What I Learned at SRU -7-

A/N: After last chapter I know a lot of people are probably wondering, 'Wait, since when are Katara and Smellerbee friends?' Well, remember this is an alternate universe, for one. And for two, I'm taking an approach with this story where I show you how things are in the present and utilize flashbacks to establish certain ideas and let you fill in the less important blanks. Ideally, you should be comprehending how things are in the present but wondering why they are that way - and the flashbacks will help sort that out. This chapter is more experimental in its way of narration, so do pay attention to time stamps to help realize when things are taking place.

Oh, and do be aware that at different points in the story different characters will have more focus. At the start, Katara is kind of key because of the events surrounding her but different characters will have their time as we go. Enjoy!

What I Learned at SRU
Chapter 7 - Make It Work

-Thursday September 2nd, 2010-

[To: Katara]
[hey katara is everything ok? you looked really down yesterday]
[Sent: 10:32am]

[From: Katara]
[It's OK, Aang. I'm fine. Just stressed out.]
[Sent: 10:44am]

[Reply]
[To: Katara]
[ok well if u need anythin were here for ya ]
[Sent: 10:46am]

[From: Katara]
[I know. Thanks.]
[Sent: 10:47am]

[From: Sokka]
[Hey, it's your turn to pick where we eat on Friday. What'll it be?]
[Sent: 11:22am]

[Reply]
[To: Sokka]
[oh yea sweet. i want some wdys]
[Sent: 11:31am]

[From: Sokka]
[Beg your pardon?]
[Sent: 11:33am]

[Reply]
[To: Sokka]
[oh sorry wendys i like their salads]
[Sent: 11:45am]

[From: Sokka]
[Very well, very well. I shall tolerate it. At least they have meat there.]
[Sent: 11:47am]

[Reply]
[To: Sokka]
[where are u anyway? were waitin to eat lunch dude]
[Sent: 11:48am]

[From: Sokka]
[I'm on my way. Katara should be there any minute.]
[Sent: 11:52am]

[Twitter account Sokka Kesuk]
[(at)MeatAndSarcasmGuy - Akiak, Ontario]
[I'm just a guy with a Boomerang. And a light saber. And an insatiable appetite. And I never shut up. Even on the Internet.]

[MeatAndSarcasmGuy]
[Just told my sister to MAKE ME A SANDWICH, WOMAN. Did not go as I had hoped. #SadFace #WhatGives?]
[2 Sep 12:05pm]

[MeatAndSarcasmGuy]
[Told my other friend the same thing. She punched me. She meant to hit me in the stomach but got the groin. #WhatDoWomenWant? #Violence #FML]
[2 Sep 12:07pm]

[MeatAndSarcasmGuy]
[Told my roommate MAKE ME A SANDWICH, WOMAN and he made me one. What does THAT tell you? xD]
[2 Sep 12:10pm]

[MeatAndSarcasmGuy]
[Now his girlfriend's mad that I got the special treatment reserved only for her. #Selfish much? He's MY slave, too. ;D #OhSnap #YouGotServed]
[2 Sep 12:12pm]

[MeatAndSarcasmGuy]
[She was aiming for my groin on purpose this time. Hit my face instead. With her lunch tray. #WTF #BitchesBeCrazy]
[2 Sep 12:13pm]

[MeatAndSarcasmGuy]
[I don't remember the cafeteria being this violent since that gravy fiasco last semester. #OnLikeDonkeyKong]
[2 Sep 12:19pm]

[MeatAndSarcasmGuy]
[I think I like this philosophy professor. He's all right. Yes, I am tweeting in class. #WhatOfIt?]
[2 Sep 2:41pm]

As the class time was winding down, Sokka and Suki, sitting in the same row toward the back of the room, were passing a note back and forth, scribbling their discussion to each other. They had moved onto the backside of their sheet of notebook paper at this point.

{were you just texting in class?}

{No, I was tweeting. There's a difference.}

{ok, well, what were you tweeting about?}

{About how I like this professor. He's funny.}

{ok. so it doesn't matter if you learn anything as long as it's funny?}

{More or less.}

{and here i thought you had changed.f}

{Some things never change. ^u^}

"-which will be due on Tuesday."

