* SOMETHING TO RELY ON [josh]

Anything less than perfect was not good enough for Joshua when it came to his grades. If he found himself pressed for time he would sooner sacrifice dinner or take a day off work than allow himself to slack in the area of school. One had to be intelligent when it came to medical school, really intelligent, smart enough to beat out the other applicants and stand out amongst the crowd. He could not fail in his dream, couldn't falter in his ambition. If Josh did not become a doctor, it would crush him. It did not matter that re-applicants were allowed, that there was always a chance to try again. If he did not get in on his first shot, he would feel like he'd failed. Failed himself, failed his dreams, failed his father. He had originally wanted nothing more than to do his father proud but now he wanted this for himself, too. It mattered to him. Not more than Nell, more than his friends, more than his family, but certainly more than almost anything else. That was why, despite exams being several months away and the elemental having little idea of what to expect, he was already studying. They had been back for a month, long enough to learn new things, and he was bent-set on ingraining them into memory so that he was well-prepared. Just like every other year, he could not afford to fail. Top of the class every year. I can't let this one be any different.

The silence of the library was a familiar and welcome comfort. He had grown up with a love of reading in the peace and quiet so libraries were like a natural habitat for the graduate. He was quiet by nature because he so often needed to be. Careful not to disrupt any of the others as they studied at tables nearby, Joshua was content to sit for hours flipping through textbooks and reading over stacks of notes. Most of the information was retained thanks to his good memory but it was still nice to refresh everything. So many names for so many different things in the human body, so many different diseases that a human could contract. The book he currently read would make almost anyone fear to step outside their door in the mornings. Medicine fascinated him, the way that doctors studied to find cures for things that he was still trying to understand. I'll get there someday. Pausing at the end of a chapter, he looked up and saw someone that he knew milling about the shelves. The Water was not anyone he could consider a best and closest friend but he liked him well enough and his lips twitched. I don't think he's noticed me. Joshua glanced at his book and back at Gale, pondering an interruption. He may want to be left alone. It made sense, after all. Josh wasn't the type of guy that enjoyed being pestered while reading. At the same time, it seemed a bit pointless to ignore a friend.

You never know until you try. So he decided he would do just that, closing the book and sliding it back into his already loaded bag. He hauled it onto his shoulder, weighted down by the stacks of books and his laptop, but as he was used to the pressure on his shoulder he showed little sign of discomfort. He wandered to the table that Gale had sat down at and leaned against it, one hand bracing his weight against the table. He didn't yet make himself seated. "Bonjour, mon ami." Only with those he liked would Josh tease like this. He had learned French from a young age thanks to his parents wanted him to know the language but it was not important enough to him that he would lapse into it like Nell did when she was excited or upset. He used the language to tease, to amuse, very rarely to show off. He didn't like boasting. Besides, a lot of Canadians knew basic French, even if they weren't as well-versed in it as he was. In case Gale was unaware, he said more seriously, "Sup, Gale? Are you studying or just here to read?" If the boy was studying, Josh would be a lot less forward about hanging around. He took his own studies very seriously. "Mind if I hang around? I won't bug you if you want to concentrate, you know me." He could be quiet as a mouse and simply revel in the company, or he could be a conversational partner if Gale was in the mood to talk.

Ironically enough, Joshua was not one of those people who enjoyed conversation as much as the Waters. He was actually a pretty quiet guy, content to sit in silence with his friends and simply enjoy the companionship rather than craving dialogue. If he understood that his friends wanted to chat with him then he was often willing to try and shirk his solitary and silent nature for a while but for the most part, Josh was unchanging. He got rare desires to do something other than sit by himself, though, and it was one of those desires that had led him over to Gale. At least the guy was receptive enough, not questioning the words. He wondered whether it was due to an understanding of them (possible) or an assumption that they meant something friendly and a desire to move on without asking (also possible). He didn't question him about it. "Cool." As the books were lying in plain sight he glanced at the covers to see what it was that he was reading. "Studying your element, eh? Can't say I blame you. Exams'll be in a few months from now, best to be prepared." His mind was still on the end of the year tests despite abandoning his studies to chat with Gale and his thoughts likely wouldn't leave exams until they were over and done with. Then he'd be fretting about next years exams. Maintaining a perfect or even near-perfect GPA was a downright pain in the ass sometimes.

