Over You

Disclaimer: Avatar belongs to Mike/Bryan/Nick and the song belongs to Daughtry

Warning Maiko fans: do not read beyond this point. This is a very anti-Maiko story. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Now that it's all said and done,

I can't believe you were the one

To build me up and then tear me down

Like an old abandoned house.

Zuko did not have a great life, by any stretch of the imagination. Motherless, banished at age thirteen, and now forced to pretend he'd killed the Avatar, he'd had to deal with a lot. But being with Mai had made it ok. Sure, she didn't care about a lot, but she sure cared about him, and he about her. His fiery passion was the yin for her apathetic yang. They'd had their share of fights, but they always made up.

What you said when you left

Just left me cold and out of breath

It was a real shock when she came for him. Zuko had been in his room, meditating. He heard a soft knock on his door. Praying it was someone important, he said, "Come in." The door opened quietly, and Zuko saw Mai.

"Sorry to bother you Zuko."

"It's ok. I was just about finished."

Zuko went and sat on his bed, motioning for her to sit down next to him. She shook her head and said, "I've got a surprise for you."

Zuko should have known right then. Mai wasn't one for surprises. But he went along and asked, "What is it?"

She didn't say anything, just moved behind him, put her arms over his shoulders, and covered his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yeah."

"Then don't talk, and don't peek."

Zuko did as he was told. He tried to feel where they were going, but Mai kept confusing him. She took him every which way to mix him up. That had to be why it felt like they had left the palace. It almost felt like they were near the jail, but what surprise could Mai have for him there? She knew better than to do anything with his uncle. He was still mad at him for refusing to talk to him, and then suddenly talking about the Avatar being his great-grandfather.

"Mai, where are we?"

"Shhhh. We're almost there."

Zuko thought he heard the tiniest bit of regret in that painfully apathetic voice, but he didn't question it. Looking back, he should have. The next thing he knew, he heard Ty Lee say, "Now?" A blow to his head, and then nothing.

I fell too far, was in way too deep.

Guess I let you get the best of me.

Zuko opened his eyes and groaned. Ty Lee must have knocked him out, but why? Looking around, Zuko saw that he was in a prison cell. What the hell? he thought. "Hey!" he called out, "What's going on?"

"I was wondering when you'd wake up."

Mai was outside his door in the hallway.

"Mai, what's going on?"

She looked down and opened the door. Sitting down on the chair inside, she said, "Look, it wasn't my idea. It was Azula's."

"What idea?"

"Our relationship."

"Wait, Azula set us up?"

"Well, sort of. She told me to get close to you so this could happen."

Zuko clutched onto the bars for support. "Why, Mai?"

She broke eye contact momentarily and said, "Look, you can't have thought what we had was real. It haven't liked you since we were kids, Zuko."

Zuko's insides disappeared. "So all of this-"

"Was a trap."

Zuko's head dropped and he heard Mai shut the door.

Well I never saw it coming

I should have started running

A long, long time ago.

And I never thought to doubt you

I'm better off without you

More than you, more than you know.

How could he have been so foolish? Of course it was all fake! Azula had tricked him, just like she always did. Zuko ran and kicked the wall. He had no idea what would happen to him next. Well, that wasn't completely true. Azula was going to get rid of him, definitely. He just didn't know how. Life imprisonment, another banishment, death: she would keep him guessing until the end. He still couldn't get over Mai's betrayal. How could she do this to him?

I'm slowly getting closure

I guess it's really over

I'm finally getting better.

And I'm picking up the pieces, spending all of these years

Putting my heart back together.

Cause the day I thought I'd never get through

I got over you.

It was rather ironic. Zuko had wanted to be normal for so long, and now he was experiencing the common teenage heartbreak so many others went through. But even this breakup couldn't be normal. He didn't just get dumped; he was in jail. How could Mai have done this to him?

The door clanged open and a young woman brought in his food. She didn't say anything, just put his food down and gave him an icy stare. It seemed everyone hated him.

"What!" he cried out. "What did I do?"

She turned around. "Ask the man who once called you Nephew."

And with that, she left.

