THIS I'VE TRIED & NOW REFUSE , (tag; dannica)

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

The tires of the car screeched loudly in protest as its driver veered sharply to the right, just narrowly avoiding a group of chattering Water elementals that had seemed to find it fitting to hang around in the middle of the road. Heart hammering, he shook his head and resisted the urge to snap something at them. It wouldn't be worth it. It was neither the first nor would it be the last time someone was nearly killed in the parking lot, and it wasn't always on Joshua's offence. People met up with their friends when they arrived at the Academy around the same time and seemed to conveniently--or would it be called an inconvenience?--forget that there were many fast and dangerous vehicles pulling into the place. He turned off the car and got out, shouldering his bag and carrying a heavy folder full of Biology notes in the other. Unfortunately for Joshua, the Water students seemed to decide that the day was a bit too hot and they were going to take the liberty of getting everyone soaked.

The reaction was instinctual--though it would have made much more sense to block the oncoming ball of water with a blast of intense heat (they were only joking around, after all, not picking a fight) Joshua used the folder as a sort of shield instead. It worked, blocking most of the water from actually hitting him and only getting him with a slight spray of that which did not make contact, but it also soaked through his papers. Realising with an irritated glower that the ink on the pages was probably going to run, he lamented the fact that he had not copied them onto his laptop at the first chance he was able. He'd always preferred taking notes by hand than typing them into the computer, but he was so busy that sometimes he forgot to transfer some of the penned notes into an organized document. Not that it usually mattered--his handwriting was perfectly legible, especially to himself, and he didn't usually lend his notes out to other people. He didn't like slackers and so he'd only let someone borrow his notes if they'd been off sick.

"Thanks," he said dryly to the giggling trio, at least one of whom managed a somewhat genuine apology. It meant nothing to him--he rolled his eyes and departed, knowing it wasn't worth a fight. He was a graduate but even Josh wouldn't be stupid to take on three Water elementals. They could easily overpower him with group-work. Hell, one elemental with power that could best his was bad enough. A triad of them was just asking for trouble. He was going to have to do something about these notes, however. It didn't look too promising--once he'd gotten to the central courtyard, he sat down on one of the benches by a slowly bubbling fountain and opened the book to the pages that had taken the worst soaking. He could tell that he was going to have to rewrite them in parts where the ink had bled, but as long as he carefully dried them he figured he wouldn't have to redo as much as he'd thought. The fact that the pages were waterlogged together in places was both a blessing and a curse--it was more difficult to dry without damaging anything, but it also prevented too much bleeding.

It must have looked pretty strange--Joshua with his sunglasses treating the folder as if it was something injured as he passed his hand over it, a warm and pulsing sort of heat emanating from his palm. He was going to have to get this done before class, he knew, but he also didn't want to rush it.He grasped the corner of one page in between his fingers and peeled it carefully away from the others, inspecting it. Not as much damage as he'd thought. Well, that was better than nothing. It's going to be a long morning, he acknowledged, somewhat wishing he had company. Oh well.

[dannica]

"We just wanna see ya....shake that! Doo doo doo doo doo doodoo. Doo doo doo doo doo doo!"

Young Dannica J. was singing this while listening to her favorite song at the moment: Party Rock Anthem. It was soo catchy, and hard for the girl to not sing along with the words. She knew that no one was within earshot at the moment, so she felt free enough to sing along with the words.

One might be wondering why the girl that is usually not smiley is, in fact, smiling. Well it's quite simple: she has a date. The thought of this brought a bashful blush to her face. The girl wasn't used to thinking of this, let alone doing the action. She's been on only one date with Alex, and that turned out great. The kiss afterwards had her smiling for about a couple of days. Poor inexperienced teen.

So into her music she was that she didn't see or hear someone come close enough to her. She was in her blissful state; almost completely oblivious to the world. Her current spot on the edge of the fountain was probably not a wise place for her to sit, but she liked playing with the water, and the element reminded of the person she'll see in a few hours.

They agreed to meet right after classes ended for them, so Dani was forced to get all prettied-up before then. She just hope she'll stay clean throughout the day. She does on most days, and figured that today wouldn't be any different.

