Disclaimer: I do not own this story!
Ok, now, I am not stealing anything, a fan of mine actually made this. He likes my story Eyes of the Devil and this AMV I made. You can watch it if you'd like (my youtube account is in my bio). The song is Shot Through the Heart by Bon Jon Bovi. He says this was inspired by it. So, I give mT COMPLETE credit for this story! Thank you for letting me put it up, and I'm so glad I inspired you to write this!
Disclaimer for Author: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, the song, or the characters from Avatar owning the song
Gift for Zutara4Lyfe
Jet and Sokka surveyed the large crowed in front of them. These people, they were their fans; all of them had come here to hear them sing. And sing they did. For the past three hours they had sang their hearts out to please their fans.
But there was one fan that neither of the boys had thus far pleased. She sat in the front row of the rather spacious building that had been rented out for this concert, tight-lipped and scowling. Next to her sat her only real friends; a bubbly girl in pink, and a gloomy girl who seemed to be forever stuck in a state of ennui. It didn't bother Jet or Sokka in the slightest, because they hadn't invited her to this concert to please her; oh no, they had actually invited her in an attempt to do the exact opposite.
Her name was Azula, and she had done them wrong…both of them. And that meant that now this concert was as much about revenge against the golden eyed vixen, as it was about bringing the rest of their audience to a state of musical bliss.
Luckily, if there was one thing they were good at, it was pleasing the fans. But like most bands, it hadn't always been that way. They had come a long way from their humble, garage-band beginnings. At first they struggled with getting people to let them play, but now it was all paying off. Ironically though, they had just recently decided on The Freedom Fighters being their official name. They had jumped from many incarnations, including The Flameos – courtesy of Aang, The Hotmen – which Zuko shot down very quickly, The Boomerang Squad – which no one liked accept Sokka, The Broken Earth – which Haru thought of, and The Banished Princes – courtesy of Zuko.
…No one quite ever figured out where Zuko had come up with such a name though…
So in the end, it was Jet who took charge and decided upon The Freedom fighters. It had a nice ring to it, and apparently was well reciprocated. They had good songs and were fast becoming very popular.
In fact, if they played their cards right, they might even find their way to stardom one day in the near future. People liked them, their music, and their lyrics; for a musician that was a godsend. With Zuko on the drums, Aang on the synthesizer, Haru on the base, and Jet and Sokka singing and playing guitar respectively, they were on their way.
Now, the last thing they had to do for this concert was pull off the revenge they had been planning for a month. It would come in the form of a song; one that, if they had written it correctly, would please their fans, and make Azula angry enough to please themselves.
Delivery would be simple enough. Jet would simply walk up to the microphone and announce that in closing for the evening, The Freedom Fighters would perform a song that they had written specifically for tonight; for someone in this very audience. They didn't need to mention Azula's name outright, she should be able to figure it out quickly enough on her own.
Besides, they had personally invited her to this concert with the promise that it would be a night she would never forget. If she couldn't figure out this song was about her, well, then they were sure that Mai or Ty Lee could explain it to her.
It was time. The band began to play, and Jet made the announcement.
After a minute Jet and Sokka stepped up to the microphones; time to serenade the Devil.
Shot through the heart, and your to blame, darling
You give love a bad name
Azula's eye twitched. She had correctly figured out that the song they were about to sing was about her, and that they weren't going to write her anything flattering, but starting off with such unreserved hate was rather unexpected.
Mai and Ty Lee were equally stunned. They secretly agreed to each other that what Azula had done to the two young men was cruel and wrong, but this kind of musical retaliation was only going to end poorly for all parties involved.
An angel's smile is what you sell
You promise me heaven then put me through hell
Chains of love, got a hold on me
When passion's a prison you can't break free
Azula's frown deepened, she would become an angel, all right; an angel of death. Her glare intensified toward the stage, and she swore she saw Jet smile. Hell was too good for these two, as far as she was concerned.
So she had cheated on Sokka with Jet, and then on Jet…with Sokka. It wasn't like they hadn't known at the time she was experimenting with relationships. Sure, she might have crossed the line once or twice, but what was love without adventure.
Azula suddenly paled; did she just think about love? Love had nothing to do with anything she did. Love was a foolish illusion, created by foolish people for other foolish people. Azula was not a foolish person.
What she currently was though, was angry
You're a loaded gun ... yeah
There's nowhere to run
No-one can save me, the damage is done
No, the damage is not done; the damage is far from done, Azula told herself. They might see her as a loaded gun, as they so haughtily put it, but when she was done with them they would be sure to see her as not a gun, but a fire-breathing dragon!
No one can save them, is right. Had they just yelled at her, or wrote her hate-mail, she might have forgiven them. But this song – this very catchy song, she noticed – was going too far. They were singing their own death-warrants.
If the rest of the crowd knew this was about her, they certainly didn't care. They were screaming, and dancing, and having a grand old time in their seats. It sickened Azula.
Shot through the heart, and your to blame
You give love a bad name
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name
You give love a bad name
Shot through the heart? Oh, that was clever. It must have been Sokka who came up with that one.
And why did they continue to spout that word? Was love really so important to them? Azula growled, not only were they continuing to annoy her, but now she noticing Ty Lee had begun to quietly dance in her seat. A quick glare and an elbow to the ribs solved that problem.
