Chapter Text
The lights in the elevator went out and a clunking jolt had the two men inside hitting the walls, unable to find anything to hold onto. The elevator didn’t plummet or make another sound, and while the two men breathed heavily in fear, the emergency lights spread an eery green glow over everything. The men looked at each other with wide eyes, and although it didn’t alleviate their fears of dying in an elevator, they did find solace in not being alone.
The man in the purple and black hoodie, with dark hair that was dyed purple on top, slid down to the floor and hugged his knees. The man in the red letterman jacket combed his hand through his auburn hair in an attempt to sweep it back to its usual position. He looked for the elevator buttons and pressed the emergency button a few times, but there was no response or difference in their situation. Eventually he gave up and leaned against the wall on the opposite side to the stranger, who now had his eyes closed as he breathed slowly and deeply.
“Looks like we’re going to be here a while.” The man in the red jacket announced unnecessarily. “My name’s Roman, what’s yours?”
“Virgil.” The other man answered in a mumble without looking up.
“Nice to meet you, Virgil. What brings you to this fine elevator this evening?”
Virgil smirked at that and looked up to Roman for a moment before looking back down at his knees.
“I was going to get some air,” Virgil replied, “The hotel room can get a little stuffy. Damn catches on windows stopping them opening more than an inch.”
“Ha! Yeah, those suck. I’ve always thought that businesses do that not to protect the customers, but to protect their own property from being thrown out during drunken parties.”
“You’re probably right. How about you? What brings you here?”
“I was bored. Thought I would grab a drink at the bar, or something. Should have just stayed in my room watching TV.”
“Don’t I know it.”
The two men laughed dryly at their predicament. The fact that neither of them had an actual purpose for heading down to the lobby that evening made it even more ridiculous that they had ended up there. It could have been so easily avoided.
Roman pushed the emergency button a few more times, then sighed loudly and sat down dejectedly.
“Good thing neither of us are scared of elevators.” Roman joked.
“Who says I’m not?” Virgil mumbled and had his eyes closed again.
“You are? You’re… taking it kind of well…”
“There are worse things than dying in an elevator.”
“… Like…?”
“Like attending a wedding tomorrow that no one wants you to attend? I dunno, it might be easier to have an excuse like ‘Sorry, but I died in an elevator’.”
“You don’t mean that…”
Virgil looked up at Roman and gave him a sad smile and shrugged, but then he shook his head and leaned back against the wall.
“No, I don’t really mean that. Sorry, I have a dark sense of humour.”
“Oh… well, good… I guess.”
“To be honest, on any other day I would probably be having a panic attack right about now, but my anxious thoughts are so preoccupied with tomorrow, that I’m not so worried about today.”
“Why are you going to a wedding if you’re not wanted there?”
“Long story.” Virgil muttered, and closed his eyes again, “What about you? You on holiday or something?”
Roman wanted desperately to ask Virgil more about this wedding, but he also reminded himself that they were strangers and he had no right to insist on more details. Instead, he pulled his thoughts back to his own sad story.
“I came here with my boyfriend – now ex-boyfriend – who decided his work was more important than me, so I dumped him. Yesterday, in fact. Only the second day of our holiday and now he’s gone back home and I’m still here for five more days of non-refundable misery in the sun.”
“Geez, that sucks.” Virgil replied, now actually looking at Roman more steadily.
“My fault really. I knew it was coming, but I thought this holiday would be a chance to reset. Get him away from his job and rekindle the romance, but just like at home he took every spare moment to check his emails or make phone calls, until suddenly I snapped. I gave him the ultimatum of me or his job and he chose to pack his bags. I don’t even know what’s waiting for me back home. Half of his things are at my place, and my stuff is at his. We have each other’s keys. We’ve met each other’s families! Ugh, there’s so much to figure out when I get back.”
“So, enjoy your time here while you have it.”
“Easier said than done.” Roman grumbled.
“Very true.”
