Short stories by Jacob

Wasting away...

A/N: Howdy lovelies, Jacob here! I know a lot of you are probably gonna ask... "Jacob why did you just start a new thing when you have been working on that fnaf fanfic and it's not even completed???" and to that I say... I have no idea. I've been working on the next chapter and luckily for me I will have more time this month to work on it so hopefully, I will be able to continue that soon. So keep an eye out for that ;). Anywho, sorry for being off-line for the past few weeks. Let's just say that school decides that everything is gonna happen at once all together and then a few of my family members have been off and on in the hospital. So, I've had a wild few weeks *nervously laughs*.  With that being said this series of short stories is just going to be a bunch of random things that I write. I am going to try and make it as grammatically correct as possible, but I am only human so have mercy. This first story is just something I came up with on the fly so I hope you all enjoy it. Without further ado please enjoy 'Wasting away...' 

Jackson laid on his bed staring up at his ceiling which was covered in plastic glow-in-the-dark stars.  He had the stars put up there by his parents when he was six and he just never wanted to take them down. He always had an affinity for space and the stars. The bookshelf which stood in the corner of his room was filled with books about space and constellations. He's not quite sure what had drawn him to the subject. Maybe the vastness of it all. Knowing that you are a small speck compared to everything in this universe, it humbles you. Some might say it humbles him to the point of not caring anymore.

Jackson used to be a straight-A student, with perfect attendance and a bright future ahead of him. It was even possible for him to get a scholarship to any college he wanted with his ability to play football. From sophomore year to junior year, it was like a light switch. A once bright mind with enough energy to burn for a millennia snuffed out like it was nothing more than a mere candle. While he for the most part kept up with his attendance his grades were average 70s across the board. His never-ending energy and excitement to play sports, gone. His once-bright smile and sparkling eyes turned into nothing more than a blank stare. 

He contemplated all of this as he sat silently in his room. It was funny to him no one seemed to care. Not any of his so-called friends. His parents had always been away on business trips ever since they had gotten promoted so they didn't have a clue. His grandfather who came around most of the time to make sure he was still doing everything he needed to didn't seem to even notice the fact that he was different. Jackson chuckled quietly to himself as he thought this. In a sense it made him feel free. Free from the struggles of being perfect. Striving to make every aspect of your life as good as possible only to leave your mental state in shambles on the floor from pushing yourself too hard. He had only just realized that he was doing too much when one night his parents were home his sophomore year and they were all eating dinner.

It was a quiet family dinner with mainly just the sounds of forks scraping on plates to fill the silence. That week had been full of many things happening for Jackson. His big football game was the next day he had two projects due for two separate classes and a huge test for another. It was overwhelming but by cutting his sleep in half he was able to get everything in from all the after-school practices, to finishing his projects, even studying for his test. The bags under his eyes were evident but he was happy that everyone just chose to ignore them. He pipped up finally after a few minutes of the deafening silence. "So are you guys going to be coming to the playoffs tomorrow? The team and I have been practicing really hard this week and I really think we will be able to pull it off and make it to the state championship!" He smiled happily as he remembered all the hard work everyone had put in in the past week so that the team could be stronger than ever. "Tomorrow? Ummm..." His dad spoke in his deep gravelly voice pondering if they would be able to make it or not. "Don't we have that flight to New York tomorrow at 1 pm?" Jackson's mother chimed in reminding her husband of their prior arrangements they had scheduled. "Oh yeah right that... Sorry, bud but I don't think we will make this one maybe if you and your team make it to states we will make it." Jackson's dad's voice held an apologetic tone. Jackson had heard it before it was the same way freshman year and his eighth-grade year too. His parents never were able to make it to his games anymore. "We are really sorry Jacky get your grandpa to record it for us so we can watch it later." His mother had always asked to get it recorded but Jackson knew they never watched it he would always ask but they always said "we will get to it soon Jack we promise" then they never would. "Oh..." Jackson responded and the silence once again surrounded them.  

The next day, he woke up early to the sound of his parents talking downstairs. He couldn't quite hear them so he carefully tiptoed down the stairs and listened in on their conversation. "We could just delay the flight and go tomorrow..." His father spoke before getting interrupted by his mother. "Todd we have been planning this break for months now besides if we delay it we will miss half of the stuff we were going to do. You know this. Jackson will have other football games we won't get another break for a year." Jackson listened quietly suddenly aware of the breath he was holding in. He rushed back up the stairs and back into his room making sure that his parents didn't hear him before releasing the breath he was holding in. Anger consumed him. His head was pulsing with thought after thought. "They are just going to ditch me and go on a little trip to New York. They care more about a stupid trip than me." He was infuriated he wanted to punch something he wanted to scream. But he didn't he stood there in the middle of his room with his thoughts. 

His team that day did not win the playoffs. They lost 47-23. The whole school was disappointed and they needed someone to blame. The only person who seemed to be acting differently was Jackson. After the game, his coach came up to him and asked him why he had played so differently, but Jackson just huffed still lost in his own thought. The season was over there were no more games what was he going to be able to do about that now. His teammates all seemed to ask him what was up but they all just got ignored. One of them took great offense to his behavior and spread rumors across the school saying that Jackson was the one who cost the school the ability to make it to states. The rumors spread like a wildfire and eventually the whole school treated him like an outsider even some teachers. Jackson didn't care though, he didn't have a reason to care. He was just a speck in this universe so why did it matter if no one cared about him. 

Jackson remembers that day vividly. It doesn't bring him rage anymore though. It brings him reassurance. He finally understood, nothing mattered in this pathetic world. We are just small and meaningless beings living on a rock floating through the vast nothingness which is space.

Jackson sat up in his bed when a knock sounded on his door. He walked over to answer it his smile he had faded as he approached and opened the door. There stood his father smiling softly at him. "What," Jackson asked looking at his dad, brow furrowing. He hadn't seen him in a while but it's not like he cared. "Well umm... I was just wanting to check in on you to see if you were doing okay. I just got back and so... I wanted to see if you wanted to go get something to eat or," he was cut off by Jackson. "Do you think being nice to me will make me go back to how I used to be? I don't care. I won't ever care. I am not going to be your perfect son anymore so just leave me alone." With that Jackson closed the door in his father's face and laid back onto his bed taking in the silence around him.

It was peaceful, calming. This was his favorite part of the day. Getting to bask in the nothingness of the world. He just wished for the next two years to go by faster so that he could waste away in the abyss of nothing that surrounded him more often. 

A/N: and that was 'Wasting away...' I hope all of you enjoyed it I had fun writing it. I plan on doing a lot more short stories like this leaving them open for interpretation so that you can fill in the blanks and so that I could possibly make a part two if you guys enjoy it enough. Of course, part two won't come immediately after this first part I have other stories that will go in between but if you guys enjoyed it I may or may not make a part two for it so let me know if you would like that. Thank you guys so much for reading. I can't wait to write more for you guys it's so much fun! If you have any questions for me feel free to leave them in the comments. Thank you for everything and I will see you in the next one! Byyyeeee! <3

Word count: 1742