Author's Note:

Hey, guys! I'm the Gamerwhogames, and welcome to "Elevator"! (nice name, I know). Long story short, some storms came to my hometown and knocked out the power in most of the schools. So, I started thinking about power-outages, and elevators (for some reason), and fanfiction. And here we are! So, I hope you enjoy "Elevator".

To avoid confusion, this one takes place BEFORE the Witherstorm. Jesse and his friends aren't the New Order yet, and the Ocelots are still a thing. Hit it, Crisper!

Crisper: (hits it)

Rain poured down and soaked Jesse's brown hair. He tagged close by to Axel who held an umbrella over their heads. He bumped into Olivia as they all tried to squeeze underneath. Though rain poured and thunder exploded, they were determined to go to the mall on Saturday. There was a huge weapons-sale at Craft Town Mall and Jesse and Axel were aiming to get themselves some new swords. Olivia wanted some new arrows for her dispensers and she'd take advantage of their half-price sets.

Jesse clutched his backpack close as they neared the store. Olivia sent him a worried look. "Are you sure they're even gonna let you take that in, Jesse?"

"Of course, they are, Olivia. It's just a backpack."

"With a pig inside." Axel added. Jesse frowned, especially when Reuben squealed along to the conversation. Jesse hadn't been able to stand leaving Reuben alone at the treehouse while they went out. When he had suggested taking him with them to the mall, Olivia had her objections. Their debate wore on for a good ten minutes, much to Axel's boredom. The battle was fierce—even Reuben had oink in his defense—but Jesse emerged victorious. There was no way they were going to leave Reuben at home this time, much less in the middle of this huge thunderstorm.

"How do you know they're not gonna check it?" Axel asked. His words made Jesse clutch his backpack a bit tighter.

"They won't, guys." Jesse said, a hint of worry in his cool tone. "Just keep quiet, Reuben." He whispered to his pig friend as they walked into the mall. Inside, Axel folded the umbrella and shook off the excess water. The store's air-conditioning chilled their wet skin and clothes, making them wish they'd worn jackets. Jesse looked around the bright store before he saw two security guards walking past them. Even though the officers didn't notice his backpack, Jesse shrank back with fear. He was more than sure the store had—and enforced—a no-pet policy. He began to regret bringing Reuben until thunder sounded from outside. Maybe this was for the better, he thought, breathing out his worry in a little huff.

While Olivia was off buying herself arrows, bows and various Redstone knickknacks, Axel and Jesse searched the store's vast inventory of weaponry. They looked through rows and rows of beautiful, handcrafted swords for what seemed like hours. They stopped a few times for a bite to eat. Axel bought himself some gum and candy, and Jesse would occasionally pop a baby-carrot into his backpack for Reuben to snack on.

Soon, Olivia joined them and they searched as a group. As many swords as were available, however, Jesse and Axel couldn't find anything to suit them—or their budget. Even at a fraction of the price, the valuable swords rang a high cost. Jesse held a blue, diamond-sword, styled with sharp, jagged obsidian around the handle and blade, making the weapon look as if it was crafted by Mother Nature herself.

"That one's beautiful." Olivia said, running a finger across the cool, black stone. Jesse grinned in awe.

"This has got to be the coolest sword I've ever…." His voice trailed off as he laid eyes on the price-tag. His smile curled into a guffaw and he quickly put the sword down. "That is the ugliest thing I've ever seen in my life." Axel and Olivia tried—and failed—to hold back their laughter. Jesse smiled at his own joke.

"Why don't we go see what they have upstairs? I think they've got some axes on the third-floor we could look at." Axel suggested.

"Sounds good." Jesse's eyes trailed around the room, locating the nearest escalator. Seeing it was full of people, he looked for an elevator and quickly found one. "Let's go, guys." He and his friends quickly rushed over, eager to see what else the store had to offer. At the elevator, Jesse pressed the "up" button. As they waited, he heard footsteps. He looked in their direction, and his heart plummeted lower than the first floor. He could feel their perfect Saturday coming to a quick halt as he stared back at the Ocelots.

