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piercethelenn · 2 years

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Track two — At the Bus Stop.

Warnings: Mentions of stalking, Y/N is low-key insane and Heeseung is mean(?), light swearing. || Word count: 1250

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The term “guilty pleasures” might sound familiar to you, everybody has at least one after all, even if they seem insignificant enough to be overlooked at first, until the moment when you start to question whether other people will be able to understand your attraction towards them. For Y/N’s case though, denominating it a “guilty addiction” felt more adequate, as it had become vital for her, to the point where her attachment was able to influence her in levels that a normal and healthy “liking” would never. Her days were tinted in a gloomy grayscale until the very moment she was able to satisfy her needs; however, it was not possible to do so every day, and the absence of her daily dose caused a painful feeling of abstinence that exponentially impacted her mood in a negative way.

Well, I might be over-exaggerating the issue, but what I’m trying to say is that Y/N really, really liked Lee Seokmin’s voice.

It all started at the beginning of the semester, when our main character left her parent's house behind and moved to a different city in order to finally attend her desired college to pursue music. She had always hated the feeling of being lost in an unfamiliar place, so the first thing she did after the last box of her belongings had been unpacked, was to explore her new surroundings. Off she was, heading to nowhere in particular on a busy morning; coming from the small, quiet town her family had resided in since forever, she felt both amazed and slightly bothered by the fuss.

At some point, a few blocks away from her place, she stopped on her tracks under the shadow of a particularly big tree to check the map on her phone, in search of places of interest near her current location. She could have missed it, given the loud roaring of the car’s engines and her own focus on the screen of her device, but she heard it loud and clear: a honey-like voice that flooded out of an open window she was standing near to.

As if under a spell, Y/N unconsciously blocked her phone and returned it into her pocket, gazing at the exposed brick walls of the house that stood before her. It felt like love at first-hear, dramatic as it sounded; she had never heard a voice so pretty, enough to dethrone the white noise of her mother’s windchimer as her favorite sound.

Coincidentally, a few days after her first encounter with the anonymous singer, she found out that her new workmate Lee Seokmin, vocal coach of the STV academy, lived in the exact same house. When Y/N started some small talk with him on her first day at work, she admitted being new in the city and living alone, so he, as the gentleman he was, gave her his address and contact number in case she had an emergency someday.

At first it had been difficult for Y/N to connect both voices to the same person, because during lessons, Seokmin’s voice sounded more clear and slightly high-pitched in comparison to the one she heard coming out of the window that day. She was not an expert, since singing was not her area of interest in the music field, but she adjudicated Seokmin’s sleepiness in the early morning as the reason why his voice sounded different.

Of course she liked every facet of Seokmin’s angel-like vocals, but she could not help but have a slight preference in his raspy and deep tone; it just felt so much more intimate, she could almost visualize herself sitting on the kitchen counter, comfortably dressed in her favorite pajamas, admiring the man’s look of I-just-woke-up in all its splendor and natural beauty as he made breakfast for the two.

However, she could only dream of her hormonal teenager fantasies, as if she had helplessly fallen into a parasocial relationship with a famous celebrity, because the sad reality was that Seokmin and Y/N were just co-workers, and he was totally unaware of the fact that she would walk every morning a few blocks more than necessary just to take the bus at a stop located close to his house, even if there was one literally in front of the apartment complex she now resided in with Yeojin, her best friend.

Y/N had committed the huge and seemingly irreversible mistake of telling her friends about her doings, earning a life-long teasing in return. Jay had been the only one who got worried, fearing that the pianist might become some sort of creepy stalker, but she assured him that there were no ill intentions behind her actions, all she did was walk past Seokmin’s house to hear him sing, there was no harm done, right? It is not as if she had tried to take a peek inside his house from the window or anything, she knew better than that.

Of course Jay had not been convinced in the slightest, but Y/N had fallen in too deep and there was no cure for her odd addiction. She could not help but come back for more, as if listening to the man’s voice was the only stimulus capable of making her hypothalamus go brrr and produce considerable amounts of dopamine.

(...)

一What do you want?一 Heeseung asked from inside his room, not bothering to open the door even after his older brother's knocking. He was too busy doing his eyeliner to get up from his desk anyways. 一If this is about your stupid academy, no thanks一 The loud music muffled his voice, but the tone of annoyance was clear enough for Seokmin to catch.

一Are you sure? It’s really fun, actually!一 The eldest of the siblings knew it was not worth trying, since talking to Heeseung was like talking to a wall, or a door in this particular case, but a part of him had hoped this time would be different. 一I just know the kids would love to meet such a talented vocalist like you!一. He now understood completely the way Anna felt in that one Frozen scene, it was not cool at all (pun intended).

The door suddenly swung open in a rather aggressive motion, making Seokmin take a step back and stare at his little brother in expectation. On his part, Heeseung simply narrowed his eyes and frowned at him 一As I told you the last time you asked, and the one before that, I don’t sing anymore一. He slammed the door in the older man’s face and turned up the volume of the speakers in his room; a clear sign to make Seokmin take his leave with a sigh of defeat.

It was not easy to deal with a grown-up college student who acted like a rebellious teenager, but the vocal instructor was blessed with the gift of unlimited patience, so he tried his best not to take his brother’s misconduct to heart. Regardless, he could not help but wonder at what exact point did things take the wrong turn; Why was Heeseung studying music if he rejected every opportunity given to him to expose his talents to the public? Was he not confident enough? And most importantly, what did Seokmin do to be treated so coldly by his own family?

