Locked in Hell. (1,566 views)

“No, this is a joke. Someone heard us arguing and probably figured, ‘Hey! I’m going to make a complete douche of myself and force them to spend even MORE time with each other!’ What a DICK!”

He kicked the door again, but this time he hissed when he was done. He’d kicked it too hard, and hurt his foot like an idiot. He hadn’t twisted it or sprained it, but it still stung, and it was annoying. Minor, really, but annoying.

Giving up on attacking the door, Arthur turned around to see Chardonnay’s face illuminated by the light of her (probably really expensive) iPhone. He felt a pang of annoyance, but then again, what other kind of phone would a bratty rich girl have?

“Like I want to spend the night with you.” Arthur snapped, lowering himself to his knees, then his butt, so he could sit on the still warm, filthy ground. But then another thought crossed his mind and his eyes snapped to Chardonnay. “Please tell me someone will be missing you tomorrow, because no one’s going to even notice I’m missing until I’m suddenly skipping class on Monday.”

He tended to avoid his housemates, too, so they would probably all just assume he was just in his room, brooding. He did not want to be stuck in here until Monday with Chardonnay.

Talya, meanwhile, could hear them arguing just a teeny bit. Soon, however, even concentrating, she barely heard anything. She decided to leave, and go wander in grass for awhile.

So, she returned the keys where Susan told her to put them, and twirled around towards the fields, leaving Chardonnay and Arthur locked in the storage unit.

Arthur glowered.

“Shut the fuck up. And plenty of people. We don’t exactly get along, Princess. Other people probably either find it funny or annoying. Whoever locked us in clearly finds it funny.” He snapped, eyes focusing back on the door. He knew Henri was some quiet guy in one of his classes, if his memory served right. He was pretty sure he was also Chardonnay’s date to the dance, if memory served.

Good. If the way he looked at her was any indication, he was smitten. He might go out looking for her eventually.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean!” Arthur growled, his eyes once again moving to narrow at Chardonnay. “Of course she’ll figure it out, but it’s not like it’s her fault! Susan wouldn’t let anyone lock us in here, so she obviously has no idea about this. So shut your ugly mouth.”

She wouldn't notice until Monday though, probably. Because it wasn't exactly strange of Arthur to go a few days without talking or texting her, and sometimes he ignored her texts. So, she wouldn't suspect anything until he didn't show up to any classes on Monday. Absently, he scratched the back of his neck.

“It’s not her fault that some jackass locked us in here!” Arthur growled. “You should be thankful she even offered this! Because like hell you could pull an extra credit assignment out of your perfume poisoned brain! How about you stop wondering about her character and start worrying about how we’re planning on getting out of here!”

Arthur slid over to the door, reaching up to fiddle with the knob. No luck, predictably. He groaned and hoisted himself up, turning to face the window.

Even if he could get up there somehow, he doubted that even Chardonnay’s thin arms could fit through the window. And that was assuming it would open. And that was assuming Chardonnay would even agree to stick her hand through a probably dusty window. And that was assuming doing it would be useful; the most they could hope for, realistically, was attracting the attention of someone else.

Arthur knew destroying school property was a bad idea, but they had been locked in here, after all. He looked around for an object to break down the door. A fire extinguisher… but even if he got that out, and whacked the door, how hard was the door? It seemed sturdy when he kicked it. It was solid, and very secure. He had his lighter and a pack of cigarettes on him, but those weren’t going to be useful at all.

The unit was perfect for secure storage. Not so perfect for getting out of, though.

He swore at the top of his lungs, kicking the door again in frustration with his bad foot.

"Nothing! Shit!"

He then sat down on the floor again, scratching the back of his neck as he glared at the small crack of light at the bottom of the door.

“Stop blaming the teacher just because someone else is a piece of shit."

Arthur scoffed.

“Right. Because you’re obviously doing so well, you decided to come to this cleanup just for the fun of it.” He kept grimacing at the door, as though it had offended him. “When I find out who did this, they are dead.”

At Chardonnay’s comment about the teacher, he growled, very tempted to grab one of the heavy boxes and throw it at her head.

