planet earth is blue [open]

[Paxton Ixley]

four, three, two, one

earth below us, drifting, falling...

Let's just face it. The grass is never greener on the "other side" when the "other side" is Montana.

That is to say, the difference between London and Montana is night and day. Speaking of strictly grass, Paxton would have to admit that Montana's ground was far greener so far, while London would trump them in the sheer mass of concrete... And nearly every other interesting aspect of life. But occasionally, he'd remember why he left England for the United States.

And Paxton would then be forced to admit he'd failed. If getting transferred from St. Bethany's was some great second chance to overcome his fear and speak to people so he could have friends, he was squandering it. Which was why he felt anger rising as he tried to focus on the repetition of dribbling the soccer ball. Left, right, left, right. Don't miss. It couldn't drown out the thought of silence, of still feeling total terror at the idea of speaking to strangers. A month into attending the school so far had pretty much left those who'd noticed him thinking he was mute or deaf, he was pretty sure. Not that he'd asked.

It felt as if electricity was bubbling to the surface. Electricity shouldn't bubble. It had no bubble-like qualities. No liquidness, no fluidness, it was too zappy. And yet, on it bubbled inside of him. It sent a slight tingling sensation from his toes up to his chest, building slowly. That was more aggravating than feeling like he'd failed. If he could just get his ability under control and stop feeling so damn nervous then everything would work itself out. Right?

Paxton spun on his heel and kicked the soccer ball directly at the gymnasium door. There was a resounding thud that echoed in the otherwise unoccupied gym, then only the sound of the rolling ball as it began a journey toward the left side of the gym floor. This was not how he wanted to spend his afternoon, but there he was, on a Tuesday at two thirty, kicking around a soccer ball in Bellefonte Academy's gymnasium.

"This isn't tough," Paxton mumbled to himself. Silently, he promised himself he'd speak to the next girl he saw. Then he could prove he wasn't a total spaz.

Unfortunately, stutter or not, Paxton Ixley was a bit odd.

skullbeat

[Deleted]

Shiloh had been wandering around the school again, trying his best to get a feel for it. The gym...alright...he was trying for the courtyard but he hadn't visited the gymnasium before. Might as well go in right? Though, he didn't plan on spending much time here at all during his time at Bellefonte. Why would he? Shiloh was terrible at sports, the best "sport" he was at would be videogames. Which, in his mind, didn't even qualify.

The kid reached for the door but heard a loud thud from the other side. He quickly turned around, ready to make his escape but shook his head. 'No, you gotta stop being scared. It was prolly nothing.' He reassured himself as he pulled the door toward himself and walked in. Sure enough, it was just a boy with a soccer ball. That wasn't scary, he'd seen people play soccer before. All they did was try and kick it into the other teams goal.

He gave a slight wave to the person and made his way to the bleachers. That was a safe place to be, he wouldn't be hit with the ball(hopefully) and he wouldn't be asked to play. Why would anyone want him to play anyway? Shiloh drove the thought out of his mind, reminding himself that no one would ever want him. The kid moved up to the middle section of the bleachers and sat down, looking at the other male for a moment before biting slightly on his bottom lip and looking down. Shiloh took a deep breath and pulled his phone out of his pocket, pretending as if he had someone important to talk to. 'I shouldn't have come in here...'

[Paxton Ixley]

four, three, two, one

earth below us, drifting, falling...

Wait. Wait. The door was opening? For the briefest moment, Paxton was sure it was going to be an irate, grumpy teacher out to tell him he was being too noisy. Just like the comic relief moment of a movie. Conflict was not ideal, though, and comic was the last thing he'd find the situation. For that moment, Paxton stopped breathing.

Instead, a curly haired blond boy wandered in. It seemed strangely more out of place than the movie-worthy teacher scenario. Like a surreal addition to the moment. And without a word, the blond boy seemed to glide across the room, to the bleachers.

Well, Shiloh probably walked like any normal person would, but when this story got retold, Paxton was already sure he was going to say glided.

