Daughter of the Moon - Book Two: Earth

Chapter 15: A Date

- Elara -

Oh, the woes of socially awkward teenagers.

It had already been a few days since Zuko and I had shared our first kiss, but we had continually failed to do anything about it. We hadn't even managed to talk about it.

It wasn't entirely our fault, of course. Every time we had tried, we would both become so flustered that we would stumble over our words in a fantastic string of verbal acrobatics, struggling to form even the simplest coherent thought before we were interrupted by our boss or by Iroh. And this would not be a conversation I would want any onlooker to witness...especially not Iroh.

To make matters worse, one-on-one time with Zuko came only as mere fleeting moments, so much so that I was surprised that we were able to find any kind of privacy to share a kiss in the first place. It always seemed like there was some kind of an obstacle standing between me and Zuko (one that was literal most of the time). However, even with all the shenanigans keeping us shrouded in silence, nothing could deter me from thinking about it nonstop.

And I suppose Zuko had been thinking about it too.

Just as I had reached my wits end about the whole thing, Zuko confidently stormed up to me during a low time at the tea shop, slamming his hands on the table as I was clearing it for future customers.

"We need to have a talk."

"Right now?" I asked as I looked around the shop nervously. "In front of all these people?"

"Of course not!" he answered as I watched him become even more flustered than he already was. "I was thinking we should have a...private conversation...later today, that is."

My heart skipped a beat as I fantasized what a private conversation with Zuko could entail, but even as he offered it, I had a hard time believing that it was true. So, as some kind of sick coping mechanism (I guess), I automatically turned the offer into a joke.

"I don't know," I teased. "It's going to be pretty hard to get any privacy around here, especially when your uncle is hovering around us twenty-four seven."

"I've already got a plan for that," Zuko jumped in with a sneaky smile. "As far as Uncle will be concerned, we'll be running a several very important errands tonight."

"Are you implying that we aren't actually running errands tonight?" I asked.

"I was thinking we could go on a date," Zuko replied confidently before immediately slipping back into his bashful routine. "That is, if that's what you want."

"Yes! That's what I want!" I blurted immediately following his comment (my enthusiasm leading to some very serious blushing), and before I could even allow myself the opportunity to make even a bigger fool out of myself, I asked, "So, what's the plan?"

"Meet me outside the tea shop as soon as your shift is over," Zuko said as we heard Iroh calling for him from the kitchen.

"Alright," I answered as I watched Zuko stumble away awkwardly, and I had to use everything in my power to prevent myself from leaping for joy right then. I had a feeling tonight was going to be incredible.

*****

I was going to die.

Unfortunately, it didn't take very long for the excitement from that morning to turn into dread, especially as I was getting ready for my supposed date. I had never been on a date before, especially not with a boy I liked, so I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea what to say or what to do, and there way no way for me to train for it. I just had to go in blind, and that scared me more than anything else.