Jackson Ashe's Story

Jackson listened to the buzz of conversation around him, alternating between looking at the ceiling and looking at the ground. He didn't want to look at someone and make them uncomfortable, although it was partly so no one could focus on his eyes. Being around all these gorgeous people with magnificent bodies who were competing with him in a beauty competition was nerve wracking, and he was trying to keep people form noticing it. After all, he needed to give the money to his family - For what they'd done for him, they deserved to life a nice retirement, not a penniless one. Hearing the minutes countdown, he bit his lip somewhat nervously. He looked up in surprise and apologized as someone lightly bumped into him.

He smiled at them apologetically and they smiled back before their expression quickly became a straight face, then their eyes flickered downwards. Jackson flinched and almost moved to cover himself, but remembered he couldn't afford to be shy in this competition, although he very clearly became uncomfortable. Tell him to go out in his boxers and he'd strut it out no problem, tell him to go out naked and he'll shuffle nervously towards the exit. Once they had wandered away, apparently part of the HAM team, he made his way to the further corner away from everyone. When the girl was told to put her arms down, he glanced over just briefly before looking at the ceiling again. 'Poor girl,' he thought to himself, frowning. He was sure the exposure was very uncomfortable for most of the ladies, and sympathized. 'I hope everything goes alright,

Then, he was being assaulted. He figured he had just been saved for left as the HAM team descended down upon him. They seemed to not even care there were no mirrors about, unlike what many of the TV shows suggested, with them being surrounded by bright lights and mirrors. For some of the times, he bend down a bit for them to get to his hair. He knew he was a bit on the taller side, and not all the girls were comfortable with reaching that far up to work. As they wandered away, he was astonished at how quickly they worked. Jackson frowned and reached across his chest, rubbing his arm nervously as he looked back down. 'Just do your best,'

Jennifer sat poised as the workers touched up on her hair and make-up. She felt the plucking at her eyebrows, brushes running over face, and hair spray just barely misting her skin. She bit her lip gently, wanting them to be done. They scolded her for messing up the gloss, and reapplied. She could still taste the whitening bleach in her mouth, and feel a bit of the sting after most of the hair on her body was waxed completely off. She felt a bit cold, because then again she wasn't wearing any clothes. She glanced over at the other contestants, seeing the girls embarrassed and covering themselves, and the boys looking a bit awkward.

She wasn't as shy as the others. Standing up from the chair she'd been in while they perfected her, she walked over to the others. She stood shoulders back, back arched, and her hands on her hips. She was a little self concious of her bellybutton.. But it wasn't too noticeable to the average person. To the judges, maybe. She didn't know what their opinion would be. Besides that though she knew she had a pretty killer body many girls would die for. To her all of them were gorgeous and she wondered why they were being so silly and hiding. It was about to be on TV anyway..

She moved over near Jackson, a contestant she was slightly familiar with. They'd spoken a few times before, and he seemed like an easy person to get along with. She glanced him up and down once, then stared into his eyes. "Nervous?" She asked him, with a playfully flirty smile. She tilted her head, looking up at him. He was easily 7 inches taller than her, but in heels it was less.

Jackson remained silent, dreading when he had to walk on stage. Of course he'd fake being more confident in his body, not wanting to look too sheepish - After all, he had to sell himself. Looking down at the ground, he just waited. Waiting, though, was absolute torture. It was like waiting for the guillotine. Jackson did his best to not look at anything, or himself - It would make him nervous.

Then, he heard a voice and looked up to Jennifer, very pointedly rolling eyes around her body and looking at just her face, fixing his eyes on her. However, he moved his eyes much less than most people would, making exaggerated eye movements to avoid looking at her - But being blind in one eye made him not have to. He smiled slightly at her, his little smile charming, but also genuine.

"Hey," he greeted her before chuckling lightly and reaching up to rub the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah, kinda," he laughed. "If they told me to go out in boxers, i'd have no problem - But being out there with absolutely nothing?" A nervous chuckled escaped his lips and he shook his head. "A bit too much, if you ask me." Out of habit, Jackson reached up to stroke the dogtags he normally wore when he was nervous, but touched only skin since he had removed them as well. To keep his mind off things though, he simply moved his hand to his collarbone and rhythmically tapped his collarbone.

