[WP] A living personality exists inside your headphones and talks to you while you have them on, but unplugged

Ughh .. I sighed out loud, for no one in particular to hear. I had just begun getting back into shape after a long, draining relationship. It was an abusive one, riddled with lying, cheating, as well as physical and mental abuse. My friends could no longer see me in this relationship, they did everything they could to open my eyes, but eventually had to turn away. I had no one really to go to anymore after I finally got out.. I needed to get myself going so I can start feeling like myself once again, and hopefully my friends would still be around after that.

Recently my headphones burnt out on me, these long runs would be extremely difficult for me if I didn't have music to occupy my mind. Being on a strict budget, I decided to browse a local pawnshop for some cheap ones until I could upgrade to a better pair before heading to the track that day. I dragged myself over to the bench sitting next to the track as a cool breeze swept up my back while I sat down on the metal seat. It was beautiful out, the weather began to change my mood for running into a much more positive one.

Welp ..let's get it done I muttered to myself as I plugged my headphones into my phone and tuned into my starting run music of choice, Kenny Loggins, Highway to the Dangerzone. I made the first couple of laps with no problem, only two more and I would be done. I felt great as I began the third lap, as if I could an additional three without any problems. Coming around the first turn I got distracted by a passing car, and didn't notice I had drifted to the inside of the track, and the toe of my shoe caught in a hole. I fell to the ground forwards with a thud and scrape, as the little rocks on the track scattered out away from me like marbles dropped loose from a bag.

Ouch, fuck that hurt .. I groaned, and gritted my teeth together from the paid, and rolled around a bit and came to a stop on my side to assess the damage done. My phone sat in front of me, scuffed slightly from the fall, with my headphones disconnected and hanging from my ears. My knee and elbow were scraped up pretty good as well. Great.. Well, thank god no one was on the track to see me fall and eat it like an idiot.. or so I thought.

Hey, you okay? A voice called out softly from over my shoulder, my heart jumped up into my throat, mostly out of embarrassment rather than startled, I thought I was alone!. Yeah, I should pay more attention to what I'm do-.. I turned my eyes up to the sky to see the audience of my graceful display of footwork, but saw no one there. I swore I heard something, it was clear as day. Did I hit my head too?

No, you didn't hit your head. But your knee and elbow look pretty banged up! I leapt up from the ground and spun around. I was sure no one was there. And my eyes confirmed it. He-hello? I said, scared of the situation. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. I definitely heard the voice coming from the side.

Hey- Hey I'm really sorry. Please don't be startled. I don't know how to quite explain this, but I- .. WHERE ARE YOU? IS THIS A JOKE? IT'S NOT FUNNY DAMMIT! I shouted out loud. I was in full on panic mode, I ran in a hobbled state off the track while my mind spun from what was happening.

I'm so sorry but please listen to me, I don't mean to scare you, but ..uh, I am in your headphones! This mysterious voice was indeed coming from my headphones. I looked down to my side to see the jack dangling just above my pocket. In my rush, I left my phone on the ground next to my wipe out skid on the track. I go to pull the headphones out of my ears quickly, but before I can the voice calls out ..almost scared, pleading.

Please don't! I have been sitting in these headphones for god knows how long! I haven't spoken to anyone in so long. Don't pull them out just yet.. just hear me out Alright, I thought to myself.. Thank you, said the headphones. I spoke out Wait, can you hear my thoughts?. Yeah, I guess I can, I don't mean to intrude, but I can't tune it out. It's like you're speaking out loud to me.

This was all too much, I slowly sank to the ground and put my face into my hands. They were trembling as the adrenaline began to wear off from the scare, and the fall. So ..who are you.. h- ..how did you end up in these headphones?. Well.. I don't know. I don't remember a lot of things. I remember being really sad.. and then I remember not being able to breathe very well, tears streamed down my face.. then slowly everything faded to black, and I felt like I was floating.. next thing I know I ended up here.

Oh ..I'm sorry.. that sounds so awful.. I don't really know what else to say.. I have never spoke to a set of headphones before. The voice chuckled a bit It's okay.. and thank you. It feels good to finally be able to talk to someone. I didn't notice it at first, but I felt a smile slowly creep across my face. Yeah.. it does feel pretty good, doesn't it? I hadn't realized that it had been months since I actually spoke to someone outside of work, and the occasional hello and "how are you doing?" routine. I leaned back and placed my hands behind me to keep me up. The sun shined down onto me and the breeze moved across my open sores on my body. It stung, but I didn't mind, after all.. it was a beautiful day out. So ..tell me a little about yourself mystery voice.

Well, as far back as I can remember..

/r/WritingPrompts Thread