Yeah. That's all.
He glanced over at Logan, who was taking a curiously long time to answer. He and Oz were looking back and forth at each other, like —
"Oh mygod," Ashton gasped, then laughed at how big Logan's eyes got. "His nerdery is catching, isn't it? Did Oz make you play one of those games of his or something?"
Logan had flushed fully red-faced by now, but he stammered out a low "No," all the same. "We were just…just s-studying."
Ashton doubled over, howling with laughter. "I'll bet," he gasped out. "And what levelisyour elf, then?"
"C'mon, Ashton," Logan whined —Oh god, the little dweeb reallyisrubbing off on him, isn't he?— his eyes darting to just past Ashton's shoulder. "You're gonna get us all in — "
"Trouble?" a new voice cut in.
Ashton frowned. "Fuck off, cocksucker," he said, turning around to face the interloper who'd interrupted Logan.
…only to find himself on the receiving end of a toothy grin from a guy with the most ridiculous pink mohawk Ashton had ever seen in his life. Well, barring every Thursday morning from 9:00-12:00 am in Room 314 of the Navarro Building.
"You." Ashton scowled up at the jerk from his MassComm class; Derrick, or David, or Diego or something. "Did you loseyour fucking phone? I must've texted you a dozen times. Our damned project's due in two weeks, and I'm not gonna let you shaft me by taking credit while I do all the work!"
But the asshole’s grin only got bigger.
“Yeeeeeaaaahhh,” he saidslowly with a smugness that left Ashton bristling. “I'm going to have to ask you to keep it down or leave the lab.”
Ashton frowned. “Why the fuck would I do that? I'm a student, I've a right to be here. My tuition paid for all this shit,” he said, knocking the nearby computer mouse aside with the back of his hand.
“Abuse of lab property,” the jerk said, nodding at the computer mouse. “Abuse of staff, failure to abide by lab rules – “ and here he pointed to the sign on the wall just over the computer station that said, ‘Please respect your fellow lab users and keep noise to a minimum.’
Ashton scoffed. “Oh, get over yourself. I was only – “
“But mostly,cabrón,” the guy interrupted again smoothly, as if nothing Ashton said actually mattered. “You’re so drunk I can smell it from here, and you're causing a problem in my lab.”
“So what,cabrón?” Ashton volleyed back loud as he pleased, crossing his arms over his chest. Heat had flushed through his cheeks at hearing that word again, though more at the memory of having to ask his Tio Miguel what that word had meant and being laughed at, than at having it used on him now. “It's called free speech. Look it up.”
“It's called the University Code of Conduct, which you signed to go here,” the asshole said, rolling his eyes. “Which means this is your second and final warning: either you take your ass outside, or I call campus security to escort you there.”
“Oh, does it,amigo?” Ashton smirked, satisfaction surging through him as he got to his feet and found himself towering over the guy by at least a few inches. And with his fraternity brothers by his side as backup – well, with Logan, that was – Ashton was confident this little twerp would realize just how outclassed he was. “You wanna go? Let's take this outside, then.”
The jerk glared up at him, but then set his shoulders and flicked his thumb to the exit at the front of the lab.
Ashton nodded, a grin splitting his face as he led the charge. "C'mon Logan. How about you and I teach this guy some manners?"
The sunlight was blinding as he burst through the computer lab's heavy security doors and into the paved courtyard beyond, but Ashton wasn't about to let that stop him.
"Alright, so how do you want to do this?" Ashton shouted back over his shoulder as he spun around on his heel, his arms out wide as much for effect as for balance and —
And he turned to find himself alone, the lab door whispering solidly shut behind him.
What. The. Fuck.
Ashton waited a moment, adrenaline and reality clashing in a bright flare right between his eyes. But no one followed him out; the light glaring off the tall glass panels set into the doors turning all of them into mirrors. Four Ashtons gaped back at him in disbelief, frowning to find —
"Thatasshole!"
— himself abandoned outside. Fishing his student ID from his back pocket, he stalked toward the closest one. Blowing the door open with a shove from one hand while he tapped the ID sensoron the wall with the other, Ashton set his hands on the bar of the next and —
And nothing, sending him smacking face-first into the solid security door and howling with the pain. Hand covering his aching brow, Ashton tried the door handle again, shoving down on the bar only to find it didn't budge even a centimeter. He tapped his ID to the sensor, but the little red light didn't change to green, nor on the second or third try.
Shit. The lab is filled with computers. There has to be some kind of security, right?
