OUTBREAK: ZERO is a semi post-apocalyptic pandemic roleplay set in the fictional city of Lethford, USA. Current season: Winter, 20/21.
March 2020. The world is in pandemonium as one month ago, GHNv-20 was confirmed, five months after the beginning of norovirus season. The number of the infected are in the higher hundred thousands, and the death toll is at an estimated 250,000, with about seventy percent of the rest of the population experiencing mild to moderate illnesses connected to the S. pyogenes bacteria.
The fear of the unknown has caused mass hysteria and panic.
In an attempt to provide a semblance of safety and control, military personnel patrol the streets, even here in Lethford City, and the police force is trying to keep up with the rising street violence, assault, and theft.
Welcome to OUTBREAK: zero. Will you survive?
HAYANA
SITE OWNER + HEAD ADMINISTRATOR
Hi! I'm Haya. I'm pretty much your girl for everything! If you have any questions regarding our plot, membergroups, etc. don't hesitate to ask me. I'm also in charge of coding, graphics, anything skin related, and advertising/affiliates.
GENERAL INQUIRIES
CODING
GRAPHICS
ADVERTISING
CHARACTERS
ADDI
ADMINISTRATOR
Hey! I'm Addi. Hit me up if you need help with anything. I'm always for plotting so don't be shy. I like coffee, booze, and working out. I'm back from a long hiatus the dead so if you need anything, best ask the others until I get back into the groove of things!
GENERAL INQUIRIES
APPLICATIONS
THREAD MODERATION
MEDIATOR
CHARACTERS
FINNLEY
GLOBAL MODERATOR
Hi hello! My name is Finnley, or Finn, call whichever and I'll be there for you (yes like the FRIENDS theme song). I am in charge of the claims and helping with miscellaneous things. Let me know if you have any questions!
GENERAL INQUIRIES
CLAIMS
DIRECTORY
CHARACTERS
STAFF NAME
OPEN MODERATOR POSITION
outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
TAG: Jackson Etter | OOC: I am so sorry right back at you.
"Hell yes you have to dance with me. I'm not going to dance alone here. If you've got a boyfriend or something bring him along, I'll make him dance with me too.”
Oh imagine that now. Full on SWAT over here dancing with anyone, like really anyone, who would give him the time. Arlo was already picturing going to an outing with him and her having to hide away from him, just so she wouldn’t get dragged out to the dance floor where she would truly just stand there, awkwardly shifting until she was ready for her next drink. Because after being forced to dance, she would want another drink, shot, something. She would have to be good and drunk, or at least in a really really good mood to willingly dance around. Especially if there were other people round to see her.
“Put your money where your mouth is Espinosa, sign on the dotted line. I'll be your personal mentor of course.”
The laughter he had was contagious and caused her to burst out with her own laughter. Oh was he calling her on her bluff, because there was no way she could do what he did. So instead she just waved a hand in the air, “Etter we both know you all would be screwed if dispatch had one less competent people. But I think we can both agree you being my mentor would be a bad idea. Because nothing would ever get done with you trying to convince me to fold your laundry as part of the job.” And not to mention that she’s never shot a gun on her own but it was something she hadn’t needed to do. Nor did she have anyone she trusted to bring her. That wasn’t a trip she wanted to take alone nor with someone who was a complete idiot.
She nodded as he admitted that it sucked about her situation with her roommate. Honestly, it was a good match when everything started out. Trinity and Arlo were perfect wing women for each other. Trinity preferred only females, where Arlo just found the people who she found attractive to take home on the rare occasion she was up for something like that. She wasn’t picky. Or maybe she was greedy. But once Trinity started regularly seeing Ash, it shifted a lot. Ash fit in of course, and the three would do movie nights or eat dinner together. But there is always this part of growing up that happens.
“Hey, move in with me.”
Brown eyes shot over to look at the man beside her. As he went on his rant, and kept his gaze away from her, she studied him for a moment. But what hooked her, besides the benefit of living with someone who undoubtedly would be safe to live with, was that he needed the company. And as much as she wouldn’t admit it to her current roommate, Arlo sort of hated the idea of living alone as well. Jax would be a safe bet, she wouldn’t have to worry about him being a creep. Clearly he had background checks done before joining the force so he didn’t have skeletons deep in his closet. He just lost someone insanely close to him, so it wasn’t like he was going to try crawling his way into her pants the first night, if she agreed.
“I…” She started and stopped. Only to take a deep breath and ask, “If I say yes, are you sure you are okay with late night baking?” The last thing she wanted was for him to be asking cause he felt bad for her. Though considering they’ve officially met off the radio for the first time, he really didn’t have any reason to feel that way. He could have just offered some ideas of places that were renting. “Because if you can handle that, than I think that’d be awesome.” She gave a grin. Sure there would probably have to be house rules and such but she felt like she could deal with him on a regular.
“Had it removed last week, thanks for noticing.”
“Oh, well might I add, you look great for only a week out! Barely can tell by the way you walk.” She gave a solid approving nod, as if she was one of those soccer moms approving of another soccer mom for looking as if she hadn’t just pushed a bowling ball out of her lady bits a week before. She always felt so bad for them, and those standards put on them. ‘Here have your body ripped apart and shifted to something you’ve never had to deal with before, push this bowling ball out, and you better hurry up and bounce right back or else you let yourself go’. God, she pitied the women who got treated like that. God help if any of her friends, herself, or hell if she wound up with a woman instead of a man down the road, god help the person who breathed a word of hate towards them. She would rip them apart.
