hopeful --- ashton

Ashton had long since given up on his work for the day. He'd taken one look at the mass of Math problems that their teacher had assigned them and decided that 'later' was always better, shoving the textbook into the back of his bag and tossing said bag into the closet, where it would stay until he realised the work was due the next day and panicked to finish it. Ashton was the king of procrastination, always more willing to put something off until a later date as opposed to finishing it early and taking a load off his back. It wasn't the best ethic to have but it was his personality. He didn't know if he'd be able to make it into college but he really hoped that he could. Just because he hated doing work didn't mean that he wanted to be that guy.

He was hanging around the dormitories with friends, playing cards and messing about with his powers for the general entertainment of his fellow Earths. He did pretty well in his elemental classes compared to the academic ones because studying for those tests really could be fun. After all, he'd spent one night in Nell's apartment turning it into a mini-rainforest. That had helped him to understand the complexity of rainforest plants and the sort of climates they needed, therefore giving him an edge when they had a test question on climate. He was good with his element. It was a source of pride for him.

The fun of the group was interrupted when Sam's girlfriend, Destiny, decided to surprise him with a visit. Not wanting to be the awkward third and fourth wheel, Ashton and the other boy he'd been hanging out with decided that they would leave. The other elemental called up a friend and decided to take a trip to the Hollow while Ashton made his way into the common room, seeking company more than anything else. He could and should have worked on his Math homework but Math had always been his worst subject. He loathed it. Instead, he wandered over to one of the areas where a girl was sitting and leaned on the back of the seat. "Hey Bree," he said cheerfully. He was probably interrupting but he hoped she didn't mind, seeing as they were friends. "Whatcha readin'?"

Ashton screwed up his expression when she mentioned that she was reading the book for English. "That doesn't sound very fun," he said. Ashton folded his arms and leaned forward, allowing the back of the chair to support most of his weight. He was bubbly, friendly, but a rather bad influence when it came to people getting work done. He knew he should have left her alone when he found out that she was reading the book for class just as Brigid knew she should have told him to, but it seemed like neither of them had the best self-control when it came to such things. "How's about I keep you company instead of the book?" He grinned at her and went around the couch to sit beside her. If she told him to leave then he would probably honour her request but if he was able to persuade her to keep him company, well, that worked, too.

He rolled his eyes dramatically when she asked him how he was. "I'm bored," he insisted emphatically, stressing the word as if it were the most important one in his vocabulary. Ashton could often be very colourful and expressive when he wanted to be. "I won't be now, though, not if we hang out." His suggestions were clear and he didn't bother trying to hide the fact that he was trying to persuade her away from her novel. "Sam's got his girlfriend over so the guys ditched." He wondered if Bree would know them by name or whether they would be strangers to her. Some of the quieter Earths with more of a shell did not know everyone but Ashton made it a point to introduce himself to every Earth elemental in the dormitories, and not just because he was leader. Ashton generally liked making friends and sharing with people. He was a good guy, a sweet guy.

He definitely had no problems with keeping up conversation. He was that guy in a group of friends that always had something to say no matter how quiet anyone else was being. "So how was your day before English got in the way, hmm? Wanna go out and do something fun?" He was in the mood to mess around with friends and since his other friends had ditched him in favour of life and all its commitments, he'd just moved until he found another friend. He saw all of his friends equally and so he didn't prefer hanging out with some more than others.

Ashton nodded in agreement when his friend expressed a distaste for reading, definitely not arguing with her there. He much preferred movies no matter how many people said that the books were 'better' because he liked to watch people act things out, liked being able to visualize them. He had an imagination, quite an active one at that, but it was better for him to see things out in the real world than read them off a bit of paper. He was not horrible at English class but it certainly wasn't his favourite subject. His worst was English and his favourite was maybe Science, if only for how hands-on it was. He also loved the fact that you often had lab partners because Ashton was great at working with people. "Books are boring. I like movies and hanging out way more." He was high-energy, liking to get up and move around. His procrastination had nothing to do with being a sloth, it was just that he hated being bored.

He screwed up his expression when she mentioned school work, hating the words. He didn't like doing work. He also didn't want to get a job and had been coming up with convenient excuses each and every time his parents brought it up. He knew he couldn't avoid it forever, especially not since he wanted to go to college, but Ashton didn't have strong work ethic. He liked socialising way more. And gardening, though he wasn't entirely sure how to get into the business. Maybe he'd open up his own. He could grow plants and restore them to life with a flick of his wrist so he figured he'd be really good at it. "I hate doing work," he huffed. "Our professor assigned us a bunch of Math problems and I forgot the formulas again so I can't figure out how to do any of them." He wasn't even taking academic Math and he still failed awfully at it. Well, alright, he was passing, but barely. "I'll do your English homework if you do my Maths," he joked, laughing. Sometimes he wished they were in the same grade so that he at least had someone who was in his same boat. He did have a lot of grade twelve friends, just none who were here at this very moment.

