Three Floors Down (W2S)

break down's and build up's

I enter the lift, my phone to my ear as I listen to JJ's rambling on the other end.

"Are you on your way?" He asks, the boys making noise in the background and the sound of music clear.

"I'm leaving now, I'm not the fucking Flash." I reply, pressing the bottom floor number.

"Alright man, hurry up, the party's just getting started." He shouts the last part and I laugh before hanging up.

I don't even notice the doors open until I smell a vanilla-like scent and look up to find her looking down. No surprise there.

"Hey, Delilah." I greet her, slipping my phone in to my back pocket.

"Hi, Harry." She returns the greeting, her voice sweet and serene.

"You oka-" I begin but I'm cut off by the shaking of the lift.

She obviously wasn't expecting it as she stumbles to the side slightly, holding on to the railing next to her. The lights in the lift flicker on and off and we suddenly stop. The lights stay on but are noticeably dimmer, you can tell this lift isn't going anywhere.

We sit across from each other, both of our legs crossed and she has her arms crossed against her chest and is biting her lip; avoiding all eye contact. She keeps nervously checking her phone as time seems to pass slowly on.

"Have to be somewhere?" I ask her, to which she almost drops her phone; obviously slightly skittish.

"No-I-I-" She fumbles over her words and purses her lips.

"It's alright, take your time." I gently say and she smiles slightly.

"I've just got to be at a meeting-thing." She says so quietly I have to replay the sentence over in my head before I can work out what she said.

"Ah, right." I nod.

"You?" She asks, shocking me with her willingness to engage in a conversation which lasts longer than thirty seconds. 

"A friend's party." I reply.

"Oh." She nods, fumbling with her shoe lace.

I notice her tattoo on her wrist, finally working out that it's a small pair of wings. 

"I like your tattoo." I say, nodding to her wrist.

She looks at her wrist and her smile falters slightly, "thanks."

"They hurt?" I ask.

"A little." She nods.

The conversation goes stale for about three minutes and the pressure of trying to keep talking to her gets to me.

"Do you just like to not talk?" I bluntly say and feel my blood thin as I realise what I've just asked.

Her cheeks turn a light pink shade and she shrugs, "talking isn't my strong point."

"I'm not gonna, like-hurt you or anything, y'know? I'm friendly." I smile at her, trying to catch her eye.

She simply nods and I internally sigh, I come up with an idea and decide it's better than nothing.

"How about we play twenty questions, to pass the time?" I suggest.

She hesitates, but nods slowly.

"Okay, I'll go first, what's your favourite colour?" I ask a simple question, hoping to not intimidate her.

"Burgundy, you?" She confidently answers.

"Blue," I tell her and realise she's used her first question, "what's your shoe size?"

She chuckles and it's nice to see her full smile, it's pretty, "I'm a size four and a half."

"What? That's tiny." I laugh.

"Little body, little feet." She smiles.

"Okay, your question." I smile at her and she nods.

"What do you do?" She asks.

"I'm on YouTube, I make like Fifa games and stuff." I awkwardly answer.

"Oh, cool." She smiles at me, a genuine smile that makes butterflies fly up and around my hungry stomach.

"What's your favourite food?" I question.

"Strawberries, what's your favourite film?" She replies.

"That's a hard one...uh-I have no idea." I shrug, smiling.

She goes to say something but the lift suddenly begins to move again, slowly, but surely, it moves. I stand up, as does she and we return to our original places. The doors ding open twenty or so seconds later and we both aren't sure whether to leave or not. We leave together and walk to the door, I open it for her and we both stand there.

"I'm going this way." She nods to the way behind my head.

"Ah, I'm going that way." I nod to the way behind her head and she smiles.

"I guess I'll see you then." She mumbles.

"I guess." I mumble back, she begins to walk and I look back at her.

She doesn't turn back but I notice her head is up; not down.

I smile, before walking to the party.