I AM HERE.

[Mercado]

"Oh then kudos for you!" Replied Ian while fully aware of the girl's tone.

Ian didn't really think the situation could really get much worse. Aside from running for his life and sharing the sweet small of toxic chemicals while under the florescent glow of the dirty yellow bulb, it wasn't entirely that bad. And fortunately for him, he had seemed right since the excessive barrage of the door had apparently stopped. He glanced down at Mai who had also seemed to have noticed the lull in their pursuers' activity.

Ian was doubtful at first that they had just simply given up. People like that just didn't seem to do things that way. They just kept going until they were unconscious or until they ran out of steam. Given that either could have possibly have happened, Ian figured that they were probably waiting for the unsuspecting two to open the door, and then pounce on them.

"Hey, I think they're gone."

"Wait a second! Mai! Don't!-" Began the blond who tried to move in order to stop the girl from unlocking the door. Yet before he could even begin to turn his body, the Asian girl had already shifted around and was already in the process of undoing the lock. He watched in horror as if everything was occurring in slow motion.

~Well I've lived a long healthy life, seen many a fine girls, and took part in my fair share of brawls. I suppose I have no regrets.~

Yet he couldn't help but see his entire life flash before his eyes with the turning of the knob.

....2 seconds later.

~Well...that was a pretty quick remembrance of my entire life...~

With a small click, and slight twist, Ian expected the door to be forced in and the gang of seniors to instantly begin pouring in. Yet instead, he heard another click and alot of jiggling.

"Hm....having problems?" Ian inquired as he looked down at Mai.

"It's jammed.."

"Oh....I see I see." Spoke Ian calmly as he nodded his head in quiet contemplation.

"..."

"You sure...?" Ian said, while reaching down toward the door knob and giving it a quick jiggle himself. He did his best to avoid touching the girl's waist since he already realized she wasn't exactly a touchy-feely sort of girl. "Hm...yup..." Spoke Ian softly as he twisted and pulled his arm slightly back in order to loosen up the door while again doing his best to avoid the girl yet failing horribly due to their given space, "...Its stuck in there right good...."

"So....any ideas on how we should escape from this predicament Milady? Or would you rather stay between my arms for the rest of the day? Personally, both are rather welcome however." Ian said while grinning slightly.

[Mai]

I tried to move aside so Ian could get a good grip on the door without touching me, obviously he had his doubts about whether or not I had given it enough of a tug since in his eyes I guess I was just this pathetic girl who couldn't possibly open a door on her own! Of course I wasn't capable of moving too much with one of his arms still at one side of me and then a mobile shelf of tools and cleaning detergent at the other, I tried to squeeze myself against the space between the door and the shelf but it wasn't very large so now and again Ian would cause little creases in my clothing.

I didn't mind, as long as he wasn't touching me too much, just passing by my shirt or whatever, I was OK. Of course if he did happen to touch me - especially if he were to make it intentional like many other young men in this day and age would do when put into a situation like this with the opposite sex, well then I would probably have to break down the door so I could take him to the nurse's office ( if the seniors weren't still outside ) so he could have a couple dozen stitches into either one of his arms for doing so.[/i]

When Ian retrieved his hand and confirmed the door's current state, Mai felt a tingling sensation go through her throat. Did that mean that she would be stuck here in this tiny little closet for the rest of the day, until someone found them? More importantly, did that mean she would be stuck here with Mr. Person Who Started This All In The First Place?!

Why[/i], Mai was beginning to think, why the hell didn't he just approach the guys and get the crap kicked out of him like any other man on planet earth would have done? ( Or at least those in show business ) Why couldn't he even try that way for a little bit before going with the alternative?[/i]

Mai almost felt like crying. Almost. Not quite yet. She did feel like pulling on her hair or biting her nails, maybe even chewing on the arm strap of her bag, though.
You know what you no good *mumble, mumble*... I'm mad at you![/i]

Mai said in her head to Ian, as if she were pretending he could read minds for a moment.

