Author's note:

Round 3, Season 5

Word count: 1991

Prompts: "Don't look at me like this", Ember Island, and "You found me" by the Fray. Alcohol addiction.

Team: Future Industry Fire Ferrets

Position: Submitting for Firebender

Other notes: Modern AU. Azula and Jet are 18+ btw.

Trigger warnings: Mental hospital, attempted rape, alcohol addiction, and character death.

Frayed

Where were you when everything was falling apart?

The ends of her hair sprung up in different directions due to the shitty hair cut she gave herself. The dark circles under her eyes seemed deeper than they were yesterday. And her eyes, which had once blazed with ferocious intensity, had lost their sparkle of defiance.

She hadn't spoken with anyone in months, even though Zuko made a point to visit every so often. It hurt to speak with him. Other patients tried to get her to open up, especially at therapy sessions, but she refused to talk to them. The therapist had given up the moment Azula walked in.

Azula was stuck in this wretched mental hospital in the middle of Ember Island. Forced to listen to bumbling idiots all day, and she hadn't been able to find any alcohol. She missed the burning it caused in her throat, the buzz she got when she was drunk, and she missed the way she forgot everything when she had alcohol. She couldn't bend any more, but sometimes, when she was drinking, she could pretend the fire running through her veins was the fire within her, waiting to be released, not an alcoholic burn.

When their father was arrested, Zuko had turned his head the other way and just let the police take their father. And when he found out about Azula's mental breakdown, he sent her away. Azula was just relieved he didn't find out about the alcohol abuse problem.

Her father would have understood and would have helped her, Azula often thought. He wouldn't have sent her to the asylum; he would have cared for her enough to help her through her suffering.

But she was wrong. Very wrong. Ozai never cared for anyone but himself, and Zuko had striven for years to hide that from her. If Zuko hadn't let the police take her father, she would have been okay. She knew that. And so she blamed Zuko for her decline.

The only one who's ever known who I am, who I'm not, and who I wanna be

After six months, Azula finally got to take a sip of alcohol, and she finally talked to someone for the first time.

A guy around her age named Jet was the "supplier" in the hospital. If you wanted weed, heroin, narcotics, vodka, and anything else that was surely illegal he was the one to go to. But everything came with a price.

The value of the item changed per customer. From the lanky kid who always read in the corner Jet might demand a few of his ADHD pills. The girl who was always drawing he might ask for one of her pens. And from Azula, who had a rich brother, well, she wasn't sure what he would want from her.

But she decided to test her luck with him anyway. She needed to get her fix and that meant having to speak. Which made her sick to her stomach because she didn't even know if she could say anything in an eloquent manner anymore. And she certainly wasn't going to make a fool out of herself. Her father had ruled the area, and just because he was in jail didn't mean she had to act like a cavewoman.

"I heard you needed something from me?" Jet sat next her at the lunch table. He pressed himself too close for Azula's comfort. The entire right side of his body was touching some part of her. And she could smell the cinnamon gum he was chewing to cover up the smell of tequila in his breath.

Azula wasn't sure how he knew she needed something. She hadn't told anyone and she never talked so he certainly didn't overhear her. She only muttered to herself in her room, and those were semi sound proof so other patients didn't hear each other screaming.

"Do you want something or not." He somehow pressed himself closer to her. Azula felt bile rising up her throat. Choking it back down, she opened her mouth to speak. But then, one of the guards yelled that she had a visitor. Of course Zuko would show up right this second "Another time then," Jet said with a wink as he walked away from her.

You got some kind of nerve taking all I want

"I've got Tequila, Vodka, Whiskey, and Rum, all over 70 proofs," Jet whispered into her ear. Azula tried not to shiver.

"I'll take the 100 proof Rum," Azula whispered back.

"Meet me at the library in an hour." He leaned into her so much Azula had to hold back the vomit in her mouth. "Bring something to carry it in."

The library was a medium sized room with a few bookcases lined up around the perimeter of the room. An old lady sat at the circulation desk and patients were only allowed three books at a time. She was half blind and deaf and never noticed any of the illegal activities happening under her nose.

Which made it the perfect place for Jet to deal his contrabands. Azula's hands shook without her consent has she pushed the heavy oak doors open, her backpack slung over her right shoulder. She still didn't know what Jet wanted from her.

"Here's the liquor, doll." She tried to stop her face from scowling.

"What do you want in return."

He leaned into her, and looked at her like a piece of meat an animal would be dying to sink its teeth into. All predatory and slimy like the weasel he was. "You."

She pushed him away. "No." She held her ground, handing the bottle back out. She wouldn't whore herself out for the bitter taste of rum, would she? "And don't look at me like that!"

"You've already agreed." He pushed her against the nearest book shelf "And I always get what I want."

In a moment of panic, she smashed the bottle over his head and tried to run. He grabbed her and pulled her flush against him. She started kicking and screaming, but she already knew the old lady wouldn't notice a thing.

Jet pulled out the knife he was hiding in his pocket and plunged it into her back. He watched as Azula's body hit the ground. Her blood soaked the carpet as she continued to scream.

"And that's why you should never say no to me." He backed out of the room, waving goodbye to the lady at the desk.

Lost and insecure you found me, you found me lying on the floor. Surrounded, surrounded why'd you have to wait? Where were you, where were you? Just a little late. You found me, you found me.

Zuko sat in the hospital desperately trying to get Azula to come back. They had pronounced her dead ten minutes ago. He should have been a better older brother. Shouldn't have sent her away. He should have done more for her. He would have done more. He'd been thinking of pulling her from the asylum - but he'd waited, and then he'd been too late. Just a little too late.