Don't You Worry [Ashton]

[koda]

Friday was more than Hannoly could have asked for. She got out of class early, only going to her first one, getting an excuse that her head was acting up again. She felt a little bad, using her concussion as an excuse to get out of school, but she needed to get away. She felt crowded again. Torn. This war thing was getting out of control. She was sick of everyone fighting all of time, and she was worried about her sister. She just needed to get out of the school for a little bit, walk around, calm her nerves. She left a note on her dorm door, along with sending a note to Nell, telling her not to worry, and that she would be back soon and she was safe. She also sent the Earth girl a text, but if she knew Nell, the girl would send someone after Noly, just to double check. Nell always pulled the motherly role when it came to Noly.

After hours of endless walking, she found herself on the beach down in Maple Hollow. A sigh escaped her lips. It was too cold for a swim, but she didn't really care about that right now. She found a bench near the entrance and sat, bending down to pull off her boots and socks. She stuffed the socks inside the boots and picked them up, carrying them at her side before she stood again, walking towards the water's edge. A soft smile came across her features. The water always did that to her. But as soon as her bare toes touched the frigid waters, she remembered the reason she went. Her sister. Tase had been more agressive than usual lately, and it worried Noly more than ever. The last thing she wanted was to have to go up against her twin sister in any sort of fight. She had no idea what side Tase was going to choose and it scared her to the core.

She fought against the tears and the screams that wanted to escaped as she sunk down onto her knees in the cold sand. Everything was just so frustrating. She pounded her fists into the sand before finally looking up. The sky was already growing dark. How long had she been there, just sitting? It didn't matter, she wasn't about to leave now. The water was supposed to calm her mind, but it was only giving her more distress, she needed to figure out why.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Words :: 415
Tagged :: Ashton
Outfit :: HERE

[ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH]

Damn, saving up for an apartment was rough. Ashton had made the decision to go to college at the Academy a while ago, honestly, but he hadn't really come to terms with it until the summer. He wanted to stay here. He'd grown to like the Academy and the charm of Maple Hollow and he knew that the school in the mountains would be his first pick for a college choice. He loved his powers and wanted to further his studies in them but that wouldn't be an option if he went to his parents' preferred school back home. Maybe he could major in something like botany or plant biology... did the Academy even offer things like that? He hoped so. It would be perfect for an Earth elemental like him. Don't get too ahead of yourself. The thought was slightly sad. He didn't even know if he'd be able to afford an apartment. He was saving up for a few months' rent and some basic furniture so that he'd had some time to get settled and get a job to actually keep it. He'd planned this out, he just wasn't sure about the execution.

It was this quest that brought Ashton to the beach that day. They'd had exams in the morning and then been let out for the rest of the Friday. The hopeful Earth had landed himself an odd job or two over the course of the year and right now he was busy clearing up the small beach in preparation of its closing for the winter. He liked that they were not required to wear any sort of uniform or pick up trash with their hands--he didn't think he'd have taken it, then. It was just a simple job with a payout at the end, hence why it had appealed to him. Ashton was always afraid to commit to anything that required too much effort, afraid that he would fail and leave himself stranded. There wasn't much chance to fail here. He'd taken the job along with a girl called Yasmin, a long-time friend of his. Well, long time for Ashton. They'd met in his freshman year. "I think we're done," he said, emerald eyes sweeping the cleared beach. His gaze fell upon a figure he hadn't noticed before, distracting him so much that he didn't hear the next thing Yas said. "Sorry, what?" His tone was genuinely apologetic and she seemed to understand.

"I said I was going to go tell the guy that hired us, dummy. Wanna come?" Ashton shook his head, however, having realised that he recognised the lone figure. "You go ahead, I'll catch up." She seemed to consider this for a moment and then shrugged, jogging off back in the direction they'd come. Ashton, meanwhile, drew closer to the sitting girl. "Hey NoNo," he greeted, having correctly recognised her even from farther off. He never forgot the face of a friend. Or, in this case, the back of her head. "Aren't you cold?" he asked with concern. "This isn't your ideal day to be on the beach..." He did not realise that she was suffering from any sort of upset or depression. He was sometimes oblivious to things like this, even when it was his friends who were suffering. Once he did notice, if he noticed, he was very supportive, at least. He was a good guy, just a bit spacey.

