Built For Almost

The hotel was buzzing.

The air practically vibrated with post-competition adrenaline, pride, and the kind of stupid energy that only teenagers surviving on sugar, ego, and barely-contained hormones could conjure. Neil, propped up on the corner of the lobby couch with Zay watching him like a hawk, had barely been left alone since they'd walked in. Teammates high-fived him every few seconds, some of them sitting cross-legged at his feet like disciples gathered around a mildly injured god.

They had won.

Not just Neil—but the whole team. They’d obliterated the 4x100 relay, crushed their personal records in hurdles and long jump, and had Coach Langley genuinely misty-eyed in a way no one had expected to survive witnessing.

But now? Now it was chaos.

Someone had gotten hold of energy drinks. Someone else was tossing gummy bears across the hallway into people's mouths. One room had managed to construct a cardboard obstacle course that led through the bathroom and ended in someone’s suitcase.

"This is gonna get us banned from hotels forever," Zay muttered, arms crossed as he watched the chaos unfold from a safe distance.

Neil chuckled, half-asleep from the meds but buzzing with adrenaline. “It’s kinda beautiful.”

And then the elevator incident happened.

No one’s quite sure how six of them-Neil, Zay, Callum, Ethan, Devon, and Milo-ended up crammed into the ancient, wheezing hotel elevator. The plan had been to ride up to the top floor, scream something stupid, and ride back down like normal teenagers with poor decision-making skills.

But then the elevator groaned.

Then it jolted.

And then it stopped.

Silence.

Then, pure screaming.

“WE’RE GONNA DIE HERE!” Ethan yelled, climbing up Milo like a squirrel up a tree.

“I CAN’T BREATHE,” Callum snapped, banging on the door.

“It’s not even that small in here!” Devon argued, elbows out, eyes wide. “Don’t panic! No one panic-WHY ARE YOU PANICKING?!”

“I’M NOT,” Neil lied, gripping Zay’s sleeve like a lifeline.

Zay, to his credit, was calm. Internally? Not so much. Externally? Stone cold. “Everyone. Shut. Up.”

Someone pressed every single button. Twice.

The light flickered.

“WE’RE GONNA BE GHOSTS-”

“Callum,” Zay snapped. “I will personally haunt you if you keep screaming.”

Neil laughed despite himself. His knee throbbed, his heart raced, and he was one dropped signal away from panic, but with Zay’s hand in his, things felt... less terrible.

Eventually, Devon used their phone light to read the elevator’s emergency instructions. They pressed the call button.

“Hello?” a staticky voice crackled through. “Is someone there?”

“YES. SEVEN IDIOTS. HELP.”

They were rescued thirty-five minutes later. By then, they’d written a will on the back of a receipt, made confessions about childhood crushes, and Callum had nearly passed out from stress.

When the doors opened, Coach Langley stood there.

Arms crossed.

Expression unreadable.

“I leave for one hour,” he said slowly, “and this is what happens?”

Ethan pointed to Callum. “He dared me.”

“TRAITOR,” Callum hissed.

...

Later that night, Neil lay in the hotel bed, icing his knee and trying to breathe normally again. Zay was beside him, reading something on his phone, glancing down every minute to make sure Neil was still alive.

“That was…” Neil started.

“A disaster?”

“Legendary,” Neil grinned.

Zay didn’t smile back. Not really.

“You really scared me today,” he said instead, softly.

Neil reached out, fingers brushing his arm. “I know.”

Zay finally met his eyes. “Don’t do that again. Not for a win. Not for anyone.”

“I can’t promise that,” Neil said quietly. “But I’ll try.”

Zay sighed, leaned down, and kissed the top of his head. “Good enough for tonight.”

...

And outside their door, someone tried to set up an entire Mario Kart banana peel reenactment with hotel towels and fell into a lamp.

It was a perfect night.