The young wind student swayed her head to the beat and yelled out a "Get up, get down, put your hands up to the sun!"




Dani's Outfit here!

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

It was perhaps a good thing that he was not jumpy, else the loud sound of singing from the direction of the fountain might have caused him to lose focus on his powers and burn the papers rather than just drying them off. Instead, as this was Joshua, he tensed for a moment and then slowly finished drying a particular page before he lifted his gaze. Who was singing that, anyway? Expecting to see someone unfamiliar Joshua glanced toward the place in question and blinked, surprised, when he recognised Dani. I didn't think she was so confident. Though mildly shocked, he couldn't help but allow a private smirk. It was really quite amusing to see her looking so cheerful and he wondered why. Was it just a good day? Everyone had good days and bad, so he wouldn't be all that surprised.

The Fire graduate glanced at his notes, the dried pages of which fluttered in the wind. He was almost done and so he figured it might be safe now to finish the rest. He sent a short but strong blast of warmth, willing it not to catch his papers aflame, then breathed a soft sigh of relief when they did nothing but rustle in the breeze. Turning them, he concluded that they would suffice and then closed the book, standing up and heading to tap the Wind elemental on her shoulder, sitting down on the fountain next to her. He wasn't nearly as fond of the liquid element as she was but as it was hardly deep enough for him to drown in there was only distaste toward it and not fear. The fountain itself was pretty, after all. The courtyard possessed five arches leading back into the castle, each of which were flanked by twin statues representing one of the elements. Fire was on the far end, and thunder was closest to them. "Having fun?" he asked her. His tone was teasing, but in a friendly and gentle way.

He liked the freshman. Usually he didn't bother himself with the younger students considering he was in college and didn't have much reason to interact with them, but Dannica had given him a good first impression. He'd felt bad for her when the older guys had acted like the jerks they were and that in itself was rare--he didn't like to play the hero. But she reminded him of Annabel, and so maybe that was why he felt so relaxed around her. "You look cheerful today," he remarked unnecessarily, gray eyes glinting with amusement. "Did they cancel exams or something?" It was partially rhetorical--maybe the occasion was the cancelling of a test, but it was only a joking way of asking why she was in such an extroverted mood today. It was also open-ended enough that she could refuse to answer if she wished. He'd never had a distinct urge to pry into the lives of anyone that wanted to keep secrets.

[dannica]

Dani rewound the song to her favorite part: the dance sequence. She closed her eyes, imagining the footwork in her head, and trying her best not to imitate it out loud.

Then a voice interrupted her train of thought and her eyes bulged out of her head. She gripped the edge of the fountain to keep herself from falling backward from the shock. She heard a muffled "Having fun?" from the man standing before her. Pulling out her earphones and looking up, she smiled brightly at the man she recognized.

"Josh!" She got up and basically glomped the poor man. It was a gesture that she herself hardly did, but she was in such a great mood, and this, she feels, saved her life basically.

She never forgot the first day she arrived here at the academy and those upperclassmen boys bothering her. She didn't expect help from anyone, and Josh did the unexpected. He "shooed" them away, and asked her to join him. Unbeknownst to Josh, Dani admired him ever since, and even viewed him as an older brother.

"Long time no see," she said, and finally let go of the man. Only then did she realize that he heard her sing. "Oh....you...heard...that...huh?" Her face changed into a bright red and she casted her eyes downward. How embarrassing.... "I was actually..." said Dani being honest with the man. Note to self: Do NOT sing aloud in public again.

He noted her cheerfulness and asked her if there were no exams. "I wish, but no." She blushed when she thought of what she is about to say to him. "Well....." She had to stop blushing and smiling. It was sooo embarrassing. "I sorta have a date tonight!" She tried to avoid his eyes so he wouldn't see the full extent of her excitement.





Dani's Outfit here!