She made a fake hurt face as he told her he didn’t understand her talk of buttercream. “Oh Etter, what a pitiful life you have lived if you haven’t gotten to know the differences between buttercream and regular icing. You are in for a treat.” She said while shaking her head, as they started on their way towards work. Easily falling in step beside him as they walked. She hoped he wasn’t a fast walker, because she would have to shift gears if so. She definitely could hustle, but today? Nah, she was liking her morning so far. And considering he mentioned it was one of his first days back, she would imagine he’s not exactly in a rush to get there either.
“So Arlo where are you from? Any bad habits I need to know about before we go any further into this whole friendship thing?”
She shook her head slightly. “Grew up just outside of Lethford. Came here when Trinity got into school and I needed to get out of my father’s house.We are not close and had a lot of bad times growing up.” Without much hesitation she continued on, “As a friend? My bad habit is that I can be a bit bossy if you get indecisive. Sorry, its a bad habit that my father basically beat into me. But outside of that? I am a damn good wing woman and as mentioned before, I’ll bake you about anything if you ask nicely enough. And I am pretty good at playing poker.” Well there was a random bucket of information about her. “As a roommate, all of the previously stated, I am good about keeping things clean and being considerate of quiet time, and I rarely bring home anyone from the bar. But if I do, there will at least be a heads up of some sorts.”
Yeah she definitely didn’t want him to think she was going to be a bad roommate, but the worst part was probably her getting tipsy after a rough shift and sitting in the living room watching bad TV drama while devouring popcorn. It was her go to and Trinity plenty of times had to cover her with a blanket for passing out in their shared space instead of her own room. “What about you Etter? Any skeletons in your closet if I go digging? What is your favorite home cooked meal?” As they came up to a cross walk, she waited for the light to turn to signal it was safe to walk. Well, somewhat safe. “If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?” Now she was just being ridiculous, but she genuinely wanted to know. She enjoyed his company and wanted to know what he enjoyed. For one reason or another, she felt like this would be a good friendship between them.
Jax shrugged, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Your services are best rendered to the call lines. If I get that one guy who takes five minutes to answer one question again I'm going to have to visit him personally." He smirked, glancing over, "Think of the fun though. I mean the honor and glory are perks too of course, but on Fridays we get pizza parties." The grin stayed on his face, falling in step with her.
When he had asked her to move in though, her glancing quickly over at him he wondered if he had made a mistake. He supposed it was a little random and out of place, asking a stranger to move in with him, but he couldn't help it. Having another person there was an answer to his prayers. Everything reminded him of her. Her things were still scattered around the apartment. He hadn't been able to touch any of it. Having someone else there, tricking his mind into moving her things for a roommate was a whole hell of a lot easier than the truth. Plus the place he and Emma had wasn't cheap. He could have afforded it on his own, his salary wasn't bad, but it wouldn't have left room in his budget for much else. Asking her had been a clear path in his mind, but as he watched her debate the notion he had a brief horrifying moment that maybe he had messed something up.
Then she had said yes on the condition of late night baking and he had laughed again, "I would almost make it a requirement. Haven't slept much lately." He nodded along to her agreement of it being a good idea and he exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Good. Awesome." He was surprised at how much easier he could breathe now. The weight of moving Emma's things, of being in the apartment alone had been eating him alive. Whether she knew it or not, she had done more for him than he could have thanked her for.
He had taken a sip of his coffee after he had commented about the stick removal, not expecting her to retort so easily. Her comment made him laugh mid-sip, half-choking with a dumb grin on his face, "Dammit Espinosa, you've got to warn me before you throw a curveball like that." He glanced down at his shirt, not caring that he now had a large coffee stain on it.
She then looked downright horrified that he had no idea what she was talking about, causing the smirk to appear back on his face, "Well then consider me your student Obi-Wan. Though I have to warn you, I tried making a pecan pie one year and I caught a stove on fire so good luck with that." He sipped his coffee again. That hadn't actually been for Emma. He had wanted to bake something nice for Thanksgiving for the guys on his squad. Normally he had gotten them bottles of booze, but he had wanted to do something a little more personal that year. That had been a mistake. "If you visit the fourth floor's kitchen there's a sign on the wall that bans me from touching the stove. I am not kidding. It's been two years."
He kept his face forward, moving along with her as they walked. When she mentioned her father and growing up with hard times it took all of his will power not to look over at her. Instead he remained quiet, listening without interrupting her. Giving her the same courtesy that she had mercifully given to him. She continued speaking and he felt himself get hot though at the notion of her father hurting her. Sure she was an adult now and clearly she had done well for herself but it still took a lot of willpower to not track the guy down.
He nodded at the mention of her giving him warning with things and he finally glanced over to her, "Well, we will definitely have to invite some people over for poker night because I'm having a hard time believing that you could bluff your way out of something. And when it comes to decisions, I'm easy to please. Not much bothers me." He shrugged before pausing, his eyebrows scrunching, "Wait no, actually I do have a rule. No country music." His face broke out into a grin, "I mean it Arlo. I will revolt." He gave a chuckle before she moved onto asking about him and all of the skeletons in his closet.
"Not much to tell really. I was born in Chicago. My mom passed away from cancer, don't know where in the hell my dad is and don't really care. I met...." He had began to tell her about Emma but his throat tightened. Not yet. He wasn't there yet. He cleared his throat, moving on. "I like anything that's covered in cheese. The more cheese the better. I don't mind the house being messy. I like going out on the weekends. Not much else to say." He shrugged again. When she began asking about travel he rubbed his chin in thought, "Hmm. Australia, I think. I've always wanted to try surfing. What about you? Where would you go?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Your services are best rendered to the call lines. If I get that one guy who takes five minutes to answer one question again I'm going to have to visit him personally. Think of the fun though. I mean the honor and glory are perks too of course, but on Fridays we get pizza parties."
