you get the best of me ( ashton )

Ashton was terribly concerned for the poor girl, noticing how even walking seemed to be difficult with how shaky her legs were. He did his best to keep them both standing, not tugging his hand away when she laced her hand in his. It made his arm tingle with surprise, but he tried not to focus too intently on it. The contact meant nothing to Asha, surely, she was probably just terrified that she was going to somehow fall back into the water even as they got further and further away from shore. Then Asha realised that she had forgotten her phone. "I could--" He had been about to offer going back and getting it himself, but she was already heading toward the lake. They were still stuck firmly together thanks to her grasping of his hand, so Ashton trekked along obediently and kept silent any complaints he might have had. He was an understanding guy, and one of such things he understood was phobias. They were bad and they were uncontrollable, so making her go alone would have made him a complete asshole. "It would only make sense," he pointed out fairly, seeing how upset she was about the lake thing. He would have been scared of them too if he'd almost drowned three times. Twice her brother had tried to end it for her, but why had she insisted on trying to swim? That had been a pretty stupid move, but while someone a little less compassionate might have made fun of her or otherwise scolded her for the attempt, Ashton would say no more on the subject. She was upset, that was all. Maybe he'd question her later about her rash decisions, but for now he just wanted to make sure that Asha was able to calm down.

He fumbled a bit in surprise when she suddenly shoved her phone toward him, but Ashton managed to save face by keeping it in his possession rather than dropping it and making a fool out of himself--and possibly pissing Asha off, as well. "Alright," he agreed, but then his brow furrowed a bit in confusion. "A ride? Oh... okay." He'd heard her muttering into the phone but hadn't really listened to the words--it wasn't polite to eavesdrop, after all. Ashton just figured that Asha had probably called up a friend or maybe even her parents. He was not, however, expecting the chauffeur that drove up to the Academy gates. Green eyes blinked in surprise, and he glanced at Asha as if confused. Was this the ride she'd spoken of? The only confirmation was the fact that she told him to get into the car, suggesting that this was indeed her plan. "Nice one," he acknowledged with a good-natured roll of his eyes. She was prodding yet again at his lack of true masculinity, but he had a feeling now that she was joking around. He wasn't that great at determining when the Fire elemental was being serious with him or not, but she wouldn't have invited him to her home if she wasn't being nice, right? He was compliant as he got into the car, curious about the driver but not about to ask. Asha told him about her dislike for cars, something he had never known about her before. "I've never got the appeal of driving myself, actually." He wasn't as restless as she was, but Ashton had always preferred biking or walking as opposed to sitting in a car and just... well, sitting there, whilst the driver did all the work. He was learning to drive himself now that he was of age, but it was difficult for someone like Ashton who was so paranoid about messing something up. On the road, if you messed up that meant you could possibly kill someone in an accident. He kept his fingers laced with hers the entire way there, a silent sign of his willingness to comfort her.

They arrived in front of a house, and even Ashton picked up on the somewhat impersonal feel. He just figured that her parents might be rigid with neatness or something, that is until Asha spoke. The younger boy blinked, surprise registering in his bright emerald eyes. "Actual house?" His tone sounded hesitant, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to know what she meant. If this wasn't their house, then what was it? He wasn't used to luxury and the like, so the fact that the chauffeur would normally indicate a very rich family hadn't quite clicked with him yet. Using her grip on his hand, Asha had pulled him through the living room and toward what was clearly a bedroom. He blinked when she asked him to lay with her. Asha was such a strange girl. He didn't know about the fact that she used to cuddle with Shea, so to him it just seemed like an odd quirk. Still, he was a very agreeable and easily swayed person. He would have felt rude refusing her after such an ordeal, and besides... there was a small part of him that was interested in entertaining the situation. "Sure," he agreed, nodding. "Feeling any better?"