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Joshua stiffened instinctively when Dannica wrapped her arms around him, caught completely off guard by the contact. Josh wasn't someone who was big on physical affection or hugging of any sort unless you were family or else a really close friend, but he also wasn't going to turn Dani into a roast for what she'd done. Instead, he forced himself to tell himself that it was fine and to relax. He hadn't been prepared for the hug but considering his little sister made a habit of hugging him like that he just reminded himself that Dani seemed to come from the same mould. Well, alright, only to a point. Annabel was happy and smiling all the time, an extrovert and social butterfly. There were only small similarities, but there were enough. "It really has been," he agreed, nodding when she said that it had been a while since they'd seen one another. It only made sense--Josh was usually on the upper levels with the rest of the college students whereas most of the freshmen classes were on the first floor. It was just easier to navigate for the younger students that hadn't gotten used to the layout of the castle yet.

He chuckled a little to see her turn bright red. Her embarrassment was adorable, really. "Don't worry," he said. "You're not bad at it or anything." He could somewhat understand the self-conscious feeling that some people got when others heard them sing, however, or play an instrument. Hobbies were often things that one kept to themselves. Of course, Joshua was a confident guy. If someone were to hear him playing guitar or catch him playing tennis or something, he probably wouldn't mind. Everyone was different. "What song was that, by the way?" He hadn't recognised it. Then again, he didn't listen to a whole lot of music. He was more of a literature dork, to be honest. But that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate when someone was.

Though Dannica was trying to hide how excitable she was, it wasn't too difficult to pick up on it anyway. Freshmen, he thought with amusement, shaking his head a little as if sharing a joke with himself (for he kind of was). Now, this was where his treatment of Dani would differ from how he saw his little sister. He would have hunted down and interrogated anyone that thought they were good enough for Annabel but with Dani he merely inquired, "Oh, really? Who's the lucky guy?" It was ironic to think that if they'd had this conversation when they'd first met, discussion of dating might have made him feel strange. Not that he was that awkward, prudish sort--he'd just never had any personal experience. Now he had a girlfriend. It was weird how things changed throughout the year.

[dannica]

Dani felt the stiffness of Josh once she hugged him. She wasn't all that surprised he would, yet she's surprised that she's done the action. That was unlike her, and quite frankly it worried her. Her nerves must be out of wack or something like that. Well, she had a good reason. This is her second real date, and the thrill of it was amazing. It made her all jittery inside, which caused her to hold much of it in, until now.

She nodded in agreement. "Yes, it has been. How have you been?" Dani was overall interested in the college experience. Of late, she's been thinking about continuing her education here, since she's already here. Yet, she didn't know what to continue in. She didn't really care for anything like becoming a doctor or a lawyer...she really didn't know. Maybe some insight from Josh might help her out a bit.

"Yeah but still..." She was still embarrassed, whether she was terrible or good at it...wait, did he say she was good at singing? Well, technically he said that she's wasn't bad at it; it doesn't necessarily mean that she's good either. That was the first compliment anyone has ever given her about her voice. Of course, no one has completely heard her sing before, but still. It felt nice to hear a compliment.

"The song is called Party Rock Anthem, by L-M-F-A-O and some other people." She didn't want to say the full version of their band name, hopefully he understood what she meant. Pulling out her iPod, she rewound the song to the 0:00 mark, and paused it. "Would you like to listen to it?" She didn't offer the headphones yet, not knowing if he was in the mood for it or not.

Lucky guy? More like the other way around, thought the girl as she tried to keep a straight face. "Well, you probably wouldn't know him, he's Alexander Hunter, a freshman like me." Dani didn't like being a freshman. They were always looked down upon by the upperclassmen, and no one took them seriously. Dani thought she was a very serious girl. Not now per se, but in general...



Dani's Outfit here!

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Joshua shrugged at the question of his well-being. In reality he had been absolutely awful if you considered that he'd just lost a large part of what made his life bearable--his money, his mansion, his family. Well, technically it wasn't his mansion. He'd been forced to live with that the hard way when he'd been kicked out of it. And the money had been his seeing as he was the heir to the fortune, but his father had written him out of that, quite literally disowned him. So no, he was not doing all that great, but Josh didn't tell people those sorts of things. "I've been fine," he said. Subtly deflecting the conversation away from his mood, he said, "School's always a pain, though, isn't it?" He added a wry sort of half-smile. He didn't really think that school was that bad and so he was joking, but would Dani be able to tell? She didn't know him all too well but she might have known that he was a bookworm. It wasn't like he tried to hide that part of himself.

