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Chapter 1 - The Starlet and The Clown

Why was love so damned complicated? She held back a sigh. She wished that she could have made it easier on him. It wasn't fair. She loved him, just not in the same way he loved her, and it had torn her soul in two to hurt him so deeply.

Katara bit down on her lip to stop its trembling. It was no small feat, she thought dryly, to deliver such a devastating blow to the all-powerful Avatar. She could just picture all those who would do him harm, now lining up to become her new best friend.

She held her chest as she doubled over slightly. After all they had gone through together; he had come to mean the world to her. She had believed that she loved him as a lover, but when a year passed, and then another, it had all become an act. She had no longer felt the butterflies in her stomach when he kissed her or held her hand. For a time, she tried to force herself to feel the same way he felt about her, but it was useless. Love was stubborn.

Scoffing, she wiped the tears from her cheeks, but they were just replaced with new ones as they streamed like rain down her face. She was the most selfish person on earth. She should have felt damned lucky to have been the girlfriend of the Avatar. Any girl would kill to be with Aang. Surely, now that he was free, he would be the most eligible and sought after bachelor in the entire world. But she had never seen him as an almighty Avatar; when she saw Aang, she saw her best friend, and therein lay the problem. He was her friend,and that was all they ever could be.

The world had changed, but it wasn't perfect. It would never be perfect. No matter how much he tried, there was always darkness and it reflected the shadows in his own heart. He had grown up and honed his skills, but that meant nothing. It was never good enough. He was never good enough. With a deep breath, he absorbed his surroundings.

Aang stood atop the crown of a volcano that protruded nearly a hundred meters out of the cold ocean water. A fierce rain-swept wind tore through the air, clawing at his clothes, dousing them thickly. He bit the inside of his cheek to suppress the scream that was raking the inside of his throat, desperately wanting to be unleashed.

He was God on Earth, a living legend, but he had never felt like anything special. He made mistakes, far more grave mistakes than the average person, in fact. He had never wanted it, this cursed power. He blamed his failure on his fate. All the power in the world meant nothing if he had no one to share his happiness with: Katara.

Although he was naïve, he wasn't stupid. He had seen the signs for a while now. He had just chosen to ignore them, not wanting to believe that they weren't right for one another. She had become a starlet, a talented actress, and he had become a clown for following her aimlessly. Katara had played the part well, smiling and laughing at his childish antics, while masking her grief, but he had still seen sorrow in her eyes when she thought no one was looking. She had been dying inside, and he had turned a blind eye to her withering spirit.

He looked to the sky. It was crying. He scowled. How dare the sky mock him? Who gave the sky the right to cry? It didn't feel anything! He was the one who was upset!

He pounded his hand to the ground, unintentionally bending the thrashing waves to crash upon the mountainside. The spray assaulted his face, further dampening his form.

His face was drenched and he blinked through the drops. He couldn't discern if the wetness was from ocean spray or his own tears. He hadn't cried in years, and had all but forgotten the strange sensation.

His hands turned over and he gazed down at them, a glazed expression masking his face. With a flick of his wrist, he cradled fire within his palms. Then with another flick, he bent earth between them before bending air in his left hand and water in his right.

Air and water, he thought dully, me and Katara.

He brought both elements together, molding them between his palms. At first they fused perfectly, each flowing together, but then the water began seeping through the seams.

Thanks goes out to my betas, njty9101, AvocadoLove and MizJoely, they are spectacular. And, yes, I know I am a total beta mooch. I have one to target each of my areas of concern, grammar, characterisation and plot, respectively.

much love,

temariXshikamaruluva