They stepped together into the elevator and Newt felt a sort of giddiness. It was an odd sort of relief. After all, his worst fears had all come true, so there was absolutely no way for things to get worse. He felt strangely elated. He had reached the absolute bottom, and the feeling of it under his feet was a comfort. Nothing else could possibly go wrong.
And that's when the lights flickered off.
Newt emitted a sound halfway between a shriek and a whimper as the darkness pressed up against him. It was crushing him, filling his lungs with shadows and he couldn't breathe.
He hadn't always been afraid of the dark. But then some group of assholes back in junior high had thought it funny to lock him in the janitor's closet on a Friday afternoon. It hadn't been funny to Newt. They found him around midnight, his hands bruised from pounding the door, and his voice gone from screaming for help. Since then, he hadn't been able to fall asleep with all the lights out. Since then, he'd been terrified of confined spaces.
"Newt?" A hand brushed his forearm, and slid its way down to his hand. Alby laced his fingers through Newts', giving his hand a squeeze.
Right. There had been a second part to the story. The same group that had locked him in the closet - somehow having avoided punishment - cornered him again. They had thought there was nothing funnier than the same joke twice. Newt had thought he would rather die than go back. And then Alby, like a knight in shining armor, had appeared from nowhere and for all his tiny middle school bulk - managed to scare off the bullies. And since then they'd been inseparable.
Newt felt cold all over, except his one hand joined with Alby's. He didn't want the darkness touching him anymore. He reached out blindly with his free arm and found Alby in the darkness. He pressed himself tightly to his friend, biting his lip to stop the sob welling up in his throat.
There had never been anything romantic between them. That hadn't ever been a point of discussion. But it was now that Newt wondered why not. They'd kept in touch after Alby had moved away and he'd mentioned several different boyfriends and girlfriends but never for more than a week and never with much interest. When Newt had pressed him, he'd shrugged, saying they didn't feel right. To Newt, Alby felt right.
Newt brought one hand up and let it hover hesitantly near Alby's cheek.
Why shouldn't he? His brain screamed "Minho" but that just made him want to kiss Alby more. To show the world that his life didn't stop and start with Minho. That two could play at his game. He knew he'd regret this. But he also knew it would bring a moment or two of freedom, and the prospect felt so good, he couldn't think clearly.
He let his hand slide into Alby's hair and brought his mouth up. His first kiss landed to the left of his friend's nose, but his second landed true, and he felt Alby lean into it.
The darkness faded away. His anger and hate and hurt with it. They would be back, seven-fold, but for right now, he escaped.
Alby returned the kiss gently, and Newt let his feelings fade away. He lost himself to the warmth of Alby all around him.
A sudden buzzing startled them both and the lights came back on in the elevator, harsher than before.
Newt saw Alby's eyes widen, "Are you- are you crying?"
Newt wiped at his eyes and realized that Alby was right. He was saved from having to answer by the ding as the elevator reached the ground floor. He stared at Alby a second longer and then ran. Through the small, dingy lobby. Out the glass doors and into the night. He ran as if his fears and desperation were a tangible thing that he could escape if he could just run fast enough.
A/N Don't worry, Minewt will return... In Act II!