Katara's heart pounded incessantly as she lay in her bed, the same as it had for most of the thrilling day. She was overwhelmed by all that had happened; emotions swirled in her heart, rendering her unable to focus on anything. The way Shin's intense, rapturous eyes gazed into hers as they danced together was seared into her mind.
Quietly, so as Toph wouldn't hear, she sounded out the name of the boy she was hopelessly entranced by. "Shin", Katara whispered softly into the blissful silence of the night. She felt her face grow warm just by the sound of his name.
Turning restlessly in her bed, Katara was having much trouble getting to sleep. Her head was filled with thoughts of Shin to the point where she could feel a headache coming on. The waterbender, through her perpetual connection with the moon and tides, could discern that the time had to be around three in the morning. She stifled a yawn and looked over to where Toph lay in her bed, sleeping peacefully, albeit with some snoring every once in awhile. She smirked, but began to blush embarrassedly as she remembered the conversation Toph and her had shared as they walked home from the dance.
After parting with Shin, Katara had scampered off quickly to meet with Toph, her eyes glazed over with joy and her face flushed.
Toph grinned goofily, clearly excited. "Katara! How'd your little dance with Jitterbug over there go?"
Katara blushed, unable to control her excitement. Although it wasn't like her to do so, she began to recount the whole scenario to Toph as they both walked home. This was very much to Toph's delight; she listened attentively, giggling and smiling at every other word.
"Sugar Queen, even I could tell you two lovebirds were enamored of each other, and I can't see!" She waved her hands in front of her face for emphasis. "Shin's heart was beating so fast that it almost hurt my feet!"
Katara's heart skipped a beat, then both girls laughed and continued to talk.
As Katara endlessly replayed the events of the night, she unconsciously reached a hand to her neck to palm her mother's necklace. She had always clutched it tightly in her hands when her feelings seemed to overwhelm her, whether bad or good. It was as if she longed to share those emotions with her mother, even though she was gone.
Katara frowned despairingly as she remembered the fate of her precious necklace. All that her mother left behind, the very last piece she had left of her, was gone. Gone at the hands of one damned prince of the Fire Nation.
"Zuko." Katara whispered with a vengeance. The name held a bitter taste in her mouth. She scowled as his scarred face flashed through her mind, dangling her beloved necklace . It was he who chased Aang ruthlessly. It was he who destroyed her home. Her heart began to beat faster as her temper grew, and she swore to make Zuko pay for what he had done.
Her ambition began to falter, however, when she noted the strange absence of the Prince. He had not crossed paths with the group since their intense brawl in the Northern Water Tribe.
"Just where is Zuko?" Katara thought, frowning. She decided to be cautious for the terrible firebender, lest he harm Aang or steal more of her precious belongings.
Katara sighed deeply, calming her frazzled nerves. She suppressed her hatred for Zuko and instead settled her mind on Shin's enchanting smile, happily falling into a deep sleep.
Laying in his bed, Zuko ran his fingers over the meticulous carvings embedded in the small, blue pendant he held in his hand. The whole night seemed to be a blur of a million different emotions, so foreign and bizarre that he didn't know what to make of them. He endlessly replayed the events of the evening despite his desire to forget the affair.
Meeting Katara's brilliant blue eyes, seeing her radiant smile, dancing with her under the stars. The thoughts of the girl engulfed him to the point where sleep wasn't an option anymore. After relentlessly tossing in his bed, the young prince sat up in frustration. He stared intently at the necklace clenched between his fingers.
"Why am I making such a big deal out of this?" Zuko thought, irritated. He had lied countless times to others in the past, but deceiving Katara seemed to make him feel terribly guilty. She had just looked at him so sincerely, her eyes glinting with compassion. For once, someone didn't see him as the banished prince that he was. Although it was a lie, Katara looked at him with heartfelt kindness, seeing him without the scar of his past. Seeing him in all the ways his own family never could.
But Zuko slapped himself internally for the emotions he felt. "I seriously only met her a few days ago. Talked to her for what, an hour? Why am I making her mean so much to me? This is idiotic." Rolling his eyes, Zuko thought sarcastically, "I might as well worship the girl."