The question made him smirk a little. Joshua could often be a smart ass around his friends and today was no exception as he replied without pause, "Ah, nothing much, just plotting world domination and practising for a hockey game." Joshua could not actually play hockey but that was not the point. Though he'd said the words with a completely serious tone and expression they were mere lead-in for what he said next. "Reading, man, studying, what else would I be doing in a library?" It wasn't an ideal place for teenagers to hide amongst the bookshelves and make out or do any other couple-related things because it was a quiet place. Far too quiet for fooling around. Besides, he was alone. The only thing he ever did here other than studying or researching on his computer was unwinding after a long day when he had a headache. It was the ideal place for people that wanted peace and quiet and he'd hole up in the library after taking some Advil to try and wait for the pills to take effect. Even then, though, he usually had a book in hand. "I've been studying so long the words are starting to blend together, though, and that's not a good sign." He was kidding, of course, exaggerating for the sake of conversation.

The fact that Gale was injured had not escaped Joshua's notice and though he'd tried to ignore it and keep his attention on the conversation, the aspiring doctor within him was begging him to ask. He was not nosy, would not pry, he was merely concerned about the well-being of someone he considered a new friend. He'd known Gale long enough that they'd passed that incredibly awkward acquaintance stage that Josh seemed to force everyone to go through before he started to relax around him but they were not unbelievably close. Still, it was enough that he cared. "That looks pretty nasty, dude, you alright?" That was the thing about Joshua—he did not ask what had happened. He was not going to pry into Gale's personal life by demanding to know who had fought him and how he'd sustained the injury because, as he saw it, Gale had the right to keep that to himself. He was merely checking up on him. That was what Joshua did for friends.

Joshua smirked at Gale, a knowing glint in his gray gaze. "Like you'd flunk out." Joshua was not oblivious to the fact that the Water elemental was smart. The fact that they knew one another mostly from hanging around in libraries was a give away in and of itself. Joshua was also intelligent, it was something that they had in common. Like-minded people were either people he respected or absolutely hated. Those that were pretentious in their intelligence could, in his opinion, shove their random facts and intellectual bullshit up their ass. There was no need to be a dick about it. "Feeling confident?" No matter how smart a person was, it was possible that they could suffer from pre-exam jitters. "We've still got a ways to go, mind, but..." Joshua trailed off, shrugged. The more he studied for the current material now, the less he'd need to cram for the exams when the time came for them. That was how his logic worked, at any rate. He thanked his luck for his good memory or keeping everything he'd learned in both majors stored in his brain would be more than just a little difficult.

He merely chuckled quietly when Gale realised how silly the question sounded in retrospect, not bothered by it at all. It was a general conversation question and for all Joshua knew he had been wanting for a specific answer such as what Joshua was studying for. The Fire graduate was rarely ever specific, though, and he never offered much more than he was asked, if that. Secretive people tended to stay as such. It was force of habit above all else by this point. He was a bit surprised when Gale made a joke out of his injury but then reminded himself that not everyone was like him. Joshua would stare someone down if they so much as thought about joking about his injuries so it was baffling that someone else would crack jokes about their own. His scars were a sensitive subject for him. "Yeah, chicks dig bad boys. Except you're not really all that bad a guy, so you're shit outta luck buddy." He was kidding of course. Gale wasn't a bad guy, that much was true, but Josh didn't doubt his ability to find a girlfriend. If Josh had, well, hey, anything was possible.

The injury made him think of the current war, which Water wasn't a part of anyway, but that thought led him to something a little more relevant. "Oh, hey, I heard about your position," he said, lifting his chin slightly as the thought occurred to him. "Congrats, man. How's it working out for you?" It was almost funny to consider that Joshua had been a leader himself back in his senior year... of Gale's opposing element. He figured the Water elemental wouldn't know about that, though, since he started high school when Joshua had started college. Not that he'd deny if it somehow came up in conversation. Denial of something that could easily be proved true was sheer stupidity. He didn't talk about the dark parts of his past involving the gang because not a lot of people knew about it but a lot of the Fires knew about his former position, as well as some of the older students. "You think you'll be able to keep the position in the new year?" Some did, some didn't. It all depended on how active a role the elemental took in leadership and whether or not their element approved.