His eyes met with Aiden's first, and the Ocelot gave a hard, demeaning scowl that made his blood pump to his ears. Everything seemed to go still around him. Even Olivia and Axel were caught in the silent showdown of glares, witty smirks and burning eyes. Lukas timidly stepped past Jesse, muttering a quick, awkward 'excuse me' as he reached for the "up" button as well.

Aiden gave a loud scoff, not noticing Lukas's resulting glare. Like Jesse, Lukas was also fed up with Aiden's behavior, however well he tried to hide his anger. "Are we seriously going to share an escalator with these dweebs?"

"Well, Aiden, if you don't want to ride with us, you can wait your turn." Axel growled back, towering over the brunette. Aiden grinned mockingly. Maya pushed past Aiden and stepped forward, a domineering frown on her face.

"No, you can wait your turn." She looked right at Olivia, eyes flashing with eagerness to strike. "Ladies first." Deciding it wasn't worth her efforts, Olivia pretended not to hear Maya's snide words and delicately looked away.

"Dear Notch. Are you guys ever not sour?!" Jesse hissed.

"Are you ever not a loser?" Aiden growled back.

"Aiden! That's enough!" The sound of Lukas yelling made them all go quiet. For an instant, it seemed like the entire store was shaken with shock and quiet. Aiden sent Jesse a glare before he reluctantly stepped back. Silence mingled with raindrops and light thunder as they waited for the elevator. No one made eye-contact, but they could all feel the tension thick in the air. Momentarily, a loud 'ding' rang out. The door slowly creaked its way open, begging a high-strung challenger to enter in. Both groups stood stock still, akin to nervous cowboys in a heated showdown. Even Reuben had stopped moving.

At first, Jesse expected Aiden to bolt for the doors. He expected a huge fight for the privilege of being first in line. He did not expect silence and stillness. He stared warily into Aiden's green eyes, finding that they were both equally unnerved and confused by the sudden calmness. The entire store was robbed of all sound except for the rumbling of the rain and the beating of their hearts. Jesse's eyes flicked around the room. Everyone was glaring intently at someone. Why wasn't anyone moving? Jesse's eyes met with Aiden's again. Their unsettled gazes quickly melted into hard, competitive glares. The calm before the storm was coming to a fast end.

Jesse blinked.

Gill exploded for the elevator, nearly knocking Aiden over in the process. Energy jolted into Jesse's legs and he lunged right after him. In a flurry of running feet and pushy arms, Jesse and Gill soon found themselves squashed in the back of the elevator. It was large enough for them to stand and keep their personal space, but the fighting and yelling and shoving made it feel cramped. 'We were here first' and 'First come, first serve' flew back and forth between them, along with more colorful phrases and words. Squashed in the back and in no mood for a fight, Jesse decided it was his turn to shout at someone. Even if it was a roomful of friends and bullies.

"Everyone, stop fighting!" He yelled. He was more than relieved that his cry had caught their attention. That was one of the perks of not shouting on a normal basis—It was effective at shutting everyone up. Even his enemies, something that surprised him. They all watched as Jesse forced his way to the panel of buttons. "Lukas," suddenly his tone was polite, almost motherly, but they could all feel the spite laced in his words. "Which floor are you going to?"

"Third floor." His tone held the same impatience for his own friends that Jesse had for them as Ocelots.

"Wow. What a coincidence. So are we." He jammed the number three. The doors slid closed and Jesse slowly turned around. "Now we're all going to the third floor, and we're going to behave like normal people." He said, not caring that no one answered him. He didn't want an answer. He wanted silence.

Like it always did, Jesse's stomach fluttered as the elevator went up. But he didn't know if it was the elevator, or his own unnerve. As his emotions cooled down, the reality that he'd hollered at the Ocelots began to settle. As much as they deserved it, it still made him slightly uncomfortable. It felt no better that he also shouted at his friends. He sighed, just glad the yelling had been worth the sweet silence.