You took a hammer to these walls

Dragged the memories up the hall

Packed your bags and walked away

There was nothing I could say.

Zuko sank to the ground. This was too much. He had shut out his Uncle and opened up to Mai, and what a mistake that had been. He had been so naïve with her. Why had he been so trusting? He had thrown away the only person he could trust. Curling up in the corner like a pathetic dog, he tried to go to sleep.

And when you slammed the front door shut

A lot of others opened up

So did my eyes so I could see

That you never were the best for me.

Zuko awoke to the door opening. A tiny squeak, and that girl was back. She didn't have any food with her, but she did look worried.

"What's going-"

"Quiet," she said quickly. "We don't have much time. I told your uncle that you were in prison."

"You've seen Uncle Iroh?"

"Every day that he's been here. But that's not important. Your uncle's going to break out, and he want you to go with him."

"He does? I thought Uncle hated me."

"He should, for what you did to him. But your Uncle's a forgiving man. Gives people second chances. And that's why he's taking you. Do you see the bars on your window?"

Zuko looked where she was pointing.

"Yes."

"The window heads directly outside. Tomorrow's the eclipse. Today, disassemble the bars by burning them, but put them back to make them look real. When the eclipse starts, leave. No one will be able to harm you. You'll have approximately eight minutes to break out and leave the city."

"Where will my Uncle be?"

"He'll find you. You're only two cells away from him. Just stick to the plan."

She nodded and started toward the door, but Zuko called out, "Wait!"

She looked back at him.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Ming."

"Ming, are you going to see my Uncle today?"

"Yes, I give him his dinner."

"Tell him," Zuko's eyes dropped to the floor, and he struggled to bring them back up. "Tell him I'm sorry."

She smiled at him for the first time.

"Of course."

Well I never saw it coming

I should have started running

A long, long time ago.

And I never thought to doubt you

I'm better off without you

More than you, more than you know.

I'm slowly getting closure

I guess it's really over

I'm finally getting better.

And I'm picking up the pieces, spending all of these years

Putting my heart back together.

Cause the day I thought I'd never get through

I got over you.

Zuko leaned against the wall. He was leaving! And with Uncle! Everything was going to be ok…except for Mai. Agni, he still loved her. It would be so easy to forgive and forget. He would, too, if she came to him.

Zuko stood up and tried to firebend one of the metal bars, but he couldn't do it. His flame wasn't strong enough. Frustrated, he sat back down. He knew why he couldn't firebend. This happened to him all the time when he was little. When he was too full of emotion, his firebending suffered. Uncle Iroh had always tried to get help him release his emotions, but he had always blown him off. Now he needed to do this. He needed to let Mai go. It would be hard- he still loved her, after all. But if he was to survive, he had to let her go.

He got into position and started meditating. Images of Mai flooded into his head. Them as children; playing in the courtyard; walking down the hall; their first kiss; the many kisses that followed; the beach; going to her house; spending time with her. Why was he doing this? Them fighting. Her not caring. Her breaking up with him. You can't have thought it was real.

Well I never saw it coming

I should have started running

A long, long time ago.

And I never thought to doubt you

I'm better off without you

More than you, more than you know.

Zuko opened his eyes. Mai had used him. She didn't love him and he didn't love her. He got up and tried to melt the bars. It worked perfectly. He replaced them and waited for the eclipse.

He and his Uncle would escape and join the Avatar. He would be free and would make everything up to his Uncle. But most importantly, Mai was part of his past. No more. Whenever he would think of her now, it wouldn't only be with one thought.

I got over you.

So that's my story, how did you like it? A review would be LOVELY, just to say whatever.

It's kind of weird, this story started out with Mai and Zuko and then morphed into Iroh. I think I have to include him in every one of my stories somehow. Whatever! So this story turned out a lot different than I planned it. I hear Daughtry songs, and I don't think about them being love songs. I hear Iroh and Zuko's relationship. I wrote a fanfic about Home about their relationship for example. (It's up if you want to read it hint hint).

Thanks for at least skipping down to the bottom. I always take constructive criticism, so if you didn't like this, please tell me why. I can't change how I write unless you review, so please do! Thanks!