-- I FORGET EVERYTHING I LEARN && [devin]

There was something about the lull of idle chatter in the background that was somewhat enticing to a person who enjoyed being around people, even when you would rather be sleeping. Waking up a little earlier than he wanted to, Devin was supposed to meet up with one of his friends at Timmie's to have a small bite to eat and talk about their project for class. Ever the slacker, it took quite a bit to convince himself to show up on time and express interest in the discussion. "So do you want to make the power point, and I'll make the handouts? Or..." The other boy sipped on his coffee and sat back in the chair across from Devin, looking just as enthusiastic as he did. He sighed and slumped back in his own chair. "I can make the power point, sure." He munched on his Bagel B.E.L.T., talking through his food. So proper. "Do I need to get the works cited page too? Since the professor seemed so incredibly adamant that we put that at the end of the slideshow." He did not exactly understand what the big deal was; what, were his fellow classmates going to sit there and start throwing shit at him because he did not prove he did his research? Handing it in on a sheet of paper should have sufficed. Nope. They like to make shit complicated. The only thing they did was sit there and grade their presentations and papers. How hard was that? Devin did not take into account how much work went into the curriculum. The other boy nodded and glanced out the window. "Yeah, if you could do that. It would make sense if you're making the presentation." After they discussed what to put on the slides and where to find their information, the two boys parted ways and Devin left for Joshua's house. Today was just a day full of being productive. Ugh.

He hopped in the car--since Judith was working from home for the day--and enjoyed not having to skateboard everywhere he went. Going to prom via skateboard was an interesting venture and he hoped he did not have to do that again. Way too cold. The trip to the mansion was definitely much shorter and before long he was parked in the driveway. He slid out of the car and happily approached the front door. The house made him feel so small--well, smaller than he already was. The boy was five foot six, after all. Hoisting his bag on his shoulder, he rang the doorbell and rocked back on his heels to wait for Josh to answer. The smile on his face faded considerably when he was met with a Dale, but not the Dale he wanted to see. His expression was neutral as he looked on, and did not even give Bryce the courtesy of answering the first question. Instead he gave him a half-enthused, "Bryce." Why did this kid have to be here anyway? ...wait. Why was Bryce here? Devin blinked and tried to register this. Devin would have made an attempt to step around him but that was pretty much impossible. Bryce and his fatness was blocking the entryway. "Speak for yourself," The graduate replied, still sounding disinterested and nonchalant. He was so accustomed to fights, to people picking on him that none of this was new. He also knew what this man was capable of and figured it was best to keep himself neutral if he wanted to be able to enter the house in one piece. He did take a step back as Joshua appeared out of nowhere and snatched his brother backwards to remove the obstacle. There was now a way to go inside but that required stepping into a potential war zone.

Finally they were rid of the pest, and Devin came inside Really Devin-- once the coast was clear. "Don't apologize for him," He replied with a shrug, blowing it all off as though it never happened. Josh and Bryce never did get along and Devin had learned to simply leave things be. The question of why his younger brother was here did nag at the back of his mind but refrained from voicing it aloud. The neutrality faded away and was replaced with a smile. "Yep!" He turned slightly to show his bag before sliding it off of his shoulder. "I am always prepared...it's just a matter of whether or not I actually do what I'm supposed to do." He chuckled, making light of his laziness as always. Joshua was a driven person though, so he had a feeling this study session would be different from those he had with Sandra. This would require actually studying. So painful. "Thanks man. I actually had Timmie's this morning before I came over here. Was working out a project for class--surprising, I know--so I'm good for now." He would probably invade the fridge later though. He was bound to want something to drink eventually. He followed his friend upstairs and slumped his bookbag next to the couch before sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Always fucking shit up man. Always. And studying with you means I actually have to get shit done." Devin blinked and opened his bag, settling a book into his lap and sighing. Why so many words? School was so boring. He knew the shit he needed and wanted to know anyway. "Well, then I guess you need to get on that. I dunno what I'm doing first..."