"So....any ideas on how we should escape from this predicament Milady? Or would you rather stay between my arms for the rest of the day? Personally, both are rather welcome however."

Mai used a portion of her willpower not to just scream and/or hit Ian to release some anxiety, "You know, I'd rather have my space... dammit... I really don't know how we're supposed to get out of here. - Maybe we could ask those guys outside!"



On the other side of the door...

"What the hell happened? Why aren't you trying to get the door open anymore?"[/i]

"I think it's jammed."

"Impossible! Try again!"[/i]

"Well I would but like my side's kind of hurting right now..."[/i]

"You hardly did a thing!"[/i]

"Well I have a very sensitive body."[/i]

"Hey guys, maybe we could come back later. I mean, if the doors jammed they ain't going to be going anywhere for a while anyway. And the guy didn't really even do anything that harmful to us either, I say we all go out and grab ourselves a coke."[/i]

"I agree with Carlos!"

"Fine... and some subs."[/i]

"All right!"[/i]

"Whose paying?"[/i]

[Mercado]

Ian didn't have to think twice about the girl's suggestion.

"How about...No?"

It was for a good reason Ian would decline the girl's request. Yes, the guys could have helped them out of their little predicament but after that what would have happened? They would have grabbed Ian and picked up where they left up. Hell, they may even pick on Mai while they were at it. They didn't seem to have the best of morals especially if you thought about four big brolly guys ganging up on two helpless freshmen.

~Oh yea, lets ask for help from the guys that want to kill us. That's simply a wonderful idea~

"But hey, you know what?" Began Ian who had just had a great idea on a way the both of them could kill some time. "Since we're trapped in here how about actually telling me a little more about yourself? Or do i have to actually get you to tell me?"

With a small glint in his eyes Ian accented his final words with motion of his fingers moving. Was he going to assault a girl while confined in a closet with her? Oh Heavens no! But she didn't know that now did she? In reality, he'd left that part of him behind when he disappeared from school awhile back. His threat was only insinuating that he was going to tickle her until she responded! That was all!...Really!

[Mai]

OOC: Deleted earlier to do MAJOR post surgery.

"It was just a thought," whispered Mai quietly to herself. Maybe it would have been a bad idea to ask those guys outside for help - but what was the worst that they could do? Have Ian being taken out of the school on a stretcher, either on his way to the hospital or morgue? Nah, it would more than likely be to the hospital, she highly doubted that any student would actually take the life of another just because he called him a name.

So I stood there quietly, patiently waiting for him to come up with something. It wasn't like there were any pinball machines or bumper car games in there or anything, so there wasn't anything else to do which gave us more reason to think in actuality: so we could get the hell out of this tight, uncomfortable closet.[/i]

Mai was beginning to think of other ways of escaping this evil deathtrap. Hey! Maybe if one of them were capable of doing such a thing, they could have slid their hand through the small opening between the door and the ground of the closet and reached out for... something. Or maybe someone would see it and attempt to open the closet! Of course if some insignificant jackass came around and decided to step on them just for fun though, that would really hurt... so that was totally checked off.

Mai's brain was killing her trying to think of a hundred and ten ways to escape a little room with absolutely no tools or anything else that might come in handy trying to open a door. And than all of a sudden she found herself thinking about her brother ( who, by the way, is dead ), it always hurt a lot whenever she thought about him but she began contemplating what the situation might have been if he were here instead of Ian:

Well let's just think, he obviously would have come up with an idea by now. Or maybe he would attempt to find something in the room that could be made useful in unlocking a door, but there's also the chance that he would use his cell phone to call someone that would be able to help us. Actually, when it all comes down, Jackie wouldn't of even gotten us into this much trouble. If I had asked him to do something about those bullies in the hall, he wouldn't try and divert them with harsh language, if anything he would call one of the school faculty members. But than I found myself thinking of why Ian had done that in the first place, and I realized that Jackie would never have questioned my interactive skills. He knew I was very quiet... I took after him.[/i]

That's when Ian interrupted the cerulean-haired girl's train of thought, asking the following questions: "Since we're trapped in here how about actually telling me a little more about yourself? Or do i have to actually get you to tell me?"

