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The two were walking down the hallway. Silence between them. They were both eager to enter the elevator.
007n7 pressed the call button, and once the doors slid closed behind them-
“God, that party was so fuckin' lame.” the brunette exclaimed.
“Deadass, dude. I know dorm parties aren't supposed to be anything special or well-prepared but, damn, how the FUCK do you mess up that bad.” pushing the button to the 4th floor with his fist.
“Don't even get me started on the drinks. Most bland alcohol I've ever had.”
“Yet you still took, like, five shots?” the hooded man asked sarcastically, crossing his arms.
“Seven. And yeah, well, I was bored out of my mind....”
“I couldn't even bother with the drinks, I only had two. Plus, it stank of sweat and insane amounts of perfume in there. Ruined my taste.”
“Eeeuuuuggggggh... I know righ-”
The hacker was quickly cut of by the elevator pausing. The lights flickered for a moment before going back to normal, yet the elevator didn't start moving.
“Are we already at the fourth floor..?” Noli asked nervously, looking upwards.
“....No.”
A moment of silence.
“Fuck. Don't tell me this thing busted.”
“...pfffttt.. busted..” Noli chuckled quietly, covering his mouth with his hand.
“VERY funny. Press the emergency button, now.”
Usually, when you interact with something on an elevator, it's supposed to respond, right? Maybe light something up, or make a sound..
nothing.
“Again.”
Noli turned his back at the other, now fully facing the small area where all the buttons were gathered.
He repetitively pushed on the emergency button but nothing was heard.
“You HAVE to be kidding me.” 007n7 said, audibly annoyed as he approached Noli and pushed him aside to get a view of the visibly unresponsive button.
Noli looked as his best friend did exactly what he was doing just seconds ago as if anything would change.
“It's obviously not working, idiot. I'll just contact one of the teachers, or I dunno, a classmate.”
“You think you're gonna have signal in here? Phones weren't even imagined when this piece of shit was made.”
“Alright, well, since you're so smart why don't you use your C00lGUI to teleport us out, hm?”
007n7 stepped back, letting his back hit the wall of the small elevator as he spawned a black, glitchy panel out of thin air. It casted a neon red gleam over his face, reflecting off his glasses.
His eyes looked... glossy, and his cheeks pinker for someone who was sober.
“Right.... I kinda forgot about that.” the hacker said while browsing his commands.
A few minutes passed with nothing happening. Only Noli observing 007n7 as he struggled to 'tweak the code a little', as he said.
The GUI was obviously bugging and 007n7 was not in the state to focus, but he would never admit that.
“....Dude..”
“Shut up. I got this.”
“Do you?”
“NO THE FUCK I DON'T. SCREW THIS BULLSHIT.” the hacker finally snapped out, pressing his palms firmly on his temples as the C00lGUI disappeared with a twitch. His back dragged against the wall as he slid down, his knees curling close to his stomach.
His hands quickly fell from his head the moment he hit the floor.
“I'm tired. I can't conc- concent- consetr- contra-”
“Concentrate.”
“Whatever. I just wanna get out of here. I hate being trapped.”
Noli looked down at 007n7 as he tried to think of as many solutions as he could. He wanted to be useful for the sake of his tipsy roommate who was visibly frustrated and overwhelmed. And honestly? Himself was tired and irrirated, too.
While brainstorming, his inner dialogue got interrupted by something that sounded like subtle sniffling. He snapped back down to earth as his eyes immediately fell upon the brunette once again. His head was resting on his knees as his arms hugged them tightly.
“...you're not crying.”
007n7 only nuzzled his head lower, his messy hair covering every last bit of his face.
“The fuck 'm not.” he muttered, but his voice didn't come out right.
You have GOT to be kidding me, Noli thought to himself. It was the first time he saw his roommate cry and he didn't quite know how to react; especially since they were stuck in an elevator and the alcohol was most likely just starting to get to him. There wasn't much he could say. They were trapped.
The taller man let out a sigh as he stepped closer and crouched infront of the brunette. He placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to appear as serious as possible.
“Hey, uh, look. I know you hate small spaces but, it's not that bad if you really think about it. I mean- there's still room to walk around in small circles and stuff... and I promise you we won't be stuck here for much longer.”
Looking up, 007n7 held his glasses up while wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
“whatever.”
Noli then moved in to sit next to 007n7 in hope to provide more comfort. The brunette rested his head to side, facing his roommate.
“Let's just wait it out.” the hooded man said letting out another sigh.
007n7 then rested his head on the other's shoulder, slightly relaxing his arms around his knees.
