Hello fellow readers and welcome to the second chapter. I'm kind a new at making stories, so if possible I'd like to hear your feedback on what you think about the story. I know that my first chapter was a bit short and I kind of want to redo it. Anyway, I'd like to hear what you all have to say and hopefully get some tips on making this a good story. Thank you and enjoy!

Morning came as Aang's alarm clock went off, getting up he hit the button on his clock and checked the time. It was currently 6:30am, so he got dressed, ate breakfast and headed out at 7:00am. His class starts at 8:00am, so he had about an hour to get to class, though it would only take a half hour to get there. Aang wore a red long shirt with orange lines going down the sleeves, along with some light blue jeans and red shoes. As expected, it was 7:30 by the time he got to college. With some free time on his hands, Aang decided to grab a cup of Jasmine Tea at the built in tea shop at the college and take a seat at a nearby table.

Aang tried to get some extra work in before class, his dream was to be a writer, to make his own stories. Since he was alone, he found writing to be peaceful and allow his imagination to run wild. Though try as he might to get some work done, his thoughts were focused on his dream from last night. It was unlike any dream he had, it felt so real, so intense, his heart raced just thinking about it. However, one moment in the dream sent his heart on overdrive. He remembered the moment where he saw those ocean blue eyes, it was as though they pierced through his soul. He wondered who those eyes belonged too, wondering about the person on the bed. Was it so strange to think about a dream this much? Was it just a dream or was it something more? These questions and others raced through his mind.

"Hey Aang. You alright?" Someone questioned, sitting down across from Aang.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Aang looked up to see a fellow classmate. He was about Aang's height, black hair just going over his amber eyes and had a similar build to Jet, he also had a scar by his left eye.

"Oh hey, good morning Zuko." Aang greeted, giving Zuko a small smile as he got back to work.

"Morning, but are you okay? You seemed out of it." Zuko questioned, wondering why Aang seemed unfocused. Whenever he saw Aang in class, he was usually completely focused on his studies. Very rarely would Aang space out, at least from what Zuko knew.

Aang smiled, grateful that Zuko seemed to care about him. In truth, despite knowing each other from class, they weren't friends, simply class mates who sat by each other. They would in gauge in small conversation, but that was usually during the small breaks from work in class. Aang usually kept to himself, he was quiet and shy around other people. Even so, Zuko was the only person that Aang talked too. Since they were both in the same class and he seemed nice, though a bit rough around the edges. There was a time when Zuko had once helped Aang, when Jet was giving him a hard time. This was recently after his fathers passing and Zuko got between Aang and Jet. Aang was grateful of course, but left it at that. Since he was going through the hardship of losing his father and struggling to get by. Aang had closed himself off, preventing himself from interacting with others. Though, Zuko could understand this, he himself had lost his own mother and father, the only difference is he still had his uncle, while Aang had no one. Zuko saw the pain Aang was going through and wanted to help him out. Despite not really knowing each other very well, they at least had something in common. Understanding what Aang was going through, Zuko had decided to help and hopefully be considered a friend to Aang. It was taking time, but they've gotten to be considered as such.

"I'm fine, just thinking." Aang responded with a smile, looking at the young man. Taking a look at the time, Aang and Zuko had ten minutes left to get to class. On their way, Zuko tried making conversation.

"What were you thinking about? I don't think I've seen you zone out like that." Zuko questioned, curiously.

"Oh, I was just thinking about the castle on the edge of town overlooking the lake. I walked by it on my way back home and had a dream about it." Aang explained, he didn't want to go into too much detail, but he didn't want to lie. Though he was worried, thinking that Zuko might believe he's weird if he talked about the person in his dream.

"What happened in your dream?" Zuko continued with his questions, his curiosity taking over.

"Um, I was running from these shadowy figures and ended up in the castle, I was in a room, with a balcony showing the lake and a full moon." Aang said, leaving out the part about the person with blue eyes.

Raising a brow at this, Zuko continued the conversation. "Seems you just had a nightmare, must have been intense if you were thinking about it that much." Zuko concluded, not thinking too much about it.

"Y-yeah" Aang stuttered slightly, his thoughts wondering back to that moment in the bedroom.

"Anyway, just try not to go venturing inside the castle, a place as old as that is bound to be dangerous." Zuko told him.

