Disclaimer: I own nothing...except this plot.

After pondering about Suki's 'sure fire' plan for some time, Katara finally gave in. “Alright. I'll try it.”

“Excellent.”

“...but wouldn't that be using him though?”

“No. Of course not! Don't even think of it that way! Besides, however you do it, it'll still be good for both of you!”

“Are you…implying something?”

“I'm just saying that it'd be good for you since you get to get Jet jealous, and Zuko will be able to...let's just say, enjoy the moment.” Suki added extra emphasis to her last three words.

“...what's that supposed to mean?”

“No, it's just that, with him liking you and all, it'll be good for him too.”Suki took a sip of her smoothie.

“...” Katara, with confusion and suspicion written across her tan face, simply looked on.

“Don't tell me you don't know about Zuko's crush on you. I mean really, it's quite obvious.”

“Uh huh...And you do know that those rumors are just out to annoy people right? Besides, he and I are just friends.”

“Well…whatever you say.”

“Ha! I beat you! Now I'm winning!”

“That...was just luck, Smellerbee.” Jet reassured, gripping his game control tighter, and fixed his eyes onto the TV screen.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

“Hey, Jet. Your phone's ringing.” announced Longshot from the kitchen.

“Oh, god. Alright. Pause the game. I'll be right back.” Jet set down his game control on the floor and walked over to the kitchen to fetch his phone. “Hello?”

“Hi. This is Mr. Kao from Ba Sing Se High. Is a student named Jet there?” a grouchy voice asked.

“Uh, yeah. Hi. This is Jet.”

“Oh, hello Jet. I'm just going to get straight to the point here. Basically, the reason why I called is to tell you that your grades are falling. And unless you bring up your grades by the end of the semester, I'm afraid you won't be able to graduate this year.”

“Whoa. Wait. I'm failing?!”

“Yes, I'm quite certain I've already made that pretty clear.”

“And I have to repeat 12th Grade?!” Panic rushed to Jet's voice.

“If you don't bring up your grades up, that is.”

“O-Okay. Will do. But...how? I mean, how am I supposed to get enough points to graduate?”

“Ah, well, I might be able to assign you a student tutor, if that'll possibly help. You'll find out who your tutor will be tomorrow after class.”

“Good. That's great. Thanks.” The panic in Jet's voice was suddenly replaced with relief as he hung up the phone. He sulked back into the living room and slumped onto his couch.

“Hey—who was it?” Smellerbee asked, looking back at Jet and to the TV Screen ever so occasionally.

“Mr. Kao.”

“Ew. Why?”

“Said I have to bring up my grade.”

“Oh. I see.” Smellerbee whipped his head back to the TV to focus on her game.

“...yeah.” whispered Jet.

“So...anyway, what exactly was it that you wanted to talk about that you mentioned yesterday? Or was it that whole Zuko thing?” Katara drank a sip of her mango smoothie.

“Mm! Oh yeah. About that. Well, um, I-I'm not sure how I should say it.”

“Just say it already.”

“Alright. So, you know that new girl Yue?”

“You mean that new foreign exchange student that just came from, like, up North?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, what about her?”

“Well, I can't believe I'm saying this,” Suki muttered. “but I think she and Sokka might have something going on together.”

“What? Are you kidding me? Sokka? The cheating type? I seriously doubt it.”

“Well, I thought that too, at first. But then like, she's always around him now, and it's really pissing me off.”

“Alright, alright. I'll ask Sokka about her later.”

“Awesome. Thanks.”

“Hey! Sokka! I'm home!” Katara hollered out as she let herself in through the front doors of her house.

“Oh hi! I'll be right there. Just hold on a sec.” Katara's brother yelled back from the kitchen.

“Okay. I'll be in my room then.”

“No wait! I'm done now. I want you to meet someone.”

“Huh? Who?” Out of the kitchen door, emerged Sokka in a blue apron. Next to him though, was none other than...Yue.

