A/N: I know this is really weird but I couldn't help it. D: I had to write it. Though I DO hate having an odd number of fics and I need to get my ass back to work on Fragments of Heaven. Sorry…I just kind of have taken a slight liking to orangeshipping, though I prefer this pairing with Japanese personalities since I'm not a fan of Bastion but I really like Misawa. O.o But this is humorous and its purpose is not just for a pairing. You'll see what I mean. ANYWAY it's based off season one…my favorite season. Lol. I miss writing about season one. DX Expect moar fics about season one now. XD
Disclaimer: I do not own GX.
"Excuse me, Bastion. A moment of your time."
Bastion stopped before he stepped out of Professor Banner's classroom, and turned towards the kind teacher. "What is it?"
"Well, this may seem somewhat out of the blue but…" Professor Banner sighed and stroked Pharaoh's fur, looking a little concerned, "Jaden has been doing horribly in all of his classes. I'm worried that he might not pass this year because he puts forth no effort at all. He's become quite infamous amongst the teachers due to his poor grades and lack of motivation. We don't dislike him or anything, quite the contrary. It would just be a shame for such talent to go to waste. So we've talked it over and we think it would be best if Jaden got a tutor to help him do his homework and monitor him in class and studying and everything. We were wondering if you were up to the challenge? We asked Zane but he said no."
Bastion blinked, and thought for a moment, taking the information in. "Hmm, sounds like something I could do. All right, I'll do my best."
"That's a relief," Professor Banner sighed, hugging Pharaoh tighter, "He won't fail my class, by any means. I like him too much. But he failed all his exams…" He laughed nervously.
"All of them?!" Bastion gasped, his eyes widened, "Great Scott!"
"I know," Professor Banner laughed again, "Quite a shock, isn't it? Well, at any rate, unless he can pass all of his tests from here on, then he will be held back. So I really hope you can help him find motivation to do so."
"Don't worry," Bastion assured him, "I'll make certain that he manages to pass."
That was easier said than done.
Jaden sat at his desk before class started, swinging his legs and humming as he doodled pictures of Elemental Heroes all over his notebook. Even since the night before, he had been drawing, unable to stop. Perhaps it was because he was frustrated that there was no one to duel with, and this was his way of getting it out of his system. He was completely engrossed in this activity; so much so, that he failed to notice when another presence entered the room. Just as he was adding the finishing touches to Sparkman's armor, there was a tap on his shoulder. Annoyed about being disrupted, he glanced up to see who had disturbed him.
"Good morning, Jaden," Bastion greeted, offering him a smile.
"Oh, hi," Jaden said, grinning a little, "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing much," Bastion replied, sitting down next to Jaden, "I just finished calculating another hundred formulas this morning. It's so invigorating, isn't it?"
"Uhh…sure." Jaden did not seem interested. He looked back at his doodles.
"You know," Bastion continued, leaning closer in Jaden's personal space, "You're such a good duelist, yet you always fail your tests. Maybe you should calculate formulas too, to help you with your studies."
Jaden glanced up again, the trace of a grimace evident on his face. "Really? That's nice but I don't think that's my cup of tea."
"Are you incapable of such work?" Bastion asked, looking concerned, "Perhaps I could help you."
"Nah, it's fine," Jaden insisted, hunching over his notebook, hoping that Bastion would get the message that he did not need help nor did he want it.
"In fact," Bastion continued, much to Jaden's dismay, "Your teacher has talked to me about your grades. He's very concerned. After all, you're such a talented duelist, yet you lack basic knowledge of the subjects here. He said that you might even be held back since you keep failing every test. It was for this reason that he recommended that you get a tutor. Zane turned it down, so he suggested I take the position. What do you say?"
Jaden's chocolate eyes widened at the mention of this. That would mean that more work was imposed on him! Not that he did any of it anyway…He looked uneasily up at Bastion. "Um…I think I can take care of it myself."
"But you haven't been," Bastion pressed, "And you don't seem to know what you're doing. Perhaps if I explained it to you better, if I told you in words you could understand…"
Looking slightly offended, Jaden got to his feet, picking his notebook and pencil up. "No, thanks," He said firmly, "I don't need a tutor. It's nice of you to offer but I don't need things to be explained to me. That's not the problem."
He started to walk away, but Bastion stood and followed him out the door. He really hoped that Bastion was just coming along to talk to him about other things, or to duel with him. As long as he had dropped the subject, that was all that mattered to him.