[koda]

Noly was perfectly content until she felt a disturbance with the water. Someone was coming. She didn't turn, though, until she heard the voice. That was when the tears came. She didn't even hesitate. She turned right around and grabbed onto Ashton's leg. She didn't move for a few minutes until she finally backed away, wiping the tears off of her cheeks and chin. "I'm sorry, Ash...I didn't mean to.." She wiped the remaining tears off and pulled her knees up to her chin. She took a deep breath, looking out onto the horizon. She tried her best to compose herself, though, not wanting one of her best friends to be worried about her. Of course, she had heard his words before she broke down and finally shivered, the freezing water lapping at her toes. "You know...It is a bit cold.." She shrugged though, keeping her boots at her side. "I don't mind it, though."

She knew she was rambling, but Ash was used to that by now. She held her knees even closer as she simply stared at the sunset that was slowly darkening. She looked down at her watch, it was almost eight, how did she let all of those hours slip away? That's when she realized something. "What are you doing out here, anyways?" She hadn't even thought to ask him that, mainly because she was too busy wallowing in her confusion and sadness. "And I'm really sorry about that...I just..Have a lot on my mind I guess." She gave another shrug before she looked back at her toes. They were starting to turn blue, but the water was finally doing what it was supposed to, calm her. She was glad for that. Well, it was mostly the water, but it was probably also because one of her best friends was with her now, which was always a calming factor in her eyes.

((Wow...Told you I had to force it out xD))

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH]

[Hello Ashton muse o.o]

Ashton didn't flinch or pull away when she grabbed his leg, though it did make him jump a little in surprise. He was an easily startled guy and he hadn't exactly been expecting that sort of move. However, he sensed that the girl needed some sort of comfort and thus when she let go he sank down beside her, not even caring as the water started to seep through his shoes. It was freezing as hell and he definitely regretted it for a moment as it shocked his skin but his friends were more important to him than the cold. He wanted Noly to be alright even though he had no idea why she looked so down. He wasn't a mind reader but she wasn't being bubbly or cheerful or anything like that so it tipped him off pretty quickly. "It's okay," he said in that soft, understanding sort of tone he reserved for his friends. The Earth elemental even managed to smile at her, his green gaze pleasant. "Are you going to be alright?" He might not have known what was going on but that didn't mean it did not matter to him.

He noticed her shivering and shrugged off his jacket, holding it out to her. It was just like him to try and fix all the small problems when he had no idea what to do about the entire situation at hand. Friends of Ashton that had ever been through a tough time in their lives could vouch for how caring and sweet he was toward them. He didn't often know how to fix things and so he just tried in the best ways he could. It was pathetic sometimes but it wasn't for lack of effort. "You'll freeze," he told her with a frown that was more worried than stern. He couldn't usually pull off any sort of anger or stern emotion. Ashton Raleigh just wasn't built to be the bad guy. The only exception had been with Asha--she'd broke his heart, though, and Noly had done anything but. "Look at you, your toes are turning blue," he said with distress as he noticed. "You'll end up with hypothermia if you aren't careful, Noles!" Could you actually get hypothermia from cold toes? Well, shoot him, 'cause he had no idea. He thought it might be a risk, though, so he still fretted about it.

He blinked when she asked him what he was out for. Typically, he'd gotten so caught up in what was wrong with Noly that he'd forgotten to think about himself. "Oh, just earning a bit of money," he told her truthfully. Ashton was not secretive in the least. Perhaps it was the lack of real tragedy in his past but he didn't mind telling his friends what he was up to or how he was feeling at any given time, just as long as he knew it wouldn't drag their moods down. He'd sometimes neglect to inform them of any sadness or melancholy so that they didn't grieve for his negative emotions because seeing his friends upset because of him was never a good thing. "I'm saving up for college and stuff." He wanted to stay here for college, he really did. He loved it here and he'd miss his friends way too much if he left. He still felt guilty for going behind his parents' backs but, hey, a guy has to do what he can, right? Then something struck him--Noly was graduating this year, wasn't she? Not wanting to lose her, he seemed almost anxious as he asked, "Are... are you staying for college, too?"

