-- EXPECTED THE WORLD && [lieanna]

Studying. He grinned as he read the quotes around the word in the text. Ah, he had been there so many times before. Trying to get his work done around his friends could really go either way depending on what sort of friends he was hanging around. Most of his friends were pretty bad for him in the sense that they were just as easily persuaded as he was to find something better to do. He did have a small number of people that really wanted to get some studying done, though, and they were the people he'd call upon if he was desperate. "Studying", huh? Been there, done that. Sounds "fun" ;] Actually it probably was fun in the literal sense and not the sarcastic sense if Lieanna had her friends around. In Ashton's experiences, "studying" could be great fun if there were enough decent distractions around. He usually ended up over at a friend's house eating all of the food in their fridge, playing video games, staying up late for Harry Potter movie marathons, that kind of thing. He slept over at his friends' houses a lot, even the girls' if their parents were alright with it. He knew some parents, even when their kids were in late high school, got iffy about letting teenage males into their daughters bedroom. He could understand that, he supposed, even though his intentions always were innocent and not at all the kind of creepy that a lot of parents were expecting. He didn't do the whole 'bedding without a relationship' thing.

He smiled cheerfully when she confirmed that she would come and hang out with him, glad that he had some company to help him avoid studying just as she had been with her other friends a moment ago. It was also a good thing that she was here and not somewhere else in Maple Hollow. He could have found some other company but that was not quite the same as your best friend. When she plopped down next to him on the couch, Ashton scooted over for a moment to pull her into a sideways hug before moving back over to his own seat on the couch. He was a pretty affectionate guy around his friends, though he never meant anything by it. He loved hugs and since Anna was his best friend he figured she was used to his attitude by now. "Hey, girl, hey," he greeted jokingly with a broad grin. "How you doin'?" He made his voice sound deeper for the sake of the joke, shaking his head a moment later. He could be pretty silly when he wanted to be. Right now it was getting later and there was something about the wee hours of the morning that seemed to make everything ten times funnier than it was earlier. "I'm supposed to be "studying"," he added air quotes with his fingers, "but you're gonna help me get outta that, 'kay? 'Kay."

Sweet teeth. Could you grow them? He didn't think so. "I need the sugar to stay awake," he insisted, stressing the word as if it were the most important one in the English language. "Damn straight! So wait, am I Lucky, Dusty or Ned?" He asked it as if he was serious but he wasn't really. "I wanna be Lucky. Sounds like he's got good... luck, eh?" Puns weren't funny to a lot of people but Ashton thought they were hilarious. It was clear that the sugar he'd already eaten before Anna had gotten here was starting to go to his brain because holy shit he was in a good mood. Not that it was very hard for Ashton to get into a good mood. It was like his 'happiness' was a switch that was stuck heavily in the 'on' function. That was fine by him. He didn't really like feeling down in the dumps. Who did? Optimism and a lot of friends helped him avoid it. "That poor worm, Anna. What about it's family? Think about all the children he left behind..." He took a worm from the bag and popped it into his mouth. "Alas, poor Yorick..."

[... He's silly, ignore him xD]

Ashton's parents were fairly lenient on him during his years at the Academy, though it was not their choice. He'd lived miles away in a boarding school while they were stuck in Vancouver. He drank socially, he'd tried drugs once (freaked him out a little too much to try it again), he wasn't as naive as his parents probably hoped. Still, he was a fairly good kid. He'd only been arrested once for trespassing on private property and he'd gotten off with a stern warning due to his lack of a criminal record or any previous charges. He grinned when she spoke and would have replied if not for her dissolving into a fit of giggles and interrupting his potential. He did not mind and actually laughed with her, the light dancing in his bright green eyes as he looked at his friend. He loved being able to make others laugh and to laugh himself. When they'd both recovered, he sighed in amusement and drew in a breath. "I'm great," he said, voice taught with the effort to suppress more chuckles. "Really great." He was, it was genuine, he meant every word. After he answered he laughed again, wanting to make sure he'd gotten it all out before he attempted any semblance of real conversation. Man, the two of them just couldn't take themselves seriously, could they?

Ashton nodded, gesturing toward the candy as if opening a showcase. "Take whatever you want." She'd already started helping herself to his gummy worms and so perhaps this was an unnecessary invitation but Ashton didn't care either way. He had friends that would sit with him in the mess hall and eat his lunch with him without so much as a hello and the patient, tolerant Earth elemental never had much complaint. He was a friendly kid who thrived off making others happy and if stealing his food made them happy, well, he could always just get more. Besides, some of them let him steal theirs in return. An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Hamburger for a pizza, too, apparently. "I think I got some of everything. It's so awesome having money, Anna, seriously." He was still enthusiastic about having got his first job. The novelty of having his own funds hadn't worn off yet. "You dirty girl," he teased, shoving her playfully. He was comfortable joking like that around his friends because they all knew he wasn't like that in reality. Not in the least.

