were with Hide, she told herself. You knew you didn't have a chance with Kuzon, you just wanted to talk to him. But now you can go for him, and you're competing with someone else.

She let her head hit the desk. Why must these things be so complicated?

At that moment, Ms Kwan strode into the room. The class fell quiet, and students scurried back to their desks.

"Good morning class," she said. As the class stood, her piercing eyes spotted the numerous headbands being worn around the room. "Class, I've already made it quite clear that you do not wear head coverings indoors!"

"Aw, come on, Kuzon's allowed to wear his headband!" retorted a boy seated somewhere at the back of the class.

"I have made an exception with Kuzon," Ms Kwan said firmly. "He does not want nosy children staring at his scar when they should be focusing on their school work. Now, remove your head coverings!"

The demand was met with several disappointed groans as Onji's classmates restored their sashes to their waists.

But Onji had forgotten about Kuzon's scar. He had mentioned it on his arrival at the school and it was the very reason he wore his now-famous headband. No one had actually seen the scar, and Onji respected Kuzon's desire to keep it hidden. But that didn't stop her wondering…

What was it? A burn scar? A blade wound? Either way, it seemed to make Kuzon more…Onji couldn't think of the right word. Exciting? Heroic? Enigmatic? She settled for the last one. 'Enigmatic' seemed to fit Kuzon all to well. No one really knew that much about him, at least not personally.

Kuzon, the Enigma of the Colonies. Onji smiled as the title rang attractively through her head.

"Something funny, Miss Onji?" Ms Kwan said, spotting the girl's smile.

Onji turned pink again. "N-no Ms Kwan," she stammered. "Nothing at all."

"Very well then," the teacher said. "Class, recite the National Oath."

The whole class turned to face the portrait of Firelord Ozai at the back of the room, and started to recite the Fire Nation's national oath.

Onji struggled to hold back a giggle. Kuzon, being from the Fire nation colonies, was still struggling in remembering what to recite, although it wasn't quite as disastrous as it had been the day before. At least he didn't finish with 'bah, blah, blah.'

After that, the class started with the history lesson. Ms Kwan started reading from a dusty textbook, telling the class of a supposed 'secret' river that ran past the Fire Nation palace, and how past armies had tried and failed to use it to sneak past the palace guards.

Onji could hear furious scribbling from behind her, and turned her head to see Kuzon desperately trying to copy down every word spoken by Ms Kwan.

"Why so enthusiastic?" she whispered to him.

Kuzon looked up, surprised. "Oh, nothing," he whispered sheepishly. "I just…like learning the history of the mainland."

Onji smiled before turning back to her own notes. Hopefully, when class ended, she would be able to keep her nerves in check long enough to be able to find out more about the mysterious colonist sitting behind her.

Whatever it took, she was going to crack this enigma.