Chapter Text
It was a busy day at the local shopping centre. The kind of day where hoards of people were crowded at any given store, practically shuffling in place through the shelves, only for the majority of them to end up not even buying anything. For some people, it was absolute exhausting madness, while others were there purely for the hustle and bustle that was the shopping mall. The smell of various foods being sold at the food court, the sound of chattering, laughing, and occasional screaming from the many families and friends enjoying their morning, the bright, almost blinding lights in the stores and suspicious washrooms with sinks that don't work, the all together atmosphere of the place was both thrilling and incredibly overwhelming.
Fortunately, MegaPVP didn't have to deal with any of that. At the minute, anyway. For he was hiding- er- waiting, in the washroom for the "chaos" to subside, as he says. He wasn't scared of a lot of things, but boy, did he despise crowds. Absolutely hated 'em, though he wasn't as fearful as he was worried. Being in a crowd meant he'd likely bump into people, which means by nature (and simple human etiquette), he'd have to apologize. Which means talking, another thing the Mega simply couldn't bear. It sounded sad and kinda dumb, even to himself, but this was a guy who just about never talked except for a couple words here and there when buying something or making an appointment. He really had no other reason to speak; He lived by himself and rarely went out, nor did he have any family or friends he would regularly talk to except over text. Again, sad, but the friends he had, like Hayech, his best friend who he managed a Minecraft server with, only knew him online. He had never heard Mega's voice or seen his face, which Mega certainly didn't mind except for that he hadn't seen Hayech's face either. They made an agreement a while back simply saying they'll show their faces at the same time, which would hopefully make it less nerve-wracking for the both of them.
Once there wasn't what sounded like a gang of highschool punks in the middle of the washroom, Mega emerged from his stall and creeps toward the sink, looking at himself in the mirror while washing his hands. That was until he noticed the line of people that accumulated behind him, clearly all waiting impatiently for the sink. He quickly dried his hands and rushed out of the restroom, mumbling to himself about how there's no privacy in this place. Before he can be mad, he's interrupted by a buzz from his pocket. He pulls out his phone and sees a message from Hayech.
-Hayech:
< yo dude wyd
Mega raises an eyebrow at the message. It wasn't completely foreign for Hayech to text him considering their connection, but usually Mega was the one to contact him first. Not that he needed to, since they were just about always on the Minecraft server together already, but Mega would text Hayech when they weren't; sometimes for the sole purpose of telling him to get onto the server, but mostly just to mess around and hang out. In any case, it was odd of Hayech to simply text out of the blue like this, though he wasn't entirely against it. It was a nice change of pace, he thought as he swipped his fingers across the keyboard, forming a reply to Hayech's text.
-Mega:
< nothing really wbu
-Hayech is typing...
< chillin
< I got a slushy
-Mega:
< without me
< rude
-Hayech is typing...
Mega can practically hear Hayech's signature scoff and unamused eyeroll through the screen.
-Hayech:
< sybau
Mega chuckles to himself as he re-reads Hayech's texts and suddenly remembers how thirsty he was, deciding to get himself a slushy as well. Mega heads to the nearest elevator, presses the button, and waits.
There was only a slushy stand on the second floor, which he always found annoying because you would think it's on the first floor with the food court, but apparently they're special and aren't considered food or drink. As Mega waits for the elevator, he's extremely surprised (and delighted) to find that no one is waiting behind him. Especially with how busy the shopping centre was today and usually is, it was an extraordinary phenomena when there was nobody else waiting for the elevator. At least that's how Mega saw it. For some reason, no one would ever go to the top floor. Which was for the most part understandable seeing as how it was all just a continuation of the shops below, though it was still somewhat peculiar. Mega didn't think of it all that way however, as he was just pleased to have the elevator all to himself. The less people, the better.
After a bit of waiting, the elevator doors finally open and beep to signal it's arrival. Mega steps inside, taking in the vast empty space of the elevator that he alone would have. For all of twenty seconds, that is. Just as the doors are about to close, a lanky, tall guy with brown hair and a purple hoodie runs up while waving an arm at Mega to not let the doors close. Though Mega can feel his face instantly drop at the unexpected passenger, he simply sighs and presses the 'open doors' button on the elevator, holding it for the man. He makes it in just in time and takes a second to catch his breath, before politely nodding and mumbling a small 'thanks' and pulling out his phone. Mega nods back and pulls out his own phone as he looks away. He was certainly not happy about the uninvited guest, but he didn't mind too much as long as the guy was grateful, which he seemed enough to be. Besides, Mega thought the dude was kind of pretty, so why not help out and at least make a good impression. It wasn't his ideal situation, but it also wasn't like it was a mob of people stuffing into the elevator which he is very thankful for. Mega snaps out of his thoughts as he finally reads another message from Hayech that he had been staring at and zoning out.
-Hayech:
< where you go
< I told you to shut up not leave
Mega doesn't even notice his smile from earlier return somewhat at the sight of his best friend's text. It made him feel... wanted, in a way. That's not weird to say about your friend, right?
-Mega
< sorry was doing something
Mega feels a gentle tap on his shoulder and looks at the man, only to see him looking right back with an apologetic yet grateful look on his face. He speaks, his voice polite and gentle.
"Hey man, thanks for holding the door. I appreciate it."
Mega simply nods in response after a moment of surprised stillness, but not at the oddly genuine apology, because though it was definitely strange for the man to apologize a second time, what Mega found stranger was the man's voice. It sounds warm and familiar, hitting close to home. He felt as though he had heard it before, but not in this setting or way, neither could he remember exactly where. Mega quickly shakes his head, thinking he must be mistaken. He looks back down at his phone, discovering yet another text from Hayech, who he kind of forget he was texting. He got distracted by the purple dude's voice, though he hate to say it, and he found it pretty attractive along with the second apology. In any case, it didn't really matter, it's not like he'd ever admit something like that aloud.