Ashton flushed sheepishly as Asha expressed her own confusion. He began to search for the words to tell her that his family weren't rich enough to afford the driver, let alone an entire guest house like Asha had. The Raleigh family wasn't exactly poor, but they had never experienced high-class living. His father was a mechanic and his mother a writer--the latter had erratic pay, whereas the former wasn't too much to begin with. But Asha seemed to catch on without his help, and he ducked his head a little. "It's okay," he said earnestly when she asked him to excuse her ignorance, shaking his head. "It's pretty normal to think of your own life as average if you grew up with it." It must have been nice being raised with a chauffeur and a large amount of money, but Ashton didn't know the lifestyle to yearn for it. He'd grown up through a modest background and thus was accustomed to the lifestyle, so it wasn't like there was jealous toward Asha or animosity over the fact that she hadn't realised. "My family aren't rich, but they do okay." His mother was a writer, and even though she wasn't too notable, one of her books had made the bestseller list. He'd been a lot younger at the time, only around age seven, and that was when they'd moved for the first time he could remember. Living in a bigger house had been nice because he'd gotten his own room even though his brother was added to the family. As for her intelligence on the matter, well, he didn't think that she was stupid. It was pretty hard to get Ashton to dislike someone or think lower of them than he did himself. Just because she was rich and didn't have to worry about the qualms of paycheck-to-paycheck living didn't mean that she was stupid. A bit ignorant, maybe, but he didn't count that as her fault. As long as she didn't think herself as superior to him he'd be fine with it.

A light smile graced his lips as she held up her hand. It had confused him at first, but then he realised that she was displaying her lack of shakiness now that the ordeal was over. "That's good," he said. He really was concerned for Asha, even if he didn't understand why she mattered so much to him in such a short space of time. He tended to get attached to people rather quickly--it wasn't that he was clingy or anything, just easy to trust and give his all in a bond with another person, whether it be friendship or something else. He didn't have a lot of people he hated, either. It took a lot to make Ashton detest you, and for that reason his grudges tended to be permanent. If you angered him to a certain point, you crossed a line you couldn't get back over. Even despite treating him like crap for a long while, Asha had never reached that point with Ashton. "Can you even own a lake?" he chuckled, amused by the mere thought of something like that. His backyard wasn't even big enough for a pond (well, maybe a small one) let alone an entire lake. "Is that legal?" Just as Asha was ignorant to a life without money, he was ignorant to a life with it. He didn't know the limits and restrictions that came with owning a property. If you had enough money you could really buy anything, couldn't you? "Your mother owns a pond?" It surprised him. The only thing his mother had were her books. Dad paid for the car and the house and most of the utilities as well--Analynn tried her best to contribute with her writing, but her additions to the family funds tended to come in bursts thanks to the fact that she wasn't a sponsored writer at the moment and only got paid when her books sold.

Ashton made a bit of a face when she planted a rather sick mental image in his brain. "Asha you tease," he accused, but he was smiling nonetheless. He liked joking around with her, even when the jokes took a more suggestive turn. Seeing as Asha was taking off her shoes, he also removed his. The girl tugged on his hand and he watched as she unlaced her fingers before quite literally sprawling out on the bed. "Looks like it," he chuckled. "If I was concerned about being mauled I wouldn't have come all this way, now would I have?" He grinned at her and then flopped down on the bed beside her, sticking out his tongue playfully. Damn it, what the hell was he doing? Some part of his mind clued him in to the fact that it was almost provocative to be lying in bed with a girl--though they were both fully clothed minus shoes--that he'd just kissed not too long ago. Had it even been an hour? That wasn't even a kiss! he reminded himself sharply, though it had definitely turned into one and Ashton couldn't deny that no matter how much he wanted to. It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed the kiss, he just wasn't entirely sure where they were, now. Where had it left them? "This bed is pretty comfortable," he mused thoughtfully. It was pretty soft, too. There was enough room for them both to lay down without needing to get too close, but Asha's sprawl made it so that they ended up close regardless.