Jennifer laughed a bit with him, looking around at the other contestants again. She knew all of them had reasons for doing what they were. A lot had people at home they wanted the money for. She didn't know how to feel about this. The point about her was that she didn't. She didn't have anyone for her home. She left her parents when she'd turned 18. Took her car, and drove down that long desert road without looking back. Didn't have much friends she'd miss. Didn't have any real lovers. Her parents never seemed to care. There was a quote Gandhi said once, "Whatever you do in life will be insignificant. But it very important that you do it because. No one else will."

You wonder sometimes.. What's you're purpose. Why are you here. What was she doing here. How does anyone know? She guessed that's the lesson: don't leave anything misunderstood, don't postpone what you want.. Because just like that... it could end.
Gandhi said that whatever you do in life will be insignificant. But it's very important that you do it. She tended to agree with the first part. Some might say it's selfish what she was doing was for herself. She wanted meaning to her life, even if this seemed pointless, it all was to her.

She'd learned that you can't change for anyone. You have to change for yourself. She thought back to when she was a little girl, and her mother used to smoke many times a day. Her mom always told her she'd try to quit, but she never did. Jennifer realized her mom had always been stressed, and she didn't really want to stop. You have to want to change more than anything if you're going to..

Changing was like winning or doing something. It was for yourself.. The best reason to do anything, she felt, was for yourself. No matter how selfish it sounded she knew this is what she wanted. Winning this. And if she couldn't do it, she deserved to be a lifeless robot..

She look at Jackson, something about him, just looking at him made her feel different. Even though she stood there naked, and looking somewhat confident, inside she felt like half of her was melting. His slightly dull green eyes seemed to look right through her. She swallowed hard, and watched him tap on his collar bone. Something then clicked in her head. A plan maybe, but also a conceded way of being close to him.. She decided she'd talk to him after the first round about it.

((Pfffft. I go to sleep and wake up with 14 new posts. I love you guys.))

Dylan

She tapped her hands on her thighs to keep herself from covering up again, and forced herself to look around. She hadn't met any of the other nine yet. Well... they certainly didn't seem to be very comfortable, either, except for one girl. Dylan frowned at her. Jennifer, that was her name. They'd all been given quick introductions, but no real time for socializing. Even clothed, Dylan hadn't been fond of the blond, and now, watching her standing completely unabashed, Dylan realized something. She was going to lose. In comparison to that woman, they would completely glaze over sweet girl-next-door Dylan Springs.

Well, I'm not about to let that happen, she thought fiercely, straightening her back. She let her arms hand loosely at her sides and brushed back her hair out of her face. Confidence, Dylan. She tried to recall all of the lessons her mother had forced on her. Poise. Presentation. I'm just as beautiful as her, she kept reminding herself. Then a small smile curled over her pink lips, and she corrected herself-- I'm just as hot as her!

Two can play at this game, Miss Jennifer. But only one can win.

Dylan took a moment to compose herself. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Then she plastered on a dazzling smile and strode across the room, picking out who she was going to hit it up with. She tapped the girl on the shoulder. Eleanor.

"Hey. Eleanor, right? Dylan." The buzz from the crowd beyond seemed to pick up. They were a crowd of mindless, excitable drones. Dylan winced at the sound. "This is fun, huh?" she asked, a little dryly. She scanned the other contestants and then nodded to Jennifer and the boy she was flirting with. "Check them out. Who does she think she's fooling?"

Dylan didn't quite know why she was saying those cruel things, but what came to mind was her sisters. They had always said things like that to her, right to her face, and it made them look so... in control. Her sisters were ugly, but that confidence made them look pretty and powerful. That was what Dylan needed to win.

Somewhere backstage, she heard a techie yell, "Five minutes till show! Get them lined up!"

