Chapter Text
Katara was bored.
She leaned against the counter at her local Barnes and Noble’s Starbucks, staring at the clock on the wall. It was only 4:30 and she got off at 6. Not what she wanted to be doing on a Thursday afternoon.
Sighing, she pushed herself off the counter and began pacing behind the counter.
“Girl, if you pace any more, I just might go crazy,” said her coworker, Yue, watching her walk back and forth.
Katara bit the nail on her thumb. “I know that.”
“Then stop pacing,” teased Yue. “Looks like we got someone, you’re up.”
Katara shot Yue a disgruntled look and made her way to the register. Standing behind the counter, squinting at the menu, was a boy around her age wearing a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder, and a textbook in his hand. Katara couldn’t help notice the scar that covered the left side of his face. She recognized him from school, but if he recognized her, he made no inclination.
“Can I help you?” asked Katara, putting on her best customer service voice.
“Uh, yeah,” said the boy, finally looking at Katara, “could I just have a grande black tea please?”
Katara rang in the tea. “Anything else?”
The boy shook his head.
“Okay, that will be $2.65,” she replied, ringing in the order. He handed her a $5 bill, which she put in the register. He placed the change in the tip jar.
“Thanks,” he mumbled and he made his way to a table while he waited for his tea.
Yue made the tea and placed it on the counter, yelling, “One grande black tea!”
The boy got up and grabbed his tea and sat back down. Katara watched him as he dug around in his backpack and pulled out a notebook. He got to work, drinking his tea every once in a while.
“Now that, is one hot guy,” whispered Yue, sneaking up on Katara.
Katara rolled her eyes. “Come on, Yue, you can’t say that about a customer.”
Yue shrugged and got back to work. Katara glanced back at the boy. She had to agree with Yue: he was pretty cute. Yue went to an all girl’s school a few towns over, so any chance she got to interact with a cute guy was one Yue usually took. She even dated Katara’s brother, Sokka, for a bit, but Yue ended it. Following Yue’s lead, Katara got back to work. She took customers when they came, washed the counters, and organized the display.
“Katara, do you mind just wiping down the tables before you leave?” her manager asked.
She nodded and grabbed the spray bottle and a clean rag from the back room. Slowly, she made her way around the sitting area. The only table that was taken was the one with the boy from earlier, who was still working. She was finally at the table next to him, debating on saying something when he looked up at her.
“You’re Sokka’s little sister, right?” he asked her. She was taken aback.
“Y-yeah, I am,” she replied. “How do you know?”
The boy shrugged. “You guys look alike. He’s in a few of my classes.”
“Ah,” she exclaimed, “that really clears things up.”
He smirked. “I’m Zuko, by the way.”
“Katara.”
“It was nice to officially meet you,” he told her. Then he turned his attention back to his textbook.
“You too,” she mumbled. She walked away, depositing the cleaning supplies in the back room.
Yue walked up behind, a grin on her face. “Girl, I saw you talking to him. Spill. ”
“He knows Sokka through classes. His name is Zuko,” Katara replied, shrugging.
“That’s it ?” Yue pouted. “Nothing else?”
“Yue, what else do you want?” Katara snapped. “Just because a cute stranger walks in doesn’t mean anything is going to happen.”
“Aha! So you admit it,” said Yue triumphantly, “you think he’s cute!”
“ That’s what you got from that?”
Yue smirked. “Come on, we still have work to do.”
Katara followed Yue to the front, noticing the boy, Zuko, packing up his backpack. Before he left, he went to the counter.
“It was nice to meet you Katara. See you around,” he said to Katara who was mopping the floor.
”Yeah, see you around,” she replied
He waved and walked out of the Starbucks and back into Barnes and Noble. Katara stared after him.
“What was that?” she asked Yue who was cleaning the machines before the next shift came in.
Yue watched after Zuko as well. “A boy who’s into you?”
Katara scoffed and continued mopping. At 6:00, her replacement came in and she clocked out. She waved at Yue who still had another hour of her shift to go, and walked out. She undid her apron and rummaged through her bag for her keys and her phone. Getting into the car, she plugged her phone into the phone jack and opened up Spotify. The soft guitars of Halsey’s Finally // Beautiful Stranger began to fill the car. Katara raised the volume and began her drive home. She sang along to the song, beating her fingers against the steering wheel.
Fifteen minutes later, Katara pulled up to her house, parking as close to the curb as she could. She grabbed her stuff and got out.
“I’m home,” she yelled, throwing her bag on the ground. She went into the kitchen where Gran Gran was heating up leftovers. She gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Hi, Gran Gran. What’s this?”
“Hello, my darling,” replied Gran Gran, “shepherd's pie for dinner. I hope it’s okay it’s not as fresh.”
Katara took the now warm plate from Gran Gran and went to the kitchen table to eat. “This is great, Gran Gran, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, kissing the top of Katara’s head. “How was work?”
Katara shrugged as she ate. “Work.”
Gran Gran chuckled. “Work, huh? Okay, well, I’ll be in the next room. Make sure you do clean your plate before homework.”
Katara nodded as Gran Gran shuffled into the small living room. She ate quickly and washed the dish, placing it in the drying rack along with the others. She made her way to her bedroom, passing Sokka’s on the way there.
“Hey, Sokka,” said Katara, popping her head into her brother’s room. “I’ve got a question for you.”
Sokka spun around in his desk chair to face her. She saw his computer open to his AP Physics GoogleClassroom. “I got a big test tomorrow, but what’s up?”
“Uh, do you know a Zuko?”
“Hmm,” replied Sokka, thoughtfully. He leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin. “Lanky, black shaggy hair, with a scar on his face?”
Katara winced. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“Yep, I know him. He’s in my AP Physics class and my Calc class. He’s, like, wicked smart. Why?”
“Oh, he just came into the store today, that’s all. He said he knew you.”
“Huh, yeah we know each other. I mean, we’re friendly, but we’re not uber close, you know?” Sokka shrugged and turned back around, opening up a study guide. “Now go away, I need to study.”
Katara stuck her tongue out at Sokka’s head and made her way to her room. He heard Sokka in his room talking, meaning he FaceTimed his girlfriend, Suki, as soon as she left.
Sighing, she pulled out her own homework and got to work, trying not to think of Zuko and their weird interaction.