He shook his head at the offer. "I'm good," he said easily enough. Their music tastes were probably a lot different but that was alright. Where Joshua liked bands like The Strokes Dannica seemed to be more into catchy music. He could respect the music choices of other people. With amusement he remembered when Nell had expressed shock when he'd told her the name of his favourite band--why had that been so surprising, he wondered? Pushing the thoughts aside he focused on the conversation with Dani instead. It was rude to frequently zone out when you were in the middle of talking to someone, after all.

Joshua chuckled when Dannica revealed the name of her freshman crush. "The Water kid? We've met." He seemed amused, as if he was thinking of something that only he knew. He was, in actuality. Joshua was recalling the day he'd met the freshman in the medical wing. He hadn't really gotten along with him that well but he would save that for Dani's sakes. He didn't want to slander her new boyfriend in front of her or anything. He knew how he didn't like people talking trash about Nell around him, after all. Besides, his issues with Alex had more to do with his anger issues than the guy actually being bad or anything. "I see you've dressed for the occasion," he remarked, gesturing to her outfit. "You look nice." It was a totally innocent comment, as well. She was quite some years younger than he was and he saw Dani as more than a sister than anything else. Besides, she wasn't the only one in this situation that was taken.

He didn't really talk much about situations concerning love interests, however. He loved Nell but his involvement with her was a part of his life. He didn't jump at any chance to share it with the world, even though he was proud of their relationship and internally smug about it whenever they were in public. As he was so quiet on that subject, he didn't dwell too long on Dani's new relationship with Alex, either. "How's the year been treating you?" he wondered, as it was now nearing its conclusion. He had met Dannica all the way at the start. Next year he'd start his laborious junior year and she'd be in league with the high school sophomores, no longer the fodder for the seniors to pick on. Given how they'd met, he figured she looked forward to this.

[Ha I just realised that I titled the thread with lyrics from Reptilia, which is a song by The Strokes. That wasn't even intentional. -feels awesome-]

[dannica]

He was fine. Well, that was good. She didn't want to hear anything bad. It wasn't that she didn't care to know, she just felt bad about hearing other people's problems. She felt that it wasn't fair that anyone should be going through hardships. Yet, that was life. And that was bound to happen in this life.

"Yeah..." She nodded solemnly. School was getting to her. Not only the subjects were hard, but her extra courses relating to her element were tough. This semester is a lot harder than the last, but that is to be expected. She just didn't expect anything like this. She'd go to someone for help, but she didn't like asking for help. She has this thing about feeling like a burden on others. So, she just doesn't ask for help.

She shrugged and shoved the earphones into her pocket. She didn't mind it. People had different opinions on music, and Dani was chill about it. The freshman perked up her eyebrow at Josh's response.

"Oh really? How did that happen? He mentioned something about a burn I think..." She didn't remember exactly was Alex said, but she remembered that he mentioned Josh. Oh well. Maybe Josh will tell her more about what happened between the two.

She smiled shyly at his compliment. "Thank-you." She said, then looked quickly away. She has yet to get used to compliments. She either smiles like a mad-woman, or looks away, like what she's doing now. She knew she had a problem, and she's working on it. Surely but slowly, she's working on her low self-esteem.

How has the year been treating her? "Well...it's going." She said half-heartily "The truth is...this semester is draining the life out of me..." Okay, so she's exaggerating just a little, but she's not too far off from the truth. What freaked her out was that this is just her freshman year. Could she imagine her sophomore? How about junior? Senior? She didn't want to imagine college or she'd become light-headed.

Thinking on mass confusion, the whole war thing was going on again. She couldn't believe that this school was at it again. "I can't believe we're at another war going on. Apparently, there needs to be one at least once a semester. Is this the norm in this school?" She asked Josh. If so, then she would definitely reconsider coming here next year.



Dani's Outfit here!

