too close
“is it too late to say i’m claustrophobic?”
the stairs were blocked off. apollo groaned, walking towards the elevator, not paying attention to who was in it as he doomscrolled on his phone. “fuck, i still have my physics test to study for, flash cards to make…” amelie’s soft voice rang out in the silence, making apollo freeze. he slowly turned around, seeing the bane of his existence scribbling on a notepad. “what?” he uttered, completely still. he quickly pressed the button for the third floor as he silently judged the girl next to him. she paid no mind to apollo, jotting down her notes as if he was never there. apollo rolled his eyes. he couldn’t wait until he got to practice to blow off this new found frustration that the girl had somehow awakened in him.
suddenly, the elevator dropped in speed, making amelie shriek. the elevator soon skidded to a stop. apollo groaned, his annoyance spiking. “are we stuck?” amelie asked quietly, making apollo scowl. “no shit, valeria, what did you thi-“ he turned around to face her, only to be met with the sight of her sitting on the ground with her knees pulled to her chest. his eyes widened. this was definitely not the same girl he knew; the same girl that yelled at the freshmen to stop goofing around during robotics club, the same girl that smacked him on the head whenever he fell asleep at her family’s diner, and the same girl that secretly gave freebies to the little kids at her diner. instead, this girl looked pitiful; almost small, if you must. apollo swore that this was not the same amelie valeria that he knew.
-
amelie’s breathing grew shaky as she dropped her pen and notepad, her physics notes forgotten. she closed her eyes, wanting to shake away the feeling of dread building up inside her chest. amelie could hear the loud thumping of her heartbeat in her ear, and the thoughts of her on the verge of death didn’t help. her eyes darted around, trying to find an exit or a way to escape—
“hey.” apollo’s voice pulled her out from her sea of thoughts. he had saved her from drowning in her own despair. she looked up from her knees, her eyes bloodshot and watering. amelie watched as he took off his hoodie, gently throwing it at her head. “take it,” he cleared his throat, covering the bottom half of his face with his hand. she slowly put it on, the warmth and smell of him comforting her in a way she was unfamiliar with. soon enough, he sat down beside her, his white tank top sticking to the sweat of his skin. “are you okay?”
-
apollo watched as amelie nodded, fiddling with the strings of the hoodie. he could still hear that her breathing was slightly erratic. his eye twitched as he sighed.
“goddamn it, hold my hand, if it makes you feel better. you aren’t going to die, you know that right? i already called 911; they should be here in a couple of minutes.” apollo extended his hand to her, to which her clammy one took it. after a few minutes of silence, amelie spoke up.
“is it too late to say that i’m claustrophobic?”
“very late.” apollo replied dryly, feeling as she laced her fingers through his. a rush of heat shot to his face, but he quickly turned his head away so that she couldn’t see it. “i didn’t want to take the elevator. the stairs just so happened to be blocked off, and i was already late enough to my next class to use the stairs on the east hall.” she admitted, her breathing slowing as she talked to him. apollo hummed in response, his frustration dying in his chest as he turned his head once more to look at her. her dyed pinkish-red hair was tied up in a messy bun, the paint on her nails chipping. “thank you for comforting me. i appreciate it.” amelie whispered softly, to which apollo had to strain his ears to hear it. “don’t stress it.” he muttered. maybe she wasn’t so bad after all.
—
do NOT feed my work to ai, translate it, or claim it as yours.
note: i might do a part 2?
