Yet again, in the dead of night, to be taken slightly literally, laid a restless Rory in bed. It was approximately four in the morning, and Rory's blanket was torn up on the floor. Rory was still in the previous day's clothes, and he fidgeted around in his broken mattress and jittered his leg. His shoes weren't even off.

  Hearing his alarm clock tick again and again each second drove him mad.

  Swiftly, Rory jumped out of bed, knocking over an old Chinese takeout box by the side of his bed, and ran out of his tiny apartment in complete boredom and madness.

  He wasn't sure what, but he needed something. It could've been more Chinese takeout, beer, God knows what. Maybe even just a shoulder to lean on. He paced the hallway for fifteen minutes, going crazy. He finally went to the elevator without a clue on where to go; just a pair of keys in his left pocket and his phone in the right. The elevator screeched loudly, piercing Rory's ears.

  Once Rory entered the elevator, it stopped, even though Rory only lived on the third floor. Crazy, right?

  Rory was looking down at the floor, swamped, until he heard in a familiar voice, "Are you fuckin' kidding me?"

  He briskly looked up, but his face changed from tense to disappointed, as he let out a deep sigh.

  "Hey, Kitty," Rory muttered.

  "Don't fuckin' call me that, dipshit." Ah. Classy. Rory clenched his fists angrily, but didn't say anything. Rory only lived on the third floor. The elevator ride would be short and sweet, right? Right?

  Before Rory could think anything else, the elevator doors closed, but they didn't move. They stood there, on completely opposite sides of the elevator while looking away from each other, waiting for the elevator to finally shift down. Except it didn't. They stood there for a good minute, until the tension became heavier.

  "Aw, shit!" Kitty smashed the same "Lobby" button several times, then slid down to the floor on her knees in utter annoyance and anger. Rory had absolutely no idea how to react to the situation, so he moved aside Hazel, and took a look at the buttons.

  "Get the FUCK away from me," snapped Hazel. As Rory backed away without a word, agitated, Hazel fell on the dirty, cracked tile floor. She covered her face, muttering, "Why, God, why me?"

  "Look," yelled Rory, "I didn't wanna spend my night stuck in here with you either, so could you please do me a favor and stop being such a fucking bitch to me for no reason?!" Rory was fuming. This is definitely how he didn't want to spend his night. But Hazel wasn't going to tolerate being yelled at by anybody, especially Rory.

  "Humph," grunted Hazel, "well I'm glad we're on the same page here," she said with a sarcastic smile, uncovering her face. "What the hell's a kid like you doin' out here at this time anyway? Isn't your mommy worried sick?"

  Rory grimaced at the keyword "mommy".

  "FYI, my 'mommy'," he remarked with air quotes, "is a chainsmoker that used to beat the shit out of me for talking back. So no, princess, my mommy couldn't give any fucks on where I am."

  Hazel didn't respond. She sat up, patted the dust off of her clothes, and sighed.

  "Well, time to call the police and inform them that I'm stuck in an elevator with a sociopath," Rory cheered. He pressed the "911" button, and waited for a response. Hazel scooted closer to the button pad, still trying to remain a great distance from Rory in a cramped, mundane elevator.

  About ten minutes later, Rory was standing at the far right of the elevator, and Hazel was by the button pad on the other side. Silence flooded the room, until Rory decided to sit on the filthy floor.

  "For real though," Hazel finally spoke, "the hell's a kid like you doin' here, at this time?"

  A scoff came from Rory, who was staring straight into space rather than at Hazel. "No idea. Didn't even know that you'd care."

  "I don't," she enunciated, "but I'm just curious to see what homeless people do at this time of night."

  With a glare now on Rory, he ignored the comment. "Same question for you. What's a Denny's waitress doing here at this time?"

  "Nunya damn business, that's what."

  "But you asked me?! The fuck's your problem?"

  Hazel finally looked at Rory, now scowling. "You wanna know what the fuck's my problem?! Okay, gather 'round, I'll tell you what my problem is." Hazel scootted up, gesturing for Rory to come closer, yet she received a hard head shake. She let out an exasperated sigh.