And what exactly did he mean by that? Oh...[/i] Mai sort of got the message when she felt something on her side, she presumed it was his hand. And, of course, it was. Now there were two reasons why he could've had it there: number one, he was just one of those guys who saw the opportunity to feel up a young girl like herself or number two: he was considering the chances he had of being able to pick up the cerulean-haired girl and using her bodyweight to knock down the door. She wasn't quite sure about the whole picking her up thing so she went with the first possibility, which in her opinion was more accurate.

Of course Ian looked like a relatively smart guy, was he as smart to know the dangers of putting his hands on Mai without her authorization though? Apparently not. Of course Mai wasn't feeling up to pulling off his skull or removing any vital organs from his body, so instead she would just do what she was capable of. Intercept.

The blue-haired girl's hand moved downward and she placed a sturdy grip onto Ian's hand while slowly attempt to bend back his fingers. In an all too calm manner, she replied to his earlier question,

"What you know already is good enough for now. And besides, I was never told that you have to give any vital information to a tour guide. Now let's just not touch for a while and go back to thinking of a way to get out of here before things get unprofitably bloody, shall we?"

[Mercado]

"Woah woah woah!" Ian said while his eyes widened to project a look of hurt and innocence. "Violence isn't the first option you have to resort to you know?" Responded the blond toward the girl retaining a grip on his hand.

"Besides..." Ian's fingers would bend back and grip Mai's hand. He would then swiftly bring his hand back up into its original position, beside Mai's head. Just now...her hand would be in his.

"What if i said I want to know more?" Ian said softly while leaning in closer to the girl. Ian wasn't even sure if that was even possible considering the distance between them, but if it was, he did it. His aquamarine eyes would be gazing toward her ruby ones as he would see how she would respond.

[Mai]

"Besides... What if i said I want to know more?"

This was Mai's face: . She wasn't surprised that she had been overpowered by the boy who had easily been able to take control of his own hand back from her without breaking a sweat, but she was surprised on how he seemed so confident that she would just start acting friendly toward him again after he had just put her into one of the MOST terrifyingly confined positions in the world.

And the fact that you smell like you just came out from gym practice is not helping with that so much either...[/i]

Thought the blue-haired girl to herself. O well, although Ian had said otherwise, violence was the last thing to resort to in a time like this. Now what is the most authentic way to inflict pain upon a man where he most expected it but never really thought to cover? Why of course! That little region in between the legs that we like to call the groin.

She didn't have to move much to get her knee in position to take off, but oh well, she wanted to make it dramatic so she took her sweet time. But than she got impatient so she just did it as a spur of the moment kind of thing, and then whoosh, knee took flight in the blink of an eye with all the force that Mai could possibly muster up and landed in a soft part of Ian's anatomy where he would most definitely feel it. A lot.

[Mercado]

~Well its not like I didn't deserve that...~ Ian thought while releasing the girl and leaning back against the back wall of the closet.

Both his hands were covering the spot most men thought of sacred and his eyes were clenched shut in pain as his body's movement functions were temporarily shut down. But the pain was worth it. Just for that single moment. She had been extremely calm, cool, and pretty much collected for the entire time he had been around her. Yet seeing her generally surprised...

~If my kids weren't screaming in pain I could've enjoyed it more...~

"Hey..." Began Ian while one aquamarine orb peeked at toward the girl. The pain was beginning to subside...close...but not quite. "I was just kidding geez. Do i really look like the type of guy to take advantage of a girl? Don’t answer that by the way, it’s a rhetorical question. But really...damn..." Ian said while taking a few more deep breaths.

