Fireworks (Miles Teller)

Chapter 1

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down.

They were waiting for me. I was supposed to bring the champagne to the party but was starting to doubt the plan of even going out tonight. The thought of rather staying in and watching a movie all curled up in my bed sounded much better to me. But I couldn't. I had made a promise to them, a promise that I saw as my duty to keep.

I nervously tapped my fingers against the kitchen counter as I leaned onto it, taking glances every now and then at the clock hanging above my front door wishing it would go faster. A brisk winter breeze caressed my neck, reminding me to close the window I had opened earlier. As I was grabbing the handle, I found my gaze fixed onto the laughing group of friends making their way to the annual outdoor New Years festival a few blocks away.

The sky was dark. With my eyes adjusting to it, small light dots were beginning to show up.

Dark and beautiful. It was in that way that could leave you staring into the deepest holes of space and galaxy whilst pondering on the mystery that we call life.

The sound of loud music and people chattering down the street made its way into the corners of my apartment. The streets were covered in lamps, shimmering light sources leading people on their way.  The atmosphere was electric.

Leaning out on the edge of the windows, taking a last breath of the warm city air, I grabbed the handle closing it gently. I Looked into my vintage mirror hanging in the hall, trying to figure out the structure of my light brown hair I'd spent half an hour curling. I applied another coat of my red lipstick and did a quick swirl in my dress. The girls had spent hours trying to find me the right dress, bringing me along against my protests. After hours and hours of dragging dresses on and off my head, I had found the one. 

The soft beige material had fitted me perfectly, ending just above my knees.

I took one last glance at the clock, assuring me that it was time. I grabbed my clutch and the champagne of the drawer in the hall, putting my coat on whilst fishing up my keys from my pocket in the coat.

"Here we go", I thought to myself as I pushed my front door open, turning around and closing it before heading to the elevator. I felt myself relax as I slid in through the elevator walls, pressing the "level 1" button on the side of the elevator. I stared at the elevator doors, trying out my psychic ability to make them shut faster when footsteps came running ahead of me. "Please, hold it!", a male voice echoed through the staircases.

Panicking, I quickly turned around and hit the "open door" button only to reveal a pair of chocolate eyes looking at me with his hand gripping one of the doors, preventing them from shutting. He let out a breath. "Thanks", he said as he stepped into the elevator, giving me a thankful smile. I stepped aside as he walked over to stand next to me. An awkward pause of silence formed as we watched the doors slowly coming together. We started moving downwards and I carefully tilted my head to sneak a glance at him. With him doing the same, to my surprise, our eyes meeting, we both snatched our eyes away from each other. I could feel my cheeks heating up as I smiled to the ground. He let out an awkward cough, smiling into the back of his hand before bringing it up to nervously scratch his neck.

This was killing me. The awkward tension floating in the smale space seemed to suffocate me. I needed to get out fast. But at the same time, I couldn't help but enjoy the tingling feeling of butterflies in my stomach. I hadn't felt like this in a long time. Afraid to let out a sound, I stood up straight taking short steady breaths. I could tell he was doing the same. It felt like I had been creating a hole in the doors by the amount of starring at them, yet I was still trapped inside.

Seconds that felt like hours passed and we were heading towards the bottom level. I let out a sigh of relief as I was reaching for my phone, trying to text my friends that I was on my way. My actions were prevented by an ear deafening sound coming from the elevator. I watched with horror how the lights flickered off and back on as the elevator let out another sound.

A quick move from where we were standing startled me, and the elevator turned silent. Not moving. The stranger beside me took a horrified look at me before turning to the buttons and pushing all the emergency buttons. No reactions or sounds. He turned to my panicking body again and swallowed hard as he looked into my eyes and told me the last four words I wanted to hear.

"I think we're stuck"

Oh god.