Thunder boomed outside as the elevator creaked to a shaky stop. They waited in silence for the door to open. After a few seconds of standing, Jesse and Lukas exchanged worried glances. Lukas scooted through the group to press the door-button. The door didn't open. Feeling fear and sweat gradually crawling across his neck, he clicked away at the button. His stomach knotted as he turned around to face them with a nervous grin.

"Um… I hate to be the bearer of bad news—"

"Then don't. Please just… don't." Gill's voice was more than worried.

"It stopped?!" Maya's shriek tore through the silence. "Why did it stop?" She dug her hands into her brown, short hair as panic overtook her.

"Everybody, calm down!" Lukas stammered, his voice barely convincing of his own calmness.

Axel rammed through them to the doors, further irking the already excited Ocelots. "Somebody, help! It stopped!" Axel shouted, slamming his fists on the doors.

Olivia massaged the bridge of her nose, trying not to let her fear and frustration get the best of her. "Axel, that is not going to work."

"What happened?" Jesse asked himself. The lights were still on. Didn't that mean anything? Just as he thought it, the lights flickered out. He groaned in frustration, putting his head in his hands as they frenzied and rambled on.

"Does anyone have a phone?" Olivia asked. As the others checked their pockets, something shifted in Jesse's backpack, tickling his back. Reuben! He'd forgotten was in there the entire time! He quickly took it off and unzipped it, praying the "mosh-party" hadn't injured Reuben in any way.

"Jesse, you have a phone?" Axel asked. Suddenly—whether he noticed or not—Jesse was the center of everyone's attention. A ray of hope in the dark elevator. The eagerness on their faces was dashed as they watched Jesse pulled Reuben into a hug, instead of holding up a phone. Gill squinted his eyes in disbelief.

"You brought a whole pig with you, but no phone?!" He shouted, his loud voice bouncing off the walls and hitting everyone in the ears. Jesse glared at him in the darkness, holding a growling, tempered Reuben close.

"Oh, careful, Gill. Reuben's mad at you." Aiden joked. Jesse could almost feel him sneering in the darkness.

A flash of light caught their attention, and they looked to see Maya holding a phone. "Hang on, guys. I've got my phone." She tapped some buttons on the screen and put the phone to her ear. Relief fell over the entire room. They would be saved, Jesse thought, and they could all forget this ever happened. He wouldn't be in a cramped elevator with his number-one bullies anymore. They could all get far away from them.

A frown fell across Maya's face and she pulled the phone away from her ear. She didn't notice the whole room's eyes on her. Each of their hearts hammered and flip-flopped and stammered as she frantically redialed.

"There's no signal." An unnerving silence spilled into the elevator, riding a chilly draft from the vents. She looked at her phone again. "And my phone's almost dead."

Suddenly, Lukas missed the elevator music, and any sound in general. The silence seemed to close in on him with the darkness, making his skin crawl. Questions bombarded him and made his head spin. He leaned on the wall, clutching the silver railing with a sweaty hand. He had plenty of reasons to be afraid, but one seemed to really stick out. Being stuck in a room, much less a tiny one, with the two opposing teams made his knuckles clench. The arguing, the jeers, the jokes. All of it was unnecessary and annoying. And he'd have to bear all of it for who knew how long! Just thinking about it made his head pound.

"So… we're stuck in an elevator today." He breathed.

Author's Note:

And there you have chapter one of "Elevator"! I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to favorite and follow! You'll want to be around to see what becomes of these two rivaling factions! I had so much fun writing this, especially the elevator-showdown. That one gave me the giggles!

I'll be responding to reviews in the next chapter, so keep them coming! Talk to me about your favorite part, or what you think might happen next! I love your feedback and constructive critique! Once again, thanks for reading!

Well, close it, Crisper!

Crisper: Okay! (closes it)