someone call the ambulance ,, ace

Hospitals were always so clean, so white, so sterile. It could drive you insane if you were stuck here for too long, he mused, for it almost resembled an asylum with its orderliness. His ambitions were to work here some day, but he could only imagine how terrible it must be for the terminally ill patients. Knowing that these walls would be the last thing you'd ever see must be a nightmare. The hell are you being so depressing? he scolded himself. Truth was, this was was making him view everything through a haze of negativity. It was hard to focus on the positive things any more because there was barely any positivity of which to speak. He sighed and rinsed his hands in the sink, letting the scalding water against his skin burn away all of the germs and whatnot, along with the sterilizing solution that he'd rubbed into them.

Dealing with the needles was the worst part. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he laid eyes on them, their sharp tips seeming to mock him as they glinted in the light. His hands suddenly felt cold and clammy and he really didn't want to touch the sharp objects. What if... what if his hand slipped and he pricked his finger? Even the thought of the fine tip burrowing into his fingertip made his stomach reel. Nauseous, he gripped the edge of the counter and focused on breathing slowly, in and out. It's okay, he tried to convince himself even though he felt dizzy and sick. You won't prick your finger, it'll be fine. He managed to talk himself down a little, but he still moved very slowly as he picked up the objects and started to dispose of them. Ace walked into the room just then, but Josh didn't so much as spare him a glance--he was too busy taking care of his task. To an outsider, it wasn't clear that the objects in his hands terrified him. He was just being oddly quiet, but for Joshua, 'quiet' was more normality than oddity.

He tossed the needles away and turned just as the other boy spoke to him, gray eyes narrowing critically. At first glance Josh appeared guarded, but perhaps not unfriendly. The critical stare was merely because he was trying to decide if he knew this boy or not. "Maybe. Do you attend the Academy?" Even if the guy didn't, it was safe to mention 'the Academy' as long as you didn't call it Academy of the Elements. To outsiders, it appeared to be a school for the gifted--whether it be in literature, art, maths, or music. And they were gifted of course, just in ways different to what most assumed. Joshua always insisted that it was his intelligence and the reputation of his parents that gained him admission, whenever he was asked by a family contact that didn't know.

Then he hesitated a little. "Or maybe I know you from the hospital," he mused. "How long have you been volunteering? You look somewhat familiar." He had missed several months of volunteer work once he'd started fighting with his father, but he'd always showed up at the hospital to help out before that. He'd prep rooms, talk to patients, and sometimes get things for those that were unable to get up and walk around themselves. To the elderly patients he was especially polite and helpful. Maybe it was because of the lady who'd saved his life the first time he'd nearly met his end thanks to the gang.

Joshua furrowed his brow and frowned in confusion when Ace sniffed the air. The hell? Josh thought, a little freaked out by the dude. "Are you... sniffing me?" That was just one of the strangest things he'd ever had to deal with before. It was almost animalistic behaviour and he wondered for a moment if the kid was actually a patient rather than a volunteer. "You wouldn't have wandered over here from Wing Three, would you?" he asked dead seriously, naming the psych ward where all of the mentally affected patients stayed. "Because if you're lost I can totally, y'know, help, or something." It felt suddenly awkward after a moment, because what if he was in denial or something?

He was still quite wary as Ace confirmed that he was a student of the Academy. A crazy student? He was still pretty sold on the fact that this kid might have some sort of mental problems. "I wouldn't know," he shrugged nonchalantly when Ace said that he was reminded of X-Men, "I've never seen it." He was into more serious and literal things. Of course, you could also get him to watch a comedy if he was with friends or family and in the mood to laugh, but for the most part documentaries were his thing. "Better they call it that than find out about us." He shrugged, clearly not taking it in as much of a joking tone as he had meant it.

Three years. Less than Joshua himself, but that was only because Josh had a father who worked here and so he'd helped out some even before he'd started officially volunteering. Was he even going to believe that Ace was a volunteer? I still don't get the sniffing thing... He pushed the thought aside and answered, "Quite a while." About five years if he remembered correctly, around the time when he started highschool and started seriously considering the idea of becoming a doctor. "I haven't been back for a bit, but it certainly hasn't been a three year absence. Maybe you have seen me around." He shrugged again, non-committal as always. "Name's Josh. I'm a Fire elemental." Which to Ace might clue him in to the fact that they were 'enemies' in the war if he didn't know about the side-switching on Josh's part. Though they were outside of school now, so would it even matter?

Joshua blinked at him. Slowly. "Um..." That was more than just a little strange. He understood that Elaine had a brilliant sense of smell because she was blind, but this boy was completely and totally ordinary from what he could tell. "Right..." It made sense, he supposed, it was just still very odd and alien to him. He knew that the Fire elementals sometimes smelled like smoke and the Earth students like fragrant flowers, but he'd never actually tried to guess someone's element by smelling them before. "You know, there's a thing called 'asking'," he said, "and it might help next time you want to come off as normal." Especially in a hospital with a fucking psych ward nearby.