Devin was still not able to comprehend what was going on. Bryce was here, and Joshua did not seem happy about it in the least. Why would he allow his brother in the house if it made him miserable? The blonde lifted up a hand. "Consider him ignored." It wasn't all that hard to do anyway. Devin was always capable of tuning out his enemies; when they tried to instigate a fight or throw a punch he coped better only taking what they said at face value and leaving it at that. If they asked questions he would respond, or if they accused him of things he never did he would verbally defend himself. It was not much but that's as far as he would go. "He's what?" Devin replied, blinking in shock and confusion. "Uhm...well, that's a bit of a surprise." He rubbed the back of his head, not sure how to take the news. How would the two boys survive living in the same house? One of them would surely wind up strangling the other. He just hoped that Joshua was the one winning any fights they found themselves in. Bryce did not deserve any satisfaction of the upper hand. "That would probably be a good idea," Devin agreed with a faint nod, now feeling a flutter of anxiety in his chest. So many questions and all of them he was afraid to ask, knowing how Joshua might react to them. He did feel safer now that there was a locked door between them and Bryce. Devin was so caught up in trying to figure out why Joshua's brother was even in the house that he did not even notice the subtle threat Bryce tossed out at his older brother. It was probably for the best anyway.

"Ahaha, yes. The skinny blonde Shamu." Amusement danced in his bright blue eyes. He remembered their past conversation about his laziness, and about him becoming the next Shamu. Devin was a junkfood junkie, loved to lounge about and do nothing, and did not seem intent on changing that any time soon. Sure, he and Josh differed greatly in their study methods but they could still be best friends. Devin appreciated that. He groaned a little and rolled his head back. "Ugh, staying on traaaack," The blonde whined, then changed his expression at Joshua's threat. "But...hey, that's better than being tossed off of a balcony. I'm sensitive Josh. Really sensitive." He pouted. "Would you truly consider throwing me to my death? So cruel." Ever the one for the dramatic flair, Devin placed the back of his hand to his forehead and looked to be in despair over the possibility of being practically murdered by his best friend. "Mmm yes, Timmies," Devin also smiled brightly, still relishing over his breakfast while working on the project with his partner. He shrugged. "We had to do a research project on a business of our choice. Like what they sell, how they function, budgets, all the works." It really was a boring project but there was nothing to be done about that. What the professor wanted, he wanted. At least he had an excuse to go to Timmie's and eat good food and chat with a friend in between discussing work. He had to find the little things to help him stay focused. "I have to do the powerpoint and the works cited page since my project partner is working on the actual paper." His part of the deal was not really all that bad but it still required effort.

It was truly a curse to be so lazy. Devin felt that he did not need to sit through class and learn whatever it was they wanted him to know. Not that knowledge was not important, or learning for that matter, but his ability to retain information sometimes put a damper on sitting in class. "Oh, yes. Where would I be without you bro?" He said it teasingly, but added, "No seriously. I'm pretty sure that if I were doing this by myself nothing would get done." With Joshua around he would at least feel the urge to be productive, even if just by a little bit. He looked up from his book. "I need to study for a Biology test, work on this project for Economics, and do a set of Math problems." It did not sound like much but for someone like Devin it was a huge mountain full of crap. "I might wind up doing the studying first because it's easier to do that and talk to you." At least he could scan the pages and go through some of the important information that the professor stressed would be beneficial to study. He pulled out his binder and looked over all of the notes as well. "So incredibly amazing. But...are you saying that I don't have any intellect? I think I feel a little insulted." Devin laughed, clearly joking. He did not often feel insulted by much of anything, unless it was a hit at his family or those he cared about. Other times it truly depended upon the situation and what was said. After sorting out his notes and putting them in order of chapter and importance he glanced up at his best friend. "What all do you have to do? After you work on that paper, that is." He tilted his head, sincerely interested.

