All right, I've updated at last! I really don't have much to say other than I just lost interest with this story and that's why it took so long to write. But I've regained that interest for the time being and finished! There are two more chapters after this, but don't expect them to be out soon. I need to reread this story and go over all my notes so I don't leave any unintentional "loose ends", so to speak. How's everyone liking Season 3? It's good, no? All the action is this Friday with the two episode Day of Black Sun. One thing I'm mad about is that some of the things I planned out for this story a long time ago have happened on Avatar already! One of them I can't tell you (it'll happen in the next chapter) and it's slightly different, but still! It seems like I'm copying the show, but I really thought of this before it happened. Oh well. Enjoy chapter ten, everyone!

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Avatar. I think I'd screw it up anyway.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Despite the fact that her surroundings were ardent and peaceful, with the enticing aroma of lotus drifting through the early evening air and the amiable chatter of her companions ringing in her ears, Katara found that her mind refused to be at ease and allow her to enjoy herself on the walk to the Meesang's mansion. It was wholly focused on one thing; or person, she should say.

Aang. Her pupil, best friend, and current object of her attention who was walking several steps in front of her, staring straight ahead. Katara's eyes couldn't help but linger on him as she looked him over. He looked so (dare she say it?) handsome.

He was clothed in loose beige pants with tall dark boots pulled up over the bottoms and a forest-green long-sleeved shirt patterned with thin trails of gold that reached down past the top of his pants. A black button-up vest with gold fasteners and a decorative collar was worn over the shirt. Katara failed to recall a time when he wore something other than his air monk outfit and she had to admit that the new clothes did wonders. They outlined his naturally slim figure and gave him an older and more serious appearance that was most unlike the playful child she had come to know. She had a strong feeling that this was exactly how Aang would be when he was older – except that he would be a lot taller. Maybe it was just the different clothes that gave him this older aura, or the fact that in the absence of his bright smile and facetious disposition, he looked a lot more somber. He seemed quite depressed, and the thought of him being down about anything saddened Katara greatly.

"And don't bother opening doors for me; I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself, and – ouch!" As she had been lecturing a rather dazed Sokka about what to do and what not to do during their "date", Toph had failed to notice the fairly large piece of cobblestone jutting out of the street and, as a result, had stubbed her toe. Sokka, who had been enraptured in her speech, came to just in time to catch her awkwardly as Katara, deep in thought and unaware of her surroundings, proceeded to walk directly into Sokka. Sokka lost his feeble grasp on Toph's arm and she fell to her knees on the hard road.

"It's these stupid shoes!" Toph raged, peeling one off with distaste and rubbing her sore toe angrily. "I can't sense any vibrations with these things on! It's almost as bad as walking on ice!"

Sokka glared accusingly at Katara as she was jolted out of her thoughts and brought back to reality. She blinked around dazedly while Sokka turned his attention to his date, trying to calm her and stop the stares they were gathering from the surrounding crowd.

Shaking her head, Katara said, "Oh, Toph, I'm so sor- " she stopped speaking abruptly upon hearing sudden footsteps behind her. She whirled around and found herself face to face with Jet.

"Uh… hi," stuttered Katara, pink in the cheeks and completely flustered as she looked him up and down.

"Hello Katara," Jet whispered softly, cupping her cheek with one hand and staring into her eyes. "Need I even say how stunning you look?"

Katara's blush deepened. "Y-you look nice too," she mumbled, averting her eyes and staring at the ground abashedly.

Smiling, Jet leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Feeling as if the sun had suddenly decided to pop up and warm the chilly night air, Katara furtively glanced around to her friends. Aang was looking away pointedly. Sokka and Toph had frozen mid-argument, one of Sokka's hands resting on Toph's shoulder as the latter clutched her irksome shoe, bare foot planted firmly on the ground and pointed towards the couple a few feet away. Slowly, a smirk crept up onto Toph's face.

"Jet and Katara, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" she recited in a singsong voice. Katara glared haughtily at her, cheeks ablaze, and opened her mouth to retort when Aang interjected.

