Chapter 15

Monday morning came in clouds. The rain had long since stopped, and the clouds were moving away. Slowly but surely the sky was trying to clear up, shine a bit of light. But it was slow going. The Gang, or part of it, was at the front of the school building, waiting for their other friends. Aang, Katara, and Sokka were there. All their faces were grim that seemed to fit in with the weather. They all had the same thought running through their heads: that something was going to change. Only Aang and Katara knew what that thing was. They were going to announce the class for training. They just hoped everyone would agree to it.

It wasn't long before Suki, Toph, Mai and Zuko arrived and now the whole Gang waited outside. Then their worst nightmare came upon them. Jet and his friends were heading toward the entrance. Jet caught sight of Katara and he winked at her. Katara glared back, for once unafraid. She wanted to shove the guy's head right off his stupid shoulders. Just because he thought he was a hunk it didn't automatically make him one.

Aang was watching him as well through narrowed eyes. His were cold but calculating, like he was thinking of the best way to take him down. Then the gang was gone, acting as though Aang and his friends didn't exist. That was fine with the Gang. As long as they weren't suspicious everything would be fine. They entered the building. After everything the teens had been through, the High School hallways seem almost alien to them. They felt out of place with the brightly colored halls and posters and chatting students.

Classes were about to start in ten minutes, so the Gang decided to go their separate ways. But before they went into different directions, Aang stopped. His nerves were tingling in a way as a warning. He shivered, knowing what the warning meant: someone was watching them. And very closely too. The rest of his friends had stopped walking, watching as Aang went on high alert.

Katara was the first to move. She walked to him and touched his arm. There was tension built up in his arm as though waiting for a hit of some kind. "Aang, are you okay?" the blue eyed girl asked. Aang looked at her and managed a smile, though it seemed a bit forced.

He cleared his throat and said, "Uh, yeah. There's something I have to do though. I'll meet you in class, okay? I'll only be a minute."

Katara didn't look convinced at all. She could read him like a book. But she nodded anyway, knowing that if he was sending her ahead, there had to be a good reason for it. "Okay; I'll see you in class." She kissed his cheek and walked away, heading to Iroh's classroom. Aang turned around and started walking the other way, down a bright yellow hallway. The tingling sense got stronger the farther the he walked. Then someone clad in black blocked his path. Aang looked at his face and was not even surprised to see...

"Jet." The older teen looked Aang dead in the eye, malice evident in them even if his face was friendly.

"Hello, Aang," he greeted. He and Aang were almost the same height; Jet was at least an inch taller than Aang's 5'8". But that didn't scare Aang at all. He wasn't even intimidated by him. If anything, the boy felt a surge of pity for the guy. What could have happened to him to turn Jet into something so... bad?

But the pity vanished as quickly as it had come when Jet said, "So, when do you think that little beauty is going to dump you so I can have my shot?" Anger, or fury would be better, boiled like lava under Aang's skin. Before he knew what he was doing, he had Jet up against the wall. The older teen was taken by surprise and didn't have time protect himself. An arm was twisted behind his back while his other arm hung limply as the other hand hit a pressure point in his arm, making it useless for a little while.

Then Aang's voice snarled, "Don't you EVER say that about her again. She's not some prize you can snatch up. And FYI, we're NEVER breaking up. So you better get that through your thick skull." Jet was thrown to the floor, winded and dazed. He would lying to himself if he said that Aang's little stunt didn't scare him. To be honest, he felt the first shiver of fear crawl up his spine in a long time. Even at this young age, Aang's eyes showed he was older beyond his years.

Jet attempted to put on a scowling face as he stood up and brushed himself off. He had almost forgotten how strong the kid was. One day, Aang and his precious friends are going down. He got really close to Aang's face and muttered, "This isn't over, Montauk. One day, your guard is going to go down, and you will never know what hit you. You have no idea what you're dealing with."

Aang had to suppress a shiver of dread. As he looked into Jet's dark eyes, the same feeling of knowing crept up on him. Where had he seen those eyes before? It was becoming more frustrating the longer he thought about it. They reminded of the eyes that looked through the black mask of the man he had fought. These black eyes had the same murderous light as the ones before.