The elderly professor, who spoke slowly and deliberately, was carrying that tried and true 'I'm-cramming-in-some-announcements-during-the-last-sixty-seconds-of-class' tone.

"Also," he lifted his index finger into the air. "I'd like to encourage you to stop by the coffee shop tonight for open mic night, which we will be having every Thursday evening starting at eight PM."

"Oh, that sounds like it could be fun," Suki noted, the students becoming more restless as the clock hit the end of scheduled class time.

"You are dismissed," the pudgy man proclaimed with a dismissive wave of the hand. "See you on Tuesday."

"Meh, we all study Thursday night," Sokka advised with a shrug as he rose from his seat, stuffing his textbook into his backpack. "We try to get junk out of the way before the weekend, ya know?"

"Ah-hah," Suki acknowledged with a grin as they trailed behind the rest of the class. "Well, aren't we just the little planner?"

"I try," Sokka mocked humility, polishing his fingernails on his maroon polo shirt. "I'm the brains of this whole operation, after all."

"Ya don't say."

"I do say. I say quite loudly." They exited the room and filtered through the hall to the atrium of the Gyatso Center, a building that contained classrooms utilized for most subjects.

"How loudly?" Suki goaded him on.

He cocked a sly eyebrow at her as they approached the open stairwell at the end of the hall

"I am the brains of this operation!" he roared through the clutter of shuffling students. Suki slapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment and surprise. Sokka carried himself with complete nonchalance despite the confused stares, and Suki held her snickers in until they had exited the building. They flooded out of her mouth as they exited and Sokka shrugged casually.

"I can't believe you did that," Suki scolded, shoving him on the shoulder as they walked down the sidewalk, bound for the ACC. "I'm just...I am in shock here," she egged him on.

"I have that effect on people," was his smug explanation.

"Well, if you're the brains, who's the brawn?"

He scoffed, "It ain't my roommate, that's for sure."

"Aw, hey," Suki snipped, "Don't be so mean to Aang. He seems like a good kid."

"He really is," Sokka knowingly agreed, his tone suddenly dropping its sarcastic edge. "Except that he eats salad instead of meat. That's why he's so skinny and wussy, you realize." So much for the sarcasm being set aside.

"Is he a vegetarian or something?"

"Kind of? I guess. He'll eat dairy, just not meat."

"OK. So he's not a vegan."

"Bleck. Thank God. What kind of miserable existence would that be? I wouldn't wish that curse on my worst enemy."

"It's good to know that as long as you're laughing with a full stomach you'll always be happy, Sokka."

"What can I say?" He spun around and spread his arms wide, keeping pace backwards. "I'm Sokka, the Meat and Sarcasm Guy. I'd think you'd remember that kind of thing."

"I guess I forgot," Suki admitted, shaking her head, bemused. "But how quickly have I been reminded."

"By the way, we're going out to eat tomorrow - you wanna join us? Katara will be there this time."

"Oh," Suki blurted, instantly open to the idea. "Yea, that sounds great."

"Sweet. Done deal, then." Sokka waved her off as they reached The Ring. "I've got another class to hit but I'll keep you posted about tomorrow. Later!"

"Yea," Suki called back as he trampled off down the sidewalk. "Later."

[From: Jet]
[yo you know whats up with kat? she hasnt been gettin back to me]
[Sent: September 2nd, 3:06pm]

[Reply]
[To: Jet]
[shes been acting weird. i dunno.]
[Sent: September 2nd, 6:12pm]

[From: Jet]
[must be that time of teh month]
[Sent: September 2nd, 6:20pm]

[Reply]
[To: Jet]
[fuck if i know. ask her bout it.]
[Sent: September 2nd, 6:26pm]

[From: Johnny LongShot]
[xoxoxoxoxo]
[Sent: September 2nd, 6:28pm]

Jane grinned and cast her gaze at the perfectly calm and unassuming expression of the man in the red and black plaid jacket. He sat across the booth from her in the downtown ice cream joint they had picked to chow down at and study on this particular Thursday evening. Jane punched in a reply on her phone, her tongue poking out of her lips in a mischievous expression.