-Hayech:
< well wyd now
-Mega:
< still nothing bro I don't have a life
There's a sudden loud bang along with the brief shaking of the elevator, startling Mega backwards into the man. He falls against the elevator wall, catching both himself and Mega before they fall. Before Mega can fully process what happened, the man speaks up again.
"Uh, you alright?"
He says, though this time sounding (and looking) very flustered, blushing and all. At first, Mega is unsure as to why, but the confusion almost immediately disappears as he realizes the position he's in and quickly stands up. Yeah, can't really blame the man for being flustered. Mega isn't as flustered as he is embarrassed, though either way he wouldn't show it nearly as much as the purple guy did. It was cute in a way, Mega thought, but that's exactly what made it embarrassing. Falling in front of someone is one thing, but falling into a person, not to mention a good looking one, was a whole other story. The fact Mega still couldn't put a finger on that voice definitely didn't help either, it was annoying the heck out of him. He knew there were more important things to think about, like the loud bang and unstable elevator, but he was fully distracted by this dude. So much so that he didn't even really notice the shaking and banging of the elevator expect for having fallen into the guy.
The man clears his throat awkwardly, causing Mega to look over at him.
"What do you think that bang was?"
The man manages to stutter out, clearly trying to make small talk in hopes of eliminating the lingering tension in the air. Mega shrugs in response, trying not to make it obvious that he's practically entranced by the man's voice. Which was uncharacteristic for him since he wasn't usually one to think nor care about anyone's voice, or even appearance for that matter. He always just talked to the people he talked to without a second thought. But this was different, for whatever reason. The first thing he noticed about the guy was his appearance, and then his voice. That's what made this guy more than just another person to him, and he was intrigued to find out more. He glances at the man for just a second, watching him press various buttons on the elevator to see if it would work. Mega wants to tell him to press the alarm button if nothing is working, since that would alert emergency services and get them out quicker than simply waiting for someone to notice. Of course, Mega can't tell him though, because he can't talk. Well, sure he could if he really wanted to, but it wasn't necessary right now. He watches the man continue to press buttons, clearly not aware of the alarm button. Mega is really holding back pointing it out to the man, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to witness at this point. Not in a second-hand embarrassment way, but rather because he knows what to do and can't do it.
Screw it, he's gonna do it. He's gonna have to talk, but he's getting tired of this place already. Mega takes a deep breath, as if both mentally and physically preparing to merely use his voice for once.
"Press the red button. It calls emergency services, but we'll have to wait a bit."
Mega says, trying his best to sound nonchalant since this is the first thing he's said to the man. Fortunately it doesn't take much for him to sound unbothered, as his voice already does that. The man stops pressing buttons and just stares at Mega for a moment, looking surprised. Not because Mega's voice is out of the ordinary - because it really isn't, aside from being a tad deeper than the average person's - but because the man didn't even notice that Mega hadn't said a word to him this entire time up until now. When you take that fact into consideration, plus the fact that this guy (Mega) who both acts and looks like he wants nothing to do with him is offering help, you can't blame the man for being shocked.
"Oh, right. I should have thought about that, thank you."
The man speaks up after a short while, having snapped out of his surprise. Mega nods and avoids eye contact, going back to being nonverbal once again. He watches the purple guy press the alarm button Mega told him about and go on his phone again as he waits for a response. Mega, both bored and uneasy, absentmindedly begins to study the man, scanning his features and tracing over every small detail with his eyes. How his bangs fell just short of covering his eyes, the way said eyes were mismatched with one being slightly lighter than the other, the subtle pink hue on his freckle-scattered cheeks and how it almost matches the pink of lips... For a moment, Mega appeared almost intranced. He didn't even realize what he was doing or how he was thinking, he just found himself admiring this man. Then a voice interrupts. This one was louder than the man's and static, sounding like a speaker.
"It appears the elevator has had a malfunction and is now stuck. Please stay calm and wait for emergency services, we are working on it. We apologize for the inconvenience."
The announcement interrupts Mega's thoughts, stopping them in their tracks just enough for him to finally realize what he's doing. The man hadn't noticed, as he had been on his phone this entire time, but sat down on the elevator floor with a sigh when he heard the announcement. Mega quickly looks away, extremely embarrassed but trying not to show it, knowing the man had no idea and not wanting to give himself away. Fortunately, he gets distracted by the buzz of his phone, sitting down next to the man but not too close, opening his messages. Lo and behold, yet another text from Hayech.
-Hayech:
< I was about to say that
< you tell me what happened first
-Mega:
< no you first
-Hayech:
< bro
< you literally said that first
-Mega:
< please harry 🥺
< Im your best friend ever 🥺🥺
-Hayech:
< no you're not
< but I'm kinda stuck on an elevator
Mega stops for a second. That's an odd coincidence, he thinks to himself. What are the odds, especially considering the purple guy kind of looks like Hayech, as well.
-Mega:
< with other people or what
-Hayech:
< yeah but only one other guy
< he's barely said one sentence to me
< I think he's mad at me because I made him hold the door for me
What. There's no way this is just a coincidence now, but then that would mean... Then it all clicks. Mega looks between Hayech's contact page and the man beside him. That's it - the purple hoodie, the hair, the manners, and that freaking voice - it was all so familiar to Mega, but he hadn't been able to figure out why. Until now. But just to be sure, Mega types another message to Hayech.
-Mega:
< dude you're joking
< whats he look like
-Hayech:
< kinda like how I think you would look
< he sounds like how I think you would sound as well
< wait
The man looks at Mega. Yep, no doubt about it now.
"Mega?"