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.
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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!
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APPLICATIONS
THREAD MODERATION
MEDIATOR
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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
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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.
Arlo had been half asleep when she had spoke to him, her brows slightly furrowed as she listened to him. He got a call? It felt too early for that, but the happiness in his tone made her believe it. Maybe her internal clock had gotten used to sleeping in a bit. Her eyes brightened with every word as she suddenly felt like she had taken several shots of espresso and it was sinking into her blood stream. There was no trace of the virus, it was a mistake made in the testing center. He was okay! Truly okay and was here now to prove that.
As he snuggled closer, she moved into him. A bright smile taking over as she laughed. His hand brushing the curls out of her face only brightened her smile somehow, her cheeks almost hurting from how wide her smile was. The only thing that gave her pause was the moment his eyes left hers to glance down at her lips. It was enough to make her breath catch for a moment, thinking that finally he was going to kiss her again. Only he seemed to settle back, laying on the bed as if he was in no rush to do anything of the sort.
That made only one of them. When he thanked her, she shook her head at him. She'd do it again for him, and she could only be thankful that he had actually listened to her eventually. While he had wanted to wait, she felt like she had waited long enough. Without any warning, without any further explanation or heads up, she launched forward in the bed. Dragging her blanket with her and knocking a pillow to the floor as she took his face between her hands and planted a brief, yet passionate kiss to his lips. Only lingering long enough to make sure he knew she meant it.
With a quick release, she flashed another smile and then rolled over and off of him, planting her feet on the ground before she turned towards him in her bed. "We are doing whatever we want." She stated confidently, raising a brow towards him as she tugged on her sleep shirt to make sure it was in its place before she placed her hands on her hips. "I first suggest coffee at our spot after we get dressed. I don't think PJ's are going to cut it for today." She shrugged lightly, as if she wouldn't know the correct answer to it anyway.
The door to her room had never shut during their quarantined time together. Two weeks and she had always left her door cracked in the very least, wanting to hear him when he woke up. Ready to jump up and get the day going for them. Breakfast, coffee, the works. Get ready for them to find some movie or show to watch together and she had even moved the TV a bit closer to his room so it wasn’t super far away for him to see. She might have tortured him a few times with her selection of movies, but she just laughed as he commentated the whole thing away.
And on top of watching all kinds of show, boy did they eat. She had a huge delivery of groceries delivered to them by the second day and she had not wasted any of them. Recipes that she had long ago saved but never had the time to try? They were tried. They were made, consumed, and rated on a scale of one star to five star. Jax and her went through it all, and she swore she gained ten pounds alone just because of her cooking. Though obviously she had not. All she knew was that she was extremely grateful that he had agreed to stay. That they could do this together.
Even if it tested her. Arlo had thought about just passing the invisible barrier that he had made her promise to stay away from. Just about slipping into his bed and curling up at his side. She could promise to not touch him, though she was sure that her unconscious mind might have moved against him during her sleep. The point was, that she’d try. She just missed him. Missed the way they could even just sit side by side on the couch and watch a movie together. Her falling asleep against his shoulder or his head winding up in her lap as they watched a movie and she played with his hair. She’d never take those things for granted again once they got past this.
Arlo was in bed and had the door just slightly open, as always. Her mind still lost in dreamland when Jax entered her room. Nothing went off in her body that told her to look alive, that she was suddenly not alone anymore. That there was a weight in the bed next to her as it sank down under the weight of her blonde roommate. A small twitch happened as her brows tugged together. “Hey sleepyhead,” she knew that voice. Her face visibly relaxing as she placed whose voice it was. Jackson. Immediately her mind pulled up a mental image of him with those marbled eyes. A smile on his face.
“... at that fancy French bakery downtown? My treat.” What was he talking about? A soft mumble left her lips as she slipped her one hand forward, the other pinned thanks to the fact she was sleeping on her stomach. Dark curls laid across her forehead and cheeks. The moment her hand hit something... or rather someone... very solid in her bed, she peeked one eye open. It was slightly blurry thanks to sleep but she could make out the shape next to her in bed. “Marbles?” She muttered softly, blinking a few times as both eyes moved to take him in. It was most definitely him. A soft smile tugged at her lips. “What happened to the boundary rule?” Had she been more away, she might have figured it out on her own. Instead, she was just enjoying the way the sun was highlighting him on her bed.