Ashton stuck out his tongue at Asha when she made a 'dreamy' face at him, guessing that she was kidding. "Kindness isn't my middle name or anything, but I try." His middle name was Camden, and he had never really questioned why his parents had named him as such. It was just a part of his name and he left it be. Most people didn't grow to learn his middle name anyway, so it wasn't like it came up often as a topic of conversation. On a whim, he mused, "Middle name is Camden, actually. Apparently it's a city in... well, somewhere. Or a town. I don't even know." He wasn't sure why he'd told her such a pointless fact about him--it seemed he was just talking for the sake of filling the silence, something that he usually didn't try to do with people. With most, silences were nothing. But when he fell silent in Asha's presence it reminded him of how strange their entire situation was. By all rights and purposes they were not supposed to be getting along. This wasn't normal for Earth and Fire elementals. Of course, if Ash had known about her parents he might have begged to differ but the simple fact that he'd never gotten along this well with a Fire elemental made it different. "I've never really spoken to Shea," he said with a nervous chuckle, remembering the fiery friend of Asha. She frightened him as most of the Fire elementals did, given the fact that they were usually out for blood. He wondered at Asha's standing in the war for a moment, but then decided that she probably wouldn't sit and talk to him right now if she was really concerned about keeping up with the alliance. He almost asked, but kept his mouth shut. No need to bring extra awkwardness into this conversation when it was going so well. He hadn't managed to truly piss her off yet, and he was going for a record stretch here.

He was a little surprised when Asha asked after his lifestyle, wondering if it was hard and sounding genuinely curious about his answer. His lips twitched into a gentle smile as the Earth student shook his head. "It's not too bad," he said. "We can't afford fancy dinners every weekend or anything like that, but the bills are always paid on time and we're not starved in the least." He blinked at Asha, realising that she probably viewed 'hard' much differently than he did. The boy didn't hold a thing against her, however. Ashton was always so genuine and couldn't really see someone else in a bad light unless they really screwed over their reputation with him. "I've never really known the luxury life," he confessed, "so I wouldn't know it to crave it... if that makes sense?" If Asha was forced to live his life, she'd probably pine for her fancy car and her seemingly infinite funds. She'd miss the space of her mansion and the chance to eat out whenever she pleased. But Ashton had never lived like that, so it was more like an unachievable pipe dream from his standpoint. But he'd never really yearned for it, either. If he really cared about being wealthy he'd have tried to get a job as a doctor or a lawyer, but as it was the boy wanted to be a gardener or a florist or maybe even something completely different, he hadn't decided yet. It only made sense that he should go into an occupation that suited his element. "I guess you really couldn't call it easy, either, but it's all I've ever known." He finished his words with a nod, the smile slipping into a bit of a grin.

Ashton didn't miss the flush spreading through her cheeks, and soon both of them were ducking their heads and realising just how awkward the moment was. In an attempt to joke back, he winked over at her and said, "Oh really? So what would you do if I asked right now?" Perhaps this was a stupid thing to joke about when you were lying on the same bed and cuddling up next to someone, but cut the two teenagers a break, here! It was quite the strange thing to see them interacting so civilly, so the fact that they were cracking crude jokes was just a testament to the fact that they really didn't know what to do with the situation. Then Asha mentioned her angry twin brother and Ashton could have sworn he felt his blood cool by a few degrees. Ace? As in her scary brother who would probably murder him on the spot if they ran into one another? But Ashton was seriously trying to keep his masculinity in check around Asha--she'd teased him enough already--so he merely chuckled a bit. Hopefully she'd be too distracted to notice the light nervousness that had wedged itself into his tone. "Ace, huh? Won't he still be at school?" After all, he and Asha had only ditched because she'd been panicking over the lake incident. He wondered if her parents were also home but decided against asking. Hopefully they didn't come into the guest house very often, because seeing their teenager daughter cuddling up to some guy they'd never met before might provoke anger. After all, wasn't Asha's dad some sort of fighter? This didn't help his nervousness, but he tried not to think about it. "I had classes, but I think I'll just ditch the rest of the day. It's not like they were too important." One might think that Ashton was some suck-up goody two shoes, but he did skip sometimes. He wasn't a saint, he was just a good kid. There was a marginal difference.