  "Fine. Rory, if that's even your real name, you are the shittiest, most annoying person I'd ever seen. I mean, hah, you're an alcoholic, you've got some shitty attitude towards Alex that they sure as hell don't deserve, you live in a pathetic little apartment, and you dress like a fuckin' hobo."

  Rory was about to speak, but Hazel cut him off. "And I fuckin' hate the way that you treat Alex, if I haven't mentioned it enough. You're a huge dick to them for no fucking reason."

  Rory sighed, finally able to talk. "You did mention that, but thanks for saying it again." Rory turned to face Hazel. "Look, I don't know if you're really that dense, but some people are mean to their friends. No reason in particular, really, we're just not up for any sappy shit, and that's just how it is with me 'n Alex."

  "Well fuck you! Alex ain't know any of that, they're just tryin' to be nice to ya and you treat 'em like shit! Like, they're tryin' to hug you and you just fuckin' diss them."

  Rory scoffed yet again. "I'm sorry for 'dissing' Alex when they literally introduced themselves by stalking me in the night, taking my keys, and introducing me to YOU." Hazel crossed her arms, not responding. Rory continued, "Besides, I'm sure those can't be the only reasons why you hate my guts. C'mon."

  Hazel looked at Rory, insulted. Before she could speak, Rory interrupted, "I may be an idiot," he said, "but I'm not stupid."

  Tilting her head, then shaking it, Hazel chuckled pathetically. "You ain't hearin' anything else from me."

  Rory reluctantly inched towards Hazel, and visibly shuddered. "Is it...because Alex instantly loved me the second they met me enough to hug me the way that they haven't hugged you in God knows how long? And, in return, I only push them away from me right in front of you?"

  "And you don't even notice anything wrong about it!" Hazel pouted, and then scowled at the floor admittedly.

  "Look, man, I'm sorry. If it really bothers you that much, I can just talk to them about the whole thing. And I'll try to be..." Rory thought for a moment, "nicer." This was followed by an unpleasant grunt. Rory repositioned himself, and continued, "It's just that I'm not really one to be affectionate. Like, at all. So when Alex hugs me a ton, it weirds me out. Like, a lot. None of my friends ever hug me. No one ever hugs me. Can't even remember the last time someone did."

  Hazel stared at the floor, looking guilty. She then immediately wished that this conversation hadn't even been initiated, since she wanted to hate Rory so badly.

  "I guess that's what's made me a more distant guy. Well, that and living in a negligent home with a mom who beats me and a dad prison for my whole life," he remarked with a chuckle. "But I guess we're all a little fucked up, right?"

  Rory didn't notice how he began to monologue. Therefore, he didn't stop. "And about all that other shit you said about me...I've got one thing to tell you about that." Rory looked into Hazel's eyes with pure honesty.

  "I think I probably hate myself a whooole lot more than you hate me. Okay, princess? After all, I'm the one here who's known myself for nineteen years. I had to deal with me for that long. It ain't easy."

  "Hey hey hey," Hazel immediately called, "don't get all self-pitying with me, asshat. No doubt I hate you more than you hate yourself." Hazel then reluctantly looked back at Rory. "But...I'm sorry. Look, man, we don't even know each other. I don't even know you last name."

  "It's Agnes," Rory responded.

  "Yeah, okay, good to know. But the point is, I guess I kinda misjudged you or some sappy shit like that," Hazel admitted. "So 'm sorry. You don't gotta open up to me 'n shit, okay?"

  "Is that your way of telling me that I don't have to, or you don't want me to?"

  "Both," Hazel said with a chuckle.

  "Really now?" Rory laughed, not sarcastically for once. "I think it'd be more fair if you were nice to me too, since I already have to be nicer to Alex."

  "Okay, okay, fine. It's a deal," Hazel warmly agreed.

