Take your best shot (avec Ashton)

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner was bored. It was hard to believe anyone could be bored at a place like Hammel, which was literally teeming with meta-humans with cool powers, but nevertheless, Tanner had nothing to do. This wasn't exactly rare - Tanner usually just sort of hung out by himself when he wasn't cooking with Zac and Lindsey or talking about books with Morgana - but not only did he have nothing to do right now, he wanted to have something to do. This was rare, as Tanner used to be so content with his introverted lifestyle, but lately he'd been getting antsy. So he left his dorm room and started wandering around campus, ultimately finding himself at the student lounge.

Peering inside, he found it to be empty for possibly the first time. Usually there were a couple of kids here playing pool or hanging out on the couches, but he supposed everyone else had other things to do; he wasn't sure if he was disappointed there was nobody here, or happy he didn't have to introduce himself to any strangers. The blonde took a few steps over to the pool table, allowing one of his hands to run down the green velvet that stretched down the side of the table. He'd always wanted to play pool, but never had anybody to play with and didn't want to embarrass himself with his complete lack of skill. The television on the other side of the room was on but the volume was turned down, Jerry Seinfeld and his friends arguing about missing the movie because they weren't getting served at some Chinese restaurant. Elsewhere, one of the foosball polls made a soft squeaking sound as the plastic players perched upon it gently swayed back and forth, probably the remnants of a game that had taken place not all too long ago. But the room was empty now, and truth be told, this place was kind of creepy when there was nobody around; he hoped he wouldn't be alone here for much longer, or he'd have to go find something else to occupy his time.

[Ashton Harper]

Ashton Harper was not a wanderer. It was a miracle when he did wander. Especially as of late, he was always doing something. Whether it be hanging out with Avinea or Lucy or Tae or whoever! He was at his busiest. Until today. Today was one of those days where everyone he knew was busy besides him. And to be honest, he hated it. Being busy kept him moving and active without being able to think about his situation that he'd been put in. He liked being busy because it helped him get all of his pent up energy out.

Today though, he was stuck walking the campus after classes had ended and had no idea where he was going. Ash tried several rooms to see if anyone he knew was there so he could talk or something, then again, he didn't know that many people. He made his way to the lounge, determined to do something with his time. At least the student lounge had T.V. and pool tables and people. Of course, he'd been dead wrong about the last one. It was pretty deserted. The only person that was in the room was one guy.

Taking a better look, Ash tried to put a name to the familiar face. He knew this guy, vaguely, but he'd talked to him before. Maybe in a class or something. Who knew? He didn't want to seem creepy so he cleared his throat to let the other boy know he wasn't alone. It'd help if he could get a better look at the face. It started with a 'T' that he knew. "Hey man, you lookin' for someone?" He asked trying to break the awkward silence that filled the air. Not awkward, just a bit uncomfortable. The lounge was never this quiet. Maybe that was why it was making him squirm.



((OOC: Sorry if it's a bit crappy =/ ))

[Tanner Larson]

The temporary absorption Tanner had experienced with the green fabric of the pool table now having subsided, the blonde found that he was just as bored here in the student lounge as he had been back in his room; this entire trip, then, had been essentially a waste of his time. He was just about to leave, in fact, when he suddenly heard a noise - a throat clearing - coming from not too far behind him. His heart raced; after all, what were the chances that, of all of the students who went to Hammel, the person behind him was somebody he knew? He absolutely hated talking to strangers - kind of hypocritical for him to be at the lounge, then - and especially hated being put on the spot. He turned around sharply, finding a boy who looked to be around his age standing in the doorway. He looked familiar; they had surely met. Perhaps they'd had a class together the semester before? He was usually fairly good at remembering faces, so most likely they had met once or something and that was it.

He didn't say anything at first, but it wasn't long at all before the other boy addressed him. He felt like an idiot then, standing there in the middle of an empty room by himself. "Oh, um... no, no, not particularly," he said, giving a rather sheepish smile and a shrug of his shoulders. "Just, ya know..." He shrugged again, realizing there was absolutely no way of finishing that sentence without sounding like a complete loser. So he wouldn't.

[Ashton Harper]

Tanner! That was it! Or at least, he thought it was. The guy looked like he could be a Tanner. Ash was so bad with names he figured it was probably wrong. Maybe he'd say it and then Ash would be off the hook? Or he'd just feel bad for not knowing the guy's name. Or both. Most likely both. He couldn't help it, having one class with a guy didn't mean you were best buds and it didn't mean you HAD to remember the name...right? Ash was confusing himself. At least the guy looked familiar, that was good.

"Got it, wandering? Same here. I swear it's like everyone is busy." He shook his head slightly and frowned. Then he looked around the room and back at the pool table, "It's really weird that this place is more or less deserted. Creepy really." He looked back up at the boy and ran his fingers through his hair. Why was this so awkward? Oh right, because Ash had no clue what the guy's name was! That tended to make conversations a little difficult.