"That's enough already, we get the point!" he growled irritably. "Let's just go in." He turned his back on them and stalked off without a backwards glance.

Toph replaced her shoe without talking and, a guilty look displayed across her physiognomy, she followed Aang down the street towards the illuminated hall.

Aang was already at the entrance, waiting for the remainder of the gang to show up so he could present their invitation to the bouncer. Upon receiving an accepting nod, the five of them moved into the hall and looked around in awe.

The building itself was circular in shape, topped of with a domed roof made of thick glass. Lit paper lanterns and streamers of ruby red, forest green, pastel pink, and rich gold hues were strung up from the ceiling. Dozens of these streamers hung from end to end from the ceiling. Long tables draped in elegant gold and emerald tablecloths sagged and groaned under the weight of the innumerable covered platters of food. Refined, melodic music drifted throughout the decorous hall, accompanied by the incessant babble of the snobbish rich folk crowding the vicinity. Sparkling white lights shimmered at every few feet of the room, dousing it in a flickering, ardent glow.

"There you are!"

Everybody turned to see a middle-aged woman clothed in an array of sublime robes and jewels sweeping gracefully across the room to them, a disapproving frown settled upon her pretty visage.

"Oh, uh, Mrs. Meesang," Jet said, somewhat sheepishly. When Mrs. Meesang continued to stare at him expectantly, he hastily continued. "Oh, right. Mrs. Meesang, this is Katara, Toph, Sokka, and Aang." He pointed them out as he said their names. "Guys, this is Mrs. Meesang, hostess of this ball and a personal friend." He winked at her.

Graciously, the gorgeous woman bowed. "I'm honored to meet you. However," she turned her sharp eyes back onto Jet, "don't think you'll get out of your duties that easily. You didn't forget, did you? Come with me." She grabbed hold of his arm and steered him away, then paused, and, turning back, said, "I apologize for being unable to introduce myself properly, but I am in a rather hurry, so please excuse me. If you four would take your seats, the dinner will begin shortly." And with that she and Jet disappeared into the crowd.

Sokka, who had instantly brightened at the mention of food, spoke first. "Let's go sit down then, shall we?" He was hardly able to keep the enthusiasm out of his voice as he practically sprinted to the banquet table.

Toph shook her head distastefully and followed him, complaining, "Sokka, did you only come here for the food?"

Aang and Katara remained behind, both silent. "Well, want to go join them?" Aang finally asked. He offered his arm. Katara looked at it strangely, eyebrows raised. "Since your escort is not present at the moment, I thought it'd be required that I take his place. Can't have a beautiful lady escort herself, can we?"

Katara blushed and wrapped her arm around his. "I suppose not," she laughed.

As they made their way to Sokka and Toph, Katara attempted to soothe her fluttering nerves. Her heart had been racing since she had taken Aang's arm, and she was consciously aware that the room had grown far too warm and stuffy for her liking, though nothing appeared to have changed since she arrived that would have affected the temperature. I can't be feeling this way about Aang! Katara panicked, willing herself with all her might to stop thinking about him in that way. I can't, I like Jet and Aang's just my best friend, right? She noticed that the more times she said that to herself over the past few weeks, the less she believed it.

When they reached the table, Sokka and Toph immediately ceased arguing to gawk disbelievingly at them. Puzzled, Katara followed their gapes and saw that somehow her and Aang's arms had fallen down to their sides and their fingers had intertwined. Wide-eyed, Katara glanced up in time to see Jet shoot Aang a furious look from across the hall. Mortified, Katara nervously tugged at her hand, but Aang's grip was deathlike.

"Aang," Katara mumbled. "Can I have my hand back, please?"

Aang brought his eyes up to meet hers and she noticed with a pang the wistful longing they held within their stormy gray depths. Maybe… maybe he really does like – or even love – me. Maybe everything I suspected from the beginning is true – was it right in front of my face the whole time, and I was too blind to see it? But the second she thought this, the look was gone and Aang was extracting his hand from hers, saying,

"Sorry about that, I spaced out for a bit. Er, there're only two seats here, so I'll go over and sit with Sokka and Toph while you wait for Jet."