"Then what is the problem?" Bastion pressed on, once more invading Jaden's personal space, "Is there something I can do to help?"
"There is no problem," Jaden sighed, "I just don't care."
"I'm sorry if I've offended you," Bastion apologized, looking all the more concerned, "But I really do want to help you. It's not your fault that you're below average."
Jaden stopped and turned, staring at Bastion in disbelief. Was he truly serious? Did he actually believe that Jaden was of lower intelligence just because his book smarts reflected that? No, Jaden could have easily aced every class he was in. Part of the reason he went to sleep was because he was bored. But mostly it was because he did not care. He did not believe that grades mattered that much and thought it should not reflect how smart someone was. After all, anyone could memorize facts or follow set formulas. And anyone could do well if they prepared. But to think on one's feet made things much more interesting and fun. That was why school was such a bore. Because it was too formal and strict and stuffy. Jaden hated it.
"Umm…" Uncertain of how to respond to the comment, he just shifted uncomfortably. "Bastion…I'm not stupid if that's what you're hinting at."
"Oh, no, there's no need to put it so harshly. Intelligently challenged is a better way of putting it."
Jaden gaped at him. And he was supposed to be the genius…Maybe what people said was true. Geniuses were only geniuses when it came to certain subjects. In common sense, well…maybe not so much? He was not sure. Maybe Bastion was just pulling his leg? After all, from the way he dueled…was it not obvious? Bastion had prepared for weeks to duel with him, and had even created a deck that would 'counter' his. But he did not believe, after Jaden's victory with what he had, that he was smart? To say the least, Jaden was more than a little insulted.
"Really?" Jaden asked, frowning a bit, "Is that what you think?"
"I'm afraid it's the truth, Jaden. I know sometimes the truth hurts, but you can't live in denial forever. The first step towards success is accepting your weaknesses. Only after that can we move forward on the path of knowledge!" Bastion outspread his arms, his gray eyes glistening in excitement.
"O-kaaay." Jaden laughed a little, "I'm not in denial, though. I just don't believe that school is the way to success. It might help some people. But I believe in doing your own thing." He shrugged.
"But education is the means of achieving greatness!" Bastion protested, "And it is the way you can begin to 'do your own thing.' Otherwise, without knowledge as a guide, you would ultimately fail."
"Ever heard of Bill Gates?" Jaden asked, looking a bit ticked, "He dropped out of college."
Bastion was silent for a moment. Jaden looked up at him, feeling a little bad for having burst his bubble. Sighing, he patted Bastion on the arm.
"Ok, I'm sorry. It's not that you're wrong. It's just…school is not right for everyone. If that's what you enjoy, then hey, that's great! Go ahead and do your own thing. But school's just not right for me. I just don't care. I have better things to do, like live life and be happy." He smiled warmly at the other boy, trying to make up for the fact that he had been a little snide. It was just that when people got on his case about being himself, he got somewhat defensive. Conforming like that just sort of went against his standards…
"It's all right, but…" Bastion paused, as though in deep, philosophical thought, "You'd better changed your attitude. Living in society with that outlook is what causes most of these problems. Now, I'll meet you after class, all right?"
"But—" Jaden began to protest, but it was too late.
"See you after classes!"
Bastion hurried back into the classroom, leaving Jaden standing out in the hallway completely baffled. What was he going to do? Should he just avoid Bastion until he gave up, or should he just go to sleep like he always did? He did not want to avoid his friend or hurt his feelings, so he decided he might as well use it as some extra time to sleep. Too bad this was cutting into his dueling time. Sighing heavily, he, as well, trudged into the classroom. He hoped that this would not take too long and that Bastion would soon give it up.
Three o' clock, and no sign of Bastion yet. Jaden was hurrying down the hall, crouching behind various things, such as trash cans and staircases, though neither of them hid him very well. He knew that hiding was not the way to avoid it, but he was really beginning to get worried. Of all things to happen, Dr. Crowler had assigned a rather large project that Jaden was not going to waste his time doing. However, if Bastion caught him that afternoon, he would find some way to impose it on him. Could he really just sleep through it? He was not so sure, since he'd had all day to think about it. Class was one thing, but when it was a one-on-one session, Bastion could take the time to wake him up using any and all means necessary. Jaden was filled with the deepest dread.
