What Happens in The Elevator...

The typical tinkling sound of a bell announced the opening of the elevator doors. His attention entirely focused on the document he was reading, Riley rushed in without looking around him. He should have received that file a while ago but it had somehow got lost during the transfer or something. How was he supposed to do his job when he was only surrounded by incompetent idiots? Alongside strawberries, smelly feet, the colour orange and poodles, falling behind schedule was among the things he hated most in life. As if he wasn't late enough, the elevator suddenly screeched to a stop and Riley was almost thrown against the doors.

"What the hell?" Riley muttered in disbelief, recovering his balance.

"I guess we're stuck" said a voice on his right.

"What an accurate observation," Riley replied, rolling his eyes.

Other than Riley, only one other person was in the elevator. The man was almost as tall as him, but whereas Riley looked like some kind of giant stick figure, the other guy could easily pass for a fashion model. His face in particular bore a striking resemblance to David Beckham's, except that his had a constellation of freckles on his nose and cheeks, which would have been sort of adorable hadn't he had such a disturbing shade of hair colour, an unearthly fluorescent orange that almost made Riley cringe.

"Hello Riley," the man said with a smile.

"Hi, um...Jayson?" Riley tried tentatively.

He had a terrific memory for faces, but he was terrible at associating them with the right names. He remembered very well having worked with that guy several times on small tasks. The few hours they had spent together had been mostly devoted to discussing about the dullness of their assignments and the obtuseness of their boss. There is nothing like collective rants to create lasting bonds between individuals.

"Jackson," the man rectified.

"Right. Your hair confused me," Riley said.

"I just dyed it yesterday. Do you like it?"

"It's... different."

Appalling was more what Riley really thought, but for some reason, he didn't want to hurt Jackson's feelings. Not that he really cared; it was just because Jackson seemed to be a decent guy and he also happened to share Riley's unconditional love for Minecraft.

"Is 'different' your synonym of 'horrible'?" Jackson asked with a side grin.

"Does it show on my face?"

"Pretty much."

"You got me. Anyway, enough chit chat. How do we get the hell out of here?"

"There must be some kind of emergency button or something," Jackson said, looking at the elevator button board.

Riley was first to find the right button, which oddly didn't stand out that much compared to the others, and pushed it firmly with his index finger.

"Security, how may I help you?" a familiar voice buzzed from the intercom.

"Garrett, is that you?" Riley asked, his voice filled with hope.

"Hey, Riley! What's up, buddy?"

"I'm stuck in the elevator B between the 47th and the 46th with a colleague. Can you get us out of here?"

"Aw man, I gotta call the technician. It can take up to an hour to get him over here."

"What, a whole hour?" Riley complained.

He couldn't afford to waste an hour in an overheated elevator with some David Beckham's lookalike. Under different circumstances, he wouldn't really mind, but at that moment, his foul disposition was preventing him from fully enjoying the eye candy.

"I'm sorry bro, that's the best I can do. How did you get into this, in the first place?"

"I was wondering what kind of activity I could do to distract myself from boredom, you know, and I came up with 'Let's get in an elevator with some random dude and screw up the thing while we're freaking trapped in it!'" Riley answered sharply.

"I meant, what happened when you got in the elevator?"

"What could possibly happen when you get in an elevator? You push a button and wait for the elevator to carry you to the right floor!"

Riley was lucky he wasn't claustrophobic or he'd already be rolling on the floor, hyperventilating and calling for his mother. He couldn't believe he got caught in such an unlikely situation. What are the odds of ever being trapped in an elevator, for God's sake?

"You're being counterproductive," Jackson sighed. "We didn't touch any fancy buttons nor did anything that would cause the elevator to break down. Nothing that we're aware of, anyway," he added for Garret.

"Hey, Jackson!" said Garrett enthusiastically.

Jackson waved at the camera placed in a top corner of the cabin.

"So you're the poor lad stuck in that broken elevator with our dear PMSing friend?"

"I guess I am" Jackson replied with a smirk.

"Screw you, Garret," Riley hissed. "And you too, Jayson," he added for good measure.

"Jackson," the guy corrected him again.

"Oh, I know!" Garrett exclaimed. "You must have triggered the stabilizer sensor in some way, which means that there was some kind of agitation in that elevator."

"Something like, say jumping in the cabin or trying to make it sway could actually cause the elevator to shut down?" Jackson asked with an odd smile.

"Yeah, or..." Garret trailed off. "Were you beating the crap out of each other or something?"

"Something," Jackson said, still grinning like a wacko.

Oh damn. Riley was trapped in a metallic box suspended hundreds of feet above the ground with possibly a complete lunatic that might be into tearing off people's limbs and sucking their raw marrow. After all, he didn't know Jackson that well...

"Guys, you could have waited to find a nice empty office or even the janitor's closet, if you were really desperate," Garrett sighed after a moment of silence.

"Desperate for what?" Riley asked, genuinely confused.