She laughed, her head actually being thrown back as she let out the laughter to the sky above them. "Oh Jeffery... he is like that in person too." She said with a laugh. That man, she didn't have words for. She used him as the bottom mark, if he hasn't gotten fired yet, she was safe. Because there was plenty of reasons for him to be fired before her. So he was her benchmark. Once she settled her laughter down, she gave a thoughtful ponder on the rest of what he said, "Pizza parties. Well that is very tempting... but I am sure that before many Friday's, you'd be rolling me around the office." She joked. But then turned to him, "Better yet, I would become the new and improved battering ram for the department. So I think for safety reasons, I'll stick to the computers."
Besides, she now knew someone who she'd be potentially saving their ass on the line. Part of that thought had her falter for a moment. God, this was the reason that she didn't make the time to go over and meet the voices. It was easier to keep emotions out of it if she didn't know them. If she didn't have to picture their face in panic when they paged into her on those tough calls. Her heart sank a bit and she sent up a silent prayer that she would never have to known that fear for him. Because she had a feeling, their friendship would make her either a) perform better for him than anyone else, or b) she would choke up. She hoped it was the later.
"I would almost make it a requirement. Haven't slept much lately."
She held her face passive but commented on that. "Well, we will work on that then." She figured that the wound was still too fresh and probably left him wide awake because he saw her when he closed her eyes, she figured that would be something that would happen. Hopefully she could offer a good distraction with her new habits and different personality to learn. Maybe just enough of something to help him, if he wanted it. She certainly wasn't going to force anything of any kind on him. He would heal when he wanted to, she was just there to maybe aide him now.
Her lips curved up as she brought her coffee to her mouth as he cursed her name for her joke. "You've got to warn me before you throw a curveball like that." She took another drink of her coffee and gave a quick glance down his shirt. "I've got a tide to go pen in my purse." She offered. Even though her purse was small, she kept several small things in there. Her phone, tide to go pen, chapstick, and a thin wallet that had her ID, 1 card, and a bit of cash in it. It was about all she needed to keep near her. She had a water tumbler she kept at work as well as a mug that was specifically hers for the extra coffees she had during her long shifts. And a jacket she kept in her locker for the days that the air conditioning was working in overtime for no reason.
"Well then consider me your student Obi-Wan. Though I have to warn you, I tried making a pecan pie one year and I caught a stove on fire so good luck with that. If you visit the fourth floor's kitchen there's a sign on the wall that bans me from touching the stove. I am not kidding. It's been two years."
She shook her heard. "You caught the stove on fire... making a pie.... oh young Padawan, you have much to learn." She wasn't a Star Wars super fan or anything, but she has seen the movies at least once. Well the original ones, not the newer aged ones that didn't have Han Solo or Darth Vader in them. They were interesting, and she had to say that Harrison Ford looked mighty good back in the day. Something about him just did it for her. And suddenly it hit her what he said last. "Wait you caught the stove on fire at work?!" She said, brown eyes wide and an amused smile on her face, that clearly said 'please explain this to me'.
Arlo dared a look at him when she finished, and she felt like his face was too passive for a moment. The whole father thing didn't sit well with others. It could have been a lot worse with him. He thankfully didn't leave her broken at the bottom of the stairs or anything. Just definitely wasn't even in the top million for father of the year in the states. But she was glad that he didn't bring it up. Maybe when they got to know each other a bit more, she would tell him. Or maybe that would just be one of those things that went without having to say. Only time would tell on that. She she was glad when she got to 'pft' at him when he doubted her bluffing skills. "Etter, you better watch it. I'll make you eat those words, I am a fantastic bluffer. You better keep me on your side." She said with a wicked grin.
"Wait no, actually I do have a rule. No country music. I mean it Arlo. I will revolt."
She faked a hurt face, her free hand falling into place over her heart as she gasped. "But good sir, however shall I live without that?!" She didn't mind country music, it just wasn't her go to. But if she heard it, she could enjoy it enough. She dropped the hand quickly, while bringing up the other one with the coffee to sip again. "Guess that means the dancing you do is not line dancing." Arlo said with a shrug. Which was actually a relief, that looked way harder than her just swaying her body to the music with any other genre of music.
As he went on answering the questions that she asked, she nodded along, taking note of them. There were reasons she asked those questions because sometimes they showed something that would be important in the future. "Chicago, cheesy foods, partier on the weeks, and Australia." She didn't feel like mentioning they shared having deceased moms would be something worth noting. Or the fact that she was pretty sure he was going to talk about his fiancé. So she kept the conversation light. "So first meal together will have to be something cheesy. I'll cook, that way I don't have to worry about our kitchen the first night together." she joked.
" What about you? Where would you go?"
They were getting closer to work, and her coffee was getting smaller and smaller. He was good company, whether he believed it or not. She thought about his question for a moment, not entirely sure because she never really had big dreams of going anywhere, they never seemed like something she would actually get to go do. But she had an image run across her mind as she wondered. "Greece," She said, her voice sure and the faintest of smiles reaching her lips, "I heard the sunsets are amazing."
"Jeffrey. Now I know whose butt I need to kick if he messes a call up again." He wondered how she had gotten along with a guy like him in her work environment. She didn't seem like the type that would let careless mistakes come and go without saying anything about them. He imagined she took a lot of pride in her work and there certainly wasn't anything wrong with that.
He chuckled when she brought up her many safety concerns about going SWAT. As if he would let any harm come to her. If she was a man he wouldn't have cared. He knew it sounded sexist, but he had no problems letting the guys on his team take hits and shots. It made them better in the long run, stronger. A female? No. No way in hell could he sit back and let them take a blow to the face. Call it whatever you wanted, but he couldn't stomach the idea of a girl, any girl, physically attacked.
