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Katara yelped, her teeth clacking together as the truck went over yet another bump in the muddy gravel road. In her peripheral vision, she saw Jet wince, his grip on the wheel tightening.
"Sorry," he said. "I'll try go easier."
"It's fine," Katara said, shifting to more easily brace for impact. "How far is it?"
"Two more turns. Couple miles. We'll be there in no time."
Katara hoped he was right. She wasn't sure her tailbone would survive another bump.
Jet turned left after another mile, onto a road (which was thankfully paved) that wound through another few miles of open field; after one more turn onto a narrower road, Katara could see a long dark line through the middle of the field.
"Are those the tracks?"
Jet smiled. "Yeah, our town's biggest claim to popularity," he said. "What do you think? Want a closer look?"
Katara hesitated. "We could get in trouble, couldn't we? That's a farmer's field, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but it'll be fine, I come here all the time. Nobody's gonna see us, I doubt they have cameras or something in the middle of nowhere. Come on, it'll be fun."
The playful smile accompanying Jet's words was enough. What the heck.
"Alright," Katara said. "Let's go."
They were just in time for the next train to approach. Up as close as they were, you could almost feel the wind from the passing trains messing up your hair. The early summer breeze carried over the scent of the pine trees on the neighboring property.
Jet climbed up on the tailgate and pulled Katara up after him. Her eyes were alight with excitement — Jet wondered if she got out much besides school.
(Not in a mean way. It wasn't like there was much to get out for around here.)
As Katara sat down, Jet dragged the cooler over. "Want something to drink while we watch?" he asked, popping it open. She leaned over and looked over the bottles floating in the almost-entirely-melted ice water appraisingly before pulling out a grape Crush. Jet toasted her with his root beer before taking a drink, receiving a fond roll of her pretty brown eyes as she took a sip.
Soon, they could hear the rumble of the train approaching on the tracks. Katara smiled, leaning forward eagerly to see. Jet watched her; he'd seen the trains about a hundred times, but he didn't know if he'd ever seen Katara this enthusiastic. With the moonlight shining on her hair and the smile on her face, she looked...radiant.
The train passed by slowly. Katara didn't lose her smile, but did seem to relax. She shivered as a breeze blew by, rubbing her upper arms.
"Cold?" Jet asked, already pulling off his jacket. She looked over, nodding slightly. He draped it around her shoulders, stopping himself before he could do something stupid and over-the-line like run his hand through her hair or kiss her forehead.
"Thanks," Katara said, smiling. She scooched closer, leaning on his shoulder. "It's a really nice night," she remarked, looking up at the stars. He smiled, looking up.
"It is," he agreed. "Y'know —"
He broke off at the sound of sirens. Katara turned, peering around the cab of the truck. Jet watched the field behind them as the police car sped down the road.
"Wonder what they're after."
Sokka's going to murder me, Jet thought, watching anxiously as the officer tightened the cuffs around Katara's wrists.
"Please, officer," she said, batting her eyes like a professional, "we didn't know. I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding."
"The only misunderstanding is your misunderstanding of the law, young lady." The officer guided Katara toward the cruiser, nodding to his colleague who did the same with Jet.
"What about the truck, sir?" Katara asked.
"We'll have someone drive it to the station."
Jet didn't like the idea of one of these pigs handling his truck. Then again, he'd honestly be impressed if they could figure out how to start it.
The backseat of the cruiser didn't allow for a lot of movement. Jet was shoulder-to-shoulder with Katara, close enough to smell the blueberry scent of her hair. She seemed completely unfazed — Jet didn't know if he was more impressed or concerned.
"Hey, you got a lighter?" she asked, leaning over the front seat and addressing the cop in the driver's seat. He glared at her.
"You don't smoke," Jet whispered when she sat back in her seat, grinning.
"I know," she said. Jet laughed, ignoring the glare the other officer gave him.
As Jet looked at Katara, he found he couldn't look away, something about the excitement still shining in her eyes drawing him back to her every time he tried.
"You know, you're gonna be in a lot of trouble," Jet said. "Sokka's gonna be pissed."
She smiled. "Only if he has to bail us out. We could always run — that'd be a fun story."
Jet laughed again. She just smiled back.
The police department was just a tiny little building with a couple of cells. Katara and Jet were seated on a bench across from the desk, watching as the officer filled out paperwork.
She rolled her eyes, leaning back on the wall behind her and looking over at Jet. He looked back, smiling.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," she replied, unable to contain a giggle. "Exciting night, isn't it?"
"No kidding."