As always, there was no result in pondering about those things, so he resigned, yet again, and walked down the stairs with heavy steps.

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bananashemmo · 7 years

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Hatred For Love

Pairing: Cheerleader!Y/N/Jock!Ashton

Rating: NC-All

Request: No

Words: 6.000+

Summary: When lead cheerleader Y/N and football captain Ashton are forced to share tent at a camp trip to try put down the rival between the cheerleaders and footballers things seem to collapse with a compass and a map in the lost woods.

“No way! I don’t give a shitty crap I’m not doing this!”

The echo of Ashton’s voice was loud in the bus filled with students. The expression on his face matched the aggressive tone he had, his eye color almost changed into a darker shade.

“There’s no way in hell that I’m sharing a tent with Y/N Y/L/N!”

He almost had to look down at the paper again just to be sure. Was it really just a nightmare? Or had it turned into something real because if it was, his first mission would be to jump out of the bus without hesitation.

“It says so.” Calum explained with an apologizing look on his face. He understood Ashton was upset but he needed to face reality.

Ashton looked blank and glanced down at the paper again. Was his name really matched? It didn’t make any sense and the football trip he had been looking forward to seemed to shatter.

“Is this a fucking joke?!”

He looked up by the sound of the exact same tone as his. You were standing by the end of the bus with red cheeks and the most frustrated expression as possible.

“I’m not fucking joking bitch I’m not gonna share a fucking tent with him!”

Calum almost had to stop from cracking up in laughter. The scenario was too good to be true and it almost didn’t come as a surprise to him. To anyone besides the two of you.

Ashton was standing in front of the rest of the team and expressing his anger. You were standing in front of the cheerleaders who were ready to come up and backtalk - the thing you all were best at when it came to boys.

“I’m gonna talk to Coach Hanson about this there’s no way in hell I’m doing this for a full week.” With a shake of disbelief Ashton crumbled the paper in his large hand and stood up from his seat.

He didn’t care if the bus was moving and rules said they had to be seated and belted for the ride. If he wasn’t going to blow up the whole bus with his temper he would need to clear out his anger issues.

“Coach Hanson I’m afraid that we have to-,”

“Mrs. Daniels I think we have an misunderstanding.”

Before Ashton could get the chance to finish his sentence you walked right out of your seat and stopped him in track from walking in the small bus hallway.

You waved your ponytail right in his face as you walked out and didn’t even want to look over your shoulder. You didn’t have the time to stand and argue with him because just the thought of sharing something where he was included made you gag.

Both Mrs. Daniels and Coach Hanson looked up as you marched down to the front part of the bus where they were seated with a nice cup of coffee each.

Just by the look of their calm faces it spoiled that they had been preparing for this moment and didn’t want to give in for your begs and pleads.

“Mrs. Daniels! I don’t think it’s appropriate to create a mix up. Is there any way possible that I can switch tent partners and to someone else like Giovanna?”

Ashton rolled his eyes when you stopped right in front of you, nearly backing his chest against your back. He looked down at you for a short moment and he shook his head in disbelief by the way you were standing.

“Oh could you press your boobs harder together in that cheerleading uniform I’m not sure if Michael in the back of the bus can see them.”

“I sure as hell can, lad.” Michael quickly yelled back and made a thumbs up in the air.

You rolled your eyes again by the offensiveness and just for the sake of them moved your shirt up because that wasn’t really your intention after all.

“What I’m saying is that I’m in no way near position to share something of his. I can’t even stand being next to him right now so can you please for the love of the god change us as partners? We’re speaking world war three here.”

Coach Hanson and Mrs. Daniels didn’t change their expressions in fact they only looked amused by the way you were reacting.

You almost felt like wanting to stamp your foot down because you felt they didn’t take your words seriously at all.

“Coach Hanson you don’t understand if I have to hear her voice throughout the whole night talking about how important the cheerleading squad is for the football team there’s no way I’m gonna get any sleep and achieve the performance you’d demand. There’s no good in this and I swear everyone will be satisfied if you change it.”

“My voice? What are you on about do you think I talk in my sleep?” You commented before Coach Hanson could.

“What about me and my beauty sleep? If I have to witness to your loud snoring all night I’ll end up choking you with my goddamn sock.”

“I don’t snore.” Ashton was just as quick to respond and looked down at you with wide eyes.

“Yeah tell that to Diana after you slept with her and nearly ruined her hearing.” You glared up at him before crossed your arms because you could do so much better than stand and argue with him.

There could never not be enough apologizes.

“You guys can argue to the moon and it will never not be amusing to us but we’ve decided to let it be that way.” Mrs. Daniels was so calm with her voice it was like your arguments didn’t have any affect.

“But isn’t there a rule saying that girls and boys shouldn’t be allowed to sleep in the same tent at camps?” Ashton asked seconds later and you looked over at Coach Hanson who shook his head.

“Yes if you live in a world where boys and girls can’t get along.”

“But we can’t get along!” You argued and this time stamped your foot down, “We can’t even stand looking at each other!”

“We’re aware.” Mrs. Daniels nodded her head in agreement, her reddish curls bouncing along.

“And that is the reason why we’ve decided that you’re going to share a tent.”