The next thing he knew, Jet walked away, rammed his shoulder into Aang's and disappeared around the corner. Aang took a deep breath, blinked and looked at the clock overhead and received a shock. He had three minutes to get to class before he was late. Where had the time gone? Taking a calming breath, Aang started speed walking to History. Iroh might be a sweet guy, but even people like him could lose his temper if someone wasn't there for his lesson. Trying to forget his encounter with Jet, he went into the room just in time before the bell rang.

But as he sat there next to his girlfriend, Aang couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. He didn't know when, where, or why. But he did know that something unpleasant was going to occur, and very soon.

Katara was worried. Ever since Aang came into History, he had been preoccupied and distant. He wouldn't even tell her what had happened in the hall, not even telepathically. He hardly said anything to any of his friends, which was unusual in itself. Aang always told what was on his mind; the fact that he hasn't has made everyone in the group worried. Whatever he was thinking it could not be good.

Katara remembered how he had reacted in the hall; how he had tensed and told her to go to class, that he'll catch up. The way he had prepared himself as if waiting to be hit. Something was going on and Katara was determined to find out. They were at lunch, sitting in the sunshine. Already the air was turning crisper; the leaves and grass were still green, but it wouldn't be long before the colors of fall came in. Aang and Katara's birthday's was getting closer, both of them becoming older. Already they had experienced some things most adults couldn't even begin to dream of; unless you were a madman who dreamed of conquering the world.

Aang was watching the sky, the blue endlessly stretching to the horizon and beyond. He still couldn't bring himself to tell the others what had happened in the hall. They already had enough on their minds as it is. Suki was explaining the mission to Zuko and Mai about how to beat the Black Mamba, as they had come to call them. Aang and Katara would explain the fighting lessons when Suki was done. Katara was gazing at Aang again, wondering what had happened this morning. He seemed older than he has ever been before, and it was starting to scare her. She tried communicating in his mind.

'Aang?'

He turned to her, startled out of his private thoughts. 'Yeah?' he asked back.

Katara shook her head. 'What's wrong? You've been quiet all day. I'm really worried about you. You're never this remote. Please tell me what happened."

Aang sighed, thinking to himself. He wasn't sure what to tell her. If he told her what had happened, it might scare her, and he didn't want to do that. On the other hand, this has been eating at him all day. It was like a virus: once it grabs a hold of someone, it won't let go until a cure has been given. So in the end, he ended up telling her what had happened. The more he thought to her, the angrier she seemed to get. When he was done, Katara was fuming.

'Why that badgermole!' she mentally exclaimed. 'Why couldn't he just leave us alone? I'm sooo SICK of him! UGH! I seriously want to-'

'KATARA!' Aang mentally laughed. She looked at him. He was smiling now, and some of her anger melted away. 'You keep that up, and your brain will explode. I don't even want to know what you were about to think. He's not going to hurt you anymore; I made a promise to that.'

Katara shook her head. 'It's not me I'm worried about, Aang. It's you I'm worried for. If you hadn't been on your guard, Jet would have attacked you first. You did the right thing by warning him.'

Aang thinned his lips as he frowned. 'I don't know, Katara. If anything, he seems more determined than ever to get you.'

Before she could respond, Suki interrupted with, "Did you guys have something to say?" The couple turned to the whole group, who was watching them curiously. No one in the group had any idea that they could talk to each other without anyone else hearing their thoughts.

Aang began about telling them about the fighting lessons his girlfriend forced him to consider. He told them they could how to fight and defend themselves. When he asked Suki, Mai and Zuko to help, they agreed wholeheartedly. When Aang told Toph she can learn how to fight despite her blindness, she had yelled, "Oh yeah! Look out, people!" The others had laughed and made her keep her voice down.

When he got to part where Katara had given the idea by suggesting that he teach her how to fight, Sokka went ballistic. "Are you joking?! There is absolutely NO WAY that I'm letting my little sister learn all this stuff."