"Got it." Aang smiled softly, assuring Zuko he won't go in the castle.

Making it to class before the teacher shut the door, they took their seats at the back by a window showing the town.

Aang and Zuko had finished classes for the day, it was currently 1:30pm and Aang usually had to be at work for 3:00pm. However his boss had called him in early, so he now had to be their by 2:00pm. Which wasn't really an issue, since the library was only a fifteen minute walk from school. Though, he was wondering why he was called in early at such short notice. Shrugging Aang grabbed his bag and started to head out.

As he left to go to the library, Zuko spoke up. "Hey, mind if I come with you? I want to grab something at the library." Zuko asked, his cheeks going slightly red.

With a raised brow of confusion, Aang wondered what he wanted to get. "Alright, but what were you planning to pick up?" He asked, as they made their way to the library.

"Uh, well, there's this book that I was curious about and wanted to check it out." Zuko explained, not wanting to go into detail about the contents of said book.

"What's the book called?" Aang continued to question, curiosity setting in.

Reluctantly Zuko responded, with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Love Amongst the Dragons." His cheeks sporting a crimson color.

"I didn't think you'd be into romance stories." Aang stated with a small smile.

"I wouldn't say I'm 'into' them, but my mom used to be in a play about the book, so I thought I'd read it." Zuko said, remembering his late mother and the smile she had whenever she'd talk about the play. Bringing a small smile to Zuko's face.

Understandingly, Aang nodded as they came to the library. Once inside, Aang and Zuko went to the front desk. As Aang was about to head behind the counter, into the back to check in, a tall man in a fancy black dress shirt and black pants walked up to them.

"Aang." The man called out sternly, with a serious look on his face. Aang turned to face the man who had called him, only to see that it was his boss.

"Oh, Mr. Tong. What can I do for you?" Aang asked, feeling a bit nervous from the stern face on the man.

"I'd like a word with you in my office." Mr. Tong responded, already walking to said office.

Zuko and Aang shared a quick glance to each other before Aang left to see what Mr. Tong needed. In the meantime Zuko would go find his book.

In the office, Mr. Tong was behind his desk, a coffee in hand. Aang sat on the other side, patiently waiting for the man to speak, though he was beginning to feel more nervous than before. The only other times Aang came in the office was for his two strikes that he had already received. Thinking about that made Aang wonder if he did something wrong, but couldn't think of anything bad that he did since his second strike.

"Aang." Mr. Tong addressed, snapping Aang out of his thoughts. Now focused on his boss, the man continued. "You've done a good job working here, handling the shipments, stalking the shelves and helping our customers." Mr. Tong complemented, taking a sip of his coffee.

At hearing this Aang had formed a small smile on his face. "Thank you sir." Though Aang's face turned from a smile to a frown, now wondering where Mr. Tong was going with this.

"You're a hard worker, unfortunately you've also had some mishaps. Due to this, I'm afraid I'll have to let you go." Mr. Tong informed with a slightly sad look on his face as he set his coffee down and folding his hands together.

At hearing this, Aang was shocked and confused. What had he done to get fired? He had two strikes so far. If he had a third than that would result in losing his job, but he couldn't think of anything that would get him another strike.

"Mr. Tong, I thought I had two strikes. I can't be fired from two strikes." Aang stated, still confused and shocked by the news.

Mr. Tong sighed. "You got your third strike yesterday, when you left an hour early, messed up the order of the books you were supposed to stalk and made a mess in the back of the new shipment of books for next month. Jet offered to stay overtime and helped sort out your mistakes." Mr. Tong informed, with a hint of anger in his voice, but managed to conceal it.

"Aang, I'm sorry, but I can't have an employee making these mistakes. You're a good person, with good qualities, I hope you can make good use of those qualities. I ask that you pack your things and leave." Mr. Tong said, with a sad tone in his voice.

