Why, hello everyone! Long time no talk. This isn't something I'd normally consider writing, but it just wouldn't get out of my head and I just had to write it down. Hope you all like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. But I do own a cute little Pomeranian! His name is Dinky and he's so adorable! But on with the show!
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the one and only… Avatar Matchmaker! Please put your hands together for today's contestant… Katara!"
The applause was deafening as Katara waved to the audience. She stood on the left side of a large stage, which was divided in half by a large barrier. She couldn't see what – or who – was on the other side, but she knew how the game worked. She wouldn't find out until later. The spectators sat on rows of earth bleachers and they seemed to be very excited to be there. Way more excited than Katara herself.
"I'm your host, Kris Deeter," the man was announcing. "Are you ready to play…" At this point, he held his microphone out and the audience responded perfectly.
"Avatar Matchmaker!" Whistles and cheers made the waterbender roll her eyes. It was all so silly. How did she ever let Toph talk her into this?
"How about you, Katara? Are you ready to meet your perfect match?" Suddenly the microphone was in her face, redundant as it was. The one clipped to her robe was working just fine. But she plastered on a too-big grin anyway.
"Ready when you are, Kris!" Apparently the audience loved the answer because another round of applause erupted. She resisted the urge to hit Kris in the way-too-happy face, choosing instead the much less violent action of sitting down on her stool.
"That's good, Katara, because your three choices are waiting on the other side of this wall. Of course, their voices are disguised to hide their true identities. We wouldn't want you to know who they are, am I right?"
The crowd shouted in agreement and Katara's eye twitched as she suppressed another eye-roll. What was she doing here anyway? She didn't want to be here! She was going to kill Toph.
"Let's say hello to Bender Number One!" The audience could evidently see the Benders because one side of the room rose to there feet and clapped.
"Hello, Katara," said the friendly voice of Number One.
It would be a slow, painful death.
"Say hello to Bender Number Two!" The other side of the studio voiced their positive opinions. Very loudly.
"Hey, Katara," said Number Two. His tone, distorted as it was by some sort of machine, was light and casual.
Perhaps Toph would die in her sleep. Tragically, of course.
"And last, but not least, Bender Number Three!" A group in the center was on their feet, cheering wildly. A tic seemed to have developed in her left eye. Yes, Toph was definitely going down.
"Hello." Number Three was harder to pinpoint, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get this over with.
"You know the rules, Katara. No asking questions that reveal the person's identity." Kris turned to the people on the other side of the barrier, even though he couldn't see them. He looked rather silly speaking to a wall. "The same applies to you, Benders. Don't say anything that gives it away." Back to Katara. "You can ask as many questions as you want in the twenty minute time period." He addressed the audience. "Are you ready to play…"
"Avatar Matchmaker!" The crowd cheered for a moment before sitting down to watch the show. Katara licked her lips and looked at Kris, who nodded an affirmative.
Alright, she thought. Let's get this over with.
"Number One," she started. " My element is water. In what ways are you like water?" The first question that came to her mind was a basic, general inquiry. The audience oohed in satisfaction.
"Well…" Number One hesitated, as if thinking it over. "I am constant and steady." His fan base applauded.
Basic question, basic answer.
"I can be calm; I can be rough; I can be upsetting; I can be soothing. I am as changing as the ocean." Numbers Two's reply came readily. The right half of the audience, directly in front of Katara, jumped to their feet. The waterbender grudgingly agreed with them.
Very nice. But do you mean it?
"I'm intense and deep," came Number Three's clipped answer. The crowd clapped politely, not very impressed after Two's response.
"Umm… What would you say is your best quality?" She glanced at the clock at the back of the studio. Only two minutes had passed? Katara resigned herself to her terrible fate. "Number Two?" She had decided to ask her questions in rotation. That way the same guy wouldn't have to come up with a quick answer.
Two thought for a moment before he said, "My ability to adapt to anything."
"I believe my best quality is my persistence," Three said. Another peek at the clock showed that she still had seventeen minutes left.
"My best quality," began One, "is my loyalty."
They were all good answers, but nothing that popped out at her. If she had to pick one now, she wouldn't be able to choose. Although Number Two was slightly ahead because of his first answer, it was still pretty close.
What was she saying? She didn't want this. This was all too… demeaning. Placing people in such positions probably wasn't a good idea. She knew she wouldn't want to be put on display like those guys were.
Katara realized that everyone was looking at her, waiting for her next question. She opened her mouth to protest the stupid game show when the stupid game show host interrupted.
"It's time for a commercial break. Alright, audience, who would you choose?" Noise overwhelmed her. These people were so loud! Kris looked at her. "Only fifteen more minutes to ask questions, Katara." As if she wasn't counting down every second already. "But we'll be right back with-"
"Avatar Matchmaker!" Cheers rang out as the shippers supported their pairing. Katara rolled her eyes.