Though he certainly understood that Gale was joking around when it came to his injuries, Joshua still found it hard to wrap his head around. He tended to base a lot of things off of how he saw the world, which wasn't the best tactic in dealing with people, so he sometimes took a while in growing comfortable with certain ideas. "Well, did you give back as good as you got, at least?" Joshua was not clear on whether or not Gale was much of a fighter. Most of what he knew of the other boy was from hanging out like this in the library, occasionally studying together when they needed company and focus at the same time. He did not know him like he knew his closer friends and so his many traits were things Josh could still be ignorant of after all this time. Pacifism was another thing that Josh didn't really get. How could someone be so kind to another person that they'd feel bad about hurting them even if the other attacked first? Joshua was aggressive and volatile by nature and with his terrible temper, he got into a lot of fights. Since he didn't have as much of a connection with other people as some, he couldn't quite relate. He respected it, but he didn't understand.

It had been a while since he held his own position at the Academy but Joshua's memory was quite good and so he reminisced for a moment when Gale mentioned doing a good job. They seemed to like me. At least, they liked me way better then than they do now. His lips twitched into a smirk for a moment but he did not explain the gesture as he brought his attention back to the conversation with Gale. "Well I don't know how it works with you Earths but the Fires always make it clear as day when they don't approve." They made it clear by either threatening to boot you out of your position or actually doing so, no questions asked. His element was a cutthroat one indeed. He supposed the Waters might be nicer but he wouldn't know for sure. "So I imagine they'll let you know somehow." The Waters might not have been as inherently vicious as the Fires but from what he'd seen they were not afraid to voice their opinions. Bubbly and outgoing did not necessarily mean kind and unwilling to put someone down if they thought a leader wasn't doing their job well enough. "Finding it hard yet or is it still too new a position to judge?" He was curious. Natural leadership skills mean Josh had no problem with leading but it wasn't the same for everyone.

Josh shrugged, unable to give a firm answer to that. "Wouldn't know. I never had to fight for mine." He realised as he said this that he was revealing his prior position but it didn't bother him. He wasn't ashamed. "Eh, I figure as long as you don't land them in a lot of trouble you might be alright. Provided they don't find someone better for the job." All elements seemed to chose their leaders based on different criteria. Fires liked those that were violent and intimidating to uphold their position of fear and aggression at the school, whereas Earths liked someone pacifistic but with enough backbone to stand up for the element. Waters valued charisma and the Thunders, from what he'd seen, liked someone crafty. Winds made sure that their leaders were not biased to one side or another, tried to keep the peace and avoid any wars. Joshua had fit the bill for the Fire leader position quite nicely, for before he'd joined the Earths and Waters and calmed his temper a little he had definitely been more than willing to start fights with the other elements. No shame.

At mention of Rafael, something dark flashed in Joshua's gray eyes, something angry. He really did not like the Thunder elemental, the guy was nothing but bad news and his very name made the Fire bristle with rage. Especially since he'd fucked with Nell and that was never okay in Joshua's book. "Ugh, I hate that kid." He figured they were thinking of the same Rafael, after all, it wasn't a very common name. The boy may have been his fiancée's half brother but that didn't change fuck all. If anything, it only made him hate the guy more. Siblings shouldn't act like that. His rocky relationship with Bryce, ironically, did not even cross his mind. "I hope he walks into a fucking meat grinder by mistake. It'd serve him right." Alright, so perhaps that was a little bit harsh. Josh wasn't as serious as he sounded at least. He didn't wish death on anyone, not even on his own brother. That wasn't what people did, unless of course they were sociopaths and serial killers. Those people ended up in jail, though, and that was not the kind of place Joshua wanted to spend the rest of his life in. "The fuck was he messing with you for, fun?" It wouldn't really surprise Josh. Wonder what element the prick's in? Hopefully Fire or Thunder. Then Josh could hate him without restraint.

He cracked a sort of half-smile and nodded. "Yeah, grade twelve. I think I did pretty good." Unfortunately, what the Fires considered 'pretty good' was probably 'pretty fucking bad' in the eyes of his current allies. Maybe Josh shouldn't have been speaking so freely but his lack of shame had successfully removed most of his filter from the conversation. Why should he care what people thought? Everyone made mistakes. Except Joshua didn't see his former leadership as a mistake, he saw it as an experience. "I imagine the pranks are a nightmare. It's the fighting with Fires. You can't ban temper problems, it just doesn't work that way." It was easy for someone of the opposite alliance to insist that the Fires had poor control over their element but in reality, there was no controlling something as deeply ingrained as anger issues. Joshua would know, he was one. All you could do was try to discourage the fights that hadn't happened out of rage, the ones that happened just because a group of Fires got bored and decided the Earths made good kindling.