He sighed tiredly, mentally blocking his thoughts of Katara. He'd finally gotten ridden of his absurd quest to find the Avatar, and bringing those idiots back into his life would be the last thing he needed. Right now, Zuko needed to focus on staying away from the Fire Nation so that he and Uncle could live in safety.
Zuko tossed the girl's necklace on his nightstand, telling himself that he'd avoid Katara from now on. Although something still irked at the back of his mind, he brushed it off and drifted into a dreamless slumber.
Katara woke up early the next morning. Through the opened blinds in her window, she could see the sunrise paint the sky with hues of lavender and orange. She smiled brightly and slipped out from her bed. Noticing the morning chill immediately, she rubbed her arms and glanced over at the loudly snoring Toph. Katara laughed softly and left the room, closing the door with a quiet click.
Peering around the house, Katara rolled her eyes when she realized that she was the only one awake. "Well, this is just usual.", she grinned. She went into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Her brown hair was pulled into a bun, which she quickly untied and let her locks fall loose across her shoulders. Using a brush on the counter and humming softly, Katara untangled the knots in her hair. She remembered her thoughts about Zuko from the night before and sighed heavily. Katara looked at her neck longingly, wishing her mother's necklace was resting there. She still felt great hatred towards the Prince, but calmed herself by switching her thoughts to Shin. Katara couldn't help but smile as she recalled the previous evening, her heart skipping a beat.
She quickly took a shower, then changed into warm, comfortable clothes. She remembered that Aang wanted to visit the circus they saw near King Kuei's Palace the other day. The waterbender giggled when she remembered the way Aang jumped when he saw the monkeys dancing around.
He had pulled on her sleeve playfully like a little kid. "Katara! We have to go to the circus! Can Toph and I please take a break to go?" Sometimes Katara couldn't believe that the savior of the world could be so immature. But nonetheless, she obliged and today was the day.
Katara worked in the kitchen, making breakfast for everyone. She started to become frustrated when she realized that by ten o'clock everyone was still asleep. She had woken up at six in the morning just to get ready for the trip that Aang wanted to go on, but he wasn't even up yet!
Katara huffed angrily and stormed to his room. She threw the wooden door open to find the boy sleeping, awkwardly positioned on his bed. Drool puddled under his mouth while he snored loudly, along with Sokka who murmured some ramblings about Suki. Katara tilted her head curiously and strolled over to her brother's bedside.
"Suki, let's ride off into the sunset together...of course you can massage my back..." Sokka mumbled into his pillow. Katara stifled a giggle, then leaned close to Sokka, eager to have some fun.
"Sokka, honey, I have something to tell you." Katara whispered deviously into her unsuspecting brother's ear. "I'm pregnant!" She began to laugh uncontrollably.
"WHAT?!" Sokka yelled, his eyes flying open in shock. He fell off his bed with a loud thud. Looking around for Suki, he started to blush as he realized where he was. Sokka glanced over at his hysterical sister. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"Katara..." Sokka said, emphasizing every syllable. Katara didn't even heed her brother's dangerous tone; she was laughing too hard to listen. "I'm gonna get you!" Sokka declared.
All the commotion in the room awoke Aang from his deep slumber. He arose from his bed while rubbing his eyes from both confusion and sleep. "What in the world is going on?" Aang asked, stifling a yawn.
"This little weasel here woke me up!" Sokka said, thrusting a finger at his chuckling sister. "And I was having an amazing dream too..." Sokka pouted disappointedly.
"You call getting Suki pregnant 'amazing'?" Katara gasped through her laughter while wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
"It was amazing until you showed up!" Sokka exclaimed indignantly. Aang's eyes widened at Katara's allegation. Meanwhile, Sokka kept scolding his little sister to no avail; her laughter was only egged on more by his attempts. The young airbender focused his attention on the bickering siblings. Fed up with the fighting, Aang inhaled deeply. Then, in a swift motion, he blew huge gusts of air from his lungs, pushing Sokka and Katara to the other side of the room.
