luke ends up tutoring the older boy that can't seem to concentrate for a decent amount of time, but he doesn't really mind it.
mariah finally wrote something WOW
anyway, i discovered that the idea of 16x18 lashton + math tutor!luke really gets me going and this oneshot was born
since this is 16x18 you'll have to imagine some shy, fringey losers, and i found that watching the forever cover helps with that (which is linked in the media section)
also the title is lyrics from Love Is Easy by McFly
okay i'm gonna stop talking now pls enjoy!!
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Ashton, as it turns out, has a nearly nonexistent attention span. It's not Luke's fault, of course, but strangely enough, Luke feels guilty.
"This is my third year taking algebra," Ashton chirps, ignoring the block of text on the book lying open in front of him. "I've kinda lost all hope at this point." He fidgets with the eraser of his mechanical pencil, in an effort to distract himself from doing math.
"But you need to pass," Luke explains, gently nudging the book closer to Ashton. He's been trying to get him to concentrate for the past ten minutes. Unfortunately, Ashton stares down at the book the same way he stares down at vegetables on his plate. He never liked textbooks, always deemed them to be too "professional" and confusing. For some reason, the bright colors and pictures designed to capture attention only give him a headache, and those pictures paired with boring equations and theorems are a recipe for disaster.
"I can't focus right now," Ashton mumbles. He can't focus ever, really. "The rain's too loud." He rolls onto his back and studies the ceiling instead; they've been lazily sprawled out on the carpet for the entire lesson, partially because Ashton doesn't think math is important enough to require him to sit up at a table.
"You already used that excuse," Luke says.
Ashton decides to change the subject. "Aren't you, like, two years younger than me?" he asks, still looking up at the ceiling. Luke catches the hint of a smirk on his lips and briefly looks up at the ceiling as well, wondering why Ashton finds it so interesting. He decides the plain white ceiling is boring and looks back down at Ashton.
"Maybe," Luke replies. "I'm sixteen. I'm two years younger than a lot of people."
Ashton laughs quietly and rolls back onto his stomach, cringing as he eyes the algebra book. "How can a sixteen-year-old be taking calculus already?"
"It's not calculus; it's pre-calculus. Way different."
"Alright, genius boy," Ashton mutters. "Since you know everything, tell me this: why is factoring so hard?"
"You haven't even tried it yet."
"True," Ashton admits. "But it looks hard and I kinda don't want to try it."
Luke points at the lined notebook paper, which is essentially blank aside from the neatly-written "Ashton Irwin" in the top-right corner, accompanied by the date and the page number of the assignment. "Do the first problem," he orders, and Ashton groans.
Luke starts off by telling Ashton to write the problem down, and the fact that he complies is at least a step in the right direction. Luke guides Ashton through the rest of the problem, although it's a little clunky and confusing at first. He's never tutored someone before, never even planned to teach Ashton. His mom volunteered him for the job, despite his protests, claiming he needed another hobby that didn't just consist of him staring at the TV while his brain rotted away. Luke thought it was highly offensive that his mom would discredit Spongebob like that.
