a dumb human *josh

Unlike Ethan, Joshua was barely surprised when he was handed the small pink detention slip that morning. Instead, he merely sighed to himself and muttered, "Yeah, alright." He hated getting detentions and thought they were juvenile but he knew that to argue them with your professors just got another two or three tacked onto the first. He'd tried that in his first year of college, insisting that he was an adult and he shouldn't have to stand for being scolded like a high schooler. That had earned him a weeks worth of detentions and they'd made him write lines for the first three to rub it in further. Damn, he hated this place sometimes. If you rebelled against the administration they just kicked your ass even further.

Today's detention, however, was less severe than usual. He'd been antagonizing someone rather than actually fighting—making threats as opposed to his usual "fight first, talk later" approach. This was due to the fact that he'd been threatened with expulsion from the headmaster and he knew full well that the man would kick him out if he started many more fights at the Academy. He'd slid under the radar in high school thanks to their policy of keeping people until twelfth grade graduation but he had enough control now that kicking him out would be no skin off their backs. Just his, because it would mean the end of a lot of opportunities. So he was trying to keep his record clean. Unfortunately for Josh, he still couldn't keep his temper flaring up when anyone so much as breathed funny around Nell. He hated hearing people gossip about her, it really got under his skin and made it crawl. Rumours had died down immensely as the months passed but there were still a few people that got a kick out of the gossip.

The professor happened to have good timing, turning the corner just as Joshua shoved the other boy against the wall and threatened, ever so politely, to bash his skull in if he opened his mouth. He'd noticed his mistake when the professor cleared her throat but there was no getting out of the detention that followed. At least I wasn't sent to the office. Damn it, he hated these high school traditions. He felt that college should deal with things in a different manner, rather than ways that had grown steadily more stale as the years wore on. He entered the room and handed the slip over to the supervisor, working his jaw slightly. At least this wasn't one of the lecturing ones. In fact, they greeted him with only an, "Looks like you're stuck here for the next hour. Have a seat."

It was then that Joshua noticed Ethan Lovejoy, and the already shitty detention seemed to look even worse. He sat down a little ways away, not wanting to be too close, but still couldn't resist a comment and a slight smirk. "Aren't you supposed to hand those in, Lovejoy?" He gestured to the cellphone, not really caring either way. Josh had his iPod in his bag and his cell in the pocket of his jeans, having blatantly ignored the technology bucket at the front of the room. As long as the supervisors didn't ask—and indeed, this one didn't seem to care all that much—he never complied with the rule. It was written in capital letters on the blackboard, as well as the others ("NO TALKING", "NO LEAVING EARLY" ect). Josh had already broken two rules so far. It looked like he was on a roll today. He glanced toward the supervisor, who was not looking in their direction, then back at Ethan.

Josh was more amused than irritated as Ethan snapped at him, not in as sour a mood as usual when he was sent down to detention. The boy in the hall had angered him but he had restrained himself from going overboard, therefore stalling the waves of rage that stayed with him for hours afterwards. Right now he was merely irked and so the sarcasm of the other was deflected with ease. Thank goodness, for a fight right in front of the supervisor was just asking for it. "Someone's a little upset," he observed, arching an eyebrow. Was Ethan harbouring especially bitter feelings from their last encounter or was he just having a bad day? It was hard to tell with people sometimes. Joshua understood that more than some because he was one of those people, not someone that could be read like an open book. Though he was fascinated by Psychology, psychologists themselves made him uneasy. The idea that someone could pick up on his most subtle of mannerisms and connect them to his mood was unsettling. He did not like it when people understood him. Secrecy was Josh's best defence. Sarcasm seemed to be Ethan's, although he could have been wrong. Maybe the Water was trying to antagonise him? Not sure, Josh gave up the analysis.

He considered the comment for a moment as if deciding whether or not he should be offended, then shrugged it off internally. "No, I suppose it isn't. What'd you do—irk the wrong person again?" His lips twisted into a brief smirk and his gray eyes glittered. Joshua was not holding a grudge about the incident but Ethan had practically held it over his head when it came to withholding the information from Nell. This, reminding him of how he'd kicked his ass, this was his payback. He'd never actually gotten detention for the fight with Ethan because it had been out on the grounds with no witnesses. If he had, Joshua reflected on the fact that it might have been another straw on the camel's back. Would it have been the one to break it and get him expelled? Probably not, he reasoned with himself, I've been in worse fights. There was that one time... He allowed himself to reminisce for a moment. Josh wasn't exactly proud of his record but nor was he particularly ashamed. He had a lot of anger and he figured it was equally the fault of the assholes that provoked him. Like Ethan. There had been a few cases where his anger had been unjustified and he silently felt bad for those—he'd never admit it aloud—but other than that, there was very little regret.

