-- AIN'T NO REST FOR THE WICKED [Josh]

It was days like these that Joshua dreaded. Boredom was his kryptonite, the one thing that drove him absolutely insane. He was done all his school work for the week, he did not have either job to go to, and Nell was out of the house. Reading was something he could do any day without complaint but he was in the mood for company and that was something that was rare for him. Joshua was a solitary person by nature and so he did not actively seek out companionship but he had been hoping to hang around Nell earlier in the day and so it had been a little disappointing to realise she was working when he wasn't. He ended up sitting cross-legged on the floor of Annabel's room, occupied at last in a game of chess that could really only have one winner. "Checkmate," he said, lifting his bishop to knock her king aside with a light swipe. She frowned at it and propped her chin on her hands, elbows propped onto her knees. "How do you keep doing that?" It was the third of three games and he'd won each time by outsmarting her moves and putting himself ahead. "The same way you manage to kill me every time we play Halo, Annabel. It's a talent." He was incredibly bad at video games. The only time he was decent was when he was drunk. Why? Because everyone else was equally smashed and holding the controller became a widespread problem. "I think I'm done," she said. "Kelly said I should call her." Joshua understood this to be his dismissal from her company and so he nodded and packed up the chess board before taking it back to his room. It had killed a good hour, at least.

He was exiting his room on his way down to the kitchen when his phone rang in his pocket. "So hold your head, and hold your tongue, but only say what you have to—" He checked the text at the moment, cutting off The Kooks' ringtone that alerted him to it. He blinked at his phone as his lips tugged into a frown. Is she okay? He had gotten drunk with Lark quite a few times but it was not so often that this seemed like a normal thing for the two of them to do together. At the same time, Joshua was not the type of person who would ever leave his friends hanging. Bonjour, Alouette. I could use a drink and I'm bored as fuck, be right over. He was still wondering why she was drinking tonight but that didn't seem like something that should be asked via text. He stopped by Annabel's room on the second floor and knocked on her door lightly. She shot him an irritated glance, mid-Skype conversation with her friend. "I'm going out with a friend. Don't expect me back till late, kay?" Her irritation faded when she realised that he was not planning to interrupt her conversation for very long and she smiled. "Alright. Want me to tell Nelly?" He nodded his assent and closed her door as he continued down the hall, her laughter turning muffled as the door acted as a buffer. He had grown comfortable with drinking around Nell now, confident that he was not going to treat her the way he had when they'd first met. Threatening to stab your future fiancée was a bit of an odd way to meet but he tried not to question fate.

He stopped in the living room to grab a bottle of expensive whiskey and then chose to take the bus to Lark's place rather than taking his car. I'll probably be grabbing a taxi back. She'd invited him to get shit-faced and he didn't trust himself to drive when he was drunk. He had sense, at any rate. When she opened the door to him, Josh smirked at her in greeting. "Yo, L." He went into the living room with her and sat down next to her, pulling out a shot glass and pouring some of the amber liquid. He always took whiskey when he had a choice. He could often make a larger bottle of it last a while if he didn't get drunk and only took a few shots each time but he wasn't going to let Lark have all the fun. His perceptive and penetrating gray gaze had not missed the mark on her cheek and he frowned at her for a moment before saying in a surprisingly steady tone, "Where is he?" Out, clearly, and he respected the fact that Lark wasn't stupid enough to invite him over when the man was home. He'd had a silent quarrel with Frank ever since Lark had turned up at the hospital with an injured rib and a number of bruises. He did not like it when anyone hurt his friends but domestic abuse was all the more worse. He knew what it was like. He remembered cowering in the corner, the smell of the liquor from the broken bottle hanging heavy in the air, the rage in his father's eyes. He'd never told Lark about any of that but it was part of the reason he wanted to be a source of support. "Just like old times, eh?" He held up the shot in a sort of toast and tipped it back with a steady hand.

