Elevator Escapade by alexa35

Elevator Escapade

Sometimes, being stuck in the elevator with a strange man isn't that bad. "MAAAAAAX! Help! I'm trapped in the lift with this really cute guy!"

[AH + light Iggy/Ella fluff.] I'm not really a fan of that pairing - I don't usually read those kind of stories, but I decided it's time to steer away from the conventional Fax and write something different for a change. And, please don't ask me what Ella is working as! I myself have no clue - the main focus of this is what goes on in the elevator, so yeah.

I am also going to let this fic remain as a one-shot. Thanks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or any characters associated with the story.

Lunch break.

The time of day where people rush down to the nearest food outlet to grab a bite during what little time they have. During that short hour each day, people would flock to the nearest fast food restaurant like vultures zeroing in on a dead carcass. It would be packed like sardines, and jostling was always unavoidable.

That was why Ella Martinez usually waited thirty minutes into her lunch break before heading out of the office.

She found that rather effective as she would not spend her first half hour queing up to buy her food. She would finish up some of her work during that spare time in the almost empty office, and by the time she reached the outlet, the queue would be rather short and there were more seats around. Sure, she had less time to eat, but she had always been able to manage so far.

Ella had been busier than usual lately, and due to her oversleeping that morning, she had unfortunately missed breakfast. Therefore, it was no surprise that by lunch break, her stomach was craving for food.

Sparing a nod for her colleagues staying back in the office as she walked past them, she half-jogged towards the elevators. She turned around a corner to the hallway straight across the elevators and realised that the doors of one were sliding shut. Not wanting to waste time waiting for the next elevator to come, Ella made a mad dash for it.

Ella let out a sigh of relief as she slipped in before the doors fully shut. Ah, the perks of playing soccer were endless.

Light music filled the confined space, and as she paused to catch her breath after the short sprint, Ella realised that she wasn't the only one in there.

Leaning against one of the walls to her left was a rather tall, well-built man with strawberry blonde hair. He seemed about her age - in his twenties, maybe, and his skin was rather pale. His hands were tucked in the pockets of his business suit and he seemed to be examining the floor of the elevator.

The rate of her heartbeat started increasing as she turned back to the front and faced the shut elevator doors.

Ella had always been a little guy-phobic throughout her life. She found that she could never really talk straight to a guy, albeit one she found attractive, ever since a rather embarrassing incident that had happened all the way back in high school with the guy's soccer team. No, she wasn't a lesbian, but she always just felt.. shy.

Members of the opposite sex may very well be the cousins to aliens, after all.

She eyed the monitor anxiously as the number went down at an agonizingly slow pace. 11.. 10.. Darn, why did she have to work on the sixteenth floor of the building? Life was so unfair.

Then, as if some higher being had listened to her inner complaining and felt the uncontrollable urge to do her words justice, the elevator suddenly shook dangerously and lurched to a halt. Ella grabbed the railings of the wall opposite Cute Guy.

The lights flickered, the music crackled, and the moving box she was in called an elevator was plunged into darkness and silence.

"Damn," she heard Cute Guy mutter quietly. His voice sent a shiver down her spine, as she grasped the situation she was in. Her mind short-circuited. Drawing in a shaky breath, Ella stuffed her hand into her pocket, clutched her phone, and did the only thing she could think of: she texted Max.

"MAAAAAAX! Help! I'm trapped in the lift with this really cute guy!" And.. message sent.

Max would tell her what to do. Max knew how she was around guys, especially those she found attractive. Max would help her.

Why was she putting so much faith in her half-sister anyway? Ella shook her head and stowed her phone back into her pocket. She leaned back against the wall and tried not to look at Cute Guy, her eyes having already adjusted to the darkness.

"Um.. Hello?" he said, his voice uncertain. He was turning his head left and right, and Ella looked at him, confused.

"Hi?" she replied. Cute Guy let out a breath that she realised had been bated.

"Hey. What happened? I felt something shake. Is everything alright?" he asked cautiously. Ella looked at him incredulously. Is everything alright? Did he not see the lights go out? Did he not see they were trapped in the elevator for some unfathomable reason?

"I'm blind," he said quietly, and that was when Ella realised with a start she had spoken her mind without meaning to. A habit she definitely had to kick, that. Then his words sunk in. He was blind. And she had just insulted him, in a sense, by asking him in disbelief whether he had seen the lights go out.

Oh god, she was such an idiot.