Ashton didn't expect Asha to reach forward and grab his tongue, and it wasn't like he could cry out in alarm considering he needed the thing to talk. When she let go and started laughing, however, a bit of a grin blossomed on his features and he chuckled as well. Confusing as she was to him, the sheer matter of how bizarre this was provided enough to amuse him. She threatened him and then ran her fingers down his back to rid them of spit, both of them dissolving into laughter and just enjoying the company like he would have never thought possible. "I suppose it does sound nice when you sing it like that," he agreed, amusement still sparkling in his green gaze. He knew she was kidding but he was still surprised that she'd actually managed to listen and be attentive as opposed to telling him he was being lame. "Avery," he repeated when she told him her middle name, then grinned. "I like it. It suits you." Asha Avery Woods. He now could boast that he knew her full name, not that this really mattered to him. The conversation took more of a negative turn when Shea was mentioned, however, and even the oblivious Ashton could tell that it was a sensitive subject. He wondered if they'd had a fight or a falling out--why else would mention of her best friend upset her?--but he didn't ask. Instead, Ashton merely dipped his head. "Okay," he replied, fully ready and willing to be compliant on the subject. If she wanted to keep this quiet it was entirely up to her, Ashton had no real right to press her about it even if he did want to know what it had been about. Not because of a general desire to know, mind you, but because he wondered how Asha was faring about the situation. Still, he'd stay true to his word and not bring it up again.

He stayed still when her finger traced itself around his lips, though the surprise registered a little in his face. He wasn't used to people being this touchy-feely around him, but he also wasn't going to protest. The contact caused an almost nervous fluttering in the pit of his stomach as he once again reassessed their situation. What was he doing? What was he thinking? Before Ashton could delve into over-analysing, however, Asha was off and telling him how his life would be hell for someone like her. He chuckled and nodded. "I figured as much," the Earth boy confessed, glad that they had found a topic of conversation that could distract him from his thoughts. He even managed a smile as she verbalised her understanding of his situation. "Exactly," he said, nodding. "I suppose it works both ways, but there's no way you'd crave my way of life even if you had experienced it," he laughed. Ashton could be good-natured and light about the fact that she had a lot more money than his family because it didn't seem that Asha really looked down on him. This was something he respected--a lot of rich kids were pompous and stuck up, holding their money over the heads of others and providing constant reminders that they were and would always be better than you. It made Ashton irritable when people flaunted their funds like that, such an unnecessary thing to do. It had caused him to acquire a bit of a negative light toward the wealthy, but with any luck Asha would change that for him. "I try," he said, unable to resist grinning when she offered her (albeit strange) compliment toward his shirt. He didn't know whether she was serious or not, so he just gave an ambiguous answer which was open for interpretation.

Asha challenged him with her words, teasing as usual, and for a moment Ashton actually hesitated. Was she continuing with the joke or was she actually being serious. She continued to talk and he continued to listen, confirming that they were probably safe from her brother and from her parents as well. It felt odd to think that they were alone in this house without knowledge of anyone else, actually. She was tracing patterns on his arm, it made his skin tingle and his stomach twist further in confusion. Did Asha do this with all of her friends, or was it an exclusive thing? "Well you see, I have drastically more important things I should be doing..." It was sarcastic, made obvious by the fact that he added a grin on the end. He really didn't have anything to be doing at all, so it wasn't like she was pulling him away from some life-or-death situation. Seeing as he hadn't got a chance to answer what she'd said before yet, Ashton gave a little bit of a chuckle. "Say, hypothetically, that I asked. What would you do?" Was he asking? It seemed pretty clear that he was, even though this was probably reckless and impulsive and a bad idea. He was asking for... for what, exactly? Ashton hadn't thought it through, but maybe the girl lying next to him who now had her hand on his face, possibly corrupting his sensible train of thought with how distracting the gesture was. What would his parents think of this odd friendship? They were a tad old-fashioned and they thought it was ridiculous when an (unmarried) couple even held hands in public. He and Asha weren't even a couple. Then again, it wasn't like he'd been married when he'd done other, less innocent things.

