In Way Over Her Head

Cherry was in way over her head. She wanted to try out one of her new wigs and a makeup look that was somewhat close to her natural face when she went to go see Phantom of the Opera for the fifth time in her life (a classic!) so that was what she did.

The show was great but the downstairs bathroom had a line way out the door and she was dying because she stupidly hadn't gone during intermission so she sprinted up the stairs as best she could in her heels to use the one up there. That hadn't been a good idea because her feet hurt so she decided to take the elevator down and got stuck. With Scott Harkin.

What was he even doing here? She hadn't pegged him as a musical lover.

Cherry had gone back to avoiding him after that incident with the ice cream cones and uncharacteristically hugging him because she hadn't known what to think about the whole thing but here he was right in front of her when she looked like someone else.

He was as considerate as always, making sure she was alright when the elevator jolted and she nearly fell over because she was still wobbly from running up those stairs in heels.

It was just her luck that there wasn't anyone coming to save them. She tried distracting herself with musicals until her phone died but, at that point, she realized no one was coming until morning.

It was not a pleasant realization. She didn't want to be stuck in here with someone so confusing. He had already complimented her on her voice and said she didn't have to hold back on his account when she was unconsciously singing along.

She tried to play things off but he wanted to keep the conversation going. She ended up being mostly honest since he didn't know these things about her as Sherry. She said her mom when she meant her granny because most people weren't raised by their grandmothers and it might be suspicious.

Cherry introduced herself with her granny's name because she was already thinking about her. She had been her mother's mother and it broke her heart wondering where she went wrong since her daughter didn't want anything to do with her granddaughter and took off.

She knew it wasn't her granny's fault. Her mom just wasn't cut out to be a mom.

Maybe it was because she was already sentimental but she ended up answering Scott's next questions truthfully too. What did it matter? She was never going to see him again as Delia. So what if she acted more like the real Cherry Radcliffe than she usually did when she was dressed as someone else?

Cherry would love to be a costume designer but that was such a long academic road to go down and she didn't even have a high school diploma. It was out of her reach.

She would probably be better off as a stylist since that didn't involve sewing. She knew so much about hair, makeup, and outfits. But that required licensing too. She didn't feel like she could go for it.

It was better to change the subject so she did and found out that Richie, the man he talked about before who gave him a chance when everyone else gave up on him, had given him The Wolves' Den. She hadn't expected that.

Hearing more about Scott was interesting. He didn't chat with her like this when she was Sherry.

Cherry was thoroughly enjoying talking to him. It almost felt like she was a normal person getting to know someone. Not a huntress.

There were a few little white lies in there but this was the most she had been herself in front of someone else since her granny was alive. She decided she may as well test her theory to see if he would think she was weird if he knew about her doll obsession since she would never get another chance.

To her surprise, Scott didn't think it was embarrassing at all. He asked more questions about what she liked as if he was genuinely interested. He seemed a bit out of his element—he probably didn't know the first thing about stuff like this—but interested nonetheless.

He was even nicer than she originally thought, which was really saying something. The kind of person who might actually be reliable.

Too bad she wasn't who he thought he was as either Sherry or Delia. She couldn't rely on anyone because everything about her was a lie. It would be nice if she could though. She liked talking to him.

Cherry wanted to give in to the insanity of the mood being trapped in an elevator with someone she knew she shouldn't get involved with. It wasn't like he would ever see her as Delia again so why shouldn't she enjoy herself?

She had never been kissed before but if she was going to do it with anyone, it should be with someone nice. Scott was as nice as they come.

"Have you ever seen any of those romance movies where people kiss when they get stuck in elevators?" she asked offhandedly.

He tried and failed to muffle his laughter. "I can't say that I have. Why?"

"I always wondered what the logic was behind that. But I guess there really is something about being stuck in elevators because I totally want to kiss you right now."

"…you do?"

"Mmhmm."

"Why?"

"Why not? You only live once and you're the nicest guy I've ever met. Anyone else would have thought I was crazy for confessing my deep, dark doll secret," Cherry said with a shrug. "And for singing at the top of my lungs until my phone died."

Scott burst out laughing and didn't stop for more than five minutes. She pouted. Was her idea really that funny?

"I'm sorry!" he choked out. "It isn't you. It's just that my mentor has been giving me tickets to various shows over the past couple of months because he wanted me to get out and meet someone at one and I didn't think it was going to happen."