He smiled at his best friend and shook his head when she apologised. There was never any need to apologise to him, honestly. "Don't," he insisted. "I'm always here for ya, NoNo, you know that!" His expression was bright but still touched with that concern that he felt for her. Shifting closer, he put his arm around his best friend in a comforting sort of gesture. "Do you want to talk about it, or...?" Though he normally had no sort of filter with questions, he did understand that anything making Hannoly this upset might be a little personal and he didn't want to cause offence. He also wouldn't protest if she didn't want to share it with him, he was just offering that proverbial (and literal, if she wanted) shoulder to cry on.

[koda]

When Ash sat down, Noly couldn't help but smile and scoot closer. Ash was a comfort magnet, and she just couldn't be repelled. She rested her head on his shoulder, mostly to hide the tears that were trying to come back. He was always so kind to her. Sometimes, she wished she would have stayed out of the friend zone with him, he was one of the people she wouldn't have minded having around as more. But that was done and over, and there was no turning back. Now he was just her best friend, and she could live with that. "Y..Yeah. I'll be alright, I think." She gave him a soft smile that he probably couldn't see, but it grew when he shrugged off his jacket. "Always the gentleman." She said with a small giggle before she took it, wrapping it around her own shoulders before settling back in against his.

Of course, she knew he would worry if he looked at her feet,and worry he did. She giggled though, and shook her head. "Don't worry about it for now. When they start turning purple, then you should worry. The water actually feels pretty warm to me now." She nuzzled his shoulder for emphasis before giving him another giggle. She gave him a gentle nudge before pulling her toes in, grinning. "Don't worry, if I get too cold, I'll tell you." She knew she had to be straight forward with a few things with Ash, he was a bright kid, but sometimes he just couldn't get stuff right off. She didn't mind though, she could be oblivious at times, herself.

When he said he was there earning money, it made Noly think a little bit. What did Ash have to save for? Then it hit her, right about the time he said the words. College. Noly already had her college fund all saved. Most of it was from her grandmother, but she had sold a lot of her paintings to help out, too. She was basically using them to cover the cost of books and supplies. "Y..You know..If you ever need help...I could always sell one of my paintings for you, Ash." She gave him a grin, but then it fell. She hoped he wouldn't think she was using him as a charity case, because that was far from the point. Ashton was her best friend, and she would do anything she could to help him out and keep him close. She was just glad he was staying too, she didn't really know what she'd do without him around. So when he asked if she was staying, all she could do was grin. "Of course, silly. You didn't think I would leave you all by yourself, did you?" She gave a bright giggle and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

Of course, that was right about the same time he put his arm around her, so it worked better. She snuggled closer to him, mostly for comfort, but the body heat didn't hurt either. "Ash, I'm fine with talking about it..." She gave a shaky breath and snuggled her head deeper into his shoulder, which was more the crook of his neck now due to their kind of hug. "It's Tase...This whole war. I don't...Want to have to fight her, at all. We may not be the closest, but we're still sisters. I'm just afraid she'll get caught up and forget that." Another sigh came as she tried to calm herself to hold back her tears. "Plus, graduation is practically here. I've been apartment hunting, along with job hunting and nothing's coming up." SHe blushed then, saying the last part a bit quietly. It was a bit girly, something she wasn't really used to. "And then there's prom, and I still don't have a date.." She shook her head a bit before she shrugged. She'd wanted her Senior Prom to be special, like she'd read about in books, but she'd never had a boyfriend, let alone a date to any other dance..