At least Shiloh wasn't a girl.

The air rushed out of him in a sudden burst, emptying his lungs and leaving room for fresh air to seep in. That got him off the hook, didn't it? Paxton told himself he'd speak to the next girl. And anyway, Shiloh didn't seem that interested in him. Like most teenagers, he went right for his phone. Typical.

Paxton was a little bit jealous because using a phone was mildly more complicated for him. But whatever. That was life.

At any rate, the sixteen year old couldn't just stand around deciding whether or not to speak to the new occupant of the room. So Paxton bought himself time by walking over to the soccer ball and scooping it up into his arms. When he turned around, he'd made up his mind.

"Hey." So far, so good... If anything, his tone was on the timid side, but no stuttering. Truth be told, he didn't stutter that often, but the potential was still there. Once was enough. "Do you play?"

Shiloh wasn't evading sports that easily with this conversation-phobic teenager around.

skullbeat

[Deleted]

'Dont do it...please don't do it...don't walk over here...' Much to his discomfort the other male did walk over and started talking to him. Shiloh stayed silent for a few moments, clenching his jaw and gulping hard. 'Just say no...that's all you gotta do.' He told himself, looking over the other boy for a moment. "No...I...uh...don't know how." That wasn't the kind of no that made people leave you alone, but deep down Shiloh really didn't want to be alone, he wanted to make friends.

He shoved his phone back in his pocket. "I'm not really good at sports..." That was very true, he'd never been coordinated enough to play...any sport to be honest. The kid just didn't have any interest in them, it just seemed like something muscle heads did...but this boy didn't seem like a muscle head. Shiloh looked around for a second then took a deep breath in and rose up from his seat. After a simple quick steps he made it down to the gym's floor. "Would you...show me how?" Maybe this could be fun, maybe.

[Paxton Ixley]

four, three, two, one

earth below us, drifting, falling...

[My wifi spot hates chatango. Dunno why. And I'm at work so my posts are probably going to be sparadic. Sorry~]

He... didn't know how? Was he for real? Paxton blinked. The kid could have said no. Should have said no. There was nothing to soccer, it didn't seem possible that he just didn't know how.

Paxton gripped the soccer ball tighter in his hands, his gaze lowering to the floor as he considered what his next move should be. The words just wouldn't come. When Shiloh began to speak, his blue eyes raised to examine the boy again, taking in his admittedly unformidable frame. He wouldn't exactly be the star player in a football game, but he wouldn't make a bad soccer player, would he?

The sincerity of his voice when he said he wasn't good at sports finally made Paxton relax a little. He even gave a half smile. That was friendly, right? Smiling.

"Me either," Paxton nodded. Short, sweet, and no stuttering. Paxton dropped the ball to the floor, letting it bounce before he stopped it in place with his left foot. He definitely wasn't a star player himself, but he was a decent addition to any team. He knew the rules and he was moderately agile, which was enough for soccer. When Shiloh rose, Paxton had to admit he felt nervous. Why was harder to explain. It just filled him with a nervous buzzing energy.

"Yeah, of course." Paxton nodded again, his words feeling almost trapped. It seemed like something of a miracle that he got them out. Paxton rolled the ball back a single step, then took the step back himself as he tried to fight back the nerves.

"The concept is pretty simple. Don't t-touch the ball with your hands, but get it int-t-to the goal." Paxton explained, his eyes falling to the soccer ball under his left foot. "Y'know. Everything else just takes practice. Like l-learning to kick with the inside of your feet, to maintain control. You want to keep it close so n-no one else can take it from you. But if you get the no-hands rule down, you've got it m-made."

