Much to his dismay, Thorne's usual confidence was dwindling with every passing second spent in the dark elevator. He didn't understand what could possibly be taking the fire department so long. According to their cell phones, it'd been about twenty-three minutes since the elevator's lights had gone out. If he counted the total time they'd spent in the elevator without moving, they were nearing forty-five minutes.

They'd tried banging on the door. They'd tried yelling (Cress screaming) as loud as possible. They'd tried texting all their contacts in case their phones should finally get service. Thorne had even tried jumping up to reach the ceiling. There was always that hatch at the top where spies in movies could escape out of, right?

Apparently not.

Cress had stopped crying, at least. He wasn't quite sure what he could do to help her feel better, since he didn't know anything about phobias, really. He didn't want to be here any more than she did. Even though he was slowly getting used to the dark, the blackness still seemed to swallow them in the small space. He wasn't used to feeling helpless. And he certainly wasn't used to feeling uncomfortable in the presence of a woman. Sitting here with her, though, he realized how accustomed he was to reading people. Cress's mannerisms were a complete mystery to him. Though they'd begun to make small talk again, he hated not being able to see her facial expressions or body language. She was shy with him, and wanted to understand why. He wondered if it was because she was like that normally or if it was due to her claustrophobia. Maybe she was just freaked out at being stuck in an elevator with a guy she didn't know. He'd taken his hands off her shoulders almost immediately after the lights had gone out, so he hoped it wasn't the latter.

"I'm cold," she said after taking another one of her shaky breaths. He heard rustling.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to get my scarf out of my bag. Can you hold up my phone so I can find it?"

He saw a light shine from the corner in which she was sitting and moved over, eager to have something to do. "Sure."

Thorne grabbed her phone and tried to angle it for the best view. Earlier on they'd decided to put their phones away, despite the little light they provided, in order to conserve the battery. They didn't really know what they were conserving it for, but they both agreed it was better this way.

She rummaged through the big backpack he had noticed earlier. "Whatcha got in there?" he asked curiously, trying not show his surprise at how jam-packed the thing really was.

She sighed. "My life."

After a minute, she took the cell phone from him and tried to hold it deeper in the bag. "I'm not finding it," she said. "I could've sworn..."

She turned over her bag and began to dump its contents all over the elevator floor.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked. "If you've got something small, it could roll away and get lost in here."

"Good thing we'll have plenty of time to find it," she remarked.

"That's the spirit."

"Shoot," she said emphatically, "it must be in the lobby with my coat."

"I'd offer you mine, but obviously I don't have one either. Or a coat, for that matter."

"It'll be fine," Cress replied, and she was already starting to stuff things back in her bag. "Help me, will you?"

He crouched near the ground, his own phone in hand now, and grabbed what he could. She did in fact have a lot of little things that could get lost in the dark. Lipstick. Multiple USB sticks. Pens. A compact mirror. Batteries. A little button pin that said And they lived happily ever after. The two i's were dotted with hearts. He almost laughed out loud.

He saw a crumpled piece of paper, and held it out to her under the dim light. "This garbage?"

She took it from him and sat back on her knees, then unrolled it. "Oh, this. I'm not sure."

Thorne finished putting the smaller items in her backpack as she studied her little paper. He turned the light off on his phone and put it back in his pocket.

"Can I ask you something?" she said hesitantly.

"Sure."

"It's kind of personal."

Thorne grinned in the dark. "Good. Those are the best kinds of questions in these types of situations."

"What kind of situation do you mean?"

She really was a little socially awkward, he decided. "The type of situation where you're stuck in an elevator with a complete stranger in the dark and need to pass the time, of course."

"Oh, right."

"Well, I met this guy—"

Thorne sat up. "Oh! This type of personal question. Do tell." Maybe he could finally help her out with something.

"Well," she continued, "I sort of met this guy. Kind of. It's complicated. But he told me to call him and I'm not sure if I should."

"Wait," said Thorne, "why do you have to call him? Why can't he call you?"

"He doesn't have my number."

"Why not?"

"I—it's just complicated."

"Is his number on that little note then?"

"Yeah, plus I have something of his."

"His broken heart?" Thorne joked.

"No, he left his coat behind. Thing is, I'm not sure if he actually wants to see me, or just wants to have his coat back. I—here," she said, thrusting the note at him along with her cell phone. "Ignore the Tangled reference."