It was true, he did not use the French nickname for his friend very often. He remembered when he'd first used it, back when they'd first met and he was making an observation. He'd used it a couple more times throughout the year when he was being a tease in French but it was not a common thing. So she likes it, then? Huh. Maybe if Lark was fond of the nickname he would use it more often. Joshua was often uncertain about nicknaming his friends because he knew how much it bothered him ("It's Josh. Just Josh.") but if Lark didn't mind, he would make note of that. He arched an eyebrow at her when she opened the door and greeted him in Hawaiian, wondering how far gone she actually was. "Which means...?" He got the 'hey' part but he was curious about the latter half of the greeting. Other languages fascinated him and he now knew quite a lot of Spanish thanks to his fiancée. He was almost trilingual. He followed her into the living room and tried not to think too much about the fact that this was the house where Frank lived. He loathed the other man since that day at the hospital, didn't need a reason to hate him other than the fact that he'd put his daughter in such a bad situation. His own daughter. Yet Josh didn't hate his own father despite all the shit they'd been through. Was it the same for Lark? Did she hate the man that treated her more like an object than kin of flesh and blood? He would never ask her such a personal and invasive question. They were best friends but Joshua was careful about not prying.

He glanced down at the bottle of whiskey when she indicated it and then back up at Lark with a smirk. "I brought it along in case you planned to poison me, of course." He said it with a perfectly straight face but figured that Lark would not be so easily fooled after years of knowing him. His stoic sense of humour tended to be easily recognised when you'd been friends as long as he and Lark had. Nine years. Almost a decade of friendship, through all the ups and downs of childhood and early teens, the horrors of high school and then some. "Me and my whiskey," he agreed. He supposed it was thanks to the fact that it had been the first thing he'd gravitated toward when he broke into the liquor cabinet for the second time. Only this time he hadn't gotten caught and punished by his father, this time he'd made away with the bottle of amber liquid. He'd then brought it to a party and remembered nothing else of that night. One of the guys had told him he'd swigged it like beer and gotten totally wasted off it. It was so lovely to consider the fact they'd never warned him, never said, 'Hey, kid, you should slow down.' Honestly, how had it taken him so long to realise who his true friends were? "Good thing he's not here," said Joshua darkly. "Are you alright?" The vodka was probably helping but Joshua asked more out of reflex than anything else. It always worried him when his friends were hurt in some way.

Wow, she's halfway gone already, he thought, smiling at her in amusement as she started to speak. "I'm sure that can be arranged, yeah." He'd learned that the best way of dealing with drunk people was to take it in stride until you were as drunk as they were and suddenly everything they said made perfect sense. It was like drinking opened up some dark part of your brain that only alcohol could penetrate, filled with amazing revelations that seemed like a load of confusing bullshit when you were sober. Nilla? The name caught him off guard for a moment before it clicked that she was talking about his fiancée. He took another shot. "Nell is fine, no worries. Why were you looking for Superman?" Considering he was still sober, Joshua had a feeling that he would find this conversation highly entertaining. Really, Lark was lucky that Joshua was such a good friend that he didn't try to take advantage of her when she was drunk. Now it was completely out of the question, of course, seeing as he was engaged, but the thought had never crossed his mind even when he was single. Apparently Brett hadn't exhibited those same boundaries. The thought of the Thunder student angered him. "Might wanna slow down a bit, Alouette, or you'll be on the floor before I'm so much as tipsy!" He used the nickname on purpose, wanting to see how she responded to it.