  "Nice. So now, let's see, on the list of insults...yeah, I'm an alcoholic. I know it, I'm not gonna deny it. I have, like, five beers a day, Sometimes six. I'm no lightweight, but that's something to kick in. And I get wild on Fridays with friends, so no doubt there. But I never said I'm proud of it. We've all got our problems, and I especially have my fair share of mine."

  "So why do you do it all the time, then?"

  "Well, for a lot of reasons. It helps me forget about the pain. It makes me feel better. I don't know who or what I am when I'm wasted. And the best thing is that when I wake up hungover, I'm still kinda wasted so I still don't really remember too well of who I am. It ain't all that bad."

  "That," Hazel's voice lowered to a disappointed tone, "is actually...really sad."

  "Thanks, because I totally needed to hear that from yet another person."

  "Sorry, sorry..." Hazel regretted this topic as well. "Well, I think it's only fair I now tell you what I'm doin' here. After all, you asked too." Hazel groaned in reluctance to say anything. "Can I trust ya not to tell anyone?"

  Rory laughed. "Well, you only stopped resenting me a few minutes ago, but sure!"

  "Ahh," sighed Hazel, "I'm 'ere to sell some weed to a kid," whispered Hazel, aware of the cameras in the elevator.

  "Holy shit," Rory whispered back, "what're your prices? I smoke it, like, once a week, but my dealer fucking sucks."

  "Umm, we'll figure it out later. We can come to your house 'nother day to talk prices." Rory gave a short nod back in return.

  After a good amount of painful silence, Hazel revisited the same topic out of curiosity. "What kind of pain do ya try to drown out in booze again? I figured you were a simpleton who had nothing to fear."

  "Well shit, that escalated quickly," chuckled Rory. "You're not completely wrong there." Rory leaned in closer, no longer with hesitation. "But whoever said that idiots can't feel pain?"

  Hazel didn't respond yet again. She sat there in shame for horribly misjudging him. "Y'know, this whole time I just assumed you were nothin' but a drunk just 'cause you felt like it, and nothin' stopped you from bein' a drunk. I never really thought about it too much since I hate ya guts though."

  "Same for you," Rory replied. "There's a lot people don't know about me."

  "Really now?" Hazel was intrigued by this. New information to tease Rory with, or reveal to Alex? Maybe even tell the police that Rory is the actual sociopath here? Interesting. "Like what?"

  "Well, for one thing, I-" Rory was interrupted by the loud bang on the elevator door. The door was heard to be breaking. Bang! The door, this time, vibrated after being hit hard enough, and the vibrations spread to the floor. Both Rory and Hazel scooted away from the elevator, forcing them to be closer. But that was the last thing on their mind at the moment. Finally, one last loud bang was heard, and the door fell in the elevator, almost hitting Rory. The police, one with a battering ram, were at the doorway.

  "Damn it, Barney, I told you to be more careful," yelled one of them, who appeared to call out the one with the battering ram. Rory got up, and pulled Hazel up by the arm. The two stepped over the fallen door, and got outside the elevator.

  The same police officer asked, "You folks okay?"

  Neither Hazel nor Rory responded. In relief, Hazel ran far, far away from the police. Possibly because of the bag of grass in her pocket. Rory then responded with a quick nod.

  "I'll tell the landlord 'bout this incident. Meanwhile, though, the elevator should be fixed in about a month or so, I dunno."

  "Okay, thanks for the help, officers." Rory cleared his throat. "Well, I'm sure there's tons of other crimes in Brooklyn for you guys to solve rather than just being here, right?" Rory didn't even let the cops speak. "Okay, see ya, pigs. Bye!" He ran far, far away as well, but in the opposite direction, hoping to get as far away from Hazel as possible after accidentally opening up too much.

  As both ran down the stairs, they bumped into each other again and simultaneously sighed. The two then walked out of the building at the same pace together. With a deep sigh and absolutely no rest whatsoever, Rory brilliantly asked, "Well, wanna get breakfast, you fucking sociopathic bitch?"

"Sure would, you mind-numbingly stupid Neanderthal."