[Reply]
[To: Johnny Longshot]
[ u too bud.]

Jane set her phone on her lap as she went back to her chemistry reading, feeling as if she was comprehending the material well enough. No matter how stressful things were, at least she had this: peace, quiet, and Johnny 'Longshot.' He never pried, never forced his way in, never asked questions. He just let her be.

As if in response to her appreciation of this sentiment, Jane's cell phone began to vibrate.

[Calling...]
[Kat]

"Hell," Jane grunted in hesitation. She and Katara hadn't had any form of contact since their spat a couple of days prior, and she wasn't in any kind of mood to be pried open again. They'd been dancing the delicate art of avoidance surprisingly well for being neighbors. "What do you want?" Jane demanded in desperation to the phone. She didn't want to answer it. She didn't want the drama. So she surprised herself when she answered it, anyway, some unseen force willing her to do so - perhaps curiosity, perhaps some fragment of desire and hope to sort out this confusing relationship. She didn't know. But maybe Katara did.

"What?" was her blunt and off-putting greeting.

["Hey,"] was Katara's equally gruff response. ["I was just..."] Her tone softened. ["I'm sorry about the other night. I thought a lot about it, and...you were right. I made everything about you, and...I shouldn't have."]

"OK," muttered Jane, her glance wandered to Johnny, who was flipping through his hunting magazine with nonchalance.

["And I guess I'm just...overreacting to everything."]

"Ya think?"

["I mean, we obviously don't really understand each other."]

"Got that straight."

["But I want to understand you, Jane. Can you let me make it up to you?"]

Jane drummed her dirty fingernails on the page of her textbook in a moment of snap decision.

"What did you have in mind?"

["Well, I was thinking we could go out for coffee, or...or something."]

"Nah, I'm not in the mood."

["Oh...W-well, we could-"]

"I'll come see you at Aqua when I'm back," Jane decided.

["Y-yea, that's...That's fine. OK!"] There was some relief seeping out through the phone speaker, and Jane found this...satisfying? Was that the right word for it? Comforting? She didn't quite know how to define it, but it was an oddly positive quality.

"'Kay."

["So, I'll...See you later."]

"Yep."

[Beep.]

When Jane's eyes met her boyfriend's, he was directing a skeptically amused smile her way.

"What?" Jane growled defensively. "Kat's cool. Lot better than those stupid bimbos we have to put up with."

-Summer, 2010-

[Sent: June 3rd, 2010]
[From: Katara Kesuk]
[To: Jane Fitzpatrick]
[Subject: So...]

[Hey. Is this the right person? Smellerbee?]
[~ Katara]

[Sent: June 3rd, 2010]
[From: Jane Fitzpatrick]
[To: Katara Kesuk]
[Subject: RE:So...]

[yea. this is jets gf right? whats up?]
[- bee]

[Sent: June 3rd, 2010]
[From: Katara Kesuk]
[To: Jane Fitzpatrick]
[Subject: RE:So...]

[Hey! Yea, that's me. How are you doing lately? I've just been trying to get a hold of some of you Freedom Fighter guys. Stay in touch, make friends, you know. Try to stay sane over the summer. There is nothing out here. Seriously. It gets pretty lonely. -_- I've got my big brother to keep me company, but...come on. He's my brother. xD ]

[So tell me about yourself, Jane. Or Smellerbee? What should I call you, anyway? How did you end up at SRU? What's your major? How did you get mixed up with the Freedom Fighters?]
[~ Katara]

[Sent: June 4th, 2010]
[From: Jane Fitzpatrick]
[To: Katara Kesuk]
[Subject: RE:So...]

[not sure were the type you wanna make frinds with but w/e. you seem all righ to me. yea im goin crazy here too. this summer job is killing me. custodial sucks ass man. sooooo boring and i cant stand the people i work with. at least you got a brother. i just have cousins and they're annoying brats. wish i had a real brother. and jus call me smellerbee its my nickname. my uncle thought i should go here cuz its like out in the middle of nowhere and theres mountains. i love the woods though and he knew that so it made sense. i wanna be in the military and they use the mts here for training. i liked it when i visited so i picked here. wut about you? my major is biology but i dunno what to do w/it. i just wanna be in the army. kick some ass take some names. got into the freedom fighters cuz your bf found me freshmn year and had me join. anyway why do u wanna know all this stuff?]
[- bee]

[Sent: June 5th, 2010]
[From: Katara Kesuk]
[To: Jane Fitzpatrick]
[Subject: RE:So...]

