Chapter Text
Running through the hallways, already late on her first day, Katara runs into her history class hoping to find a seat. Most of the class already filled up, she tiredly walks over to the first empty seat she sees. She doesn’t even notice the person sitting next to her. As she catches her breath tired from all that running she hears someone snort beside her. Snapping her neck to look at the person laughing at her she realizes just who he is. Looking at the boy beside her in shock she quickly gets up and out of her seat trying to find a new one only to see all of them are taken.
“Looks like you’re stuck with me ‘Tara.” he smirks. Katara angrily sits beside him reminding herself to yell at Sokka for making her late. Class begins shortly after, Katara already trying to forget the boy sitting next to her. She wishes she had switched classes when she had a chance.
As their teacher kept going on and on about what the class was about, she turned to look at the boy next to her. He had gotten taller since the last time they had spoken, and looked better too. He had this stupid scowl on his face, the same scowl he would get whenever he was trying to focus on something. The boy sitting next to her shifted under her gaze and she quickly turned back as soon as their eyes met.
“Before all of you go, please remember that wherever you are seated will be permanent and you will be working with the person next to you for your final assignment.” Katara hears her teacher speak right before the bell rings. Packing up her stuff and making her way to the front to speak to her teacher she notices the boy doing the same.
“Before the two of you start, I won’t be allowing you to switch seats so I suggest you suck it up and let it go,” he says as he shows them the door.
As soon as they make it out the door Katara grabs the boy by his arm. “You couldn’t have sat anywhere else?” she angrily whispers.
“Hey, if I remember correctly you came in after me, so you could have sat somewhere else, don’t blame everything on me ‘tara” he lets out before pushing her hand off of him and turning away.
“Don’t call me that!” She yells after him before walking off to her next class.
*****
“ I can’t believe you didn’t even notice he was sitting beside you.” Suki laughed sliding in beside her with a tray.
“I was tired, and it’s not my fault I was late for class, Sokka just had to stop for a burger. Who eats a burger for breakfast!?” Katara argues glaring at her brother who didn’t seem to be paying attention.
The two girls follow his gaze to Yue laughing at something Jet had said. Yue and Sokka had broken up a month ago and not even a week later Yue was with Jet. It had broken his heart and he had still not gotten over it.
“Sokka, I know you’re still upset about what happened, but you have got to stop staring. Staring won’t bring her back.” Suki whispers to him.
“Suki, I know you’re trying to help me, but you don’t know what it’s like to go from not being able to go a day without talking to them to people who don’t even acknowledge each other in the hallways,” Sokka whispered angrily before storming off.
“You didn’t say anything wrong, Suki, he’s just still a little fragile after everything that happened,” Katara said, rubbing Suki's back. Suki had had a crush on Sokka since they were kids, she had tried to get over it when Sokka had started dating Yue but it never really went away.
“The greatest person in the world has arrived, your lives just got better!” Toph announces as Aang and her slide onto the bench in front of them.
“Why did I just see Sokka angrily stomping down the hallway?” Aang said while stuffing his face.
“That was Sokka, I thought it was a saber-tooth moose lion,” Toph exclaimed with her mouth full. For a rich girl, she had some questionable mannerisms but she couldn’t be blamed for that. It wasn’t her fault.
“He got angry at Suki because she told him that he shouldn’t waste his time staring at Yue,” Katara replied ignoring Toph’s comment.
“Moving on, guess who Katara is stuck beside for the rest of the semester. I’ll give you a hint, his name starts with a Z and ends with an uko.” Suki says in a singsong voice hoping to move the conversation onto someone else.
“Zuko, No way! How are you in the same class as him anyway, he’s like a year older.” Aang gasped. Aang had always liked Zuko, he had seen him as an older brother. When Zuko stopped talking to them he had been devastated.
“Speak of the devil, look who just walked in” Suki nodded over to the cafeteria entrance. There he was, walking with his sister and her friends. Azula had her arm draped over Ty Lee and Mai looked bored as usual. Zuko was wearing his signature scowl.
“I should probably go, my next class starts soon.” She spoke getting out of her seat and walking out the door. She didn’t want to see more of Zuko than she already had to. He was like a mosquito, annoying. She couldn’t believe that at one point in her life she couldn’t go a day without speaking to him. In a way, she knew how Sokka felt about losing Yue because she had felt like that when she lost Zuko all those years ago.
*****
“I can’t believe Sokka’s still upset, I just want what’s best for him,” Suki says as she finishes her ice cream. Suki had been living with them since they started high school. Her parents had died when she was 13, which left Katara’s family to take care of her since their parents were best friends.
“Sokka will come around Suks, in the meantime, I think we should give him space and let him come around.” Katara knew her brother, he’d be bouncing off the walls by the morning, waiting for breakfast.
