Zuko gave himself a few more days to think before he finally decided it was time to confront Katalina. And Jet let him know exactly where he'd be able to find. So after walking the city a bit first to see if she maybe was just wandering around, he then made his way for the secret spot. And much to his luck, that's exactly where she was.
At first he just stopped and watched her as she moved back and forth, firebending in every which direction. He had always loved watching her train and practice because she moved so gracefully and confidently. Better yet, it was such a rarity for her to use her bending. That made him enjoy watching her even more. And the last thing he wanted to do now was startle her.
Soon enough, though, Katalina ended up barreling straight in Zuko. He grabbed her by her wrist to prevent her from hitting him, and the proceeded to wrap his free arm around her waist and pull her close to him. She gasped at the sudden contact, opening her eyes again.
"Now I understand how you managed to burn your hand," he stated.
Her eyes were wide for a moment. Then she scowled and shoved him away from her. "What the hell do you think you're doing? How did you even know to find me here?"
"Jet told me about this place."
"Jet told you?" She shook her head. "That little bastard."
"Lina," he said, taking a step toward her. She took a step away from him. "Hey, c'mon." He reached for her hand.
She pulled away from him and continued to take steps back. "What do you want from me?"
He followed after her. "I just want to talk to you."
"Stop!" she shouted, still keeping a good distance between them. "Stop coming any closer! You can talk to me from right there."
"No, please, I'm trying to reach you."
"And you can reach me from right there!"
"Why do you feel the need to always push me away when things get tough?" he questioned. "I've only ever tried to be helpful to you!"
"We don't need to be any closer," she denied. "Just say whatever it is you wanna say and leave."
He shook his head. "Not like this."
"This is all you're getting," she stated. "So talk."
"Lina—" he started, taking a couple steps towards her.
"Talk!" she yelled, moving away from him again.
He sighed, giving in. He sifted one of his hands into his hair and pulled at it a bit. Not that she was right in front of him, he was at a loss for words.
"If you're just gonna stand there playing with your hair, then go do that someplace else."
"I lied to you," he admitted in response, deciding the best course of action would just be to come out with it.
"Oh? Mr. Honesty lied?"
"Cut the shit, Lina. You lied, too."
"Is that so?" She folded her arms across her chest. "And what did I allegedly lie about?"
"The kiss."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about!"
"What could you have lied about?"
"I wanted to kiss you, Lina!" he told her. "I mean, I hadn't planned it, but it's not like I regretted it either." He shrugged his shoulders." I wanted to kiss you." Now he paused." And I've wanted to kiss you again ever since."
She was shaking her head. "No…no, that's not fair. You can't just come here and say that to me."
"And why not?"
"Because the kiss didn't mean anything, Zuko!"
"Bull. Shit."
She pursed her lips, still shaking her head. "You're not being fair."
"How am I not being fair?"
She swallowed hard. "Know what really sucks?" She laughed, holding back tears. "That kiss was seriously everything I imagined it would be…but nothing can come of it."
His head dropped. "See? I knew you lied, too."
"At least I had a good reason. You didn't. Nor do you have a good reason to be here and saying all of this to me now."
"How do you know?"
"I know you, Zuko. And I'm done with you."
"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that."
"Really? You can't allow it?" She shook her head again, dropping her arms back down by her side. "Well, that's a damn shame."
Katalina went to move past Zuko to walk away. Before she could get far, though, he took hold of her hand. And she reacted very quickly.
"Don't touch me!" she practically screamed.
"I'm not letting you walk away from this!" he yelled back.
"You can't keep me here," she replied. "Oh, and be sure to say hi to your girlfriend for me," she then said. And she ran.
"Lina, wait!" he called after her.
He chased her. He had to let her know everything before she could get to far away from him. And he was mad at himself all over again for not telling her right away that he and Mai were history. That should've been the first thing out of his mouth. Once he caught up to her, though, it would be. That would be the first thing he would tell her. But he still needed to catch her.
He ran into Jet instead.
"Whoa!" Jet exclaimed. "What are you doing?"
"Did you see Lina? Did she run by you?"
"No. Why?"
"Damn it!" He fell to the ground, exhausted. "I lost her."
"Have you been chasing her this entire time?"
"No, I got to talk with her a little."
"And what happened?"
"She hates me, Jet."
"I doubt she hates you. If anything, she's just mad at herself."
He paused, still catching his breath. "I don't know what to do."
"You don't give up on her," he replied. He reached his hand out for Zuko. He took it and Jet helped him back to his feet. "Lina's in love with you," he then told him in declaration. "That's why she's acting this way."
"What if she really is done with me, though?"
"Shut up."
He chuckled a bit at this. "Well, I'm definitely not giving up on her." He looked in the direction she had been running. "I would never do that."