"For a place to unleash your primary drives," Garett elaborated matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"You know, bom chicka wah wah..."

"Not that I'm trying to sound like a parrot, but what?"

The look on Riley's face must have been hilarious because Jackson burst out laughing, his head tilted back. Did Garrett just imply that Riley and Jackson had...

"What the hell have you been smoking lately?"

Outraged wasn't strong enough a word to describe Riley's current feeling. And Jackson, instead of being offended by the aberrant insinuation as any normal person should be, was laughing so hard his body was actually convulsing while his throat could no longer produce a single sound.

"We got everything on tape, you know," Garret said.

"You're not watching anything, you perv!" Riley yelled at the intercom.

"So you're admitting that you two were having some oh la la time in that elevator?"

"Why would I choose such an exposed place for that?" Riley replied.

"To satisfy some peculiar sexual fantasies?" suggested Jackson, the smirk still on his lips.

"Even if that were true, which for the record isn't, why would I do that with you? I barely know you!"

"You might not know him well, but Jackson sure does know you!"

Riley turned his head sharply toward Jackson. What the hell?

"Garrett, you're making me look like some creepy stalker," Jackson sighed.

"Aren't you?" asked Riley, his expression suspicious.

"I'm not! Riley, believe me, I'm no creepy stalker. Garrett, go easy on the weed, would you?"

"Told ya, bro, I've turned to powder," Garrett said.

Were they really having this nonsensical conversation? Riley sat directly on the floor, leaning his back against a wall. The heat was getting unbearable. He took off his blazer and rolled up his shirt sleeves, then started fanning his face with his document holder.

"Can you turn on the ventilation system or something?" he asked Garrett.

"Sorry bro, there's nothing much I can do here."

"Well, tell the technician that he'd better hurry up and fix this crap or I'll... I don't know what kind of suffering I'm going to inflict on him yet, but he be assured that it will be long and painful."

"Roger," Garret said. "Man, I don't know what you're seeing in him. Riley is one sadistic bastard, I'm telling you," he added for Jackson.

"Have always got a thing for bad boys," Jackson sighed tragically.

"So clichéd," Riley snorted. "Wait, what?" he added after a pause.

Imitating Riley, Jackson got rid of his jacket and sat down in front of him.

"Have you ever noticed?" Jackson asked.

"Noticed what?" Riley said. "How suckier this situation is getting with every minute that passes?"

"You sure you don't need eyeglasses?" Jackson asked.

"What?"

Riley didn't know where Jackson was getting at, but one thing he did know was that whatever was burning in Jackson's eyes right now was making him feel a little nervous.

"Maybe that would help you see better," Jackson murmured before he leant forward and kissed Riley's lips.

At first, Riley was shocked. Then, as new connections were created in his synapses, he started to see Jackson in a new light. Before he had the time to recognize the fragrance Jackson was wearing—something fruity, woodsy, and absolutely delicious— the latter pulled back and stared at him silently.

"If you want to punch me, please avoid my stomach as I'm sure none of us will enjoy spending the rest of our time here covered in my vomit," Jackson finally said.

"If I wanted to knock you out I'd strike you right at the temple of your head, which will generate no external hemorrhage or any other expulsion of bodily fluids," Riley replied, trying to hide his grin.

"Thanks for the heads up," Jackson said with a smile.

"You're welcome. Now, I need an explanation."

"What can I tell you? It was love at first sight," Jackson sighed, his voice all mushy-slushy.

"Please cut the crap," Riley said, not buying it for a second.

"Alright, I did notice you right from the start, when I joined the company a few months ago. Granted, I thought you were conceited and uptight, but I also found your ratio of eyes to nose to lips quite remarkable."

Riley squinted his eyes, unsure whether that was a compliment or not.

The lights suddenly flickered for about a second, then the cabin started to move again.

"Looks like it's working again," Jackson said.

Jackson definitely had a propensity to state the obvious, Riley thought. The elevator reached the tenth floor in a few seconds without any stop. Riley picked up his belongings and got up. As the doors smoothly slid open with a chime, he turned around and stared at Jackson who was looking back at him with a mysterious grin.

"I guess I'll see you around," Riley said before stepping out of the cabin.

As soon as the doors closed again, Jackson lifted his gaze toward the camera.

"Do you think he will finally remember me?" he asked.

"If that broken elevator episode doesn't make you memorable, I don't know what will," Garrett said. "You owe me big time, dude."

"I know. I owe Sandy too. If it hadn't been for her making Riley late on purpose, I wouldn't have been able to catch him on time."

"And the lady owes me fifty bucks."

"I can't believe you guys bet on me!" Jackson said for the sake of principle, but in actuality, he didn't really care.

"She didn't believe you'd make it. I told her, 'Girl, you gotta have some faith in that little man.' I've always believed in you and your twisted plans, buddy."

"That's very touching, Garrett. Next lunch is on me," Jackson said with a very satisfied grin.

Finis.