S.O.S/The Winner Takes It All

Chapter 9

Courtney looks embarrassed as she turns around. A young man stands there, about her age. Her eyes widen in surprise as she seems to recognise him. "Oh my god! Chris! It's been ages!" She stands up, hugging the stranger. He has a dark tan, he's quite muscular, and is dressed in stormy blue jeans and a black singlet. They pull out of the hug and I feel a slight pang of jealousy.

Jealousy?

What do I have to be jealous about?

Chris smiles down at me in a friendly way, running a hand through his short brown hair. "Do you know him?"
Courtney nods vigorously. "This is my co-worker. Shayne, this is Chris Genford. Chris, this is Shayne Topp."
His eyebrows raise in recognition. "Ah. I've seen a lot of you."

I stand up, shaking his hand. "What do you mean?"

"On Smosh. You're a very talented actor." He lets go of my hand, and for some reason he reminds me of my impersonation of Leonardo DiCaprio.
"Uh, well, thanks for watching." I blink, stepping away from him.

He turns back to Courtney, a small smile playing on his lips. "So, would you wanna grab coffee some time? We could meet up at the Starbucks around here. Anytime is fine. I'm free this week. Just to, you know, catch up?"
Courtney nods. She seems to be stuck in a trance. "That sounds great. Um, I guess I can give you my number and we can work out a time?"
"Sure." Chris says, smiling down at Courtney, his bright blue eyes darting up and down her body.

She pulls some paper from her pocket, before turning to me. "Shayne, do you have a pen?"
I produce one from the pocket of my jeans, passing it to her. "Don't ask why I have a pen in my pocket."

Courtney snickers as she writes. She finally looks up, flipping her hair out of her face. "So here's my number, uh, text me or something."
He takes the paper, subtly winking at her. "Alright. Catch you later, Courtney." Chris walks off, turning the corner.

I stare after him before turning back to Courtney. "He was checking you out." I say simply.
She whips around to face me, her cheeks slightly pink. "What? No he wasn't!" She glances down at the footpath, flustered. "We were friends in high school."
"So that means he's not attracted to you now?" I raise my eyebrows, smiling as she slumps her shoulders in defeat.
"Okay, you saw straight through my logic. But it should be fun catching up with him."

I suddenly remember our conversation earlier. "So, what did you wanna tell me before?"
"Oh! I'll tell you later. It's nothing important, believe me." She turns away, walking back inside the building.

I stare after her, shaking my head. I have a bad feeling about Chris.

Why? Because you're afraid he'll steal your girl?

Because you're jealous of Courtney being in his arms?

I ignore my stupid thoughts and instead, I follow Courtney inside, and see her talking to someone in the lobby. It's Drew, from Clevver. I walk over, just as they say their goodbyes, and Courtney heads to the elevator. I jog up to her, falling into step with her. We enter the elevator together, silence still between us. I press our level, and casual music starts playing.
Suddenly, the elevator stops, the music is cut short and the lights shudder off. Courtney stumbles into me, and I catch her on reflex before she smacks into the wall. Our faces are uncomfortably close.
She clears her throat. "Thanks."
I let her go and she stands up properly.
"Can you call anyone?" I ask, running a hand through my hair. "I don't have my phone, I left it up at my desk." 


Courtney pulls her phone from her pocket. "I'll see. My phone was on ten percent last time I looked at it." She clicks the home button. Nothing. "Shit." She presses it again. The screen still doesn't turn on. She looks over at me, panic lacing her voice. "Shayne, we're stuck here." 

My eyes roam along the array of buttons and I finally see the door open button. I click it, because I've heard that sometimes it can get jammed. Nothing happens. I press the emergency button, and as soon as I do, the button lights up red and a siren goes off. Courtney grabs my arm as a female voice comes through the speaker. "Is everything alright in elevator 4?" 

"The elevator has stopped and we can't contact anyone else. Can you send help?" I ask, and even though I'm panicking a bit, I keep my voice level. 

"How many people are in the elevator?" 

"Two. Me and my co-worker." I glance at Courtney, squeezing her hand to reassure her.

"Well just sit tight and stay calm, okay? Our team will be there soon."

The static stops, and the elevator is quiet again. Courtney's voice echoes slightly as she speaks again. "Shayne?"

"Yeah?" 

"I'm scared." 

I turn to her, seeing the tiny bit of light glinting off her eyes. I wrap my arms around her in a tight hug. "It's alright, Courtney. We're going to be okay." 

"I know. I can't help it." Courtney mumbles into my shoulder.

She pulls out of the hug, stepping away from me, a curious look on her face. "Have you ever been stuck in an elevator?"
I raise my eyebrows. "No. Not until now." I pause, rubbing the back of my head. "But seriously Courtney, what were you going to tell me back there on the bench?"
"Oh!" She seems flustered, and she doesn't make eye contact with me. "Um, I was going to say that I used to be friends with Kristen. Before you dated her."

I stare at Courtney. "Why didn't she tell me about that?" I ask, confused.
"We had a falling out after you started dating. She thought I was going to make you cheat on her. But I was the one who said, 'hey, that guy over there is kinda cute, why don't you go say hello?'. And she did. But I didn't know you then. I literally met you the week after that. I was really shocked. I was going to be working with my best friend's boyfriend. And as you and I slowly grew closer, she accused me of trying to get together with you." Courtney slides down to the floor of the elevator. "She was jealous." 

I ease myself down next to her. "I'm sorry. You lost your best friend because of me."


Courtney shakes her head. "It wasn't your fault. She made assumptions and didn't trust me. That's not what friends do."


I glance at her, I can't really see her face though, because it's dark. "So you thought I was cute." I grin, waiting for her reaction.

She laughs. "Well, you're easy on the eyes. That's all I'll say."

I smile to myself, before continuing. "How come she didn't introduce me to you? I mean you were her best friend..."

Courtney shifts her position. "She started talking to you, and I didn't intervene. I wanted her to be happy."

I stare around at the walls enclosing us. I decide to change the subject. "So, what are you going to do about Chris? He's obviously attracted to you." 

Courtney shrugs. "I think I'll go meet up with him. It'll be nice to talk to him again." 

I nod. "If you want, I can tag along in a slightly weird way and look out for you. Just in case he's changed since high-school."

She bursts out laughing. "Shayne!" She slaps my arm playfully. "Chris is not a creep!"

I laugh along with her. "What? I'm offering my support! He gives me weird vibes anyway."
Courtney grabs my arm, leaning on my shoulder. "He's fine. But, if it really makes you feel better, you can 'accidentally' bump into us at Starbucks."

I place my arm around her shoulder. "This isn't for nothing, I promise you."
She looks up at me, placing her hand on mine. "You're a great friend, Shayne."

I smile down at her. "You're a great friend too, Courtney."