Title: That Time We Got Stuck in the Elevator…

Rating: PG/K+ or T

Pairings: None

Warnings: panic attack and claustrophobia, mild triggers

Inspiration/Prompt: This is a follow-up prompt from the first part of my 22 'verse. In Kurt's call to Puck, he mentions an instance where they were stuck in an elevator together.

Author's Notes: I never fully hashed out this little story, but wildfireburnstheforest mentioned the wish to read said story, so I figured I'd finally write it up and post it. This will be the first of several side fics I have ideas for that expand on the 22 'verse, although I'm not sure how fast I'll be posting them. Best bet – watch for updates!

Note for wildfireburnstheforest: Thank you for the reviews and the enthusiasm! And for mentioning that I was your favorite author besides gleefulmusings, of whom I am an *enormous* fan! That made my day! ~t.h.

…

When Santana had called to inform Kurt they were "going shopping, Ladyface", he had rolled his eyes and decided it would be far less painful to get it over with. The day hadn't started out well, with his father dragging him out of bed at 5 a.m. to pick up a car that had broken down on the edge of town. He had been stuck at the garage, covered in oil and grime, ensconced under said car's engine for nearly two hours before he was given permission to return home. After getting back to the house, he was dismayed to discover Burt had attempted a load of laundry, ruining one of Kurt's favorite shirts, and shredding a scarf in the dryer.

Trying to finish the rest of the laundry before his loving-but-inept father could try again, Kurt had only just stepped out of the shower and was in the process of regular skincare regime when his phone had begun blasting "Black Magic Woman". He would have ignored the call, if he didn't know that the Cheerio in question would then surely turn up at his house, pissed and prepared to take it out on him.

This was not how summer break was supposed to go.

He also hadn't expected to pull up to the Lopez home and find someone waiting with the fierce female. The fact that it was Noah Puckerman was just the icing on the bad-day cake.

Kurt and Puck had become friendly through Glee, but Kurt resented Puck for years of bullying and his continued treatment of the countertenor as an unattractive girl. For all intents and purposes, Puck truly seemed to believe that Kurt was some kind of she-male, girly enough to not count as a guy, but not feminine enough for it to be okay to flirt with him.

It hurt, sometimes, the way the boys never invited him to do anything. They were kind enough now, but Kurt could tell they would never think of him as one of them. And that was literally painful to consider. Just because he was attracted to males didn't mean he himself wasn't male.

They simply didn't see it that way.

…

Puck wasn't looking forward to the shopping trip either. Santana had texted, mentioned the possibility of a make-out session, and then when he showed up admitted that she was forcing him to come along to the mall. Apparently, she wanted someone who could tell her she looked hot, in a more than "aesthetically pleasing" way. Hummel must pull that shit every time San tried to mess with the boy's head via hormones. It was really kinda funny watching them interact, otherwise he would already be gone. Not even Lopez at her most bitchy scared him enough that he would stick around through four hours of trying on clothes and picking out jewelry and purses and shit if there wasn't a promise of entertainment.

He soon found that in the way the two pseudo-friends snarked about everyone and everything. Their greetings had consisted of mocking each other's chosen outfits for the day, before moving on to poor choices in relationships (Kurt to Santana) and still looking like a 8-year-old milkmaid (Santana to Kurt). It was like watching the WWF of bitchy words, or a good episode of The Real World.

But even Puck could only take so much of the girly shit, and finally decided to split. Apparently, Kurt was done dealing with Santana, too, since he immediately latched on to the excuse, saying he needed to visit the bookstore on the second level, which was next to Puck's favorite music store.

Santana had scoffed and called them both pussies, but hadn't stopped them from leaving.

As they stepped into the elevator, Puck leaned back, doing his best to ignore the teen across the tiny room from him.

Then there was a jolt, and the lights flickered, before the elevator came to a full stop.

Glancing at the doors, then the numbers (the 1 and the 2 were both lit up, so they must be stuck between them), Puck groaned in annoyance. Which was when he finally noticed the whistling breaths coming from Kurt.

…

The claustrophobia wasn't debilitating, in normal circumstances. It made Kurt uncomfortable when he had to ride in elevators or spend time in cramped rooms, like at Mercedes' house. But it wasn't something he really worried about, beyond the fairly easily ignored voice in the back of his head that would start screaming at him to leave and find open space.

He had never liked small areas. As a child, he had hated hide-and-go-seek, because the best hiding spots in the house were inside cupboards and closets, and under beds. Still, he had almost always won against his father, since he could fit into such tiny spaces. His mother had been the best at finding him.