"Didn't we have a class together?" Ash finally asked because he was sick of feeling dumb. At least this way he could know if the guy was familiar. Maybe even re-introduce himself. That was the smart thing to do. And let's face it, Ash had a pretty face and all, but he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

[Tanner Larson]

Well, Tanner felt a lot less dumb knowing he wasn't the only kid on campus wandering around aimlessly like a lost dog. And hell, if this cute kid could have nothing to do, then maybe Tanner wasn't such a loser after all. Maybe. "Heh, yeah, I was thinking the same thing," he said with regards to the room, looking about just as the other boy was. "Guess I'm used to it being more full..."

This was definitely awkward; and Tanner knew awkward. Had a love affair with it, really. But he was becoming certain he recognized this kid, and in fact was opening his mouth to say so - completely against every fiber of his being, which was screaming at him not to make a fool of himself - when the other man beat him to it, sparing him the embarrassment. Well, he had to admire the other's guts... "I was actually wondering the same thing," he admitted with a slight blush. "I think so, but... heh, well, I'm Tanner, at any rate," he said, extending a hand in the other's direction. "Tanner Larson."

[Ashton Harper]

Ashton nodded, "Me too, it's always packed whenever I come in here to shoot pool with a friend. I wonder what everyone could be so busy with." He muttered more to himself than anything. He felt so lame for being one of the few people who had nothing to do. Then again, at least he wasn't alone anymore. Wouldn't want Zac to find out he was acquainted with a loner type. And Ash plans on staying on Zac's good side. He's seen what happens when you aren't.

When the boy mentioned his name, Ash nearly made a fool of himself...oh wait, "I knew it!" He fist pumped and then realized he probably looked really dumb. "Oh um, I mean, I'm Ashton. Ash Harper." He took the boy's hand and shook it. Well this boy wouldn't be using his powers for however long he was around Ash. Which to Ash was good because pyros freaked him out. They were always burning stuff! And people!

Ash looked at the pool table and his fingers itched to play. He was pretty good at playing, him and his dad had played a lot when he was younger. Finally his desire to play overtook him and he grabbed a pool stick, "Do you play?" He asked Tanner.

[Tanner Larson]

Had Tanner only known that Ashton was thinking about what Zac would think of him being a loner, he would have laughed, likely out loud. Tanner was a total loner - he had, what, three or four real friends at Hammel? - but Zac was one of those people, and was well aware of his introverted nature. And yes, he occasionally teased him about it, but then again, he occasionally teased him about nearly everything and so it wasn't that unique.

What did make Tanner laugh, though, was when Ashton pumped his fists upon hearing his name. It didn't surprise him that the other recognized his name after hearing it; he was the type of kid who participated in class a lot - despite his meek nature, he liked showing off all that he knew - so if they'd had a class together before, it would make sense that Ashton would have heard his name several times. "Ash," he repeated as their hands connected. "It's nice to me-" Suddenly, Tanner felt the warmth seeping out of his body. As a pyro, the blonde normally had an abnormally high body temperature, but suddenly he felt at least a few degrees colder, his internal body temperature dropping a bit due to Ashton's ability to suppress powers. Even though his body temperature was now that of a normal human, it felt very cold relative to what Tanner was used to, and he shivered involuntarily - he was, after all, wearing short sleeves in the middle of February. "uh... nice to meet you," he finished, gulping; he didn't know what power Ashton had, but based on the fact that he was suddenly a lot colder, he had a feeling he knew. No matter: he was sure his body temperature would rise back up fairly soon.

Following Ashton's line of sight over to the pool table, Tanner gave a small smile; he had been wanting to play as well, so when the other boy asked if he did, he nodded his head. "Yeah," he said - this wasn't quite a lie, but he wasn't very good - "was just about to ask you the same thing. Wanna rack 'em up?"

[Ashton Harper]

Ash was so not social sometimes. It was a wonder he actually remembered the boy's name. He preferred being quiet and if someone felt the need to talk to him, he was nice and would talk, but he didn't like striking up conversation usually. Had there been more people in the student lounge, he probably wouldn't have said anything to Tanner, but since it was only them, he felt the need to actually start small talk. Crazy stuff.

Okay, so Ash was a total nerd. Not only that, but he tended to make a total fool of himself in front of everyone he knew at least once. In front of girls...more than once. Luckily, he wasn't stuttering so much. Tae had helped him conquer his fail at talking. But the fact that he'd made Tanner laugh by his even bigger fail, made him laugh too. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. The boy's hand connected with Ash's and his voice cut off. Ash knew why, it didn't really bother him much, but it seemed to freak the other guy out. He looked down a little embarrassed and cracked a small smile, "Sorry, that'd be my power that you're feeling."

He smiled wider when he said he played. Ash walked over to the table and started racking the balls up as Tanner grabbed a stick. He pulled off the triangle thing and none of the pool balls moved. He stepped back with a nod at his handy work.