3AM Scenarios (Short Stories)

Elevator

"Morning," I heard a familiar voice. It was Jack, the one person in the office who I barely talked to. He tended to keep to himself, so I greeted him back. Usually, I would have engaged in small talk, but I had given up on that with him. Jack never initiated conversations with anyone in the office, so we silently stood there.He pressed the third-floor button, and I realized it would be a normal day. Thank God it's Friday. The distinctive sound of the elevator announced our arrival at the floor, but the door did not open. Jack pressed the "open" button a few times with no luck, mumbling something under his breath. Jack always seemed broody, but today, he had a notable edge of stress. "Are you okay?" I asked him, noticing he was clearly uncomfortable. "Yeah, I just don't like cramped spaces," he replied, but it was obviously a lie. I let it slide; he never tried to become friends, so why start now? Suddenly, the lights began to flicker. Of course, I had no cell service. I pressed the emergency button in the elevator, but no one answered. "Jesus, do you have cell service in here? " I turned around to see Jack struggle to breathe."Oh shit, are you okay?" I rushed to his side. "Yeah, I am," Jack said, taking short breaths between his words. "No, you are not okay. Jesus, dude. " He tried to wave me away, but it's kind of hard to do that during a panic attack. "Uhm, okay, Jack, name five things you can see," I suggested. He looked confused and slightly canceled. "Just do it," I urged, my tone edged with annoyance. "I see the walls, the buttons, the floor number, the door ..." he continued. I needed to encourage him to keep going. "And you," he said, locking eyes with me as he finished. At that moment, it felt as if time was still. His breathing began to slow down, and he even smiled. I had never seen him smile before; it was the most calming smile I had ever encountered. His dark and closed demeanor transformed into something open and soothing.

The sudden movement of the elevator broke our gaze. He looked so relieved; I think he's not a big fan of small spaces. The lights came back on, and the elevator stopped at floor 0. He had pulled himself up and pressed the open button, but it still didn't open. "For fuck's sake!" he exclaimed, clearly frustrated at this point. I sat down again, sensing that we might be here for hours. He continued to curse at the elevator. I closed my eyes and noticed his breathing becoming faster and more shallow again. "Jack, are you okay?" I asked while getting up to help him. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, but there were popes between his words. "You're not fine."He was having a panic attack. "Oh no, okay, Jack, look at me. Name four things you can touch. " He kept shaking his head. "No, no, I can't," Jack said between hasty breaths. "Say it with me," I said, touching his arms. "You can feel these, right?" He needed. "Okay, that's one." We slowly moved down and sat on the floor. "Can you name three more?" He looked around, still with my hands in his arms. "The floor." I needed to encourage him. "The walls, my shoes, and my clothes." He started to calm down a bit. "Okay, great. Now, three things you can hear. " He closed his eyes to focus on the sounds around us. "The elevator noises, your voice," he hesitated, "and my voice, I guess." He managed to laugh a bit. "Yeah,it's pretty quiet here, "I chuckled. "I didn't know you could laugh," I joked while getting more comfortable on the floor. "Well, what can I say? I'm a man full of surprises. " I stured for him to sit down. He had calmed down a bit and sat in the opposite corner of the small elevator. Despite the cramped space, we were still reasonably close to each other. He ran his fingers through his hair, and I realized I had never noticed before that his hair had brownish strands mixed in with the black. He caught me staring and smiled, making me feel flustered.
"Well, what should we do to pass the time?" he asked. I jokingly suggested playing truth or dare. "Alright, truth or dare," he said. I took a moment to think. Given the small size of the elevator, most dares were off the table. "Truth," I replied, trying to sound confident. Jack pondered for a moment before asking, "Okay, okay. If you could fire anyone at work, who would it be? " His question intrigued me. We worked for a small company, and I got along well with everyone. Danielle is really nice but has a habit of stealing meals. Jared makes jokes that often cross the line, while Emily is always late. I could go on with this list for quite a while. None of these are reasons to fire any of them. "Um, I don't know. I guess Damian? " He let out a stunned laugh. "Really? Damian? You guys are so close! " He was secretly surprised. "Yeah, well, he asked me out and sends flowers often." Jack wore a somehow jealous expression. I don't know. I guess Damian? " He let out a stunned laugh. "Really? Damian? You guys are so close! " He was secretly surprised. "Yeah, well, he asked me out and sends flowers often." Jack wore a somehow jealous expression. I don't know. I guess Damian? " He let out a stunned laugh. "Really? Damian? You guys are so close! " He was secretly surprised. "Yeah, well, he asked me out and sends flowers often." Jack wore a somehow jealous expression.

