Stuck In An Elevator

I headed down the quiet hallway, casually entering the elevator while keeping my gaze down at the floor. I pressed the third floor button, waiting expectantly for the doors to close. Just as the elevator was about to start its trip up the floors, a boy slipped into it, nearly getting his heal caught in the closing doors. Luckily, it bounced back open first.

“Freaking thing…” the boy muttered with a heavy European accent, looking over at the list of numbered buttons. Noticing the third floor button was lit, he jabbed at the door closed button nervously, not really realizing I was there. Once the elevator was on its way, he shrank back into the far corner of the elevator, looking at the ground. I just ignored the boy, leaning against the wall of the elevator. The boy fidgeted and seemed to be getting nervous by the second. He kept on looking around the elevator quickly.

Suddenly the elevator completely stopped. The boy jumped and squeaked softly as the lights went out. “Ohgod…” he muttered under his breath.

“Oh… no! This can’t be happening!” I muttered quietly as I looked around the elevator. The boy whimpered softly, sliding down the wall and curling up. He hugged his knees tightly and bit his lip, looking up at me pleadingly. I looked down at him, slightly confused. I knelt down beside him. “Hey, are you okay? Are you claustrophobic?” I asked quietly. He flinched back from me, whimpering and biting back a slight sob. I didn’t know I could be that scary… I pulled away, chewing my lip, still speaking softly. “Any way I can help? At all?” The boy whimpered again, burying his face in his hands, unable to hold back his next sob. He curled up more, shrinking back into the corner of the elevator.

“Guess not…” I said, sighing softly and pulling away, moving into the opposite corner of the elevator. I looked over at the boy who seemed to be deep in thought, chewing his lip slightly and still whimpering.

“T-Theo?” he asked, speaking barely above a whisper. I blinked, staring at him, wondering how he knew my name.

“Yeah, that’s me,” I replied, still looking over at him. I recognized him from somewhere… Ah! He lived in the same house as Xoc. He nodded, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He shuddered, sobbing again and hugging his knees tightly. “Are you sure… are you sure there’s no way I can help you?” I asked, chewing my lip.

“I-I just… I-I don’t like small d-dark s-spaces,” the boy whimpered, muttering under his breath, “Gods, I need help.”

“You speak French? I thought I recognized that accent…” I said quietly. He nodded slightly, only speaking French now.

“Not much English… I-I speak a b-bit of it, but I-I’m only fluent in two languages… E-English isn’t one of t-them,” he said.

“Ah… I used to live in France. It was beautiful… ended up becoming fluent in the language,” I smiled, responding to the boy in French. He nodded again.

“T-That’s what happened w-with me… j-just never had the g-guts to move away from it a-again.”

“Sometimes I wish I was back in France,” I chuckled quietly, looking down at the floor, “it was so beautiful there… nice and peaceful.” He shook his head, biting his lip hard and whimpering again.

“No…” he said quietly. I looked over at him questioningly, tilting my head slightly. He looked up at me. “N-not peaceful. N-not in Paris, at least…”

“I’ve only been to Paris once. I hated it. I hate large cities… plus, I was with someone,” I paused, “I was with someone who wasn’t all that friendly.”

“W-who?” he asked, brows furrowing, “I-I might know them…” I looked down, fidgeting slightly.

“A really close friend…” I said, still looking down at the ground. He blinked slightly, nodding sympathetically.

“N-name…?” he asked quietly.

I looked up at him again, speaking softly, “Nick…” He chewed his lip, drifting off into thought.

“N-not sure… s-sorry…” he said, flinching slightly and looking down, away from, almost as if he was scared. I shrugged, looking over at him worried.

“It’s alright.” He chewed his lip, looking over at me nervously, and his voice barely audible.

“Y-you sure?” he asked hesitantly. I nodded, smiling, even though he most likely couldn’t see it.

“Yeah. It’s fine. It doesn’t bother me. I’ve lost contact with him… a long time ago…” I said, fidgeting slightly. I know I lied to him, and I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help it. He shook his head slightly, watching me a bit more intently, though still trembling. Maybe he knew I was lying…

“Y-you’re lying,” he caught my eyes for a while, before looking back down, he definitely knew, “b-but that’s not a surprise. No matter…” he said.