"I ate a worm, once," Ashton said almost conversationally. He was talkative and shared his stories without people ever having to ask him anything. "It was disgusting. These things are deceptive." He poked at the bag of delicious-tasting gummy worms and popped another into his mouth, chewing and swallowing. He'd been taught not to talk with his mouth full. His mother used to slap him upside the head every time he did it and so that had learned him quickly enough. "We should sue for false advertising. Write a letter to the Prime Minister, yeah?" That should be illegal, making poor seven year old Ashton think that all worms tasted like the yummy ones in plastic packaging. Then again, he probably would have ate the thing anyway. It had been a dare and dares were serious business in second grade. If you didn't take it you were a chicken and nobody liked to be the chicken. "Dude, Anna, you thought I had a plan? Come on, now." He laughed, lips spitting into a wide grin. This was Ashton, he never made plans. He was spontaneous and tended to go 'anywhere the wind blows'. "We could grab flashlights and go into the woods," he said. "Unless you're too scared?" Ohoho, a challenge.

[o.o my muse was amazing.]

Ashton grinned back at her, knowing without needing to study her expression and tone that she was joking. That was the good thing about being best friends with a person. Once you'd known them long enough it was all too easy to know your way around a comfortable conversation. "Hell yeah I'm gonna brag!" His green eyes danced with a gleeful sort of light. He didn't really like having to do the boring stuff around the shop like sweeping up when there was nothing else to do and no customers to serve and there were times when his boss had to go somewhere and left him to deal with everything for an hour or so (which freaked him out, having a need for guidance), but he had to admit that the paycheck made it all worth it. Being able to go out to the movies with friends without having to plead to his parents for cash was glorious, though his mother was probably going to make him pay rent soon and that would not be so glorious. "Same, same," he agreed. "College tuition is kicking me in the butt, though. Do you know how much it costs?" He rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner. Come to think of it Anna probably did know considering they'd forced all the twelfth graders to look over the costs and consider the Academy as an option even if they didn't plan on going. It had helped him, at least.

His gaze glinted almost mischievously when she mentioned sugar and worms. "Don't go giving me ideas!" His scolding tone was akin to that of the one his mother used when tearing into him about being a bad influence on Cameron (which rarely happened, only a few times like when he'd came home late after a party) except it was light and airy, clearly a joke. "I wonder if you can get diseases from worms," he mused. "Wouldn't that suck? 'Hey, Ash, looks like you've contracted the plague. Probably that worm you ate in second grade.'" He wasn't sure why he'd defaulted to the plague and not something like cancer or AIDS or something along those lines but he rolled with it anyway. He lifted his eyebrows when she called herself a genius. "You're our genius? Well, we're fucked." He laughed again. Always laughing, always smiling. The old warning rang in his ears, 'If you keep your face like that for too long, it'll get stuck that way!' He wouldn't mind. Smiling was a good thing, wasn't it? Of course it was. He was always happy. Flapping his arms, Ashton made chicken noises when she said that she wasn't scared. "You sure?" He was only being a troll, though, and he dropped the antics after a couple of seconds. If he'd really thought she was scared he wouldn't have asked. He wasn't a bad guy, really.

He didn't protest to his arm being tugged on, standing up from the couch with the full intentions of tagging along with his best friend. Despite being the Earth leader, he was not always the type to take the lead amongst his group of friends. If they looked to him for guidance then he'd give it as best as he could but he was just as comfortable to tag after someone else, follow their rules, play their game. "Wait, wait," he cautioned, laughing. "I want to take the candy, brah, hold up a sec." If they were going to stay up all night it was a good idea to take 'provisions' with them when they went on their little exploration. He did not take all of the candy (it had been three heavy bagfuls especially with all the cans of energy drink, so he wanted to be careful) but he loaded some of it into one of the bags and then gestured to another. "You should probably take something too. Can't have you falling asleep on me!" There was probably a study about how long it took for Monster's effects to wear off but he didn't care about studies and facts. He liked to experience things for himself. "Then grab a sweater, silly goose," he said, chuckling. "Hypothermia isn't a fun way to go." He doubted it was that cold, but for the sake of conversation he didn't amend his words. Grabbing two flashlights and testing the batteries before handing one to Anna, he said, "Okay, okay, we can go now. Patience, woman!" Donning his jacket, he said, "Sometimes I wish I could have like, a pet Fire elemental, y'know? They have warmth and light, it's cheating." He huffed as if he was actually upset, though of course he wasn't.

At least he had a job. He might have been buried in the hellish debt that was college tuition fees but he knew that he'd be able to pay them off eventually. It might take half his life but he'd get there. It would probably be more wise for Ashton to spend his money on sensible things as opposed to huge bags of candy but he hardly ever focused on being sensible. He lived in the moment, let the chips fall where they may. "Heck no! No regrets, just love, baby!" He laughed, not even trying for a straight face. Ashton was too goofy to pull off the intensity of a poker face. Speaking of which, he was terrible at poker. He always managed to look disappointed when he was or triumphant when he got a good hand. People could read him like an open book. It was probably a good thing he didn't make a habit of gambling. "Fraid I'd hate you more if I was you, Anna. You kinda suck." A lot of the things he said could sound very offensive... if they didn't come from his lips. He adored his best friend and it was clear by the way that there was always a smile on his face in her company. They couldn't have come this far as friends if not for the fact that she could tell when he was joking.