“But how is that any good?” Ashton crossed his arms this and time and flashed his biceps, sometimes he did that to just make a better impression and you shook your head in disbelief.

“Well considering the two of you hate each other we thought it would be a better way to get to know each other and connect. For the whole week you’re going to be addicted to each other because everything will be paired up.” Coach Hanson explained and Mrs. Daniels nodded her head in agreement.

“Because we think that they is always this kind of rival between the cheerleaders and the football team we thought it would be a better way to connect by allowing the two leaders to work together. We all know that in the end we’re a full team that is supposed to be unite and one.”

“Okay but how about we just appreciate the cheerleading squad and give us more space? That way we will already connect more as a team!” You barely believed Mrs. Daniels words because they didn’t make any sense.

“Yeah because the attention should be on the cheerleading squad and not the footballers who is actually carrying the game and the reason why people have showed up.”

Ashton’s argument was so weak but Coach Hanson was quick to reply.

“I think we can all agree that no matter what you’re in a need of each other. To make sure that things will go well and we’ll get a better tension among each other it’s all up to you. And that is the reason why we’ve made the decision we have.”

“Think of it as something fun. Maybe you’ll learn a thing or two about each other that will surprise you.” Mrs. Daniels finished and from that you both knew there was no way you could argue anymore.

You had to share a tent together and it had to be from the start to the end of this trip.

Ashton shook his head in disbelief and made his curls bounce. They had grown long the last couple of weeks he had to wear a hair tie when he was playing football to not block out his sight.

He didn’t say more but turned around and headed back to the end of the bus.

Neither did you want to stand and look stupid so you hurried back to your squad and pressed the tie around your ponytail harsher.

This was the official start of world war three.

Ashton almost wanted to rip off his curls. This was something he had looked forward to for so long, it was something they did as the football team every year when the school was about to end as a celebration.

But this year it was something different, the cheerleaders were brought along.

When he first heard he thought it was a joke. In fact he was laughing ridiculously until the end of the meeting when he figured out it was actually for real.

It was no shock to everyone that the footballers and cheerleaders hated each other. So of course, it had to be this way and to make it even worse, it had to be for more than just one hour of practice in the gym hall.

Ashton couldn’t even remember back to the first time he met you because he already knew from that that he hated you.

There was something about the way you stepped into the gym hall or the football field for the first time that made his blood boil. The confidence you had by showing you literally owned everything made him crack his knuckles.

It was no doubt that steam was coming out from his ears when your attitude was just like he predicted.

It could have been taken out from a movie. How everything was going on around you could be close to a script and sometimes Ashton had to hold in the profatonites leaving his lips when he saw you.

It wasn’t even on purpose he hit you square across the face when you stood on the top of the pyramid at practice. It was like destiny calling because from that exact moment, you hated him more than green stains on your cheerleading uniform.

You were so furious your face almost matched your red lipstick. There was no way possible that he could just do that, and without apology.

But once you showed up in his face it was only as if Ashton was more tempted. It was a laugh to see you mess up during tricks and he almost wished you had fallen down in the process.

“You think you can just do that without at least saying you’re sorry?” You were so angry your arms were pressed harshly together but the only thing Ashton could notice was your cleavage.

“It’s not my fault you almost fell for me? Get over yourself princess this is football. Not your show.”

Ashton could tell he could say anything to you and you would boil over. If a pan of salted sweetcorn was hanging right above your head it would be able to create popcorn within seconds.

If it was war he wanted it was war he would get.

No matter where you went there would either be a profanity escaping your lips or he would roll his eyes. Everyone was aware of your rival because it was worse than all the other team mates and cheerleaders.

It was destiny calling by having the lead cheerleader and the football captain hating each other.

This was nothing like the typical high school movies. This wasn’t something where you would be the cute couple hanging around in the hallways and kissing behind door lockers.

No this was full war filled with evil pranks and ways trying to get the other to get attention to miss practice. It was always about tearing the other one down.

When the bus stopped Ashton’s head almost fell into the front seat it was that harsh the break was pushed. Or maybe it wasn’t like that but his head felt so heavy he didn’t want to step outside.

He was the last one to walk out and into the large crowd of students standing in front of Coach Hanson and Mrs. Daniels.

He had no idea what was going to happen but he did not like the idea already when he was ordered to walk towards his “tent partner”. God how he hated those words already.

It was with a glare he stood beside you and placed his gym back on the grass filled with football jerseys and different pairs of shoes.

You already had a backpack of your own and a little purse next to it but he had no idea what was in it. What was supposed to be used for makeup in the woods, this was a camp for god sake.

You exchanged another glare before your eyes adverted towards Coach Hanson who cleared his throat to grab attention.

“Welcome everyone to Camp F17. The camp where we gather football players from North High and now, also for a change, the cheerleaders of North High. To start out everything we’d like for you to shake hands with your tent partners, tell one lie and two truths about yourself.”

You tightened your lips together and turned around to look up at Ashton who had his sports-bag placed between his feet.

You didn’t know who should start or not but as you both opened your mouth at once the words were exclaimed.

“I hate you.”

That one was pretty easy and the both of you knew from the other way that it was the truth. You were looking down at your feet using your shoe to kick some grass away from the dirt.

“Capri-Sun with Safari Fruits is my favorite juice drink before practice.” Ashton was quicker to speak than you and you raised your eyebrows by his random choice of fact.

