High School Sweethearts Chp. 4

    Chapter Four

    The ride home was silent and Katara was in her room, sitting on her bed, thinking about the events that happened earlier in the day. Her and Sokka seeing old friends, shopping, having fun, laughing, being attacked by nuts in black, nearly getting killed, watching Aang get injured, feeling hurt herself, finding him in an emergency room, and confessing love for each other. That's a lot to happen in one day.

    She got off her bed and walked over to her window, where the almost full moon was shining down on her. Katara touched her mother's necklace. She whispered, "Thanks for watching over him, mom. I appreciate it." The moon seems to be smiling at her, and for some reason, she could feel her mother’s presence.

    Smiling to herself, Katara walked over to her bed and lay down. She grabbed her diary, unlocked it with her small key and started writing about today's events.

    After three or four pages, Katara closed her diary and locked it, so no one, specifically her nosy brother, could get into it. Her diary has a starry night sky with a full moon and a beach on it, being illuminated by the moons glow. She placed it on her night stand before getting up to get out of her clothes. Katara put on dark blue silk pajamas. Katara went into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. After that was done, she walked back to her room, undid her hair from its braid and started brushing with her plastic gem covered brush. After brushing her long hair, Katara walked over to her bed and lay down. She covered herself and tried to go to sleep, but she couldn't. Her mind was elsewhere.

    She saw the man in the window, and she couldn't get the dark eyes from the mask out of her mind. There was something familiar about them, but she couldn't think of who those eyes reminded her of. And the evil look that guy gave Aang when he saw the boy on the ground. Why did he hate Aang? Was there something missing in this picture? Who was he? What did he want with Aang? Where did he come from? When did the man plan to attack them? There were so many questions without answers, and Katara wanted the answers, badly. She wanted to do everything in her power to protect Aang from danger, just like he did for her.

    Aang.

    Aang is her everything. He's her heart, her breath, and he's part of her soul. She couldn't live without him. He's perfect in his own way, and she wouldn't change him in anyway. Katara loved him the way he is. She wouldn't trade him for anything in the whole spirits-forsaken world. She can still feel the tingle on her lips from kissing him and that made her smile.

    She touched her lips, enjoying the new feel on them. The point is that Aang's alive, safe, and secured. That's all that mattered, along with his happiness, too. Katara had seen the sparkle of happiness in his eyes, and she knew she had the same sparkle, as well. With the new tingles, she falls into a peaceful sleep, without worry.

    ***

    The next morning, Saturday, Katara was the first to wake up from her slumber. The sun was bright and the day was pleasant for a stroll in the park, or playing with pets or friends. The girl felt really happy today. Not just because it was a gorgeous day out, or singing birds, or the colorful sky of yellow, orange and blue, but also because someone very special and dear to her was coming back this afternoon. That person was Aang. All night, Katara dreamt of nothing but the boy she called hers. Katara was really anxious to have him back. She missed him dearly. Even though they have been friends for a short time, they felt like they knew each other from another lifetime. The teenage girl stretched and yawned before getting out of bed, getting ready for the day. She took a shower, got dress in loose jeans, t-shirt, and put her hair in a ponytail before going downstairs.

    When she got there she looked at the clock. It said 7:20. Usually she woke p at 8 or 9 on a weekend. Maybe she was more anxious for Aang's return than she thought.

    Katara made scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes topped with blue berries, and poured fresh orange juice.

    The next thing Katara knew, her brother, the sleeping monster, was downstairs in his boxers and tank. She just shook her head. Sokka's mouth was watering at the food, no surprise. His stomach is a black hole; it never had enough.

    Katara sat down with her food. Sokka just stood there, hoping his sister would make him something. She sighed. "Sokka, stop staring at my food. If you're hungry make yourself something because I'm not making your meals."

    Her brother did something that she hated. He gave her the puppy dog look. Katara hates that look. It always got her doing something that was not her responsibility; when it came to her brother anyway. Katara gave in to the look; she sighed and got up to make Sokka his breakfast. No matter what time it was, Sokka would come running for food. In no time, Sokka was chewing down like there was no tomorrow.

    Katara ate quietly, enjoying some peace that lingers. She was in her happy place, thinking of what happened at the hospital the previous night. She could still feel the kiss that happened there. She has never felt so fuzzy on the inside. Out of a new habit she touched her lips. Sokka saw this and got quizzical look on his chubby face.

    He swallowed his food before asking, "What's up with you?" Katara came out of her trance to look at her brother. She looked confused.

    "What?" she asked back.