What was going on in his life? Joshua had to think about that one a moment, lapsing into a contemplative silence. He wasn't very good at the whole 'sharing' deal. He tried to avoid divulging too much information about himself and apart from that, his life seemed pretty average to him. "Uh... went to Spain over the summer. Got a new job, too, at a retirement home pretty close to the hospital." In the library his interest in Biology was pretty evident due to the books he read so he'd told Gale in a previous conversation that he was wanting to become a doctor. A physician-scientist, to be exact, but Josh usually didn't bother specifying this. It got weird looks from people who didn't understand. "Apart from that, though, it's been pretty much the same." He'd also, you know, inherited a mansion, but he left that specific detail out of the conversation. Did Gale even know of his wealth? Josh hardly ever mentioned it outright. Anyone who saw his Lamborghini or his house could not doubt it, or if they knew the logos of the designer clothing that he often wore. Apart from that he was relatively low-key about it. "What about you?" It seemed only fair to return the question.

Joshua snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'd do it myself but murder happens to be illegal." He wasn't any more serious than Gale was, though he sounded it and looked a lot more straight-faced than his friend. Was Josh the type of person anyone would assume was capable of murder? It all depended on who was talking to him, really. He had a reputation for violence around the Academy and he spoke in gravely serious tones. At the same time, he had self-preservation. Jail was not the place to be, especially not for someone who wanted to be a doctor. Physician-scientist, really, but a doctor all the same. Murder meant jail-for-life and not just two years and a wrist-slap. No thank you. "I don't know how anyone can stand him." Josh wasn't even exaggerating. Joshua was temperamental and violent at times but he was an alright guy amongst the people he cared for. Rafael beat his girlfriend. How must he treat his friends? Josh already knew how he treated Nell and she was family. She's my family, too. He felt protective, not on a territorial level but from a lover's standpoint. And what Raf had done to Gale? It angered him, though thankfully not enough to track the Thunder elemental down and pound his face in. Maybe if the guy had been standing around, sure, but it was for the best that he wasn't. Joshua didn't need to be kicked out of the Academy any more than he needed to be arrested, thank you very much.

A lot of people had never journeyed outside the city or town they were born in, let alone outside the country entirely. Gale's news did not shock Joshua and so he just twitched his lips. "Yeah, went with Nell. Saw a bullfight and everything." Bullfights seemed a rather strange attraction for a vegetarian but Joshua had never pretended to be all hardcore and gung-ho about animal rights. He didn't believe his word against the word of thousands of Spaniards that loved the sport would do good, anyway. Joshua was relatively calm as long as someone didn't start kicking a dog around in front of him. That wasn't okay no matter who you were. "Once I graduate it's eight years of medical school and then freedom." He laughed, because eight years of medical school was a long time for most people to wait. He'd be close to his thirties by the time he was actually pushed out into the word of doctors and scientists, researching and working on patients of his very own. He was patient, thankfully, and so eight years was only a span of time for him. It didn't make him feel daunted, it only encouraged him to keep working harder. He'd get there in the end. After all, it had been twelve years since he'd first decided that he wanted to become a doctor. Time never stops.

Joshua raised his eyebrows at Gale and smirked, not missing the mention of girls in his non-committal statement. "Girls, eh?" Joshua wasn't the type of person that participated in a whole lot of gossip but if he liked someone as a friend then he would definitely be curious about how their life was going. That's what friends are there for, right? To pester you endlessly about your love life? Joshua's gray eyes glittered with humour. "Got a girlfriend over the break, or...?" Girls, he said, thought Joshua. Plural. Multiple girlfriends, perhaps? He'd never taken Gale to be much of a player, not like him and Devin had been (and Devin was again), but then again, he didn't know the boy well. "You've got one, bro. You can breath, can't ya? I'm pretty sure driving an axe into your skull would fix the problem, but..." He grinned and it was obvious that he was just messing with Gale.