"Try kicking it with the insides of your feet, instead of the tops of your toes. It's also less painful." Paxton was very sure he hadn't said that much to anyone, aside from his siblings, in months. But like Shiloh, he wanted the standard he lived by to change. Still, he was sure that his longer sentences and stuttering were as annoying to Shiloh as they were to him. But he'd gotten through it. He passed the ball toward Shiloh. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if there was even enough force to roll the ball all the way over to him.

skullbeat

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Shiloh looked at at the other, tilting his head. Why was he talking like that? Did he have a stutter? The boy could relate, whenever he got overly nervous he found himself stumbling with his words. Shiloh listened intently while the other explained how to play. 'Right, I'm so dumb. Obviously I can't touch the ball.' He thought to himself. Maybe he did already know the basics after all. Kicking the ball was going to be the hardest part, he really wasn't sure he would be coordinated enough to pull this off.

"Uhh..." Shiloh looked down at the ball as Paxton passed it over. He took a deep breath in as he tried to do what the other had told him, kicking towards Paxton with the inside of his foot. Unfortunately, he kicked it too far to the left and it completely bypassed the other. "Sorry!" He immediately blurted out. "I got it, I got it!" Shiloh took off after the ball, trying to stop it with his foot but tripped, falling to the gym floor.

After quickly pulling his arms over his face as he crashed to the ground. He groaned in pain as he rolled over, rubbing his arms. Why did he even try? He should have just said no and then none of this would have ever happened. What was the point of all of this? Shiloh leaned forward, looking down at his scrapped elbows. "I'm...alright." He mumbled, looking over at Paxton. He had just completely embarrassed himself in front of this new person. Fantastic.

[Paxton Ixley]

four, three, two, one

earth below us, drifting, falling...

Well. Shiloh was a little... Jumpy.

Perhaps that wasn't the perfect word, but Paxton wasn't going to run through synonyms right now.

All he knew was, he really couldn't care less if the ball went astray. Before he could reassure Shiloh or make a move to get it himself, Shiloh was appologizing and rushing across the room. As he went, Paxton found himself watching absently, while thinking that perhaps distance would be beneficial in teaching him, and well, Paxton wouldn't want to run over there more than once, so why make Shiloh do it?

It became a moot point. The blond boy tried to capture the ball (which seemed strange- if he couldn't kick the thing with any accuracy, how was he going to balance with it?) and ended up flat on his face. There was no urge to laugh, just surprise. Paxton stayed in place, silently assessing the damage from a distance. Only when he saw Shiloh sit up and look at his own elbows did he begin closing the distance between them. He stopped beside Shiloh, crouching, with his elbows on his knees to maintain balance.

"Maybe we should do this when your arms are covered," Paxton gestured toward his scraped elbows. "A long sleeved shirt would keep some of that skin intact."

"But, I'll teach you something else that's probably a little safer. Here," Paxton stood up, then extended a hand out to Shiloh to help him up. After, he scooped up the soccer ball again and, this time, faced the wall.

"We're going to step a-ways back," Pax cautioned. To highlight this, he did take a few steps backwards. Then, he held the ball with both hands outward from his body. After a few seconds, he let it drop, managing to lift his foot to kick it against the wall just in time. It hit the wall with a thud and bounced back at him with force. He sidestepped, grabbing the ball in the air before offering it to Shiloh.

"Your turn." Paxton stated simply.

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[Deleted]

"Yeah." Shiloh nodded, looking down at his elbows again. "That's...that's probably a good idea." He stared at the offered hand for a moment before he reached for it and pulled himself up. Why was this guy even trying? Shiloh knew deed down that he'd just fail at it. Still though, he wanted to learn...hopefully this guy wouldn't get too frustrated with him. Oh...He just realized that he didn't even know the other guys name.

"I'm Shiloh, by the way." The kid said, watching Paxton's actions. Could he do that with the ball? Was that even something Shiloh was coordinated enough to do? With a gulp, he nodded. It was his turn now. The boy took the ball and did the same movements he had just been shown. "Okay..." He dropped the ball and kicked it. Somehow the ball did exactly the same thing when Paxton kicked it. Shiloh quickly did his best to catch the ball that was coming back at him, but ultimately dropped it. "Uhhh...was that okay?"