"Tangled?" he asked quizzically, though his eyes were already scanning the handwriting. Familiar handwriting.

Rapunzel, this coat belongs to your thief. Please call me so I can get it back.

"Tangled," she clarified, but Thorne's brain was not really processing her words. "It's a Disney movie? Oh right...you don't like Disney."

Thorne swallowed hard and let out a shallow breath. He might have have laughed if he weren't so caught off guard. The timid girl sitting next to him was the sexy, flirty, drunk Rapunzel that he'd danced with at the Masquerade. What in the name of spades was going on? He tried to process this new information, this development. Rolled it around on the tip of his tongue. He saw disco lights flash before him and a blur of hair.

"Yeah," she said quietly, and he realized that he hadn't responded to her. "I didn't—I mean—I figured it was probably just about the coat, right?" He could tell she was embarrassed. Maybe also a little disappointed too?

Thone realized that he was actually offended that she was even considering not calling him. After everything he'd done for her.

"Oh no, Rapunzel, I'm sure your thief can't wait to see you again."

There was a brief pause. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Moi? Never. I'm just wondering if you got a haircut since Saturday."

Silence.

"I—what—I don't know what you mean..." she stuttered.

He prowled over to her corner with purpose and turned the light towards her face. Rapunzel—Cress—squinted at the sudden intrusion. Thorne examined her.

"I didn't recognize you without your extensions."

"My..." He was now only a few inches away from her face as her lips formed into an O. The lips that had enticed him just a few nights ago.

Thorne stared her down. "I can't believe you were actually thinking of not calling me."

She snatched her phone away from him and tucked it into her pocket. He reached for his own right away and switched it on, unable to take his eyes off of her. She turned away.

"I just need a few moments to process this." Her voice didn't sound as timid as it had a few moments ago. It was still nothing, nothing like her Rapunzel attitude though.

"You're not the only one."

"I don't remember everything from that night," she said quietly after an almost uncomfortable silence.

"I'm happy to refresh your memory, Rapunzel."

Her eyes shifted back into the light. When he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, an indignant glare came over her. "No, thank you."

He tried to be serious. "Look, I'm all about having a good time, but you really shouldn't drink that much. I mean, I had to wake you up with an ice cube. You could have ended up dead in an alley somewhere."

Her eyes grew wide, but then narrowed. He faltered for a minute. "I don't mean because of me, obviously. I helped you out."

She crossed her arms defiantly. "You know nothing about me."

"I know you have crazy hair extensions and I know I turn you on."

"Please, I was drunk."

"You couldn't keep your hands off me."

"Don't flatter yourself."

He scoffed. "At least I don't pretend to be someone I'm not."

"Not that it's any of your business—" she started, but he cut her off.

"Oh, but it is so my business, Rapunzel. Because I'm the one who spent half my evening cavorting with you and then trying to get you home safe!"

She just shrugged. "Sometimes I like pretending to have a different personality. I like the idea of Rapunzel. We actually have a lot in common."

"Pretending to have a different personality while you are wasted like that is really naïve and frankly kind of dangerous. You can get yourself in a lot of trouble that way. People could take advantage of you." He didn't know why he was acting so protective. Probably because she'd been such a hassle on Saturday night.

"People like you?"

"No," he said defensively, "I would never do that."

"So, we didn't, um—I mean—I don't remember—I just wanted to make sure."

Thorne put down the phone. His arm was growing tired from holding it up anyway, and he didn't want to look at her mortified face.

"Like I said, I would never do that."

"Thanks." Her voice sounded smaller now. "I'm sorry it got so out of hand. That's never happened to me before. I was required to go the party since I had just signed on with Rikan Corp. I just wanted to have some fun. I remember someone approaching me at the bar and he bought me a few drinks. Too many it seems."

Thorne groaned into the darkness. How had this girl survived college without getting rufied?

"Then I wanted to dance, and you were a really good dancer. And it was nice to get out of my head for awhile. Haven't you ever wanted to just forget everything?"

"Passing out will help you forget everything," he commented.

"Look, part of it was the alcohol, but part of it wasn't. Like I said, sometimes I just like to act out my fantasies."

"I am rather interested in hearing more about these fantasies. Although, preferably ones that don't involve so much hair."

"You're gross," she said, her voice no longer quiet nor contemplative.

"That's definitely not what you were saying at the Masquerade."

