Sorry for the late update :(. I had the chapter written, just had a lot going on that made me forget.

The bell for lunch rang. Not a student wasted a second more in their class. Finally! A break from the morning of bullshit they were forced to listen to.

Azula had just come back from her class with Mr. Pathik and, if nothing else, it confirmed that the man was more than eccentric. He was a downright kook. Why did the class diverge from its lab experiment to him trying to sell his ayurvedic lifestyle to them? She was sure most of those kids' moms would love it, but when she was in class, she expected to learn about the subject that was printed on her schedule. Nothing else.

She slipped her backpack over her shoulder and headed through the double doors to look for a vacant bench outside. Along with having no classes together, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee also had different lunch periods.

She'd never admit it out loud, but it was terribly lonely. Being in that huge lunchroom eating gourmet food by herself was not the way she envisioned her high school years. It worked out for the best, though. Since Ozai decided to cut off her allowance, she had to find ways to save up in case she ran into some real trouble in the future.

She was too embarrassed to tell her maids Lo and Li what happened, fearing further punishment from her father, so she'd resorted to making her own lunch from now on. The best thing she'd come up with had been the sloppily thrown together sandwich she had wrapped up in a plastic bag in her book bag.

Azula had also thrown in a bag of organic chips and an energy drink for good measure. It was pathetic, really. Imagine eating a lowly sandwich in such a grandiose place like the school's cafeteria. If people were to see what she was eating as they dug into their filet mignon, they'd die of laughter. She cringed just thinking of the possible embarrassment.

When she finally settled down into a bench way in the back of the school, cut off from view, she heard a loud voice in the distance.

"Hey!" the voice called out.

Azula didn't bother to acknowledge them. Whoever wished to call her would address her by her name.

A hand clasped down on her shoulder. "Hey!" the voice said again.

She bit back the profanity begging to leap forth from her mouth. Instead, she whipped her head around at breakneck speed. As soon as she did, she regretted it. It just had to be this guy.

"You remember me - from volleyball tryouts – the other day, right?"

"Yes, I remember you."

"Oh…so why didn't you respond when I called?"

"I don't know how these things usually work for you, but anyone yelling out 'hey' in the middle of a crowd and trying to gain a certain person's attention rarely works. Especially not when you're trying to call me."

The poor boy deflated. Maybe she had been too harsh with her words. That didn't give him the right to screech like a maniac in the middle of an open field, though.

Azula extended out a hand. "Azula," she said firmly.

Catching on to what she was doing, the daft boy placed his hand in her's and shook it with tenacity. She fought back the trite remark she wanted to make at her irritation.

"Ruon Jian. I could've sworn I told you my name before."

"You didn't."

"Really? Well, either way, we're acquainted now," he said with a goofy grin.

He was definitely a simpleton.

Maybe she could use this to her advantage in the future. If she played her cards right, of course.

Ruon Jian looked around cluelessly. Azula was holding onto her bag for dear life. Couldn't this nincompoop take any social cues.

"So…," he drawled in that lazy, surfer boy accent. "Why aren't you in the cafeteria? The food's actually pretty good. The chefs aren't world class, but they're definitely eons above whatever those public school kids are dealing with."

"I came out to sit alone," she said with emphasis.

Ruon Jian was not one for subtle hints. "Alone? But this is our freshman year! We're supposed to get to know people. The cafeteria's the spot for that."

"I'm aware, Ruon Jian. I'd just like to be alone for my lunch period."

He gave her a funny face before what seemed like a light bulb went off. She was dreading whatever cockamamie idea he'd come up with. He clasped his hands together and leaned into her warily as if he had learned a terrible secret.

"Oh…I get it. You're here on scholarship, aren't you? If you ever want food from the cafeteria, just ask me. I'll buy lunch for you. No strings attached."

His idiocy knew no bounds. Azula had to stop herself from physically face palming. He was a sweetheart, but very naïve. If he got involved with the wrong person, they could take advantage of him.

She smirked to herself. It was a good thing he'd come to her first. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder. She missed the way his cheeks lit up at the gesture.

"Thank you for your concern. I'll make sure to keep that in mind.

….

"That's enough for today, everybody! Hit the locker rooms and then you can head home!"

Practice was aggravating as hell. She couldn't tell if it was because she had to pick up all the slack or because Coach Kyoshi was still going out of her way to avoid her. She'd show that old bitch!