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Joshua blinked thoughtfully as he considered his answer. Either he could tell Dannica the whole truth about how he'd met her boyfriend and risk her getting offended by the rather crass way he'd handled talking to him. Joshua was not a sensitive guy and he was not a nice person in general. Things had been different with Dani but that was just because she reminded him of his sister. He had a soft spot for the young blonde girl and so in sharing some characteristics with her Dannica had saved herself from other potentially cruel treatment from Joshua. Then again, the Fire elemental didn't bother with the freshmen very often. He didn't find it fun to throw them against walls or troll them too much about the coming years. Sometimes he would make exceptions, as with Rylan and Alex, but most of the time he was pretty chill with them until they invaded the sanctuary of the library and sat in their large, giggling groups.

Deciding to go with a partial truth so that he was believeable without sounding like too much of an asshole, Joshua shrugged. "We met in the medical wing. Apparently some of my kind were giving him trouble." Joshua himself had been worried about the cut on his finger getting infected. He'd gotten that cut when fumbling with a switchblade. Drunk. He was sure Nell remembered that cut well. He glanced at his finger as he spoke, almost pondering the faint line that was still visible on the side of his finger. Turning his attention back to Dani, he said, "I don't know him very well, we only met that once." He'd threatened violence on the young Water but it had mostly been to keep Alexander out of his hair. It had worked and he hadn't felt any strong desires to hurt him, so they were doing something right. Now it looked like he had a reason to refrain from pain infliction.

Though not used to bashfulness Joshua accepted it in stride and made no further comment. He wasn't going to take back the compliment because he'd meant it and he wasn't going to babble about how true it was, either. She either accepted it for what it was or she didn't, that wasn't his problem either way. "That sucks," Joshua sympathized. "School can be rather parasitic at times." He had good experiences and bad. Given that he enjoyed studying and learning a hell of a lot more than a majority of his peers, Joshua felt as if he'd gotten off lucky. He was certainly more fortunate than the people who hated school and struggled to get passing grades. He also didn't have parents that stressed him out too much academically--Josh chose to overwork himself, he wasn't pushed into it. Technically you don't have parents at all. The revelation hurt but he tried to ignore it as best he could.

He grimaced at the mention of war, nodding regretfully. There were a lot of wars in the Academy and denying that wasn't going to do either of them any good. "It's usually once a year," corrected Josh, "but you were close enough." One war a year was too many wars in his opinion. He didn't have the pretentious view that he was above war or that it was too childish for him to take part in it but Joshua still took pride in the fact that there had been no wars in his time as leader. Keeping the most hot-headed (pun intended) student group calm had a lot to do with preventing fights. Keeping them calm was no easy feat, either. He figured he'd managed so well because he knew what it was to be an angry person by nature. "Nothing in this school is normal," he pointed out heavily.

Knowing that Dannica was Wind, Joshua asked, "Wait -- which side are you on?" He guessed by her boyfriend and the fact that she was a sweet-natured girl that she would not have taken Thunder and Fire's side. He didn't blame her, seeing as he hadn't either. He wondered whether Dani was going to assume that Josh was with his "usual" allies or whether she'd heard that he'd become a turncoat yet again. He didn't so much mind the label of traitor. Better a traitor with a girlfriend than an accepted ally without, in his opinion. He liked having a relationship, thank you very much.

[dannica]

"Oh no..." She murmured to herself. Was that the reason why he was in the medical room with her? No, that was before they met, apparently. She shook her head, thinking of the Fire kids that bothered her as well. "They'll never change..." They apparently have nothing better to do in their lives than to pick on people. She was sure that Alex could have probably taken at least one of them out since he had the upper hand in the element. But they were probably more than one of them, and that was not fair.

"Oh, okay." She said, thinking that she was going to end the topic, but apparently not. "I grow tired of the Fire's foolishness. I wish they'd grow up and not bother people..." Irritation ran through the freshman's voice as she spoke. "I mean, they don't have the right to pick on people. They aren't even the strongest of the Elements..." She then looked up at Josh and smiled weakly. "No offence... I mean, they are strong, it's just that water...I'll just hush now."

"Yeah, it does suck." She didn't have much experience in high schools, but she didn't think they would require a lot from students. Also, since this was her first year in high school period, the girl didn't know what to expect. "You can say that again. It makes me question if I want to continue schooling by going to college."