Fans, she thought. A blessing and a curse.
The large red 'On Air' sign next to the clock blinked off. Kris Deeter's plastic smile never left his face as a crewman came out of the wings. The person was dressed completely in black, and he carried a large bag filled with who-knew-what. He hovered around Kris, brushing his hair for him and dabbing some sort of makeup on his nose. The host didn't even notice. He walked over to Katara, the crewman following closely. She braced herself for the inevitable, maddening cheeriness.
"Now, Katara, don't be afraid to ask deep questions that mean a lot to you." He lightly punched her shoulder. The crewman never slowed nor stopped his ministrations for a moment. "Don't forget that the person you pick at the end has to take you on a date." Her eyes widened and she began to object, but the annoying little bug of a man interrupted her again. "We wouldn't want you to end up with someone you can't stand, am I right? Or am I right?"
"Buzz off." She would have laughed inwardly at her own private joke if she hadn't been so preoccupied with what he had said. Kris's grin faltered for half of a second, but he simply turned around and walked offstage, the crewman one step behind.
Of course you'll have to go on a date. What did you think, they would just stick you with someone and leave you alone? She put her chin in her hand, her elbow perched on her knee, and tapped her toe on the earth floor.
To be honest, she hadn't thought that far ahead. She just kept thinking that the whole ordeal would end when the credits started rolling. Yes, she'd been fooling herself. She needed to deal with this 'matchmaker' torture, and then endure an entire date with some stupid jerk. She would get through it, though. She'd overturned an entire tribe's ancient traditions for the opportunity to become a master waterbender, for spirits' sake! Handling this would be a cinch. Right?
Toph was toast.
Katara lifted her head, remembering her friend mentioning that she'd be in the studio audience. Her eyes scanned the people in front of her, starting on her left. There were some strange fans in the crowd: someone was foaming at the mouth, two fans on opposite sides were yelling across the room (she doubted they could hear each other over the chaos) and making rude gestures, and someone had decided that this would be an excellent time to practice playing the sunghi horn. But no Toph.
Wait! Her foot stopped tapping. On the right side of the audience, straight across from her, a small, dirty arm was pounding someone on the head. A head covered in black hair and earth turned to face her. Katara assumed the girl's feet had noticed the absence of the vibrations caused by her tapping toe. And they were probably focused on her right then. The waterbender narrowed her eyes and drew a finger across her throat, making the gesture sharp so Toph wouldn't miss it.
Suddenly the fans were silent and still. All eyes turned and fixed themselves on her. She froze. Maybe if she held still they would go back to whatever they were doing. She was right; seconds later a fight broke out somewhere in the middle of everything. Fans jumped in on all sides and the moment was broken.
Exasperated, she muttered, "Fans," as if it were a dirty word. They watch everything I do.
Back to the problem at hand. The end of the show was looming closer, and choosing the right bender now seemed all-important. She knew the show only chose people involved with the Avatar, obviously. So it had to be someone she knew. That could be either a positive thing or a negative thing, she realized. And that parasite Kris Deeter had said they were all benders.
That narrows it down to just about every guy on Avatar, she though sarcastically. Well, not every guy. That does leave out Jet. She sighed. One down, a million to go.
It could be almost anyone. Anyone close to her age anyway. She doubted they would stick her with someone as old as Zuko's uncle. Even so, there were a lot of young, male benders. She'd just have to-
"Welcome back to Avatar Matchmaker." The show was starting already? Spirits, she needed to pay attention. Katara sat straight up, frantically trying to think of another question. Kris was up front, reintroducing everything.
"Are you ready, Katara?" That had to be the fifteenth time he'd said her name. She just nodded, her mind working quickly. "Then go ahead. Your fifteen minutes are ticking away." He watched her for a moment, then moved to stand about five feet to her right.
"Alright." Thinking of a question. Thinking… of… a question. She had it! "Bender Number Three, what is your opinion of female benders?" If any of them thought like Sokka used to think, they would be immediately disqualified in her mind. There was no way she would put up with a bigot.
"Well." The deep, indistinct voice cleared its throat. "They can be useful." Useful?! Number Three was in deep waters. Only a clever end to that answer would save him, but he seemed to be finished. The audience didn't appear to like that response; someone in front of her even called him a chauvinistic pig. Katara silently agreed.
"Uh…" Number One spoke quickly to distract the mob. "I think gender doesn't matter much when it comes to bending." She nodded, glad someone was not completely stupid. The fans calmed down a bit, though dirty glares kept finding there way over to where she assumed Three was.
