get your story straight && gabriella

As he was not very submissive or easily intimidated, Joshua did not wince as someone approached to hand him back the ball. If she'd been a professor or otherwise bitched at him for breaking the window, he might even have been a little cocky. It all depended on how people approached Joshua, really. As he recognised Gabriella, he arched a dark eyebrow at her and waited to see what she would say. He was not entirely sure what he thought of the Water girl—he did not like her, but nor could he claim hatred. Despite his sour moods and general distrust of people, Josh didn't hate a whole lot of the population. Hate really was a strong word, one he reserved for the real assholes in his life like Patrick, or people like Jane and Nell's grandparents that wanted her to be put in jail. Gabriella was merely someone with whom he did not get along. "Thank you," he said as he accepted the ball from her, using manners despite their differences. He would not be unpleasant toward her until she said something that put him off. Though difficult to deal with, Josh wasn't impossible. He could be civil if the situation called for it. We're aligned with the same side, I may as well be cordial.

He dipped his head slightly in agreement. "I do." He supposed people were taken aback by this because he didn't really show any other sort of interest in sports. Maybe they assumed he was all bookworm with no room left for even the slightest bit of athletic talent. It didn't really bother Joshua himself. It was somewhat of a stereotype between the rich and tennis but as he didn't share knowledge of his wealth with a lot of people anyway, this was something that only a few people made a connection to. Blinking, he surveyed her through a curious gray gaze. "'Too', you said," he remarked, pointing out the obvious in order to lead into his next question. "I'm assuming that means you play as well?" Not that it would have surprised him if she did—plenty of people played tennis and he didn't know Gabriella well enough to make too many judgements. All he knew from what little time they'd spent together was that her opinionated nature sometimes grated on his nerves. As someone who wasn't very argumentative himself, it could be irritating when someone else did not share this trait.

Giving her appearance a quick once-over, Joshua could not see any sort of scrapes or cuts to suggest that she had been in the classroom when the window had shattered. Still, it was possible that she had just evaded the glassy shrapnel and so he inquired, "Did it almost get you, or something? How did you notice it?" He held up the tennis ball slightly to indicate what he was talking about. He wouldn't have felt too guilty if it had caused her injury (as long as it wasn't serious) but he might have been nice enough to offer help. He didn't realise that she'd been outside the same as he was seeing as Joshua had been preoccupied with his friend and their tennis match. He hadn't glanced around the yard seeking to identify its other occupants. Though it was not to his knowledge, the classroom that he'd accidentally damaged with his rough shot was disused and so there had been no real risk to anything other than the property itself. "Mind not mentioning this to the administration?" He was not begging or pleading—if she insisted that she would rat him out, he'd likely just glower for a moment and then depart the situation before it turned into a fight. He didn't beg. He did, however, wonder whether or not she'd be the type to 'turn him in', per say.

Joshua shrugged at the words, not seeming bothered. "So? I'm certainly not going to tell them." He was completely alright with sliding under the radar and not getting into trouble for the property damage. It wasn't that he couldn't pay for the cost of repairs—his family were rich, it was pennies—he just didn't want something like that being written up. They might even give him detention for it and he had already landed himself in detention once this month. He was not keen on doing so again. He figured that they might look into it very briefly but as there was no real way to find out who'd been witness to the incident and who had caused it unless they discovered it in a short window of time, he wasn't too worried about the consequences. As far as he knew, Gabriella was the only one that had noticed. Besides, it was like she'd implied—it was not always an assumed fact that Josh knew how to play tennis at all. It's not like I did it on purpose. He liked the Academy and despite being a little standoffish and sour toward its occupants he had no ill will toward the place itself. He didn't get a rise out of lighting fire to things or breaking windows, didn't see the fun in using graffiti to mark up the walls. Maybe some people were into that kind of petty rebellion but he wasn't one of them.