It wasn't until high school that that discomfort blew up by epic proportions. The first time he had been tossed into a dumpster, Kurt was appalled. Climbing out had been easy enough, though, and he'd only experience a few moments of "ohmygod, there'snoroom". It wasn't until the time a group of jocks cornered him, threw him in, and then closed the lid and put something heavy (later revealed to be a stolen bike) on top to keep him from getting out that the panic had reached new heights.

In those first seconds, alone in the dark, feeling the stagnant air and the smelling pungent odor of three-day-old cafeteria meatloaf, he had been forced to bite down on his tongue to stop a high-pitched whine from slipping out. He was exhausted and scared and angry. Then he tried to stand, bending his neck since his shoulders hit the closed lid, and pushed.

The plastic square that clamped down over the metal dumpster didn't move.

Pushing harder, he started trembling when he realized there was something holding it down.

He wasn't getting out.

Kurt had managed to control himself for nearly half an hour before he finally succumbed to the panic. It was too dark and hot and smelly, and there wasn't enough air, and he was going to die in a dumpster and his father would never know!

The panic attack hit, and he was gasping and bawling and shaking. It had been a full ten hours that he was stuck inside the metal bin, before a janitor came out after school had ended to throw something away. He was curled up in the fetal position, and hadn't even heard the bike scraping as it was dragged off, or been aware of the light and fresh air when the lid was flipped open. The only reason he had ever gotten out was the janitor threw the trash bag right onto him, which caused Kurt, eyes squeezed tightly shut and breathing erratic, to give a little sob, which the man had heard.

He had climbed in and helped the small boy out, horrified at the state Kurt was in. When he offered to call the teen's father, Kurt had finally snapped out of it, begging him not to, before hurrying home. He had quickly taken a shower, and when Burt asked over dinner why Kurt was late getting home, he had lied about being at a friend's house.

Burt never knew.

And now, here Kurt was, stuck in another small space. This time, with one of the boys who had spent the past several years making his life hell.

Gaga, this was bad.

…

Puck stared in shock at Hummel, who stood, his back pressed against the elevator wall, clutching the handrail that ran around the edge of the room like a lifeline. The kid was hyperventilating, or something, and his face was really pale, even for him, and he looked like he was about to pass out.

He had no clue what was going on, except that Hummel was in a bad way, and they were stuck inside a stupid elevator until someone realized it was stuck and came to get them out.

But Hummel losing it was seriously scaring the shit out of him. How the hell was he supposed to help the gay kid?

He thought about whenever Hannah was having a crappy day, or in a bad mood. Puck would always just talk to her, like there was nothing wrong. Tell her a stupid story or ramble about whatever came to mind. It seemed to work for his sister. Maybe it'd work for Hummel, too?

"Y'know, that Santana is a real bitch. Don't get me wrong, she's sexy as hell, and she knows it. She calls and I come running, because she knows how to give a guy a good time. But I still think she's maybe a demon, 'cause nothing else makes sense. I mean, there was this time back in 7th grade when this older kid said something that made Britt cry, and Santana didn't just go after him, she destroyed the poor s.o.b. It was awesome, and scary, but mostly awesome. See, she found out that he used to wet the bed and…"

…

When Puck started talking, Kurt couldn't actually understand a word the boy was saying. He was too focused on remembering how to breathe.

Still, the calm tone of the other male's voice eventually got passed all of Kurt's panic, and it was soothing. Even reassuring to know that Puck could see no reason to freak. It helped Kurt start to focus on his breathing exercise without fear that the walls were going to close in or the elevator was going to plummet and kill them.

Another twenty minutes had gone by before he was able to tune in to Puck's story, something about Brittany and a panda bear at the zoo? Forcing himself to meet the bigger boy's eyes, Kurt whispered, "Thanks."

Puck shrugged it off, like it was no big deal. "Whatever, man. Just don't die on me, 'cause San'll have my hide. And I happen to like it."

It was kind of funny, after that, as they traded silly stories about the other members of the glee club. They both started laughing when the elevator muzak came on, even singing along to a few of the songs. In the end, they spent nearly a full hour trapped inside an elevator together before help arrived. Considering that Kurt had remained sane, and Puck was starting to think Hummel might be kinda cool, it was not as horrible a time as they would have expected.

Of course, if they'd expected it, neither of them would have gotten into the elevator to begin with. But that was then.