Locked in Time

Trapped

I woke up the next morning, or what I assumed was morning, to whispers from the bed/couch.

"So.. what do you think?" one asked, Noah maybe?

"I think we shouldn't be talking about this," definitely Easton.

"Oh come on Easton, live a little!" Noah again?

"Well, if you're not gonna say anything, I will," butted in somebody else, Mattheo? "I think she's perfect. I'm just gonna say that and leave it out there."

"Well I'm just gonna say, I agree with Easton. Guys we shouldn't be talking about this right now, in an elevator, with a girl we barely know!" Liam I guess?

At this point, I think they realized they were getting loud and they quieted so that I couldn't hear them.

Who were they talking about? I mean it could've been me possibly, but at the end when Liam spoke, it made it sound like it wasn't me. And anyways, who was I kidding? They were all way out of the league of some random girl. I mean, I wasn't ugly but I was definitely not the definition of gorgeous or perfect or anything.

After a while of sitting on the armchair contemplating everything, maybe 30 minutes, I got up and realized that I was going to be stuck in these clothes for who knows how long.

I looked down upon my go to outfit, a pair of black leggings, some random shirt, and a baggy sweatshirt. My legs were pretty muscled, as I was a soccer player for my high school, so I didn't mind wearing skin tight pants. However, I was very insecure about my upper body. I was a swimmer so it wasn't that I was out of shape or anything, it's just that I had a very long torso and short legs. This always looked very disproportionate if I just wore a crop top or something, so I wore baggy sweatshirts to give the illusion that my legs were longer and my torso slightly shorter.

I shrugged, giving no more thought to that concern at this moment. We'd be out of here soon anyways.

"Are you just gonna stand there all day or do you want something to eat?" Liam's voice broke me out of my trance.

"Oh! Yeah, what's in the fridge?" I asked.

"Um, bagels, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, and some fruit," Mattheo replied as he crouched down next to it.

"Can I have a bagel?" I replied.

Mattheo took out two bagels and walked over to where I was still dumbly standing.

"Here," he handed me the bagel.

"Thanks," I said, slightly blushing when our fingers brushed.

I didn't waste any time going to sit back down on my armchair, mentally slapping myself for being such a classic, cringey, 16 year old girl. Again.

After everyone had eaten, we all sat around, bored out of our minds.

"Sooo...." Liam started, "Anybody else bored?"

Everyone mumbled their agreement.

Liam smiled.

"Uh-oh, whenever Liam gets that look, you better run," Mattheo said.

"Oh come on! A little game of truth or dare never hurt anyone, right?" Liam turned to look at me with sad, puppy dog eyes.

"I had a cousin that went to jail because of a 'harmless' game of truth or dare, and I broke my arm once because of a dare," I stated, looking him straight in the eyes.

Noah and Mattheo burst out laughing at Liam's expression. Even Easton smirked a little. After they were all done laughing, Liam tried again.

"Well there isn't much to do in here that would get us in jail or break an arm so..?"

"Fine, but if it's insane, you can chicken out," I said.

"And who decides what's insane and what's not?" Noah said, smirking like he already knew the answer.

"Me," I stated simply, "Easton wouldn't let us do anything, Liam is... well look at him, he's grinning like a madman, Mattheo would be too nice and let anybody chicken out of whatever, and you... well I just don't trust you."

Noah grinned and said, "Okay then, who's starting?"

"ME!" Liam shouted, waving his hand in the air haphazardly, clipping me in the head and almost hitting Easton as well, who was on his other side.

"Ok Liam, calm down, Jhosi, you ok?" Noah asked, slightly concerned but also grinning.

"Yeah I'm good," I replied, rubbing the spot on my head that had been hit.

"Sorry Jhosi..." Liam said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, "But, um, can I go now?"

"Sure," Noah said, chuckling to himself slightly.

"Okay, Noah, truth or dare?" Liam said grinning maliciously.

"Dare, definitely."

"Let me and Jhosi style your hair and you have to leave it like that," Liam decided.

Noah looked incredibly mortified at this, "Dude, this hair takes a long time to get it like this!"

"Your fault for choosing dare!" Liam replied, "Now come on, Jhosi are you going to help me or what?"

I grinned. Even though I had only known these boys for a day I had taken a liking to them and I was pretty sure they had mostly taken a liking to me. Except for Easton who didn't seem to take a liking to anyone other than the other three boys.

"Of course! I was thinking maybe pig tails?" I said.

Noah let out a sigh and shook his head, "And here I thought you might declare this dare insane... alas."

Liam and I got to work, parting his hair down the center and pulling it into two different ponytails on either side of his head. I grabbed two hair ties from my purse and handed one to Liam.

"Almost done!"

Noah groaned in relief that the torture was over and despair for his ruined hair.

I stepped back to admire my work and giggled slightly, "Oh you look dashing!"

Liam grinned, "Ok, Noah! Now your turn."

"'Kay, Easton. Truth or dare?" Noah asked.

We continued to play for about an hour. I got dared to let the person on my right draw something on me. Of course this was Mattheo. He drew a big smiley face on my calf in permanent marker. 

I then dared Liam to show the last picture on his camera roll. He showed a photo he'd taken of a dog with a stick on mustache, a party hat, and sunglasses.

Liam dared Easton to sing "Living on a Prayer" as loud as he could and it was pretty good.

We kept going around and around. I started to know them better and they grew to know me better.

The next day was one filled with fake smiles and forced laughs as we seriously wondered if we were ever getting out of here.

The one after that was spent talking. And talking. And eating. And talking. Doing anything to get our minds off the fact that we had been stuck for three and a half days.

Three and a half days.

Were we ever getting out?

Two more days passed. We all became slightly depressed and barely talked or moved. 

What would happen if we died here? Would my parents sue? Would the mall get shut down for having a faulty elevator?

At this point I was kinda hoping it would.

Another day passed.

I found a piece of paper and a pen in my purse and wrote a note to whoever found my body and placed it in the back fo the fridge.

It held everything I wanted to say to my family, friends, and anything I wanted people to know.

I know that's weird but I was actually becoming scared that I was never getting out.

Sadly, I was going to get out.

1235 words??? That's a lot for me! Thanks for reading!