Stay [a danisnotonfire fanfiction]

Coffee and elevators

"Oh god I knew I shouldn't have worn this hat out!"

I snap out of my horrible trance and a huge wave of relief crashes over me. I realise I have been staring intently into the boy's eyes for a good few minutes. And thankfully, they're not the eyes I thought they were.

"Oh man, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to stare... I just, uh, I thought you were someone else and it freaked me out a little..." My cheeks flush and I turn around, slapping my palm to my forehead.

"No worries, I thought I might have scared you with this weird thing on my head..." the boy laughs uncomfortably.

I laugh awkwardly with him, and take my hand away from my forehead, dragging it through my hair instead.

"I'm Dan," he says.

I turn back round to face him slowly, and he sticks his hand out for me to shake.

"And I just made a complete fool out of myself." I cringe, taking his hand.

"Ah, I see, nice to meet you!" he winks.

We both laugh, and the awkwardness seems to disappear.

"What level do you want?" Dan asks, finger hovering next to the buttons.

"Uh, ground, please."

"Ooh me too, we can be besties!" He says enthusiastically, making me laugh again. "We can't be besties if I don't know your name though..." he pouts.

"My name's Envy, I know, stupid name." I mutter, looking at the ground. I got a fair amount of name-calling and playground fights back in junior school because of my name. The kids thought it was hilarious.

"What?! Envy's the coolest name ever! Your mum must be awesome!" he exclaims, throwing his arms in the air for emphasis.

"Yeah, I guess she is pretty co-"

The lift slams to a stop, sending me flying into Dan, and both of us crashing to the floor. The lights flicker for a few seconds before plunging us into almost complete darkness, the only other source of light coming from the small window in the roof of the elevator.

"Aw shit." I mutter, leaning my head back against the wall.

"They really need to fix this damn thing." Dan says warily.

"Have you been stuck in here before?" I ask, slightly amused by this.

"Oh, only in the most awkward of situations!" He waves his arms about again.

"STORY TIME!" I yell, sitting cross legged and clapping my hands together like a child.

Dan rolls his eyes and mirrors my position, leaning against the opposite wall.

"Okay so the first time I ever stepped foot inside this apartment, I was going to a party. It was at my friend Phil's place - I live there now - and I had just stepped into this lift to go up to his floor, when some tall guy with curly hair ran over and got in the lift with me. I recognized him as one of Phil's friends but I only knew him over the internet. He introduced himself as PJ and asked if I was going to Phil's party. I was about to say yes, and of course, the lift broke down, sending me and this stranger into complete darkness. Neither of us had anything to say to eachother the whole twenty minutes we were stuck in here, and honestly I thought he was trying to hit on me. He kept touching my arm and trying to play footsie and I was terrified." He sighs, finishing his story with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

"And this other time, I had gone out to get milk, and an elderly woman got in the lift. She started telling me her life story, and I was about to make an excuse to get out, but just as I went to press the button, what do you know, THE BLOODY LIFT BREAKS" he yells, throwing his arms in the air again. "I had to endure twenty five minutes of her telling me about every sexual encounter she'd ever had, and I was on the verge of drowning myself in the milk I had just bought."

I laugh a lot, so grateful this situation isn't as awkward as his previous elevator experiences. He starts laughing with me and we share humiliating stories and our favourite failures, and end up lying on the floor clutching our stomachs and barely breathing.

"Nice hat, by the way," I giggle, eyeing what looks like a hamster with baubles.

Dan laughs, "thanks, a fan got it for me, I'm never sure if I should wear it out but it can be a great conversation starter" he winks again.

"Ooh, a fan, huh?" I ask with a smile, hoping he's not a mega-famous celebrity and I haven't made another complete fool of myself.

"Oh god, I probably shouldn't have mentioned that... It's nothing at all big, don't worry, I just make stupid YouTube videos and kids seem to like them, I guess..." he says, messing up his hair and seeming unsure of himself.

"Oh, that's pretty cool! How long have you been doing it?"

"A couple of years now, almost two I think," he says, counting on his fingers. "Yeah, almost two years." he nods.

"I'd love to make YouTube videos but nothing ever happens in my life for me to talk about!" I laugh,shaking my head at my completely uneventful existence. The lights flicker a few times, and Dan makes an excited noise, before it goes dark again.

"Aw, I thought we were free!" I complain, "I want coffee, damn it!"

The lights flicker again and the lift shudders, eventually continuing its journey downwards.

The doors open slowly and Dan and I step out into the main hall with a cheer that gets cut short by a glare from an elderly woman.

"Is that her? The sex lady?" I whisper, a huge grin on my face as I stare up at Dan.

"I don't know, I don't wanna find out though!" He whispers back, grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the main doors and across the street.

"Coffee?" He asks once we reach the nearest Starbucks.

"Sure," I smile, "coffee would be perfect right about now."