Dungeons

Dungeons

Written and Published by

Ivy M. Jones

Copyright © 2013

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"I thought I asked you two to keep your arguments out of my rehearsals?"  Mrs. Cadenjovski yelled from the seats in the fifth row.  From the wings, Brian and Lana yelled a quick apology and the rehearsal resumed.

  
"I told you she could hear us!"  Lana hissed at Brian.  Her long brown hair was up in a ponytail braided to her waist, and it whipped around as she spun to leave.

  
"Hey, watch it with that weapon you call a hair style!"  Brian hissed back.  He pulled a multi-tool from his pocket and equipped a knife.  "Next time you clock me with it, I cut it off."

  
Lana ignored him and continued back to the storage area behind the stage to catalogue the rest of the props.  She'd had enough of Brian's annoying know-it-all attitude and charismatic aura.  He worked for the Technical Department for the high school theater, and if it weren't for the fact that she loved working in the theater's Property Department, she wouldn't have anything to do with him.

  
He was too cocky, too smart, and way too hot.  His blond hair was shaggy over his face, even when he pulled it back to a ponytail at the nape of his neck.  He was tall and lean, with muscles that weren't hormone-huge or too wimpy.  And every time Lana saw him working with those his big strong hands, she would be inundated with fantasies involving those hands all over her naked skin.

  
But they had worked together all through high school and they were nearing the end of their senior year.  Whenever he'd been single and she'd made flirty passes at him, he had never reciprocated.  When he did have a girlfriend...  Well, Lana thought it was tacky to make a pass at a guy who was taken.

  
Lana managed to ignore him for the rest of the rehearsal, bringing props in and figuring out which scene they were for.  She labeled spots for them in storage and on the prop tables, and she made sure to check them in for the evening.  It was nearly 9pm when the rehearsal wrapped for the night, and Lana had just run out of masking tape.

  
"Mrs. C?"  She called out as the theater director began packing her script and notes away to leave.

  
"What can I do for you, Miss Kerzer?"  Mrs. Cadenjovski was a no-nonsense sort of woman, with straight black hair to her shoulders, cut straight across her forehead.  Her glasses were cats-eye frames, and while she demanded respect, she also gave it.

  
"I wanted to apologize again, Mrs. C.  I thought Brian and I were actually having a civil conversation, and then before I knew it, I wanted to knee him in the balls.  I should have been more aware of our volume level and taken it somewhere else."  Lana looked her teacher in the eyes when she spoke.  Mrs. C taught that it showed respect and honesty.

  
"Lana, I have no problem with you and Mr. Weiler disagreeing with each other.  In fact, feel free to yell and scream at one another to your heart's content‒ But not here.  You interrupt my rehearsal and you waste my time.  You're right.  You should have been more aware of your surroundings during your argument.  However, I appreciate that you see your error, and I can forgive you the disruption.

  
I'm granting you some leeway, Lana, because you are amazing at what you do.  At 18, you're more dedicated than quite a few professionals I know of.  I hope you go on with this passion, see how far it can take you.  In fact, I would be perfectly willing to write a letter of reference if you wanted it.  You're going to Hartman Community for college, right?"

  
"Yes..."  Lana was shaking with excitement.  "I hadn't decided on a major yet, so Hartman was the best choice.  I never thought about doing this professionally."  She moved out of the way so Mrs. Cadenjovski could pass and almost tripped when she bumped into a seat.

  
"Careful there, Miss Kerzer."  Mrs. C shook her head and smiled.  "Send me an email and I'll see that you get that letter.  Goodnight.  I'll see you Monday evening."

  
"Goodnight Mrs. C.  Thanks so much!"  Lana practically skipped as she wandered to the prop room to grab another roll of tape.  She planned to tackle the last few items on her checklist.

  
When she had finished, she looked up to realize all the lights in the hall had been turned off and she couldn't hear any voices.  She looked at her watch and realized she had been working for almost 40 minutes.  Her stomach chose that moment to loudly reminded her that she had worked through dinner, so she stuck her hand in her bag and pulled out a handful of coins and some lint.  She was sorting through the stack when someone started locking the door to the prop room from outside.

  
"Hey!  There's someone still in the dungeon!"  She yelled, unlocking the door from the inside. 
The Dungeon
was what the technical crew called the prop room because it frequently had carabiners in the ceiling and walls in order to hoist furniture and materials up off the floor for space.  She opened the door as a voice from outside began to apologize.

  
"Sorry, I didn't‒ Oh hey, Lana.  I didn't mean anything by it."  Brian had a chain with a huge ring of keys, and he was pulling the key to the prop room back out of the door.  "I thought maybe you just forgot to shut off the light and lock the door."

  
"I never forget to lock the door."  Lana bristled at the insult.

  
"But you've forgotten to turn off the light?"  Brian crossed his arms over his wide chest and flicked his head to get the long blonde hair out of his eyes.

  
"No, I don't forget to do that either!"  Lana growled at him.  She was getting angry at him again.  And her evening had been so happy since her conversation with Mrs. C.  Slowly, Lana forced herself to relax and take in a deep breath.  "You know what?  I'm not going to argue with you tonight, Brian.  I had a great conversation with Mrs. C, and I'm feeling good about the future, and there's nothing you can do to bring me down."

  
"Yeah, 'cause that's what I live for...  Making your life miserable."  Brian leaned a shoulder against the doorframe, his arms still crossed as the sarcasm rolled off him like waves.

  
"You know?  Sometimes I'd swear it is.  We were having a mostly civil conversation earlier, and before I know it, it's another fight.  I don't even know who started it and I don't care!  Because there's nothing you can say that's going to bring me down!  I'm sick of dealing with you, and it's almost over.  This is the last performance of the year, and after that I'm going to Hartman, and I'll never have to see you again!"  Lana's volume had increased until she was yelling the last sentence at him, the sound echoing off the high walls of the prop room.

