Chapter Three-Some Things Never Change

KATARA

Just as predicted, everything went as planned. Well, almost everything, and that's not including the fact that Aang was late to class, whatever THAT was about. I'm going to be honest when I say that I hadn't expected Aang's eyes to be so lovely and…mysterious. That may sound like the worst word ever to describe eyes, but I swear that's how they looked. Even though the rest of him was nothing too spectacular to look at, his eyes were undeniably…hot. Not even I, who am still strongly against the whole dating-Aang thing, can deny grey eyes are hot. Before you go thinking that the rest of Aang was ugly though, note that I said 'nothing too spectacular'. His face was perfectly proportioned and all, no big nose or anything, but he wasn't devastatingly handsome like Jet had been before I saw him through different eyes. I didn't know how to describe it, but how about we all agree that he looked normal, puberty had been kind to him, and leave it at that?

I should mention that our scheme earned Aang a fan girl. You remember how On Ji had tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention? Well, she later admitted to me that she thought he was super cute and that if I didn't want him, could she have him. I told her to have at it because I didn't care. My goal was to get him to ask me to Freshman Dance as friends and be just friends after that. Romance was out of the question.

Maybe you're letting your hurt feelings get in the way, my mind told me, you know Aang is a decent guy and you were really close to him at one point. If you just gave him a chance and looked at him differently…

My thoughts were cut short after that because I knew it was just the thought of his eyes and not him as a whole that made me think those things. It was wise to cut them short before I made the unwise decision to believe them.

~****~

Sokka and I bonded over some Lucky Charms the following morning and we ate in semi-darkness as Gran-Gran napped on the couch. Caring for the two of us must wear her out.

"Physics is the best subject EVER! I can't wait for the practicum," he told me as he fished for marshmallows. I scrunched my nose in disgust.

"I hate to disagree, Sokka, but Physics is awful," I said, chewing my cereal.

"You only hate it because you're terrible at it," he retorted, grinning smugly at me from across the table. I flung a rainbow marshmallow at his head where it attached to his cheek due to its stickiness from the milk. He plucked it off and ate it.

"Well, you only like it because you're…good at it!" I snapped, trying to sound angry, but I was grinning.

"Exactly."

"…I despise you."

"Love you too."

That was how our morning usually went, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Our arguments were usually all just to poke fun; siblings do that as a statement of love.

Getting to more important things though, last night, Suki called me again to tell me the next order of business: talking to Aang.

Well, that shouldn't be too hard. All I have to do is say the right words and WA-LA, a conversation. We had history, so this was going to be a piece of cake. Or, so I thought.

Aang was nowhere to be found the next morning and a feeling in my gut told me that it had something to do with whatever had made him late to math yesterday. Maybe this was why I never realized he was so close to me all this time-he was constantly missing! Frowning, I blew a loose strand of hair from my face and went looking for Toph instead. I always knew where to find her, and that was in the cafeteria. I swear the girl loves food as much as my brother does, and that's saying something.

Sure enough, Toph was arm wrestling Hide, one of the football players, while casually eating a raspberry danish. She didn't even look like she was putting forth the slightest amount of effort while Hide was using both hands to try and win.

"Sup, Sugar Queen?" she greeted when I was close enough to hear her. Her voice was even instead of laced with strain as I had expected.

"That's disturbing, Toph."

"What's disturbing?"

"You're not even trying! How is that even possible?! I mean, for God's sake, Hide's on the football team!" I exclaimed. I didn't get an explaination, only a To further confuse me, Toph slammed both Hide's hands down with a bang and popped the rest of the danish into her mouth.

"Catch you pansies later," she said with a smirk making Hide scowl. The two of us walked out of the cafeteria, my brain hurting from seeing Toph defy the laws of nature, leaving him and his friends to wallow in their humiliating loss.

"How's the whole Aang-thing going?" she asked once we were in the crowded hallways. Although the question was a gesture of good intention, it made me angry. I angled my shoulders forward in frustration and glared at nothing in particular.

"Horrible. I can't find Aang anywhere," I told her, throwing my hands up in exasperation.