[Yea, I remember working custodial back in high school. Ugh. Not my thing, either. My brother liked it but he just spent all his time goofing off. So go fig, right? Yea, SRU is really pretty with all the mountains and woods nearby. Military, huh? You do seem pretty tough. I can see that! So you're in training? That's so awesome! What is that like? It's got to be really hard. O_O' ]

[I'm an Ed Major. I want to teach High School Lit. You have to keep your GPA up or they'll drop you from the program, so I always stress out, but it turns out fine. ^^' Why do I ask this stuff? I dunno, I'm just trying to get to know all you guys. You're the only one who's gotten back to me so far, though. Do you guys not stay in touch over the summer or something?]
[~ Katara]

[Sent: June 5th, 2010]
[From: Jane Fitzpatrick]
[To: Katara Kesuk]
[Subject: RE:So...]

[yeeeeaaa i dont think youre really gonna hear from those other guys. theyre not really big on "staying in touch" or w/e. im not really either honestly. so dont get yer hopes up kid haha. but i bet jets still talkin with ya rite? if your his gf he will give a crap bout ya lol. he prolly calls you like everyday rite? and military training isnt as hard as you think if youre in shape for it. i like it. makes me wake up in the morning and stay strong.]
[- bee]

[Sent: June 6th, 2010]
[From: Katara Kesuk]
[To: Jane Fitzpatrick]
[Subject: RE:So...]

[Oh, yea. Jet and I talk pretty much every day. He's very...unexpected. Like, with everything. He's not like what I thought he'd be. He caught me by surprise. But man it's like all of the girls in that group want to take my place or something! What's the deal? You remember that one night where you had to come in and get them to leave me alone? (thanks for that BTW) Did I do something wrong, or what? I'm just glad that the one girl I've got on my side here is so tough!]

[My brother is harassing me to watch TV with him. 'Bonding time' he says. I don't recall Will Ferrell movies being 'bonding time' but whatever.]

[So I'm curious - I'm not gonna get my hopes up, though. ;D But would you want to chat some time? I'm on Skype a lot. Text/voice/video, whatever you want. My handle is AquaGirlKatara. You don't live in Aqua house, do you?]
[~ Katara]

[Sent: June 7th, 2010]
[From: Jane Fitzpatrick]
[To: Katara Kesuk]
[Subject: RE:So...]

[ugh god i hate all those dumb bitches that are always with us. some of em are ok but damnit most of those girls really piss me off. i remember what your talkin about. theyre just jealous cuz theyre all horny for jet or some bullshit. just ignore em. it was no problem. chat? i dont have a cam or mic but i dunno. dont have anythin better to do these days i guess. my bf is super busy this summer soooo. sure i guess. ill get skype and add you. well see what happens w/e. and i live in terra. its quiet. a lotta girls on my floor are too prissy though. act like they shit rainbows or something. whats your dorm like?]
[- bee]

[Skype tm]

[Sunday, July 4th, 2010]

[AquaGirlKatara - Hey, Bee. You there?]
[1:23 am]

[killerbeejane - kinda. what's up?]
[1:28 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - I'm just bored. ]
[1:28 am]

[killerbeejane - oh thats great i see how it is. im here for when youre bored that it?]
[1:29 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Always. ;D]
[1:30 am]

[killerbeejane - thats just great. good to know.]
[1: 31am]

[killerbeejane - jerk.]
[1:31 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - I'm kidding, geez. You want me to throw in some LOLs or JKs or something?]
[1:32 am]

[killerbeejane - i know your just kiddin btw. i am too.
[1:32 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - xD]
[1:33 am]

[killerbeejane - lol]
[1:33 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Anyway, what's my solider girl up to tonight?]
[1:34 am]

[killerbeejane - nothin much just watchin a movie.]
[1:36 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Oh, what movie?]
[1:37 am]