He tried to think of a solution to his predicament as he 'stealthily' made his way towards to double doors, and to freedom. Well, he could try to challenge Bastion to a duel. Yeah! Why hadn't he thought about it before? He really was losing it…He would win, and Bastion would forget all about his silly idea. His teachers would have to accept it because the duel was all-powerful. And then it would be verdict overruled and helloooooo beach party with his friends. His grin was so wide he felt as though it would break his face. He was so excited about his idea, he failed to think of what might happen if Bastion actually refused the challenge.
Feeling relief washing over him, he stepped out from behind the lost-and-found bin he had been hiding behind while waiting for the coast to be clear. Literally the second he revealed himself, Bastion seemingly appeared out of nowhere, textbook and pen in hand.
"There you are, Jaden!" He called excitedly, "I was beginning to wonder when you'd ever show up."
Jaden laughed and ran a hand through his choppy brown hair. "Um, yeah. Nice to see you too." He liked Bastion, he really did. It was just he did not like work and would do whatever necessary to avoid it. Even if it meant it took more work than the work itself. That would just make things all the more entertaining for him.
"Well, what do you say we go to the library and get started?" Bastion asked, the familiar twinkle returning to his eyes.
Glancing up at Bastion, Jaden felt a little bad again. He was such a nice guy. And he was a lot of fun to be around. He was a really close friend. Not to mention, he was a great duelist and had charisma. Wait…why was he thinking about Bastion like that? He was not supposed to be listing all of Bastion's good qualities and feeling bad for blowing him off! He was supposed to be weaseling his way out of a painful assignment! Shaking himself of these intrusive thoughts, he turned his attention back to the matter at hand, and his plan.
"Look, it's really nice that you're so concerned about me and you're trying to help me. But…maybe we could duel over this? If you win, you can tutor me. If I win, then you have to let me go. Deal?" He stuck his hand out and grinned.
Bastion blinked. "Oh my…" He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Tsk, tsk, Jaden. You can't escape your work that easily. As much as I would like to accept your challenge—"
It was at that moment that Jaden felt the familiar dread rising in his stomach. Alarm bells went off in his head; he was horrified! Why would Bastion reject the all-powerful duel?! This was a disgrace. He had to escape!
It was too late.
"—I cannot accept those terms because your teachers have specifically instructed me to inundate your mind with knowledge no matter what the cost. I'm afraid that you will have to learn to work. You cannot avoid it forever."
"Darn it!" Jaden muttered under his breath, crossing his arms and pouting.
"Now, now, none of that. Come along." Bastion waved his hand for Jaden to follow.
The Slifer turned around and tried to walk away in a desperate attempt to escape, but Bastion reached out and managed to seize him by the back of the jacket. He whimpered all the way to the library, clawing at walls and any other object within grabbing distance. It was no use. He soon found himself practically stuck to a chair, a textbook open in front of him, and paper to the side to take notes with. He stared at the page, though he did not read it, and tuned Bastion out.
Forty-five minutes later, he was basically asleep with his eyes open, though he felt like they would roll back into his head at any given minute. He felt a bit of drool creeping down the corner of his mouth; his brain had completely shut down. All he heard was the distant murmur of Bastion's voice, though even that was overpowered by the surprisingly deafening ticking of the clock on the wall. Would this torment never end?
He heard Bastion's inflection raise, indicating that a question had been asked. It did not register in Jaden's mind that Bastion was interrogating him, until the fourth time the same sequence had been repeated. Slowly, he directed his half-lidded gaze towards the Ra student.
"Huh?" Sniffing a little, he wiped the drool from his mouth with his sleeve.
"Honestly, Jaden, I am appalled by your lack of attentiveness," Bastion sighed, "Here I've been explaining the quantum theory of duel mechanics to you for the past hour and you've been ignoring me? This is important. You need to pass that class. I'm only helping you because I feel it is my duty as your close friend and as a fellow student. Look, I want you to graduate. Don't you want to graduate so you can fulfill your dream? Isn't that why you came here to begin with? If you don't do your bookwork, then you won't pass this class and you'll be held back. You won't have enough credits to graduate. You just can't rely solely on dueling to back you up. You must complete your homework and classwork too. Especially in this class. It's more bookwork than practical skills, anyway! And what about the non-dueling related classes?"