Though aware that they were not on the best of terms, Joshua did not dislike Gabriella enough for it to be a tense situation. It wasn't awkward for him, either, perhaps because he was confident in himself. The Water elemental had approached him and he certainly wasn't ashamed of his actions so he had no reason to sense anything off about the situation. Sure, it had gone a little quiet since he'd let the subject drop but that wasn't something that bugged him—he was a quiet fellow, keeping mostly to himself. Still, it was not his intention to stand here revelling in the silence whilst Gabby did the same and so he asked, "Is that all?" It was not said in a rude manner, merely a questioning one. He didn't know if she'd came over here for any other reason. He assumed not, of course, considering she'd approached with the tennis ball in her hand and held it out to him but it was just safe to check. Once upon a time he would have just walked off wordlessly but he was growing more accustomed to treating the people in his alliance with manners, if not genuine kindness. He wasn't very good at being honestly kind to others, so a sense of cordial tolerance was good enough.

Looking at the cloudy sky for a moment, Joshua frowned. He did enjoy the rain and didn't mind being out in it but he wasn't much in the mood for being outside if it started pouring down in sheets. He had things to be doing later on in the day and it would not do to be sloshing around and dripping water. Of course, he could always just use his powers to avoid the problem entirely but at this point it would have been a pointless waste of energy. "I'd better head inside. It's going to storm and I'd rather not be caught in it." Again, he could have departed without an explanation but figured that he'd give her one so that she didn't think he was being a jerk. He started toward the Academy slowly, in no rush to get where he was going. His long legs carried him at a reasonable pace even if he wasn't in a hurry and so he didn't need to watch his pacing.

[Gabby can walk with him and continue conversation if you want, he's just not very talkative atm o.o]

Joshua was slightly surprised by her request to walk with him seeing as they'd never really been what you could call friendly, but as he had no real issues with her he shrugged a little and dipped his head once to show agreement. "If you want." He didn't pretend to own the grounds and so even if he'd refused she could have tagged along behind him or walked ahead. However, Josh had enough common sense to understand that she likely meant walk and talk with him while doing so, else she wouldn't have had to ask to begin with. He wondered why her friends had gone on without her but it wasn't his place to ask questions like that. If she'd been a friend he might have made the inquiry but he was a lot more cautious around strangers. Could Gabriella tell that he was not someone who talked a whole lot? It certainly wasn't hard to pick up on—a few minutes in his company would tell you a whole lot about his talkativeness (or lack thereof). He generally found it easy to strike up and maintain a conversation if he'd known someone for a while but he was also a lot less wary of silences between his closer friends. He trusted them to know that he never saw a silence as 'awkward' and thus they should feel the same.

Still, he wasn't going to head all the way back inside as a silent shadow of the Water elemental. There would have been no point to agreeing to walk with her if he was going to remain tight-lipped and stoic the entire time. He was a man of few words but he was hardly what you could call shy. "You never answered my question earlier," Joshua said after a pause. He'd not been particularly offended and did not sound it. It took certain things to cause offence in Joshua and they generally involved his close friends and loved ones, the rare few insults against his person being enough. He figured she'd just not heard him or had been focusing on something else he'd said and let it slip her mind. "How'd you find the ball?" He still wondered whether she'd been in the classroom when it had struck or whether she'd just chanced across it. The latter seemed less likely to him but as his offence had not drew an entire classroom full of people outside or to the broken window and the source of its damage, he really wasn't sure either way. It was why he'd asked in the first place and also why he broached the subject again.

Having paused in his stride to allow Gabriella to catch up and walk with him as she'd requested, Joshua now started back toward the Academy once more. The long, low rumble of thunder broke the temporary silence but there was not yet any rain to join it in chorus. He figured that the clouds would rupture and soak them to the skin quite soon, however. He did not speed his pace because he already had longer legs and thus a longer stride than Gabby—they were both graduates more than capable of fending off a bit of rain for a short while. She could just bend it to her will so that it didn't touch her and Joshua's heat would be more than enough to fry a couple droplets. "At least it's not going to snow," he remarked. The comment was half to himself as the first light rain started to drizzle from the heavens. He didn't hate the cold and snow as much as some, he just didn't like what it did to his powers. Besides, he preferred the rain. He'd been born in the spring and it was his favourite season so he embraced the 'April showers' that inevitably came with it. He'd experienced rain on his birthday a few times but had no complaints about it. He liked the summer, too—there weren't many Fire elementals that didn't. Autumn had nice landscape and winter... well, it was dead and cold. He didn't hate it but it was his least favourite of them all.