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH]

Always someone to cling to any sort of optimism or hope, Ashton was not going to allow himself to doubt Hannoly when she told him she would be alright. He wanted his friend to be okay and so he was easily persuaded into believing her. "I'm glad," he said earnestly. The sooner she was able to pull herself out of the darker mood the better. He liked his friends to be happy and smiling whenever possible. Though sometimes naive, even Ashton understood that this wasn't always how the world worked--didn't stop him from hoping, though. "You needed it more than I do," he chuckled, feeling that this was very true. It was cold, sure, but Noly had been sitting on the beach likely for a longer time than he was and she'd had her feet in the frigid waters as well. It only made sense that she would be freezing whereas he was pretty sure he could handle the biting chill. He remembered Asha for a moment and how warm she'd always been but then squashed that train of thought immediately. She was warm until she dumped me, yeah. It shut his mind up pretty fast. Whilst his ex had not exactly 'dumped' him, leaving without any explanation, coming back and then leaving again as pretty much as good as.

Okay, so he did believe some things immediately, but it was going to be a bit hard to convince him that blue toes were not something he should be worried about. He'd always associated skin turning blue with bad things because that just didn't happen for no reason at all. "I still don't think it's safe," he protested with a concerned frown. He might have been gullible or easy to trust the opinions of others but that didn't mean he was a complete and total idiot or a child. He wouldn't accept something just because someone else said it, it took a little more convincing than that. "We don't have any fail-safe ways of warming you up if it gets too bad and I think the hospital is a bit far from here..." He was thinking in the long-term--what if her toes did start to turn colour to an apparently less desirable shade? What exactly did she plan to do then? The water was colder than the air itself for sure but the air was not enough to warm someone, not in his opinion anyway.

Though he appreciated his friend's offer, Ashton shook his head with a smile. "I wouldn't ask that of you." He knew it probably wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience for her but he still didn't want to ask a friend for help. He was not a proud person but he was aiming to show his parents that he could be responsible. It somehow felt right to raise the money himself, that way he could tell them that he'd earned the right to attend college at the Academy in a year's time. Is it really that close? He was mildly surprised as he realised that he was almost a senior. Though his grades fluctuated up and down depending on his classes and how difficult the course work was he was at least confident enough that he'd earned high enough grades to pass. He'd managed to keep his position, after all, and that required maintaining passing grades. They'd have told him if he was at risk, right? He smiled as Noly confirmed that she was staying. "I'd be so alone without you," he said dramatically, gripping her arm for a moment as if she were a lifeline. His green eyes sparkled as he joked with her, ever the humorous one.

He did not protest or even really mind as his best friend snuggled into his shoulder, not even when she got closer to his neck than anything else. He'd never been someone that minded physical affection or anything like that, not even with his friends. He listened sympathetically as she spoke about her sister. He did not have siblings at the Academy but he'd heard stories about the rivalries between some, especially those of different elements during the war. "Maybe the change of year will resolve this war," he said optimistically, leaning his head against hers for a moment as a sign of comfort before resuming his previous yet relaxed posture. "For now I guess you'll just need to try and stay out of fighting with her." He wished that he could give his friend some better advice but that was all he had at the moment. When she brought up the dance he was slightly surprised. "No one's asked you?" he said, sounding genuinely confused. She was such a good friend and she was pretty, too, so he didn't see why she had no date. He thought for a moment before quietly adding, "Well, we could always go together," he said, then, not wanting to make things awkward, added, "Erm, y'know, just as friends. So we don't have to go alone."

[koda]

As she sat, she could tell he was almost having a battle in his head. She didn't say anything, though, she knew what it was about. Her. She tried to rid the thoughts from her head, she didn't need anything else getting her down. It was hard to remember her troubles, anyways, with Ash being so sweet to her. He really was the ideal best friend. Of course, he was still going on about her toes. She couldn't help but giggle at him. "Ash..If it makes you feel better, we can move to a bench so me toes are no where near the water." She gave him a bright grin, hoping to make him happy. She knew that Ash worried a lot, so she usually tried her best to keep him happy and un-worried.