Moments turned into minutes and minutes into hours. They had been there for around, what, 2 and a half hours now? 007n7 was asleep and Noli had lost track of time.
The hooded man was playing around with his Void Star in hope of literally anything happening. Anything that could maybe get them out of there. Anything that could help.
007n7 was sleeping unbothered. Atleast he was relaxed now.
Breathing out through his nose, Noli dismissed his celestial mass and glanced towards his roommate.
Without too much thinking, he took his glasses off and set them to the side delicately as to not accidentally damage them. He then lifted the other's head and gently guided his body to a lower stance. The brunette's head was now resting atop his lap. Other than wanting him to be more comfortable, he couldn't deny he didn't really want to have him like this.
Noli closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.
Gosh... how much longer until somebody found them? He was trying to convince himself someone already knew they were trapped and help was soon to come.
... for the past couples hours
There was... really nothing to do other than wait in silence.
It was late in the night, as well. No distant talking, no footsteps, no keys dangling. Only the sound of mechanisms running, despite not working, the buzzing ambience the lights made and his best friend's breathing.
Just as he thought he was about to go insane, he felt light pressure.
It was nothing else but 007n7's hand being placed on his thigh. It wasn't purposefully, just moving around in his sleep.
The man was rather shocked. He wasn't sure if to back him away or let him rest peacefully. This is so wrong, he told himself.
Was it, though? He didn't mind at all..
He closed his eyes again.
Then, barely a moment later, placed a hand on top of his roommate's head, burying his fingers in his messy hair. It felt so calming being able to feel each individual strand. Or.. grounding, you could say. It didn't matter. Not really, and definitely not right now.
They were 100% doomed if anyone saw them in that state. But nobody would.
Noli was utterly bored. He couldn't even sleep. If anybody found them, someone had to be awake; and 007n7 was already knocked out.
Despite the continuous yawning and trying to fight off the increasing weight on his eyelids, he was managing.
At this point, he was cleaning up his gallery on his phone to pass the time. Checking the time every other minute.
3:02am. He was getting pretty hungry. He prayed his stomach growling wouldn't wake 007n7 up.
Hunger, plus being trapped in an elevator, plus no stimulation available, plus damned to wait in silence, plus hope slowly fading away, plus his undying tiredness was not a combo he had ever imagined. His irritation was really starting to settle in and it was unbearable.
That's when the hacker's eyelids fluttered. Slowly, he opened his eyes only to be met with no one else but Noli. He took a moment to rub his eyes. The movement signaling Noli to look down.
“Hey.” 007n7 blinked at him, his voice hazy from sleep.
Noli froze for a moment. Right.. he wasn't going to mention anything...
“Mornin'.”
The brunette didn't say anything else. He slowly raised his arm, removing one of Noli's locks from his face and tucking it behind his ear.
Noli, mentally about to explode, could feel his face heating up. At this point he couldn't even curse himself in his head. Actually helpless.
“What time is it?”
“Uuuhh- ” Noli snapping out of his short-circuiting went to pick up his phone from his side.
“4:31am.”
“Jeez.... are we ever getting out of here..?”
“My best guess is some professor will notice the elevator not working and come check if anyone's inside. Atleast, I hope so.”
007n7 only hummed in response, blinking slowly.
The hooded man seemed hesitant before muttering.
“...you can move if you're uncomfortable.” avoiding eye contact.
“No, I'm fine.” the brunette replied. “Only wish we could dim the lights a bit more...”
“Pfftt.. yeah..”
A long moment of silence stretched between them. They were both exhausted, especially Noli, who only wanted to get back to their dorm.
“Uuuugggghh..” 007n7 groaned, dragging his palms along his face, stretching down his eye sockets.
“Why did you even agree to come.”
“I- uh- dude, what. What you just said made no sense.”
“How.”
“Because you wanted to go. Plus, you would only be stuck here alone if I hadn't come. I'm exhausted and about to pass out, this was nobody's fault, okay?”
“You're right, sorry.”
. . .
“Did you not sleep at all?” the brunette asked, now looking up at Noli.
“...No.” he hesitantly replied.
“So you've been awake this whole time?”
“Pretty much.. yeah.”
“Dude what-” 007n7 sat up, turning his head to look at his roommate, squinting his eyes in an attempt to make out his figure better.
“Here-” Noli said, holding 007n7's glasses infront of him.
The brunette pinched the bridge of his nose before putting them on.
“Not even a bit?”
“If anyone called out our names or shouted out if someone was in the elevator, who would reply?”