"Oh my gosh I'm so, so sorry, I didn't - "

"Nah, it's okay," Cute Guy shrugged it off, interrupting her in mid-sentence. His tone suggested that what she had just tried to do was something he was used to and sick of.

Ella gulped.

They lapsed into silence.

Correction: They lapsed into an awkward silence.

"Well, this is awkward," Ella uttered, in an attempt to break the silence. She could just see the wheels of his mind turning; who was this silly, idiotic girl trying to make awkward conversation with him after insulting him?

Then, to her immense surprise, Cute Guy laughed. She was startled, and.. did her heartbeat just increase tenfold?

"No freaking duh!" he chuckled. "The name's Jeff. Call me Iggy." Iggy held out a hand out, and Ella took it. As his fingers closed over her hand, she felt the heat rise on her face. She thanked the fact that he was blind and couldn't see her.

Iggy. Cute name for a cute guy.

"Ella Martinez." She shook his hand before letting go, and he laughed once again. Ella found herself wondering what was it that he found so amusing. They were stuck in a tiny, confined box with no light, no sound and oxygen that was probably running out. And yet, he could still laugh.

What a good-natured guy.

Ella plopped down onto the ground and crossed her legs, Iggy following suit. They were leaning against opposite sides of the elevator, and Ella couldn't help but to examine his features in the dark, feeling reassured by the fact that he could not see her.

She saw him opening his mouth to say something, but he was duly interrupted by the ringtone from her phone, notifying her of a new text message. Mumbling an apology, she excused herself and checked her phone.

A reply from Max!

Ella suddenly felt reassured. Everything was going to be alright; she wouldn't freak. She hadn't so far, and Max would help her.

"Good luck."

Ella stared at her phone. She double checked and made sure that that was all she had. Really! Good luck? She could imagine the snicker on Max's face. Ella scowled and stowed the phone away, making sure to remember to whack Max on the head when she got home for being oh so very helpful.

She leaned back and sighed.

"So, for the lack of anything to say, where were you headed for during this hour?" Iggy asked, at an attempt at light conversation. Ella smiled wryly.

"Lunch," she answered. "I'm not one of those vultures who rush down just to get a seat and be the first in the queue the minute lunch break starts. How about you?"

"Nice analogy," he commented, before answering her question with a sombre expression on his face. "I was heading for the gents down on the first floor. I happen to find the public toilet cleaner than the ones used by the office; cleaners clean there more often."

Ella stared at him, mortified, as realisation sunk in.

"You're not going to.. you know.." Iggy cocked his head questioningly. "You're not going to pee here or something, are you?" she squeaked. "Uh, I could turn around if you want to, but I think there's a no urinating policy. But since we're stuck here I'm sure they'll cut you some slack.. Um. Yeah."

Colour rose to her face as she started turning around, and for the second time that hour, she thanked the fact that he was blind.

"Ella, I was just kidding," he said, in a voice so serious she swore it gave her a shock when he suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. Ella turned back around and scowled. What was with people and making fun of her? Iggy was practically howling.

"No urinating policy.. Cut me some slack.. You're a genius, you know that?" he chuckled, wiping the tears of mirth that had formed.

"Well, in my defence, you were shitting me," Ella retorted.

"In that case, I'll really need the toilet," he cracked, and burst into another fit of laughter. What was so funny about that? Shit.. Toilet.. Ah. Ella rolled her eyes.

"How lame can you get, Iggy?" she said, and shook her head in mock sadness.

"In my defence, you said shit first," he replied, using a high falsetto voice. Ella realised that he was trying - and failing badly, might she add - to imitate her.

"How old are you, five?" Ella said, sighing in fake resignation. "And to think I thought you were drool-worthy."

Iggy's laughter suddenly died.

Ella's heart stopped. Oh, why did she have to say things without thinking?

"You.. think I'm drool-worthy?" he repeated, his voice sounding weird. Ella racked her brains for something to say. Quickly, think, think!

"Uh, yeah, wait, no, um.. I barely.. few minutes.. uh.. argh." Ella could just bang her head repeatedly against the walls of the elevator. Why did she always make a complete fool out of herself? "Th - this conversation is over," she proclaimed, calling forth all her courage. She saw a ghost of a smile on Iggy's lips - had she imagined that?

"Yes maam," he saluted, a trace of amusement in his voice. Ella let out a bated breath and they lapsed into another silence - one that was more comfortable than the previous one, but still awkward.

"What do you think happened?" she asked quietly, unable to stand it any longer.