Joshua debated on whether or not to talk to Ethan in order to pass the hour quicker (at a price), or just shut his mouth and try to think his way through the sentence. He didn't have anything of interest in his bag apart from the iPod and the cellphone in his pocket but Joshua could rarely be entertained by technology alone. He usually used his iPod for music in loud places where it would not be worth the concentration required for reading. Now, reading would have been nice right about now but Joshua didn't have a book with him. Ethan it is. It was perhaps a bit masochistic to hold conversation with someone you couldn't stand and who could not stand you but he'd never claimed to make the best decisions. "I got into an argument and the professor seemed to think it was grounds to punish me like a child. Isn't college lovely?" His tone was sarcastic and he wasn't being serious, merely exasperated.

At Ethan's words, Joshua gave a short chuckle that was perhaps a bit too hard-edged to signify humour. He did not feel as comfortable joking and laughing around people that made him tense and Ethan definitely fit that category to a T. At the same time, the Water elemental's comment had been sort of amusing. Not that he'd admit finding anyone he loathed even the least bit funny but sarcasm had its way of entertaining him, so long as it wasn't directed at him. When someone used it as a weapon in an argument—as Ethan had learned—it merely set him off and made things worse. Everything set him off. Watching the other elemental play around with his phone, Joshua toyed with the idea of pulling his own out but ultimately decided against it. The supervisor didn't seem to be noticing anything out of the ordinary at the moment but if they both started breaking all of the rules then there would be repercussions for the pair of them. Why am I always stuck here with the people that hate me? The thought was lighter than expected, mostly because he wasn't really that upset about it. If he'd been stuck in detention with a Thunder or Fire, that would be bad. It had certainly happened before and it had ended in fighting and extra detentions more than once. Ethan was at least bearable compared to that. If he could just keep his temper in check, maybe he could keep his college career as well.

A professor? Despite his own distaste toward the Water elemental, he'd never really struck him as the type that would wrong one of the faculty members. His light surprise registered in the way that he arched an eyebrow. "I can't say I haven't been there before, though I got all of the violent repercussions as well." He wasn't bragging—quite the opposite. He almost envied the fact that a smack on the wrist was the only thing Ethan had gotten. Then again, he probably wasn't caught attacking anyone. Joshua had gotten into a fight with a fellow elemental and a professor from the Water element had rounded the corner and blasted him with a forceful wave, draining his strength and soaking him in one easy move. His pride had been fairly damaged on that day and so he didn't bother going into detail. This was conversation to pass the time for both of them. Josh wasn't about to go admitting defeats and weaknesses left and right—hell, he didn't even share that sort of courtesy with his closest friends. Or his fiancée. Especially not her. He didn't want Nell to see him as weak.

Speaking of his fiancée, he considered Ethan with a frown when he expressed his surprise. "They're lucky it wasn't anything worse," he said, and his tone had acquired a bit of a hard edge. He got fierce and protective when it came to people that he was close to and Nell was the closest person he had in his life. "If I hadn't been in the Academy I'd do a hell of a lot more to anyone that says something against Nell." He was reminded of the anger Ethan had provoked in him during their last meeting by suggesting that Joshua did not care about the girl or at least not about her opinions. It made him stiffen slightly as he fought to suppress the embittered thoughts, knowing that he'd end up starting another argument if he thought too much about the things that infuriated him. Joshua was lucky that he had not been a Thunder elemental, for vindictiveness in someone with his anger issues would be a huge problem. For the most part, he was satisfied with getting revenge only once and letting it drop. Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten Ethan back for that comment. He didn't know how Nell and Ethan got along and so he couldn't say anything against them to defend his own honour. Ethan saved himself with the response about college, distracting his thoughts from their dangerous path. "You'd think we were children."