Jaden only saw Bastion's mouth moving. All he heard was something to the effect of 'blah blah blah blah blabbity blah. Blah blah blah? Blah blah. Blah blah blah. Blah?' He snickered softly, though he tried to hide his smirk with his hand. He only nodded in response, as though he really were listening and as though he really did care.
"So you'll try for me?" Bastion looked both hopeful and overjoyed.
'Blah blah blah?' Jaden nodded and failed to suppress a yawn.
"Great!" Bastion held up a hand to high-five Jaden.
The Slifer stared at him blankly for a moment before he realized what Bastion wanted. Grinning, he slapped his hand against Bastion's, then tried to stand up.
"Where are you going?" Bastion asked, blinking and looking confused. He reached out and tried to grab Jaden's wrist, but accidentally grabbed his hand instead.
Jaden blinked and looked confused as well. He glanced down at Bastion's hand firmly clasped around his own. What did Bastion want? Wasn't the session over? Did he want a duel? Puzzled, Jaden turned back around. He thought for a moment, then remembered that Bastion was more or less the type to be formal about things. Since Bastion had previously given him a high-five, perhaps he wanted to do things in a more formal approach then. So, he just assumed what anyone would; that Bastion wanted a handshake. Still looking confused, he shook Bastion's hand.
This left the prodigy all the more baffled. What did Jaden mean by this? Did he want something? Was he trying to get Bastion's attention? Or...Bastion's face turned a little red. Well, he was going to disregard that thought. Where had it come from anyway? How ridiculous! Jaden was his pupil! And his friend, too. Pushing it from his mind, he quickly pulled Jaden back down to his seat.
"What do you want?" Bastion asked, still trying to figure it out. Maybe he had been getting up to retrieve something… "Do you need a book? I'll get it for you if you'll just tell me what it is."
"Er…" Jaden stared up at the ceiling in thought. What had Bastion said? He had not really been paying attention, even then…
Jaden's great hesitation made Bastion wonder. He was beginning to believe that the brunet was not even paying the slightest bit of attention. How rude. "Jaden, are you even listening to me?" He finally asked, sighing heavily. He failed to realize that he still had Jaden's hand tightly gripped in his own.
Having come back to the real world, Jaden blushed in embarrassment. That he had heard. "Um, not really." His face turned redder than his jacket, "Sorry."
"Do you mean to tell me," Bastion said, blinking, "That you have not heard a single word I have said?"
"Uhhh…not really." Jaden repeated, directing his gaze downward.
Bastion slammed his forehead against the table. "Why?" He asked no one in particular.
Jaden was taken aback by this action. Judging by the looks of it, he had really upset his friend. He felt worse. Putting a hand on Bastion's shoulder, he patted him reassuringly. "Ok, Ok, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Bastion did not reply, only shook his head, his forehead still pressed against the wood of the table.
Feeling desperate, Jaden wracked his brain for something that would make Bastion feel better. He most certainly was not going to do his homework. So what could he do? "Um, maybe we can duel?"
An audible groan was his response. Obviously, Bastion was not amused.
"No? Uhh, Ok…Well, then…How about…What if I listened to you for the rest of the session? Hm?"
"No, the session is over," Bastion sighed, lifting his head.
Jaden bit his lip to keep from bursting into laughter. There was a large red mark on Bastion's forehead, where he had slammed it into the table. "How about…" He coughed, trying to cover up his laughter, "…I…" He paused again to think, still biting his lip.
"How about you do your homework?" Bastion suggested, looking less than pleased.
Wrinkling his nose in disgust, Jaden shook his head. "No way."
"Well, you'd better. I'll be checking it tomorrow morning." He stood, picking his things up and turning his back. "Oh, and Jaden?"
"Yeah?" Jaden was a little afraid of what Bastion might say next. He swallowed hard, his eyes boring holes into the other's back.
"I'd better not catch you falling asleep in class tomorrow. I'm keeping a keen eye on you." Having said that, he walked away.
Jaden groaned and laid his head on his arms. How was he expected to get enough sleep if he could not sleep through class? Class was nothing more than a waste of his time anyway. Oh, well. Perhaps he could find a way around it. Actually, maybe he could. First of all, Bastion was not his teacher, even if he had been pretty much so assigned the title by Jaden's other teachers. He could not tell him what to do. Unless…the other teachers were waiting on his report and would question Jaden about his behavior. But usually they left Jaden alone. What could they do anyway? Not like he cared. Secondly, Bastion had said he should not sleep during class. But he never said he had to pay attention. Then too, how would Bastion know if he were asleep or not? He had his ways…There were ways of getting around these things.