"You are so cruel to me," Devin whined, though it was all in jest. "I was wondering why your study partners kept disappearing. Now I know why." Nah, he had not heard of Joshua's study partners vanishing on him or any nonsense like that. Merely just playing up the drama of the moment simply because he could. He did make a mental note that if that sort of confrontation were to ever occur between he and Josh that there would definitely be no winning in sight for him. He was considerably shorter and probably not half as strong. That, and Devin was not a fighter. He rarely ever raised a fist, and would be even less likely to do so against his best friend. "Only the best teacher. Although I would probably avoid your class like the plague to ensure I have a decent life span." Actually Devin thought that his friend would make a decent teacher. Temper aside the man was very smart and seemed genuinely interested in quite a few different subjects. He was not sure how he would handle the students as a whole but Josh was not to be written off of the potential teacher list. The blonde groaned and rolled his head back to the point where he was looking at the ceiling. "The most boring shit in the woooorld, man. You have no fucking idea. Out of anything the professor could have picked, it had to be this." It was pretty bad when Joshua thought that it was not interesting. Now Devin really did not want to work on the project. I'm not gonna leave my group out to dry. Lazy yes, but a shitty friend and partner he was not. He would do his part as best he could to make sure his group members got good grades. "Hey, I did a lot of research for him! And he offered, so..."

It was a weak defense and Devin was smiling as his friend nudged him playfully. Even though Josh was teasing, it did sound like something he might attempt to do if he really was feeling that lazy. Alas he was too nice to do that to someone. He would allow himself to suffer but not his classmates. He placed his hands on his chest and fluttered his eyelashes a little bit. "You've saved me from being a homeless illiterate that would mistake money for food. You are so kind to me my friend. So kind." He was smiling as well, laughing at the image of himself sitting on a street corner eating money and making awesome posters about the world coming to an end, but everything was spelled wrong and made no sense to anyone but himself. He shook his head. "You're good at everything," He pointed out. "But if you're willing to help me study then that would be pretty awesome. I'll wait until you're done with your paper first. Until then I'll refresh my memory." Essentially he was going to skim through the previous chapter and go back over the highlighted areas on the pages. Highlighting things were so insanely helpful. Good for retaining information. Devin blinked. "You never took Econ? Hmm. It's interesting enough I guess. A little math, statistics, supply and demand. All that good shit." The class in general was actually not that bad, but some of the projects and homework assignments were annoying. No matter what Devin had to cope with it though. Due to that he picked different aspects of the class he enjoyed so he could push through it.

He really was easily distracted, not to mention lazy. It was a good thing that Joshua was there to help keep him on the right track, otherwise nothing would ever get done. He scrunched his nose at Joshua's 'words of wisdom' and shook his head. "Yeah, I see enough of those in the halls and in the classroom. They are so annoying. Some of them make sense but...way overdone." Really, every teacher and professor saw fit to have fifty bajillion of the damn things all over the place. Most of the time, when class got to be too much, Devin would read them over and over again as a distraction. He never fully remembered them since he was not exactly trying though. "Well are you the lucky one," Devin teased, smiling a bit as he skimmed over one of the pages in his book. He could be that lucky too, but procrastination. "All of my stuff is simple enough. Since it's all different subjects and stuff it's just annoying." Not to mention all of it was put off until today. The work load would not be half as burdensome otherwise. Devin nodded at Joshua's offer and mouthed a couple of the bolded words on the page. They would probably be useful later. "Sure thing, it would be greatly appreciated! The test is in two days, so I guess I should make sure I'm set to go." In his mind two days was plenty of time to study but with Joshua he had better do it now than later. "Well, I'll let you finish your editing then, and I'll continue going through these last few pages." He was a chatter box but could deal well with silence when necessary. Devin wanted to make sure his best buddy could set his attention on getting his paper done. He knew how important school was to Joshua.

Devin tilted his head thoughtfully, almost like a child. He was smart, knew quite a bit about a bunch of different things, but the mayfly comment left him a bit baffled. He was not really one for bugs (he did know about the mayfly’s existence at least) and never took a moment to read up on them. “And what will happen if I end up like one of those? Besides sprouting wings of course.” He fluttered his hands a little as though they could lift him up off of the ground, clearly amused by the thought of becoming a bug. Not that he wanted to be small and squishable—well, more squishable than he already was. The boy never fought and never raised a fist. He would prefer to take a beating and avoid giving someone the satisfaction of riling him up. “We’re doing ours on Xerox.” As though reminded of said project and what he was supposed to do for his group, Devin reached into his bag and pulled out his laptop. He would have to work on the power point at some time during this study session. “How they started, and everything. Even how they are ‘going green’.” He made air quotes and shrugged. Although the group had made extensive research on the company it was always difficult to tell if they were truly interested in being good for the environment or if it was just a sales gimmick.

