Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Click” Josh lazily pushed the operating button on the polished metal surface next to a pair of rather small elevator doors. It lit up like a soft beacon. He hummed a high and pleasant tune to himself while he waited for the machine to surface and opens its metallic chops for him like a greedy beast ready to consume another helpless sacrifice. If you chose to look at it that way that is... However, Josh was simply meandering and rather bored today. He was preoccupied with tapping his foot on the tiled floor and fidgeting impatiently while waiting for the stainless steel doors to cascade open. The boy had just left one of his friend’s apartments and was rather displeased that their time together had been cut short when his girlfriend arrived at the doorstep. He couldn’t help but feel like the notorious third wheel if he had stayed though. His eyes wandered as he began to ponder what he should do with the rest of his afternoon. Hopefully, the coffee shops weren’t too busy…

“Ding” Josh smiled and was pleased to see that he was the only one in the barren elevator as of now. Josh eagerly bustled into the mirrored box and settled against a railing. The tune he was humming continued to spill from his lips.

As David the apartment complex's management office, he bowed politely to the elderly Mr. Johnson, finishing his leave with a handsome smile, "Thank you again for your time, sir. I really appreciate you taking time out of your hectic schedule to see me. Please, call me whenever you foresee an opening."

The balding man nodded pleasantly, standing in the doorway of his pitiful office, his feeble but charming wave seeing David off around the corner. The young man flashed one last grin at the senior citizen before turning his head back around and ,whipping his cell phone out of his pocket, immediately began to lose the warm, friendly aura he had previously possessed. Pausing for a minute at the elevator, he dialed the lovely "Susan"'s number and tapped his foot impatiently until a sickeningly sweet "Hellllooo -giggle-" greeting rang throughout his ears. The Prince Charming mask was slipped back on.

"Good afternoon Susan," he purred, satisfied when a flirtatious giggle responded to this simple greeting. Glancing down at his watch, he continued his conversation with the obnoxious woman, intertwining professionalism with intimacy, "Did you still want to meet up this afternoon? -he chuckled softly- You know, I've been dying to see you again."

Another outburst of unattractive squeals and schoolgirl snickers.

"Oh DAVID! It's only been a week!"
"Week and a half, dearest," he corrected, and shifting to a concerned tone, "Or..are you too busy to see me? ...'Nother guy I suppose. Much more handsome.. suppose I didn't treat you as a woman should be tr--"
"Oh gosh, boy, NO! Please, please, come right up!! I'll be ready in five."

Smirking devilishly, David closed his phone, slid it back into his pocket and then pressed the elevator button lethargically, despite his grin. By the sixth tap of his impatient foot, as if summoned, the elevator doors appeared and slid open with an impressive hissing noise. Entering the steel cage, David barely glanced over its passengers, carefully taking mental notes of his observations: athletic male teenager and innocent but oddly charming young woman. His smile seemed to fade just a bit at the sight of the other male, but something in him reassured him that the two were not together. Pushing his luck as he always does, David then took a position between the two, carefully eyeing the girl to his left.

Simple. Cute. But, *sigh*. The gamer type.

Anita wasn't particularly a fan of elevator's as it was. Despite her dislike for real movement, she much preferred stairs; and this was exactly the reason why.

It had never occurred to her before, but she was always in fear of it. Whenever the elevator began moving she felt like she was on a miniature roller coaster ride--she could feel her insides rise up while the rest of her went down, and it often left her feeling nauseas and shaky. Because of this, she paid even less attention to the newest addition to the elevator and kept her gaze fixed on the glowing buttons, waiting for hers to stop shining and for the doors to open and let her off and out of this place.

But it seemed luck was against her, and the other two unfortunate victims she currently shared space with.

The descent slowed as it became noisier, creaking and scratching along the walls that held it so close. A feeling of dread settled in the very pit of her stomach when she pictured the cables swaying wildly above them, ready to snap and send them plummeting to certain doom. Overhead, the lights began to flicker, and eventually, as the chamber came to a complete stop, they were engulfed in darkness.

"s**t.." there were sounds of shuffling as she tore through her bag, plucking out something small and silver. Flipping it open, a small rectangle of light illuminated her face and she began pointing the cell phone around the elevator as a makeshift flash light.