    Sokka took a moment before asking again. "I said, what's up with you? You looked dreamy there. Did something happen in Aang's hospital room yesterday?" Katara's cheeks became the lovely shade of scarlet, and Sokka had a sneaking suspicion about what happened.

    Katara got up with her dishes and walked into the kitchen to clean them before replying. "Nothing happened, really. We just talked."

    Sokka had on his special thinking face. It occurs when there's some mystery that needs to be solved. He started pacing the floor, Katara watching him. And getting annoyed by it.

    "Stop that!" she yelled at him. Sokka stopped pacing and looked at his sister. Katara sighed again. "You really want to know what happened?" she asked. Sokka sat down immediately on the other side of the table, facing her. Katara's cheeks became red again. "We kissed."

    They were silent for what felt like an eternity. Katara held her breath, Sokka had his mouth wide open. Than he did something that no guy should do. Sokka fainted, face down in the food before falling to the floor. Katara rushed over to him and shook him by the shoulders.

    She shook her head at the ceiling. "Well, that figures," she mutters to herself. She propped him up against the wall because he was too heavy for her. And she waited.

    ***

    It took Sokka a while to come around. When he did, Sokka sees that he's propped up against the wall by the stairs. He rubbed his head. 'What happened?' he thought. Sokka looked around. He was in the dining room. The plates from breakfast are gone. He remembered he came down to eat. It felt like there was a fog in his head.

    There was no one else in the room until his eyes fell on the couch in the living room. Katara was sitting there, watching TV. Sokka stood up slowly and made sure he had his balance before walking over to her. Katara didn't acknowledge him at first when Sokka sat down. She knew he came out of his coma.

    After about a minute a silence Katara said, "I see you're up. How are you feeling?" She smiled at him.

    He looked at her. "I'm okay. I think." He fell silent for a moment before saying, "I had the weirdest dream. I dreamt that you told me that you and Aang kissed. It was weird. Don't you think?"

    Katara raised a brow at him. "That wasn't a dream Sokka," she said. "That was real." Sokka's eyes went wide again, but said nothing. Katara went back to watching Open Season. There was no noise except for the TV and the ticking clock. It read 10:20 A.M.

    Suddenly, Sokka was on his feet. "I'm so going to get him for that." He marched to the door, but before he could reach it, Katara was in front of him saying, "Oh no, you don't. You're not going to hurt Aang. Don't you think he's had enough beating? I mean, come on! He was almost killed yesterday; so calm down."

    Sokka said, "Who said I was going to hurt him? I was just going to rough him up a bit, that's all." Katara raised a brow at him again. She started tapping her foot.

    They stood for a little while. "You will not hurt him at all," Katara said slowly. "You know why?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Because it's my choice about whom I want to be with. And besides, you're not even fully dressed. So. Sit. Down." Defeated by his own sister, Sokka slumped his shoulders and walked to the couch, plopping himself down. Katara sat next to him, arms still crossed. They didn't say anything for a while.

    At last, Sokka sighed. "Look." Katara looked at her older sibling. Sokka continued, "I know I blew off, but as your big brother, I was just letting my protectiveness get in the way. It's a brother’s job to protect his younger sister. I just don't want to see you get hurt. I'm sorry, Katara." He didn't look at her once during his explanation. Katara's eyes softened and she uncrossed her arms.

    Everything was quiet for a moment before she responded. "I know it's your job. But you really need to understand that nothing bad will happen to me. Aang's a good person. He cares about me. And even said that he loved me and that he would be miserable without me. I'm that way with him, too. He makes me happy, Sokka. I know you can trust him."

    Sokka looked up at his sister when she paused. He noticed that her expression was calm, compared to the irritated and mad expression he saw moments before. "You can trust him," she repeated. “You can trust me, too. Understand?" Her voice was calm and reassuring.

    Sokka hummed while he nodded with his eyes closed. "Yeah," he said. "I trust you. You're smart, caring. And you have good judgment when it came to people. If you want to date Aang, then I'm okay with it." Katara smiled, showing her teeth as she hugged her brother. He hugged back.

    "Thank you, Sokka. You have no idea how much this means to me." She gave a quick peck on the cheek, than ran upstairs.

    Sokka sat there, grinning. 'She really has been in a better mood since she met Aang' he thought, chuckling at how true it is. He got off the couch to get ready for his friends release from the hospital.