You paint your smile on your lips
Blood red nails on your fingertips
A school boys dream, you act so shy
Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye
Azula's violent brooding suddenly stopped, and she froze in her seat. What had Jet just sung through that microphone?
Her anger rose again, and she found herself gripping the edges of the armrests on her chair to keep from jumping up and screaming.
She had personally confided in Jet while she was still dating him…dating him solely, that is to say. She had told him about her first failed romance with that idiot Chan, on Ember Island. She had told him how bad he had hurt her when he broke it off nearly as soon as it began. How dare he make light of that!
Her nails would be blood red, just as soon as she removed them from his neck.
Mai shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She and Ty Lee had known about Azula's failed first attempt at romance, and had consequently spent months consoling her about it afterwards. Azula might
not have acted like the best of friends to her and Ty Lee, but she was still a friend, and that caused Mai to feel that Jet and Sokka were beginning to take this just a bit too far.
You're a loaded gun
There's nowhere to run
No-one can save me, the damage is done
Shot through the heart, and your to blame
You give love a bad name
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name
You give love...
Despite her previous anger, Azula had managed to calm down a bit and was currently breathing tersely in her seat while she listened to Sokka and Jet sing their ridiculous chorus again.
Shot through the heart, indeed. That was so what she was going to do; after this stupid concert was over she was going to find Jet and Sokka, and light them both up with enough electricity to power a whole city block!
As if sensing her intentions from the stage, Sokka began to usher Zuko, Haru, and Aang down from their musical number. The smile on his face was unmistakable; he was planning something that would just plain annoy her now.
Jet sang out a long and drawn out cry into the microphone, cueing Sokka began to clapping his hands. He was telling the audience to clap along now, with Zuko's thunderous percussion and the final chorus of the song.
Shot through the heart and your to blame
You give love a bad name
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name
Shot through the heart and your to blame
You give love a bad name
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name
Azula sat motionless in her chair, her eyes now fixed upon her older brother. His own golden irises found hers, and as he mercilessly beat his drums his smile began to widen. Whether it was obvious to his conniving younger sister or not, Zuko was having the time of his life.
Not only was he finally getting an opportunity to make his sister squirm – she did it enough to him, it was his turn now – he actually found it to be working. Azula appeared calm, but on the inside she was like a storm about to break forth and devour the whole stage in an unholy fury.
Had the young Firebender not been focused on his drumming, he might have laughed. Sokka's current antics with the crowd were paying off, and Zuko noticed that Ty Lee was once again dancing and clapping along in her seat. Even Mai silently clapped her hands, now and again.
It wasn't that Zuko wanted to see Azula hurt...much; it was just fitting, in a way, like poetic justice. Sokka and Jet were correct in the words they chose to sing about in these past minutes more than even they knew; Azula had played her game, and now it was finally time for her to lose.
There had to be a stopping point though. She might have been the bane of his existence, but she was still his little sister in the end. The last part of the song came on, and Zuko continued to hit his marks.
You give love...
You give love a bad name
You give love...
You give love a bad name
You give love...
You give love a bad name
It was over.
The thunderous applause that suddenly broke through from the crowd was deafening. Everyone seemed to be clapping, screaming, and calling for encores. On stage, the whole band began to soak up the praise like a sponge on water. Even Ty Lee and Mai were clapping for them.
Then, as most would have guessed, Azula finally snapped.
However, instead of an angry battle cry, or a shrill scream followed by firebending and lightning, all that came from the Azula was a light applause of her own, and a strangely calm face.
She couldn't explain it herself; she was ready to kill moments ago, and now she was docile. Perhaps it was the way she observed Jet and Sokka smile and laugh, and blow silly kisses to their fans? Or perhaps it was the way they no longer stared her down, having instead become focused on their musical praise and doing what it was they loved? Maybe it was just because they had finally stopped playing that rotten song?
No, those weren't the reasons. Azula knew what the real reason was; she just didn't want to admit that she finally realized it. It was almost embarrassing, to think that she, Azula, finally knew and understood the one thing that she had denied for so long.
She was in love; she loved one of those two idiots.
She didn't know which one, and she didn't know when it happened. But seeing them now, happy and smug, she knew that she loved one of them.
It was the way they held themselves up to the screaming of the crowd; they were composed, content, and readily taking it all in. And they knew it.
Azula sighed, she had finally taken the plunge into the foolishness, and she didn't care in the slightest.
Hours later, after the audience had left and the band was packed, Azula found herself in front of them, staring in silence. Mai and Ty Lee were behind her, whispering to themselves about how the two musicians were dead men walking; the other members of the band and their own friends most likely doing the same.
But instead of blood and fire, Azula and her estranged boyfriends exchanged smirks, and calmly left the building. All present were shocked as Azula strode away with Jet on Sokka on each of her arms respectively; except for Longshot and Toph, who quickly and quietly exchanged money…
With Jet and Sokka leading her away, that familiar devious smirk once again played on Azula's face. Perhaps one of them had realized they loved her too while they were playing their horrid little ditty? Only time would tell. For now, she was going to milk this for all it was worth.
The smirk widened into a full-out smile. Azula knew that in the end she would have to hurt one of them again…
…but it wasn't like they weren't used to that already.