Chapter 4

I flipped through a healing book that I found laying around in the common room as I waited for Suki and Toph. It would help the time pass, plus the common room was packed. Students from all houses and grades were hanging out here and honestly, making it look like I was doing something was less embarrassing than just waiting around.

Then, a very familiar voice boomed across the living room, "A flying bison?! No way!", steps hurried towards me and then a hand was blocking my view, pointing at me, "This is Katara, my flying sister!"

I looked up from my book, shooting Sokka an annoyed look. But he didn't notice as he laughed away at his lame-ass joke with...

"Aang?", I said, putting the book down.

The Airbender shot me his goofy smile, "Nice to see you again, Katara the flying sister".

I groaned, rolling my eyes at the idiots in front of me.

Sokka put his arm around Aang and pulled him closer to him. "Katara! Did you know this dude is the last Airbender?", he asked, pointing at Aang close enough to poke his eye out.

I looked him dead in the eye and said, "Really, Sokka? I had no idea". Seriously, sometimes my brother was an idiot.

Aang chuckled, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation and the amount of attention Sokka was pulling towards us.

"Katara!"

I turned towards the voice and found Toph and Suki walking towards us. Toph was wearing the same clothes she had been during the lunch break, but Suki had changed into a grey crop top and skinny grey pants. I waved at them, returning Suki's smile.

"Who are the two idiots?", Toph asked, jabbing her thumb towards Aang and my brother.

"I'm Aang", he said, stepping closer to Toph and offering her a hand shake.

"Ah, the Airbender", she exclaimed, an unimpressed tone lacing her voice, "I'm blind".

"Oh, uh, well", Aang stuttered.

"But you can call me Toph", she finally said, giving him a mocking grin.

"Nice to meet you ,Toph", Aang smiled. Toph just shrugged.

"And the other idiot is my brother, Sokka", I said.

Sokka completely ignored Toph and quite literally leaped over to where Suki was standing, "And you are?".

Suki eyed him over, "Your sister's friend", she answered.

Sokka grinned at her, "And does my sister's friend have a name?".

"Of course I do", Suki scoffed, "boomerang boy".

Sokka crossed his arms over his chest, puffing it out a little, "Ah, so I see you've heard of me".

Suki rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to say something, but Toph interrupted her.

"If bending was allowed inside school ground I would have thrown your brother off a cliff already, Katara", she boldly stated.

Sokka spun around, bending down so he was face to face with Toph, "Well if you could see-"

"Who said I couldn't see?", Toph asked, looking at my brother like he was delusional.

Sokka propped his hands on his hips, "Well for one, you're blind".

"So?", Toph said, crossing her arms over her chest, "I can still see. Not like you guys do, but it's something".

Sokka tilted his head, clearly confused and then looked down at the ground, pinching his nose. A second later, his head shot up.

"Where the hell are your shoes?", He asked unbelievingly.

"I don't wear shoes you idiot", Toph spat.

"Huh?"

Toph sighed, clearly annoyed, "I don't wear shoes because I see with my feet", she stated. Making it seem like it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Riiiiight, okay", Sokka said, scratching his head.

"You wouldn't get it", Toph shrugged, "the badgermoles taught me how to do it".

Sokka leaned in closer to me and whispered, "Are you sure this girl isn't a little coo-coo?"

"Of course she isn't", I frowned.

Sokka put his hands up in the air, as if admitting defeat. A second later he grabbed Aang and Suki and pulled them close to him, earning a chuckle from Aang and a glare from Suki.

"So, what are you freshman up to tonight?", He asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Why was it like he had the special power of embarrassing me?

I groaned, "Don't you have somewhere to be, or things to do?".

"And miss out on bonding time with my little sister and her friends? Yeah, no", Sokka countered.

I dragged my hand across my face, "We were just planning on hanging out and chatting anyway".

"Also no", Sokka said, "There's a great tea shop near the academy, we should check it out. Everyone goes there".

"A tea shop?", Suki asked, raising an eyebrow at Sokka.

He looked at her seductively, "The best in town, or so they say". Suki rolled her eyes.

"Let's just go already!", Toph growled.

"To the Jasmine Dragon it is!", Sokka exclaimed, like he was leading us on some big adventure and not to a tea shop.

Aang and Toph followed Sokka, grins plastered on their faces and were chatting away. Meanwhile, Suki and I grumbled under our breaths, following the other three with gloomy expressions on our faces.

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Sokka got us a table and ordered his favorite teas for us. Soon enough, his lame jokes and enthusiastic attitude had even Suki laughing. We were all enjoying a warm cup of jasmine tea when the doors slammed open. Azula and her gang walked in, acting like they owned the place. I groaned and turned back around. The last thing I wanted was to attract attention over to us.