[Mai]

"Well than I suppose I would have to say 'no'," said Mai in a higher voice, answering his question from before, the blue-haired girl even smiled a bit. She was quite proud of herself: took a guy down in one hit, she ought to get a medal dontcha' think? She rubbed her hands together as if she were cleaning them of his being, even though well, she hadn't really ever touched him in the first place right? Well no one had to know that. >>;;

When Ian slowly began to recover and than finally declared he had been joking, Mai felt somewhat astonished. SERIOUSLY? You don't ever just kid like that unless you do want to get kicked in the nuts! Mai found herself feeling a little bit guilty, she had just kicked a guy... there ... and was giving herself a pat on a back when really all he had been doing was joking?

I hope you're not watching this, Jackie..[/i] She said in her head, glancing up at the dusty ceiling of the closet.

"Do i really look like the type of guy to take advantage of a girl?"

"Well, ye-"

" Don’t answer that by the way, it’s a rhetorical question. But really...damn..."

"... Fine. I would apologize but I'm afraid that kind of thing just doesn't exactly register in my mind as 'funny'. You almost scared me there for a minute, what'd you expect me to do? Say 'I'm sorry, mister, but are you joking?'? I really don't appreciate people pulling my leg like that so I'm going to have to say that you deserved it and every painful second that it implied!"

[Mercado]

"Well, I was simply trying to lighten the mood up. And see, are you even thinking about being trapped here anymore? No...no you aren't." Ian said with a small smile that kind of yelled out 'Mission Accomplished'.

Was Ian being serious about what he said about lightening up the mood? Partially. He was more concerned in covering his ass more so. But besides all of that, he had gotten another reaction out of her through his pain. While he was slumped against the wall, he had spied her smiling slightly.

~Two reactions in matter of a couple of minutes. I think that’s the most feeling I’ve seen out of her today. That and her freezing up in terror at the sight of four guys charging at her....but hey, I'm simply counting the positive.~

"Well...if you'd ask me what i had expected you to do, i guess i would have expected you to have blushed. Or maybe perhaps pushed me into the wall. Yet, i think both me and my offspring both now realize how much you really don't appreciate it. I think the next time I really should equip myself with a cup or some sort of legging repelling protection." Ian said laughing slightly.

[Mai]

"Well, I was simply trying to lighten the mood up. And see, are you even thinking about being trapped here anymore? No...no you aren't."

When Ian said that Mai shrugged her shoulders.

"I suppose you're right..." she said humbly. And than thoughts began to start rushing through her head, like: o, goodness! How are we going to get out of here?"[/i] She was sort of embarrassed, which added to the discomfort of the room. Mai began to scan the floor over, maybe an ant would have a solution to all this? They were smart little buggers.

"Well...if you'd ask me what i had expected you to do, i guess i would have expected you to have blushed. Or maybe perhaps pushed me into the wall.

When Ian began to explain what he had expected her to do in the prior scenario, Mai was a bit thrown off. Why would have she had done either of the two? Both of them sounded like something that the leading lady would do in one of those cheesy teen romance movies that you see being ate up and spat out on a daily basis by critics. Mai almost felt insulted, almost, the actors still got to walk down the red carpet did they not?

"I think the next time I really should equip myself with a cup or some sort of legging repelling protection."

"I'm sorry but I don't ever intend on there being a next time of this. Passing my time in a stuffy closet with a guy I hardly know that I've just kicked in the groin for making a really awkward joke that got me really weirded out at a point is not my idea of a good time and I'd rather not be put into this situation ever again in my life!"

Mai traced about the six or so inches more that she now had to herself while Ian was leaning up against the back wall, she never considered the fact that he could have been speaking metaphorically which was a great possibility since really, could anyone enjoy being stuck in a closet? Pretty girl or not?

"Can't you just knock the door down or something? I'm becoming very impatient..." she complained, now she was really desperate to get out of the closet.

[Mercado]

"Yea probably." Ian said in a matter of factly voice while shrugging. Kicking the door with all his strength would probably bust it from its hinges. Ian would have instead preferred to have rammed the door with his body since it was a heck of alot sturdier then his arms and legs, but given the fact that she was obstructing the pathway, that really wasn't an option.

Standing straight up from his leaning position on the wall, Ian ran his hand through his hair as if this was an inconvenience to him. He was actually sort of down that his short lived escapade with her was coming to end.