"Okay, your turn. Truth or Dare? " It took him no less than two seconds to respond, and the smug look on his face only made it better. He completely switched personalities; I had never seen him so outgoing. Now, I had to think of a good truth. "Why did you never show your true self?" I asked him. "Who says this is my true self?" was his quick comeback. When did he get so smooth? Good point, good point. I suddenly realized how cold the metal floor of the elevator was, and I started to shiver slightly. He noticed and took off his jacket. "Here," he said, draping it over my shoulders like a blanket. "You don't have to," I replied humbly. "Well, I wanted to," he said, delivering the smooth comeback with an even smoother wink. We ended up playing Truth or Dare for what felt like two hours.

"You hungry?" he asked as he pulled candy bars out of his pockets. "Oh my god, I love you! These are my favorites! " He chuckled and handed me one. For the past few hours, we had just talked and talked. He was so different from what I expected — much more open and hilarious. I honestly couldn't believe I had never talked to him before. He was such an amazing guy. Suddenly, the elevator started moving down quickly. He launched himself from the other side to protect me, and we were momentarily so close to each other that I could feel his breath on my neck. When the elevator stopped, we both looked shocked. "Are you okay?" he asked, only ten centimeters away. Our eyes locked again, and time froze — not out of boredom, but because of the tension between us. Before I could finish my thoughts, he kissed me. It felt like fireworks were going off behind us; this moment felt like something out of a fairy tale.He broke the kiss, and we locked eyes again. His beautiful brown eyes had flecks of green in them. We both started chuckling nervously as our foreheads tested against each other. He sat down next to me and yawned. "Oh, am I that boring?" I giggled. "Well, I apparently have the power to turn you into a teenage girl; by the way, you just giggled." I was shocked. "Oh, so you like teenage girls?" I flipped the situation back on him. "So you want to play it dirty?" he replied, starting a tickle fight with me. I tried to stand my ground, but possibly, I was surprised. My ribs hurt from laughing so much, and he was slightly out of breath from all the fun. "I can't believe I never talked to you before," he said, settling back into his spot next to me. Well, I tried. You were just so closed off," I responded. He scoffed. "You know I'm right," I said with a smug look on my face. I had replaced my head on his shoulder.

"Morning." I suddenly woke up on the floor of an elevator. Looking up, I saw Emily and Damian standing there while Jack was still asleep for some magical reason. I tried to shake him awake, but he mumbled something incoherent under his breath. Emily helped me to my feet and handed me a hot cup of tea. I needed it; it was so cold. "Thanks, Em," I said, taking a few large sisters. The tea warmed me up entirely in just those few guilds. I glanced around; the office was empty, and it was dark outside. "Oh jeez, how late is it?" I asked them. Damian answered while he roused Jack. "It's nine p.m. right now." "NINE P.M.," Jack yelled, mirroring my shock. "Wait ... we were trapped in this elevator for an entire day?" Emily needed. "Yeah, we waited for you guys. The repairmen are still downtairs. " Jack stepped out of the elevator and extended his hand to me. I took it, and we went outside, with Emily and Damian following us down the chairs.Once we reached the cars, we said goodbye to our colleagues. Jack walked me to my car. "Hey, if you're free this weekend, maybe we could, you know, hang out?" he asked nervously. "Are you asking me out?" I teased. He looked anxious as he awaited my answer. "Yes, I would love to go. I'm free this Saturday, "I said. Jack's face lit up with happiness. "Great, I'll pick you up here at 6. Goodnight, Amara. " He kissed me on the cheek before heading to his own car. Just before getting in, he called out, "No places with elevators!"