"I don't mean those kinds of fantasies," she muttered mutinously.

"Do enlighten me then on how trying to seduce a guy while dressed as Rapunzel is some other kind of fantasy."

She sighed and then spoke as though she were speaking to a little child. "I can't believe I'm actually telling you this, but I guess since you helped me get home...fine. I had a bit of a rough childhood, and back then my imagination helped me. When things got bad I would call up different fantasies to help me get through things. I would just live in them until it got better. Now that I'm older, I do a better job of separating my imagination from reality. Sometimes, though, instead of just imagining something, I like to actually pretend that I'm someone in a different situation. Like I said earlier. Pretending. Maybe it's the thrill. I don't know. Maybe it's just the fact that I can actually go out and do whatever I want. Be whoever I want."

"And obviously, the alcohol helped."

"My therapist writes it off as me acting out after years of internalizing my problems."

"You're in therapy?"

"Yeah. Long story. Anyway, I love Rapunzel. I told you, I really identify with her. So yeah, a part of it was probably the alcohol talking, but I liked pretending that I was her. You just sort of became part of that pretend. And it was a Masquerade. Isn't that what people do at those functions? Hide their identities?"

Thorne ran his hand through his hair. He thought about Cinder and Kai and all the people in masks. Maybe she had a point. He had liked the idea of pretending to be Rapunzel and the thief while they were dancing, even if he had known that neither of them were either in reality. "But you were really hott. Like, super hott. And—I thought—into me."

"I—"

Her voice hitched as the overhead lights flickered. They heard commotion below them. Voices. Cress's face lit up like the sun. "Are we saved?"

He chuckled, though a part of him was unnerved by the abrupt end to their conversation. "I believe we are saved."

The elevator began to descend. Two floors later, the doors finally opened. Cress practically fell into the arms of a fireman as he asked if the two of them had sustained any injuries. Thorne picked up her backpack and walked out behind her. There was a small crowd waiting for them, mostly made of firemen, maintenance workers, and a few receptionists. He spotted Kai, who looked relieved to see him. Thorne was relieved to see that Kai did not look like he was moping anymore.

"I figured you were in there after my calls kept going to voicemail. The Rampion's obviously still in the garage."

"What happened?" asked Thorne.

"Blackout. It was all over the city, so it took awhile for them to make it here. The fire department blames all the snow weighing down on the power lines."

"Get your dad to invest in some generators, Kai. That was bullshit. I was stuck in there with one of your female employees."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "You're complaining about being trapped in an elevator with a woman? Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

Thorne flexed his back in an attempt to stretch out the kinks that had formed from sitting on the floor for so long. "I'm not complaining about the company. Just the situation."

"Who else was in there?"

"Cress. Forgot her job title. She protects you from hackers."

"Ah, she's new."

"I know. I'm gonna catch up with her later."

He saw an unmistakable look of worry cloud Kai's face.

"What?"

"You're going out with her? Isn't it a bit...soon?"

"Relative to what?"

"You just asked out Cinder last week." Yeah, for you, thought Thorne.

"Relax, Kai, it's all good fun."

"That's not what I mean. What do you really know about her?" Kai insisted.

"Actually, more than you'd think." Thorne's lips were twitching.

"Just be careful with her."

"Are you implying that you think I'm a douchebag?"

"No," said Kai. "Listen, I shouldn't be saying any of this, but you're my best friend so just—just keep this to yourself."

Thorne nodded and put on a serious face to humor Kai.

"I had to interview her because, well, she has a bit of a shady past."

"Kai, I have a shady past."

"This is different. I just—" he scratched behind his ear, which Thorne had come to recognize as something he did when he felt nervous or uncomfortable. "I don't think it's a good idea to get mixed up with her. I can't really say more. Pick—pick someone else."

"Well thanks for your concern, but I'm a big boy. I can handle it. Besides, I never said anything about dating her. I just have a score I need to settle with an alter ego."

"I don't even want to know what that means," said Kai, frowning.

"It doesn't matter. Thanks for the tip, though. I'll catch up with you in a few, okay?"

Thorne left Kai and looked around for Cress. He almost thought to look for her unruly hair, but then remembered that she really had short hair. This double identity thing was really going to mess with his mind. He spotted her near the stairwell. She hadn't been kidding about wanting to take those twenty flights of stairs after all.

"Hey Cress!" he called after her. She paused.

"You better call me. I still want my coat back."