Katara seated herself and watched Aang sit across the table from her on Toph's right. Sokka, on Toph's left, stared at Aang suspiciously. Aang flashed a grin and turned his back to him, facing the head of the table. A lady he recognized to be Mrs. Meesang was talking with an eloquently dressed man while Jet stood behind them, looking bored. Eventually, the man nodded his head and muttered something in Jet's ear, who in turn nodded and made a beeline for Katara. As he took his seat beside her, Aang kept his eyes trained firmly on the man at the head of the table. The man helped Mrs. Meesang into a seat next to his, raised his wine glass, and tapped on it gently. All of the guests instantly fell silent and gave him their undivided attention.

"Welcome, and thank you all for attending our ball!" the venerable host, Mr. Meesang, announced in a booming voice, gesturing to his wife as he spoke. "We both hope that you will all enjoy yourselves to the fullest tonight, but before we begin the banquet, I have a few things I would like to say to you all…."
Aang's interest declined rapidly and he tuned the man out, staring around gloomily at his surroundings instead. His roaming eyes came to rest on Katara and Jet. The latter was whispering something in the Waterbender's ear. Katara blushed and giggled softly, appearing to think for a moment before nodding her head enthusiastically in agreement. Aang swallowed painfully, tearing his gaze away from this miserable sight.

"…And so, without farther ado, let the dinner commence!" Mr. Meesang clapped his hands jovially and waiters appeared instantly, carrying over platters of steaming food.

Sokka's mouth watered and his eyes almost popped out of his head as innumerable plates of assorted meats seemed to appear in front of him out of nowhere.

"Now I know without a doubt in my mind that this ball was worth coming to!" he exclaimed gleefully, snatching up a drumstick and ravishing it like someone dying of hunger.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

An hour later, still seated at the table, Aang was finding his jealousy to be increasingly difficult to suppress. Watching Jet and Katara talk and flirt mere feet away from him proved only to make him grouchy and irritated; his lips had sported an aggravated scowl for so long now he wouldn't have been surprised if they refused to resume their usual shape again.

"Hey Toph, open your mouth," Sokka commanded, picking up a mysterious piece of food with his chopsticks and shoving it at her face.

"Why?" she demanded suspiciously.

"I can't tell you that, it's a surprise!" Sokka chided her, holding back laughter. With her shoes on and her vision impaired, Sokka knew she wouldn't be able to identify the food and refuse to eat it.

Toph thought about it for a minute. "Fine." She opened her mouth and waited. Grinning broadly with his success, Sokka leaned forward, and, a split second before the food entered her mouth, Toph jerked away, causing Sokka to lose his balance and fall headfirst to the ground, his legs and lower body still on the bench.

"Toph!" Sokka growled angrily as Toph roared with laughter. "Why'd you do that?"

Holding her sides from laughing so hard and trying to compose herself enough to speak properly, Toph replied snidely, "Oh, don't think you're so innocent, Mr. I'm-going-to-feed-Toph-gross-food-because-she-can't-see-it-and-it-will-be-funny because, contrary to what you thought, I knew perfectly well what you were trying to feed me. You didn't honestly believe I'd keep those horrible shoes on for that long, did you?" Toph snorted loudly before saying, "Ah, you crack me up, Sokka!"

Sokka scowled and pushed himself up off the floor and back into his seat, rubbing his injured cheek as he did so. "That hurt, you know."

Toph stuck out her lower lip in a mock pout and said, "Lighten up, Sokka. Sheesh, can't anyone take a joke anymore?"
Sokka smiled reluctantly. "Yeah, I suppose you're right, but next tine the joke will be on you! I'll get you back, don't you worry!" he promised.

Pretending to yawn, Toph swatted her hand at him as though he were some pesky fly that had been bothering her for a while. "Whatever you say, Sokka, whatever you say."

Fuming, Sokka yelled, "And what do you mean by tha– hey Aang where are you going?"