"I'm guessing from Katara's groaning that it's the fire royals who just walked in", Toph said.

"Man, I really don't like Zuko", Aang added with a huff. "He's the reason I'm trapped in this place and not searching for other air nomads", he finished, his expression gloomy.

I placed a hand on his shoulder, "But you are here, and if there are any air nomads still alive, I doubt they'll be going anywhere". Aang gave me a sad smile. "Just... try to enjoy your time here", I added, "with us!".

His smile brightened at that. Just as I felt a presence behind me, Aang's smile turned into a menacing frown.

"I think this table will do", said Azula.

I turned around to find the smirking fire princess staring right at me. A bored Mai and a shy Ty Lee flanking her, with an expressionless Zuko right beside Mai. Great.

"It's clear to see that this table is already occupied", Sokka frowned, "and last I checked, you're not blind".

"I'm blind and even I can see that", Toph smirked.

Azula growled, "Of course I can see that, but I want this table. So you are going to have to move".

"There's plenty of free tables, Azula", I snapped, "Go bother someone else".

I watched as Ty Lee's eyes grew wide with fear. Well then, guess I now know why she tolerates Azula. She's dead scared of her. Mai also raised an eyebrow, as if suddenly interested in the conversation.

But Azula only smirked, "So what? You beat one low-life earth bender in class and suddenly you think you're better than everyone?".

How does she even know about that? The confusion must have been visible in my face, because she kept going.

"The fact that Zuzu called you the best water bender he's ever seen really makes me want to fight you", Azula said, picking her nails. "So I wouldn't provoke me, water bender", she leaned in, her voice laced with poison.

But I ignored her and instead looked over at Zuko, raising an eyebrow at him. It was clear to me that he had watched my match with Haru. From where? I had no idea. I waited for him to say something, but instead he just grunted and looked away, crossing his arms over his chest.

Azula snapped her fingers in front of my face, "I'm the one you're talking to, waterbender".

"Go away, Azula", I growled, frowning at her.

"Make me, peasant", She spat back.

"Now now, settle down children", someone said from behind Zuko, "fighting inside my tea shop is very much prohibited".

"Uncle!", Zuko exclaimed, giving the dragon of the west a big hug.

"Hello, prince Zuko", the old man said, his face full of love and warmth.

"Hello, uncle Iroh", Azula said, picking at her nails yet again.

"Azula", Iroh answered, his voice ice cold. The warmth and love that lit his eyes when looking at Zuko had turned into ice as he looked at Azula. "There are plenty of tables over there if you so desperately need a place to sit", he continued, his voice emotionless as he pointed towards the other side of the tea shop.

Azula frowned, her frustration growing. But Zuko stepped in before his sister could say anything, "Thank you so much uncle, those tables are perfect". He grabbed Mai and Ty Lee and dragged them along with him. I could have sworn that while Mai frowned at him, Ty Lee seemed to melt at Zuko's touch.

Azula sighed, giving into her uncle's death stare. "This isn't over, water bender", she smirked and then walked over to her brother and friends.

Iroh kept his deadly stare on her until she was finally sitting beside Ty Lee. He turned towards us, a warm smile spreading on his lips, "You must forgive my niece. She's..."

"A royal pain in the ass?", finished Sokka.

Iorh snorted, "That's one way to put it". He clapped his hands together, "I'll send some ginseng tea your way. On the house of course", he winked at us.

"Ginseng tea? What the hell is that?", Toph asked, making a disgusted face.

Iroh laughed, "Why yes, it's my favorite. I'm sure it will please you once you taste it, Miss Beifong".

Toph's frown turned into a shocked expression at the mention of her last name. But Iroh was long gone once she had regained her composure, and she was left wondering how exactly the old man knew her.

"Leave it up to the fire nation royals to ruin a nice outing", Suki scoffed, throwing her hands in the air.

Sokka chuckled and poured her another cup of tea, handing it over to her, "Here, this should help".

Suki blinked at him a few times, like she couldn't quite believe it, and then took the cup from his hands, "Thanks", she blushed.

Sokka gave her a charming smile and then poured a cup for himself.

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Before long we had to go back, since curfew was at 11:00 pm on weekdays and I was finally heading back to my dorm after saying goodbye to Toph and Suki, who kept stealing glances at my brother. I smiled to myself, you managed to catch yet another girl's attention, Sokka.

The water house's living room was dead silent as I entered it, most of the fires had dwindled down to tiny flames. An eery feeling crawled up my spine, making me shiver. It almost felt like I wasn't alone in here.

I scoffed, pulling my shoulders back, "Don't be silly, Katara. Of course you're alone". I gulped, and then continued towards the dorm hall.