“Oh...hi...Yue. W-What are you doing here?” Katara hesitantly asked, trying her best to give her best grin.

“I invited her over. That okay with you?” Sokka asked, setting the dining table.

“Uh, um, sure...I-I guess.” stuttered Katara.

“--Hi! You must be Katara! My name is Yue.”

“Katara whipped her head over to the side to see Yue, but before she knew it, her hand was suddenly tackled into a rabid handshake.

“Oh! Hehe...” Katara exclaimed. “Hey.”

“Sokka told me so much about you!”

“Hey guys! Dinner's ready! This is only my second time cooking. Ever. So just bear the taste with me.”

“Katara quickly stepped out to the side and narrowly escaped the awkward atmosphere between her and the light-haired transfer. She dashed over to the dining table and claimed her seat.

“You know, I think you and Yue could actually be pretty cool friends.” Sokka suggested, stuffing his mouth with countless amounts of food.

“Of course!” Yue exclaimed happily.

Katara, on the other hand, simply muttered, “Yeah...I doubt that.”

“Well, it is getting pretty late. I guess I better be going now. Bye Sokka. Thanks for the dinner. Bye Katara!” Yue waved and headed out the door.

“Bye Yue! Be careful!” Sokka hollered out the door as Yue's leaving silhouette slowly faded into the night. Sokka then shut the door and was about to make his way back upstairs. That is, until he bumped into Katara, who folded her arms with a suspicious look upon her face.

“What?” Sokka asked cluelessly.

“Why'd you invite her over in the first place?”

“Because I was being polite? Why else would I invite her over?”

“I don't know! But you have a girlfriend! Why would you have another girl over for dinner?--” Katara paused. “Are you cheating on Suki?”

“What?! Why would I cheat on Suki? What kind of person do you think I am?” Sokka yelled out.

“Then why'd you invite Yue?” asked Katara calmly.

“Because Pakku asked me to! Are you happy now?”

“Pakku? But...why?”

“A few days ago, Pakku called me and said that his friend Chief Arnook has a daughter named Yue that was going to transfer to our school, and he asked me to help her around since she's new.” Sokka sighed.

“And that's it, right? Nothing else?”

“Of course.”

“Well then why didn't you just say so?” Katara exclaimed in relief. “You got me and Suki worried over nothing!”

“Suki?”

“Yeah, she got all worried and a bit jealous because you and Yue were keep hanging around each other.”

“Well then why didn't she just come and talk to me about it?” Sokka's eyes narrowed.

“I don't know.” Katara yawned. “I gotta start on my homework now. See ya.”

The next day...

“Hey Zuko! Wait up!” Mai called out as she tried to catch up to Zuko in the hall.

“Oh. Hi Mai. What's up?” Zuko greeted.

“Hey. I'll, uh, just get straight to the point here. Basically, my parents are keep bugging me about re-starting the tutor lessons. Can you do it?”

“Uh, sure, I guess. Why not? When?”

“Anytime is fine. I guess.” muttered Mai, who subtly looked down to the side as she blushed.

“Oh. Hey, I’ll be right back.” Zuko told Mai as he spotted Katara and Suki coming down the opposite hallway, and he started walking toward them.

“Hey, are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” asked Katara.

Suki scoffed, “…to get Jet jealous!”

“Well, I said I’d try it. But why are you bringing that up now?”

“Well…” Suki turned around and pointed at Jet who was currently walking down the side hallway and to Zuko who was strolling his way over from the opposite side. “Both Jet and Zuko are walking this way! What better time to do this than now?”

Katara panicked. She frantically looked back and forth from Jet to Zuko over and over.

“Well come on!” Suki nudged Katara.

“–Hey Katara!” Zuko’s distant voice called out as he walked closer. Katara’s head turned to face Zuko, then quickly turned to face Jet, who too was coming toward her.