"Out," Aang responded shortly, not bothering to turn back as he spoke. He continued on his way through the back door leading to the garden and didn't stop until he had reached a stream surrounded by trees and isolated from the people at the ball, the cheery chatter, and the flirting couples. It was just him, all alone and surrounded by nature, silent except for the hushed murmurs of the wind and the occasional hooting of an owl.

Aang took a deep, calming breath and exhaled slowly, closing his eyes. The ball was not even halfway done, and yet he felt as though he'd been there longer than he was frozen in the iceberg. He had been yearning to leave before he'd even arrived; it seemed like this party would never end. The room was suffocating him – across the table, Jet and Katara were talking and flirting and doing other couple-like things and right beside him Sokka and Toph were basically doing the same stuff in their own weird way. The claustrophobia and feeling of being trapped by everything he wanted to escape had escalated to a point where he couldn't stand it anymore and desperately needed fresh air and solitude.

The only thing that cheered him slightly (aside from the fact that there were several vegetarian dishes for him to choose from at dinner) was how Katara had continually looked his way with an unreadable expression. He also couldn't help noticing that at times her smile for Jet looked more like a grimace and her laugh sounded a bit forced. These tiny observations ignited a spark of hope in the Avatar's heart, and as miniscule as that spark may have been, he still retained the smallest hope that Katara wasn't as crazy over Jet as he thought she was and that maybe, just maybe, she felt a little something for him, Aang – something a bit more than friendship, something more along the lines of what he felt for her – love.

"Hey Aang, there you are!"

Aang snapped his eyes open and looked up to see Sokka hurrying over to him, relief of his face.

"Why'd you run off like that?" asked Sokka concernedly.

Aang shrugged nonchalantly. "I wanted some fresh air," he supplied dully.

Sokka looked disbelieving. "Ah, I see," he said, knowing there was more to it than that. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"Wrong? Why would anything be wrong?"

Scratching the back of his head, Sokka replied, "Well, you've just been acting a bit… strange tonight. Actually, I guess not just tonight, you've been like this for a while now, but… I was just wondering if something was bothering you. No offense, but you're acting a bit… jealous."

Aang's heart rate sped up. "What? Who's jealous? What's there to be jealous about?"

"Well, you don't have a date, for one, and Katara and Toph and I all came with someone…"

"So? I told you guys I didn't care about that."

"…And you seem to be paying a lot of attention to my sister and Jet… especially to my sister…"

"What?" Aang's mouth had gone dry. Did he know?

"And if I didn't know better, I'd say you… had a crush on her," Sokka finished, looking up with slightly apologetic eyes.

Aang was speechless. He had no clue what to say or do to get himself out of this situation.

"What would you say if I did like you sister?" Aang asked him cautiously, deciding there was no other way around this.

Sokka was silent for a moment. "I'd say… go for it. Get her."

Aang stared in disbelief at him, stunned and speechless. "W-what?" he spluttered, eyes wide.

"Tell her how you feel. Be honest with her. Do it before it's too late and you've missed your chance."

"And you don't mind? You're okay with it?" Aang demanded, still finding it hard to believe that Sokka, the overprotective brother, would tell him to go after his sister.

Sokka smiled knowingly. "I trust you. I know you won't do anything to hurt her. You're my friend, Aang, and I want what's best for you, and for my sister as well. But I've got my eye on you," he added, winking.

Aang rolled his eyes. "I knew that side would come out sooner or later," he muttered. "But… thanks, Sokka. I think I will try. I mean, after all this, it'd be stupid to just give up, right?"

"Now that's more like the Aang I know," Sokka laughed. "C'mon Aang, let's go inside. The dancing is about to begin."

He threw his arm around Aang's shoulder in a brotherly fashion and the two returned to the festivities, where joyous couples were soon to be seen in each other's arms on the dance floor, twirling around and smiling adoringly, wrapped up in their own little world in which only they can exist.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Thank you all, my devoted fans who have returned after I neglected you!! Thanks for reading!!