Suddenly, a hand wrapped over my mouth, stifling my scream, while another hand pushed me against the wall, trapping me between it and the person who sneaked up on me. If this was some sort of prank Azula had come up with, she was going to pay. I frowned, I was not going to make myself an easy target. Without hesitating, I bit the person's hand.

"What the hell", the person hissed.

Wait... I recognize that voice. My attacker brought their hand up, summoning a small flame in his hand that lit up his face.

"Prince Zuko?", I asked, tilting my head in confusion. Why would Azula put him up to this?

He shook his hand, trying to ease the pain, "Maybe sneaking up on you wasn't the best idea. But then again I shouldn't be here. Also, just call me Zuko".

I crossed my arms, frowning again, "And what exactly are you doing here?".

He rubbed his neck sheepishly, "I wanted to apologize for what happened at the tea shop".

I raised a confused eyebrow at him, "But you didn't do anything".

He stepped closer, making me step back, my back colliding with the wall again, "Exactly. So I thought I could at least apologize".

I scowled, not really believing he went through all this trouble just to apologize.

Zuko sighed, "You don't believe me do you?". He took a step closer.

He was close enough for me to feel the heat of the flame in his hand. That was probably why my face felt so hot. Right? I gulped.

Zuko's eyes dropped down to the ground, "You're scared of me, aren't you? You think I'm just like Azula".

"What?", the question caught me by surprise, and so did my reaction. "I just met you, why would I think that?"

Zuko's golden eyes danced along with his flame as he looked at me. "So you don't think I'm a monster who enjoys humiliating others, thinking I'm better than them and that since I'm a royal my life is perfect?", he asked angrily, taking another step forward.

His body was inches away from mine and I could feel his hot, raged breath on my cheek. My heart beat furiously, the heat on my face becoming more intense.

"Prince- I mean, Zuko", I said softly. "Why would I think that?", I asked, tilting my head. "What you are describing to me is what I think of your sister, but just because you are related doesn't mean that you both have to be the same person. You're probably even a better person than her.", I said cautiously.

Zuko's frown eased. He blinked a couple times, like he had just snapped out of a spell and just... stared at me. The silence spread between us, and it might have been just a couple of seconds, but it felt like it went on forever. I stood, unable to move, between Zuko's arm and body and the walls and he just... stared.

Without noticing, my hand slowly went up to his scar, cupping his cheek. Who had done such a horrible thing? To my surprise, Zuko didn't flinch back or push me away, instead he leaned against my hand ever so slightly. He looked like a puppy, one who was lost and belonged nowhere, one who never got the affection he needed. A wave of sadness spread over me as I saw the vulnerable, broken boy in front of me.

One of the torches in the hall crackled, bringing Zuko back to reality. He pulled away from my touch, putting distance between us. I quickly pulled my hand away and put it behind me, clearing my throat.

"Anyway", I forced out, "apology accepted". Without meeting his eyes or saying goodbye, I started hurriedly down the hall.

"Wait!", Zuko yelled, grabbing hold of my wrist.

I turned around and Zuko jerked his hand away, like he didn't mean to touch me.

He sighed, "Can I at least know your name?".

I blinked at the question, "My... name?".

Zuko nodded.

"Uh, it's, um", I stuttered, "Katara".

A smile twitched on Zuko's lips, "Nice to meet you, Katara".

Next thing I knew, Zuko had put out his fire and I was left all alone in a barely lit dorm hall.

—————(Zuko's pov)————— 

I paced around my dorm room, having given up on sleep a long time ago. Why couldn't I stop thinking about it? You're probably even a better person than her. Her words echoed in my head. Better. No one thinks I'm better than Azula.

Azula is better at bending.

Azula is better at politics.

Azula is a better leader.

Azula is a better daughter.

Azula is better at everything.

So why did she say I was a better person than Azula? She's not the one that disgraced our family by refusing to fight against our father. She's not the one that had to regain her honor. She's not the one who struggled to fire bend.

I plopped down on my bed, pulling two fistfuls of hair in frustration. Azula is better at everything, yet this girl... Yet Katara thought I was a better. But how could I be? My own father said Azula was born lucky, and I... I was lucky to be born.

I groaned, letting myself fall back onto my mattress as I pictured Katara's intense blue eyes and how they looked at me with no ounce of fear or hate. Instinctively, my hand went to the place where she had touched my scar. Why I had let her touch it? I had no idea. I never let anyone touch my scar. Not even Mai, or Jin, the kind earth kingdom girl who I went on a few dates with. I scoffed and sat up.

Screw this. I was clearly not sleeping tonight, so I quickly pulled on my training clothes and headed out onto the field.