“Because, you ignorant piece of shit, she’s a person too. Besides, you’ve got your facts wrong. It isn’t her fault we’re locked in here! You just throw your problems on authority, blame her for everything that goes wrong, when she’s only trying to save your ass by offering this activity in the first place! You ungrateful little bitch."

“That was sarcasm you ugly baboon!” Arthur snapped. “Ever hear of it?! Who the fuck comes here for fun? No one! I was emphasizing that you had to come here to help with your grade.”

He hoisted himself up, annoyed. He couldn't just sit down and tone her out, like he'd tried to do. “How the fuck is this MY fault?! No one was supposed to lock the stupid door! And if they DID, they should have heard us screaming like a couple of banshees! I expected to be in here and then OUT! And I wanted to get out FASTER, because I’m so sick and tired of dealing with your bratty ass! But now I guess I’m stuck here with nothing to look at but you!”

Did he do something to piss of God lately? He should pray more. He’d pray every damn day if he finally stopped being lumped with this girl.

He folded his arms over his chest, hoping it didn’t get hot in this unit with all of the hot air produced by their yelling. He was in layered clothes, so he could easily remove his first shirt, but he didn’t want to. Surely they’d be found by some point—someone would walk by and hear them, or open the unit to get something—but how long from now would that be?

“I said you came here for fun. You’d rather pass that shit off to someone else, hence, the sarcasm was just lost on you. Figures, you’re an idiot. I didn’t expect you to get it.”

He leaned against the door, which was cool despite the warmth radiating from the sun outside. His face was twisted down into a scowl.

“The fault lies with the person who locked the fucking door! They should have checked for us! We're not exactly QUIET!” Arthur snapped. ”And you had to carry at least one fucking thing, you’re lucky I even gave you to choice to do it! You stupid…”

Arthur rolled his eyes very obviously when she brought up being pretty, and snorted, looking to the side.

“You’re not pretty.” He shook his head. “You’re not pretty because you’re such a damn narcissist! It’s ugly, your personality! The only reason anyone would want to be with you is because of your body. You ‘pride’ yourself on that. What a fucking shallow bitch you are, huh?”

At the end of his sentence, he flicked on arm up and flipped Chardonnay his middle finger, glaring daggers at her. “Well no need to worry, because I think you’re the ugliest creature i’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting. Nor do I care if you think i'm attractive or not.”

“Only you are an idiot! A selfish one, at that!”

Most everyone he met who was spoiled, or rotten, or basically anything Chardonnay was was very easy to take down-- all you had to do was insult them. He’d dealt with quite a few people like that at his old job. But he’d never had the misfortune of dealing with someone so rotten that they enjoyed being reminded of the fact.

He could stand here and yell at her all day, but all she would do was thank him for the compliments. So frustrating. So ugly.

Even if she was nice to look at, she was ugly.

“Me? Too stupid or blind? Ha. I wasn’t aware looks involved intelligence. And clearly I’m the only one who isn’t blind, because you are THE most insufferable person I have ever met! Who would even want you for your body when they have this to deal with?!”

He gestured to all of her.

“An idiot is someone who doesn’t accept that they’re not perfect. You are convinced you are perfect. That makes you a big idiot!”

He wondered, briefly, if she didn’t like cigarette smoke. Hell, he wanted one right now anyway. He could just light one up and she’d be forced to deal with the smell. She seemed like the prissy type who didn’t smoke or like it, but then again, he didn’t know her that well.

“No. Even a dumb dog can see if someone’s good looking. Shallow beauty can be seen by anyone. Give anyone five minutes with your true personality, the way you’re acting now, and they’d leave you for a prettier, more loving girl in a heartbeat. Because you’re just foul and unpleasant to be around. I can’t think of one redeeming quality about you.”

He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, putting one in his mouth. Jokingly he shook the box at Chardonnay, highly doubting she'd say yes.

“Want one, Princess?”

“Like I said, an idiot.” Arthur growled. “And I never said I was any better, but at least I’m not a spoiled, materialistic narcissist.”

Sure, he was foul and he knew it, but at least he didn't love himself for that. Unlike Chardonnay. Arthur was fairly convinced that if she ever met a male version of herself, she'd have found her soul mate. Or a mirror. Whichever worked.