He waved a hand as she apologised to dismiss it as nothing, insisting without words that he didn't really mind. Despite being difficult to deal with in terms of his anger issues and his near-inability to open up to other people, Josh could be remarkably easy going about the little things. Some assumed that all Fire elementals would blow a gasket and punch them if they so much as caused a minor irritation but as he was Fire himself, Josh knew that the lines were finer and the conditions more complicated than that. It was hard to tell (beyond the obvious, like attacking his family or his girlfriend) what would provoke Josh at times. He had gotten angry at a close friend for a comment she hadn't even meant in the way he'd taken it, he'd gotten angry at Nell because she wasn't self-confident enough, for goodness sakes. But he was not angry at Gabriella and thus had no reason to act as such. It wasn't like she'd ignored him out of spite or rudeness—at least, he didn't think she had. He supposed he could have been wrong but he wasn't going to dwell on it for too long.

From the sounds of it, she had just been out with her friends and had chanced upon noticing where it had went, thus dismissing his concerns about a classroom full of people bearing witness to the accidental crime. He was a little less concerned about possible injuries considering he was sure he'd be in trouble by now if anyone had been hurt but he still asked, "I take it you're alright? None of the glass got you?" His tone sounded more business-like than concerned. He didn't really have a high level of empathy for people he didn't know well. It was increasing over the years to where he did feel a little badly for someone if they were hurt but he didn't usually go out of his way unless they were a friend. It was just a part of his personality. He worried sometimes about becoming a doctor with this lack of constant compassion but trusted in himself enough that he could build it over time. Besides, it was different if someone came to him for assistance. He did what he could when it was asked of him, he'd just rather avoid sticky situations where possible. He had a strong sense of self-preservation, as well, something that came from a strain of selfishness.

As he was generally courteous and had been taught manners by his parents, Josh slowed his pace to match hers as soon as she had caught up with him. He was conscious of the fact that his height and longer legs meant that he could cover a longer distance in a shorter amount of time—it was hard not to be aware of when you left your shorter friends behind. He knew from being runty and shorter than most of the girls in his class when he'd been younger that it was no fun to flag behind just because your normal pace didn't suit everyone else and so he was a little more aware of it in his own height. "Are you supposed to meet your friends inside?" He wondered whether she'd leave as soon as they got to the school (it wasn't a long walk, after all) or whether she'd be going in the same direction as he was and thus stick with him until they got to their desired destinations. "I'm surprised they didn't wait for you. Did you tell them to go on ahead?" As he was curious, he disregarded his earlier concerns about personal questions and asked her anyway.

[Sending a PM your way!]

Joshua nodded curtly to show that he'd heard, relieved that there were no injuries that would need to be explained away. It would be of inconvenience to him if Gabriella needed to head off to the medical wing because of his overpowered shot. Not so much because she'd be hurt, that would be more her problem, but because they'd want an explanation and he did not think that she would lie for him. Why would she? They might not have been enemies but he couldn't call her a friend, either. Josh wouldn't lie for her if it was his neck on the line and so he automatically assumed that she wouldn't do it for him. That was fine. It wasn't expected. At any rate, it wouldn't need to happen seeing as she had no injuries. He considered his chances on the fact that only one person had seen and no one had been hurt, deciding that Lady Luck had decided to be kind to him today. His luck wasn't terrible but it usually wasn't the best—more like average.

