hello, is this thing on?

paxton charles ixley & none

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are you listening to me?

i need roughly a million people to help assemble a brilliant rebel army.

Being the new kid was awful when you were terrified of stuttering.

And Paxton was terrified of stuttering and embarrassing himself. But this new school was his chance to overcome his fear and speak to people. Just a few words and he could have friends... Here he was, squandering it. Which was why he felt anger rising as he tried to focus on the repetition of dribbling the soccer ball across the super-slick surface of the gym. 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.

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 his new school'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.

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my first topic on this site and such. feel free to join in.

@ denver

skullbeat

To be honest, Iris wasn't quite sure as to why she needed to frequent the gym in the first place. It was only after she'd spotted one of the bullies she'd encountered before that she felt the desire to make herself scarce, despite the fact that the boy had barely acknowledged her before she took off in a frightened sprint. Obviously, this wasn't a big deal, but with the anxious girl's whirling thoughts, she'd inflated the situation to a far more stressful level than it should've been. Her combat boots pressed gently upon the ground as she set off at a brisk jog towards the gym's doors, her eyes locked on its handles. Within seconds, she'd reached its entrance, her large, baby-blue sweater rippling out from behind her as she swiftly darted inside, panting a bit as her eyes began to survey the area. Unfortunately, she wasn't alone in here.

"U-Um," she began as her eyes locked upon the boy, her fingers beginning to rub across her white quartz necklace as she trembled with apprehension, "I-I'm sorry, I-I.. I-I can l-leave i-if.. I-If you'd l-like.. O-Or not, s-sir, u-um.. S-Sorry... Her words were soft and fragile, laced with an incredible amount of social fear. It wouldn't be possible for her to speak anymore than this, especially since even with this short statement, she found it fragmented and painfully spaced out, thus an explanation wasn't rational. Instead, she found herself slicing her fingers as her emerald eyes fixated themselves on the stranger, blood beginning to stream down her palm in scarlet threads. Instinctively, Iris had begun to back away towards the door once more, her untainted hand combing shakily through her long, wavy hair. It was difficult to suppress the shivering having now possessed her body, and embarrassment that coursed through her veins certainly didn't help either. She hadn't recognized the boy or seen him before, so of course, the girl couldn't be certain how he'd react.

paxton charles ixley & Iris

---

are you listening to me?

i need roughly a million people to help assemble a brilliant rebel army.

Paxton blinked.

It was like magic.

There she was. A girl. Sent cosmically to give him someone to talk to, seeing as he'd promised... So, why was she backing up? And why was she stuttering? It definitely tossed a rench into the otherwise-seamless-rotation of the wheel of logic. Which explained his blank stare and silence as she began backing up to the door. She looked to him like a scared animal, cowering at the doorway.

He thought that description was reserved for whimsical, unoriginal people, but apparently not.

There was something about the way she seemed to make herself small, even as she stood there, that just made the reference make sense. Paxton was fairly certain that if she could have shrunk, she would have. As it stood, there were no broad gestures. Her hands were pretty fixed to her form. Was it comforting? Judging by the redness that seemed to be forming on her skin, he would guess not.

"No, no. The gym's large enough for the both of us, I think. And anyway, I wouldn't mind some company, if you don't have any objection to staying." Paxton smiled, finding that the words slipped naturally from his lips. He was the picture of calm and- strangely- he forgot all about stuttering. For a fraction of a second, he considered staying in place to avoid frightening the girl, but he abandoned that thought when he decided that she was already scared. What difference would it make if he grabbed his soccer ball? Still, there was a hesitation on his first step as he made the decision to walk in a diagnal toward the ball, so that he wasn't approaching her directly. He would be closing the distance between himself and the door while deviating more toward the left.

Paxton reached just past the center of the room's length before he got to the ball. Still relying on the simple smile to convey his friendly nature, he scooped up the soccer ball into his arms.

"Do you play?" Paxton questioned, his tone quiet. There was no need to be loud in a room occupied only by two people, and he didn't feel like startling her.

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i know pax was worried about stuttering in the first post, buut I don't think iris would scare him enough to get him tongue-tied & besides, she's just so cute and huggable~!

@ denver

skullbeat

As to be expected, the boy before her displayed a look of bewilderment that often came with her self-harming acts. Iris emitted a humiliated sigh then, but widened her eyes at his rather docile reaction. The way he'd worded his statement was translated into an order for the girl, and thus she felt that she had absolutely no room to leave here. "O-Okay," she murmured, stepping away from the door to establish herself a bit more within the gymnasium. Her gaze followed him tediously, observing every movement he made towards her with gradually growing apprehension. However, she issued a sigh of relief as he went for the soccer ball beside her, shaking her head at his question. She'd rarely played organized sports, save for running, although even then it was never on an official team that she ran. Everything had to be fairly self-sufficient when there weren't parents present to provide the funds for lessons or anything like that, and Iris had never taken a close liking to a specific sport, but nonetheless, she'd try it.