"I don't know, but I'm starting to think of this as a good thing," Iggy said, and Ella looked at him in surprise. What did he mean by that? Getting stuck in an elevator, a good thing? The only good that she saw out of this was being able to meet Iggy.. Oh..

"Oh, shut up," she muttered, her face turning red at an alarmingly fast rate. Iggy laughed quietly.

Suddenly, the elevator lurched, and the lights started to flicker on and off again. Ella got to her feet, and helped Iggy up. The elevators were fixed! They weren't going to be trapped in there forever!

Then, without warning, the lift lurched once again.

Ella, taken offguard, stumbled and lunged face-first forward into Iggy's ..arms. He was pushed against the wall by her, and she looked up at his face in surprise. He was almost a head taller than her. The sides of Iggy's mouth curled into a grin, and her face warmed once again as his arms wrapped around her. She felt snug in his arms.

Well, that was nice.

Then the lights flickered on once again and she felt the elevator moving slowly downwards. It was back in operation. Ella felt both relieved and disappointed at that.

She looked back at Iggy and met his sightless eyes. They were a beautiful shade of blue.. So easy to get lost in.

He was slowly leaning forward, his face getting closer. She could feel his warm breath tickling her face, and he smelled so good, damn. Their noses were almost touching when the elevator dinged and the door slowly started to roll open. Ella leaped away from Iggy as if he had the plague and she heard him chuckle to himself.

As both of them were ushered out onto a rather crowded landing, her mind was reeling.

Had he been about to kiss her?

Well, thank god the door opened. It saved her from kissing a guy she barely knew. She had only known him for less than an hour, for goodness' sake! And they had almost kissed!

But what did that mean? She felt strangely connected to him, in a way.

"You okay?" Several people were patting them on their backs, and someone handed her a cup of water. Ella accepted it gratefully, and as another lift dinged onto the level, the attention of the crowd left the pair and focused on the incoming elevator.

She turned to face Iggy. Somehow, despite him being blind, he had the uncanny knack of meeting her eyes. He was holding a similar cup of water in his hands.

"Well," she managed.

"Well," he repeated. Both of them seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Ella could guess that his mind was still back on the almost-kiss, just like hers.

"Um."

"Hey, Igs!" a male voice called out. Both Ella and Iggy turned around to face another man quite a ways, standing by the glass doors leading out of the level. He was waving at them and beckoning for Iggy to go over. Iggy sighed.

"He probably wants to have a full account on what happened in there," Iggy said, amused. "Sadly for him, no portal to another dimension opened. No superhero appeared to rescue us poor souls and I didn't even get to pee in the elevator."

Ella giggled.

"Comic addict?" She raised her eyebrows knowingly, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't see her.

"Yep," Iggy said, popping the p.

"Well. You'd better get going, then, Iggy," Ella said, though reluctant to see him leave. Would she see him again? That was the first time she had come across him in the building.

"See you around, then, Ella Martinez," Iggy said, but he made no move to leave. Neither did she.

"Bye," Ella said, wondering if he was as reluctant to leave as she was.

"Bye," he repeated. Ella caught Comic-Addict giving them a weird look. He then locked eyes with her and wiggled his brows suggestively. Her eyes widened, and she furiously shook her head, blushing scarlet.

"Oh come on, your friend's shooting us weird looks," Ella said, placed her hands on Iggy's shoulders and steered him around and towards the direction of Comic-Addict.

Iggy laughed and pulled her arms off his shoulders. He held out an arm for her to shake.

"Come on, one last shake?" he pleaded. Ella obliged, and felt surprised when she felt him pressing something into her hand. He winked and let go, turned around and walked towards Comic-Addict.

"See you around, Miss Martinez," he called over his shoulder. "You can have the afternoon off, you know."

Ella smiled to his back as she looked at her hand, and saw the piece of paper that had been pressed into it. As the crowd around her dwindled and people headed back to their offices, she felt the world still to a halt around her.

It was only her and the business card in her hands. It was a plain card, with a strikingly familiar logo on the top right hand corner. On it was a name, two numbers, and an address.

The address etched on the palm-sized piece of rectangular paper was the address of the building she was in. One of the numbers on it was the number of her company, but the extension of her boss. Then, she recognised the logo as the logo of the company she was working for.

And the name.

James Griffiths.

Griffiths.

Iggy - Jeff - James was the son of her boss; the heir to the company. Her future boss.

Oh jeez.

"You can have the afternoon off, you know."

Well, at least she would have the afternoon off to think things through.

-FINIS-