"Alright, alright. Computers for now." He shifted the coffees and pulled out his phone, handing it to her after unlocking it. "Here. Put your number in there. I can text you after work today if you want to come to check the place out before you agree any further." He didn't think she'd have any problems with it, but he wasn't about to make assumptions either. She might hate a whole number of things about his place that he didn't even notice. Better safe than sorry. "Though that will mean I get to text you funny memes from now on. Part of the friendship contract you're agreeing to." He grinned looking over at her a second.
The street wasn't too crowded the closer and closer they got to the precinct. He figured people would be staying away from there as much as they could. There were some cops who hadn't adjusted well to the new rules and regulations. He couldn't blame people for wanting to keep their distance sometimes.
When Arlo mentioned they'd work on his lack of sleeping his eyes cast downward. He didn't like the idea of her feeling like she needed to fix him. His issues weren't on her, she had enough to worry about. Instead, he did what he always did, and made a joke, "Oh yeah? You know of some good shows I can binge watch?"
After he spilt coffee on himself she had offered him up a tide pen. "Nah, it's fine. Were you a girl scout or something?" He looked over at her with curiosity. He certainly hadn't been a boy scout. His mom had tried once to get him to join, but then he had gone off on his own in the woods and gotten lost for two days before they had found him. He had been twelve and that was the last time she tried putting him in 'something normal'
Remembering the stove on fire caused a grin to appear on his face at the memory. He nodded, "Yep. Sure did. I was trying to do that thing where you burn the top of sugar with a flame you know, but we didn't have one of those torch things so I had to improvise." He shrugged. At the time it had seemed like a totally rational thing to do. He was sure she knew what he was talking about. Apparently a lot of people were familiar with the process, like it was some sort of common knowledge to not use a burner to torch things.
When she bragged about her bluffing skills he raised his eyebrows, "Okay, okay. We'll pick a night. See how good you are." He smiled. He liked the idea. The notion of looking forward to something good. The smile turned into a light laugh when she said she'd cook for obvious reasons. "Alright. You cook and I'll get the booze. What do you like drinking?"
Her face got wistful and he wondered if there was something more to her sunset idea. He didn't want to pry of course, but he was curious. They didn't know each other yet, but he oddly looked forward to getting to that point. It was comforting to think that the days of him being close to someone were entirely over. It had shifted perhaps, but they weren't over and he could live with that.
“Jeffrey. Now I know whose butt I need to kick if he messes a call up again.”
Jeffrey probably meant well, and Arlo thought that perhaps in another job he would thrive. But dispatch is not where ‘meant well’ goes over well when you are the person who could mean life or death by reacting too slowly to something by even 10 seconds. But she was surely Jax understood that in his own way as well. If he or anyone on SWAT responded too slowly that could be their own lives or others on the line. They needed to make a decision quickly and with purpose. She looked over at the man next to her and pictured him dressed in his SWAT gear. Wondering if the man who clocked in at work was different than the one who was walking down the street with her, carrying coffee’s that he just paid half for.
As he agreed to computers for her, she gave him a solid nod. There was a reason why she did what she did, and he did what he did. As he held out his phone for her, she gave him a small smile and started to punch in her information to the phone. “I have a twelve hour shift ahead of me, so whenever you are ready to have a visitor let me know. Break is around three if that helps.” It was still his place, and she wasn’t going to push any certain time on him unless he became too indecisive. Then she would push it. To be fair, she did warn him about that trait of hers. Some called it impatience, but she just would brush that off.
She saved her contact as ‘Arlo the Great’ in his phone, with a little pink octopus emoji next to it. “Don’t disappoint me and change that back to just bland ‘Arlo Espinosa’. At least top it.” She said as she handed the phone back to him, leaving it unlocked so he could see what she saved herself as in his phone. “And I’d be more concerned if I didn’t get memes from you,” Arlo gave him a light laugh as she reached out a hand and offered to take the coffee tray back from him.
“Oh yeah? You know of some good shows I can binge watch?"
With a light shrug, she walked on. “Binge worthy yes, but I’ve got two words for you Jax: Chamomile tea.” She said confidently. “It helps take the edge off and you have some right before bed and pop on an old sitcom? You’ll be sleeping like a baby.” She said with a smile. Trinity had a hard time sleeping, and after Arlo walking out multiple times to find her wide awake just staring at the TV, she started to try different things to help her roommate sleep. Why not share that bit of useful information with someone who could probably use the help, from the way that he seemed to think a bit too hard before he cracked his joke. She felt like she needed to say something, and whether it made him uncomfortable or broke just enough ice for them, she wasn’t sure.
“Jackson, I am not going to try and fix anything, or change anything you don’t want changed. But just know, I don’t like people close to me suffering or hiding behind false ‘everything is fine’ BS.” There was the blunt girl that he father wanted. “So you don’t need to sugar coat things for me. I am able to handle silences and just know, its okay to not be okay sometimes. We are human. I have my days.” A simple shrug of her shoulders dismissed the rest of that, without her feeling the need to warn him about her bad days. Hopefully he will be on duty when she has them. But she wanted to be upfront with him about this friendship thing. She didn’t want people she held in that category to feel like they needed to force out false emotions for her sake.
She scoffed at his girl scout comment. “No, though I would have dominated at being one. Except for the outdoors stuff. I am about clueless when it comes to survival outdoors. I survive best with technology.” As she spoke she laughed a bit. “So I guess actually that would make me an awful girl scout. I just like to be prepared for small things.” Like spills that she didn’t want down the front of her shirt or over her denim jeans.
“Yep. Sure did. I was trying to do that thing where you burn the top of sugar with a flame you know, but we didn't have one of those torch things so I had to improvise.”