  
Brian chuckled for a second before he looked at her.  "Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble, but I have a feeling we'll still be seeing each other from time to time."

  
"I know we live in the same town, and that's not going to change, but unless you plan on stalking me, I won't even know you're around."  Lana threw the change into her pocket and started walking to the vending machines in the lobby.  Brian paced after her.

  
"It's not stalking if I'm taking classes there, too."  He said, grinning like an idiot.

  
Lana stopped mid-stride and turned to glare at Brian.  He had stopped a few steps behind her and he watched as her eyes seemed to burn holes in him.  Then he noticed as her eyes dropped to his crotch before they darted back up to his face.

  
"Checking out my junk?"  He asked flippantly.

  
"Thinking I might have to hit you with my knee a few times before I found your tiny dick."  Lana turned around without waiting for his reply and walked as fast as possible to the vending machines.  When she got there, she searched until she found a box of raisins.  She located a box of chocolate milk in the refrigerated machine and bought them both.  Starving, she quickly drained the milk and was opening the raisins when Brian came around the corner into the lobby to lock the front doors.

  
"You have a key to the dungeon, right?"

  
"Yes.  As I always turn off my light and lock my door, I would think someone as intelligent as you would be able to extrapolate that."  Lana walked briskly back to the prop room.

  
"You think I'm intelligent, huh?"  Brian caught up with her, his long legs eating the distance quickly.

  
"You're in advanced physics, advanced calc, and advanced English‒ with me, remember?  Besides I don't find stupid guys h‒"  Lana realized where her sentence was leading and stopped short.  She'd been about to tell him that she didn't find stupid guys hot!  What the hell was wrong with her?  The filter between her brain and mouth seemed to be turned off.

  
"Were you about to say that you don't find stupid guys hot?"  He didn't wait for her to answer.  "And you just told me that you think I'm intelligent, so‒ and this is just my intelligent brain extrapolating here‒
you think I'm hot
."  Brian had such a cocky grin on his face, Lana wanted to pop him in the nose to mess it up.  He was also standing in the doorway to the dungeon, blocking her from getting back in.

  
"I will admit that smart guys turn me on...   But I am NOT going to feed your ego.  For God's sake, how many times have I totally made a pass at you, and you totally fucking ignored me!?!  There is no way you need
me
to tell you that you're hot!  Now, get the fuck out of my way, Brian." 

  
Lana was practically growling as she spoke, and Brian seemed genuinely confused and surprised by her speech.  He slid to one side to let her back in, and Lana began putting the tape and markers away in the cabinet, and reaching down to pick her bag up.  The bag flipped partway over as she did, and her books slid out onto the floor.

  
"Shit!"  She screamed.  "I was so happy earlier!  What the hell!  This is all your fault, Brian.  I swear, you're like the bane of my existence!"  Lana crouched down to push the books back into her book bag and felt Brian crouch down beside her.  He reached out and picked up a stack of index cards for advanced English, and flipped through them before handing them to her to tuck away.

  
"I really don't want your help.  I really don't want you around at all."  Lana said softly, trying not to cry.

  
"Even if I'm hot?"  He found a stray pencil which had rolled a few feet away and tossed it in before she closed her bag.  "Besides, it's not my fault that your bag opened."  He pointed out.

  
"I haven't seen evidence to the contrary."

  
"Oh, guilty until proven innocent, then?"  Brian grinned again and flipped his bangs out of his face with his fingers.

  
"In your case, I have to go with the evidence at hand.  You have a previous record of making my life difficult.  And I've seen nothing to indicate you've reformed in the last, oh,"  she glanced at her watch, "hour.  So, yes."

  
"You seem to like our courtroom talk...  So what if I had evidence to change your mind about me?"  He was stepping closer to her and she ignored the flutter in her stomach telling her that he was dangerous.  She laughed.

  
"That would have to be some pretty compelling evidence."  She muttered.  She took one last look around the dungeon to make sure everything was put away, and when she turned back, Brian was right in front of her.

  
Grabbing her hips, he twisted her around and pressed her against the wall before crushing her beneath his kiss.

  
Lana held still beneath him, stunned.  He was
kissing
her?  What the fuck?  When his tongue began flicking at her closed lips, she hesitantly opened her mouth to him.  His tongue entered, and immediately began plundering her and she was kissing him back.  His hands held her in place, his mouth doing things that made her head spin.

  
Slowly, his hands released her waist and slid around to her ass, then to the backs of her thighs.  His big, sexy hands lifted her up and Lana wrapped her legs around his waist.  His erection pressed against her, hot and hard.  His tongue danced in her mouth, and twisted with hers.  His hands rested under her ass, holding her up, while his body pressed hers against the wall.

  
The kiss was getting hotter, and Lana shifted her hips unconsciously, rubbing against his cock.  Brian groaned and squeezed her ass, rubbing himself against her, their pants providing friction.  Then he broke off the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers, his breathing fast and ragged.

  
Lana sucked in great lungfuls of air, trying to stop the floating feeling in her head.

  
"Wow.  What the hell was that?"  Lana asked, finally able to speak.

  
"Evidence."  He still had her pressed against the wall, and his hands began caressing her ass.

  
"Evidence of what, exactly?"  Lana said.  She was feeling so confused.  Maybe he felt something for her.  That
was
a hell of a kiss.  Or maybe she was kidding herself and this would turn out like every other time they butted heads, and she would just end up pissed at him.  She knew what he was like.  Maybe he had decided that she was there‒  and he was horny.