~Yet with all good things, they must come to an end i suppose.~ Thought Ian as he pressed himself up against the back of the closet.

"Oh ya, by the way, you might want to move to the side." Ian said while bringing up his foot and preparing to launch it underneath the handle of the door. It didn't really matter if the door was one that opened up into the closet. At the force he was about to kick it at, it most likely was about to fly off its hinges.

What happened next really only took a second. With an extremely loud snapping sound the door was forcefully ripped from its closed position and was pushed slightly out into the hallway before it fell down onto the hard floor with a loud smack.

"And Voilà." Ian said with a satisfied smile on his face."Your exit, Milady." Ian said while bowing slightly while extending his hand toward a door in a gentlemanly sort of fashion.

[Mai]

"You really can't pull that off," Mai said, referring to his attempts to look like one of those British gentlemen in the movies. Which was the truth, he couldn't! The blue-haired girl picked up her bag and hung it around her shoulder, she gave Ian a "thank-you" look and than turned around and began to walk atop the broken door like a little footbridge at a park so she could exit the cubby space and that's when it happened: a drop of some white substance splattered on the tip of her shoe and before Mai even looked up she already knew what she would see...

"Um, hi. That's a real nice sandwich... heh heh heh har... "

It was the four big guys from before. If you don't remember them, here's a reminder: at the beginning of the day at school, Mai ran into Ian than ran into two freshmen who ran into four seniors that ran after Ian who ran with Mai who ran into a closet where all the running stopped and where thoughts that the four seniors had left by now begun. Obviously they hadn't though.

The four guys were parked outside the closet, sitting and everything, chowing on submarine sandwiches and coca colas. Mai herself was really hungry but that wasn't what was important. What was important was the fact that apparently they still wanted to kill Ian - who was right behind her.

F#@k, I thought this day was over![/i]

[Mercado]

"You know, hearing that from you almost sounds like it insult." Ian said while grinning slightly. Yet, it didn't take him long to realize who had parked themselves outside the door. Wouldn't ya know it? It was the same four thugs who had chased them earlier.

~Wow....you'd think they'd have something else better to do then to camp out two kids in a closet.~ Thought Ian passively to himself. Yet this was no time for thinking! It was time for acting!

"Um, hi. That's a real nice sandwich... heh heh heh har... "

"Yea! I can see you guys are enjoying sandwiches...." Ian said while laughing awkwardly between his words. Apparently one of the kids had decided to eat in front of the door, so when the door came flying out into the hallway, his sandwich, sadly, had become a victim to its wooden dangers. At least...that’s what his shirt and hands which was covered in mayonnaise said. Over looking that however, Ian continued. "...So....we're just going to...be on our way!"

Instead of grabbing Mai's hand this time, Ian literally swept the girl off her feet and held her firmly in his arms. He remembered how she had froze up last time and had decided to avoid it this time around. " Pardon us!" Shouted Ian while holding the girl and rushing past the guys. The freshmen saved himself the hassle of tripping down the stairs and simply jumped down them to the first floor.

"Wow, you're quite light, you do realize that right?" Ian said laughing slightly while rushing through a random hallway. Behind him was the oh to familiar sound of the boys pursuing the two down the hallway. If things didn't change soon, they would soon find themselves in the exact same situation all over again.

"So.....if you have any bright ideas, I'm always open to suggestions." Ian said brightly while continuing their escape.

[Mai]

Mai was already kind of dumbfound finding the boys outside of the closet, so when Ian sort picked her up and began to run down the hall with their pursuers hot on their tails, she wasn't exactly in the most sturdy mood ever. Her brain was wobbling back and forth but when she finally came back to, her first thought was: I've got to put on some more weight.[/i]

She had to admit something. Being carried by Ian was the least comfortable thing EVER, so when Ian said he was open to ideas she was quick to try and think of something. If Mai were a comic, thousands of light bulbs would have popped up over her head with the following of a needle or a jackhammer coming and crushing them to bits and pieces. First she was going to suggest the ladies restroom, where boys never go, but the gang was too close for them to try and hide out again. Her next suggestion would have been to the cafeteria, but it only had three exits. One which would be where they would have to enter, another which would lead to the kitchen, and the last was for emergencies only. The last place Mai could think of going where they could gain some ground on the pact of boys was the gymnasium, and that was only because there was so much you could throw on the floor there to slow down evil people chasing you.