At that, a full bellied laugh tore out of her. Somehow she pictured him trying to hold the pie upside down to try and get the flame to torch the top of the pie. Him innocently standing there thinking “wow look at me, I’m a real life MacGyver.” Meanwhile the pie would just slowly come crashing out of the tin and all over the oven. Like a damn child, she thought to herself. She meant it in the best of ways while thinking about him. “Well I think your rate of success for surviving might have just gone up with me coming along,” She thought out loud to him. A small smile still dancing on her lips.
With the promise of poker nights ahead and him asking about her booze of choice, she thought about how this was going to be a nice thing. He was easy to get along with, and she felt like she was talking to an old friend as they walked along. There was an easiness to this friendship. And it made her truly happy. “I’m a hard cider kind of gal,” She had gotten a lot of crap from guy friends about that but like come on, it was delicious. And it was like having a beer, its a casual drink that was nice to get drunk off of.
Jax walked along, sipping his coffee. It was kind of strange the way life seemed to work out. One minute he was facing one of the worst days that would come, since Emma's passing of course. Then the next he was joking and laughing with a girl who oddly enough seemed to just get him. He didn't believe in karma or angels or anything like that, but whatever force that had arranged for them to meet he was grateful for.
Jax nodded when she mentioned her hours. "Yeah, we're 24 on, 24 off right now. I can take my lunch at three to take you over there though if that works for you?" He could wait until three to eat, that wasn't a big deal for him. He had gone plenty longer than that before. "In fact, if you want to get some pizza first there's a great place about a block from the apartment."
When she handed his phone back over he found himself laughing again. "Are you trying to say you're a wizard or a badass sea octopus thing? No wait, I've got it...Ursula. The magical seawitch from that movie right? Am I going to have to hide the forks from you?" He grinned, slipping the phone back in his pocket. Yeah, there was something about her he liked. When she said she'd be more concerned if she didn't receive memes he looked over, "Right? People are so serious right now. I mean I get it...it sucks but being angsty and jaded isn't going to help much. Plus...who can pass up a good Tiger King meme?"
That had been the last one he and Emma had watched. They had binged it in an entire weekend. He could still remember the faces she had made, the laughs that had erupted from her lips. He couldn't help the passing thought that came through his mind, what would Emma think of her? She probably would have loved her. It was hard finding someone she didn't like, she had been a good person. Much better than the world deserved.
When she mentioned tea he scrunched his face, "Oh no..come on. Tea? Do you know how badly the guys on the force would make fun of me if they heard I drank chamomile tea?" The idea of a warm tea didn't sound too great to him. He wasn't a fan of tea in general really. He tended to be the sports drink/much too sugary soft drink guy. That and coffee of course. He kept holding the trays, it wasn't a chore, wasn't like he had anything else to do.
He wasn't sure what to say when she got very deep about not liking people suffering. He supposed that was one the reasons why she was so good at her job. You had to care. He didn't like the idea of her thinking he was suffering, he didn't like the idea of anyone thinking he was suffering. Was he? Absolutely. Did he want to know that people knew? Not a chance in hell. He instead just sipped his warm drink and nodded a singular time.
When she mentioned she wasn't an outdoor kind of person his eyes widened, "Oh man, I'm taking you camping. That's happening." She mentioned preparing for small things and he shook his head, "No way man. I'll have you catching fish, building a fire. You're gonna love it." He had made that same promise to Emma one year ago. Turns out, she had not in fact loved it. "Sleep under the stars, fend off bears, it's great." He grinned looking over at her to gauge her reaction.
She mentioned his odds of survival going up and he snickered, "Yeah, if this all turns into the zombie apocalypse and we're gonna kick some ass." He had made the joke, but a very small part of him wondered exactly how close this thing would get to becoming something like that. It wouldn't take much. A little bit of panic, a little bit over military over-reach...it'd set off a powder keg of destruction.
As the conversation turned to booze he nodded appreciatively, "Nice. I like a good hard cider. Have you tried a lambic before? They're so good, they have a lot of fruit notes." He wasn't picky when it came to alcohol. He'd try anything once.
Tag: Jackson Etter | OOC: Whoops, got a little carried away.
“Yeah, we're 24 on, 24 off right now. I can take my lunch at three to take you over there though if that works for you?”
Arlo was downing the last bit of her coffee when she almost choked on it from his statement. Twenty four hour shifts. She felt bad for mentioning the twelve hours now, cause she’d be able to go home and try to get some sleep while he was possibly still doing patrol or other duties. She coughed a little into her elbow as she tried to clear her airway. “Remind me to not complain to you about hours,” She muttered as she shook her head of wild curls. She had pulled twenty four hour shift off a handful of times in the past, but she then slept for two days afterwards trying to recoup from them. She had a special pair of glasses for staring at the screens but they could only do so much.
“In fact, if you want to get some pizza first there's a great place about a block from the apartment.”
She gave him a small nod, “Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks.” Hell, pizza sounded way better than the food truck that made rounds at the department with the pre-made sandwiches and bags of chips. Brown eyes turned to look over at blue ones, “I’ll meet you in the department if you’d like? That way I can stop in and let Trinity know what’s going on.” It’d probably be easier for her to step away as she would just log off her call spot and go over than him to pause and find his way over to dispatch. Trinity was already at work and was supposed to be getting off around five and Arlo wanted to let her know in person that she might have a place to move into. Yeah that’d be a ‘we will talk more later’ conversation, but it wasn’t like that roommate of hers was going to convince her to stay. Best friends or not.
A smirk crossed her lips as he went on his little assuming game of the little mermaid. Oh he was the friend that was going to keep her on her toes. He was going to make her laugh to the point her sides hurt and she had to beg him stop. And she had a feeling he was also going to be the one who had her back, no matter what. Which was something that she hadn’t had in a while outside of Trinity. Trinity forced her way into the spot, Jax was slowly sliding his way in beside her, already. “If I am Ursula, you wouldn’t need to hide forks. What you need to do is make sure that you don’t go around singing, might just steal your voice.” Her smirk remaining as she walked. “Or don’t, find out the hard way.” She said with a teasing wink, a chuckle leaving her as she stepped over a curb back into the sidewalk.
