Legally Blonde | Lashton AU

3 ; blood in the water

Harvard was not a very bright place. It was a little dark, a bit dreary, but it was still hailed as one of the best schools in America. It was extremely difficult— not to mention expensive— to get accepted as one of its students. A scholarship was nearly impossible. You'd be considered lucky just to get on the waiting list; applying for Harvard was a student's own personal hell.

While there is the hard way, some people find other ways to get in easy. Some people got in through connections, some got in through money. Some even got in by sleeping with a lawyer. Ashton Irwin, however, was not like that.

He was a poor kid. He wasn't born into privilege. He was raised so that he had high self-respect, he would never even consider doing any of the above things to get into Harvard. Ashton was not that kind of person.

He had to suffer to get into the school. When he did get in, some would say that it wasn't worth it. They told him to go home. He was ridiculed, humiliated, verbally attacked— such other things, but he persevered. He was given a chance. Not once did he ever take it for granted. Years ago, nobody trusted him. He was just a runt. Now, though, he's proved himself. Partly.

Ashton knew what it was like to suffer, so usually he was the one who was assigned to speak to the freshmen. He could empathize— or, well, warn them about what was to come. Every year he'd hand out the syllabi, but he didn't think he'd seen a bunch like this before.

"Morning, everyone. I'm Ashton Irwin," he introduced. "Batch of '14. Represent. Welcome to Harvard. It was only a few years ago that I was lining up here, like you. I can relate to your struggles. You've all worked very hard, I know. Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

"Mr. Styles, you start," Ashton encouraged.

A tall man with long brown hair cleared his throat. He looked regal, like a prince. Ashton didn't usually see these types of guys around the school. "I'm Harry Styles, and I'm a baker. I came here because I want to be a lawyer—there isn't really much to know."

Ashton pulled a tight smile. "Right. How about you, Ms... Frangipane?"

"My name is Ashley Frangipane," said a girl with short, blonde cropped hair. Probably bleached. She was kind of pretty, Ashton thought. She had a sort of dignified, expensive air about her. This new batch was just full of rich kids.

Ashley cleared her throat, her chin held high. "I've done a lot before coming here. I did a bunch of volunteer work overseas, like helping out refugees from the Middle East, cleaning up natural watersheds, and saving endangered animals from dumbass old poachers."

"That's nic—"

"Of course, that's not why I'm here. America's pretty fucked up; I'm here to fix it. I'll become a lawyer— maybe a senator, and get this country back on track. Others just don't have the guts. I'm pretty sure that I do." Ashley looked extremely self-confident. Ashton didn't know if she could pull it off, but he kept those thoughts to himself.

Just as he thought that, a figure dressed in all-pink approached them, leading a small, blonde dog on a pink bejeweled leash. Luke. Ashton blinks; he couldn't believe this was one of the students. But then again, maybe the guy was just really into pink. He knew he shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

The blonde dressed in pink turned to Ashley, snapping his fingers. "Oh, I love your top. So fatigue chic! How is everyone? Snaps! First day at Harvard."

A silence. Ashton was a little baffled. He sure was energetic; he didn't seem like... the lawyerly type. He seemed more like a California girl; like the Katy song. Except, well, he didn't really have sun-kissed skin. The guy was pretty pale.