for the art of war (lashton)

3. new school, new friends

Soon the weekend ended and Luke had only barely completed his homework on time. His Monday morning started off pretty hectic but gladly without any car wrecks. His first class had a pop quiz and he dropped all his textbooks down the stairs trying to get to his second class. Students stared and he heard a few of them quietly laughing but only one person helped him. He was a boy with skunk-colored hair who seemed like he, too, was trying to stifle a laugh at Luke's misfortune. 

"Hey, you're a freshman right?" the boy asked as he handed Luke back his Physics and Calculus books. "Don't feel bad, most people don't care about freshmen. I'm only helping you out because I like to think I'm a nice person." This boy also had an Australian accent but it actually seemed like there was a pretty even spread of students from other countries and it didn't take Luke by surprise like it did when he first heard Ashton speak. 

Luke took the books back from him and carefully balanced them in his arms. "Well, thank you, actually," Luke said. "I've had a pretty rough first week. My name's Luke."

"Michael," the other boy clarified. "We have the same Physics class together," he added. "I think. Well anyway, I've gotta get going, see you around I guess." 

This was the first time anyone, besides Ashton, had spoken to Luke since school began, and it kind of relieved a bit of stress from Luke, knowing that he now had someone he was free to talk to. 

By the time lunch came around, Luke's hand physically couldn't move from writing so many notes. Michael found him during lunch and came over to sit by Luke with another friend whom he'd introduced as Calum. Calum was really energetic and overall seemed like a fun guy to hang around, and it felt like Luke had known him his entire life. They spent much of their lunch talking about FIFA and Luke found it comforting being able to eat lunch with other people. It wasn't boring anymore and he actually looked forward to it now.

---

Once school ended, Luke made it his priority to go job-hunting, which was kind of terrifying because he'd never actually done it before. He only had a few-thousand more dollars to last him, plus he needed to pay Ashton. First Luke made a quick stop at his apartment and after grabbing a yogurt out of the fridge, he went to change his clothes. Sifting through his closet, he found the clean jeans he was looking for and wore a simple red flannel over a Vans t-shirt on top. He took out his lip piercing and fixed his hair quickly in the bathroom. Walking past the kitchen, he threw the empty yogurt cup in the trash, grabbed his messenger bag, and locked up his apartment before taking a stroll through Seattle.

Luke liked walking through Seattle. Though he'd only been here for a month, he felt like there were always things happening here and, of course, the weather wasn't nearly quite as scorching as Australia. It rained a lot in this part of America, which gave the air a bit of a clean feel. Luke honestly didn't know the area very well and he was really just hoping he could stop by a few shops to see if they were hiring. The sidewalks were a little busier than usual, as well as the traffic at this time of the day.

Luke made his first stop at a bakery in fairly close proximity from his apartment. Taking one step in the little bakery, Luke was shocked by how busy it was. Everyone had just gotten off work and apparently was craving a donut or something. Luke joined in the line and fixed his shirt as the line moved forward. After a few minutes of waiting, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Sitting at the far end of the bakery next to the windows was Ashton, and he wasn't alone. Laughing with him at the table was a beautiful blonde girl, and Luke left that place in a matter of seconds before even speaking to the manager. 

Seeing Ashton while going job-hunting was ironic, to say the least. If it wasn't for Ashton, Luke would probably be able to make it a couple more months before needing to find employment. If it wasn't for Ashton, Luke could be at home catching up on homework. If it wasn't for Ashton, Luke would probably be a lot less stressed out. 

Luke walked a few more blocks, passing several groups of rowdy teenagers and somber businessmen, before he found his next chance. It was a quiet little music store that sat at the corner of an intersection. Peering through the windows there was a row of guitars at the far end of the store hanging on the wall which caught Luke's attention. Luke was, in fact, quite musical. He didn't take music seriously but rather more as a hobby. He'd learned to play the guitar as a kid and actually brought his guitar with him to America. Luke felt like he had a good chance stealing a job at this place, so he pushed open one of the doors and took a step inside. 

---

Luke bragged about his new job at lunch with Calum and Michael the next day. He was really looking forward to beginning work and he was pretty proud of himself for scoring a job so easily. 

"Look at you," Michael said. "You're over here getting a job and sorting out your life while I train Pokemons." 

"I'm sure you could probably find a nice career path with that," Calum chirped. "You could become a professional real-life Pokemon trainer or something." 

"Right, Calum," Michael shot back, "because those exist." Calum shrugged in response. 

"So, you play the guitar?" Calum said to Luke. 

"Well, yeah," Luke answered. "Not seriously or anything, but I play it to pass the time." 

"Well that's sexy," Calum said while taking down a spoonful of mashed potatoes. "Watch as all the girls ditch Ashton and come crawling to you." 

Luke suddenly tensed up in both surprise and annoyance. "What do you mean?"

"The guitar's kind of like a dog-whistle for—"

"No," Luke cut Calum off. "I mean... you know Ashton? Ashton Irwin?" 

Calum and Michael exchanged a glance. "Yeah, what about him?"

"Nothing— I was just— I didn't know he was... popular."

Calum laughed. "Yeah, everyone knows Ashton. He's just a nice guy. I've never really seen him not like someone."

"Except he doesn't play FIFA, so we're not really friends," Michael threw in as he stabbed the mashed potatoes on his plate with a fork.

Luke scoffed and looked away, refraining from rolling his eyes. Of course Ashton's a nice, charming person. Luke would know first-hand. 

"You look pissed," Michael noted after Luke didn't respond. "You not like him?" he teased jokingly. As the end of lunch approached, the cafeteria slowly emptied out and the chatter quieted down. The emptiness of the room was refreshing. 

The bell rang and the three boys got up and began hurrying to get to their next class. "Yeah I guess you could say that."