Oh she felt the shift in the air. She wanted to close the distance between them. She really, really did. She had wanted this since the first time they kissed. But instead, she had wrangle herself in. "You know," She whispered before she backed away, "When this is over, and I can actually kiss you... it'll be worth it." She said and then she was backed away, her eyes running over his form and she waved a hand at him, coaxing him back into the apartment so he could shut the door. So that they can seal themselves away for the next two weeks.
The apology of his only earned a shake of her head. There was nothing to apologize for in her opinion. "I've been needing a stay-cation anyway. So this works. Just need to download some of those apps for contactless deliveries and what not now. Oh! Maybe even a time for us to try out some of those free trials." She, of course, trying to twist this into something positive. Into something less life threatening. Potentially life threatening. And yet, this was a part of their world now wasn't it? Becoming more and more common to be possibly infected? More people having these 'scares'? She figured she'd rather be doing this with him than by herself.
The moment he agreed to them quarantining together, there, in their apartment... there wasn't anything in the world that could dampen her smile. He was staying. She practically ran back into his arms, her body moving lightly, and she had to rock up on the balls of her feet to keep herself from actually lifting them. From closing the pace between them. As she told him earlier, it was going to be worth it. And now, at least she could be around him. "You know, that just means I have control over what we watch." She teased, as she backed into the living room and grabbed the remote, throwing it towards her room.
"And lots of cheesy dishes for meals. And plenty of icing on cupcakes." Because they might be stuck quarantined, but you better bet she was going to bake and cook for them like she always did. Even better really because she'd have time.
Arlo would have fought him if he told her to stay back. She would have dug her heels in and argued. She would have moved forward anyway. If he ran from her, well that might have made for an interesting moment for sure. And at that point, she might have just let herself cry in the doorway. But when his arms welcomed her, instantly wrapping around her, she sagged into his arms. Relieved that he was going to hold her. Though her stomach was still in knots at the idea that he might tell her no, that he might push her back and start the whole argument all over again.
What if he was coming back for the note. What if he was trying to make sure she didn't actually get to see the note? That he had second thoughts about telling her that he loved her. Or at least he thought he did. Was it a heat of the moment thing for him? Just writing down what he thought while saying good bye to her? Her hands shook but she said the words anyway. There was no taking them back. She knew that she loved him. She realized it the moment he was under her desk at dispatch with her during the riots. When he held her to his side. She realized it then, and even more so when they kissed that night in his bed.
But then. Everything changed. She never got to tell him how she felt. Never got to ask him about the kiss. Suddenly it all seemed irrelevant as they stood in each others arms. Her breathing hitched as he responded to her, that he too was in love with her. Not 'I think'. The surprised laugh of his was met with a smile, her freckled cheeks catching tears of hers though they were quickly wiped away. "I'm glad its mutual." She teased, she was crazy about him. She did just run her way home to try and catch him before he disappeared from her life.
When he leaned down to her, she was eagerly ready for this. Her head tilting towards him, lips parting to pull in a breath of air as she readied for this. Her hands slipping to rest one on his chest, the other curling around the back of his neck. Urging him forward, except he paused. Right where she could feel his breath as he talked to her. 'We still shouldn't'. She closed her eyes, sadness washing over her. She wanted this. She wanted him to kiss her, but he was right. He was so right. "I already have to quarantine. We've lived together." She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him, or herself.
But with a great pull of self control, she dipped her head down and slowly pulled back from him. Her hands lingering on him for a moment as she stepped back further. "I can deep clean. I just don't want you going there. Stay here. I can go stay with Trinity. You don't need to go there. I'll bring you things, just text me." She just had a horrible feeling if he left, that it would be worse. That she'd truly never get to see him again. He'd be in the place where the virus is really everywhere.