Jackson kept a small, nervous smile on his face. He didn't want to look like he wasn't confident in himself, because he was aware that he was rather attractive - Or at least, that many people thought him so. His kept his eyes on Jennifer, not wanting to look rude by glancing away as if in disinterest or letting them wander in any direction that one might mistake for perverted. His one emerald green eye had a kind spark in it, while the other seemed to lack something. It seemed grayer, duller, but only if you stared into it for quite a while. Soon, he became conscious of the chance of it being notice and looked up at the ceiling, figuring it would be the safest place to look away.

"It's certainly not what i was expecting - The show, i mean. I knew what it was like, i guess, but..." he trailed off tapping his collarbone a bit harder before stopping, realizing he would go out on stage with little red dots on it if he continued. ", I suppose i forgot about the nude part." he breathed before wetting his lips with his tongue out of nervous habit. "I hope no one gets it too bad," he thought out loud, wistfully. He was very clearly a compassionate person, very easy to like.

Then, the five minute mark came and he froze, every muscle in his body tensing - which, strangely, wasn't unattractive at all. He watched as everyone began to line up and swallowed, going to join the line. He felt exposed, but knew he would have to simply get used to it if he wanted to win, or even have a hope at winning. What they had to say, he'd take it like a man, he couldn't let things that that damage him too badly. He began to stretch his arms across his chest in preparation, psyching himself up for walking out in front of the judges. He'd be confident, but not cocky, modest, but not overly, and perhaps even sexual, but not raunchy. Oh gosh, this was the time that he would have to be thankful for the drama department in his high school.

Jackson remained quiet in line as he began to fidget. He didn't like being fforced onto stage in his state of dress, but needed to for his parents - He was determined to. His parents deserve to life the rest of their lives in a house, after all. He glanced upon the other contestants briefly, quickly looking up at the ceiling when he accidentily caught sight of a bit of sideboob. He had to stay confident, that way he wouldn't look bad when he got on-

'Jackson Ashe!'

Oh god, no. As one of the members pushed his forward towards the stage, he looked back at the others, mouthing to them 'Good luck', despite that he was the one who was going on stage. Straightening his back and gathering up his courage, he squared his shoulders and walked out onto the stage, ignoring the whooping. The judges sat there, watching him as his walked out. Jackson wondered if he should be alarmed, disturbed, or pleased at the way the judge's faces lit up.

"Well, hello there!" One of the judges yelled out of him and he grinned.

"Hello," he replied. The next questions asked were what he expeced, 'what's your name?' and 'How old are you?'. "My name is Jackson Ashe," he replied to their first question, waiting as they began to speak once more. "I'm twenty one." Suddenly, there wre more whoops and hollers, and he was wondering if he should perhaps do something in response. So, for the sake of television, he turned just slightly and flexed a few of his abs - Suddenly, there were only more screams. 'Oh dear...' he thought to himself as he became still, but stood confidently.

"Well, i see you've taken good care of yourself, you're very fit, but don't overdo it - It gives you a good body type." Answering with a thank you, he chuckled to himself, trying to keep himself from simply collapsing under the pressure of the cameras and audience. "Could you turn around for us, maybe?"

"Of course," Jackson laughed, turning aand making a face of horror when no one could see it. He could feel them staring straight at him, and certainly wasn't very comfortable with it - though he'd pretend to be. Part of being sexy was being confident after all. Hearing that he may turn around, he did so, grinning again.

"Well, you've certainly got a pretty cute tush," Jackson blushed just a bit, but laughed, thanking them again with a small hip movement which elicited a small whoop from the crowd again. "Now, you're face as got a pretty nice shape to it. It's sharp and your jawline is very strong, but there's just something about you i can't quite place. Something in your face." Nodding once more, he pursed his lips for a moment before smiling again. "I'll give you an eight out of ten on face appeal for that, but i guess... a nine and a half for your body - You've taken great care of all of it."

"Overall sex appeal... i'd say it would be a nine."

Jackson nodded, grinning. "Thank you," There was a reply Jackson didn't much care to hear as he walked backstage once more. His face was white as a sheet, having gotten one away from a perfect score with them almost noticing his left eye. That was far too close for him, he knew if they noticed his eyes, it was absolutely over.

(idk if this is closed like... 'CLOSED' but i figured i might try and put this in and see if it helps. If nothing happens, then i suppose i'll call it CLOSED closed and leave it alone. :/)