“I don’t mind projects all that much, actually.” He thought about it for a moment then corrected himself with, “I mean, group projects. Then I get to share the work and the grade doesn’t rest entirely on me.” The blonde smiled. He was not ashamed to admit that he was a procrastinator, that he was lazy. Why deny something that you were? People could probably tell anyway. It would just be a waste of breath to say that he was an extremely diligent student. “Yes, yes you are of the utmost awesome!” Devin agreed with a nod; if he nodded any more fervently his head would probably roll right off of his neck and onto the floor below. That would be a mess no one would want to clean up. He had initially forgotten that Joshua had double majored and had quite a bit more on his plate class-wise than he did, but made note of his remembrance by lifting his chin up a half inch and blinking. “I can enjoy science too but I think I’ll let you take that as ‘your thing’ and I’ll…find something else. Eventually.” He chuckled. Any class could be interesting with the right teacher but Devin had high standards. They had to be witty, fun, and entertaining while at the same time teaching their subject effectively. “Hm. Psychology might be interesting.” He noted before lifting one shoulder up to his neck. “Just testing the waters. Finding out what I might like or not like.”

College offered so many opportunities when it came to class options. The horizon broadened and—so long as they were not upper level courses—were open to almost every student. “Diligence does not always come in the form of education,” Devin pointed out, glancing up at his friend with a questioning gaze before stealing himself back towards the pages in his lap. “I’m diligent in being a bum. It’s not an easy thing to be you know.” Lounging around, snoozing whenever he damn well pleased, playing video games…ah, such was the life of a lazy ass. It took hard work. Even the thought made him want to take a nap. “Cell mitosis.” Devin did not even feel the need to explain it; Joshua loved the biology courses and had a feeling he would already know what it was about. He nodded and allowed Josh to work on his paper, while he spent time going back over the pages in the book and taking note of the bold words and highlights. He willingly handed the book over to his friend once the paper had been complete, not all that eager to actually study. “I guess we’ll start with the phases, since that’s what the professor seemed interested in working on.” The chapter was pretty long so the professor split the chapter into two separate tests.

"Hm. Well, I really don't want to die," Devin replied thoughtfully, as though dying was something to be taken lightly. He never did take a whole lot of things seriously; it was probably why he was so lazy and never strove to do well in academics. Oddly enough the boy loved his video games and took them more seriously than he probably should. Ah, hobbies. "Ever wonder what the point of their existence is?" He asked, thoughts drifting to some sort of deeper level than necessary. "If they only live for a couple of days...like, there's no point in them even being around." What sort of impact could they possibly make in two days? Not that Devin was the sort to make some huge mark in the history books or anything but he had more of an opportunity than a mayfly. Bugs were weird.

Out of any project he had been assigned, it had to be one that Joshua was not even very knowledgeable on. Devin was not one to rely heavily on others for vast amounts of information--he was intelligent himself, after all--but if his friend had had something to offer up he would have taken it. Oh well; the project was nearing it's completion anyway and most of the research was complete. Now was just the task of putting everything together.

Devin closed one eye and pointed at his best friend with a smile. "I'll make one of those for you," He said with a chuckle, amused at the image of Josh sitting in the middle of his classroom with a scowl on his face and a sign on his shirt that said he did not play well with others. In fact the image made him laugh a little harder. He really wanted to see this now. "What colors would you like it in? I could maybe just print it on a shirt or something." Devin snapped his fingers. "That's it. For your birthday I'm making you one. You're going to have the most epic shirt ever. Of all time." Josh's birthday was coming up anyway. It would be perfect timing! The Earth loved to give gifts to people, and it would be even better if it was some sort of remembrance of their conversation and they could laugh about it later. He liked things like that. More thoughtful than a birthday card and a gift card or some cash. He liked his gifts to mean something if he could help it. He shrugged. "...dude. Do you realize who you're talking to?" He quirked an eyebrow. "I am the slacker. Forever lazy." And proud, apparently.