“I uh-,” You looked up confused by his words and crossed your arms again.

“When I eat a banana I leave the end of it in the banana peel because I think it’s too bitter for my taste.”

It was just as random as Ashton’s and neither did he seem impressed. He had his eyebrows furrowed because of it being just as weird and he felt it was his turn again.

“I use conditioner sometimes because it’s easier to control the air after practice.”

“What brand?” You weren’t supposed to ask but curiosity took over and the words flied out from your mouth.

You were never the one to small talk so you quickly furrowed your eyebrows and wanted to change to subject because to be honest you could care less about his curly locks.

“I don’t eat breakfast in the morning because I think it makes me heavier for morning practice.” It was a stupid one you knew but it was the only one thing that came to your mind and Ashton nodded his head slowly.

You had no idea what else to say but when you took a look around you could see that everyone else were far behind.

They were standing trying to come up with something and you were surprised that some were getting more along than others. It wasn’t matching up with girls and boys so you weren’t actually the only one who had to suffer.

Ashton glared bored over at Calum and Michael who were having a fun time trying to come up with some stupid facts. They did in fact know each other for the longest so they could come up with something random that the other definitely wouldn’t guess.

He took a look at the large field you were standing on.

The weather was so nice in fact it was actually really great. He could already feel how he was going to sweat so much when they would start the football games whether it would just be for fun or actually practicing.

It was always like this every year. It was always such a nice whether it was like they were brought with luck every time.

But if Ashton squeezed his eye tight he could tell that clouds were slowly coming from distance.

They were far away but they were nicely grey and dark, just like he was feeling by being surrounded by so many cheerleaders at once.

If the weather would turn into something horrible he would already know why.

He looked away from the clouds to see you stand with a small frown on your face. You were glancing towards some of your friends actually having fun and it was a miss because you had looked forward to this too.

Well enough you had never tried it before but it was somehow and honor to be brought along. Besides it meant you had to skip science classes and you were more grateful of that than ever.

But to be honest you just wanted to go back to the bus again and sit. It would be much more fun than to stand next to Ashton and feel the hate vibrate.

Everyone was surprised you didn’t rip each other’s heads off yet. But you knew that with the wrong words someone would commit a murder tonight.

You grabbed the elastic band out from your hair and let it fall down to your shoulders. It was getting cold because of the wind and with your bare shoulders from the cheerleader uniform heat was needed.

You didn’t like where this was going because Coach Hanson had more “team building” activities in his mind before you would settle down with your tents.

“Okay, I hope everyone got the chance to know each other a little bit better. I think we did.” Coach Hanson yelled and he looked over at Mrs. Daniels with a smile.

If someone would actually have sex tonight the tension was obvious already.

“Before we team you up and walk into the woods we just have to make one more small activity. I think what this trip is not going to be about winning and playing, it going to be about getting to know each other on different levels.”

You didn’t like the fact that he said teaming up and walking into the woods but you couldn’t think more about it before he changed the attention to the new activity.

“I think you all know it pretty well when we stand like this.” Coach Hanson turned to Mrs. Daniels and watched her move around so her back was facing his chest.

When she deliberately fell towards his waiting arms your eyes widened and you shook your head in disbelief.

Ashton did the same thing and scratched his chin slightly. There was no way possible that you would get through a test like that because you well knew there was no trust between you what so ever.

“It’s the trust fall challenge.” Mrs. Daniels was so excited in her tone after moving away from Coach Hanson and she clapped her hands together.

“We expect that once this trip is over you all will be able to do this without such problems. It’s about trusting each other because if you can’t do that at a cheer or at a game, you can’t do anything together. It’s what brings us all together as one unite. You have to trust the person standing in front of you.”

You turned to Ashton after rolling your eyes deeply.

He was having the same look on his face and from the way he was standing you could already predict what he had in mind.

“I’m not starting.” You stated and pointed a finger at him.

He was the last person you trusted, probably all around the world. There was no way you would let him stand and prepare to just drop you to the ground like you were nothing but air to him.

“What? You think I’m gonna start? You can’t start pulling the ‘I’m the woman I should start first’ shit. It’s not 1993 anymore. I have just as much right to start as you do.”

He always had great arguments but there was no way possible you would let him start this. If this had to be fair it had to be random who would start this out.

“Rock, paper, scissor?” The suggestion was simple and great from your side, Ashton didn’t even need to be convinced to do so.

When he fist his hand together and prepared for the small game you looked at him twice in the ours before saying the words out loud.

It was like victory when you saw he had picked paper just like you had predicted he would.

“Scissor beats paper.” Your tone was teasing and annoying but you honestly couldn’t care. You weren’t the one to lose.

“Fucking fine.” Ashton cursed under his mouth and turned around with his back facing you.

But whether he did it on purpose or not you weren’t sure but the sudden dirt being kicked up on your uniform made your eyes go wide.

“Ashton you did not fucking just spill dirt on my uniform do you know how much this costs?” You were beyond angry by the stain that was so obvious to the otherwise black and white uniform you almost wanted to yell out loud.

Before you could react probably after looking up from your uniform a yelp came from your lips.

Unaware of what was going to happen Ashton fell backwards but without anything to catch him.

It was a loud groan that came from his lips when he fell down to the ground. Well enough it was grass but it still hurt his back like hell and he couldn’t avoid the very small rock that made a cut in his forehead.