Then again, he snored something fierce. It would be obvious he was asleep, right? Perhaps he could just be half-asleep. That did not really count for asleep, right? He could get some rest, and he could avoid being bored to death by the teacher, but it would still look like he was paying attention so he would not get bothered by the teacher or Bastion. Brilliant plan. It was foolproof.
Having made up his mind about what he was going to do, he pocketed his pencil, and left the library to go duel on the beach with his friends. Homework was the last thing on his mind. In all honesty, when he got back to his dorm room, he was going to spend the rest of the night playing video games.
The scene that Bastion walked in on when he entered the classroom the next morning was one of which he strongly disapproved of. Jaden was there on time, for once, but that did not mean he was attentive. On the contrary, he was sprawled across his desk, the side of his face smashed against the top and his arms hanging over the sides, snoring and drooling away. Grimacing at this display of slovenly behavior, Bastion set his things down and took his seat, ready to begin working on cracking his latest formulas. He had just settled in and was busily working away when he just happened to glance down again and noticed that Jaden had come to school once more without any supplies. Sighing heavily, he went down to Jaden's seat and shook him a little, to wake him.
The results were disastrous, so to speak. Jaden flailed in his sleep when he was disturbed. He ended up almost punching Bastion out, as he was excited. Barely managing to dodge his fist, Bastion called his name loudly, trying again to wake him. Thankfully, he did awaken, though he was not all that happy that he was.
"Hey, I was just about to win too!" He protested, pouting. Then, he saw who was in front of him and froze. "Um, hi…" His expression could only be described as being that of a deer in headlights.
"You should be more careful," Bastion admonished, frowning slightly, "Jaden, where on earth are your school materials?"
"My wha—?"
"Your school supplies. You know, things such as textbooks and paper and graphing calculators?" Bastion was not impressed to say the least. "Please do not tell me that you come to school completely unprepared and mooch off of your fellow classmates."
"Nope!" Jaden assured him, grinning.
"Well, that's all fine and dandy but where are they then?" Bastion asked skeptically. He was not so sure he and Jaden were on the same terms.
"Right here!" Jaden patted his pocket, then produced his deck. "See?"
"You've got to be joking…"
"Nope!" Jaden replied cheerily, "Oh, and I have a pencil too…somewhere…" He patted his pockets, searching for the alleged writing utensil. Pulling his pocket inside out, he complained, "Aww, man, I lost it! Oh, well."
Bastion opened his mouth and closed it, then opened it again. He was rendered utterly speechless.
"Oh…wait…never mind!" Jaden leaned down under the desk, and came back up with a stubby, dirty old number two pencil, which had its eraser bitten off. It looked as though he had had it since second grade. "I found it!"
"Please do not tell me that's the only thing you brought…" Bastion gawked at it. It was not even mechanical! How troublesome…
"Nah, I have my deck, remember?" Jaden rubbed his nose.
"Why don't you take this?" Bastion reached in his jacket's pocket and produced a new mechanical pencil. At least Jaden should have something decent to write with.
After a moment of staring blankly at the instrument that Bastion was holding out to him, Jaden shook his head. "I can't fit that in my pocket." Was all he said.
"Take it; I insist." Bastion pressed, holding it out further to him.
"No, I don't want it." Jaden replied, irked. "And if you don't mind, I'm trying to sleep…I don't want to spend non-school hours thinking or talking about school."
"What's that matter to you? You don't spend your school hours thinking or talking about school either." Bastion pointed out, grimacing. "And where's your homework?"
Laughing good-naturedly, Jaden held up two fingers. "I didn't do it."
"So you didn't even bring it so we could go over it in class and you could get partial credit?" Bastion asked, horrified. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Nope! Don't care enough. Not worth the effort." Yawning, Jaden laid his head back down on the desk. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some sleep to catch up on."
Clenching his fists, Bastion remarked beneath his breath, "Truly maddening. How astonishing." He sat back down in his seat and began furiously working on his equations again. This was going to take a long time. If he wanted to reform Jaden's ways, then he was going to have to work harder.
But that was not the end of his astonishment.
During class, Jaden did lift his head up. He stared at the teacher, propping his chin in his hands. Bastion began to feel as though there was some hope for him. However, he found it strange that Jaden did not move his eyes to follow the teacher's movement. At first, he did not know why.