At the mention of Tiger King she let out a long groan. “Trinity has been trying to get me to watch it,” she said, “I haven’t given in just yet.” She’s seen the meme’s of course, and all she can guess is some lady named Carol Baskin killed her husband, Joe Exotic gave meth and tigers to get married to two guys, and that 18 percent of people who lived in Oklahoma were idiots to think that guy could be a governor. She had a feeling that Jax was about to give her a ton of crap for not having watched it yet. But to be fair, she had better things to do for now. She hasn’t reached that point during the lockdown.
When she spoke about something way deeper than anything else they had, she watched him for a moment. Though he didn’t respond, she kept quiet. A single nod came from him, which prompted one of her own. A way to say ‘thanks for accepting it’. She was sure that she made things briefly awkward, but she wasn’t going to try and take it back, nor was she going to try and continue talking about it till he said something. That wasn’t like her, so she accepted his acceptance and moved forward, as did he. And he offered her a trip but not like the ones she would normally accept.
“Oh man, I'm taking you camping. That's happening. No way man. I'll have you catching fish, building a fire. You're gonna love it. Sleep under the stars, fend off bears, it's great.”
An exclamation of “What?!” left her mouth as soon as he said ‘that’s happening’. Her eyes wide over freckled cheeks at the thought of camping. She hadn’t done anything like that, ever. She was a young kid that tried the whole camping in the backyard thing, she lasted about thirty minutes until the neighbors dog started barking like crazy. Which made her think that there was a murder sneaking around and going to kill her, so she proceeded to scream her way back inside and never attempt it again. She stared at him with wide eyes, “Bears.” was all the came out of her mouth. “Jax, I am tiny, a bear would have me as a snack before moving onto the actual meal, you!” she said, her breath leaving her in a rush.
At the mention of the apocalypse she laughed, “You will do the hands on work, I’ll make sure we eat. It’ll work perfectly. And who knows, I could do long range shots if I train hard enough.” She’d have to learn that but it’d be something to help them out. “I have to say though, out of this apocalypse you are kind of getting the crap end of the stick.” She’d have to hope she was a fast learner if that happened so she could actually help him out.
“Nice. I like a good hard cider. Have you tried a lambic before? They're so good, they have a lot of fruit notes.”
She shook her head, “I haven’t tried them yet, but I’ve heard about them. I’m glad you can appreciate the wonderfulness of a hard cider. We will have to make sure we keep well stocked.” Because she liked having a drink or two after her shifts most the time. Not to get drunk or forget about things, most the time, but just enough to take the edge off. And he’d probably get to learn that about her if this whole roommate thing worked out. Which she was starting to feel more and more like it would.
Jax shook his head as she mentioned his rough hours. "Nah. It's not bad at all. We sleep in shifts at the precinct, and between the random need to use us it's just training and paperwork." He shrugged. It sounded a lot worse than what it actually was. He had heard the firefighter guys did shift similar to theirs, though he had never cared to ask. Normally he'd be in twelve to fourteen-hour shifts, but when the virus got on the scene they took the crew to 24. He didn't care, it hadn't made a difference to him.
He was glad she agreed to the pizza. He loved the place, but the seating was always kind of weird. The last two times he had gone their alone he had ended up literally alone in a corner and that had done nothing to help his anxiety. At least if he had another person with him they could pass the time by talking instead of being shunned like a weirdo. When she brought up Trinity he nodded again, "Yeah of course. I'd like to meet her. Formally introduce myself and whatnot so she doesn't think you're shacking up with a stranger." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively in jest. He didn't think Trinity would have a problem with him. He didn't think she'd actually met him before at all.
Jax nodded, his face grinning, "Ah right, the forks thing was the mermaid. Can't say I'm a Disney expert but hey, I can quote pulp fiction word for word which is much cooler obviously." When she threatened to take his voice he held his hands up in mock surrender, "Fine but you're gonna sound weird as hell if you start talking with my voice." He smirked, turning his head up to make the lock of hair that was threatening to fall into his face move. He hadn't bothered with his hair this morning, hadn't cared. Now he was wondering just how disheveled it looked.
When Arlo groaned and said she hadn't seen Tiger King yet Jax's face lit up. "What??!" He grinned and looked up at the sky, "Oh thank you for this opportunity." He listened as she said she hadn't given in yet. "Oh man, this is going to be great. I decree it as the very first thing we must watch together. You're going to love it." The words came out and he paused a moment before grinning again, "Well actually you'll probably hate it but you have to watch. It's a national treasure." He was ridiculously excited to her reaction to the wild and insane documentary.
That happy giddiness only continued when he watched the absolute shock and horror that was her expression when he brought up camping. Jax was a little surprised to note that the corners of his mouth were sore from grinning so much. He wouldn't actually persist in trying to goad her into camping but this was too much fun to just drop. "I'm just kidding. Bears aren't anything to worry about. Now snakes...they're the real thing you need to be on the lookout for. Well, those and spiders of course." He prepared himself for the hit to his side he was sure she was probably going to give him.
He listened to her reasoning for the apocalypse and had to agree she made some pretty good points. He always imagined he'd have to raid some grocery store or something to survive but travelling with a personal chef sounded like a much better option. When she mentioned learning long shots he looked over, "No worries there. I could teach you anything you needed to know and I wouldn't say that...you haven't seen how much I can eat." That part was all true. Jax loved to train and training made you burn some serious calories. He was constantly either eating food or thinking about food.