Arlo stood there, calling out his nickname first. Waiting for anything, any sign of life. And yet there was nothing. There was a silence that stretched over the home that felt eerie and made her throat close up. "Jax?" Her heart was beating fast and she moved further into the apartment, her feet rushing her to his bedroom door and opening it. Nothing. She looked towards the bathroom and didn't hear any noise. The tears that were a threat started to spill onto those freckled cheeks of hers. A small trembling in her lower lip started up as she left the room.
She moved towards the door and happened to glance inside the kitchen. The table catching her attention with the items spread across it. A box, papers, ammo, a pistol. Her heart sank further into her stomach and she let a soft sob leave her lips. He was gone. She knew he would leave her if she wasn't quick enough, and apparently all it took was ten calls. Ten god damn calls that weren't even emergencies that cost her Jax. A moment of frustrated rage ran through her and she was tempted to pick up the box on the table and throw it. Let it burst open against the kitchen wall and the contents of it explode into the air and on the floor. Except she wouldn't. Instead she picked up the paper that caught her attention, the one with his hand writing.
The apology in the second paragraph made the tears fall harder. A few splashing on the page, her feet slowly moving her out of the kitchen and into the hallway. Her eyes running over the words. 'I think I love you.' She stopped in the hallway and read that part over and over again. The words were filling her head, she could hear his voice talking to her.
"I'm sorry."
She blinked once, and then realized that she saw movement from the corner of her eyes. Blinking out a few more tears as she looked up at Jax filling their apartment doorway. The letter being held between her hands was shaking lightly as she realized that he was not an apparition. But that it was actually him. "Jax," She must have taken the other stairs than he did. Everything was so fresh, she swore the ink from the pen had barely dried when she found it. She dropped the note and moved, quickly, without thought, with so much reason and wrapped her arms around him. If he made a move to push her off, she'd remind him that he already held her today and would have to quarantine as it was. Since they lived together. "I love you."
Even as his head nodded at her words, she didn't believe it. The 'okay' came too easily for him. Was he just drained? Was the news of this just as overwhelming for him that he was going to easily give her what she wanted. Not when he felt the way he did about it. She let her eyes shut and a small, shaky breath was inhaled. Her eyes opening to look down the hall at him with that mask freshly placed over his face. It made his eyes stand more out, those marbled eyes that she had grown to love and adore since she met him. There was no denying what she knew anymore, not since that night.
"Look, I'll…go and when you get off work we can talk about it then okay?"
To hell with that. She felt her dark brows tug towards one another in a confused look. Was he crazy? Did he really think she was going to skip down the hallway now to the lunch room? For her to sit and eat her meal and then go back to her desk and actually sit through the hours left in her shift? She would be distracted. Completely distracted and that helped no one. No matter how calm and collected she could be at dispatch, no matter how she was in the past, this was different.
"Okay, we will talk at home." She told him, freckled face still etched with sadness as she stared at him. Would this be the last time she saw him? Standing here in the police station, standing what felt like miles apart, with tears in both of their eyes as they knew what was to come? Arlo didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to think that this was it. What if he didn't come back from the quarantine area? What if they messed up and he wasn't sick and caught it? It was too much to think of. "Please wait for me." Her voice sounded hoarse as she let out the small plea to him. She could only pray he'd listen. The dispatch door opened behind her and her heard her name being called.
"We are swamped, I am sorry. Can you take a few more calls before you go to break?" She never took her eyes off of Jax as she nodded her head, feeling almost numb as she was beckoned back into the dispatch room.
She couldn't wait until the end of her shift. She was distracted. She made it through ten more calls before she switched her aux from available to unavailable and she stood from her desk. Apologizing to her supervisor as she told her that she couldn't do it. She had to go home. She was not going to miss Jax. She had a gut feeling he was going to bolt before she got home and she'd be damned if the last time she saw him was in the hallway outside of where she worked. Arlo felt like she had enough traumatizing areas in the station alone. Not the hallway as well.
With bags packed, she rushed out the door. They didn't live terrible far, close enough for them to walk if they wanted to. She pulled her jacket tighter around her and wished she had drove instead today. That way she could be back to their apartment in no time. Instead, she walked briskly, purpose in every step as she passed by the buildings. The coffee shop where they met. The pizza place that they first had lunch together and frequented often afterwards. The grocery where they would shop to fill their fridge. She found herself suddenly running by the time she hit that one.