It really was nice to have people marvel at your status as an Academy student, like you were someone special because of your 'talents'. But it was nothing compared to how envious people would be if they really knew what went on behind the big dark gates. "I suppose that is nice." He had always gotten good grades thanks to the almost inhuman amount of time he spent hitting the books. If he wasn't sleeping, eating, or spending time with his very minimal list of friends, Josh likely had his nose in a book. He was hardly ever content to just sit down in front of the television. He always had to be off doing something productive.

"--clumsy, apparently," Joshua finished for him, blinking at the mess the other boy had made. Whilst Ace was changing the sheets, Joshua busied himself with wiping down the counters and making sure they were absolutely disinfected. He didn't mind cleaning as much as most did, probably because he'd gotten so accustomed to it when it came to his apartment. He liked the clean smell of the disinfectant as well, but he wasn't going to stop and sniff it or anything. "Ah," he said. "A Water student." This could get awkward. He didn't usually get along with them. "Why a hospital?" he decided to ask, steering the subject away from elements for the moment. He was asking why Ace had chosen to volunteer here as opposed to a fair or something.

Joshua just arched an eyebrow. What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Alright, so if you were getting literal about this whole situation then maybe there would be exceptions. But Joshua and Ace were just standing in a room together. What was so strange about that, strange enough that Ace would rather sniff him than make a simple inquiry? "It wouldn't be impossible now," he pointed out, narrowing gray eyes a little. He was a rather serious person when he wasn't in a good mood and with his friends, which unfortunately for Joshua was almost all of the time. He was usually in a neutral if not bad mood, and friends? He didn't have many of those to brag about.

Apparently Ace was into this whole hospital business because he liked to help people. Seemed a bit of a cliché and cheesy answer, but hell, maybe he actually was. Joshua would never know the feeling because he wasn't empathetic by nature. "Ah," was his response, not really having anything else to say. He'd never had that sharp tug of the heartstrings that a lot of aspiring doctors felt. It wasn't to say he'd rather have them die, he was just in this for a different reason than Ace. Not only was he interested in the illnesses rather than the patients who had them, but his father was a doctor. And Josh wanted to be just like Daddy dearest. "You pretty much hit the nail on the head," he lied with an easy shrug when Ace returned the question. "I don't like to see others suffer. It interested me, so I went for it. And here I am."

It was almost alarming how easily he could lie now. He'd spent a great deal of his childhood lying to his parents and he spent more of his years at the Academy lying about... well, everything, really. He just wasn't an honest person. Not wanting to fall into an awkward silence when they were both stuck in a room together, Joshua cast around for another subject. His mind rested on the war and he almost wanted to hit something--why was that always on the forefront of his mind? Still, it was something. "So whose side are you on?" It wasn't even a question of what he was referring to. Right now he was pretty sure every elemental at the school would know. "Did you know her? Know Cyn?"

Joshua narrowed his eyes critically at Ace when he spoke of fighting. It was a good thing that he had a handle on his powers else he might have gotten enraged due to Ace suggesting that he wanted a fight. It's perfectly normal for your former enemies to not realise you're on their side now, he coached himself. No heat swept through the room, because Joshua was trying to be responsible and hold back the burst of anger that seemed to be flaring up in his chest. He probably heard from everyone else that Fire elementals are bastards, and it's not like I'm staying in the Water dormitories. Ugh, heck no! He couldn't stand the Water dorms, with their glass ceiling and the threat of an entire lake dropping onto your head. His hydrophobia wouldn't even allow him to step into the dormitories when he'd been about to mess around with a hot girl in his grade. That 'date' had been called off pretty quick.

"Who said I wanted to fight about it?" Though he was trying not to sound too irate, there was still a definite edge of challenge in Joshua's voice. "Besides, it's dangerous to make a public show of our powers. If you did want a fight, I'd tell you to wait until we got back to the school." Joshua had experienced a couple of close calls with his powers in the past. He'd accidentally shown them off in public--minor incidents, but that drew enough attention to him that the cops got involved. It had scared him because the government were suddenly interested in him and he'd been terrified that they were going to arrest and test on him. He'd heard of it happening in the past. His mother, thankfully in a government career, had managed to 'get rid of' the documentation and sweep things under the rug. Never again.

"I'm with Nell," he said, as if daring Ace to call him a liar. "She's my friend, and thus the Fire elementals are now my enemies. I won't pretend it's the most flattering experience to have your element kick you out, but I can't say I'm regretting it." It was better to be kicked out and have your friend be safe than to stay and have everyone target your friend--including yourself. "As for Cyn, well, I knew her. I won't go into detail, but Nell is the better person." He blinked at Ace. "Can I trust that you won't drench me the moment we're alone, then?" He was half-kidding, but he was too stoic to sound like it.