[killerbeejane - i dunno some junk on our netflix stream. some horror flick.]
[1:38 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - You just added it and don't even know what it's called? ]
[1:38 am]

[killerbeejane - nah my cousin prolly added it or somethin.]
[1:39 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Oh, are you like, at a relative's house?]
[1:40 am]

[killerbeejane - uh technclly i guess?]
[1:42 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - What do you mean?]
[1:42 am]

[killerbeejane - i never told you bout my family?]
[1:43 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - No...Why, did something happen? =S ]
[1:43 am]

[killerbeejane - oh.]
[1:44 am]

[killerbeejane - my parents died when i was a kid kat.]
[1:44 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Oh my God. =O ]
[1:44 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - No, I had no idea! We've never really talked about your family...]
[1:45 am]

[killerbeejane - i dont really talk bout it to everyone so yea. not everyones business.]
[1:45 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - I am so sorry, Bee. ='( ]
[1:46 am]

[killerbeejane - not your fault.]
[1:46 am]

[killerbeejane - you know how it is though. with your mom i mean.]
[1:46 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Yea...-_- ]
[1:46 am]

[killerbeejane - how old were you again?]
[1:47 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Oh. I was, like...]
[1:47 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - I was 12.]
[1:47 am]

[killerbeejane - so you actually kinda knew your mom.]
[1:48 am]

[killerbeejane - my parents died when i was 6.]
[1:48 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - If you don't mind me asking...What happened?]
[1:48 am]

[killerbeejane - no its fine youre cool. i was too little to really remembr anything.]
[1:48 am]

[killerbeejane - i was with my grandparents visiting n my mom and dad were at home.]
[1:50 am]

[killerbeejane - house fire happened while they were sleeping.]
[1:50 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Wow. O_O]
[1:51 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - I don't know what to say.]
[1:51 am]

[killerbeejane - nothing to say really.]
[1:52 am]

[killerbeejane - then i moved in with my uncle. he was divorced.]
[1:52 am]

[killerbeejane - thats how its been since.]
[1:53 am]

[killerbeejane - thats why all that stuff started happenin with me later.]
[1:53 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - I can't believe I didn't know any of this sooner. But now some stuff makes sense...]
[1:54 am]

[killerbeejane - like i said its not like i tell everyone.]
[1:54 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Then I guess I appreciate that you trust me enough to tell me.]
[1:55 am]

[killerbeejane - hey youre all right. i like you kat you dont judge me.]
[1:55 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Of course not. Why would I?]
[1:56 am]

[killerbeejane - all the other stuff i told you before. most people would be freakin out.]
[1:57 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Oh. Well, if I'm gonna be your friend I can't let stuff like that freak me out. ]
[1:57 am]

[killerbeejane - thanks.]
[1:59 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - Wow, it's 2am. I really need to get some sleep! Good thing it's a Saturday night, right? xD ]
[2:02 am]

[killerbeejane - k. have good nite.]
[2:03 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - You, too, Bee. It was nice to talk with you.]
[2:05 am]

[AquaGirlKatara - ~HUG~]
[2:05 am]

[AquaGirlKatara has signed out.]
[2:05 am]

[Skype tm]

[Saturday, August 7th, 2010]

[killerbeejane - yo yo you there kat?]
[3:23 pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - Hey, Jane, what's up? ]
[3:25 pm]

[killerbeejane - check it. i got accepted into aqua.]
[3:25 pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - m/ ^_^ m/ ]
[3:26 pm]

[killerbeejane - gets better.]
[3:23 pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - Do tell. ]
[3:23 pm]

[killerbeejane - so theres this girl on the 2nd floor rite? ginny ackland.]
[3:23 pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - Yea? OK.]
[3:24 pm]

[killerbeejane - her roommate bailed out on her so they had an opening.]
[3:24 pm]

[killerbeejane - so i took it. ]
[3:24 pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - That's our floor! What room?]
[3:24 pm]

[killerbeejane - 201]
[3:25 pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - OMG. That...is right acros the hall from us! ]
[3:25 pm]