Lark seemed surprised when he did not know what it was she'd said to him but Joshua merely waited patiently for an explanation rather than reminding her aloud that he did not speak the same language she did. His lips twitched when he found out that she'd called him brother, something that touched him even if it was only a friendly thing. He liked his close bond with Lark, their friendship meant a lot to him. "I'd like to," he said, nodding. "I already know French and some Spanish, what's another language?" He shrugged it off, clearly willing to learn if she was willing to teach him. Hawaiian certainly wasn't common in Canada but he'd want to learn more out of general interest than because it would help him in any way. If it helped him understand Lark when she slipped into use of the language, why not? His gray eyes glinted with amusement when she played along with his joking, the humour in them the only indication that he wasn't as serious as he looked. He liked when he got close enough to a person that they were able to understand him so well. There were very few people like that in his life and he cherished each of them dearly. It simply wasn't easy for him to bring someone into his inner circle. It took months and even years of building a friendship before someone could be perfectly sure of whether Josh was pulling their leg or not. Then again, even Lark, Devin and Nell probably got confused on occasion. Sometimes it was hard to tell with him. Nine times out of ten was good enough.

He had to laugh at the comment about liquid pets, though, because that was something he hadn't heard before. Playing along, he reached out and patted the bottle lightly as if it was some sort of dog, smirking. Whiskey certainly was an acquired taste for a lot of people but he supposed that was all alcohol. Not everyone liked beer, after all, not everyone liked the vodka that Lark was persistently downing. Josh could stomach most kinds of alcohol but hard liquors were, of course, his favourites. The weak stuff didn't give him so much as a buzz. He'd get sick before he got drunk and that was never a fun time. Josh hesitated when she spoke, not having expected that answer from her. It gave him pause, made him think before he opened his mouth again. "Well, no," he said carefully, "of course I don't think it's okay, I just..." He trailed off for a long moment. Having a feeling that this night would be better with alcohol in his system, he took advantage of the break in order to pour himself another shot of whiskey and drain it down. He savoured the burn for a moment before turning his attention back to what he'd been saying. "I worry about you, Lark, you're my friend. I hate that you have to go through this." Silently, he added, I wish there was something I could do. But there wasn't. He'd have offered to let her stay with him and Nell but he knew without asking that her pride probably wouldn't allow it. So he spared her the refusal. "Your father is a fucking dick." He felt the need to voice this, felt a surge of anger in his veins. Fuck Frank.

Any mention of what Brett had done to Lark infuriated Joshua and his grip on the bottle of whiskey tightened dangerously. He sat it down carefully and focused on his breathing, trying not to get angry for Lark's sake. Fuck that bastard. First Nell, then Lark, why all of my friends? There were some people that really, really set him off. Brett Blaire was one of them. "Jesus, Lark, do you really think I'd let anyone try that?" If they went to a party together he certainly wouldn't plan on leaving her alone with some guy that would try and take advantage of her. "I've got Nell, it's not like I'd leave you alone to fuck some chick while every guy in the place tries to come onto you." A little blunt, perhaps, but he got his point across and let it drop there. Jokingly, he said, "Love her? Careful, there." He knew she wasn't actually into Nell so his 'jealousy' was only mocking. Joshua was definitely capable of jealousy under the right circumstances, though, because he was attached to Nell and terrified of losing her to some other guy. "I see." The whole Superman thing seemed rather strange to Josh, but as with everything he took it in stride and did not question it too much. It probably made sense to Lark. "Do you? Hmm..." Yes, he'd definitely keep that in mind for future reference. Joshua cocked an eyebrow and snickered. "Florist, eh? I don't work with flowers." He was being a troll of course, knowing she'd said floorist but teasing her all the same.

Josh laughed quietly at her surprise, not having expected it. He'd figured that she was serious but was glad that she'd be willing to teach him some things even though she'd previously only said it in jest. "Sure. Besides, it'd be nice to understand you, y'know?" They were best friends, tighter than most friends got to be. He did not love her as he loved Nell but he still had a desire to know what she was saying if she went off into a Hawaiian style rant about something. It was easier than way, to understand someone without having to pester them for a translation. "Love? So then why's 'hello' in there?" He did commit the words to memory, though, deciding he might spring it on Nell with a little bit of humour. Maybe French, too, though he'd been teaching her that so she could probably understand it. Not that 'Je t'aime' was all that hard to grasp if you knew the basics. His light mood vanished when the subject of her father was brought up and his gray eyes darkened with anger. Still sober, he managed to avoid the string of cuss words that might otherwise have burst from his lips. His hand shook as he clenched it into a tight fist, betraying him. "You are not a whore." He figured Lark knew this herself but that did not change how much it upset Joshua to think that anyone would refer to his best friend as someone of such low-worth. It didn't give him quite the same rage as it did when someone dishonoured Nell with their words but it was pretty damn close. Close enough that he'd have leapt at Frank if the man was in the room.