The two fell silent but it quickly unnerved them both as the reality of their confinement took over their thoughts, then Roman clapped his hands as an idea hit him and Virgil practically jumped out of his skin.
“You should join me!” Roman declared to a blank and confused stare, so he explained further, “I have so many couples activities planned – that, might I remind you, are non-refundable – so you should join me! You have this wedding, and then what? Come with me!”
“We’ve only just met…”
“And we are both having a terrible week, so let’s both enjoy our time here while we have it!”
“Don’t use my terrible advice against me.”
“It wasn’t bad advice, I was just dwelling in my misery. Come on, let’s be miserable together while we go make pottery, get a massage, and then have a candlelit dinner with champagne!”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“That wasn’t a no!”
Virgil laughed lightly at the enthusiastic and somehow completely confident look on Roman’s face. He shook his head in disbelief, but kept watching Roman, waiting for the man to realise his mistake and rescind all offers. When he didn’t, Virgil finally replied:
“The wedding is at 2pm tomorrow, after which I’ll be sleeping and then going home in the morning. Sorry, but I won’t be around to go on a faux date with you.”
“Really?” Roman looked crestfallen by the response, but he gathered himself together quickly, “Well, one of those non-refundable things is the premium hotel room here. It even has a pull-out sofa bed, so if you can push back your journey home then… well I’m just saying that you have a bed if you want it.”
“Why do you trust a stranger into your room overnight? I could be a serial killer.”
“I’m good at reading vibes, Virgil, and I am 90 percent certain that you won’t kill me in my sleep.”
“90 percent? Not sure whether to be offended.”
“You want me to be more certain?”
“Maybe a little less. I do try to cultivate a more… shadowy mystique, you know?”
“Oh, and you do it so well! You’re like a little storm cloud that could strike me with lightening at anytime!”
“You really have a way with words.” Virgil laughed again, and Roman was finding that he enjoyed the sound.
Suddenly the low green light flickered back to the bright white light and blinded them both. They felt the elevator judder back to life and soon it opened onto the lobby where hotel staff were waiting and looked extremely apologetic. Roman stood up excitedly, and then stopped to offer Virgil a hand up too. Virgil took it and then let go quickly as they left the elevator and were surrounded by staff asking them a hundred questions.
Roman did most of the talking to tell everyone that they were fine, and before they knew it they had been ushered to a booth table at the restaurant and were being lavished with complimentary food and drinks. Roman happily accepted everything they offered, and while Virgil’s instincts would usually have been to refuse everything and run back to his room (using the stairs this time), he found himself following along with Roman’s excitable personality.
The restaurant was closing and they were offered more to be taken to their rooms, but Roman turned them down, for the first time, and they were left to start the long trudge up the many flights of stairs to their respective rooms.
They reached floor five (Virgil’s floor) and stopped in the stairwell.
“We should get stuck in elevators more often,” Roman laughed.
“I’m alright using the stairs from now on.” Virgil commented.
“Well, good luck with the wedding tomorrow. I truly want to know all about it, but you don’t have to tell me anything. Just know, that my room is 806 and I’ll be there all day, so at anytime if you want to come by and talk then… well, I wouldn’t turn you away.”
Virgil blushed at the sincerity in Roman’s voice, and he quickly ducked his head down to avoid his gaze.
“That would be nice…” Virgil mumbled, “I might just swing by before the wedding. Might need a pep talk.”
“Wonderful! Then I bid you a good night and sweet dreams, and I’ll see you tomorrow, Virgil.”
Virgil laughed again as Roman gave him an extravagant bow with hand flourishes and all, then Virgil mumbled his own goodbye with a small wave of his hand and dashed into the corridor of his floor, and out of sight. Roman had a large grin on his face as he began to walk up the remaining flights to his own floor, and felt his heart thumping wildly in his chest. He felt like he had more adrenaline than when the elevator had broken down, but this time he was enjoying the sensation a lot more.