He had yet to figure out what he liked and didn't like yet. It was school so he automatically set his mind to 'I don't give a fuck' mode and tended to tune out lectures whenever possible. Sometimes he listened; it depended on how interesting the professor was or if there were pretty pictures on the power points they had during class. This mentality would surely be his downfall. Maybe Devin would find his drive at some point? Psychology could be one to try though. He added it to his mental list.

It was nice to know that Josh was adept at Biology though. Having someone confident in the subject was certainly more of a helpful study partner than someone who said 'uhhh' and drooled a little when asked what "prophase" was. That was one thing Devin did remember, thank you photographic memory and last minute read-overs before handing the book over to his best friend and study partner. He nodded a little bit and settled himself into a comfortable position on the floor. Having someone who liked studying helped Devin to feel a surge of focus and drive. "Yep! Plant cells. The phase names aren't really difficult to remember but what actually happens in each phase somewhat leaves me stuck." Every time Devin managed to mix up anaphase and telophase. He managed decently well in their back and forth. By the end he certainly felt more confident about the test.

"Thanks for helping me out!" Devin said cheerfully, sincere in his gratitude despite how often he displayed his disdain for studying. It was nice to know that Josh was willing to take out the time to help.

He tapped his chin and milled about the different things he needed to do in his head. "I dunno," He mumbled, his thought processes somewhat distracting him. "My project is something I'll need to do on my own, and the math problems won't be difficult. It's just college algebra." He shrugged it off as though it were no big deal. You would never think he had a knack for some of the subjects he took considering how often he moaned and groaned about the work load tossed on top of him. Professors had his best interests at heart but really? So much to do. "Oh yeah!" His bright blue eyes lit up. "I wanna work on my elemental endurance. We work on it some at school but maybe away from everyone it will be easier?" He tilted his head and stood up. If they were going to do this, they couldn't do it inside. Not a wise move.

Devin never tried to think too deeply into things, but sometimes it was unavoidable. It went from delving into the reasoning behind such a short-lived bug life to what he would do if he only had that amount of time to live. What would he do? Where would he go? Who would he spend it with? Josh of course. And Sandra. And Nell. And Ashton. The list was growing pretty long. One big ass party of awesomeness before he found himself six feed under. What a way to go! "A year?" Devin blinked, finally zoning back into the conversation. He had heard what Josh said but his thoughts somewhat slowed his response time. "That's actually a pretty long time. Though cockroaches can pretty much live forever so I guess they aren't all that awesome." Those crunchy critters could live through the ice age if they wanted to. "One time I squished a cockroach and when I came back in the room a few hours later the little fucker was gone." He waggled his fingers. "Like Houdini." Probably plotting it's revenge.

"...red. That is so cliche man. Why not blue or green or pink or something?" He was smiling at his best friend, clearly just poking fun. If the man wanted red, he would get red. End of story. Devin liked to do stuff like this for his friends and was more than willing to do whatever they wanted to see them happy. Occasionally it could be a downfall because people could manipulate that however they wished but Josh and his closer friends never made attempts to do so.

Although he was not opposed to receiving gifts from people--he enjoyed unwrapping boxes quite a bit, actually--he did not like that Joshua spent so much on said gifts. He wasn't going to argue about it or mention it though. Devin wanted Josh to know that he appreciated everything he did. "It would be incredibly hard to top. Maybe we can do something for my birthday instead of a gift?" He thought about it and nothing stood out in his mind. "I don't know what yet, but we should. Like...Las Vegas and play the tables."

He was glad to see Joshua agree with him, even if it was a hit at himself. Devin knew he was lazy, was not afraid to admit to it, so it was good that Josh did not try and argue it. Because if his best friend said something like 'you're not that lazy!' even Devin would know that to be a lie.