His gray gaze sharpened momentarily when Ethan inquired about what the teacher had done to him, not entirely sure that he wanted to impart this knowledge to someone with whom he did not get along. For he still didn't get along with Ethan. He could be pleasant enough to someone he did not like in order to avoid a full-blown fight but that did not mean he was ready to be all buddy-buddy with them. He might have let it go after their initial spat on the grounds if it had not been for the fact that Nell had come into their conversation in front of the apartment. That had turned Joshua's intent completely. You didn't suggest anything bad about his relationship and remain on his good side. Of course, Ethan had never been on his good side, but that was besides the point. Deciding that it didn't matter—the professors would have done it to anyone in his position—he admitted, "Practically unleashed a fucking typhoon on me." He rolled his eyes at the memory and figured that Ethan could infer that it mean she'd soaked him with a ton of water. Joshua hated water. He liked the rain and he certainly bathed regularly but anything beyond that made him tense and uncomfortable, especially when it was an elemental attack that drained his energy fasted than he could blink.

He couldn't help but to scowl at the sarcasm in Ethan's tone, anger prickling at him almost immediately. His protective nature toward Nell and his dislike toward Ethan combined made for more irritation than was customary for such a remark. He might have smirked if it were anyone else, smirked like he was not ashamed and then turned away. Right now it was different. He certainly was not ashamed of what he'd done but the fact that Ethan was acting all sarcastic about it displeased him. "What, so you'd let some asshole talk trash about your girl?" His tone was scathing and the scowl intensified. He did not see Nell as some wilted flower that needed protecting but that didn't mean he was going to let just anyone say what they liked about her. A number of the detentions he'd gotten at the start of the year had owed to the fact that people talked about the trial shamelessly. Some of those people ragged on Nell and he was not okay with that. He wondered what Ethan would do if his girlfriend—did he even have one?—were in that sort of a mess. Of course, Josh was unaware that Ethan knew about the trial at all.

He stiffened slightly when Ethan brought Nell up again, unsure of where this was going and not sure that he wanted to know. He tried to soothe his temper quickly, to douse it so that he didn't go for Ethan if he said something negative. They were supposed to be friends but you never knew with some people. However, Joshua blinked and relaxed slightly when Ethan brought up the 'news'. It did not take much for him to figure that out. A smirk curled his lips, speaking of a mixture of pride and acknowledgement. That's right, he thought. "About the engagement, you mean?" he asked, savouring the word on his tongue but more than anything wanted to know what Ethan thought about it. He probably disapproved but Josh didn't give two shits about whether they had his approval. Josh cared about no approval but hers when it all came down to it. If one of his friends had been against it, he would likely have distanced himself from them or at least asked that they not talk about it around him. "Yes, I figured that would get around eventually." Rumours would, too, about pregnancies and the like, but he didn't care about those. If they weren't true, they didn't matter.

He arched an eyebrow in disbelief, having assumed his previous comment had given away the fact that he'd attacked someone for talking behind his back about Nell. Then again, Ethan had no way of knowing just how fiercely protective he could get. It was common knowledge among his friends that he would do anything to defend her but Ethan and Joshua were quite far from any kind of friendship whatsoever. All the Water elemental had seen of Josh was how incredibly volatile and violent he could be—not the best first impression, but what could be done? "People talk about her all the time," he said, because this school was an absolute gossip hole. Everyone talked about everyone else. Shouldn't Ethan know that better than anyone? As this thought crossed his mind, he couldn't stop himself from adding, "People like you." It was more matter-of-fact than snide, really, but he'd still said it. Why was spreading a rumour about Josh being a murderer any different than spreading rumours about Nell and the trial? Joshua didn't understand the logic of people that both flapped their jaws and kept friends at the same time. They wouldn't talk about their friends behind their backs, so why were they so intent on babbling on about the lives of strangers? It angered him but he decided that he wasn't going to get into all of it now. He and Ethan had already "discussed" this, after all, and detention wasn't the best place to get into another "discussion".

He kept an expectant gaze on Ethan as the boy prepared to speak, expecting some lecture about how Ethan did not approve of Nell's choices and how he would be watching Joshua like a hawk and hoping that they broke up, something like that. He'd already dealt with a few people in the same vein, both before and after they had gotten engaged. He was fully prepared to tell Ethan that it was not his place to make decisions for Nell and for their relationship and if he could kindly stick his nose somewhere else, that'd be great. He was not expecting what came next. He took it quite smoothly despite being caught off guard, merely blinking and remaining silent for a moment as he digested this. Oh? Had Nell put him up to this? Joshua dismissed the thought as soon as it entered his mind. He didn't take her to be the manipulative type that would try to control her friends. She was too nice for that. He inhaled slowly and replied with utmost self control, "I respect that you don't plan on interfering." Just as Ethan hated sucking up his own pride, there was a discomfort to Josh's expression as he said this. Damn it, why did Nell have to complicate their comfortable hatred of one another? That girl. "And... thank you, I think." I know. I do make her happy. But he did refrain from saying this, not wanting to sound too smug about this.

