--when i see you smile

[maria]

dreams last for so long
even after you're gone

Maria was usually an extremely loyal employee. She rarely did anything outside of her company work, usually because they paid her too well for her to risk getting fired, but also because she had so much work to do building their software, that working on coding for someone else would double her workload to unimaginable levels. She'd recently heard of a company that had sprung up in Milwaukee of all places. She had played a few of the games, since she was an avid gamer and liked to experience a lot of gaming experiences, but she'd never really looked into them because she wasn't really the type to care about who made her game, as long as the game was worth playing. So when the job offer came in and her company approved her being borrowed out to them, she couldn't have been happier. Of course, she felt like a fool since she'd only built computer software and going into the world of gaming was a whole different set of things. She'd pick it up fairly easy, just like she'd picked up all her software knowledge, but she still felt a bit odd about being whored out by her company to a gaming company she hadn't really heard of. To be fair, the only gaming company she had heard of was EA. So, she wasn't really the type to pay attention to that stuff.

She was there for a couple of weeks. One of their programmers had some kind of vacation or scheduled down time, but the game was behind and they needed someone. They were paying her a pretty penny for it, and her office got to take her off their roster. She wasn't getting paid by her own company, so they were saving a few thousand a week. Her first day had gone well. As soon as they'd started talking about Fable 2, she was pretty much in. She loved talking about games with people who were just as geeky as she was. Sure, they were all men, and when she'd first walked in they'd gaped at her because of her lack of male genitalia, but they'd quickly gotten over it when she'd put on her glasses and kicked their asses at a round of Halo. They really didn't do a lot of programming today. She laughed as she thought back on it. No wonder their game was so far behind. Oh well, she was getting paid for it, so she couldn't complain, and the work was a nice reprieve from her day to day stuff. She smiled and gave the boys her cell phone number before she disappeared to the elevator. The floor had a great view, and they'd spent most of their time in a conference room or one of the guys' corner offices, so it had been a breathtaking first day, but she was tired, and ready to go home.

She hopped on the elevator, glad that she was leaving a bit earlier than the guys so she was alone on the contraption. If there was one thing she didn't trust in office buildings, besides bosses with receding hairlines, it was elevators. She wasn't terrified of them, but she always felt unsupported when she was in one. So, it was better to have a quick ride alone then a bunch of floor stops and starts. She remembered freaking out on the elevator once, but she'd been little and the thing had stopped in between floors. She knew it was ridiculous now, since everyone got out safely, but it still made her second guess stepping into the elevator every time. She pressed the button for the first floor and waited.

TAG duncan
WORDS gah... low number... but higher later... my intros always suck. -stabs it-
NOTES blah blah... intro post... but hurrah for zquinto and kbell! and i'll fix my template... i'm on the wrong computer.

[zipper]

how could i have been so blind for all these years
i only see truth through all this fear of living without you
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Running your own company could be tough, especially when you were as shy as Duncan. Not long ago, his assistant informed him that their most recent game was behind schedule, and one of the programmers on board had already scheduled vacation time. It was stressful for everyone at the company, so Duncan got his assistant to hire a replacement from a local company for the time being. He handed that assignment off, not taking an interest in who it would be, as long as it got done. The Milwaukee branch of his company wasn't very well known yet, and was still only several months old. It was hard getting things off the ground in a new place. New York City was the headquarters, if you will, for Duncan's company. It was much more successful there, quite popular even. But it wasn't a nationwide kind of thing. Yet.

The day had been long, but it wasn't over. Duncan was starting to wish he was the one on vacation time. Deciding he would drop in on his production team, he stood from his desk in his office and took the stairs two levels down. When he entered the room, he was frusterated at the sight he saw. The conference room was filled with the team, but it looked like little work was getting done. Though Duncan was pretty easy going, he had let them goof around one to many times. But being as quiet as he was, it was hard to discipline. "Uh, guys?" he cleared his throat and they all turned from the television screen to look at him. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Look, enough okay? We really need to get this game out on the floor, which means you need to work," he said, trying his best to use a stern voice. He was successful in it, but he didn't really feel like he was.

Half the team was probably as quiet and shy as Duncan was. He knew the guys well, having transfered a few from New York and the others he had gotten to know over the past few months. They were great guys who cared about what they did. Problem was, when one slacked off, so did others. For the most part, they were effiecent and worked on schedule. It was just this one game that they seemed to be slacking on, which was why they were behind schedule. As the team scrambled around to get back to work, Duncan headed to the elevator. The large and shiny door was closing just as he walked over, so he stuck his foot in to stop it from shutting. It swiftly reopened, to reveal a petite blonde standing inside. Duncan stepped in, but couldn't take his eyes off the woman. She looked remarkable familiar, and resembled an old friend. To shy to say something at first, he glanced over at her quietly. Looking away for a moment, he checked what floor she was going too. Ground level. That's where he was headed anyways. Turning back, he bit his lip before speaking. "Um..." Pause. "Maria?" He mustered up all courage to even ask. He was positive it was her, he wouldn't forget her face. But would she even remember him? They hadn't seen each other since high school, which was years ago. At least seven years ago now. Duncan didn't look the same as he once did, he'd grown out of the scrawny teenager he was before.