[killerbeejane - holy shit were gonna be neighbors.]
[3:25 pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - This is so epic. You and my roommate will get along great. ]
[3:26 pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - That makes two Terra girls I've converted to the Light Side. Haha. ]
[3:26 pm]

[killerbeejane - i guess now i have some kind of reason to not completely hate going back to school.]
[3:27 pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - I know, right? We can actually become real friends now instead of just online ones.]
[3:28 pm]

[killerbeejane - i guess. yea. ]
[3:30 pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - Shoot. I have to be somewhere at 4.]
[3:32 pm]

[killerbeejane - oh yea that volunteer thing rite? ]
[3:33pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - Right, this will be the last week I do that for the summer. I have to go. Catch you later, Jane!]

[killerbeejane - ttyl kat.]

A halfhearted knock - just one single knock - brought Katara out of her study mode. She was poring through Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key for her Children's Lit class. She knew that knock: it was Jane. Or Smellerbee. She didn't really know who was going to be waiting for her behind that door but she hoped it was Jane.

"Come in," she called, sticking her Harry Potter bookmark on the page and setting it on top of her closed laptop.

The door quietly crawled inward and the lanky, stick-limbed figure she had anticipated hobbled in, closing the door behind her, energy drink cupped in her hands.

"Hey," she said, setting herself on the floor cross-legged.

"Hi," Katara replied, seeking eye contact.

"So...Sorry if I was a bitch the other night." She sipped loudly at her black and blue can. This was Jane. For sure. 'Sorry' wasn't part of 'Smellerbee's' vocabulary.

"Me, too," Katara conceded.

"You already apologized," Jane said with a smirk, her olive eyes finally looking up. "It's just...different. Ya know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Us. This." She waved her hand around the room. "You're not just a...bunch of words on my computer. You're right here. I can't just...log out if I'm pissed off."

Katara laughed lightly and nodded her head, recalling days when Jane would suddenly disappear from their conversation if things got tense.

"We're not the same, Kat."

"I know."

"I'm not really a social person."

"I know," Katara insisted with a smile, hunched over in her chair, looking down at her red-headed neighbor.

"It's easy to do it on IM or e-mail," Jane confessed with a shrug, taking another swig of Monster and coughing.

"But isn't it better in person like this?"

Jane sighed and ran her palm over her frizzled hair.

"I guess," she mumbled.

"Maybe we just need to figure each other out better," Katara proposed. "You can only learn so much about someone on the Internet."

"OK," Jane agreed plainly.

"It's hard on my end because I feel like I hardly know about you, even though we talked a lot over the summer."

"Not exactly the touchy-feely type," Jane grunted. "So that's probably why."

"And I know I can be really..." Katara wiggled her hand, searching for how she wanted to put it. "I can come off strong."

"Baha. Yea. Yea, you definitely do, Kat."

"Right."

"That kinda...doesn't help when I'm in a bad mood."

"Yea. I'll have to keep that in mind. But you can't just totally shut me out, either."

"No, I get it," Jane nodded quickly, glance back to the floor. "I can try."

Katara grinned.

"We got this," she concluded with optimism and a thumbs up. "We can make it work," she said in a quirky twist of humor, flashing her other thumb up.

"God, I hate you," Jane facetiously chuckled. "You and your...dress. Show."

"You have UFC and I have Project Runway. Maybe we should swap some time?"

"That's a dangerous idea," Jane slyly said, a glint in her eye. "I'm not sure you could handle it."

"Oh, please!" Katara insisted, kicking Jane playfully in the knee. "It's settled. This weekend, I will show you Project Runway and you will show me this...'mixed martial arts' you seem to love so much."

"Deal," Jane agreed. "I'll be back in a sec."

As Jane lifted herself to her feet and trudged to her room across the hall - doors left open now - Katara found herself contemplating her situation. She had been avoiding Jet with careful excuses of classes and friends and work, but sooner or later she'd have to confront the situation. It didn't look like they'd stay together, but Katara had found some peace in that. At the very least, maybe she had made a friend in this gruff, likely lonely girl. Even if that was the solitary good thing that came from the entire situation, she'd be OK with that.

A/N: Twitter and Skype are (c) whoever owns them, as are...any TV shows or other brands mentioned.