The Morning Storm (MxM)

5.

Oh god...This can't be happening right now. Everett tapped the button again, Pete pulling out a cellphone, lighting up the room. The hotel was out of power, and the two of them were stuck. "Oh god..." Everett started, walking away from the pad. 

Everett began to sit down against the wall holding his head in his hands. Pete looked over and shined the light at him, almost blinding him on accident. "Hey, are you okay?" Pete asked worriedly.

"I...I can't do tight spaces. I need to get out of here. Now." Everett jumped up and tried to bang on the doors. "HELP! LET US OUT!!" Everett said, his fears getting to him.

Pete set his phone down on the ground, and walked over to Everett, gently grabbing his arm. "Hey, it's okay-"

"NO! It's not fucking okay! I'm trapped in here! I need to get out NOW!" Everett started banging on the door, and to no prevail, nobody heard him.

"Everett-"

"NO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND OKAY! I CAN'T BE HERE RIGHT NOW-" Everett began to choke up. "I can't...I can't do this-" 

"Everett."

"Please, just stop talking," Everett said, walking away from the door. "I need to-I need to-GOD!"

Everett fell to the floor and held his face in his hands, beginning to cry. He didn't care if Pete was right there, he needed to get out of here. Pete stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to do. Everett sat there for a moment, before looking up at Pete, his face stained with tears. "I just- I can't do small spaces..." He said quietly, his voice breaking."

Pete walked over to him slowly and leaned down in front of him. The two of them were as close as they were a few minutes ago, except these were different circumstances. Pete reached a gentle hand over to Everett and held his hand against his shoulder, while Everett stared at him, looking into those eyes. "...Hey," Pete started, his voice comforting and quiet. "It's okay."

Everett's tears dried a little. "It's not okay Pete. We're trapped in here." He said quietly.

Pete hesitated for a moment. "I have my phone with me. I'll call the hotel staff. I put their number on there." Pete said, reaching for his phone.

He turned the flashlight off for a moment, and Everett couldn't see anything. He could only feel the cold of the room and smell Pete's foresty-wooden scent, the latter Everett was afraid to admit he enjoyed. But being stuck in this room with no power, with a stranger who smells good, isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Everett had been to plenty of hotels to go see his family now and then, but none of the stays was anything like this. If they get out of this place alive, it will surely be a story for Thanksgiving dinner. Pete's phone illuminated his face as he dialed the hotel number, and held it up to his face. The line rang for a few seconds before the employee answered.

Pete explained the situation to the employee, and the two talked for a few minutes. Everett wasn't paying attention to any of it, only staring down at his knees. The rooms felt like they were closing in on him, slowly getting smaller as Pete talked on the phone. The ceiling could very well be inches above Everett's head, making him sink even lower to the ground. Eventually, Pete got off the phone and put it in his pocket. "Hey...So when the storm calms down, they are gonna send someone outside to restart the breaker, which should make the elevator work again. It'll be...maybe an hour?" Pete stated almost in a whisper, sitting next to Everett.

"...An hour!? Oh god damnit!" Everett started yelling again, muffling his words into his hands.

Pete only stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to do. Everett didn't pay attention to him, but rather looked down into his knees. After a few moments, Pete sat away from Everett, leaving about 4 feet in between them, making the room cold again. He got out his phone and started typing on it, maybe texting a family member. Everett noticed but didn't pay any attention to it. The two sat in that position for maybe 10 minutes, not a word spoken between each other. The storm seemed to only get worse from then on, making Everett's life just that much worse at the moment. At that very moment, as another thunderclap struck, Everett began to feel his chest tighten, and his breathing hitch. 

It was loud enough for Pete to notice, as Everett began to panic, trying to control himself. Not now! Goddamnit! Everett thought to himself, as he felt the panic attack start to come over him. "Are you okay?" Pete asked, concerned.

Everett didn't reply, as his body rocked back and forth. He heard a shuffling next to him in the dark and heard a metal-like sound hit the ground on the ground. Pete set his phone down so the whole room was illuminated by his flashlight. Pete scooted over to Everett and reached into his pockets, pulling out a pair of headphones. They powered on and he held them in his ears for a moment. Everett looked over at him with confusion, before Pete reached over and handed him the pair of headphones. "Please, put them in." He said softly, making Everett's heart leap into his throat.

Everett looked at him for a moment before Pete took his hand gently and held it while pulling the headphone out of his palm. He gently placed the headphone in his left ear and turned them on. The sound of an acoustic guitar and a woman gently signing filled his ears, causing Everett to look at Pete, his chest starting to loosen up. "Is that better?" Pete asked, still holding Everett's hand softly.

"Don't-" Everett started softly before a shade of red covered his face. "...just don't leave me." Everett said, barely audible.

Pete grabbed the other earphone out of its case and leaned closer to Everett. "I'm not going anywhere." He whispered, putting it in his other ear.

Everett lost complete control of his body and leaned into Pete's warmth, while Pete held both of his hands together. Everett slowly began to calm down, the elevator becoming a place he didn't want to leave. Yep. He was cuddling a stranger in the hotel elevator. This was kind of awkward.

I'm finally getting into this story. Writing this story based on a weird-ass dream I had was a good idea after all. See yall in the next chapter!