Just as she was making her way to the locker rooms, Kyoshi sent a student to call her over. Azula sighed. If she wasn't going to make her captain immediately, then there was no point in having this conversation. She begrudgingly walked over to her coach. This had better be good.

Kyoshi took a few moments to read over some pages in a file as Azula waited on her impatiently. Who did this woman think she was? The queen of England?!

A few more moments passed, Kyoshi finally turned to give Azula the time of day. The gym was completely student-free by then. Only the phantom noises of bounced balls remained.

"Good afternoon, Azula."

"Good afternoon, Coach," the young girl replied through gritted teeth.

Kyoshi only chuckled in response. Azula had to keep aware of her face to stop from scowling.

"What did you notice about yourself during this practice?"

Azula took a deep breath. What hadn't she noticed about herself would've been a better question.

"Well, for starters, I had to pick up all the slack. So many wasted spikes and ill-timed blocks happened for no reason. It didn't make it any better that at one point of the game, the ball was purposely being thrown out of my range. Thankfully I'm really good at diving. Who knows what would've happened if I hadn't swooped in and saved the day?"

Kyoshi clung to her every word in quiet awe. Azula adjusted herself properly. That's right. Soon, she would see the light and correct her mistakes. Azula was a born leader. No one could deny her that.

"You wanna know what I noticed?" Kyoshi asked. Her question sounding more like the beginning of an accusation than a question. "I saw you out there acting as if there was a Team Azula versus everyone else. You hogged the ball, you didn't communicate with any of the other players for combination attacks, and you are too self-righteous to realize that the ball stopped being directed your way because you were barreling through people just to score. What of that behavior is exemplary for me to let you become captain?"

"Are you really going to settle for that girl with the ridiculous pigtails as captain?! She lags a half of a second on every serve and has a poor dive!"

"What's her name?"

"Excuse me?!" Azula asked incredulously.

Coach Kyoshi readjusted her file folders. "I asked: what's her name? The captain that you just called 'the girl with the ridiculous pigtails'."

"Does it matter?" the arrogant girl scoffed. "She's a nonfactor and, quite frankly, an annoying obstacle on my road to greatness."

"That is why I won't promote you to captain."

Her mouth dropped open.

Kyoshi didn't bother to look in her direction anymore. She was gathering her belongings to go. Azula, still shell-shocked, followed behind her, too paralyzed by rejection to make a clear sentence. Thankfully, Kyoshi could pick up what she knew the girl wanted to ask.

"How can you be a TEAM captain and not know anything about your team. Everyone works as a cohesive unit no matter the position and that is how WE win. Maybe your other teams were okay with you strong-arming everyone around here. On this team, you will be a team player or you'll be excused from it. Do you understand?"

Kyoshi didn't wait for her to respond. She just kept walking out of the gym until the doors slammed shut behind her. Azula was the last one left in there. Mouth still wide open from the shock.

….

From Azula: NEW MESSAGE

To Ty Lee: Hey, you wanna hang out? My father won't be home 'til late.

From Ty Lee: NEW MESSAGE

To Ty Lee: Sorry :( I can't. I promised the girls from the cheerleading team that I'd hang out with them. One of them has the cutest little cat named Snowflake. I'll send you pics later 3.

From Azula: NEW MESSAGE

To Mai: Hey, wanna hang out? We can watch that new horror movie that just dropped.

From Mai: NEW MESSAGE

To Azula: Can't :/. I'm on babysitting duty again.

She sighed as she placed her phone in the pockets of her gym shorts. Today had just been a shitshow all around. She hadn't bothered to hit the locker room after her encounter with Kyoshi. Those showers were filthy, disease ridden clusters and she also just wanted to leave that place as quickly as possible.

Azula also didn't want to go home.

Another day home alone with her father without being team captain would be hell. Their relationship had always been tense, but she'd never been a failure. How could something so trivial mess her entire world up?

She blamed it on her mother's reappearance. Nothing good had come since that woman's return. She wished that she would've just stayed away for the rest of her life. What did she need with that devil woman now?

Azula sat on the curve of the parent drop-off/pickup lane contemplating whether or not to have Lo and Li pick her up. She didn't want to deal with their bullshit either. Having to solve riddles with two kookie old ladies was not on her or any teenager's agenda. She sighed solemnly as she brought her knees to her chest and rested her head on her folded arms.