Quick steps all the way up their stairs, all the way to their door where she came to a halt. Where she stood, panting and with curls wild and cheeks flushed under those freckles of hers. Her hand hesitating over the door handle as she stood there trying to collect herself. What was she about to find inside their home. She slowly reached forward and inserted her key to unlock the door. Pushing the door open and stepping in cautiously. "Marbles?" She called out, her voice shaking lightly with the threat of tears.
Arlo was standing there, unsure. Unsure of everything that had just happened. He had been essentially gone for weeks. She hadn't seen his face. She had heard him, had texted with him, but she missed him. She even asked a few times when his next day off was. That she'd call out of work if she had to. She wanted to see him, her best friend, her roommate, her enigma that she had yet to dive into what that kiss had met. What it meant when he came for her during the raids.
She had gotten him back in mere seconds as she saw him outside the dispatch room, and now he was being pulled away once more. It wasn't fair. She wanted to scream that at him. That he couldn't just show up and then rip himself away from her. Again. She shook her head at his words, dismissing them as he tried to tell her that he was not going to allow her to help him. That he was going to leave her and go into the quarantined sector.
"Marbles no. This... we can quarantine at home. I've already been around you. For months now. We've kissed... I've been fine... they have to be wrong. The tests." She was trying to grasp something, anything that would give her the leg up on this. A bitter groan left her, her arms wrapping around herself a tears pricked her eyes. Her brown eyes moving to the wall beside her for a moment. They had never been shy around one another and she just didn't think that this was effecting her... unless she had already been sick?
"Emma. What if I was infected then? I could be the reason she's gone. Arlo I could have killed her."
The color that normally rested in his face was gone. Her own eyes growing wide at his statement. At the idea that his fiancé... the one he was just returning from leave for when they met... that she might have died because he exposed her. She tightened her hold on herself, a door to her right opening and drawing her out of her thoughts before she could dive down them further. She made awkward eye contact with a detective who could tell right away that he definitely wished that he had not walked out then. So he stuffed his hands into his pockets and shuffled quickly down the hall.
She swallowed to try and rewet her throat that seemed to have run dry. "Let's just go home. We can talk this out there." She tried to convince him, this wasn't the place to have this talk. There were too many around. And yet she had a feeling he'd fight her. That he wouldn't allow her to come back with him. "Please Jax, I've been lost without you lately." She didn't care how pathetic it sounded. He needed to know.
Arlo almost didn't believe that she was seeing him. It had been so long since she had been this close. Both of them working around the clock and just overall busy. She heard him at home. Heard him shuffling around. But this, she missed this. Her finger tips grazed his hand and then he was wrapping her into his arms. A small burst of air leaving her as she instinctively wrapped her arms around him. He was warm and solid, it made her feel instantly at home. How had she gone this long without him? Even just this was enough... or at least it was in that moment.
His lips against her forehead had her closing her eyes for a moment. Her hands balled up his shirt in her fists as she held onto him. Give her strength but she almost forgot where she was for a moment. Listening to him take deep breaths. Her brows tugging together as she realized just how bad the state he had been in was. "Jax, are you-" And then suddenly he was peeling himself away from her. Her eyes widened as she watched him stumble back until he was down the hall from her. What was even happening right now? She looked at him with a mixture of concern and heartbreak as he stammered out that he couldn't.
His apologies made her step forward, trying to close the distance but halting when he finally seemed to find the words once more to speak. His usual confidence was gone, his eyes glancing down at his shoes made her know that this was not something to be taken lightly. That something was gravely wrong and her heart was shattering to think that it had something to do with her. Little did she know, it had a lot to do with her... and her keeping distance from him. "I don't understand..."" She whispered out, she wanted to take him back into her arms.
He was sick. Or possibly immune but exposing others to it. The world shifted for a moment in front of her, the wall to her right starting to swirl above her head and the one to her left decided to dip down low. Not her Jackson. No. Why him? Her fingertips went to her lips as she tried to push back the small sound that wanted to leave her. The one that said her heart was breaking for them. His marble eyes were getting glassy with tears and it was hurting her just as much. "Okay... okay. So what do we do? We need to make sure the apartment is stocked for a few weeks. Do you know when you'd go back for more testing?" She was trying to piece it together in her head.