Dani shrugged. Hey, she was close, but it was still pathetic the actual fact of it. This was so different than she would imagine a high school would be like. She watched teen dramas on the television relating to school. Given, one can't believe everything that's on television, but she'd imagine it would be similar to it. It would never cross her mind that a school would go into an all out war: student to student, element to element. This was madness. She nodded in agreement with his last statement. "I don't even know what normal is anymore..."

"I'm on the Water-Earth side. Some think it's because of Alex, which is true. But I think I'd fit into their side anyway. I'm not really...outgoing and harsh like the other group." She didn't want to ask which side Josh was on, because it was sort of obvious.




Dani's Outfit here!

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Though he had betrayed them, Joshua still stiffened slightly when Dannica started to speak ill of the Fires, his expression smooth and impassive. There was still a part of him that felt a spark of irritation whenever people started to trash them in conversation. He had grown up knowing that he was going to be a Fire elemental and even though he had little respect for them currently his element was still his element. He was a part of it by blood even if not by affiliation. She's just upset over Alex, he tried to tell himself reasonably. She surely didn't mean anything by it. He liked Dani and thought her personality was sweet but the familiar bubble of irritation was starting to cloud his judgement.

He regarded her neutrally when she seemed to finally remember that he was there. "Water is no stronger overall than we are." It was not said aggressively or with any hint of a threat but there was still an edge to his words. He also included himself in the masses of the Fire element, suggesting that he did still had some sort of loyalty to them, even if it wasn't enough to get them through a war. There was a part of Joshua that missed his element--the warmth and comfort of the dorms, the camaraderie that they'd always displayed toward him even if he hadn't been the easiest of people to get along with. He'd felt that loyalty in return, until... well, until they'd attacked Nell. Then things had changed. Hopefully the coming of the new year will change things around. Things usually worked that way. A new year was a new start. The older kids were usually the most bitter and vengeful and when they graduated it allowed new opinions to flourish.

Joshua arched an eyebrow at Dani. "Already? Shouldn't you wait to make that decision?" She was only a ninth grader, even if she was close to the end of the year. He had known that he would come back for college because he'd always known what he wanted to do but he figured it was different for a lot of people. To write off college in the ninth grade just because things were a little stressful seemed harsh. Then again, this was Josh. He did not struggle with work and thus found it hard to understand. To each their own, he thought and internally shrugged it off.

He was not surprised that she'd stuck with Water and Earth on this one, however he did not immediately agree with her judgement of 'the other side'. It was hard to discuss alliances with someone who'd seen both sides of it. He was loyal to his new allies but he was also slightly biased. "Water elementals are outgoing, too." He couldn't really argue with the 'harsh' bit, though. Fire and Thunder were both definitely the masters of that category. It was not that he thought their actions were altogether commendable or justified, for he did not. He had sided with the opposite alignment once again. But he had only sided with them because of Nell, really. He would have been with them still if she hadn't been around. Water and Earth weren't justified either, not in this war.

[dannica]

She figured that she probably hurt his feelings about talking bad about the Fire, and felt bad about it immediately. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that...it was rude of me." Of course, he never showed his feelings, but that doesn't mean that they weren't there. Some people were just got at masking their feelings. Dani wished she were one of them.

She shook her head, trying to clear up what she meant. "That's not what I meant. What I meant was..." She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Nevermind. Let's just drop it. I think I already offended you enough, and I"m sorry about that." She was probably getting on his bad side already, she didn't need to enhance it. She liked him, and she didn't want him to stop liking her for some misunderstanding.

She shrugged at his next comment, sort like a mixture of un-care and uncertainty. "Oh I don't know. All of this is new to me. It's just that they way things look now, I don't know if four more years of school is what I need. And plus...I don't even know what I want to do in my life." She honestly didn't and it frustrated her to no end. She hears her friends talk about their future plans, and when they turn to her, she only shrugged and stated that she had no idea. She felt like she needed to hurry up and decide what she wanted to do and fast.

She sighed again, clearly frustrated that her viewpoint was misinterpreted once again. Maybe it was her fault for not going into detail with the explanation. She was known to be misunderstood. "That's not what I meant either. I think we should change the subject." She had to think of something they both shared in interest, yet something not too personal.

