Zuko's P.O.V:
I remember the party; well, I could hardly call it a party. It was mostly just a gathering of people who didn't want to be there for reasons they didn't quite understand but they ended up coming anyhow and they all stayed longer than they wanted to. I was one of those people. Stuck in the sticky, smoke filled back of the house (not quite sure who's house it was) with my sister somewhere near me. While I silent for the most part, my sister was puffing away, with a mouth full of lewd humor stretched on her overly make-uped face and a cigarette glowing as brightly as the evil in her eyes held tightly between the index and middle fingers of her right hand.
It was one of the few times I ever really saw her outside of school. After an incident involving my dad that resulted in a scar that took up a fourth of my face, I lived with my uncle while my sister remained in the childhood house that we were both raised in. It was just from watching the actions of my sister that night that I knew our uncle would be furious with me when I get back home. If he knew I was at this party, let alone with my sister, he would have grounded me to my bedroom forever.
'What he don't know won't kill him!' That was excuse for the night.
Whenever I think of that line now, the familiar scent of alcohol assults my senses and clouds my memory even more than it actually was during the night. I remember that I only drank a little bit earlier that night, though Da Li was some pretty heavy stuff. It aided in giving me a bit of a buzz, but nothing along the lines of actually being drunk. At the moment it started, I was just enjoying the care-free feeling that had finally come over me, making me completely unaware of the people around me.
If I could select a few familiar faces out of the crowd, a lot of them would have been from my usual see around school. However, their names and faces were soon swept away into the raving crowd just ahead of me; they were swallowed up so fast that there were moments when I doubted if I had actually seen them or if they were just an illusion brought on by the party atmosphere. Either way, it didn't matter, because they had no idea I was here with them...
... And I had no idea they were actually even there…
Toph's P.O.V:
Even with the booming music resounding throughout the cramped space of the living room and crushing my eardrums, I knew Jet was drunk. There was no doubt about that. I had been told he was crazy before this, but whatever this was...I could hardly explain it. I knew he rambled on all the time about being an anarchist or something (Freedom Fighter, as he liked to call it) but, for most of the party, he was quiet and calm, like he didn't remember who he was. I would have blamed the alcohol had he not suddenly snapped back to his usual antics, jumping all over the place and screaming about control, his words slurred as his heavy tongue attempted to move as freely as his spirit.
"Just take him home already." Katara scoffed beside me as the scuff of shoes on hardwood soon followed her disproving voice.
If I had to take a guess, I would say that Katara's shoes I heard as she pushed the stumbling Jet into the jean clad lap of SmellerBee. The younger girl gasped suddenly, and the squeeking of the plastic covered chair being freed of whatever little weight she had been putting on it confirmed it.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of him." Longshot, who, I swear, talked for the first time since I met him, said with a gentle huff, his own words slurred under the weight of sleep and whatever little alcohol he had to drink during the party.
"Just be careful, you three." Katara sighed, her earlier disproval soon melting away and giving way to her motherly side.
"Don't worry about it." SmellerBee replied, her tone coming out rather quiet and sleepy.
I'm not sure why I didn't say anything; I knew Longshot seemed to have no business driving tonight, and I sure as hell knew SmellerBee never learned how to. With an erratic Jet, the whole thing was set up to end badly. Yet, I found myself leaning against the warm skin of Sokka's arm, all but burying myself in the sweet smell of his jacket and letting my eyes slide shut. The gentle hum of the tuned out music made my head feel a bit fuzzy with sleep, as I slowly began letting myself fade back into my own little world, knowing all too well what was about to happen but finding that I just didn't care about it at the moment.
Zuko's P.O.V:
The party was nearly a weeks ago; school had resumed for the fall and everyone I talked to there had either been long forgotten or had formally excused themselves from my life, including my sister.
Uncle had found out about it and though I thought he would be furious with me, he was actually pretty forgiving. Like he always is.
Things, for the most part, had gone back to normal since then. I more recently began to hang out with Aang and the gang again, which was a welcomed change once our differences were worked out in various 'field trips' as Toph had called them.