When she mentioned keeping their place stocked he liked the sound of it. Not just the booze and baked goods of course, but the reality that he had found someone pretty kickass to share his place with. A girl who actually seemed to understand him and who didn't pry and cry. He was grateful. "Alcohol and baked goods...our place is going to be the hottest spot in town."
Sleeping in shifts still sounded miserable. She knew what it was like to call the fire station and have them responding to her when they just got back from a call and had probably just settled into their cots. So she gave him a small frown as she thought about it, “Just don’t you complain to me when I have to wake you up for a call cause everyone else is busy.” It was a tease of kinds, being on SWAT meant he probably wasn’t going to get pulled too much, unless a lot of people called out or something huge happened.
Lunch sounded so far away now that they had made plans, and she reminded herself that she had a few snacks tucked away in her desk. Something she was sure she would munch on in between calls that came in. Arlo let out a bark of a laugh at his eyebrow wiggle, her head tossing back and her eyes close. She gave him a good eye roll as her head came back to watch where they were walking. “She’s not my keeper you know? I am an independent woman,” She said, puffing her chest out a little as if that would make her seem bigger than she was. “Besides, knowing Trinity, she’ll probably slap me on the ass and congratulate me,” she joked, laughing lightly at the thought.
At the mention of pulp fiction she got all wide eyed at him, “Say ‘what’ again. Say ‘what’ again, I dare ya. I double dare you,” she quoted at him, leaving off the curse that was accompanied by that quote for the sake of anyone else that would possibly appear and hear them. She flashed him a smile as she started up another one though, her eyes crinkling lightly at the corners, “If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.” They were going to have a blast at home. Home, such a weird thing to not picture Trinity there. But she was strangely looking forward to this, with this guy who just seemed to fit into the missing little piece of her life at the moment.
She shushed him as he seemed to yell at the sky, thanking whatever he was thanking that would be looking down on them. “Oh my lord Jax, its just bad TV!” She laughed, poking him in the side. He was overly excited at the thought of this show and if she had the memes to judge it by, she had a feeling “what the hell” was going to leave her mouth a lot. “Calm down Nicolas Cage, national treasure? I hardly doubt that,” He reminded her of a kid who just got told that they were going to Disneyland for the first time. It was ridiculously cute and made her want to squish his cheeks in a way.
“I'm just kidding. Bears aren't anything to worry about. Now snakes...they're the real thing you need to be on the lookout for. Well, those and spiders of course.”
And cue Arlo hitting the breaks. If they were in a car, a loud screeching noise would have flooded the streets. “Woah woah woah there pal, lets go ahead and get something straight right now. This woman here does NOT, I repeat, NOT do spiders. Under any circumstances. So thats going to be a hard pass Sir Jax.” Yeah, she could handle bugs, snakes, lizards, anything of those sorts. But eight legs and too many eyes, hiding in corners and waiting to pounce on her? Yeah no thank you, pass.
She did smile, genuinely, at the idea of their place. Stocked full of food, hard cider, and laughter. It was going to be a nice change up from her childhood home. And even felt like somehow it would take up root as a warm place, even more so then the place she called her current home. They were within sight of the station now, her coffee officially empty with her last sip. “Thanks Jax, I… I really needed this. After everything with this pandemic and work, it’s been a bit depressing lately. So thank you.” Not to get all mushy or anything, but she meant it.
“Just don’t you complain to me when I have to wake you up for a call cause everyone else is busy.”
Jax smirked, "There's a bigger chance for you to be complaining about me. You know with all my free time I'm going to be hanging out in dispatch now." He doubted that he'd actually have a lot of free time of course. While he might not be doing a lot of the work that was fit into his 'job description' that didn't mean the department was going to let him lounge about all day. He dreaded the idea of what job they might stick him with. The idea of doing patrols didn't bother him. He had done them when he first joined the department and he had enjoyed it. There was always something new to do. Some new people to meet, something going on. No, he didn't mind doing patrols. Sitting behind a desk though? No thank you. The idea of having to update files or clean something was enough to make him want to run away. At least now if he was assigned something meaningless he could come talk to her.
He watched her throw her head back in a laugh and he grinned in turn. When she mentioned Trinity wasn't her keeper, Jax held his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright. point taken Beyonce." He was curious about Trinity now. She obviously had to be pretty cool to be around Arlo of course so he wasn't worried about that. He mentally ran through a list of people at the station who he could tell about Arlo. There weren't too many he'd actually want to share that information with. He wasn't a recluse or private, but he didn't have that best friend out there like she did. That fact hadn't bothered him before, to have a friend outside of Emma. She had been all he had needed, and that had served him well...until it wasn't an option anymore.
His little grin turned into a big one when she actually quoted Pulp Fiction to him. Not just with one quote, but two. He was having a hard time not cracking up when she was near. He liked to think he could make people laugh, but he had nothing on her. She was a certain special kind of person. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go home and have a heart attack." Emma had one time jokingly said she was going to get him a wallet for his birthday with 'bad mother-' on it. It was definitely one up there on his favorites list of movies to watch and re-watch.
He shook his head when she downplayed Tiger King. "Nope. I'm sticking with my stance. One day kids will open up history books and there's going to be a paragraph of doom and gloom but then...rising up out of the ashes will be a gay, redneck tiger owner that saved us all." He did a fist pump in the air. "Just you wait and see. It's an institution I'm telling you." While the show wasn't Oscar worthy by any means, it was pure ridiculousness. It had just the right amount of psychotic to make you feel really good about your choices in life. In his humble opinion, it was the perfect thing to watch when life felt a little too hard.
He had prepared himself for her to hit him when he brought up the many creepy crawly things that one could find camping. While she hadn't hit him, she made it very clear that she was going to have none of it. "Fine I solemnly swear to kill all the spiders. But sir? Sir Jax? Does that make me a knight? Do I get to whack people with a sword?" He let his mind wander at the prospect of whacking people with a sword. He wasn't ashamed to admit he could already come up with a few names of people who'd be near the top.