Number Two said, "I know some great female benders. Some of them are better than me. I believe girls are just as good as guys." Just as good? "If not better." Okay, she was impressed. Even though One and Two had said basically the same thing, Two had said it better. And One had added the 'when it comes to bending' part. Toph led the right half of the audience in a wave.
Who would Toph be rooting for? She let the thought go for now. She needed to think of another subject to ask about.
"Okay. Number One, it's back to you. Would you ever lie to me?"
"No. Honesty is the best policy."
Number Two wasn't as positive. "It's possible. I don't know the future. But if I ever did lie, I would feel horribly guilty and I would probably end up telling you the truth." His fan base didn't seem very happy. But wasn't her question about honesty? Besides, she would have said relatively the same thing.
"I agree with Bender Number One. I don't lie." She was beginning to dislike Number Three. He said the same thing as One, but his tone and choice of words made his answer seem wrong. Who didn't lie?
She glanced at the clock. Only about seven minutes remained. She was running out of questions and needed to think. When was the next commercial break anyway?
"How would you describe the perfect girl, Number Two?"
"First of all, she wouldn't be perfect. No one is. But she would be beautiful. And spirited and smart and caring." He paused. "I couldn't begin to describe her." Number Two was really growing on her. He seemed to have all the right answers.
"My perfect girl would have brown hair and blue eyes. Her perfect body would have a dark tan. She would be a talented bender with a fiery attitude." The crowd let out a soft Aww and clapped for Number Three.
That sneaky jerk! He had just described her! The flattery felt good, but he obviously didn't mean it. Put Yue in her place and he would have said he liked white hair and black eyes! Um, Yue had blue eyes, like everyone in the Water Tribe. Katara seethed.
"The perfect girl would be beautiful and have a great personality," said Number One. He's not trying very hard, she thought.
The clock told her she had time for one more question. And she had the perfect one.
"Why did you come on this show, Number Three?" The fans looked shocked, and even Kris Deeter traded his smile for round eyes and an open mouth. She didn't blame them – it probably wasn't a very common query – but she wanted to hear what they had to say. Three still hadn't answered yet.
"I… uh… I-"
Katara broke in. "Remember, Number Three, you don't lie." Her voice was slightly taunting, as if she were daring him to speak anything other than the truth. Maybe she was.
He sputtered, seemingly flustered. It sounded very odd with the voice distortion. "I… well… um…" He took a breath. "I can't tell you." The fans talked excitedly amongst themselves. This was turning out to be an interesting show. Katara thought about replying but decided against it. Instead, she asked for One's reason.
"I'm not sure. I guess I just felt like it." She shook her head. That could have been sincere, but most likely not. Why couldn't they just tell her? What were they hiding?
"The reason I am on this show is…" Number Two hesitated. Katara could tell he was torn between the truth and a lie. Her fingers clutched her seat and she leaned forward in anticipation. She noticed the audience was silent. "It's because… I like you." He started to say something else, but apparently thought better of it. The fans across from her cheered and blew raspberries at their rivals next to them. No one else seemed to know what to say. Katara didn't. How do you respond to that? She didn't even know who he was. Still, she felt a twinge in her stomach. Someone had just said he liked her. On national television! She couldn't help but admire his courage. She also couldn't help wondering who this guy was.
The choice didn't seem to be very difficult to make. As a bell sounded in the studio, signaling the end of her allotted time, she knew whom she would pick.
Kris Deeter appeared on her right. She waited for him to ask her whom she would choose.
"Time's up! This has been an interesting twenty minutes, and I'm sure Katara is going to have a tough time deciding. Am I right, audience?" The crowd jumped to their feet and cheered. Kris turned to the contestant. "Am I right, Katara?" She started to tell him that it wasn't tough and she knew exactly who to pick, but, for the second time, he cut her off.
"Don't tell us now, Katara," he said. "Tell us… after the break." The fans groaned, although Katara suspected they all knew that was going to happen. They dropped into their chairs, and the noise level immediately rose. The waterbender on stage sighed and put her head in her hands.
Sure, it was an easy choice to make, but whom was she choosing? It was someone Toph liked. This guy liked her, but was it just an infatuation from a brief stay on her journey to save the world or was this someone she knew well? She let out a sigh of frustration and resigned herself to fate.
She spent the rest of the commercial break studying the crowd. At first she watched Toph, who was too busy flipping off someone across the room to notice. Then she moved on to watching the fans in general. The room was divided into three sections. Not physically. It was divided into three groups who all wanted to see her pick their favorite.
Those rooting for Number One were on the far left side. They seemed relatively calm, and the group was significantly smaller than the other two, which seemed to be the reason that they were ignored by the other groups.
Supporters of Number Two were on the right side and they were easier to study because they were directly in front of her. These fans were a little rowdier and much more dedicated. Most wore T-shirts or hats that said 'NUMBER TWO IS NUMBER ONE'. A few waved banners with large twos stamped on the fabric.