Ten credit cards? Ashton's green eyes went wide in his head--he didn't even have one card to his name, and he could bet that if he did it would certainly have a limit. Still, it made perfect sense that Asha would never survive in his lifestyle if her parents gave her that much money, so the teenager just nodded. A brief smile flitted across his lips as she poked him. "Maybe, maybe not." He wasn't the type to crave a life of material wealth and tons of cash. He was happy with his family and their middle class life. Sure, Asha's lifestyle and benefits certainly seemed like they had their perks, but he just didn't feel the sort of pull to it that someone with future ambitions might have. The boy would be completely happy to grow old as a gardener with only a comfortable little home to his name. He didn't need vacation properties and fancy cars to keep him content. In Ashton's life, wealth was more of a pipe dream than a reality. That didn't mean he was clueless about the expensive car brands, so when she mentioned a Lamborghini it shocked him out of his reverie. "You drive a what?!" He'd seen a Lambo before, presumably one belonging to the upper-class families of the Hollow, but he'd never actually been close enough to inspect it. His knowledge of the cars came only from their name itself--he couldn't tell you the differences between brands nor even what these individual brands were called, it was simply the title 'Lamborghini' that had caught his attention. But then he smiled a little deviously, teasing as he said, "Maybe I'd trust myself, but who would trust you to drive it?" He was clearly joking judging by the soft chuckle that followed. Fast cars were dangerous cars, but if she hadn't managed to crash it yet that was saying something.

Ashton pretended to have a serious internal debate over her words. "I don't know," he said slowly, as if this was really something he had to think about. "I guess I am pretty lazy, huh?" Even though he was kidding around, it begged the question--did he like her? And what exactly did she mean by like? Ashton was comfortable enough around Asha by this point that he could admit to feeling some sort of connection, a friendship with the girl who could have once made him run off with a single glare. Now they were lying on the bed in her guest house joking back and forth. He'd saved her life twice, she'd saved his ass once, they had crossed some sort of an invisible line that made it so they definitely were not enemies any longer. So yes, friendship was something he could admit to. But did he actually like her? The thought made his throat tighten a little. He wasn't sure how he felt about Asha Woods. He'd never developed a crush on a girl like her before, certainly not so soon after getting to know her, but the kiss had felt good, hadn't it? Even Ashton couldn't deny that he'd helped to draw out the kiss for much longer than necessary. The moment he realised that the 'CPR' was not working, he should have retracted from the girl lying on the shore of the lake and apologised profusely for being a failure at any sort of medical procedure to stop drowning. But he hadn't. Then again, neither did she. God damn it, this was so confusing! Thinking about it made his head hurt, but the more he tried to convince himself to stop thinking the worse his mind became.

He wasn't really sure what he'd wanted, but Asha seemed pretty certain as she replied to his words. It had really only been intended as a joke, though it now seemed they were both taking it seriously. His breath caught behind his lips for a moment as she leaned in close, lips almost touching his... but not quite. She was teasing him, wasn't she? Struck by the sudden realisation that he wanted to close the gap, Ashton wondered at what Asha might do if he kissed her again. Pull away? Get disgusted? Laugh? The idea of having her humiliate him was quite flustering and made him want to back out, but then he found himself recalling the 'kiss' and remembering how irritated she'd gotten when she thought that he hadn't enjoyed it. That meant that Asha liked it, too. So it was safe? Oh, I don't know. Then he did something that was usually so unlike him--he acted on impulse and closed the gap, initiating the second kiss before he could even fully register what he was doing. He caught himself after a moment, but this only made him deepen it for a moment before he pulled back with a teasing little grin. Ashton, what the hell are you doing? "I think you guessed right," he said, and he could hear his pulse pounding in his ears. This was crazy. This was juvenile. And yet it made his heart race like he was getting up to no good. Ashton had never had a love for trouble before, but somehow this felt like breaking a rule and liking it. He thought about it for a moment before deciding that he liked the feeling. Very, very much.