“Are you in the fucking hell shit kidding me?” Curses came from Ashton’s lips per milliseconds and you looked down at him with wide eyes.

“Y/N this is all your fault?”

“My fault?” You pointed at yourself and furrowed your eyebrows, “How the hell can this be my fault?”

“You were supposed to catch me!” Ashton argued and ran a hand through his hair to find out he had blood leaking from a small cut.

“Yes on the count of three! You can’t just fall and expect me to catch you without being prepared.” You crossed your arms not finding his anger fair. He was the one after all who messed up your uniform.

“Ladies and gentleman.” Coach Hanson grabbed everyone’s attention by clapping his hands together and walked towards you.

“This is how you not handle the challenge.”

You could feel the blush spread on your cheeks by the sudden attention that was put on you. Along with you having dirt all over your clothes and having Ashton bleeding on the ground it looked like some sort of ridiculous scene.

You didn’t even give Ashton a hand to get up as he did it by himself and tried to remove his hair so it wouldn’t get blood on it.

“You need to trust each other. Especially you two.” Mrs. Daniels said and added extra pressure as she glanced between you.

They still didn’t look mad, on the contrary they were so amused because this was just exactly like they had predicted it would be.

It was a nightmare.

You looked up at Ashton once he stood up but it was not with smiles on your faces. You had no idea what the purpose of these tasks were but they had not helped you get any closer.

You rolled your eyes and headed towards the circle of people that was created with Mrs. Daniels and Coach Hanson in the middle.

Just by the look on their faces you didn’t like the way this was going.

“If you think the partnership is over now you’re in for a treat.” Mrs. Daniels said and both yours and Ashton’s eyes widened when she pulled out small maps and a compass.

Ashton’s mouth fell and he could already feel how his brain was starting to function but he could barely remember anything. Now was not a good time to think back to the geography classes he mostly had skipped for football.

You on the other hand had never spent a single time with geography at all. You had no idea where you were in the first place.

“We’ve decided that this year you will figure out where we are going to live by yourself. Usually we walk the trip together hand in hand through the woods but sometimes it’s time for a change. You all will receive a small map and a compass and please do remember this. It’s a partners tasks, not something where you can follow in groups. You have to do this all by yourselves.”

Your eyebrows lifted in confuse when the map was placed in your hands. You had no idea where was what and Ashton was just as confused when he received the compass.

“We think independence is important here and to see if everyone has listened in either health or geography I’m sure this will turn out great. No help from others, no cellphones and for the love of god. Don’t kill each other.”

You weren’t sure if Coach Hanson was serious about the last thing but the glare Ashton sent you was almost the same thing.

He was looking down at the compass confused, the red arrow wasn’t helping his situation at all and you could tell he had no idea what to do.

“This is not a good idea.” You moaned with your hands in your face.

“You think?” Ashton spat and followed the rest of the boys and girls towards the start of the wood.

It was clear that everyone was confused but they still made the effort to try. You could feel from Ashton’s attitude that this was something you had to sort out because he wasn’t even giving it a try.

You couldn’t even see what was wood or where you were standing. The only thing obvious on the map was the lake far away with a small X saying where you were supposed to meet up and camp.

It was with goofy laughter and confusion everyone split in the woods. Everyone was clearly heading in different directions not to follow each other and so did you.

At first it was Ashton walking in front but as he had no idea how to use the compass you tried to take control of the situation.

“I think we should go in this direction.” You pointed towards what seemed to be an easier way to go with bushes, trees and what else to offer.

“You sure about that?” Ashton asked like he couldn’t care less you almost wanted to smack the map in his face.

“You think I can do this on my own?” You asked with furrowed eyebrows and pushed past him to get to the small path that was made by people taking trips in the wood.

“No because someone ends up getting hurt. Give me that.” Without hesitation the map was taking out of your hands and switched out with the compass instead.

“You think I can use this?” You were almost in disbelief of how he was handling the situation.

“No screw the compass. We just have to trust our instincts. It’s just like on the Map App on an iPhone. Just follow the blue path.”

You weren’t the slightest convinced by his words but in the end it was the best way to go.

You had no idea where to walk so everything was done spontaneously. If something seemed easier to walk in you took that turn and if something came up that looked like the lake you would walk straight towards it.

What wasn’t expected was how easy it was to be fooled in the trap of trees.

It was like no matter where you went you felt you had been standing in the exact same position. It felt like driving in a roundabout and never actually getting out of it.

You almost wanted to roll your eyes when Ashton had decided you needed to turn to the left. It was the exact same small bushes with red roses that you had walked past there was no use of doing it again.

“Ashton we’ve been here! Twice!” The frustration was loud in your tone and to this point it didn’t even matter if your outfit had turned into mud because so had your shoes.

He looked over his shoulder because it was something you had been repeating endlessly.

“Well maybe you should take over then! It gives me headache to hear your voice all the damn time and I’m not the only one who’s supposed to figure out where to go!”

He placed the map in your eyes and all of the sudden all responsibility were on you.

You glared at him with wide eyes and shook your head in disbelief because even if he was the one controlling direction in the first place you were still there for moral support.

“You can’t just put it all on me! My situation awareness is horrible how do you expect me to figure out where to go! You said we needed to do this together and we’ve been walking for hours! The rest of the class has most probably figured it all out and is laughing their asses off knowing we’re still stuck here.”

