Chapter Text
"Ugh". You let out an unenthusiastic sigh as your head bangs on the tip of your steering wheel. Today is the day, you've finally been selected to partake in one of life's most tedious and monotonous rituals; jury duty. Yes the exciting letter every adult gets in the mail informing them that they have been specially selected to be a player in one of the most exhilarating, real life games of Clue.. and it lasts eight hours. You probably could have just lied and thrown the letter away, claiming it was lost in the mail but, honestly, you'd be lying if you said you weren't even a little bit curious. This was your first time being summoned and, to be fair, you didn't really have a lot going on that day anyways. Plus the courthouse was in a fairly nice part of town and figured you might take a stroll through the various shops and restaurants once everything wraps up. Could it be as boring as people say it is?
You arrive to the lot around 8:00AM. It was a 25 minute drive and parking spots are already scarce. You circle around and finally settle in on the side of the courthouse. You rummage through your purse to confirm you have all the essentials like your juror badge and reading glasses. All looks well so you cram it all in, zip up your bag and hurry out the car. You're already borderline late so you speed walk to the door. You wait in line, walk through the metal detector, get you bag probed for any suspicious items and finally, you're in. Step one, cleared. You dig out the letter from your purse and open it up to read the reporting instructions. "Jurors shall check in on the second floor, room 307."
Can't be that hard to find. You shuffle over to a crowd waiting by the elevators and are immediately sucked into the bustling stampede of foot traffic. There's people walking to and from, loud phone calls being made, and just general chaos as you try your best to keep yourself leveled. Before you know it, an elevator dings and crowds rush to the entrance. You're tightly packed into an open elevator and bodies begin to squeeze in around you like a can of sardines. Your body stiffens as the empty space in the elevator quickly disappears. Shoulder to shoulder with complete strangers, you hold your breath, tilting your head up to avoid jolting face first into someone else's shoulder blade. The doors finally close, sealing you in with your newly found group of companions. Cramped and awkward, you do your best not to move an inch. The second floor button dings and there's no time to waste. If you don't get off now, you'll have to wait for the elevator to make a full round to the top floor and back.
Space opens up and you waste no time thrusting yourself ahead, budging through padded shoulders and pointy elbows. Just as you see the shining light of freedom dawning in through the second floor lobby, the stray edge of a suitcase jams into you, striking your purse. If it wasn't for your tardiness then maybe your belongings would be better secured, but that single blow was enough to knock your glasses out of your purse and right onto the floor. New riders rapidly begin filling up the previously open space and you're about to miss your chance. You hurriedly reach down to snatch up your glasses and exit the elevator with the objective of bringing as little attention to yourself as possible. You swoop down to swiftly snag your glasses when suddenly an unfortunate misstep combined with the constant movement of the elevator casuses you to stumble backwards, no more than a few inches. It takes a second for your brain to catch up. Your mind goes blank, your face turns white and suddenly all the noise and confusion around you falls into silence as you soon realize that you've stumbled right into the lap of the person standing right behind you.
"Oh shit" you murmur to yourself. You freeze for a moment, stiff with horror before bolting upright with a speed faster than light. In a seconds time you dash out of the elevator without a second glance. Curses are thrown your way as you shove yourself between idle bodies. You're out of breath and your whole face goes from ghostly pale to deep red as you brush the loose strands of hair out of your face. You can feel your heart beating out of your chest as judgy, confused side eyes begin to dart towards you. The room spins and suddenly the noise rushes back in. You take a deep breath and briefly gather yourself, straightening out your appearance, not wanting to cause an even bigger scene than what you already have. You snap back into reality, putting on a false "cool and collected" persona that's soon ruined by the panic inducing realization that your glasses are not in your hand but rather, still on the elevator floor. Your eyes widen and your head snaps around but it's too late, the doors are coming to a close. You turn back to the entrance and peer through the narrow slit, only to be met with a set of dark, seductive eyes locked onto you.
They're heavy with dark circles, staring at you with a gaze sharp enough to pierce skin. There you stop, dead in your tracks. You blink mindlessly like a deer in headlights, swallowing hard as you realize that those eyes most likely belong to the man whose hips you were just pressed against. Despite the crowd, his glare stands out like a glimmer of light reflecting in the waves of the ocean. His eyes scan your body intently, his vision rolling softly over every curve in sight. Just as the doors are shutting, in the very last second you see him tilt his head slightly and bring his attention back to you, locking eyes once more. A very clear look that leaves no room for misunderstanding. The doors seal closed and he's gone. You stand there stiff, now face to face with only your reflection in the metal door. Your body heat begins to rise again as you swallow the tension that just occured between you two. His stare felt like quiet, soft kisses caressing your skin, covering your body one by one till every single inch is covered by his lips. How could a complete stranger's stare alone make you feel this ecstatic?
Your zoned out stare is interrupted by the next batch of passengers arriving on the elevator before you. You blink yourself conscious and walk away, scurrying to the jury room. There's no time to sit here and daydream when you're now 10 minutes late. Your body reacts before your mind does, opening the handle to room 307 and slipping in without a sound. A woman at a desk directs to a sign in screen and you check in without a single thought. How could you think right now? You calmly take a seat in the juror lounge though your mind is still racing.
Was that whole interaction just in your head? Perhaps you only imagined that tension, even if it was enough to rattle your core. "Why would he stare at me?" you think to yourself. Albeit, you did have your body pressed close enough to him that the threads on your clothes were the only thing keeping you two apart. But it wasn't on purpose! And those eyes… They stayed glued to you as if you were the sun illuminating the cold, dark corners of space. No… no, you're reading too deeply into this. It was just an awkward slip up, it could have happened to anyone! But you couldn't get that look out of your mind. Just the thought of it gave you butterflies. Well, at least now you're alone. Nothing but you and your thoughts for the next eight hours….. Dear God.