Her eyes observed him carefully as his feet began to cradle the ball within his arms. Typically, she knew at least that this was against the rules of the game, but that was about all she could remember. Scoring goals or something of that sort was also a fuzzy memory for her, however not being one to indulge in such activities, she had a more difficult time comprehending all of a sport's regulations. For now, Iris chose to watch the boy, placing her bloodied hand at her side. Absently, she rubbed her moist fingertips together in an attempt to dissipate the scarlet liquid, hoping that she wouldn't have to touch the soccer ball as well.

paxton charles ixley & Iris

---

are you listening to me?

i need roughly a million people to help assemble a brilliant rebel army.

He really wished she would have just said yes. Yes, she played. Yes. She could kick the ball, and for a moment, he wouldn't have to decide whether he was going to be the caring, concerned individual he was, or the cool, unaffected teenager he tried to seem like. Paxton's eyes darted away from her after she shook her head, fixing onto the soccer ball he was holding near his chest.

"Hmm well," He began. "I could show you... or..." Or nothing. There was no 'Plan B'. Paxton raised his gaze to meet hers, as if the next words could be found in her expression, or the color of her eyes, or some other arbitrary element of her appearance. He hesitated no more than three seconds, a span of time that felt much longer.

"What do you enjoy doing?" Paxton quizzed, hoping that the sudden change of topic would derail her from taking him up on his first offer. He was okay doing nothing, but he didn't know how to convey that fact to her. So he didn't try.

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aw so much slackerness on my part. I did a project for english class instead of posting. Annd before I get all, "ooh, shiny!" on the project, I'm gonna post. Plus I'm at work and can't work on my project, ehe. Sorry it's short buut I didn't want to bog it down with filler just to meet a length. i feel repetitive today. like, with what i write.

@ denver

skullbeat

Iris observed the boy with interest as he appeared a bit crestfallen that she didn't play soccer. Even though it wasn't necessarily her fault, she felt rather guilty for having little to no knowledge of the sport. "I-I wouldn't m-mind th-that," she murmured in an attempt to reassure the boy, feeling obliged to at least try and make an effort not to disappoint him. She seemed to have a habit of wanting to redeem herself to others, and as of now, this was the only method she knew how to accomplish that. His second inquisition caught her off guard as she watched him fumbling for a few moments internally. What did she like to do?

Recently, she'd simply been caught up in her studies or deep thought about just how she could increase her chances of being adopted. Either way, neither of them would be suitable for this type of environment. "W-Well," she began with an increasing amount of uncertainty, "I-I.. U-Um.. I-I've always l-liked r-running." She finished the last part of her statement as though she was going to be hurt the moment she'd stopped speaking, instinctively having spoken like that. The tone almost ended in a question-like manner, seeing as it rose in pitch. Iris then glanced at the soccer ball, continuing in a frightened voice, "B-But w-we can p-play soccer i-if you'd l-like, I-I mean wh-whatever you'd w-want to d-do.."

Lisette wandered the campus of Foresta Academy aimlessly. In the few days that she had been here, she had been astounded at the sheer size and spaciousness of this little island located in the middle of the Atlantic. Not for the first time since her arrival, her thoughts brought her back to her family in England, and her last glimpse of Connor. A tear traced its way down her cheek as her hand trailed along on the castle walls. Just in case someone else was around, she quickly swiped the back of her hand across her face. The silver charms on her bracelet jangled with the motion, a sound she found reassuring. She'd had the same bracelet for years, and it was like a little piece of home.

Soon, she came to what felt like the center of the castle,
where, if the sign on the door was any indicator, a gym was located.
Pushing her way through the door, her wide eyestook in the huge, expansive room.
She caught sight of the two people already occupying the room, and fidgeted
nervously, wondering if she should leave them alone to their conversation. Since coming to Foresta, she hadn't exactly been a social butterfly, much rather preferring to keep to herself. It wasn't that she was a complete introvert, but she generally didn't like to put herself out there and meet new people.

From her position by the door, hand on the knob, she watched the boy
with the soccer ball and his female companion. Maybe it was time to
get to know her schoolmates. After all, it was more than likely that these
were the people she would end up knowing for the rest of her life.

Cautiously, quietly, she said, "Hello?"