Whoever placed Number Two fans and Number Three fans next to each other must have been fired by now. The invisible border between the two groups was a battle zone. Literally. Near the top, someone was sitting on a person's head. Down at the bottom, a fight had broken out and the fighters were tangled up in each other. Somewhere in between it looked like an arm was being bitten off.
The Number Three fans themselves were the loudest. Their group was slightly larger than their rivals', but not by much. They showed their support in T-shirts, hats, balloons, face paintings, and noise. Everything they said had to be shouted or it wasn't worth saying. At least, that's what they seemed to think.
When is this dang break going to be over? Katara couldn't take it anymore. She was going stir-crazy. Studying the crowd was doing nothing to calm her nerves.
She had never been very good with guys, she reflected. She always felt awkward. The incident with Jet was a good example. Making that hat for him had been a silly mistake, and she was glad she had ended up giving it to Aang. On Jet it wouldn't have fit right and would have looked odd, but it had seemed to be perfect on Aang. She had done everything wrong with Jet. Now that she knew what he was really like, though, she was glad nothing had gone right.
Kris Deeter walked onto the stage, his constant follower gone.
Finally, she thought. Her stomach twisted. This was it. She hoped she had made the right choice.
A cameraman held up five fingers. Five seconds. Kris turned on his smile, and the audience miraculously quieted. Katara sat up straight.
"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to…"
"Avatar Matchmaker!" That was getting so annoying! But in only a few minutes she would meet her date. Her stomach fluttered again, and she took a deep breath.
"Are you ready to meet your perfect match, Katara?" Was that the fiftieth or fifty-first time he had said her name? He was so irritating! Or maybe she was just nervous.
Katara nodded, and Kris grinned.
"After twenty minutes of questions, the time has come to choose a bender. Katara. Who do you want to go on a date with?"
The audience suddenly began shouting out which they would choose. The noise was overwhelming. Glancing across from her, she could see that Toph was cheering wildly for Number Two. Despite her nervousness, Katara felt the urge to torture her friend. If only a little.
"I choose…" She raised her voice to be heard, trailing off at the end. The racket stopped. The crowd leaned in. Toph crossed her fingers. Seconds passed before the fans grew restless and began shouting again. Toph remained silent, her blind eyes fixed on her friend, waiting to hear the decision.
"I choose," she began. Once again, silence reigned. "Bender Number Two."
Pandemonium erupted. Fans of Number Three began booing, and someone insisted that Katara had really said 'Three'. Crazy fans. Always in denial. Toph and her group cheered and began celebrating. The earthbender couldn't stop smiling, and she shared a high five with the foaming guy. Number One's supporters seemed to accept it, and they slowly reclaimed their seats.
Katara's heart pounded as Kris walked over to the edge of the stage, next to the divider. She could see that there was enough space for someone to move around the wall. Thinking that Kris was going to call over her date, she was surprised when the host crossed to the other side. Moments later he returned, pulling someone by the arm.
"Zuko?" Katara was shocked. She had picked her worst enemy? Her mouth hung open, but her throat refused to let any words come out. The firebender just shrugged. Kris laughed, and she shot a poisonous glare at him. He immediately grew serious.
"Katara, Zuko is…" He drew out the word for what seemed like an eternity. "Number Three." Relief overtook her, and she closed her eyes to breathe. A date with Zuko was synonymous to shooting an icicle into her own foot.
Kris called over the next person. She opened her eyes.
"Haru?" She was surprised to see him; it had been a while since she had been to his village. This time, though, she knew he wasn't the one she had chosen. Kris seemed to sense this and quickly introduced Haru as Number One.
Her hands grew clammy. The next person to walk over would be the guy she had picked. Who would it be? She unconsciously held her breath, her fingers clutching her Water Tribe robe.
Zuko and Haru stepped away from Kris, moving to stand on her right. She ignored them and focused entirely on the host.
"Katara." Kris gestured with his arm, indicating the divider. "It is time to meet your perfect match." And just like that the barrier began retracting into the wall behind her. It was moving mind-numbingly slowly. As inch by inch of the other side of the stage became visible, the waterbender drew another breath in anticipation and apprehension.
Number Two was revealed. Katara gasped. The audience was deathly quiet, waiting for her reaction. The only sound was a soft click as the divider came to a stop.
Her heart had stopped. She felt a pressing need to breathe. He was her perfect match? Number Two gave a sort of half-wave.
When Katara spoke, her voice came out in a partial whisper, disbelief evident in the single word.
"Aang?"
Well? Is it good? Is it bad? Is it ridiculously silly? Tell my what you think! I love reviews and critiques are always appreciated.
Chapter Two will be up soon. Maybe Tuesday or Wednesday.