Because in her head, they were doing this together. "I can make soup and your favorite cupcakes. Whatever it is until we make sure that everything is okay..." Arlo said. Her voice trailing off as she tried to think of what she could do to help.
Arlo swore that she hadn't seen Jax's face in weeks in person. The only way she knew that he was alive was when she'd see his bedroom light on and see shadows moving from under his door or when the lunches she left for him in the fridge were taken. He'd respond to her texts of course, but it just wasn't the same. She wanted to see him. Hear him. Hell, she missed the nights where they'd just sit next to each other on the couch and watch Tiger King and Jax would laugh at the way she cringed while watching it. She'd watch that show forwards and backwards thousands of times if it meant she could see him again.
She wanted to ask if it was because of what happened that one night. After the attacks on the police station. Where she laid in his bed and the words exchanged were something more than friends said to one another. And then they kissed. She started it, but he definitely didn't seem so much against it. Arlo had no idea how to bring it back up, to talk about what had happened. And then suddenly he was always gone. It relieved her for the first few days, allowing her to sort out her thoughts and what she wanted to say. But as days turned into weeks, she was longing to just see him in person. Her best friend.
As she woke up for work, she wasn't surprised to see he was gone. There was a silence in the house that gave it away. And when she opened the fridge, she noticed his lunchbox was gone. At least he still was taking the meals. Whether he was eating them or not was a whole other thing. She pulled her lunch out of the fridge and headed in to work. Sending him a meme that made her laugh as she arrived. Talking about work and how 'if you do a good job, they will let you keep doing it' and such. It was enough to make her grin.
After arriving and putting her things away, she settled into her desk. She still couldn't look at the desk behind her. Even though everything had been cleaned and there was nothing to remind her of what had happened months prior. She still couldn't face it. The ringing in her ears would get louder and the shaking would start in her hands. So she kept her eyes on the screens in front of her and let her fingers fly across the keyboard until her supervisor tapped her shoulder and told her it was time for lunch.
She finished her call and then got up and decided she wanted to stretch her legs. She kept her eyes from the desk behind her once more before she headed for the door. Her hand was still on the handle when she pulled the door open and saw the blonde crouched on the other side of the hall. "Marbles?" Arlo said, almost in shock for a moment at seeing him. Her memory barely doing him justice, but it was the way his chest was moving that had her moving forward. "Are you okay?" She said, reaching out for him, to try and place a hand on his arm to get his attention.
Arlo was taken back after she asked the man for his thoughts, hoping that maybe he might cool down a bit. But instead of him answering her or giving her any sort of acknowledgement of her question, the man was up and out of the bar area. And then out of the restaurant itself. Arlo stared after him for a moment before turning to look at the woman at her side. "That was rude." She stated simple before she looked back over to the bartender who seemed to have his hands full at the moment. Maybe the online ordering was a new thing, maybe the bartender was new. Who knew.
Though she was easily distracted as another man came rushing in towards the bar. His brown hair flopping as he seemed to try and get a hold of his breath and ask the bartender about if he had seen a man. Which sounded awfully like the man who had just left. As she went to open her mouth to say something, the man was reaching over and snagging a beer from the bar top and downing it. Her brown eyes went wide at the action. "Well you are certainly very brave to take something like that during a time like this." Hell she'd never take a random drink from a bar top even before everything started happening. "The guy you were looking for, I think he just left. And those were his drinks." She said, gesturing to the glasses on the bar top and the one he had snagged.
Arlo hadn’t really been out in weeks. Once the raids had happened and be done with, she had pretty much been home and eventually back to work. The station was back together, though she still had the hardest time looking at the desk that sat at her back. And she might have had a panic attack once or twice in the break room when she got overwhelmed with the calls in the station. But nonetheless, she kept moving forward and doing the job that was needed at the station. Her roommate, Jax, had been busy. They barely saw one another, mainly only knowing he was still alive when she’d see the meals she’d back for him taken or a coffee left for her before he left. Sometimes she’d peek in his room to see his light on, but he was fast asleep. In which case she tucked him in and turned the light off.
