They had been sitting in silence for about ten minutes. There were soft noises clanging below the elevator, presumably the people working at getting in. Taylor's eyes had slowly adjusted to the darkness, and she could just make out the shadows that were caressing Nasir's face so intimately. The frame of his glasses was gleaming slightly, and he paused to push them up, before checking his phone.
"Quarter after." He murmured, his voice soft and delicate. He was wearing dark blue jeans and black running shoes, and over top of the black jacket, he had on a grey toque, with a small beaver stitched on the hem of it.
Taylor tilted her head, her eyes trailed downwards, from his dark eyes, and lingering on his lips. Now that she was here, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with what she had said earlier that week. It had been a joke, but it was still kind of awful of her.
His eyes flicked upwards to look at her. "Will you quit squirming?"
Taylor ducked her gaze away from his face. "Sorry," She hesitated. "For everything."
She could see his eyes widen in the dark and his mouth open slightly to reveal white teeth. He pushed a hand through his hair, nearly knocking off his glasses. It was something, she realized, must be a nervous tic.
"I'm sorry for calling you a bitch. You're really not."
They sat in silence for a moment longer, listening to the clanks of people working, and Taylor ran her hands along her jeans, intent on wiping away the nervous sweat that was accumulating. She could feel her breath getting more shallow and she narrowed her eyes. She wasn't going to have a panic attack in an elevator with someone she didn't like.
She dug her face into her palms, clenching her fingers into her hair. She listened to Nasir as he shuffled forward slightly, and gently grabbed her hands, tugging them away from her face. Tayor kept her eyes downwards, avoiding all attempts at eye contact.
"Hey," His hands were gentle as he ran his thumbs over her knuckles. "They are going to get us out of here, don't worry."
"How come you aren't panicking?" She asked, letting him continue to touch her hands.
He chuckled. "It's a dumb story, but I've been stuck in an elevator before."
Taylor let out a laugh. "Really? Where?"
"Vancouver. I was visiting my grandparents," He smiled at the memory, and he didn't object as she shuffled closer, away from the wall, so their knees were brushing. "I was with my grandmother, and we got stuck in a small one in an office building. We were in there for probably thirty minutes before anyone got us out."
Taylor chuckled. "Maybe it is just your bad luck?"
Nasir laughed, pushing his hair out of his face. "Maybe it is. I wouldn't be surprised. It's probably a good thing I'm not claustrophobic."
Taylor clenched her hands in his, ignoring the way they were much closer than they were before. She could feel his pulse in his wrists. It was steady. She needed a distraction from him.
"Tell me about Nijah." She said. "What's she like?"
Nasir must have figured out that she wanted a distraction because he answered without question. "Nijah is the epitome of an extrovert. She loves being funny and getting people to laugh and smile. It's gotten her in trouble a couple of times."
Taylor recalled the day at the flannel fest and smiled. Nijah had been like a ball of sunshine. "What about Aya?"
He smiled fondly, letting it light up his face, and Taylor had to refrain from smiling with him. "She takes after my dad. Doesn't love being in front of people or talking, but very resilient and likes sports."
"She takes after you as well," Taylor commented, and Nasir blinked in surprise. She could see a faint dusting of pink rising on his face. He pushed his glasses up and ran the same hand through his hair. "What about your oldest sister? She's in university, right?"
"Sawsan," He smiled. "She wants to be a teacher. She loves children and always has."
Taylor nodded, and Nasir laughed slightly. "I'd ask you about Jacob, but I've known him for ages."
Taylor shrugged. "He's good. Better at being a brother than he'll admit, and sometimes he's a complete pain in the ass, but I wouldn't trade him for anything."
Nasir smiled, soft crinkles appearing in the corner of his eyes.
Taylor ducked her eyes to avoid looking at him. She wasn't sure what had caused the flip of the switch that had her sitting so close to him, instead of yelling at him like she had yesterday, but she found herself allowing it.
She hadn't realized how painfully close she was to him until now. Their knees were brushing. His nose was only a few centimetres away, and they were both breathing lightly. Taylor blinked, squeezing her eyes shut to avoid the sight right in front of her.
Nasir must have mistaken it for nervousness, because he reached forward with one hand, and Taylor had to stop herself from flinching in surprise as it graced her cheek, his soft fingers caressing.
"You don't need to worry. We are going to be fine."
Taylor nodded, and opened her eyes, quickly scrambling away from him and pressing back against the wall, resuming their earlier position.
Nasir blinked in confusion, before following her actions and moving against the opposite wall. They sat in silence for another few moments, any semblance of friendship gone.
There was another clang and then a screech, and the two elevator doors were forced apart. The sunlight began to appear, forcing apart the darkness. Taylor squinted, trying to protect her eyes from the harsh light. A firefighter stuck his head in. "Are you two okay?"
Taylor nodded. "Yes, sir."
The man stuck his hand up, and Taylor took it, letting the man help her to the floor of the first. A small crowd had gathered around the group of firefighters that had been working to get into the elevator.
Taylor turned, and watched as Nasir got helped out of the elevator. She pulled out of her phone, only to groan at the time.
"It's already 1:30, they are probably past Leduc."
Nasir rolled his eyes. "If they aren't coming back, I can get my mom to come get us, we aren't going to be stranded here, besides, don't worry yet. We don't even know if they left."