He pumped his fist into the air with a silent triumph when she said that she would go out with him and do something fun, bracing the palms of his hands against his knees and all but bouncing up and down. He was in an excitable mood today, clearly. "Huh, I don't know. I heard there's a lot of people going swimming by the lake. Can you swim? We could go hang out with them." He liked swimming, people, and procrastinating from his work. He'd be getting his way three times over if they did that. "It's cool if you wanna do something else, though. We could climb the cliffs or go exploring in the forests, hang out in the school somewhere. I don't mind." Really, it wasn't hard for Ashton to find the fun in any situation.

Ashton was fairly low maintenance, requiring only a towel and a change into swim shorts before he was ready and raring to go. He didn't really mind if his other clothes got a bit wet or muddy from laying by the waters edge because he could always just throw them in the wash at home. Or, rather, his mother could. The one time Ashton had tried to work the washing machine had ended in disaster, with the water overflowing to the floor and soap bubbles from the detergent getting everywhere. She'd never asked him to complete that particular chore again after that and his confidence around the machines was seriously compromised. He always worried they were going to foam at the lid when he went near them. He could do other things, though, like dishes and sweeping, and she didn't go easy on him there. Cameron was reaching the age where he was asked to clean up as well and Ashton was glad he was no longer alone there.

Bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited, Ash grinned at his friend when she emerged. "To the lake!" He led the way with obvious enthusiasm, surprised to see a larger crowd than he was expecting. The large was fairly big and so it was easy for several different groups to hang out without actually interfering with one another. He was friendly enough that he knew a great deal of the students and greeted them with nods or waves but he kept most of his attention on Bree, not wanting to be rude. Ditching your friend for the presence of others was rude. Sam had done it earlier but that was his girlfriend so the circumstances were slightly different. "I've always wanted to try jumping off the cliffs and into the water but it's way too dangerous," he mused as he eyed them, shielding his eyes from the sun with one hand. No one dared jump off. There was a barrier in place and a sign warning against it just in case. "I wonder how the water students feel when everyone swims around the lake? I mean their dormitory is underneath it and the ceiling in the common room is clear, they can probably see everything. Or maybe not. Do you think it'd be too deep?"

Ashton really was curious about everything. He just liked knowing things. His curiosity was less intelligence-based and more about learning things concerning people and their habits. He liked people, liked the human race in general. Or, well, the elemental one. Not that humans and elementals were all that different. Like two peas in a pod, except some peas could shoot fireballs and others create electric currents. "Let's go in!" He pulled off his shift and kicked off his pants, leaving them in a careless heap as he headed eagerly toward the water. He jumped back in shock when his feet touched the water, however, laughing. "Shit, it's freezing!" Ducking his head sheepishly, he laughed it off and then kicked some water playfully toward his friend, aiming to splash her. It would have been easier if he was a Water, but oh well.

Ashton was not self-conscious about the idea of anyone watching him, merely curious. He shrugged it off seeing as Bree didn't seem to share his curiosities. She also didn't share his shock at the cold water, seeming to take the blunt approach as she dove straight into it. It was this that made him splash her when she came up for air, a teasing gesture. "I am not a sissy!" He was grinning, though, clearly not offended in the least. It was very hard to hurt his feelings if you were his friend. An enemy might be able to crack his friendly exterior and wound him with their words but friends were people he tolerated a lot more. It was alright for them to laugh at him, he honestly didn't mind. Ashton knew that Brigid's way of entering the water was probably a lot more effective but that didn't stop him from taking the chicken's way in, already warded off by the freezing cold water and not so sure he wanted to go any deeper when his feet felt like they might fall off from the cold.

He wasn't competitive, but Ashton also hated to be that guy. The joykill, the one that ruined everyone else's fun by becoming an unwilling participant. Of course, Bree seemed perfectly content to swim without his immediate company and so he probably wasn't ruining anything at all but the nagging feeling still persuaded him. Taking a breather, Ashton stepped back a little and then took it at a run, the force of the water slowing him when he was in up to his waist and the cold making his teeth knock together a little. He didn't know how the Water elementals could stand this every day. He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet for a moment to gain the courage before dunking his head under the water, getting used to the cold and pulling up with a gasp. "Why did I suggest this again?"

Ashton was not really regretting it as much as he pretended to be, especially not now that he'd fully submerged himself for the first time. He kicked away from the shallows and swam underneath the water for a moment, waving at Bree when he came up for air and saw her swimming toward him. Grinning playfully, he ducked back under the water and swam out to where she was, grabbing her ankle before letting go and bobbing up beside her. "Alright, alright, you win. It's not that bad."