“Right.. sorry 'bout that.”
“Bro, shut the fuck up. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“You-”
“Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I'm too tired for this.” the hooded man interrupted, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
007n7 observed him a moment before flopping back down on his lap, this time laying on his side. He brown, messy hair splayed across the other's thighs.
Noli looked down at his roommate. His hand instinctively being placed on top of his head, his fingers intertwining with the chunks of his hair.
It wasn't really intended, more like muscle memory.
And 007n7 didn't complain or anything. Didn't even mention it.
Noli's breathing had started to slow down. He wasn't sleeping, but rather relaxing.
“Do you ever think we're idiots?”
“Frequently, yeah. I think we risk stuff too much and rely on plot armor.”
“pfft... yeah..”
“Like that one time we barely managed to teleport away from Doombringer.”
“Oh yeah. Closest call ever.
But like.. on a different criteria?”
“Hm?”
“Actually, nothing.”
Despite his curiosity, he was far too exhausted to process that 'nothing'. He didn't say anything back.
Silence stretched between them once again.
Noli's hand was still playing with the other's hair absentmindedly. The brunette took his phone out of his pocket to check the time.
4:56am.
Soon enough, maybe, some professor would wake up. There were some that woke up at 5am so as to get things in an order for the day's lessons. Have a peaceful early breakfast and enjoy their coffee without the disturbance of students.
Minutes of quiet passed. No nonsense talking to kill the time. They just coexisted in silence.
Waiting, and waiting, and waiting.
Noli was fighting the urges to just fall asleep right there, right then. He picked up his phone to check the time.
5:12am.
Then...
He flinched the second he heard footsteps.
“Huh??” 007n7 asked, sitting up and looking towards Noli.
“Boys? Are you two in there?” a voice was heard from behind the metal doors.
“A classmate of yours told me he hasn't seen y'all since you left his dorm.”
Noli didn't waste a second to respond.
“YES, MISS! THE ELEVATOR BUSTED.”
“Oh, god. Hold on in I'll be right back to get you out!”
They could both hear the footsteps getting more and more distant.
“Oh my god.... finally.” Noli sighed.
“I don't think I'll use the elevator for some time after this...” 007n7 said jokingly, leaning back and using his arms to support his body.
Around 10 or 15 minutes later, the sound of multiple footsteps echoed through the shaft.
Voices, their professor's and a more masculine one, could be heard. They couldn't make out what they were saying but it didn't matter, they would soon be out of there.
“Hang in there!”
The two guys stood up. 007n7 crossed his arms while Noli's eyes were fixated on the doors.
Metal scraping.
Someone muttering a curse.
Then a loud clunk.
The elevator shuddered beneath them.
“Step back from the doors!” the man called out.
The doors groanded before slowly being pried apart.
The second the gap was wide enough, he flew right out. Almost accidentally bumping in his professor in the process.
The woman looked shocked as she turned her head to look at the student running towards the stairs.
“Yeah.. we've been in there since twelve, or something.” 007n7 explained, slowly walking out as he scratched the back of his neck. He, too, was looking at Noli disappear behind the circular stairs. His eyes half lidded and tired.
“I'm so sorry boys, if I knew you were stuck here I would've come way sooner. Don't worry about today's lessons, I'll inform the rest of the academics of what happened. You get a good rest.”
“Thanks a lot, miss. I better go to Noli, now. Goodmorning.” the brunette said in a gentle tone, walking towards stairs, slowing walking up.
The woman stayed longer talking with the mechanic about the elevator breaking down. They needed to get that fixed, soon.
Once 007n7 entered their dorm, Noli was already there. He was lazily draped on his bed. His hoodie jumbled on him, revealing small patches of skin along his waist and collarbone. His hood had fallen down and he was breathing heavily. Like he was savoring every bit of air he was offered. It was only the relief washing over him.
“Aren't you starving? Don't you wanna eat anythin', dude?” the brunette asked.
Stabilizing his breathing, Noli muttered.
“I don't know what I want, right now. I'm just so, so, so, so, so, so glad we're out.”
007n7 walked towards his bed, standing tall infront of him.
“Same. I'll never look at elevators the same.”
“Is that because of-” he tried to say, now supporting his upper body with his elbows as he was cut off.
“I'll go get us something to eat. Stay here and rest a little. Worst case scenario I wake you up. Be right back.”
“Alright-”
007n7 shoved his hand in his pocket to assure he had his keys and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Noli flopped back down, spiraling about everything that had happened in the elevator. Yet his mind was too foggy, so it didn't take long for him to brush every thought off.