His lips twitched with mild affection for his friend as she quickly tried to rectify the meaning of her words. The fact that she was drunk meant that he wasn't as offended by them as he would have been if she were completely and totally sober. "With a spoon? Isn't that a bit inconvenient?" He was teasing, mostly, though the idea of castration with a blunt weapon was a scary thought. So he brushed it aside and laughed at Lark's antics instead, amused by the way that she seemed to take everything lightly when intoxicated. He was the same way, of course, but he was only a little buzzed. Probably wouldn't even affect his movement or coordination all that much. Not yet, anyway. He planned to be drunk by the end of the night. "Who needs a taser when you have the Torch as your buddy, eh?" Not that he'd actually set mortals on fire if they touched Lark, he wasn't that stupid, but joking around was okay. He was here to have fun and to help Lark forget about her home life for a while. "I can't fly, though. That's not fair, Alouette. I should be able to fly, don'tcha think?" Had he been drunk, he might have said this seriously and even slammed a fist against his thigh for emphasis. Sober he merely smiled, gray eyes dancing with humour. "Family means nobody gets left behind," he quoted, grinning. He might have been serious but he had a little sister, he'd watched movies before. The humour died in his expression when he heard the distinct sound of an opening door. Shit.

Though Joshua's instinct told him to jump at Frank and pound the man's face into mince-meat, he thankfully had a lot more control than that. Instead he narrowed his eyes for a moment and then made a decision based on the desire to protect his friend. He was about to open his mouth and start trying to lie them both out of the situation when Lark beat him to the punch... angrily. He winced internally, though there was no outward change in his expression. Lark, be careful. Frank seemed too preoccupied with his daughter to care about Joshua at the moment and the Fire graduate stood, trying to gauge the situation cautiously. Caution flew out the window, however, when Frank took a swing at Lark. Joshua forgot the fact that the man was a full-fledged Fire elemental that could kick his ass in a battle of their powers and crossed the room in a few steps, drawing back his own fist and clocking the older man as hard as he could in the temple. He made sure to avoid Lark when he shoved Frank back, though he did ask her without looking, "You alright, L?" Wanting to provoke Frank into focusing on him rather than his best friend, Joshua sneered at the man. "You think it's okay to hit your daughter, huh? Why don't you go for me like you'd attack her? See how long you last." And oh, he meant it. He did not care if he got a little bashed up in the fight as long as it meant keeping the man's filthy hands away from the girl in the room with them. Joshua had a strong protective instinct and unfortunately for Frank, he'd provoked it.

He snorted, amused. "Remind me never to piss you off, then." Really, he liked his anatomy staying where it was, safe from Lark in all her vicious, spoon-wielding glory. He probably would have scooted away from her in fear if he was intoxicated, convinced that she actually might try to use him as her first victim, but with a pleasant buzz his rationality was still quite intact. He'd decided to take it slow, really. He was getting a taxi back home and so he could be as drunk as he liked but it was nice not to waste the night too quickly. Lark apparently didn't have as many boundaries or rules tonight as him. That was fine. She deserves to forget. He felt an overwhelming affection and sorrow for his friend. She shouldn't have to go through this, no one should. It didn't matter that he had. He rarely thought of his experiences with Donovan when it came to abuse. He figured he deserved it. Lark didn't deserve any of it. Ioku was his name in Hawaiian, he realised, and his lips twitched with the recognition. He couldn't hold back his laughter when she fell off the couch because she didn't seem injured and it was funny. "Family, Lark," he stressed, speaking as Stitch did to make her laugh even harder. He could be a bit of a troll to his friends when they were drunk. He was nice, he wouldn't let them do anything extremely stupid like roof-hopping, but still a troll.