Today she decided to go out and grab some food for once. Placing an online order for her and then one to take home for Jax, she made her way down to the restaurant. With her mask secured on her face, she was directed to the bar to pick up her order. She had been standing there, waiting, when she heard a loud bang, making her almost jump ten feet into the air. Only to realize it was a man slamming his phone down on the table, looking just a bit frustrated and maybe disappointed?
He had made his way over to the bar and ordered two drinks. Though it didn’t look like he was expecting anyone else. She raised a brow and glanced towards the bartender, who motioned her food wasn’t ready quite yet. “Penny for your thoughts?” She offered.
His arms wrapping around her made her melt into him. Why did it just feel so right? Why did it seem like they were just the perfect height for one another, to fix against one another as if they were missing pieces of a puzzle that formed to make a whole? He made her feel protected, like she didn’t have to worry about anything because he would fight everything that tried to harm her. It was just all overwhelming. And yet, she had never felt more at peace than she did in his arms as he told her good night.
She didn’t last long. She thought she might be awake for the rest of the night but with his body keeping her warm she was lulled into a sleep. She had no dreams, something that she would later probably be thankful of. That her mind was so tired that it couldn’t produce anything ugly for her to see. It didn’t relive her previous day horrors. It didn’t even pull up wicked flashbacks to her teen years and the pain that her father had inflicted on her during that time. The one that taught her to be calm during those situations and put on a poker face like no one else had seen.
When her eyes finally decided that they were ready to reopen, it was because she heard a door shut. At first, she felt a little confused. This was not her room. She peered around without moving out from the bed that smelled... like Jax. This was his room, she was in his bed. Where she had climbed in the night before and he welcomed her into his arms. She stretched her legs out slowly, her muscles sore but overall working well. At least she wasn’t completely broken. She slowly looked over her shoulder to find herself laying alone. A small frown on her lips when she realized that he had left. Was he actually gone? Or did he just get up before she did?
She listened for sounds in the house, and didn’t hear anything. She rolled onto her stomach and buried her face back into his pillow, where he had curled behind her. It smelled like him, something that eased her mind and pulled lightly at her to go back to sleep. She could probably still use the sleep. But she knew that if she went back to sleep, she’d probably sleep until late afternoon and would regret it later. So with a shift, she got out of his bed, her bare feet hitting the floor and she tugged down the shirt she had on and straightened her PJ shorts. She straightened out his bed sheets when her eyes caught a note with her name on it. She opened it and a small smile tugged at her lips.
At least he should be back soon. She slipped out of his room and walked to hers, picking up her cell phone and realizing that was a mistake. 52 missed calls. 28 voicemails. 108 text messages. She groaned lightly as she stared at it, noticing then that the corner of her screen was cracked. Well that was new, and no doubt from the struggle she was in yesterday. She beat back the memory as she opened the phone and looked through the missed call log. Trinity. Her heart stopped at her name, and raced as she kept going up the list. Her aunt, another dispatcher, at the very top, in the middle of the night, her father. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she switched to the voicemails. She went to the last one that Trinity left. Hearing her voice almost made Arlo cry.
She ended the voicemail and immediately called Trinity. Who answered on the second ring, relief coming from both women. They were both okay. Trinity had been off duty that day. Arlo promised to talk to her later but reassured that both herself and Jax were safe. She called her aunt next, who picked up after a few rings and sounded like she was asleep until she heard Arlo’s voice. Immediately she went into a flurry of concerns and questions. Which was when she heard their door open. She peeked around the corner of her door to see Jax entering their kitchen. “Si tia. I promise we are fine. I’ve got to go though. I will call you later okay?” She hung up the phone and with a finger hovering over her fathers name, she hesitated. Did she even want to tell him? Surely his sister would call him and let him know she talked to her. She decided maybe after breakfast. After she got some coffee in and talked with Jax...