"What type of books do you like to read, if you like reading that is?"




Dani's Outfit here!

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

The Fire graduate drew a slow and calming breath when she apologised, closing his eyes and nodding to show that he had heard. He was making an effort not to lose his temper because he knew that Dannica did not deserve to deal with an angry Josh right now. His rage was often irrational and caused more problems than it was worth. Especially with friends, or with people that he did not mean to take it out on. After the moment of calming silence he nodded to himself. "It's okay," he decided. She hadn't meant him to take offence to it and he had to keep that in mind when judging her words. It was hard for him, being such an angry person, but not impossible. This is Dannica. She's not a bad person. She didn't mean any harm.

He supposed that he could understand everything being kind of confusing, especially when you were only in the ninth grade. He wouldn't really know from experience, however, as he'd aspired to being a doctor since a young age and had actually managed to stick with that decision. He also had plenty of friends that jumped from aspiration to aspiration like fleas. "You've got plenty of time," he reminded her simply, shrugging. "Don't rush yourself." If you tried to find the place where you belonged in life a little too quickly you often failed before you could even get off the ground. He had taken after his father and knew what he wanted, Dani did not. Nothing wrong with that, he thought to himself.

Changing the subject sounded like a good idea to him. His short temper was really having an affect on the previously cheery conversation and so he wanted to save her the trouble of angering him even more. To what, thought? He frowned thoughtfully, trying to think of something. He was not very good at casual conversation. He considered a great deal of questions personal and thus would not poke and prod into the lives of others--sometimes he even avoided doing so with Nell, and she was his girlfriend whom he trusted more than anything. Jeez, this was more difficult than he'd thought. He'd already went to his usual safe zone in asking about school. He didn't mind answering questions about school so he usually figured most other people wouldn't get too offended, either.

Dannica seemed more adept at this than he was, seeing as she immediately touched on something that was both safe and enjoyable. Books, of course. Does she like to read? Maybe he'd ask, but first he had to answer the question. "I read a lot of things," he said honestly, his lips twitching with amusement. "Mostly non-fiction. I like to read about things that have actually happened. I read a lot of history." Being that it was his best and favourite subject, he knew a lot about history books. He'd read almost all of the books in the Academy library that were in the history section and even re-read a couple of them. Reading was a good past-time for him, even if some people thought it was boring. Wait... if I like reading? If? He realised the way she'd phrased the question and almost laughed, though he held it back. She really didn't know much about him. "I love reading," he assured her with a wave of his hand. "What about you?"

[dannica]

So, yeah. This was pretty awkward, and bad. She just so happened to piss of probably the scariest guy on campus. Luckily, though, he didn't take his anger out on her. She was lucky for that. She's glad that he saw that she did not mean to hurt any feelings that he had, even though he was very good at hiding them.

She nodded at his reply. "Yeah, I guess I do." Then why does she feel so rushed into making decision now? Like he said, she had more than enough time to decide what she wanted to do. She thinks that she probably has some sort of anxiety disorder. Her mother said that she shows symptoms. Dani was in denial, of course, but now she's thinking that maybe the older woman was right.

She smiled brightly at his reading comments. "I love reading as well...and writing." She had a journal that she writes in every once in a while. It was personal, of course, which is why she didn't mention it to him. She raised an eyebrow at his reading choice. "Nonf-fiction?" She question. It was odd. She didn't see him as a non-fiction reader. Heck, she didn't see him as a reader as all, and wouldn't have known if he didn't tell her at their last meeting. "Me? I like fiction. I love romance and supernatural and mystery. I have my guilty pleasure with the ones with vampires and forbidden love."

She just so happened to look at her watch to see that it was 5 past the hour. "Oh no," she said and wrapped her head phones around. "Class started 5 minutes ago!" She back up at him and smiled. "It was nice meeting you again Josh...and under better circumstances. I'll see you later!" She waved and then took off towards the direction of her class building.


Dani's Outfit here!

((NOTE: Thanks for putting up with me and my slowness! And sorry for the quick leave of the thread. I'm trying to shut down current threads I have so I won't leave people in waiting. <333))