“Just go!” Suki whispered loudly and quickly gave Katara a hard push forward.

“Hey!” Katara grunted out loud before she ended up bumping into Zuko.

“Whoa. You okay?”

“Um…yeah. Thanks.” Katara hastily turned around to face Suki.

Suki mouthed, “Hurry up! Jet’s looking at you!” Instantly, Katara looked at Jet. Catching Katara’s glimpse at him, Jet subtly sent Katara a small grin.

Panicking, Katara looked back and forth from Zuko to Jet to Suki and back to Zuko. And before she knew it…

BAM! Katara swiftly wrapped her tan arms around Zuko’s head and slowly closed in the small gap between them as she let her lips meet his. Zuko’s golden eyes widened noticeably, but as a few seconds past, his eyelids slowly came to a close just as Katara cracked open one eye and looked around at Jet to see if he was looking. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. Instead, he was too busy chatting with Ty Lee. Feeling a bit disappointed, Katara wanted to fall to the floor. That is, until she realized the situation that she was currently in. Katara gasped to herself a little bit, but soon found herself getting into the kiss.

“Can’t believe he just ditched me right now for that Katara girl.” Mai ranted to herself as she viewed Zuko walking towards Katara. She walked down the wide hallway, but came to a sudden halt as she saw a shocking event happening right before her eyes. Right down the hall, was Zuko. And Katara. Kissing. In front of the whole world to see.

Almost the entire student body was cluttered around the halls as they watched Zuko and Katara still going at it. Fortunately, the crowd was soon broken up as the bell rang for the end of lunch and the start of the next period. As soon as the two heard the loud ringing, they immediately separated in embarrassment, their faces both red as a tomato. They stood there awkwardly until most of the students swarming around them were gone. By the time that happened, though, the awkward atmosphere between Zuko and Katara had been inconveniently unbearable

“..Ahem.” Zuko cleared his throat as he uncomfortably scratched the back of his head. Katara, on the other hand, simply clasped her hands in front of her and stared at her feet. “U-uhm, I-I’m gonna get to class now.”

“Y-Yeah. M-me too. See ya.” Katara replied hesitantly, and the two went their separate ways to their classes.

“Alright class. You’re dismissed.” Mr. Kao announced just minutes before the 4th bell rang. “Except Katara and Jet. Can you two stay in for a second?”

All the students rushed their way out the door, and Katara, Jet, and Mr. Kao were the only ones left in the quiet room.

Oh my god, am I in trouble or something? Breathe, Katara. Just act cool. Katara flung her backpack over her shoulder and walked over to Mr. Kao’s desk in the back of the room along with Jet.

“Yes?” Katara asked.

“Hello Katara. Jet’s been having some problems with his academics in class. If he doesn’t get a good grade for this semester, he might have to repeat the grade. I know it might come with some pressure, but could you possibly help him to get better grades? Like a tutor?” Mr. Kao asked in a straightforward manner.

“Tutor?” Katara stood there, looking at Jet for a second. A few seconds later, she replied, “Um, sure. Why not?”

Jet smirked.

“Good. That’s very good.” Mr. Kao smiled. “You two can set up a time and place to meet or something of a schedule for tutoring sessions.”

“Well…I guess getting your grades up as a fast as possible is the first priority…so I guess we can meet sometime tomorrow after school. Where?” Katara said, pausing from time to time.

“There’s a coffee place around the corner. We can meet there.” Insisted Jet.

“Um…sure.” Katara hesitantly agreed.

To be continue...

--

I have a confession to make. I REALLY procrastinated on this chapter. And I'm really truly sorry about that. But it's mostly because, you know, it was the holidays and all and plus the kiss scene was really hard to write...Also. HAPPY 2009! I know it's a bit late, but better late than never. ^^

CREDITS: Lots of people I can't seem to remember, but recently, my new editor LSH (no actual beta name yet, so that's what they're gonna be called for now)

R'n'R

-zkjanie