He hadn't ever really seen her cry before. Not like this. It had such a profound effect on Joshua that he was rendered speechless for a moment, shock filling them and then the anger following like an angry rogue wave. He hated Frank for putting his friend in such a position. For how dare anyone reduce Lark to tears? He gave a sharp nod of confirmation. "Je ferai, Alouette." He muttered it under his breath, not meaning for Frank to understand. Lark probably wouldn't understand it, either. It was not meant to be understood, it was Joshua's affirmation to himself. I will, Lark. He would make her father leave if she wanted him to. Not his own house, mind, but he at least had plans to make the man back off and back down. "Well that's my friend you're slapping around and I'm afraid I'm not okay with that." His gray eyes were dark with the rage he felt, trembling slightly with the rush of adrenaline that usually preceded a fight. Frank threatened him with Lark's well-being and he actually laughed, the sound bitter in his throat as he narrowed his gaze. "Yeah, 'cause I'm really gonna fucking up and leave now." He didn't trust this guy as far as he could throw him. Josh was tall and decently tough but throwing people was a hell of a lot easier said than done. Basically, he didn't trust him at all. He wanted to hurt him, rough him up like he'd roughed up his daughter. Frank was an asshole. Joshua was not okay with that.

Take her beating? The words only fuelled his rage further. You shouldn't be beating your daughter in the first place, prick. He didn't respond with words, merely took a step back and braced himself as the man charged at him. "Move, kid, dodge it! You gotta be quicker than that!" He twisted his upper body to avoid the punch to the face, actually holding his breath with the intensity. The punch to the stomach was unavoidable at close range and he gasped in pain, doubling over. "F-Fuck," he hissed through gritted teeth, then forced himself to straighten up a little lest he be caught off his guard. The pain prickled through his abdomen and it was hard to shake off but it was better than being pinned down and having the shit kicked out of him. Wish I had my knife. The weapon at least caused people to think twice about rushing him even if he rarely used it against anyone. It was meant for protection, like some people had pistols in their bedside drawers. If the gang attacked him again, he wanted to be prepared. There was irony in that he'd gotten the blade from them. He said nothing, merely swung a fist at Frank again. Feinted left, left again, feinted right and then brought his first upward toward his jaw. He could feel the fire thrumming under his skin, could feel his power beckoning to him like it always did. Not today. It was not safe. They were all Fire elementals, he did not want to start a fight that no one would win. He was determined to be the victor. He swung his fist another two times, aiming for the gut just like Frank had. A taste of his own medicine.

Joshua found himself incredibly relieved by the fact that he had not drank enough to get as far gone as Lark or her father, for it was definitely helping him to stay steady on his feet and clear of head as he glared his enemy down. Frank was the enemy. He wasn't seeing his best friend's dad, he was seeing someone who'd threatened someone that he cared about. That was never a good thing. He tended to get into serious fights over his friends and they were usually the ones he got into trouble for. He ended up hurting people a little more than was necessary. "Back down and let you slap her around? Will I hell." He never quit, not even when it meant he could leave the fight without losing it. Joshua did not back down until a fight was either won or lost. If he was the victor he deemed it worth it, if he lost he cursed his luck and licked his wounds while he waited for his smarting pride to stop hounding him. No one liked to fail but he reckoned that he hated it more than most people. His eyes blazed with rage at Frank's accusation. "She is nothing like her mother," he snarled. "Maybe if you spent more time getting to know your own damned daughter instead of being so fucking selfish you'd have figured that out by now." He didn't know why he was bothering with the below-the-belt insults at this point, not sure whether Frank would even remember enough of this in the morning to care. It was the anger, mostly, bubbling in his blood and sending him over the edge. It was a good thing he didn't have a suitable weapon on him.

