Welcome to Gaia! ::

Allen stared up at the ceiling as she spoke. "Maybe we're the only ones still here. Why don't we check?" He finally turned to look at her, seeing her only vaguely in the dark, since the flashlight was under a table a little ways away. "The doors ought to open from the inside. If anyone else was stuck in here, they'd likely find a way out, too. Now that we're out in the open, it's not quite so dark."

He gave himself a little longer to catch his breath and get control of his thoughts before pulling himself to his feet and retrieving the lost flashlight. He knelt and fished it out form under the table it had been under and strode toward the nearest set of doors. He pushed against it. No luck. He pulled it. Still no luck.

It was locked...from the outside? He knocked on the glass, tilting his head curiously to examine the door. Maybe this door was broken...

He jumped as she appeared beside him. Good greif, she was silent as a cat! He listened to her with eyebrows raised. How did she know this stuff?

"I suppose." He said doubtfully, the paperwork on his desk at home calling to his subconciousness. He couldn't spend all night here! Especially not with a female teenager who was already making him feel all weird and they barely knew each other! Despite his thoughts, he heard himself saying "There's a Bed, Bath, and Beyond not far from here, I believe."

It would just be for one night. First thing in the morning he was out of here, back to work, and maybe he'd even sue the stupid place for locking him up like this.

He followed her curiously, holding the flashlight for her though she didn't seem to need it. He watched with his mouth slightly agape as she gracefully and easily picked the lock. "That's...rather impressive." He admitted simply. His suspicions were aroused about her. A girl who could pick locks with that amount of skill wasn't the kind of girl who stayed out of trouble. Keeping his thoughts to himself and knowing that it would only be one night and they should be fine, he stepped forward and lifted the heavy gating, sending it up into the ceiling where it rolled up, ready to be pulled back down.

Allen was officially creeped out. She must be psychic or something! He gave a noncommittal grunt of acknowledgement and watched her select a bed. What kind of life must she leave if, as she suggested, she stole food, ran away from men who wanted to abuse her, and...

He swallowed, shaking his head. It was just until morning, then they'd never see each other again. Or maybe he could track down and contact her parents. Maybe she was a runaway. She was a senior in highschool, but how old was she really?

He moved toward a nearby bed, one that happened to be more than a safe distance away from the one Shade had chosen, and sat on top of it. It was one of those display beds, so it took a bit to get into it, then half the bed was fancy pillows, but it wasn't bad. He shined his flashlight on his watch and was surprised to find taht it was nearly midnight. Good. He'd be out of here soon enough.

He waited until after she had fallen into a deep sleep before even trying to get to sleep himself. He was anxious, suddenly, now that he'd learned more about her.

Ah, well. It wasn't like she was going to try anything stupid, anyway. The night was quickly passing. He'd look back and laugh at this later on. Even if she did try something really, really dumb, he could likely toss her around like a pillow if he tried.

Tomorrow he'd get right back to work. He'd work so hard it would be like he'd never even missed a day.

Thus reassured, he fell into a restless sleep.

Allen had finally managed to fall into a peaceful sleep when he felt himself being poked had in the side. He winced, his eyes popping open blearily. "What?" He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he words slowly sunk in. "What?! No way!" He slid out of the bed, still fully dressed, and moved to the front of the store, peeking out. Thorugh the nearest glass doors he could see nothing but white. He moaned. "Great. Just PERFECT." He practically bellowed. His mind and hands itched to be working on his paperwork. The thought of all the work piling up and him here, helpless to do anything about it, was driving him insane.

Allen had a terrible temper when he was feeling restless. And having his little charge disappear on him didn't help at all. He paced in front of the doors like a lion, wanting so bad to bunch through the glass doors. But the more rational part of his mind told him to cool it. He would be fine. Besides, those doors were the only thing keeping them safe and warm. If he broke them, the temperature would plummet. He scowled and continued pacing.