Work Text:
Alone
Elevator etiquette is an odd thing. Elevators are made to just transport — and that’s it, so that is why people are expected to remain to themselves. But that is also why elevator rides can be so … awkward.
Danny had been taking many elevator rides recently, with the ones at his internship and the apartment. And, like everyone else, the elevator etiquette could make situations that make the stairs more desirable; he couldn’t decide whether it was better to be in the elevator alone or with a group of non-commutative strangers waiting for their stop.
That day, Danny had been on more elevator rides than he could count, so when he arrived at the elevator at his summer apartment, he was hoping for a ride alone. That didn’t happen.
When Danny arrived at the elevator, he was the only one inside. Then, a lady who Danny had never seen before entered. She pressed the fourth floor while Danny pressed the fifth. Right when the doors were about to close, one more person entered. It was Danny’s neighbor who always looked at Danny suspiciously — oh, it was going to be a long and uncomfortable ride.
As the doors shut, Danny’s neighbor moved himself to be as far away as possible from Danny as he continued to stare at him scrutinously.
With Danny’s luck, the elevator stopped at the second floor, continuing the horribleness of the situation and elevator etiquette. (At that moment, Danny determined that it would wholly be better to be alone in an elevator than with that group). Two young twenty-year-old males, who appeared to be friends, entered. They pressed the button for the top floor, and then the elevator doors slowly shut. As the elevator began to move, the taller of the friends spoke, “So, I bet you are wondering why I’ve gathered you here.” And then he pressed the emergency stop button, and the elevator halted to a stop. His friend looked at him questionably.
The one who pressed the button continued seriously. “I have grave news. The world is in danger, and only you,” he spoke to all of them and looked at each individually one after the other, “are the people with the ability to save it. I need all of you to preserve it and keep it safe.”
After hearing that, Danny stiffened. Was it true? Did he know that Danny was Phantom? But, the more Danny thought about it during the few silent seconds that passed after he spoke, Danny figured that the whole thing being a fluke was more plausible. Right? He has seen and experienced a lot of odd things in his life, so he was not too sure.
A voice pulled Danny out of his thoughts, “I knew there was something about you!” Danny’s neighbor was pointing accusatorially at him, responding to the message and the way Danny stiffened, “I don’t know what it is, but something is off.”
“What?” Danny said, clearly aware of the whole debacle happening in the elevator. Oh, how he wished he was able to ride in the elevator alone. “There’s nothing “about” me. And, if what he said was true,” Danny pointed at the tall friend, “Then wouldn’t there be something about you too?”
Danny’s neighbor faltered for a second. Suddenly, the lady piped up, “Okay, what is going on? Why do you think the world is threatened, and why are we the ones who have to save it? I’m nothing extraordinary, and I think that everyone else here is the same. Right?” No one spoke up to answer her second question, and the friend who gave the message looked down guiltily.
“What if I told you that everyone here has powers that haven’t been unlocked yet?” The lady and Danny’s neighbor looked at the tall friend with a large expression of skepticism. “No? Well, would you believe me if I told you this was all a dare?” That time, everyone believed that.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to do this?” His friend hissed at him.
“Element of surprise?” His response was very unconvincing. His friend lightly elbowed him in the ribs. A small “ow” escaped.
The lady, clearly exhausted from the event after her long day of work, said, “Can we just get this elevator moving again.”
The tall friend quickly stopped his soundless interaction with his friend and said, “Oh, yeah, sure.” He reversed the effect of the emergency button, and the elevator shifted into gear again. It quickly rose to the third floor and then stopped at the fourth, where the lady exited in haste with a huff.
As the elevator resumed moving, the group of less-than-strangers stood awkwardly as elevator etiquette seemed to demand. At least , Danny thought, the emergency stop button didn’t alarm any authorities.
Then, the elevator came to rest on the fifth floor, and the golden-hued doors opened. Danny stepped out first, and he headed down the hall — at that point, all he wanted was to get back to his apartment; in the last few minutes, he went through too many emotions at once. Behind him, his neighbor exited the elevator. As the doors closed and the elevator rose, Danny heard a loud conversation between the friends.
Danny walked to his door and pulled out his key to unlock it. As he was halfway through the motion, his neighbor walked past him and said, “I’m on to you.”
Danny turned around and smiled amusingly, “Are you sure?” He turned back around and entered his apartment.
The neighbor stood there for one moment longer before unlocking his own door. He was pretty sure that his neighbor’s eyes flashed green only a moment before, but it was just a trick of the light, right? Or was there something genuinely peculiar with the young adult across the hall?