He was ready for the punch and moved out of the way as quickly as possible, knowing by the sheer force behind it that it might have been capable of seriously incapacitating him if it landed. Breathing heavily, still glaring as if he could put the other man down with a look alone, Joshua shook his head at Lark's words to affirm that she had nothing to worry about. I'm not going to kill the prick. "I'm not that stupid." He was angry, yes, but anger and stupidity only married on some occasions. Like when he'd pushed Bryce down the stairs or when he'd stabbed Rafael. Those were stupid moments. He didn't need to have another one that landed him with charges of murder. In fact, Joshua did not attack again when Frank staggered back against the wall, instead taking on a more defensive stance and getting ready to block any more blows the man sent at him. He'd hit back again if the guy made it clear that he wasn't done, hadn't learned his lesson, but Joshua wasn't a big fan of overkill. Especially not when, much as he hated Frank, this was his best friend's father. He didn't want to hospitalize the guy and cause problems for her at home. I'm not leaving 'till I know she'll be alright. If Frank seemed like he was going to be an issue for that night, Joshua didn't have any problem taking her back with him. If she needed a place to stay the night, his door was always open. He'd need to alert Nell but the mansion was huge. It was entirely possible for the other members of the household to not notice she was there. Besides, he'd never known his fiancée to turn away someone who needed help.

To be perfectly honest, Joshua wanted to go for Frank again. It was in his eyes, the itch to press the fight further until his opponent could barely breath for the injuries. There was a violent and almost sadistic streak in the Fire graduate that was provoked whenever you messed with someone he really cared about and unfortunately for her father, Lark was one of those people. I can't lose control, not here. He clenched his hand into an even tighter fist, audibly seething as he exhaled past gritted teeth and took another step back. He kept repeating the same thing in the back of his mind. It wasn't worth it, he was better than that, Lark wouldn't want him to go to jail. No matter how much she hated her father, Josh couldn't believe that she'd want him to endanger his own life and well-being to take Frank out of the picture. "Fuck going back to Hawaii, she can stay with me if she wants to," he growled. If Frank kicked his daughter out of the house there was no way Joshua would let her be without a place to stay. He didn't think his fiancée would care and even if she did, Joshua would just let her stay in the guest house instead. That was separate to the mansion entirely but it was still under his control, it was leased in his name as a part of the main property. His gaze and mood softened when Lark tried apologising to him and Joshua shook his head sharply. "There's nothing to apologise for, L, it's not your fault. It's his." He glared at her father for a moment and didn't protest to the fact that Lark was leaning against him, not minding at all. He was all for being a source of support and, well, a source of staying on her feet considering she was drunk and all.

He'd never seen his best friend look quite so defeated before. Joshua almost didn't know what to do about it, sober and confused as he was. It only made him hate Frank more to know that he'd driven his daughter to this. He wrapped his arms around her, hesitantly at first because he didn't know how she'd react, then nodded when he pulled away. "Hey, hey, of course you can," he said. "And you are not sleeping in the yard, Lark. I'm sure Nell won't mind and even if she does, I wouldn't do that to you." That was incredibly unfair. He was glad that he could offer his friend some sort of shelter from her bastard of a father for the night and he was eager to get away from Frank. He didn't even know if Nell would be home yet and if she wasn't, so be it. Lark could stay. It's my house, after all. He was definitely considerate of the others who lived there and would ask Nell if it was okay first but if he'd really wanted to, he could choose who was legally allowed to stay there. "Come on, we can go now." He gave her father another distrustful look, fully prepared to fight him off if he tried to stop them, and then helped his friend out onto the porch. The night air was cold as he took it into his lungs and pulled out his phone, calling a cab. He'd planned to get too wasted to drive himself home tonight but those plans had changed. Now he was more concerned about making sure Lark was okay. Once they got to the house, Joshua made the way into the kitchen (keeping the lights off just in case) and sat down. "Want anything? Water, coffee... wait, you don't like coffee. Uh, tea, anything like that?" Or more alcohol, but he let that be insinuated.