    ***

    Noon arrived much sooner than anyone thought possible. Katara was by the phone, waiting for Aang to call. Or his guardian, Gyatso; it didn’t matter who called as long as good news came. Her leg was bouncing up and down, being anxious. She couldn't wait to hear his voice again. She remembered how he sounded back at the accident in the mall. He sounded so weak and helpless it broke her heart. She also remembered seeing that man leave the mall window. The hatred in his eyes were pure. Katara still couldn't see why he looked at Aang that way. There was nothing about Aang to hate. He was perfect to Katara's eyes. It just didn't make sense.

    Lost in thought, Katara jumped when the phone rang. With a hand pressed to her chest over her pounding heart, Katara answered the phone. "Hello?" she asked into the phone. The voice that answered sounded so familiar it almost made Katara cry.

    "Hey, Katara. It's me, Aang." Katara's heart almost skidded to a halt before going crazy again. Hearing his voice made her feel extremely happy that her tears couldn't stay in her eyes. They spilled over.

    She replied, "Hey, Aang. You sound better. How are you feeling?"

    Aang could tell that she was crying because her voice sounded a little hoarse, but he could also tell that she was happy by her tone. "I'm feeling better, now that I can talk to you without sounded like a frog." They both laughed gently while blushing. That's one of the things that Katara loved about Aang. He knew how to make her feel better.

    Aang asked, "How are you?"

    "I'm feeling loads better, thank you," Katara replied. "Can I come over?"

    "Sure! You can come over anytime you like. Or do you want me to come?" he asked. Katara thought about that for a second. She really wants to see him, but doesn't want to make him move around too much.

    Her mind made up, Katara answered, "I'll come over as soon as possible. I just need to take care of some stuff first. See you in a little while."

    "See you soon, Katara. I love you." He said that with so much sincerity that Katara's heart fluttered.

    When she said it, she meant it with every beat of her heart. "I love you too, Aang." They hung up and Katara walked into the kitchen. Katara's mind went through the memories of her and Aang. She does love him; so much so she thought she would burst with the emotion that welled insider her. He's everything that a girl could ever want: kind, thoughtful, sweet, and just downright perfect.

    Katara touched her lips, momentarily forgetting the dishes. She could still feel the warmth from his kiss there. She giggled. It was weird. Katara never felt so strongly about any boy. Aang was so much different from the other boys the girl had met in her lifetime. He was one of a kind.

    Katara shook her head and went back to the dishes. There weren't many dishes to clean, thank the spirits. She got them done quickly. She went into the living room to vacuum up the carpet. That didn't take very long either. The cleaning went by fast. Katara was really anxious to visit Aang. She wanted to make sure that he was really okay. She wanted to be in his arms again; to hear his voice in person, to just be with him. Katara finished her chores quickly and went to get ready. She brushed her hair down, brushed her teeth, and put on a blue t-shirt and jeans. She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded to herself. Katara grabbed her bag and left the house. The sketchbook is inside the bag. Katara wanted to show some new drawings she did.

    ***

    Aang was getting ready for Katara to come when someone knocked on his door. He put down his comb and walked over to open the door, seeing it was Gyatso.

    He was smiling down at his nephew, a twinkle in his aged gray eyes. "Getting ready for Katara?" Gyatso asked innocently, even though the smile grew when Aang blushed in his cute way. His uncle ruffled Aang's hair before entering the teenager’s room. The elder sat on his nephew’s bed, Aang right behind him. The blush still lingered on the 15 year olds face. They were silent for a moment before Gyatso asked, "Katara is coming over, right?"

    The boy's cheeks became more scarlet. "Yes," he finally responded. "She is. And, yes, I'm getting ready." Even thinking about her made his heart flutter with excitement and nervousness. She's the most amazing person Aang had ever met in his life. And doesn't plan on letting her go. Even though they just got together, Aang couldn't help but think of his future with her.

    Gyatso chuckled. "I thought so. Katara is a very special young woman. You are very lucky," he added, wagging his finger at Aang. "She almost gave her life to keep you here. It takes someone strong like her to do that for someone she cares about, just like you were willing to sacrifice yourself to keep her and your friends safe. Not to mention other people you kept from getting hurt, or worse, at the Mall. Keep her close, Aang. Because I can tell you two will have a bright future."

    Aang couldn't help but smile at his uncle. It still amazed him how Gyatso can have so much wisdom on a topic. He said, "Thanks, Gyatso. I promise, I'll keep her close, same with my friends. I won't let anything happen to them." Gyatso gave his nephew a one armed hug, and Aang returned the embrace. Ever since his parents' deaths, Aang came to realize that Gyatso became more of a father in his life. He relied on his uncle when he needed help. He promised himself that he would protect Gyatso as well, just like he promised to protect his other, new, family. Aang has a family.

    They broke the hug when the two males heard the doorbell ring downstairs.