Loving the Hate
All standard disclaimers apply
Chapter 1:
Katara fought the urge to fall asleep, but the tan walls of her 6th period classroom were blurring into one giant brown blob. The dark lashes of her eyes fluttered, for a moment the blue of her eyes obscured.
"As you can see, the kinematics of a baseball being thrown contributes to the speed and accuracy of the ball. The man is using his third class levers when he throws the ball…."
The drone of her teacher began to sound like an annoying buzzing in her ears, constantly humming. Maybe I'll just sleep for a second… thought Katara sleepily, stifling a yawn. Unbidden, her hands slid down to the hard wooden desk beneath her, cushioning her braided head. Katara's eyelids fluttered, and then shut.
Zuko observed the pesky girl in front of him as she dozed off in science, a slight smirk lighting on his pale face. The young man thought about what he could do to her; it wasn't everyday that your classmate fell asleep in front of you. He reached inside his backpack and drew out a permanent marker, ready to do some damage.
The teacher kept on talking, focusing on some nerd on the other side of the classroom who was enough of a weakling to ask for help. He didn't abide by Zuko's laws, which were slack off on homework and in class, and ace all the tests. Zuko knew that his marks didn't reflect his intelligence, they reflected his work ethics.
When Zuko decided that the time was right, he leaned forward in his desk, amber eyes focused on the young woman in front of him, her long sleeved blue top scoop necked and simple. His body protested at the slow progression, his muscles screaming from trying to work so discreetly. A quick glance around the room proved that half the class was apparently enraptured by the "riveting" discussion that Mr. Luchers was giving, and the other half was either daydreaming or half asleep. Zuko smirked, the scar on his left eye stretching. He tended to ignore it, and knew that other people would to. Hopefully, they would remember what happened last time someone didn't.
Zuko's arm was poised in the air, marker uncapped and ready to strike. He looked at Katara's face, her cheek squished against her arm, the bracelet she was wearing probably leaving an imprint on her face. He noted that she didn't snore, an embarrassing habit that some of his friends had. With concentration etching lines on his face, Zuko lowered his hand, fingers gripping the marker tightly. Now came the hard part. If he pressed too lightly, she might be tickled and wake up, but if he pressed too hard, she'd feel it and wake up as well. Luckily, Zuko was an expert in the art of humiliation, and this happened to be one of his strong suits. With a deep breath, he lightly touched the felt tip of the black marker to her tan cheek, waiting for any sign of wakefulness. He let his breath out in a quiet sigh, and with smooth and even strokes, drew Katara a beautiful moustache to rival any old man. With a triumphant laugh, Zuko withdrew his hand and marker, and capped it. A smirk adorned his scarred face, and in his amber eyes a light shone, although Zuko didn't know it. He had hated the girl for associating herself with that cocky little bastard, Aang. Just because he accidentally (for it was purely an accident, of course) knocked Zuko out that one time….. Ugh. He didn't like to conjure up the memory, it was too painful. Finally, it was payback time, and her little jumping friend or crazy brother weren't here to help. Zuko leaned back in his chair, humming tunelessly to himself.
A warm presence surrounded Katara, heating her to her very bones. The young woman shivered, eyes tightly closed against the heat. A roughly calloused thumb stroked across her cheeks, making swirls on her cheekbones. A deep voice laughed, and Katara's mouth turned upward at the sound. The touch went away, and she began to frown again, missing the ethereal presence on her face. The girl sat up, opening her eyes slightly, but only saw a glimpse of gold.
Katara was swimming hard, reaching for the wall that she knew had to be there sometime, she had finished her flip turn ages ago, and there was only a lap to go. It's strange. thought Katara as her arms pushed the water behind her, and her feet kicked. No cheering…. Katara's arms and legs found a rhythm, and her head broke the surface to breathe, her stroke never changing. She could see the wall, she was approaching, she was going to win--------
Katara sat up straight in her desk, her breathing ragged and irregular. Bursts of laughter greeted her ears as she awoke, making her tan cheeks redden in humiliation. Worst of all was that the only one who was laughing was her enemy, Zuko. Katara turned in her seat, wondering for the fifteen thousandth time why he had chosen to sit behind her. To humiliate me, she thought firmly.
She knew something was wrong as soon as she turned around, for the look in his eyes had changed, his eyes turning a lighter shade of ochre. Immediately, the young woman fished in her bag, blue eyes still locked on gold ones. "There it is," muttered Katara to herself as she broke the stare down with Zuko and popped open her compact mirror.
A loud and shrill squeak reached her ears, and Katara's fingers dropped the compact, forgotten. A stream of curses she probably shouldn't have known came out, too, but these were much quieter. Before she had dropped the mirror, Katara had caught a glimpse of a moustache drawn on her cheeks, curled and perfect. The young woman was practically sweating with anger, her blue eyes hardening to the color of ice. "Zuko!!!" she whisper-screamed at the young man, noting the fact that the teacher had realized she lived once she had screeched. "You know that just because I associate with nice people like Aang and Sokka and not filth like you doesn't mean you have to throw a little temper tantrum on my face." Katara had controlled her anger, getting ready to throw herself headlong into a battle.
The young man's face reddened slightly, but before he could fire back a comeback, the bell rang, sending them to 7th period.
"If you want a temper tantrum, I'll give you one to remember." said Zuko, not even sure what he was saying before the words were out.
"You're on."
A/N: Wellll………. Hey, it's a work in progress, but it came to me on a ride to the library. I have great plans for this fic…… Please review, and hopefully you'll read it first! I'd love to hear help and editing comments, but if you hate it, tell me why and what I can do to change it…..
Love y'all!
Su-Su