In truth, Jaden was not really very awake at all. He was carrying out his plan of a half-conscious state of being. He sat up and kept his eyes open, but his mind was shut down. He hardly even remembered to blink every then and again. And he certainly did not take notes. Even if he had had a pencil in hand, it would have just remained poised above the paper. Because this was all he heard:
Blah blah blah blah blah duel. Blah blabbity blah BLAH blah card. Dueling blah blah blah blabbity I am an old fool who doesn't know what he's talking about. Blah blah blah do these worksheets like a good little slave. Blah blah BLAH grade.
A sheet of paper sifted down to his desk. His eyes did not even move down towards it. He did not even notice it. He continued to stare blankly ahead, half asleep and half dreaming. The sad thing was…he did not even know where he was.
It was then that Bastion realized what had happened. Jaden was asleep with his eyes open. Sighing, he realized that they had a lot more work ahead of them than he had originally planned for.
Three o' clock, school was over. Jaden rushed down the hall at top speed, fully energized. He could not wait to get back to his room so he, Syrus, and Chumley could open their new packs of cards and put together little 'mini-decks' of fifteen to twenty cards. They had decided that with each pack of new cards, they would put cards they could not use in their main decks aside in these small theme decks, so they could test their skills to play other cards as well as have a little bit of fun. Jaden did not like dueling without his Elemental Heroes or without his Winged Kuriboh, since they were a part of him, but he did like a good challenge, especially when he had no idea what he was going to draw at all. Ok, so maybe sometimes he slipped his main cards in the mini-decks as well. Scratch that. Maybe often times he did. But that was just because his monsters wanted to have fun too! He could not deprive them of a good duel. And he hated to duel without them.
He was so immersed in his thoughts, he was running on autopilot. He was not even looking where he was going. And in his excitement, he had completely forgotten about his 'study date' with Bastion. Oh, but he soon remembered; he slammed headfirst into Bastion's stomach.
"OOF!"
Papers and textbooks flew everywhere, scattering across the hall. The two boys fell to the floor, stunned. Jaden and Bastion's eyes locked.
"Oh, no!" Jaden yelped as it registered in his mind what had just happened, "I'm so sorry!" He quickly began picking up papers, his face burning in embarrassment. He really needed to look where he was going.
"It's all right," Bastion sighed wearily, kneeling down and picking up the scattered papers as well, "It was an accident."
Frantically, Jaden shuffled the papers together in a mismatched, random order. Bastion heaved a heavy sigh at this, and took the pile of papers from Jaden so he could sort through them properly. "Jaden, do be more careful. But thank you for trying. By the way, you were going to the library, right?"
"Um…" Jaden laughed a little, grinning nervously. "Well, I, uh, oh…that. I…forgot. Sorry."
Another sigh. "You're going to have to learn to be more responsible one of these days. Now, you might as well come along with me while you're here."
"Uh, not to be rude or anything," Jaden told him, standing and brushing himself off, "But I kind of already have plans…"
"But you knew about this before," Bastion pointed out, standing as well, "I know you make your plans spur of the moment. Listen, if you can get your homework done correctly then you may go. Otherwise, we'll have to go over this."
Jaden groaned. "Do we have to do this? I really am not interested. Sorry."
He grimaced at the thought of homework. But if he wanted this tutoring session to be over, he might just have to do it. What was more important to him? An hour to an hour and a half of wasted time ignoring Bastion or half an hour doing homework? Obviously, if he started doing his homework, even for a short period of time, and if his grades were pulled up to at least passing, then Bastion might cancel the tutoring sessions and leave him alone. As much as he wanted the tutoring sessions to end, though, he did not want to do his homework. The thought filled him with dread. And what if he slacked off again and his teachers made him get a tutor again? Well, technically they couldn't make him so…why was he wasting his time? Maybe he could get someone else to do his homework for him…No, it was not worth the trouble and he was not the dishonest type. So what was he supposed to do? Just sit there? Or should he walk away? He did not want to hurt Bastion's feelings or make things difficult for him. Oh, the quandary he was in!
Bastion, however, did not give him the chance to think about it any more. Once he had gathered all his papers together, he seized Jaden by the shoulder and gave him a little push. "Look, this is for your own good. I'm sorry but I don't want you to be held back. You must start working. Obviously, you cannot blow things off in the real world."