The officer strolled over and unlocked her cuffs, escorting her to the desk. "Could you write down your parents' number?"
She frowned and wrote down the number for the home phone. Six years living in this town, going to school and volunteering and Sokka working, and everyone still said 'parents', as if the whole county didn't know about the widowed Alaskan guy and his mom who were raising those misbehaving kids. She sat back in the chair, waiting as he dialed the number.
"Hello? Yes. This is Officer Carmichael. Yes. Well, we picked up Katara and a friend of hers — trespassing. Mhm. We can release her to you if you'll take her straight home. Yes, that's typically how we do things here. No. Yes. Thank you."
The officer hung up. Katara sighed as she was escorted back to the bench and sat down next to Jet.
"Are your guardians gonna pick you up?" she asked.
"Cam and Sydney are out of town again. I'll be fine, I guess I'm getting a ride home in the morning."
Katara frowned. "I'm not just gonna leave you in here. "
Katara laid her hand on his arm. "It's okay. Look, we'll get you out of here, and Gran-Gran can give you a ride home. She's not gonna be mad at you."
It was not Gran-Gran who showed up at the station. Sokka showed up alone, fuming. He spoke to the officers without saying a word to either Katara or Jet.
The moment they all got out to the parking lot, he let loose.
"Are you crazy, Katara!? Sneaking out? Getting arrested? What were you thinking?" he demanded, fury written in every line of his face. Maybe it was the adrenaline high that hadn't worn off, but Katara wasn't taking it.
"You don't control my life, Sokka! And it's not my fault we got arrested!"
"You're right," Sokka snapped, glaring at Jet. Katara stepped between them.
"It's not Jet's fault, either. It was just bad luck that someone saw us."
"Right. It's never Jet's fault, is it? Just like the speeding ticket wasn't his fault either," he said, glaring daggers at Jet. Any other time, she might have tried to change the subject, but right now? Right now she was pissed.
"You know what, Sokka? You can just stop. Right now. No, this wasn't Jet's fault, and no, neither was the speeding ticket, since someone took out the speed limit sign almost a month ago — I wonder who that could be?" she said sarcastically. "He was barely five over the limit, unlike you when you crashed the van!"
"The brakes went out!" Sokka defended, his voice cracking. "And anyway, it doesn't matter! Jet's too much trouble for you, Katara. I didn't even know you were gone! What's Dad gonna think when he hears about this?"
"Dad's been arrested plenty of times." Katara crossed her arms, glaring at her brother.
"For protesting, not stupid, reckless petty crime!"
"How were we supposed to know it was a private field? It's not like they had signs up!" Katara stomped her foot, growling in frustration. "Urgh! You know what? I'm done with this." She turned around, grabbing Jet's arm and walking off.
"Where are you going?" Sokka demanded. "Get back here!"
"No! Jet's driving me home."
"Like hell he is! If you get in that truck —"
"You'll do what? Tell Dad? He isn't here!" Katara snapped, turning around. "And you're not him, so stop trying to act like him! He wouldn't yell at me when I haven't done anything wrong! He wouldn't try to keep me away from my friend, from someone who understands me!"
Katara didn't realize she was crying until a tear dripped off Mom's necklace, hitting her collarbone and sending a chill through her despite the summer air. She rubbed her eyes, and Jet put a hand on her shoulder. When she looked up at Sokka, he was staring at her, crestfallen.
Immediately, she felt awful, but she couldn't make her mouth form an apology. Sokka's expression closed off, and he took a step away, looking up at Jet.
"Take her straight home, you hear me? If you're not there when I get back..."
"I get it," Jet said. "Come on, Katara."
She sniffled, following him back to his truck, and buckled in quietly. As Jet started the engine, she looked out the window, watching Sokka walk off into the night.
"I'm sorry, Katara," Jet said softly. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
"It's fine," she sniffed, rubbing her eyes. "I'm just — I'm so mad at him. Tonight was the first time I've really gotten to hang out with you without Sokka being all rude and now..."
"He shouldn't try to control you," Jet said. "But I don't wanna come between you. You're lucky to have someone like him looking out for you."
Katara scoffed. "Yeah, helicopter sibling of the year..."
"I mean it." Jet's voice was surprisingly serious, and when she looked over there was an earnest expression on his face. "You should be thankful there's someone tryin' to keep you safe."
Katara remembered what Jet had told her about his home life — how his legal guardians were out of town a lot or always had unsavory types around. How he had to take care of the neighborhood kids, to make money but also because a lot of them were in the same situation. How he'd lost both of his parents and spent a year passed around from place to place until the authorities were able to track down Sydney. How, even though he was one of the only people outside family who really understood the pain Katara still felt from Mom's death, there was one important difference: she had Sokka. Ever since the beginning, she'd always had her big brother in her corner to protect her from the cruelty the world could hand out.