Josh’s heart nearly leapt from his chest as the elevator tumbled and groaned then finally cut off into an eerie silence. The steel carriage gave off one last growl as it scraped against the outside walls and settled somewhere between the ninth and tenth floors. Josh could also feel his chest tighten and the spasm and thump of the startled organ grow muffled as his veins ran cold. Frantic thoughts began to cross his mind. However, those wearisome notions were put to rest rather quickly as a rather bright LCD screen flashed in his face and made him tense up. The boy’s eyes squinted closed painfully as the two next to him messed with their cell phones. The boy’s slim hand also dug into his own pocket and pulled out a petite orange cell. He flicked it open rather unceremoniously letting the minute rays of light wash over the rest of the elevator and pool in the corners of their cage.

Josh didn’t care much for David’s dry humor but let out a faint chuckle anyway. It was more to calm his own nerves rather than humor the older man.

Josh's shaky laughter made David frown intensely. Sliding onto the ground, arms resting on his prominent knees, David made a small note not to get too close to the boy on his right. The kid seemed to be reacting to the situation the worst, and David had seen one too many psychological thrillers to conclude that wherever frantic teens like this were located, they somehow caused all of the cast to die. Closing his stormy eyes thoughtfully, the young man tried his best to stay calm. Ah. But something else also needed to be taken care of. As he watched his female companion try her luck once again, shifting from the elevator shaft's button panel to her cell phone's, David reached into his own pocket once again and called home. He released an irritated sigh, forced once again to listen to the annoying ringing session necessary for call-making. Finally a click, but unlike before, this female's voice seemed to echo throughout David's hellhole as the usually sweet voice of his younger sister screamed,

"DAVID! I THINK I BROKE YOUR MUG. AGAIN. DO YOU WANT ME TO TRY AND FIX IT OR OR...OH GOSH. I'M SO SO SORRY--" and the exclamation was muffled as the young man clasped the cell phone in a silencing death grip, a dark look across his features. Silence was restored.

"Nami. Nami. Nami. NAMINI NAO," he hissed. "Calm down. I'll fix it lat--I don't care about that right now. Call Henry. Tell him I'll be late. No... Yes. I am alive, just not too happy. Later. --I'll tell you l--Shutupwillyou?!" Both receiver and speaker became quiet and David raised a hand to his temple. Oh, siblings were so frustrating. He flashed both Josh and Anita apologetic smiles before continuing in a tired voice.

"Just..Just call Henry and tell him. No. Not a car accident, elevator entrapment, kay? 'Kay. Bye," he sighed, thankful that one of the stupidest calls in his life was over. Shutting his phone, he slid it back into his pocket and covered his face with his hands, now obviously upset.

The name, though it obviously held some familiarity to Josh, meant nothing to Ani, and so she turned away from the conversation, holding the cell phone close to her ear and her other hand over the opposite one to keep herself and Theodore from being drowned out in their idle chat.

Ringing was monotonous, and she showed the same frustration as David had when he had been on the receiving end, but to her surprise and growing anger, her friend did not pick up. "If you're not answering 'cause you're playing my game, I'm gonna kill you..." she muttered through her teeth, pulling the phone away in a huff when she heard the pre-recorded voice pick up. Five minutes, then she would call again, but now...

She returned the cell phone to her bag, resting at the top of her collection of cartridges and CD cases, and set it down in the corner near David, plopping herself right beside it with one leg propped up, using her arm on it as a pillow. What was there to do? Wait. That was all they could do, and for now, she wouldn't interrupt them.

Josh wasn’t even fazed by the inspecting looks David shot at him mainly due to the fact he couldn’t see them. The light on his cell phone had long since faded into nothing leaving the modest space they occupied completely obscured. Josh slowly tucked the phone back away into his pocket. The air was tense around them as he waited for a response from David. The boy’s eyes grew wide in shock as his mind tried to wrap around David’s answer, “Ah, you are her brother. She never mentioned that she had one to me. Umm, I’m Josh and it is a pleasure to meet you David. I guess you could call me her friend, I see her around a bit.” He gave David a cheeky smile even though it probably wasn't seen.

Josh took notice of the girl on the other side of the elevator next. It was even harder to see her and Josh could only pray that his eyes would grow adjusted to the dimness soon. While they were exchanging introductions he decided to go ahead and pull her into the conversation. Hopefully, it would save her from a painful death at the hands of boredom. “So may I ask what you name is miss?” He could already feel himself growing more calm under their current situation. All they could do now was wait and hope that the air didn't run out or something.