Katara crossed her arms. "Why not?" she demanded. "Just because I'm a girl it doesn't make me any less capable of learning." She glared at him and Toph punched his arm.

"Yeah!" she said. "What's wrong with females being fighters, huh?" Suki and Mai glared at him too.

Zuko shook his head. "You shouldn't have said anything, Sokka. You know better than most guys: never underestimate a female." Mai flashed him a quick smile before continuing her glare.

Sokka started squirming and raised his hands. "OKAY!" he exclaimed. "You win. Alright, Katara, you can learn. But don't come crying to me if you break a leg or something."

Before Katara could give a remark, Aang said, "Okay, great." He shot her warning look. "Now, what we had in mind for a training area would be your guys' backyard."

Sokka interrupted again. "Wait, wait, wait. Who's backyard? Ours?" Aang and Katara nodded. Sokka scoffed. "Alright, I already agreed to let Katara learn how to fight. But why our backyard? Why not yours?"

Katara answered. "Because ours is bigger, it has trees surrounding the whole area, and Dad's gone most of the time. Aang's uncle is home by two. Even though he knows about Aang's training, he doesn't know about us learning these things."

"If he did," Aang said, "he wouldn't let us. You don't learn what you are about to for no reason. My uncle can tell when anyone is lying, so we have to keep this to ourselves." Everyone murmured agreement and Sokka sighed.

"Alright," he relented in defeat. "You guys have a point. So, when do we start?"

Aang said, "It would be best to start as soon as possible. We were hoping we could start after school today. Is that okay with everyone?" Everyone agreed just as the bell ending lunch rang. The teenagers ran off to their remaining classes, excited about the lessons. The only one who was really nervous was Aang. He was happy that his friends agreed to the plans; but there was a part of him that wondered if he would be a good teacher. Some of the stuff he learned was really hard. He just hoped he wouldn't let them down.

The final bell rang and the Gang was walking to the parking lot. Sokka and Suki were driving together, Mai and Zuko were also, Toph riding along, and Aang and Katara were being driven by Gyatso. Aang explained to his uncle that he was staying at Katara's place and that he would be back before nightfall. Gyatso agreed; but he remarked, "You seem to be spending a lot of time over there, Aang. You make it seem like you're moving in with them." His eyes were sparkling.

Aang blushed and babbled, "Uh, no. I just, well, I mean… it's nice there and… yeah." He looked down, embarrassed. He must look like a total fool to Katara right now. She was blushing as well, not sure what to say.

Gyatso noticed her blushing. "I beg your pardon, Katara," he said. "But my nephew never stops talking about you, saying how beautiful and smart you are."

Aang looked up in horror. "Gyatso!" he exclaimed, feeling ten times hotter in the face.

Gyatso laughed. "Do not deny it, Aang. She's all you ever talk about."

Aang groaned and dropped his head in his hands. He thought his face would explode. Why had his uncle done that? It was so embarrassing.

Katara was smiling, her face red. 'Do you really think about me that much?' she asked.

Aang swallowed. 'Yeah,' he admitted and brought his face out of his hands. He looked at her. 'You're all I can think about, if you want the truth. I seriously wouldn't know what to do if I hadn't found you.'

Katara went into his arms and sighed. 'I don't know what I would do without you either. I love you.'

Aang smiled and kissed the top of her head. 'I love you too.' They stayed in each other's arms as Gyatso, smiling, drove them home.

Everyone was sitting outside in Sokka and Katara's backyard waiting for the lessons to begin. Aang was going over everything in his mind, hoping not to get the lessons mixed up. His heart was pounding with nervousness. What if accidentally hurt one of his friends? What if he was a bad teacher? What if his friends didn't like what they were doing? 'Stop it!' he thought to himself. 'You have nothing to worry about. You've been going to these lessons for a long time and your own teachers made sure you never forget. You can do this.'

He took a calming breath and turned around. Everyone was waiting for him to begin. Suki, Mai and Zuko were already standing, waiting to give their points and techniques. He cleared his throat and his friends looked at him, faces alert and serious. The training has finally begun.