"Ah, so that's where you're headed." Joshua's mind instantly went to the warmth and comforting atmosphere of the Fire dormitories. He was banned from the area now and so much as stepping down into the dungeons was asking for it. He sometimes missed the maze of hallways and the dark, heat-filled passages. He had spent a lot of time down in the dungeons and in his element's dormitories during his first years at the Academy. Then suddenly he'd been kicked out thanks to his loyalty and he was forced to live with the realisation they'd never accept him back. It was fine since he lived in the Hollow and didn't need the dorms, per say, but he still got a little nostalgic at times. It had been a good place to study when the library got too crowded and he felt he needed space. "I'm off to the library," he said as the place popped into his mind. It was one of his favourite haunts at the Academy and the place you were most likely to find him if he wasn't in class. History section, third floor. "I've got some books I need for class." He normally wouldn't have offered such information but he figured he'd let her know why he hadn't yet parted from her presence, and that was because they were going the same way for now. There was a hallway up ahead he'd need to turn left on whereas Gabriella would need to head right if she wanted her dorms.

He arched an eyebrow as she spoke of her friends. "How polite." It was slightly sarcastic but not scathing. He liked the rain and didn't mind the thunder, either, but he did prefer to be warm and dry and just listening to the pounding of the water rather than being out in it. He enjoyed light drizzling but it was coming down in sheets outside and it would take a great deal of energy to fend that off with his powers. He paused in surprise when Gabriella froze, casting her a quizzical look. His gray eyes were puzzled. "Something wrong?" As he himself did not fear storms, it did not occur to the Fire graduate that the sound had been what made her stiffen. Instead he merely wondered whether she'd had some sort of epiphany and had just stopped walking. Realising that they were at the intersection of castle halls, he gestured in the direction he was meant to be taking. "Well, I've got books to be checking out, so... I suppose I'll see you around."

Joshua just nodded at her comment, not really knowing how to reply. He had not told her with the intention of reminding her and so he wasn't exactly going to take credit for that. Assuming that she would probably go at a different time seeing as he figured she'd meet her friends in the dormitories first, Joshua still bore the mindset that they'd part ways at the branch in the hall. He was glad to be out of the rain and cold at least. The castle was heated by fire and powered by thunder elementals and so it was a near-constant haven from all sorts of natural disasters. He liked the great outdoors but the school was nice when it was raining and you didn't want to be soaked to the skin. There was enough risk of winter illnesses as is, he didn't exactly fancy the idea of increasing it. Having grown up with a doctor that constantly badgered him about health risks, Josh tended to be wary of those kind of things.

He didn't know what to think of her apparent fear. He assumed that was what she meant when she said that she did not like storms, just judging by the way she'd froze at the sound of the thunder. He also took notice of the fact she was still quite wet from when they'd been outside. He was not a compassionate person but he also wasn't rude enough to dry himself off and not extend the same courtesy to whomever he happened to be with. Unless, of course, they were an enemy, but he didn't consider her as such. They might not have gotten along as friends but he felt no hate nor tension. Waving a hand, he allowed the heat to wreath the area so that it would dry her clothes and skin, ward off the cold and the rain. "I've always liked them." It was a statement and in no way meant to come across as condescending. He understood paranoia and phobia, did not question or ridicule it. Joshua had an intense phobia of needles as well as guns and drowning so he would be quite hypocritical to mock her for her own discomfort in the storm.

Josh blinked as she went down the same hallway as him. "Oh, are you headed to the library now?" He didn't stop walking as he spoke but he certainly kept his pace even and rhythmic to match hers. It was a bit hard to talk to someone when you were miles ahead. He might not have been expecting them to head to the same place but he had no protests against it. Josh did not own the Academy and he did not pretend to. Besides, Gabriella was not half bad. He certainly hadn't found any outstanding reasons to resent her today. Once they had reached the cavernous place with it's zig-zagging hallways of books and staircase leading to the upper floors, Joshua headed confidently in the direction of the Biology section. He had been here many times before seeing as his major dealt with a lot of the books in it and he immediately zeroed in on the row of books he was looking for. He had all of the textbooks and coursebooks, his own copies, but he liked to read a little extra on what they happened to be studying as well. Pulling out a thick volume, he frowned at it for a moment, trying to figure out if he'd read it before. Nope, don't think so, he decided, sitting down.