Jaden groaned again. "All right, all right!" He caved, "I'll do my homework. Will that make you happy?"
"You don't know how much." Bastion smiled and led the reluctant Jaden to the library, "Come now, it won't take too long."
It might not have been long for Bastion. But for Jaden, who had hardly spent an hour a week on any sort of homework assignments, it was torture. He ended up using the entire time working on it, since he had not paid attention in class and since he was so lazy he kept messing it up and having to redo it. This irked him. If he had known it would have taken this long, then he just would have surrendered himself to tuning out Bastion's lecture. Oh, well. It was too late.
Even worse, he did not finish it all. Great.
Bastion glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. "Jaden, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to spend some more time with you so you can get your assignment completed correctly. I promise it won't be more than another hour—"
"Another hour?!" Jaden's eyes widened to the size of saucers. There was no way he was going to take that long on a silly assignment. It hardly counted enough to matter! Sure, he realized how close he was to failing the classes for that semester, but he just didn't care. There had to be some other way to pass. There just had to.
He did not have time to think of a solution, though, for Bastion kept him on his toes with the exercises. He had always been one to press Jaden to do these things, strangely enough. How he could force Jaden to work, he did not know. It was another one of those mysteries of life…
Or was it? Sometimes, Jaden was not sure. He would have suspicions, but he did not like those suspicions. He did not like the thought that he might admire and respect him so much that he would practically listen to anything he said. Well, maybe not to that extreme but still…It was very annoying.
The session finally ended by late afternoon. Jaden laid his weary head down on his open textbook, exhausted. Bastion collected his homework and looked over it briefly, before smiling and placing it back on the table.
"Well, you've done well this session. A lot of improvement from our last one, don't you think?"
Jaden groaned in response.
Feeling a little sorry for him, Bastion patted him on the back. "Don't worry. You'll grow accustomed to it. I know, breaking old habits can be hard if not nearly impossible. But you'll be able to do it if you just try. And that's what I'm here for, to help you try."
Jaden glanced up at him. "Why are you even bothering? I mean, I appreciate that you'd go out of your way and all. It just seems really…a lot of time to waste."
Standing, Bastion smiled and replied simply, "You're a good friend and opponent and it would be a shame to watch you fail just because of a lack of motivation. I sure hope that you realize that it's not worth it and turn around. But since I think that there's a good chance you will by the end of this, then I am more than willing to help you. Anyway, sorry it took so long. And I am surprised that you made as much progress as you did. That was difficult for you. How about a reward for all that hard work, hm?"
Jaden's head shot up. "A reward?! Sweet!"
"Sweet is right," Bastion teased as he headed towards the dorm, "Why don't you join me for some ice cream at the Ra cafeteria?"
"Sure! Thanks!" Being the resilient one he was, Jaden leapt to his feet, fully energized once more.
Bastion could not help but smile as he walked with Jaden to the Ra dorm. It really was not that bad tutoring him, even if they did not go very far. At least it meant that they got to spend more time together, and gave them an excuse to hang out. Perhaps Jaden did not see it as a good thing, but Bastion was determined to change his mind about it. Even if it killed him. Of course, this would not be an easy task. Jaden was…stubborn to say the least.
Trouble was, no matter what, Jaden was not going to change. Bastion could lecture until he was blue in the face and Jaden was still not going to hear a word. But that was all right because the other basically did his homework for him and he got ice cream too! If he could get the grade without working than, heck, he was not going to turn it down!
The only problem was these tutoring sessions were really boring. It almost wasn't worth it. He had to think of some way to get out of them. Or, at least to get Bastion focused on something other than schoolwork. It was then that he decided to go on his own mission. He was going to reform Bastion if he could help it! He would show Bastion a good time!
Well…once again, easier said than done. Old habits tended to die hard…
A/N: Oh man, that was bad and disjointed and too long. XD But I enjoyed writing it…though I wrote most of it seriously Monday and Tuesday and then those last three paragraphs today. You probably could tell. T.T Anyway, should I continue with it? It won't be very long…but I just really enjoyed writing it and want it to go somewhere. So lemme know if you liked it and want me to write MOAR. Otherwise I probably can't waste my time because I don't know how much longer I can write and I have other projects. T.T And idk if it will end up being as much Bastion x Jaden as I thought but who knows? Let me know if you'd like me to continue on that note as well. :P