Today, our 'field trip' consisted of sitting in the auditorium while the drama club worked on some 'original' play of theirs. We would have got up to leave had Ty Lee not rushed up to the stage, a paper clutched tightly in her hands and a facial expression that showed so much urgency, we were sure she was going to start crying obnoxiously at any second; we weren't wrong.
"You guys! Guys, t-the rumors are- are true!" She chocked out, seemingly the second she knew she had an audience.
"Is this part of the play?" Jin asked as she looked up from the part of the set that may or may not have broken due to Sokka being an idiot, innocence sparkling on her rather unconcerned face.
Ty Lee shook her head so fast her braid snapped from side to side like a whip. In all honesty, it was more obnoxious than her whimpering. There was no way this could have anything relatively importan-
"Jet- H-hes... Oh God, hes dead, you guys!"
Had there been a record player, it would have shrieked to a halt by now. All eyes fells on the girl on stage, who had begun that predicted cry. She shoved the paper in her hands over to Suki, who carefully smoothed it before reading. An awkward silence fell over everyone in the room as her eyes skimmed the front page, then the back, then the front again. The only sound in the room now was the flip of the paper and stage lights that had been turned on far too long. Amidst the low sounding buzz of the stinging stage lights, hushed voices could be heard beginning to mutter. Truths, Secrets, and Lies all fell to the ears of those who were meant to hear them, and all around these groups of whisperers, there was an overwhelming feeling of dread. The air that was always carried by one particular student, one who brought the feeling of an incredible sense of justice with him, seemed to be sucked from the school. Those who knew why this had happened were grim, and those who didn't attempted to ignore the feeling, seemingly denying that there had ever been a change in the atmosphere to begin with. I was among those who pushed back the feeling of something wrong, because, as far as I was concerned, there was nothing that I could deem 'wrong'.
A loud crackle from the overhead speakers in the auditorium silenced the voices around me, as a soft, airy sigh resonated throughout the school. The voice of the principal soon followed, sounding as dry and hollow as the aforementioned grim students expected it to be.
"Students and faculty, it is with a heavy heart that-" There's a pause in the principal's voice, followed by a quick intake of air that only sounded like it could do so much to bring the liveliness back to his voice. "It is with a heavy heart and much regret that I come to inform you that one of your fellow students… Has passed away… Earlier this weekend, a Junior student, Jet, had lost his life in a car accident just a block away from his home. The exact circumstances of the incident are left unknown, but guidance counselors are at the ready for anyone who needs to come down and visit them. Friends of Jet, or even fellow students who feel the effects of his passing are welcome."
Another crackle ended the short lived speech, but the muttering did not resume. Even the stage lights seemed to be in a bout of silence for the fallen student. It wasn't because they had to though; It was an obligation to remain silent during this time, even if it didn't directly affect them. It was just expected that when something like this happens, you remain silent and let the moment hang in the air for as long as it can. It's only when the atmosphere clears that you're allowed to go about your life again the best you can.
I don't know why, but I suddenly felt weird...Jet and I had never really got alo- okay. That's a bit of a lie. Jet and I met while my uncle and I were in the middle of moving to our new apartment. At first, he seemed like a regular guy with a plan to make the world a better place; it was something I could agree with, but could never completely get behind. I had other things to worry about at the time, like making sure my sister never learned my new address. I lost contact with him until shortly after we arrived to our new home.
Jet had also recently moved into the complex with his best friend, Longshot, and Longshot's girlfriend, Smellerbee. I don't remember what started it, but Jet became obsessed with his quest to fix all the 'problems' in the world; beginning with his problem with my uncle and I. He was convinced we were members of the 'enemy'; his enemy anyway. We chose to ignore him up until he attacked us at the tea shop my uncle and I worked at, yelling like a damn nut until security dragged him from the shop.
I know he took up drinking after that; Smellerbee was yelling at him about it all the time. She tried to remind him constantly about the 'Freedom Fighters', anything really that would break him out of this weird trance he seemed to be in. I kind of liked this new Jet; he was a lot quieter and less crazy; he almost seemed to forget that he ever had a problem with anything in his life, but I knew where she was coming from. This wasn't Jet at all.