She realized she was crying again when Jet reached over and wiped a tear away; she sniffed, drying her face with the sleeve of his jacket, which was still around her shoulders.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. It's okay." Jet tucked her hair behind her ear. "Are you gonna be okay?"
Sniffing one more time, she nodded. "Come on, let's go home."
Jet put the truck in gear, and they spent the ride home in silence.
Sokka wasn't home yet when they got there. Jet helped Katara out of the truck — Katara might have complained, if the door hadn't actually been impossible to open from the inside. Always something with that truck...
Before Jet could get back in the driver's seat, Katara grabbed his hand.
"I really...did...enjoy tonight," she said, doing her best to smile. Jet returned the smile hesitantly.
"So did I," he said.
"Maybe we could do it again? Somewhere less illegal?" she suggested, her heart picking up speed. Jet chuckled.
"I'd like to. If you're not grounded for the next century."
She smiled. "I'll call and let you know."
"I look forward to it." Jet squeezed her hand and started to move toward the truck. Taking a leap of faith, Katara moved in quickly and kissed his cheek.
In the glow of the porch light, she saw his face flush, and a smile crept onto his face.
"See you around," he said, kissing the back of her hand before getting in the truck.
She smiled and ran inside the house as the truck pulled out of the driveway.
The house was...dark. Was Gran-Gran asleep? That was weird, Katara would have at least expected a 'We'll talk in the morning'. For her to just go to sleep...Katara couldn't pretend that didn't hurt a little, but she tried not to worry about it. She sat down in the living room to wait.
When Sokka came in, he was quiet, sitting down in a chair far from hers and resting his head in his hands.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly; he made a quiet noise of surprise, looking up. "I shouldn't have brought up Dad. I know how him being gone hurts you. And I shouldn't have snuck out and worried you."
Sokka scoffed. "No. You shouldn't have."
"And you shouldn't have yelled at me or Jet," she continued. Sokka made a squawky sound, and she motioned for him to keep his voice down. "I know you were upset, and worried, but that doesn't mean you can just blame us for it. Jet said he goes to that field all the time and never gets in trouble. It was just bad luck that we got spotted."
Sokka rolled his eyes. "Still — you know I don't like him. He's too reckless and he's gonna get in serious trouble one of these days. I don't want you getting mixed up in it."
"I can handle myself, Sokka, I'm not a little girl," Katara said, her frustration leaking out in her tone. "You can't keep me safe from everything. I trust Jet, and if he breaks that trust I'll deal with it. And until then, could you just...be civil?"
Sokka went quiet, frowning. Katara sighed.
"You know, he said I'm lucky to have you to look out for me." She looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. "He doesn't have anyone looking out for him. And he looks out for so many people — people he never lets get hurt. If he were that untrustworthy —"
"Fine." Sokka stood up. "I'll be civil, but if he steps out of line and gets you hurt —"
"Believe me, I'll handle it myself." Katara crossed her arms. "I'm capable of handling my own problems, you know that."
Sokka sighed. "Yeah. I know. I'll back off and respect your decision or whatever. But no more sneaking out, okay? I don't want any more surprise arrests."
Katara smiled and stood up, hugging him. "Thank you."
"Uh-huh." Sokka patted her head awkwardly. "No problem. Now —" he grabbed her shoulders, pushing her to arm's length. "Go to bed, we don't need Gran-Gran getting suspicious when you're all sleep-deprived in the morning."
It wasn't until Katara was brushing her teeth that she realized what that meant. She finished getting ready, and as soon as she reached her room she grabbed her laptop.
Sokka was putting the finishing touches on his Physics essay when a quiet pop! in the background alerted him to a new email. Raising an eyebrow, he clicked on the notification.
From: [email protected]
Subject: <3
Somewhat bemused and foreboding, he opened the message.
Thank you for not telling. I owe you one.
Sokka smiled. Clicking reply, he typed up his own message.
You sure do.
On an unrelated note, Gran-Gran's making berry pancakes tomorrow, any chance you're feeling generous, maybe considering sleeping in?
Love, your favorite brother
There was a sound of furious typing in the other room, and in less than a minute he had a reply.
You can have those pancakes over my dead body, dipstick.
Kind regards, The Better Sibling
Sokka smiled and shook his head, closing the tab and finishing up his essay. Sisters.