Ashton shook his head in disbelief and looked towards a small peak that allowed to see outside of the woods.

He had no idea where it was leading but there was no way he would continue to listen to your complains.

So of course you followed him when he headed towards it without saying a thing. There was no way possible that you would sit here on your own trying to figure out something that was impossible.

Ashton’s eyes widened in surprise when he came outside and noticed you were on the top of one of the hills. In fact it was so high you were able to see over most of the woods but still not abe to see where the lake was placed.

And even if you could see where it was there was no use going for it. You wouldn’t be able to figure it out on your own and it would be too far of a walk to go especially considering it was starting to get dark.

At any other point you most probably would have enjoyed the sunset. It was dark and orange in the horizon far away but the frown of your face stole attention instead.

You stood completely frozen trying to take everything in at once.

Ashton was looking over the hills trying to figure out an idea but he couldn’t come up with anything.

His legs were hurting from the long walk and his head was pounding from trying to concentrate. It was frustation to his eyes every time he was left disappointed to the sight of not being at the finish line.

You weren’t even able to hear if someone was near you. The only thing loud was the wind gushing and the locusts far in the green grass.

You looked over your shoulder and tried to read Ashton’s face but it was no use.

“You know this is completely your fault.”

His words were almost disbelief to your ears and you were quick to cross your arms.

“Are you fucking kidding me? My fault? How do you always manage to blame it on me when I had absolutely nothing to do with it!”

“Exactly Y/N! That’s the reason why it’s your fault.” He spread his arms wide to show his frustration but he wasn’t a bit intimidating towards you.

“Because you didn’t participate in helping I had do to this on my own. One brain working against a puzzle like this is impossible and since you didn’t want to help me at all besides complaining about going the wrong direction there was no possible way we could find the place without a phone! And not to mention there’s not a shitty signal even on this heel we can’t even call for help.”

It was a challenge that came to your face by his words and you reached down to grab your phone.

“4G will test that theory.” You spat quietly and typed fast on your phone but disappointment came to your face once you weren’t even able to turn on the data.

Ashton was practically smirking when you quickly locked the phone and forced it back in your bag.

You weren’t sure how to react but you just wanted to walk up in his face and yell because he was being so cocky and annoying his attitude was ready to be grilled.

“Look at me one last time and you will regret it.” You warned with a pointed finger but it only challenged him more.

“Like what? Like I’m enjoying my frustration because trust me I do.” He was being tempted by your attitude but even if you wanted to react cool it only pissed you off even more than before.

You stormed towards him after letting go of some of the stuff you were given for the telt and your bags, literally not carrying that it would get mud from the dirty grass.

“You know what you are Ashton? You’re one of the worst and most importantly a fucking snake because you can always get people to like you by your sweet innocent look and attitude.”

“Oh and you know what you are?” He asked without removing a single bit and letting you walk straight to his face.

Regardless of the height difference you still weren’t frightened.

“You’re a fucking bitch Y/N and you always will be. In your head it will always be about grabbing the attention from everyone else because that’s what you do! Even if it’s not your intention you still manage to do so and it’s getting tiring and annoying!”

“Oh so I’m a bitch now? What a nice word to use Ashton what’s the next gonna be? Slut?” You shook your head in disbelief but trying to look confronting wasn’t the best considering he was hovering over you.

“Yes Y/N you are a bitch!” He was not having a single mine on his face it was coming straight from the heart.

“Thank you Ashton!” You yelled and made sure to add extra pressure on his name.

“Out of all the people I could end up stranded with it had to be you out of all the people I hate the most!”

“How lucky you are!”

“Lucky? I’d rather spent the night filled with spiders and slugs than sharing one last word with an idiot like you!”

You pushed your nose in the air and took one step back to illustrate how serious you were.

“Fine!”

“Fucking fine, princess!”

The nickname was enough to push you over your nerves and you turned around quickly to head towards a near rock you could sit at instead of the ground.

Being the person to not fucking care about anything Ashton slumped down on the ground as long as he was and tightened his jaw. This couldn’t get any worse and he couldn’t see the end of this no matter what.

You shook your head in disbelief and tried for the last time to check your phone but it was not any use. It didn’t even give you the chance to try with low battery.

You were stuck for the rest of the night.

- part 2 -

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junker-town · 6 years

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6 memories of Keith Jackson, the man who made everywhere a college football town

The sport’s greatest voice passed away at the age of 89.

Keith Jackson created the map of college football for the rest of us.

by Spencer Hall

Keith Jackson could wander. It was more fun when he did. He did it more frequently as he got older. He would note a lineman’s big ass or pause in the middle of an otherwise flawless, minimalist broadcast to say, “my oh my, have airplanes changed the way we lived.” Sometimes the judge, in the middle of an otherwise perfectly overseen trial, would stop and ask the plaintiff about their hydrangeas.

The wanderings were rare. He was, more than anything, intensely focused. At his best, he felt like a medium. An experience came through him, not around him or in spite of him, and always, always in perfect rhythm. Listen to Desmond Howard’s punt return against Ohio State.

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Do you hear how innately rhythmic his voice is, both in the lilting lulls during the kick, and then when he quickens the pace and — instead of narrating — punctuates the moment with single notes? How he works with the crowd exploding around him, not against it? Jackson’s delivery came in triplets when he got excited, always falling downhill off a big first syllable, the perfect blend of two gifts he received early in his life: a burly accent straight out of Roopville, Georgia, and a polish added by years as a broadcaster in radio and television.