"Guys, that's enough!" Aang exclaimed. Sokka and Katara both gaped at Aang, who stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. Katara began to feel a bit guilty for causing a ruckus so early in the morning, but it was pretty hilarious. She stood up from her place and brushed the dust off her clothes, suppressing a grin. Anyway, she deserved to have some fun with the way everyone woke up so late. Sokka was mangled in bed sheets and pillows. He tried to untangle himself, but ended up even more netted in the bedding.
"Come on guys, breakfast is almost ready." Katara said as she left the room, Aang following behind. Sokka merely fell to the floor, fully wrapped up in the cloth and unable to break free.
A few minutes later, Toph walked into the living room where Aang sat comfortably.
"I could feel the whole freaking house shake in my sleep. What's going on?" Toph questioned groggily.
"Oh, nothing. Someone was just having a bad dream.." Katara explained while looking down into the pan of eggs she had fried. She still couldn't stop smiling. Toph remained confused but was too tired to interrogate any further and crashed onto the couch. Sokka then strolled into the room, stretching his arms.
"Good morning, everybody. Aang, Toph. Katara." Sokka glared discreetly. "Oh, by the way, can we stop by the market today? We need new blankets." Sokka said as he held up a bundle of torn bed sheets. Katara and Aang suppressed a giggle, but Toph just rolled her eyes in confusion.
"Yeah, sure. We have to go to that circus today anyway, so we can pick some up on the way." Katara said while serving a fried egg to Aang.
"Oh yeah! That circus is gonna be amazing! I heard that they'll be a seven-foot tall platypus-bear in the act!" Aang said with excitement. He continued to ramble on about the circus while Katara served the others.
Sokka joined in the hype as well. "Yeah, I heard The Rock is gonna be there! I have to get his autograph!", he declared happily. The boys ranted on while Katara and Toph sat, eating their breakfast, and smiling softly.
"I know whose autograph Katara wants." Toph teased, grinning. Katara shot a glare at Toph but couldn't help the blush that crept on her cheeks.
"Oh really? Who? Is it The Boulder's? He's amazing!" Sokka asked excitedly.
Toph laughed while Katara stumbled over her words. "Oh...no...I..I didn't mean an earthbender..." The blush on her cheeks became darker.
"Oh, well, then who? One of the circus animals?" Aang inquired, confused. "If you want the platypus-bear's autograph, make sure you get one for me too! Tell him to make it out to 'Aang, your biggest fan.'"
"Yeah, cause that platypus-bear could totally write a signature, let alone whatever else you want." Toph remarked snidely.
"He's the greatest platypus-bear of all time; he can do anything!" Aang defended, convinced of the powers of the majestic circus animal.
Katara shook her head softly at Aang's silly remark, but Shin's face wouldn't leave her mind since Toph had mentioned him subtly. Katara knew it was foolish to get her hopes up, but maybe she could see him when they went shopping. But today was the day to have fun with everyone, so she shook her head to clear her thoughts of Shin and stood up.
"I'll clean up the table, and then we can all head out to the circus!", she grinned happily.
Katara went around the table and collected all the plates and glasses. While washing the dishes, she wished that Suki was here to help her with the cooking and other chores. Aang and Sokka were useless, while Toph was both blind and averse to 'such activities'.
After she had put away the last of the utensils and dishes, Katara dried her hands and called everyone to the door to leave. She grabbed her sack from atop the couch and adjusted the strap while she waited on the porch
"Oh yeah, circus here we come!" Aang said while marching out the house.
"Let's get this over with." Toph said while departing glumly.
"Long live The Boulder!" Sokka exclaimed reverently while throwing his hands up in the air.
Katara just laughed pleasantly and the group departed from their house to enjoy the day.
Author's Note:
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It's sort of a cool-down from the previous, since the dance was pretty drama-filled! There's not much of Zuko's POV this chapter, but he'll definitely play a larger role next time. But oh, silly Sokka. He's just too funny; I was dying writing this. Anyways, thank you so much for those of you who have reviewed, favorited, and followed our story! It means so much to see that people like our writing. Please continue to do so; it's great encouragement. We'll keep the chapters coming!