Aang was even more shocked than before, wondering how could that have happened. 'Jet said it was time for me to leave yesterday and showed me the time. Wait, Jet, I'm such an idiot!' Aang thought to himself, frustrated at Jets actions. From hearing Mr. Tongs explanation and thinking about the previous day, Aang came to a conclusion: Jet had set him up. He set the clock ahead of time by an hour, took over Aang's shift and disorganized the books and made a mess in the book storage in the back to blame on Aang. Staying overtime to earn some extra cash, while getting Aang fired, was a win-win for Jet. Despite knowing of Jets actions, Aang couldn't believe Jet would get him fired. Sure Jet was a jerk, but Aang didn't think he'd pull a stunt like this. At this point, Aang knew he couldn't say anything, with the look on Mr. Tong's face telling him that what he had to say would fall on deaf ears. With a defeated look on his face, Aang stood up and headed out of the office with one last goodbye to his former boss. Aang went to the back to pack his things, his feelings went from frustration at Jet's actions to sadness at the fact he can longer pay for bills, rent or food. After packing, Aang threw the bag over his shoulder and headed out. Coming out from the back, he saw Zuko at the front desk.

After purchasing his book, Zuko turned to see Aang walking towards him. Greeting Aang with a smile, though it turned into a frown once he saw the look on Aang's face

"Aang, what's wrong?" Zuko asked, seeing the sad look in his eyes.

"Let's get going." Aang said, ignoring Zuko's question, as he walked to the entrance. Following Aang outside, the two made their way to Aang's apartment. On their way, Aang hadn't said a word, so Zuko decided to speak.

"Aang what happened, don't you have work today?" Zuko asked, wondering what Aang and Mr. Tong had talked about.

"Not anymore." Was all Aang said, looking down to the ground in defeat.

Zuko's eyes widened at this, "What do you mean? What happened?" He continued to question a bit frantically.

Without looking away from the ground, Aang uttered a single word. "Jet"

Zuko's shocked expression turned to immediate anger at the bastard's name. Realizing that what had happened was Jet's doing. Clenching his fist, Zuko took time to breath before looking back to Aang. Seeing that Aang was also trying to keep calm, Zuko couldn't blame him. He was aware that Aang was struggling, heck many of their classmates knew. He wanted to help Aang, but he didn't know how. One thing was for sure, if he saw Jet again, he'll be sure to give him a beating that a low life like him deserves.

"Aang, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know, alright?" Zuko said, trying give support.

"Thanks Zuko." Aang responded, eyes never leaving the ground as they continued to walk.

The silence was filled with heavy tension. Making Zuko feel a bit uncomfortable and Aang not seeming to notice nor even care. Arriving at the apartment, Aang said goodbye to Zuko and headed in. Seeing that he couldn't do anything for Aang at the moment, Zuko left. On his way home, Zuko began to think about the days events. 'I got to find a way to help Aang and I think I know who I can talk to about that.' He thought to himself as he turned away from home.

Aang was lost in thought, laying in bed. He still couldn't believe he had lost his job. He continued to play the events of today in his head and coming to see the outcomes of these events. Losing his job meant losing his apartment, he wouldn't be able to go to school or pay for food. As the events played over, Aang turned on his side, his eyes getting blurry and his sheets started to get a little wet, due to the tears coming down his face.

Aang continued to sob, he wasn't sure how much time had passed, but as his sobs died down, anger was taking over. He began hitting his mattress and throwing his pillows. One of those pillows had hit the top of his desk, across the room, that he used to write and do homework. Hitting a picture frame and knocking it over.

Aang heard the impact and turned to see the picture frame face down. Getting out of bed, he walked over and picked it up. It was a picture of him and his parents. They were outside under a tree, his mother and father were leaning against it side by side, with a mini Aang in between them reading a children's book. Aang remembered that day, it was a cherished memory and it was also one of the last with both his parents. Wiping his tear stained face, Aang set the picture down up right on his desk.

"Hey Mom, hey Dad. I miss you both and I wish I had you here with me." Aang said, a look of grief plastered on his face. " Don't worry though, I'll figure this out. So you won't have to worry about me, I promise." Aang said, building up his resolve while looking at the picture with a small smile.

Aang decided to clear his head by going out for a walk around town. It was getting late, the sun had nearly set and there weren't many people out. Aang thought it was a good time to get some fresh air and be alone. Putting on some warmer clothing, he left his apartment and went for a walk.

Aang had been walking around for about two hours, the sun had set and it was pretty dark. Not dark enough to where he couldn't see anything though. Deciding to head back home, Aang walked by an ally, where he heard a familiar voice.

"I didn't expect to see you out this late Aang." Someone said from the dark ally.

Turning to face the person, Aang's eyes widened in surprise as the person walked out into view.

"Jet"