That training meant calling everything ABC threw at him, but college football was different. One of Jackson’s gifts that made him so, so good at college football games was to make the viewer feel at home wherever the game might be. Ann Arbor became the Big House, Nebraska became the friendliest town in the world, and even beneath “the broad shoulders of the San Gabriel Mountains” you could feel at home, because ... well Keith did, didn’t he? Nowhere wasn’t home on a Saturday if Keith was calling it, because he had a map with a single line connecting everything.

This was all part of a whole to him. The things with names had definite pronunciations only Keith could nail; the things without names would be given them in time. The language of this sport — right down to the love for the great, the ugly, the undersized, the local, and the brutal — is his.

I can’t drive that point home enough. The words that come out of our mouths and onto a screen or the page about this sport aren’t bad imitations of Grantland Rice or Dan Jenkins. For a half century, the lexicographer of the sport was Keith Jackson, and everyone else came in at a distant second at best. Everything I have ever written about the sport contains a deranged, badly degraded permutation of his diction and cadence. It is base DNA, and for at least two generations, the rest is just mutation after mutation.

One more gift: he never lost his accent. I swear it came out 3 percent harder when he called college games. It made him a welcoming, unintimidating guest from a definite somewhere, but never so much of a somewhere as to overwhelm or exclude.

Looking back, it should have come out a little bit harder when Keith Jackson called a college football game. Accents always come out harder at home.

He made every college town sound like his college town.

by Brian Floyd

My favorite clip of Keith Jackson isn’t a call or a moment, but a monologue.

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Jackson, nearing the end of his career, waxes poetically about Pullman, home of Washington State University. This was 2002, my senior year of high school. I grew up in a family of Cougs, rooting for the team, but had never seen Pullman.

It didn’t fully make sense until years later, but the feelings of nostalgia in Jackson’s voice could just as easily be my own, years after graduating. It’s the best description of Pullman I’ve heard.

Jackson made his way to study broadcasting in the middle of wheat fields in Washington. He took a path many from Washington State hope to take: local radio, then local news in Seattle, then toward the pinnacle of college football broadcasting at ABC.

He called plenty of iconic moments, but above that was his ability to set a scene, stakes, and surroundings. He was describing Pullman in the clip above, but could just as easily rip off a soliloquy about part of Nebraska, California, Iowa, or Louisiana. He was great at setting up the moment, then letting it unfold for you without too much of him — maybe with a “Whoa Nellie.”

A kid from a dirt farm who went to college at a land-grant school in Washington was a perfect voice for his era. He was an alumni of my school, and someone we continue to hold up with pride. But he could just as easily have been one of yours.

All his little references to places and nicknames were his way of telling you that you belonged.

by Bill Connelly

In 1998, when I was a Mizzou sophomore, the Tigers had their best team in almost 20 years. They went to play top-ranked Ohio State in mid-September, and nearly 20 years later, I only remember a few things about the game. I remember current Mizzou head coach Barry Odom forcing a Joe Germaine fumble in the first half, that it was returned for a touchdown, that the Tigers led by one at halftime, and that Ohio State had the Mizzou option swallowed up in the second half and pulled away for an easy win.

Most of all, I remember “a burly bunch from Boone County.”

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That’s what Keith Jackson called Mizzou in the pregame, and I not only remember the phrase nearly 20 years later, I remember how it made me feel. I was absolutely giddy. My team was not only in a game important enough to get KEITH JACKSON on the call, but he had a nickname for us. He knew where we lived!

He was the best at the little wink. Keith always gave you an extra piece of information to let you know that he was paying attention, that your team mattered. Maybe it was the county in which your school resides, the river that runs by your campus or stadium, or the home town of your left guard.

He was always intent on letting the game be the star, preferring to let the action unfold. But when he set the table, he made sure you knew you were welcome at it.

For most of us, the legend begins and ends with the Rose Bowl.

by Richard Johnson

The last time I saw Keith on television, it was in the most fitting setting: the Rose Bowl broadcast booth, alongside Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit. It was inside the press box that bears his name at the venue he’d dubbed The Grandaddy of them All, the same place where he called Peyton Manning’s first game ...

RIP Keith Jackson -- one of college football's most iconic voices. Here's Keith describing Peyton Manning's collegiate debut at UCLA in 1994. http://pic.twitter.com/VvYXb8N1gO

— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) January 13, 2018

... and Bo Schembechler’s last.

That place which was the backdrop to the first time I saw him, on the night he delivered the soundtrack to the greatest game I’ve ever seen: Texas over USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl. I was too young to appreciate the history behind the mic. All I knew was that his voice was cool and that that game was awesome.

Jackson was the voice of the sport for so many. His speech was folksy and colloquial, yet authoritative. That twangy baritone rumbled until the pitch had to change to announce a “fuuuuuuumble” or to tell Desmond Howard “goodbye” before saying “hello, Heisman.”

How is it that the voice of God could sound just like a lovable country bumpkin?

I remember being at my parents’ house, cruising their omnibus cable package earlier this summer. An old regular season game was playing. It was Ohio State and someone else from the 1970s. The teams didn’t matter. What mattered was Jackson on the call. I’ve fallen into Jackson YouTube holes time and time again. I wasn’t able to appreciate him much live, but I was able to view him as a piece of college football history.