When she seemed angry about the cigarettes, Arthur smirked and pocketed the pack. Fair enough, she didn’t want one. That was even better. Not only did it mean he didn’t have to waste a cigarette on her, but it also meant this would bother her. Which was the primary reason he wanted a cigarette right now, anyway.

“Is that an ‘order’?” Arthur asked, pulling out his lighter. He flicked it on, the bright flame casting a shadow around the darkened unit. The flame’s light was cut off when Arthur cupped the end of the cigarette with one hand and bright the lighter to the tip with the other, successfully lighting the cigarette. He pulled his hand away, and stared at the flames flickering on the lighter for a moment, the golden light reflecting in his eyes.

In an instant, the flame was gone and pocketed, and Arthur’s right hand traveled up to take hold of the cigarette. He made sure to turn towards Chardonnay when he blew out a ring of smoke. “Well, since I’m not your dog, and I don’t care about your comfort level, I think I’ll smoke anyway.”

“Well, I have the cigarettes, and I’m stuck in here with you, so to keep my blood pressure from giving me a heart attack, I figured I’d light one up.” He said, all with the cancer stick still sitting on his bottom lip. After he finished talking, he raised his hand and removed the cigarette, blowing the smoke out through his nose.

He kept the cigarette at his side, one eyebrow raised in Chardonnay’s direction.

“If you want to think about the long term effects, that shit matters.” He growled. “Unfortunately for you, I don’t really care about those. So you’re going to have to deal with this. Oh, and I have five more cigarettes. So unless you want to breathe in smoke all night, stop pissing me off.”

“Like I need another nagging woman in my life.” Arthur rolled his eyes. Another reason he didn’t bother with a girlfriend—everyone he’d ever dated (albeit very briefly)—seemed to have a problem with his smoking habits. If he wanted to destroy his body from the inside out, that was his business, not Susan’s, and certainly not any broad’s.

He remained silent as she spoke, the room steadily filling with smoke as his cigarette burned. Soon he’d wind up burning his shoe with the ashes, so he lifted the cigarette, taking another long drag. He brought his hand back down, staring at nothing on the other end of the unit. Anything was better than looking at that girl's face.

“Maybe your world. Unfortunately for you, I don’t intend on dying for your convenience. So smoke I will. It’s a vicious cycle, Princess. Unless I find something better to do than smoke after this cigarette is done, or I take pity on your pampered ass, I’m lighting another.”

“Finally, something we agree on!” He said with an eye roll, flicking the ashes of his cigarette in her general direction. The sparks from the lit cigarette fluttered to the ground a few inches away from Chardonnay’s feet.

He knew Susan had raised him, but honestly he was older now. He could take care of himself. He loved her, he really did, but to be babied by her constantly was annoying. And besides Susan, he couldn’t think of anyone else who cared about his health. He didn't even know why she bothered, she had her own life to worry about now. A life she'd had to give up to raise him when he was nothing but a whiny little brat.

Maybe if someone saw smoke wafting under the door, they’d be found.

“Oh, I suppose you don’t want me to put this out? Since if I did put it out, on some level, it’d be due to pity. Pity because you're whining about it, pity because you might suffocate."

His cigarette was at his side again, his eyes darting over to glare at Chardonnay.

"And I smoke because I want to, Princess.”

When Chardonnay stumbled backwards into the boxes stacked up on the shelves and knocked one down to her shoulder, he snorted, shaking his head. Was backing up so suddenly really needed?

He brought the cigarette back up, making a point to continue smoking. He didn't break eye contact for a moment, until she stated that she'd scream. He laughed at that.

"Right. And who, exactly, would hear? Besides, how is that motivation for me to stop?" he brought down the cigarette and blew out smoke, this time aiming away from Chardonnay. Some of the smoke was filtering down through the crack by now. "If someone heard you scream, and found us, we'd be unlocked."

He stared up at the ceiling, lips twisted down into a grimmace. The light from the window was starting to tint a slight orange color. Great. Sunset was approaching. Since school had already been in session for a few weeks, the curfew wasn't as well regulated. If this had happened earlier, they've been found shortly after curfew hit. But that wouldn't be the situation here.

"Oh, congrats on hitting your shoulder. You shouldn't have even backed up. The sparks would have faded before they got close to you anyway, Princess."