There was a bit of a nervous chuckle and momentary silence before the blonde managed to realize that it was a joke. Stupid, Josh wouldn't roast me on purpose. Just a split second jolt of concern, nothing more. His trust in his friend was powerful. "Well maybe not roast...just bake. You know. Not too crispy or anything." Because that would truly suck. He had to have his good looks, otherwise he wouldn't be worth much else! Okay that was a lie; he was just being over dramatic. Lazy maybe, but not stupid or worthless. Even insecure people could feel decent about who they were. Willingly he followed Josh outside and watched as the snow was melted away, enjoying the weather as well as he could considering. At least he could stop drop and roll in snow if he caught fire? Yeah, that's a good positive thought. He would cling to that. Devin stood on the level ground and shoved his hands in his pockets, thinking for a moment. "Well, not so easy that I don't have to exert energy I suppose..." What level of 'easy' would that be anyway? He was not sure how to describe it. "Uhh..." He rubbed the back of his head.

Joshua was a senior Fire, he was a freshman Earth. Fire was his weakness and the guy had three years of experience and practice on him. Fuck. Maybe I should have asked someone else? Nah, he trusted Joshua above everyone else. Next to his family of course. "How about semi-easy? I'm not sure what that would be but I want to obviously exert enough energy to build up the endurance." That was probably the best way to go about this. He was eager to build his strength, not deplete it completely and pass out.

"Oh, they do. They just want you to think they don't live for very long. So then they can come back and take over the world!" He put his hands out beside him as though showing the circumference of the Earth, smiling and chuckling as he did so. Even though he did contemplate the finer details of how to spend a short-lived life, he also was not interested in making a discussion about bugs become overly serious. Devin was simply not that type of person. He leaned over a little bit and whispered, "They are both. If that is even possible. Which for cockroaches it probably is." He acted as though there were little roaches hiding out somewhere in the room, stalking them and listening in on their conversations. Gathering information on the human race to see how best to eliminate them. "Military grade roaches," Devin thought on this for a moment, then shuddered. Ew! He had a girly moment in his head, squealing included. "That's so disgusting." Enough with that train of thought! On to something less crunchy.

Years of friendship helped the Earth student to pick up on Joshua's sarcasm. Some days it very hard to tell when he was joking, making him feel a bit nervous, but when it came to being impaled by a huge bull it was somewhat easy to tell that this was merely teasing. So, in turn, Devin decided to roll with it. "Really!? Mine too! Brothers, Josh. Brothers." He flashed him a boyish grin and offered him a fist for a little knuckle bump action. That was how bros did it and shit.

His blue eyes lit up in excitement when it seemed that his best friend was interested in a bit of a road trip to Vegas. "I've never been. I think it would be pretty fuckin' sweet." All of the flashing lights, the cling cling cling noises of the slot machines, the crowd cheering as he rolled himself a pair of sevens for the fourth time in a row...sounded heavenly. Maybe even a little roulette. Devin nodded. "I'm dead serious, man. I think it would be good quality time and maybe we can bring home some good pots." He wiggled his eyebrows, growing more and more eager at the prospect of the trip. It was hard to keep from fidgeting over it! He did not freak out and get all over-excited like he wanted to though, because Josh would need to run it by Nell--which he said he was going to do--and so if they got the green light he would have his moment of spazziness.

He nodded when Joshua seemed to grasp his rather shitty explanation, glad that it was not too confusing. He honestly did not know how much strength Josh should put behind his attack, nor was he sure how much energy he would have to exert to deflect. The only thing that scared Devin at this point was not being able to hold it up and accidentally obtaining a nice burn on his arms or face. Josh wouldn't mean it though. He had asked for this, after all. The only thing he knew for certain was that his skills were definitely no where near the level of his best friend. That put him at a great disadvantage. Not to mention he was vulnerable to fire. Why did he ask for this again? "I'm always prepared," Devin replied, feeling more anxious now. Focus. That was what needed to be done right now. The blonde, for once, looked dead serious as he watched Joshua sling the fire in his direction. A sharp intake of breath before he managed to pull up a dirt wall before his face. The heat could still be felt from around his shield, but not enough to make him feel uncomfortable. Devin held it there for a time before he felt himself growing tired. Not enough to falter but he wanted to create the shield multiple times. "Okay, you can let up for a sec." Once he was sure the fire was no longer an immediate threat, he dropped the shield and released a few deep breaths. "I wanna do it a few more times if that's okay with you? You can make it a little stronger this time if you want."

He would probably be only to bring up his shield and hold it there for a certain amount of time anyway.