Ashton was deathly terrified of spiders and so it was probably a good thing that they were such good friends. He hated when his friends would jokingly troll him with the vile eight-legged beasts. Ashton could usually take a prank lightly, laugh it off and move on, but there was nothing funny about having your friend's pet tarantula next to you in the bed when you woke up at their house one morning. One such incident had almost been the end of a friendship. He was not one to disguise his fear of spiders and so he expected his friends to respect it and not take advantage of it. Since Lieanna shared that fear, he believed that she would. "I am a human being, not a hat stand!" he called after her when she shoved the bag into his arms, though he didn't sound upset. When did he ever get upset? It just didn't happen. Ever. "Unfortunately I only know two of them," he said on the subject of Fire elementals, as if he were serious about this (he wasn't). "I don't know Josh too well and I don't think Lark would appreciate being dragged through the forest for my entertainment. Sigh. Life is so hard sometimes." He sighed on the word sigh as if to play it up a little. "Anna," he scolded, smiling, "if you keep tugging me along you'll pull my arm out of it's socket. I'm coming, I'm coming!" Patience was a virtue and all that.

It was pretty dark outside but the snow seemed to lessen the effect of the darkness, being white and all. At least there was no sunlight to glance off it and blind them upon emerging from the Academy. There was a thrill of excitement as he realised they were breaking curfew and thus the rules. He wasn't a rebellious guy but what teenager didn't bend the rules to their own liking every once and a while? He fell into step beside Anna and started off down a trail that had been made by another student. It was best they didn't blaze their own unless they had to seeing as the snow would hinder progress. Switching the flashlight on, Ashton made an 'ugh!' sound of irritation and smacked the heel of his palm against it when it wouldn't turn on. "Come on!" he scolded it. "I just changed your batteries last week!" After fiddling with the power switch and hitting it a few more times, the beam flickered and then came to life. "Thank you," he told the inanimate object, as if it could hear him. It was spooky out and he grinned in anticipation. "So, what should we search for? We should have a goal in mind and all that." Whether it be the first sign of water, a huge tree, a fallen log... a goal would be fun.

Ashton was pretty obviously unphased by Lieanna's teasing, merely shrugging in reply. "You keep telling yourself that," he said, a brief smirk playing on his lips. He obviously didn't mean it. He thought that all of his friends were amazing and he would happily put them on a pedestal high above his own if it meant their happiness, their satisfaction. He was a person who was willing to be self-sacrificing for the sake of others. Not to say he'd throw himself in front of a bus for every person he met on the street but he was selfless in many ways. "I know he's with Nell, I love the girl too," Ashton reminded Anna with a quick smile. He really did love Nell, she was such a sweet person. There had been a time when he'd ceased talking to her but that time was past now. "You haven't? That's a shame! I totally will!" Lark was one of his close friends as well and he trusted her despite her element. That wasn't to say his judgements of other people were always accurate and reliable, of course. Nell had turned out to be a murderer, Asha had broken his heart, Hannoly had disappeared from his life without a goodbye. Sometimes he made the wrong choices but it was better to trust everyone and find a few gems in the bunch rather than trust no one and miss the diamonds in the rough. "Toughen them up? That's a laugh." He did laugh, though, and he sounded more entertained than actually sarcastic. "They're the ones that call us pansies, remember?" There was some hilarity in that a pansy was a flower but it still sometimes hurt to be called weak. He'd gotten used to it over the years, though.

Emerald eyes sparkled at the mention of pocket-Fires, possibly one of the most adorable things he'd ever heard of. "Little chibi Fires," he said, laughing. That would be cute and all but they'd probably be nasty little things. Burn holes in your pocket or steal your change. Bite your fingers and all. Fires weren't nice. Better than pocket Waters, though, because they would probably steal everything for a joke. "Hey, don't be so judgemental. Charlie and I go way back. Isn't that right, Charlie?" He pet the flashlight as if he were speaking to an old friend. Ashton was far too silly to pull off being serious, though, and so he was smiling the entire time he spoke. He couldn't keep a straight face for long if you paid him. "Charlie is offended by the fact that you make him sound like a girl," he said informatively when Lieanna whispered a 'you're welcome' and turned her face away from his. "You don't speak flashlight so don't even try. You wouldn't want to upset their people, now would you?" He might not have looked serious but at least he was only grinning like an idiot rather than punctuating all of his words with laughter and turning himself into an unintelligible babbler or anything like that. That would be embarrassing. "Dangerous?" He wondered what kind of dangerous she meant, what sort of shenanigans she wanted to get up to. It didn't help that Ashton often went along with what his friends wanted to do and so he said, "Like what?" If she was adamant, he'd probably do it, even if it was incredibly risky.