I sighed. “Well, I saw him recently. It wasn’t a very… nice experience,” I smiled again, “I prefer not meeting him again. Sorry I lied to you…”

The boy shrugged as best he could manage in his crumpled, pitiful state. “Doesn’t matter…”

I looked down at the floor, “If you say so,” I muttered quietly. He chewed his lip, looking down and falling into his thoughts again. He curled up more tightly and started whimpering again, burying his face in his knees. I was starting to get very worried about him. He must be thinking about something that isn’t all that pleasant… “Hey, are you okay?” I asked quietly, before blinking and sighing softly. “I already asked that…”

He winced at the sound of my voice, muttering quietly, “I-I, I-I’m f-f-fine…” I could tell he wasn’t, but I wasn’t going to push him, so I just nodded quietly. He sighed shakily, trying to calm himself down, but he started whimpering again as soon as he fell back into his own thoughts a few minutes later. “N-no…” he muttered almost entirely inaudibly.

I looked back up at him, blinking, “are…” I shook my head, “is there anything I can do…?” I asked instead of the question I had started to ask. He jumped, seemingly startled by the sound of my voice. He looked up at me, almost terrified. What was this boy thinking about??

“W-what?” he asked, as if he hadn’t really remembered I was even there. I looked away, not wanting to scare him anymore.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you…” I muttered quietly.

“N-no… i-it wasn’t… i-it’s not…” he sighed softly, shakily, giving up and looking down at the floor. I shrugged, staring at the floor as well. He shook his head a bit, closing his eyes and biting back a sob of frustration. He uncurled slightly and slammed his fist into the bottom of the elevator, trembling more than before as he curls up again, watching the slightly dent in the floor where he hit it, and not noticing the blood oozing off of his knuckles at all. I jumped, startled by the sudden outburst of his. I stared in shock at the slight dent, and then at the boy’s bleeding knuckles. The boy spaced out again, whimpering as he tried to keep his shaking in check, keeping his eyes closed tightly, and biting his lip hard, splitting it. I was now very worried about the boy. Even though I didn’t know him very well, I still felt the need to comfort him. I stared at him quietly, wondering how I could help. The boy started muttering again, this time a bit louder than the last time, but not much, “N-no…” he said.

“W-what’s wrong?” I looked at him worried, trying my best to stay calm. He jumped again, looking over at me, still shaking a bit violently.

“W-what?” he asked, still a bit spacey, like last time.

“You’re shaking. You keep saying “no”. What’s wrong?” I asked again, this time giving a little more explanation. He looked away from me.

“W-would you believe me if I said nothing…?” he asked. I chewed my lip.

“Probably not, but I would accept it. It’s not my place to pry into your life and thoughts.” I said, avoiding looking at the boy. He sighed softly, a bit pitifully.

“W-why not? I-it’s n-not like anyone else cares…” he said, sounding miserable. I bit my lip, muttering under my breath.

“I may not know you… but I care…” I said, staring at the floor. He smiled slightly, a genuine smile. I looked up, smiling back.

“Thank you… y-you have no idea what that means to me, as o-of late…” he said, still smiling slightly.

“You’re welcome,” I said, “I know how nice it is to hear that someone cares even if you don’t know them…”

Suddenly, the lights flickered on in the elevator. I jumped as the small wooden box brought us up to the third floor and the doors opened. I looked over at the boy, who was still smiling. I chuckled, standing up and holding my hand out to help him up. He took it, and once he was steady on his feet again, he started heading out of the elevator and down the hall. I blinked… he hadn’t even told me his name! I ran out of the elevator and down the hallway towards him.

“Wait!” I grabbed his arm gently, turning around so I could see his face. He looked slightly confused as to why I had run after him. “You never told me your name…” I said, looking down at him.

He turned around again, heading back down the hall. “It’s Fay…” He said as he turned the corner and left me standing there.