Her words pulled him out of his little daydream though as she spoke softer, thanking him. He shrugged, one side of his lips pulling in a soft smile, "Nah, I didn't do anything. You're the one saving me here, I promise." He met her eyes, hoping she understood that he meant it. He didn't know what he'd be doing right now if it hadn't been for her. He surely wouldn't have been laughing that was certain. He pulled his gaze from her and walked up the stairs of the precinct, holding the door open for her, "Ladies first."
“There’s a bigger chance for you to be complaining about me. You know with all my free time I'm going to be hanging out in dispatch now.”
Arlo gave him a shake of her head, a small pull at the side of her mouth had a lopsided grin on her face. She didn’t have visitors. Trinity didn’t even really come over much, she was normally loaded with way too much work anyway. She had to admit that she liked the idea of his facing popping up over her computers to give her a much needed break from the screens in front of her. She knew it would probably not be very frequent but the idea was nice. “I’m sure the other ladies will be happy to have fresh meat to look at over there,” She teased. She was the youngest in dispatch, but those ladies killed her when it came to their personal chatter on men.
So she could only imagine the talk that would spew from them the moment he actually leaves. She almost groaned at the thought. Instead she tossed an obnoxious grin over her shoulder at him when he called her Beyonce. She was tempted to stick a tongue out at him, but then she reminded herself that she was not ten years old anymore. No, that girl was left long ago and did not need to make some appearance now, no matter how much she felt like a child at heart with Jax.
“Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go home and have a heart attack.”
Ah, so they were going to have a good time with movies and shows. Well that was a fleeting thought until he went into his whole talk about the Tiger King. So she gave him a small shove on the shoulder, one that probably really wouldn’t budge him much but was playful in nature. “The day our children are looking up to Joe Exotic as their inspiration is the day that I need the aliens to come and pull me home.” She said with her lips trying to hold back the smile. They were starting to hurt her cheeks, but damn it felt good. Jax was someone that was easy to be around. Was just easy to let go of your worries and just enjoy a damn good conversation with a good looking man.
Brown eyes rolled at his inquiries about being a knight and then she full on burst out laughing as he made mention of whacking people with swords. Her mind immediately went into the gutter which caused her to laugh, “Jax don’t go around just whacking anyone with that sword. You better be safe there or else you would be no good knight at all!” She was sure that he wasn’t there but she had to laugh. Sometimes talking to men over the radio was not all prim and proper. She had times of laughter with inappropriate comments that she would normally warn them of ‘I’ll give this recording to HR, just you be careful’. But they weren’t at work right know, and she had a feeling he might just call her nasty and keep going.
A mutual thank you. A ‘you are saving my rear’. She gave him a wide genuine grin that went to her eyes, she understood him. Though as she met his look, finally realizing his eyes were marbled in the most stunning of ways, she had a feeling he might have needed her more so than she needed him. But it didn’t take away any part of this blossoming friendship. He made his way up the front steps and she paused a moment before she followed him, giving him a small ‘thank you’ as he held the door open for her. She looked around the station, busy as normal with everyone moving about. She made sure to come in far enough that he would easily be able to follow behind her.
“So, I’ll text you when I am able to break from the calls and see if you are ready. Meet back here?” She motioned to the front of the station. This time she reached out to take hold of the other coffee orders that he had graciously carried for her to this point. She assumed he would hand it to her, unless he truly planned on walking her all the way to her desk.
At the idea of women looking at him like he was meat, he laughed. He hadn't noticed that, ever. Not even before Emma. Sure he would flirt when he wanted to, but he never noticed it if it came from the opposite sex back at him. Emma had told him time and time again before, 'she's flirting with you' but had never believed her. He didn't think he was a bad looking guy, but he liked to make people laugh. He liked to ease tension. He didn't think much of it if girls were 'extra' smiley when he was around or touched a shoulder here or there. He might be a little naive in that department, but it had worked in his favor in the past. Not that he would have ever acted upon any flirting with a girl while he was with Emma. He was loyal, loyal to the absolute end.
Arlo playfully shoved him and he smirked. When she made the comment about aliens he laughed, "Hey, there are worst role models. There's a whole family of Kardashians out there. This dude is all about being your most natural and honest self. I mean, sure there's attempted murder but who among us hasn't had that thought before?" He gave her a 'tell me I'm wrong' look. It was rare for him to be in that kind of angry mood, but it had happened before. Weapons not properly cleaned and stored away, his boss demanding more thorough paperwork. Sure, there had been that fleeting moment of 'I'm going to kill you' flash through his mind.
When Arlo took his comment and made it, well a sword comment he found himself unsuccessfully hiding back laughter. "Ma'am yes ma'am." was all he could utter. As his ribs began hurting from the laughter he felt an overwhelming sad feeling of Emma never getting the chance to meet her. He allowed himself to imagine for a moment the three of them together, he could all but hear Emma say something along the lines of 'oh god, there's two of them'. He could imagine the movie nights, the awkward double dating, the game nights. All of the ways that could have made life during this terrible time somehow less stressful. But then again, he had been with the force for years and had never met Arlo. Maybe things did happen for a reason sometimes.
He walked through the doors of the precinct with her and nodded when she said they'd meet here. "Yeah, sounds good." He handed the coffee cups back over to her, giving her a small grin, "Have a good one, and go give Jeffrey a kick in the rear from me." He gave her a wink and the tips of his fingers touched his forehead as he gave her a loose salute. Jax sipped his coffee, walking through the hallway towards the elevators. Today, it seemed, was going better than he could have hoped.