"Go to the g- never mind!"

Mai said quickly when she noticed that by luck Ian had already led them there. She moved her feet in front of them and kicked open the double doors ahead of time which made it easier for them to run through and into the large gym. Since the gang wasn't that close to them, Mai figured it would be OK to go on her own two feet, so she jumped out of Ian's arms and began to examine the large room. Than she saw the ladies' change room/ showers just to the right and immediately began tugging Ian toward it. She didn't know why exactly she still was sticking with Ian who had to have a large tag on his back saying "CHASE ME BECAUSE I'M BAD" or somethin' but she was. In the girls change room, Mai was glad to find that no one was there. Quickly she found an empty locker and ushered Ian into it, than she went around and began to look for another one for herself. But it was too late, she heard the gym doors burst open from afar and began looking for another solution.

Bingo![/i] Mai said, finding a damp bathe towel left on one of the benches in the room. She quickly slipped her arms out of her shirt leaving it to hang on the rest of her body and tied the towel around herself, than pulled up the sleeves of her jeans as much as they could go which the towel just barely covered enough to look believable and kicked off her shoes by another locker. If the guys passed by here they would surely take her for just another school girl... right?

[Mercado]

~Hmm....well I didn't expect to find myself back here so soon.~

Once again, Ian was confided to yet another cubicle in which he had no choice in the matter. Winding up at the gym wasn't exactly his idea of escaping, yet he wasn't really paying attention to where he was going. He had just wound up there coincidentally. After that, Mai apparently took over the chase again and had led them into the....the....LADIES changing room. The holy and forbidden ground men are never, and I mean NEVER meant to step into.

~Oh well!~ Thought Ian happily as the next series of events eventually led up to him thinking about why he was yet again, yes, you guessed it, stuck inside a locker again.

Ian prepared to let out a sigh, until he actually looked outside the slits in the front door of the locker. There were only three, and they only allowed a slightly obstructed view....yet the view was there. It was only a few seconds of the girl in a bra. Nothing....uhh...to special.

Yet, it was gone as quickly as it had appeared as the girl slipped into a disguise with only a few seconds left to spare. Just as she had finished completing her 'Oh I'm an innocent blue haired girl who had nothing to do with that blond guy' Disguise, four guys, who apparently didn't mind running into the ladies changing room, entered the aisle Mai was in.

"Hey! Ya, you! The one in the towel. Did you see some pale skinned bleach haired kid and that albino girl he was traveling with!?"

Ian's left eye twitched as he wondered how the guys had not noticed Mai's skin color. Yet that was only slightly bothering him. What has bothered him more was that they called him pale skinned....was he really that pale!? It wasn't like he white or anything! Geez...now that was just plain rude! And to call his hair bleached!? It was frigging blond! Yet, what were you going to expect from a bunch of guys who couldn't even tell who couldn't even tell the skin color of a person right in front of them.

"Yea! As soon as we find that wimpy bleached haired dude we can finally get back to eating our subs."

~Okay... That’s the last straw.~

Ian kicked out the door of the locker in a similar fashion as he had the closet door. Yet, he used less power so thusly, this time the door actually remained on its hinges. Ian slowly stepped out of the locker, with his eyes filled with murderous intent. He had taken enough of these guys crap today and, for the record, was about to set them straight one way or another. Gripping his fists tightly as he stood facing the boys, his sea blue eyes were shrouded in a darker hue which was usually reserved for when he actually got serious.

"I am not wimpy!!" Ian said suddenly while grinning and rubbing the back of his head with his right arm. Yet, now that he thought about it...By leaving the safety of the locker, he had just thrown himself in harm's way again.

~Awwwwww crap!~