His last Rose Bowl in attendance — Penn State and Southern California, as he would have called the Trojans, did battle in an epic game — wasn’t enough, clearly. The Grandaddy raised the stakes in 2018 for Georgia and Oklahoma’s epic Playoff bout. It is a use of poetic license by me, a writer, to say this, and I don’t care: the Rose Bowl saved its best for Jackson’s last.

We don’t know whether he was able to watch the game. But as Sony Michel crossed the goal line and the team from Jackson’s home state won in dramatic fashion, I hope he gave a private “whoa Nellie” for old time’s sake.

He helped make a regional game irresistible to the rest of the country, whether he wanted to or not.

by Jason Kirk

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“Kids growing up in the Midwest, playing football in the street, in the snow and the mud, dream of someday being good enough to play in the Rose Bowl. That’s the ultimate in college football for the Midwestern kid.”

That’s Bo Schembechler, who’d announced the 1990 Rose would be his last. His 194–47–5 record as Michigan’s coach had included seven losses in the Rose, each by 10 or fewer points. The Wolverines entered Pasadena with an outside shot at his only national title, if Colorado and Miami lost and voters overlooked Notre Dame’s head-to-head edge to give him a lifetime-achievement No. 1.

But USC won, thanks to a young man with a different lifelong attachment to the Rose.

After scoring the winning touchdown, celebrating with teammates and packing up his hardware, Ricky Ervins did something that probably no other Rose Bowl player of the game has ever done.

He walked home.

Unique among Rose Bowl most valuable players, Ervins grew up less than a mile from the famous stadium, parked cars there on New Year’s Day and was a star at Pasadena Muir High.

Jackson followed his call of the winning score in the “old-fashioned donnybrook” with a characteristic 53 seconds of silence. The game no longer had national stakes by that point, yet it still meant everything.

The Rose would spend much of the ‘90s delaying the BCS’ institution, preferring to preserve its ties to only two conferences. Jackson’s career would end in a Rose won by a team from neither of the game’s traditional regions (with some people inferring that he hoped for “Southe’n California” to beat the intruders). The last game he attended would be a traditional Midwest vs. West Coast classic, momentarily untainted by the Playoff. And the final Rose of his lifetime would be won in its first-ever overtime by a team from his distant birth state against another interloper whose name you can’t say without hearing him: “OAK-lahomaaa.”

The Kick. The Reverse. The Catch. From that day in Columbus to #KeithJackson on our own @Keithjackson88 and many more, we'll never forget the legendary voice. RIP http://pic.twitter.com/dldFoHQRAv

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) January 13, 2018

It took us decades to decide Pasadena sometimes belongs to all of America. Jackson didn’t square with the idea, saying the 2003 game missing out on the top three Big Ten/Pac-10 teams “aggravates the hell out of us on the West Coast.”

But of course he was part of the venue’s national legend all along:

“I remember when Alabama came to the Rose Bowl [Stadium] to play UCLA [in 2000], and several of the Alabama players came and had their sit-down with Keith Jackson,” [Todd] Harris said. “And I remember distinctly, one of the tailbacks, I remember he walked out of the interview with Keith, and he said to a bunch of his buddies that were waiting in the hall, ‘I just spoke with the voice of God.’”

That Michigan-USC Rose is the first non-Tecmo football game I remember actually paying attention to, including the ACC games I’d attended and Pop Warner games I’d played in.

“There’s something great about a cool TV grandpa who wanted nothing more than for me to like a fun thing.”

by Dan Rubenstein

My parents didn’t raise me with any sort of college football allegiances, but my dad loves the sport, and we watched a ton on Saturdays. Growing up in LA, that meant a lot of Pac-10, every Rose Bowl, and whatever huge game was on that week. That meant Keith Jackson, who was so essential, I just assumed he was the broadcaster for every college football game. In my mind, the guy who called games was folksy and said, “WHOOAAAAA NELLIE,” every so often, and no other sport had that.

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My favorite two games in the mid-to-late ‘90s were Florida-Florida State (alternated between CBS and ABC because of TV deals) and the Rose Bowl. I loved Florida State’s speed, always had my FSU gear on (3,000 miles away from Tallahassee with zero connection to the school), and needed Keith Jackson to get way more excited about Warrick Dunn than he did Danny Wuerffel.

The Rose Bowl meant going to a neighbor’s house for a New Year’s Day party, where the kids ran around or played video games, some of the adults hung out around the kitchen, and the rest of them (plus me) planted in the living room with the game on one of those thick, projector-type square screens. I don’t have one specific favorite call or moment in those Rose Bowls. My happy place was watching a huge game being played under a warm sky on green grass, with Keith welcoming us into the new year chuckling about the pure size of an enormous lineman or enjoying a big catch in a way that made it feel like he’d never seen one like that, even though he had.

These are all things that, unfortunately, I haven’t really thought about until this weekend. The sport changes quickly enough that we’re all just trying to keep up, and it’s pretty terrific that a more deliberate, warmer voice retired RIGHT before social media began parsing every moment, quote, tweet, whatever.

So with a second to think about him, there’s something especially great about a cool TV grandpa who wanted nothing more than for me to like a fun thing for being fun. That includes chuckling about an enormous lineman.

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