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status :: complete.
words :: 582.
outfit :: click.
lyrics :: here by me - three doors down.
notes :: crappy, but honestly, will get better.
credit :: abianesthetic & stfu jack at CAUTION

[maria]

dreams last for so long
even after you're gone

Maria was ready to go home. She was ready to slip into her nightie, turn on her HDtv and play some good old-fashioned Halo. She was ready to climb into bed at 2 in the morning and snuggle up beneath her comforter, barely able to keep her eyes open any longer. She was ready for all the things that awaited her when she finally got off that elevator and made her short trek to her apartment. She was not, however, ready for the elevator doors to slide open once again. She was not ready for the man to step into the elevator, and she was not ready for the sudden feeling of floating that eclipsed her entire body. The tingles that flowed from her head to her spine, and the familiar sensation that she'd seen this man before. He did look vaguely familiar, but he was really really attractive. Normally she would shy away from guys like him, but something about him made her feel instantly safe and comforted. His entire aura had something about it that just made her instantly drawn to him. It was like she knew him before, but that was impossible. She had never met this handsome man standing a full foot taller than her. No, that was impossible. She repelled the attractive ones, she didn't bring them closer to her. Yet, there was something about this particular man, that she couldn't seem to wrap her head around.

Then he spoke. Even after... what was it? Eight years. She could still recognize that voice anywhere. She looked at him with a bit of shock. He looked different. He looked TOTALLY different. Well, he was still freakishly tall, and those kind eyes of his still adorned his sloppily cute face, but he seemed cleaner, more mature, and for the first time with him, she felt nervous. She wasn't sure what to say or do. She laughed slightly and just nodded her head. She turned to face the front of the elevator. What was she doing? She should talk to him. She had been able to talk to him before. Why was her voice catching in her throat. "I... uh.... ga..." She repeated a bunch of nonsense symbols and closed her mouth after each before turnined away from him again. She looked at the front of the elevator and pursed her lips. She sighed and turned to him. She'd have to gather her courage eventually. Now was as good a time as any. She smiled and turned to him again. "Hey, Duncan." She said with a warm smile and looked up at him. Why hadn't she worn make up today? Why had she chosen ponytails and not something prettier, or curlier? Why did she care what she looked like to him, he used to be her best friend? The key words being used to.

She felt awkward just standing there. She remembered being in High School and just catching up with him in the hallways. Sure, she had huge glasses, and her hair was always a complete mess, but with him it didn't matter. He looked past her braces and her funky clothing and saw the girl underneath. He stayed up late talking nerd speak with her and went to the dances with her when she didn't have dates. Which was never. He was the best friend she had in high school and now here he was, looking ten times more gorgeous than she could have imagined, and she had no way of knowing if he was even interested in knowing what she was up to the past few years. They'd gone their seperate ways. "How've you been?" No. No. That was wrong. That wasn't what she wanted to say. She wanted to say. "I've missed you. You look so gorgeous!" but for some reason those words didn't feel quite as important. She looked around the elevator as she waited for him to answer her question. She had no idea if he was even interested in what she'd been up to.


TAG duncan = love
WORDS i told a talking parrot... he hasn't contacted you yet?
NOTES haha. it looks good to me hun and the elevator should totally get stuck.. cuz maria will get scared and then TENSION!

[zipper]

how could i have been so blind for all these years
i only see truth through all this fear of living without you
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was apparent that Maria hadn't recgonized him upon his entering the elevator. He could tell by the way she looked at him with shock when he spoke. Carefully, he stuck his hands into his jean pockets, hooking each thumb through the belt loops as he started to shy up. Was she not going to say anything? By that look on her face she must have knew it was him by now. Then she laughed. He gave the smallest glimpse of a smile, thinking the laugh was a good thing. But she turned to face forward and he couldn't help but look down at his feet. Why was she looking away? "I... uh.... ga..." Duncan frowned slightly as he looked towards her again, really not understanding at all what she was trying to say. Then she looked away. Duncan's movements mirrored hers slightly as he faced the front of the elevator as well, hands still in pockets.