Joshua rolled his eyes, impatient with Ethan's misinterpretation. He was a very calm and level guy until you sparked his anger, at which point the slightest misunderstanding would get him going. Igniting the anger was like flipping a switch to turn on all the negative aspects of Josh's personality at once. All things considered, it had a very profound effect on his mood. "No, not about Nell," he corrected sharply. "But you were all too keen to talk about me, and why should that be any different?" Joshua was a confident guy and he didn't rely on the opinions of others to fuel his opinion of himself. That didn't mean he liked to hear people spreading lies about him. Though far from angelic, spreading lies and half-truths about other people had never been much his style. He preferred to confront them outright, those confrontations turning violent if things went too far. Perhaps it wasn't much better to use fists instead of falsehoods but it still pissed him off when he heard someone talking about him, or Nell, or anyone he was close to for that matter. He ignored the rumour mill in regards to strangers and even enemies. If he wanted something to use against someone, he'd find something he could be sure of. "The way people talk about Nell is the same way you told your friends that I was a murderer—which, by the way, is not true." He added the last bit with a touch of scathing emphasis. He hated the idea of being labelled as a killer. He had a lot more compassion for human life than that, even if he wasn't the friendliest.

He nodded to show that he'd heard, finding that he accepted this. As long as Ethan's friendship didn't interfere in his relationship with Nell then Joshua could tolerate him, at very least. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt Nell," he replied, and instead of scathing and offended his tone was gravely serious. He wasn't the best Nell could do, in all likelihood, but he did his best. And even though the Earth elemental could score herself a guy with relative ease thanks to her accepting personality and friendliness, she chose to stick with him, flaws and all. That meant a lot to Joshua, more than he was going to bother explaining to someone like Ethan. Unfortunately, their little chat turned the air a little awkward. He was neither particularly angry at Ethan nor particularly happy to have him around at the present moment. Stupid circumstances, he thought. They had to go and complicate things, didn't they? If it'll make Nell happy, I'll deal. He wasn't so self-sacrificing that he'd put her before himself in every situation, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that would. They called that a 'pushover', and by general consensus that wasn't a positive thing. "Course not. She's my fiancée, I want her to be happy."

Joshua huffed his frustration as Ethan pointed out that Nell was his friend, clenching his fist to avoid slamming it on the desk. It was a lot harder to rile him up by exasperating him than by insulting someone he cared about but the Water elemental was proving that it was definitely still possible. Josh had gotten better control over his anger in the past couple of years but he wasn't sure he'd ever be rid of it completely. "I know that," he snapped back, in a low voice because the supervisor seemed to have taken notice of the tension. "I'm not, though, and you certainly flapped your jaws about me enough." He wasn't usually this bitter about things but his anger toward Ethan made him the exception to this rule. "Say you hadn't been friends with Nell, huh? What would you have done then?" It wasn't a question that he meant to be answered and so he continued without much pause, "I bet you'd have spread the rumours everyone else has been putting out there and then we'd have a lot more problems with each other than we do now." His gray eyes flashed with a dangerous ire as Joshua thought about the assholes that talked about Nell behind her back. He didn't think that she hated them—did she really hate anyone?—but he certainly did. He was fiercely protective over all those he cared about.

Seething, Joshua turned his gaze away from Ethan for a moment so that he didn't act on any random impulses, slowly uncurling his fist. He flexed his fingers a few times, finding that they hurt from how tightly he'd clenched them against his palm. Pain was not usually enough to distract him from the rage—instead he'd continue on until he was run into the ground and knocked unconscious. He didn't know the meaning of give up and back down. It was a good thing Ethan wasn't that great of a fighter or Joshua realised that he'd have been in one hell of a mess that day at the lake. "I don't expect you to. It's not my place to tell her who she makes friends with." That was the simple fact of the matter. If Nell was doing something that he thought would really get in trouble he might advise her against it but he would never force her to do anything. He respected his fiancée and he was glad to know that she extended the same courtesy. He wondered briefly what Ethan's morales were like but didn't ask. They weren't friends, they weren't the type that could discuss things like that. The bell rang and the supervisor jerked his hand lazily in the direction of the door. "You two can go," he said in a bored tone. Joshua stood immediately. "Later, Lovejoy," he said, exiting the room.

[Figured it was time to start wrapping it up before they got too angry xD PM me any time you'd like another thread <3 You can reply to this another time or I can lock it, your choice~]