Speaking of Smellerbee, she was sitting in one of the seats to the right of our group, staring down at her hands. It was the first time I've seen her since who knows when; she looked terrible. I expected to see her crying, though it seemed like she didn't notice the announcement that was just made. Jet had been with her since she was in grade school; always three grades above and guiding her through her new life as a she began high school, however, even as the tension in the room grew, she did not cry, I figured it was because she had already done her crying.
She knew…
Smellerbee P.O.V:
Have you ever wanted to punch someone before? Like, really hurt them in some way? Right now, that's how I felt; how dare Principle Ozai say anything about Jet! He hated Jet! He was the whole reason he started the Freedom Fighters in the first place! He didn't care that he was dead, he probably turned off the P.A and laughed about it to himself!
I begin to hear mumbling all around me; it only makes me even more angry. They don't care about Jet; they just want to feel like they're apart of the mourning.
They aren't.
No one in this auditorium knew Jet like I did. No one knew what it was like to be in the car when it skidded off the road. No one knew what it was like to stand and watch as your friend of so many crazy years and adventures died before your eyes. No one knew what it was like to come home to our shared house, knowing Jet would never run through the front door, wildly talking about his crazy day, and fill the house with some kind of unique energy ever again. Jet held that house together and now he's gone.
No one knew what that was like.
"Hey, Smellerbee." I half jump when I fully realize I was no longer sitting alone. Toph punches my shoulder once she knows it's me; I guess that's her way of showing she liked you or something. I know she's only here for answers and for a second, I feel like I can tell her about what happened. I don't know how she does it, maybe it's the fact that, with fogged eyes, she never looks like she's judging you about anything, but Toph always seems like the type you can tell secrets to.
I go to open my mouth, but something tells me she already knows.
She always knows...
My suspicion is soon confirmed, when she suddenly sits beside me, face towards the stage as unseeing eyes stared blankly ahead, as if staring at it long enough would reveal something I could not. As she sat, a tense atmosphere seemed to fall with her body. A heavy, inescapable feeling that pinned me in my spot, despite every instinct within me telling me to get up and run from her. Its not that I feared her, but what I did fear was what sentences were currently being strung together in that steel trap mind of hers.
"Jet didn't die from the crash, did he?" Her words come out smoothly, and so matter-of-factly that I could feel my blood freeze just a little.
There's a silence that soon falls between us, giving my heart time to hammer cool blood throughout my system, but none of it goes to my brain. I'm left mentally scrambling to come up with an excuse to leave quickly, or to even deny the accusation, with silence coming up as the only answer. What would I even say in a situation like that? I could just as easily tell the truth as I could just spit out a quick "No!" but at the same time I also know that theres no trying to lie to Toph. She knows better than that, and I know it too.
"How'd you come to that conclusion...?" I mutter out gruffly, bowing my head quickly even though she couldn't see it.
"He wasn't alive before it..." Toph goes on, sounding lost within her own thoughts.
"Toph-" I'm cut off by the sudden turn of her head, and silenced almost instantly by her filmy eyes that seemed to be daring me to complete my already incomplete thoughts.
"I know they didn't say what happened, but-" The tension is killing me by now, and something inside of me suddenly snaps.
"How'd you know I was driving!?" I bit out, throwing the ball into left field as I glared at the blind girl. The same girl who just wouldn't let me mourn the death of my best friend in peace. The same, damn girl who was practically crushing me under that atmosphere of hers, just waiting for me to say something to her.
The instant the words leave my mouth and I give her what shes wanted, something happens. Her pale lips suddenly turn upward into a funny little grin, but not one of joy or any emotion resembling happiness. They're just turned upward, the muscles in her face shifting as a quick reaction to my confession. Her filmy eyes suddenly became a warmer hue, and for a split second I could have sworn that she was actually looking at me this time, and not just in the direction that my voice had come from.
"I didn't..."
A/N: This was supposed to be a one shot, but it looks like it will be two. I basically wanted to look into what Jet's death would be like in a modern setting. Hope you like it so far! I'd like to thank my twin, Purpledragon6, for her help in writing some scenes.
Disclaimers: we own nothing
Da Li is a type of alcohol in this setting, btw. Jet died of alcohol poisoning rather than the crash.