Then, there it was. "Hey, Duncan." His view darted back to her as she said his name. So she did remember him. He could help but smile nervously. Her smile was so warm, so friendly. His was just nervous and probably made him look like a fool. Automatically, his hand moved to the back of his neck. "Hey," he repeated lamely. What? Hey? Why couldn't he come up with anything other then that. Maria had been his best and practically only friend in high school. Sure there were those few other people who he was alright with, but none of them were the real friend Maria was. She had been the best friend he could wish for. She hung out with him when others wouldn't, they looked out for each other. Talking Star Trek all night and then video games the next morning. Now here she was, looking just as beautiful as ever. High school was a time when he knew Maria thought she didn't look as great as all the other girls. But Duncan always thought she was beautiful, the best looking girl at school. Now standing in that elevator, she looked just as good, even more beautiful. The last time he had seen her was graduation. Graduation, when he had basically told Maria how he felt about her. Her response was how she only saw him as a friend.

Now, here they were, together. Duncan reminded himself that she only saw him as a friend, not to get to excited. But of course, he was excited. It was Maria! Even if they were only friends, he was happy to see her after eight years. "How've you been?" How could she be so cool about it? Duncan admired that. Here he was, a nervous wreck and she just seemed so cool. Wow, this was like high school all over again. "I've uh, I've been good," he smiled slightly. Not exactly how he imagined seeing her again. In a company elevator. But none the less, he was seeing her, so he was content. Before he could ask her the question in return, the elevator shook. Instantly his hands were out of his pockets, arms moved to balance himself. Then it stopped and everything was silent. Realization hit. The elevator wasn't moving.

Thoughts ran through Duncan's mind. Who the heck built this crappy elevator? Turning, he looked over at Maria. "Are you okay?" he asked shyly. Instinct was to move over to her, but that's what he would've done eight years ago. Was it okay to do that now? He was pretty protective over Maria, he'd be the first to admit it. So they were stuck here. How long would it take to get out? How awkward was this going to be? What was he supposed to do? The majority of his thoughts otherwise rested on Maria.

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status :: complete.
words :: 633.
outfit :: click.
lyrics :: here by me - three doors down.
notes :: awe i love them (: baha, tension!
credit :: abianesthetic & stfu jack at CAUTION

[maria]

dreams last for so long
even after you're gone

Duncan Scott. She couldn't believe it. Duncan Scott was in an elevator with her. She hadn't seen him in years, and all of sudden, there he was. He was like a giant... well, she couldn't really decide what kind of giant, but the word giant would suffice. After all, he still towered over her, more, if that was possibly, than he had in high school. He still had those warm eyes, but she wasn't noticing the things he had, but the things he was lacking. He no longer had braces, and his teeth looked perfect without them. He no longer had horrible acne or ears that seemed too big for his head. Nope, everything was perfectly proportionate in all the right ways. Maria was no expert on men, any kind of man, but he looked amazing. Who knew that he would end up looking so amazing? She looked exactly the same as she did in high school. In fact, she was probably wearing the same ponytail she'd been wearing the last day she'd seen him. She just didn't do things differently with herself, and apparently he had. He was too good looking for her to deny it. Not that it would really matter if she did. She couldn't help but glance down at his ring finger to see if some playboy model had stolen his heart away. Nope, not yet, anyway. She knew that she was an idiot, just standing here admiring him like this, but it was hard, since she'd had a crush on the guy for her entire life. Sure, she hadn't realized it until mid-summer vacation, after he'd left, and she was stuck alone, wondering why she hadn't figured it out sooner. He'd never be "just a friend" when it came to her. She'd always been in love with him. Of course, it had been friendly at first, and that was how she'd wanted it to stay. She'd just been really scared of being hurt. Now that she knew what he'd look like in the future, maybe it had been a wise choice. She doubted he was the type to stray, but who knew? She hadn't seen him for years.

"That's good." She said awkwardly and looked around. She had no idea what to say to him. She had tons of things she wanted to say to him, but she doubted he wanted to hear any of them. She wanted to explain why she never called him, or wrote him, and she wanted to ask why he'd never done either of those things for her. They'd been best friends and then all of sudden everything had changed. Nope, she'd just keep her mouth shut. She didn't want to say something to ruin the moment between them. She didn't want anyone to get angry or run off the elevator at the next floor. She was about to say something else when the elevator shook beneath her foot. She screamed without thinking and stepped closer to him, just a little.
"We're going to die!" She said in a bit of a distressed voice and grabbed onto his shirt, pulling herself into him. She hugged a bit closer to him, not really caring that she hadn't seen him for years. He still knew about her fear of elevators, and so he understood why being in a situation like this freaked the shit out of her. She couldn't help but cling to him. He was always the one she'd clung to all those years ago, so there was no way she wouldn't be clinging right now. She looked up at him, and smiled a bit shakily. "I'm sorry." She said, but she didn't let go of her grip of his shirt. She instead just stepped back a bit. "You know how i am." She grinned but bit her bottom lip in worry.