What would she do now?

It turned out she wouldn't have to think about it much. A large, maroon truck with fancy steel rims pulled up in front of her. She looked up, her brow raised in confusion. The window of the passenger seat rolled down to reveal none other than Ruon Jian. Azula held back a scoff. This guy was on a one-way ticket to the top of her "Most Annoying People" list.

"Hey, Azula," he greeted with a shy smile.

"Hello, Ruon Jian."

He tapped his fingers nervously on the head of the passenger seat. "You waiting for your folks to pick you up? It's getting pretty late…"

Azula looked at the time on her watch. It was almost six o-clock. Just how long had she been dawdling around campus?

Her eyes loomed back up towards Ruon Jian who was now biting his lip apprehensively. He must have another question to ask. She was learning about him so quickly.

"Wanna bum a ride with me?" he asked.

Azula's face blanched. She hadn't seen that coming at all. Maybe he truly was kind. Oh well, only time would tell.

She nodded her head. The familiar click of the doors unlocking sounded. She opened the door and eased her way into the passenger seat. She felt the phantom ghost of his fingertips on the back of her neck as she eased her head back onto the headrest. Her flesh burned at the touch.

He jerked away from her. Scared apologies spilled from his mouth like diarrhea. They drove out of the lot onto the nearby street in silence. Azula adjusted the car's mirror, getting a better look at herself. She was grimy as hell. Desperately in need of a bath.

Her stomach grumbled. And deeply in need of a meal apparently.

"I don't want to go home right now," she declared without looking away from herself in the mirror.

She could see Ruon Jian gulp nervously in her peripheral vision.

"O-Ok. How about my house? We can order pizza, watch a movie…if you want."

"That'll do."

….

His house was surprisingly spacious. Not spacious in the sense that the house was big – it was – but it looked like no one lived there. Things were too neat, placed too precisely, and so unaffected by the natural weathering of people doing things like walking around or breathing.

Ruon Jian's room was…interesting to say the least. There were posters of everything from martial arts superstars to the hottest movie stars. His desks were cluttered with just about everything imaginable that could be thrown on them. His dressers were filled to the brim with unfolded clothes that stuck out of the drawer. His bed was unmade, the most unsurprising thing she saw to say the least.

His floor wasn't too bad. Probably because he put all of his junk on tables and dresser surfaces, but at least she could find a clear walking path. He rubbed his neck sheepishly when he saw her turn her nose up at the mess.

"Sorry. Wasn't expecting any visitors."

"I see," she added under her breath.

Before she opened the adjoining door of the personal bathroom, she turned to face him. He was in the midst of hastily cleaning the disaster that was his room. "Can I borrow a shirt and a pair of pants?"

"W-What?" he asked, popping his head up too fast and getting whiplash.

Azula held back a laugh, "Can I borrow some clothes? Preferably clean ones."

He hastily nodded his head as he rummaged through his drawers. A few moments of calamity passed. Azula examined and reexamined her nails bored out of her mind. He handed her a clean white t-shirt and black sweatpants. She nodded her head in thanks and headed into the bathroom.

Thankfully, it didn't look as grimy as his bedroom, but it still made her skin crawl. Were boys allergic to putting things in their rightful places? She couldn't imagine having to share a bathroom with Zuko. She'd probably kill him.

The shower was passable for the circumstances she found herself in. It was nice to be somewhere other than her own house. She hadn't been able to hang out with Mai nor Ty Lee in months.

After the shower, she dried herself off and dressed in her clothes. They were comfy and unlike what she usually wore. She felt like she was in someone else's skin. She'd never worn someone else's clothes nor did she allow anyone else to borrow her clothes. This school year seemed to be full of surprises.

When she finally exited the bathroom with her gym bag full of dirty clothes, Ruon Jian was standing around looking proud of himself as a result of the passably clean room in front of him.

"I'm done."

He was startled out of his stupor. When he finally noticed her, he blushed at the sight of her in his clothes.

"Wow," he breathed.

She walked past him and out of the room shaking her head.

"Yeah, yeah. What are you going to put on for a movie?"

"Oh. I hadn't thought about it much. Maybe we can watch a classic like 'Shutter'."

Can't wait to read you all's thoughts :)! Enjoy!