"Do you two need any help?"
They turned to look at the firefighter, who was smiling at them. Nasir shook his head. "No thank you, we appreciate the help getting us out."
The firefighter gave them a thumbs up. "You two are good to go."
Taylor nodded her thanks, and fell into step beside Nasir as they walked quickly out of the mall. The parking lot was cold, and Taylor scrunched her face up against the bitter wind, which was biting at her nose and the hem of her thick jacket.
They finally arrived where the bus had been parked and found no trace of it.
It was gone, and the rest of the team with them
"You are actually fucking kidding me." Taylor stared at the spot where the bus had been, before scoffing in disbelief. "That's ridiculous."
Nasir let out a dumbfounded chuckle and took a hand out of his sleeve to push up his tortoiseshell glasses. "Call Jacob."
Taylor pulled her phone, and swiped through to find her brother's contact. Quickly she pressed the phone button, before pressing the speaker button and holding it out so Nasir could hear too.
It rang slowly, and she bounced slightly, curling her toes inside her running shoes to ward off the chill. Finally, after what had seemed a frozen eternity, Jacob picked up.
"Hey asshole," Taylor snapped.
"Why are you calling me?" Jacob asked, annoyance in his voice.
"Do a headcount dipshit," Nasir spoke over her shoulder.
Jacob scoffed over the phone, but obliged, listing numbers off. "There are two people missing."
Taylor allowed her voice to get as dry as possible. "I know. Who is missing?"
Jacob paused again, presumably checking. "Nasir, and," He hesitated. "And you. Where are you guys?"
"You are dense as fuck Jacob," Taylor snapped into the phone. "Tell uncle we are still here."
"He said if you weren't on the bus by one, that he'd leave without you."
Taylor bit her bottom lip to stop herself from cussing her brother out. "The elevator broke down with us inside it."
"That's sucky," Jacob said. There was some snickering in the background. "Here's Uncle."
"Where are you two?"
"Still at the mall," Taylor said. "An elevator broke down with us inside."
Coach laughed. "Okay, I'll be back in a half-hour. Just sit tight."
Taylor huffed in anger and shoved her phone in her pocket. "I am never talking to my uncle again."
"Come on," Nasir said, a small hint of amusement in his voice. "Let's go inside. It'll be warmer."
Taylor obliged his statement without speaking and followed him back inside the mall. They walked to the Tim Hortons that was right inside the door. Taylor squeezed her eyes shut to stop herself from losing it with anger. She clenched her fists and let out a breath, before reopening her eyes and making eye contact with Nasir, who was waiting expectantly in line for her to join him.
She stepped beside him, and ordered herself a black coffee, the only comfort she could find. She grabbed the warm cup and made her way to sit across from Nasir in the quiet room.
"Heads up," Nasir warned. "They are probably all going to be amused when we get back on the bus, so try not to freak out at them."
Taylor took a sip of her coffee before responding. "Okay, so just ignore them?"
"It's probably for the best." He fiddled with the tag on the teabag, wrapping it around his fingers and unravelling it. "Just act chill."
Taylor hummed in response. She could sense herself calming as the coffee hit her system.
"Are you drinking black coffee?"
"Are you drinking tea?"
Nasir chuckled. "Touche."
Taylor furrowed her eyebrows and tugged her bottom lip in between her teeth. A sudden thought had occurred to her. "Do you think this team-building thing will actually help?"
Nasir took a drink of his tea, and tugged his toque down slightly before responding. "I hope so. It'll be frustrating if Jamie pulls more shit, but it might help."
"What happened?" Taylor asked, her curiosity piqued.
Nasir shrugged loosely. "There was a girl guide camp or some sort of girl group thing going on last year at the same time, and Coach caught him trying to sneak out to meet one of the girls. That's why we came home earlier."
Taylor could vaguely remember Jacob being home a day earlier, and everyone being irritated for the next week. "As I find out more and more about him, I can't help but feel like he's a horrible person."
Nasir hummed in amusement. "Yeah, you wouldn't be the first person to think that."
Taylor took another drink of her coffee, and sighed, slouching slightly. "It's too bad you guys lost that bad. I was kind of hoping you'd beat them."
Nasir scoffed. "You and I both. Their captain is an absolute asshole."
"Here's hoping this team bonding thing at least helps you all get along well enough to win a game."
"I hope so, we have another game next week, and I kind of want to win a game as the team captain."
Taylor blinked, fiddling with the hem of her sleeves. "I sure hope so. It would be nice to not have to do anything and have you guys win."
Nasir chuckled. "I can't wait until we play Fort Qui again, I want to beat Lucas Graham into the net."
Taylor nearly choked on her coffee in surprise. She stared across the small brown table at Nasir. "Lucas Graham? Like blonde hair, blue eyes, Lucas Graham? Grew up in Fort Qui, the same age as us, Lucas Graham?"
Nasir recoiled slightly in confusion, staring at her as if she had grown a second head. "Yes," He paused for a second before continuing. "Why?
Taylor chuckled in disbelief. "I am pretty sure that Lucas Graham just asked me to be his girlfriend."
"What the fuck do you mean Lucas Graham just asked you to be his girlfriend?"