She did notice that he was there, and she did notice that he was definitely different, but hopefully not so different that he could wrap his arm around a friend in need. She considered that knowing him since they were practically kids really gave her an idea of what a great guy he was. She knew so much about him, that if he pushed her off him, she'd feel like he wasn't who he'd been for so many years. He was always her shoulder, or her comfort. He was always there for her when times were tough, and she really hoped she'd reciprocated back in the day. "When are they going to fix it?" She asked, a bit of panic in her voice. Elevators scared the crap out of her. "Shouldn't the rescue crew be here by now?" She asked a bit worried. They'd only been there a few seconds and she already had a firm grip on his new shirt and her body closer to his than it had been in years. It felt good to catch up with him.

TAG duncan
WORDS a numbah!
NOTES roar!

[zipper]

how could i have been so blind for all these years
i only see truth through all this fear of living without you
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

While the warm and friendly vibe between them was clearly there, there was a bit of an awkward one as well. Neither of them were saying much, and when they did, it wasn't much. Quiet small chat, wouldn't they be past all this? Well for two quiet people, this seemed about right. Though the pauses in between each thing felt just a little to long for Duncan. He didn't expect to see her again then run towards her in a flowerly field on a beautiful sunny day. He didn't expect anything like that, that was much to over the top and Duncan would be way to uncomfortable with big over the top greeting. Though he would manage and probably enjoy something bigger then meeting here in this elevator, it was perfect enough, just seeing her. It was hard not to take his eyes off her. Her golden blonde hair that flowed all nicely, different from in high school when it was huge. Though she had always managed to be beautiful in Duncan's eyes. Obviously the braces she once adorned were gone and what had been a cute brace-fulled smile before had become a captivating, stunning smile now. Suddenly it hit him. She was taken. How could she not be? Maria had always been this beautiful girl with an amazing personality. There was no doubt in his mind that she must have someone she called her own. Hesitantly, he looked back at her again.

"That's good." Slightly biting on his bottom lip, Duncan smiled softly as he nodded his head. Thoughts swirled around his mind, like was that the end of the conversation? He wanted to ask her the same, but the elevator was shaking, a scream emitting from Maria's mouth. It was her scream that really startled him, more so then the elevator did. "We're going to die!" He's eyes widened and the volume of her shout threw him off a bit. She took a step closer and clutched onto him, which made poor Duncan freeze up. His shoulders raised an inch, arms and body stiffening at her closeness. It had been so long since they had been around each other, let alone this close. Even in high school a hug from Maria made him freeze up, yet go weak. "Do something!" A little voice in the back of his head was shouting at him. Carefully, he started to move his arm and gently placed it around her back. Maria had always been scared of elevators, she must have been going insane. All Duncan really wanted to do was comfort her, now he was starting to feel it would be okay. His arm pulled her slightly closer automatically, as if he couldn't stop himself from doing so. "I'm sorry." He looked down at her with caring eyes. "You know how i am." As she stepped back at bit Duncan's arm loosened, though she was still clinging onto his shirt. It took him a minute to evaulate the situation, before shaking his head. "It's fine, I know," he said softly, nodding his head with a small smile as he kept his arm close around her. There was no way he would just dismiss this, ever. She was scared, she was his best friend and she was the one he had always loved. The one he hadn't seen in so long. Sure she had given him a small grin, but her actions proved just how scared and worried she really was.

"Everything's gonna be fine," he reassured her gingerly. "When are they going to fix it? Shouldn't the rescue crew be here by now?" Her panicked voice made him want to chuckle, only because it sounded so familiar. Once before they had been caught in an elevator at the mall. They had been on their way to the game store to pick up the newest arrival. In the elevator with them were a few other people when it stopped. It had only been down for about 3 minutes, but had felt like thirty. Maria had been stuffed in the corner, asking him how much longer. But Duncan didn't chuckle, he stayed by her side. "They'll be here soon," he replied in a reassuring voice, though he wasn't exactly positive. Looking around, he eyed the control pannel. There was the emergency call button. Moving his free arm, he reached over and pushed it, still keeping a close hold of Maria. Retracting his free arm, it hovered for a moment. What the heck, they were best friends! Shyly, he tenderly placed his other free arm over her, more losely then the other. It felt pretty right, her there in his arms. Not exactly with the scenario at hand, but he didn't mind at all. Duncan had always loved being the one she could turn too, could rely on. "It won't be long," he added after a moment. Quietly, he let out a small chuckle. "Not exactly how I thought we'd see each other again," he mumbled extremely quietly and shyly. Though he was shy to speak, he wanted to keep her mind off the elevator troubles best he could for her.

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status :: complete.
words :: 856.
outfit :: click.
lyrics :: here by me - three doors down.
notes :: cutie pies, i could eat them up xP
credit :: abianesthetic & stfu jack at CAUTION