"Hmmm. Funny. I would have thought you wouldn't care so much. Or are you just THAT desperate to get a date?" Her grin was aggravating and if I didn't know any better, I would've socked her in the arm as punishment for my discomfort. It wasn't like that; I wasn't using him… was I?

"Quit it, Toph," I grumbled, unwilling to think about it in fear I might discover I was doing wrong here.

She was still grinning evilly in victory when suddenly, she stopped dead and glared murderously at someone. I followed her gaze to find she was staring death at Shoji. Apparently, he caught sight of her too because he yelped in horror and backpedaled quickly, tripping over someone in the process. He managed to scramble to his feet just in time, running for his life as Toph charged after him yelling,

"YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET THE DAY YOU DROPPED THAT DUMBBELL ON MY FOOT!!!"

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!!" I heard his fading voice cry.

I didn't know it at that moment, but I was glad that Toph had ran after the poor kid later, (Toph usually accompanied me to math before she ran off to English) because as I was traveling to math class, I heard some kind of whine come from that teeny tiny little storage closet in the B hallway. Thinking that I had imagined it, I just kept walking, but I heard it again, accompanied by something that sounded like coughing. Whoever was in there was in trouble and I quickly rushed over to the door, trying the handle. I should've known it would be locked. I pulled one of my bobby pins out and jammed it into the keyhole, twisting it, hoping I could be helpful to the trapped person.

People were already in class at this point, but the bell hadn't rung yet. I still had a minute or so. Finally, miraculously, the lock clicked open and I nearly ripped the door off its hinges as I opened it. A box of light from the hallway revealed Aang, shivering on the floor, arms wrapped around his middle, kneeling and bent over so his forehead touched the tile. He was breathing funny, like in some kind of choked sob. There weren't any tears, but he looked close to them.

Knowing exactly what to do, I ran up to him, grabbed him around his torso and pulled him out into the hall. I distantly heard the bell ring, but at this point, I considered myself excused from class. I didn't even realize what I was doing as I kneeled beside him and unraveled him so he could breathe properly.

"Deep breaths, Aang," I urged him. "You're out now." That was what I used to tell him when this happened. I had been there during the time he accidentally locked himself in that towel closet and the time he had been so afraid to get construction paper from the art closet, the teacher had to call his parents to tell them their son refused to come out of the corner. I knew better than anyone about his phobia besides his parents who…weren't around anymore. A sudden pang of grief went through me as I looked at Aang who was sitting and had his elbows on his knees, his palms pressing into his eyes.

He doesn't deserve this, I thought. What I meant was, he didn't deserve the misery he probably felt. I made a vow to kick whoever had stuck him in there's butt, only to wonder where these protective feelings were coming from.

When he calmed down enough to speak, he smiled weakly at me and said, "Just like old times, huh?"

I believe it was somewhere in this moment that I realized what had really just happened; I pretty much went superhero and dragged the guy I was supposed to be slowly rebuilding my friendship with out of a storage closet and was kneeling beside him in a space that could easily be classified as his personal bubble. I may have just skipped right on to step twelve of the plan.

"Yeah…" I replied. My voice was airy and confused. Against my will, I was smiling at him now. "I missed those days." (WHOA. Back up a second. Did I REALLY just say that…?)

He blinked at me.

"Me too. I…I thought you forgot," he said, his eyes alight with some kind of hope.

Well, that answered that. I'd said it.

"I wouldn't forget," I replied without thinking. (Where were these words coming from?!)

I didn't understand it! Conversation was coming to me easier than I thought, and I thought it'd be pretty easy, but not only was I conversing with him, I was talking to him on a personal level.

It came to me then that Aang had a power over me that I didn't realize was there when he handed me that sheet of paper; a power over my heart that made me soft towards him. It was as if all those years of separation…didn't exist.

Well, he may have had power, but I wasn't going to give him control, so I grinned at him and pulled him to his feet.

"It's been a while," I said with confidence in my voice. "How about we catch up with each other at Salad World?"

He smiled and replied, "Sure!"

Step two? Complete.