And there it was, the money rejection. She shook her head. "Come on. I'm not taking no for an answer. I still have paintings to sell, and I'm working on new ones. Pleeaaase. Think of it as an early graduation present." She gave him her best puppy dog eyes, which he usually couldn't resist. But it faded when he grabbed her arm and said he'd be alone without her. She gave a bright laugh and squeezed him in a gentle hug. "Oh Gods, what would I do without you, Ash?" She gave him a bright grin before she nuzzled him a bit, giving him yet another hug. Honestly, she didn't know what she'd do without the boy. He was her anchor, the one person besides Nell she could go to for help.

His advice came, then. Even though it wasn't always that great, it always helped, made her think more about everything. He was right. The new year could help everything, and maybe she could avoid her sister so they didn't have to fight. She was good at that. Well..Tase was anyways. She made it a habit to stay away from Noly..And then the words came. The words that made a deep blush come across her cheeks. She was glad for the cold wind, and she hoped that her cheeks had been red enough that he wouldn't be able to see the blush. "I..No..No one's asked me. Are you kidding me? I've never even had a boyfriend, Ash. Why would anyone ask me?" She shook her head with a sigh. Once again, at his next statement, she was grateful for the wind, because it made the blush even deeper. "I...Uh...Y..Yeah. W..We could do that." She knew she was stuttering, and she cursed herself for it. "Of course...As friends." She tried her best not to sound dissapointed, but she wasn't sure if she failed or not..

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH]

Ashton nodded in hasty agreement when she suggested the bench, definitely liking the idea of getting her away from the water before her toes really did go purple. Fire students could still suffer from burns so he was pretty sure the Water elementals were not immune to the cold even when it was caused by their own element. Ever the gentleman, Ashton stood first and offered his hand to help her up. He was like that toward all of his friends, female and male alike. If he got the sense that someone was proud and didn't like that kind of thing he'd usually take the hint eventually and back off but most people appreciated someone who was polite and understanding so he kept it up for the most part. "Bench spotted," he said with his usual air of joking dramatics. It was definitely more comfortable for him, too, even though it was still pretty cold. Why didn't they have a Fire elemental friend around? He didn't think he had any friends in the Fire element. His mind jumped to Asha again and he was (again) forced to shut down the thought. Damn it, when would he ever be over that?

Even when Hannoly pulled 'the face', Ashton was pretty determined that he wouldn't give in to this. He loved his friends and would never want to inconvenience them by taking money off them in any way. Hell, Asha had been the incredibly rich daughter of a famous designer and an MMA fighter and he still wouldn't have accepted a penny from her. Noly was an artist with no parents and rent to pay and, well, that was a lot more serious. He still had his parents and they would help him out if he was really in need. The only real reason he had to do all of this on his own was the fact that his parents didn't approve of his potential choice for college. They wanted him to stay home, he wanted to go to the Academy, they weren't likely to pay the tuition and apartment fees. True, he hadn't asked, but that was because he was sure he already knew the answer. He'd never told Noly that his parents didn't approve because he didn't want her to try and help him, didn't want her to feel like she had to. "I'll manage, you know I will," he said optimistically, believing it. He didn't want to think of what would happen if he failed so he just tried to look on the bright side. All the time. "Suffer and die a lonely, slow death," he said, placing his hand over his heart as if mourning. With a light laugh, he said, "You'd do fine, I'm sure."

He was still disbelieving toward the fact that she'd never had a boyfriend, had felt the same way about Nell in the beginning. He loved all of his friends--as friends, of course--and so he could never understand when some of them were single for long periods of time. Even he'd had his share of relationships, albeit those of the crash and burn (almost literally in the last one) variety. Damn Fire elementals. Most of his girlfriends before Asha had been Water and Wind, being that the 'friend zone' applied for most of the Earths. "They don't know what they're missing, then," he shrugged. He still felt bad though and that was why he offered for them to go together, instead. No one deserved having to show up alone. He hadn't been planning to bring a date (he was a leader and thus expected to go by default) because his wounds were still stinging over Asha but he wouldn't mind taking a friend-date. He also didn't detect the disappointment in her voice--he was not looking for a reaction beyond yes or no, so he didn't find one. "We'll need to meet up there, though," he explained. "I live down in Vancouver so I have to drive up for the dance."