“So what are you going to do about Zuko?”
“Nothing, I’ll just have to get through it.” Katara did not want to get through it, she hated him more than anything in the world. She hated him for leaving her. That stupid entitled prince had gotten into her head again, and this time he wouldn’t get out.
“We need to take Toph with us to the spa next time, she needs a break and I think a trip to the spa will be perfect,” Suki says trying to change the conversation. She sensed that talking about Zuko was a sore subject.
“Toph and spa don't go together, she’d try to kill whoever touches her feet.” Katara laughed. Maybe a day at the spa could get him out of her head.
*****
The sound of giggling filled her ears. The smell of fire lilies and lotuses filled the air. A 9 year old Katara sat in front of the turtle duck pond in the fire nation palace. A 10 year old Zuko next to her. Her brother in the distance trying to show Lu Ten that he could eat more than him. Zuko was holding a baby turtle duck in his, he loved sitting the turtle ducks.
“What did you name it?” She asked curiously. Zuko made a sound that sounded somewhat like a huff before replying.
“Bird,” he replied looking proud.
“Bird!” Katara exclaimed looking at him. His face became flushed and he looked away. Katara burst out into giggles. Zuko looked embarrassed and Katara stopped laughing, feeling bad that she had made fun of him. A second later Zuko started laughing as well, making her laugh again.
Sokka stomped over thinking Zuko was flirting with his baby sister. He started arguing with Zuko, demanding answers. Zuko got up putting the turtle duck he was holding back into the pond and letting it swim back to its mother. Sokka was still yelling behind him.
As Sokka pops up in front of Zuko once again. Zuko and his lack of patience got to him, and in a matter of seconds, Sokka was in the turtle duck pond. Zuko grabbed Katara’s hand and they ran leaving an angry Sokka behind. Lu Ten and Iroh rush to help Sokka out of the pond.
Zuko and Katara made it to the roof of the palace, they had made it into their spot. Whenever they needed a break or just wanted a place to talk they would go there. Zuko led her over to the cushions they had laid out from the previous times they had come up there.
“Sokka is going to kill us,” Katara said, trying to catch her breath. Sokka would probably be angry for a while and then eventually get carried away by the thought of food.
“He’ll get over it, while we wait for him to cool down, want to hear a story?” Zuko replied. He was an amazing storyteller and she loved how carried away he would get whenever he would tell her stories.
“Only if you let me braid your hair.” She replied. She loved doing Zuko’s hair, he loved when she did his hair as well. Sometimes she would put little beads in his hair just like she would put in hers.
“Of course ‘Tara, I would love that” he replied and moved to sit in front of her. He started telling her a story about people who could turn into dragons as she started braiding his hair. It was one of his favourite stories.
They spent the rest of the day up there, sharing stories and doing each other's hair. It was dark when their mothers found them. They scolded them for running off all day and not telling them where they went. Zuko was scolded for pushing Sokka into the turtle duck pond. The young boy had been pouting for most of the day before their mother had given him some fire flakes.
They quickly ate their dinner before begging their mothers to let them sleep on the roof. They often would fall asleep on the roof while looking at the stars. They had allowed it and they both ran to the roof.
They talked under the stars till they fell asleep in each other's arms.
*****
Katara woke from her slumber, Suki still asleep. She had dreamt of a memory, but if you had asked her, she had a nightmare about a memory. She got ready for the day, remembering that she had to see him as soon as she got to school.
She walked over to Suki shaking her awake. Katara would not be late again. Suki woke up fairly quickly and got ready before they went for breakfast. Sokka was surprisingly already there, his mouth full of seal jerky.
Suki took her normal seat beside him and he looked at her with a sorry face. He knew he had messed up when he had gotten mad at her.
“Sorry for yesterday, you were right.” He whispered, handing her some seal jerky.
“It’s all right Sokka, I shouldn’t have said that, you need time to get over her,” Suki whispered back. They shared a smile before Sokka started eating again.
Their dad stood at the stove making more jerky. He pushed over some juice to the two girls before getting back to cooking.
“So dad when are you going to tell them about dinner this Friday?” Sokka said over the sound of the jerky sizzling.
“News? What news?” Katara asked before taking a sip of her juice.
“Well I’m sure you remember Zuko and Azula’s family, well they will be joining us for dinner this Friday.” their dad spoke. Katara spits out her juice in shock. All of it landed on Sokka, making him yelp.
“Sorry Sokka,” she said before continuing “Here, as in at our house and not somewhere else?” She asked in shock. Her father nodded while placing some jerky on her plate.
That annoying scowly prince had taken over her life once again. He had crawled into her life and it looked like he had planned on staying. He wasn’t going to get the chance to break her heart again, she wouldn’t let him.