The memory of Jax and her kissing hit her then. Oh, they’d have to talk about that. She flushed a bright red at the memory. How it felt so right to kiss him, how he kissed her back and his hand grazing her skin. At least it felt right for her. Was this about to be embarrassing and heart breaking? He had still had his fiancés things around the house when she moved in. He was just returning to work when they had came to the insane agreement to live together. But, it felt so right to think about him in that light. But she’d never want to push him or rush him into something. Did he feel the same way about her? Or was he going to tell her that last night was a mistake that they’d have to put behind them?
Never one to hide, she collected herself and connected her phone to the charger in her room before she made it out to him. Still dressed in her PJ’s from the night before and hair probably a little more wild from sleep. She could smell the coffee and fresh baked goods. She moaned lightly as she turned into their kitchen, her stomach was ready for something. “Good morning,” She braved a look at Jax and couldn’t help the butterflies that flapped around in her stomach. A bright smile claiming her busted lip. “You are a life saver, Marbles.” She said, picking up the coffee that was placed in her spot and taking a seat next to him. Where she always sat when they had time to dine together. She braved a look up at him when she saw the letter in his hand. “What’s that?” She asked lightly, reaching over for a muffin to place in front of her.
tag: Jackson Etter | OOC: gah I’m sorry she got so sad
His voice was soothing on its own, the words were just an added bonus. The way he directed her thoughts, his soft touch to her cheek, it was enough to slow her thoughts for the moment. To keep the tears from falling from her eyes. Or maybe that was because she had cried herself out while she was in the shower early. And her body knew it couldn’t handle losing any more water at the moment. She chewed lightly on her bottom lip before she nodded at his words. She would have to accept it for what it was at the moment. Or else she would continue talking about what she just said she didn’t want to talk about anymore.
She thought about the turn of events over the day. Over the past week. How did this even happen? And why did they go for the police station? She still was terrified that they felt bold enough to go there. The place where there would be some of the best trained people. But they again, they waited until the calls came in and almost every unit was sent out. Only the bare minimum was left behind. It made her think that someone had stratigically planned this out. But just as she had said, she was too tired. She didn’t want to talk about it. Nor should she think more on it.
After she just about strong armed him with her words, she was shaking her head as his arm lifted and he flexed his ‘gun’. His words, not hers. She let out a burst of a laugh. Even though he wasn’t the type to go around flexing for all to see, even when drunk. He did have nice arms to show off that made the experience a little less painful. “Watch it Etter. Keep talking like that and you might find yourself wearing polos and plaid shorts on the regular.” She made a mental note to buy him something similar to that at some point this year. Birthday, Christmas, whatever. Just to see his face. She’d have to make him try it on.
The kiss had been everything. It was heart racing, it was electric, it was awakening. He overwhelmed her in a way that she couldn’t put to words and it felt just right. His thumb on her bare skin had her shudder lightly and she felt goosebumps rise on her skin. This was not what roommates felt like. This was not what best friends felt like. This was so much more. And his soft noise had her wanting more of it, had her mind racing to see what she could do to hear it again. Until her pained groan had made its appearance. And at his apology, she didn’t care. She simply spoke over him, telling him that he was her it. Using his full name. Not Jax, not Marbles, but Jackson.
He took a moment to still himself, and some part of her suddenly was very nervous. Even though he kissed her back, she still was the one to start it. And with the two of them running on raw emotion and a lack of sleep at this point. And the fact that they were both physically exhausted from the day as well. Her heart sank a little bit as he told her that she needed sleep. He wasn’t wrong, she knew that she needed it. Just like he did as well. She lightly bit the inside of her cheek and nodded though, accepting that he was right and maybe she really should just lay back down. His gentle touch while tucking her hair had her eyes close briefly, taking in the moment. This was going to be over come morning. She invaded his room, she invaded his bed.
“If you want to roll over, I can hold you..if you want?”
Would it be selfish of her to accept his offer? Yes. Was she going to possibly regret it when the rejection came in the morning? Absolutely. But was she going to say no? She found her head nodding to him, as she turned in his arms, scooting herself back until her back was against his chest and hips were against his. She would be selfish right now, she would apologize in the morning light. Maybe try and wake up before him to cook them both breakfast like she usually did, get them a cup of coffee going before she had to sort out any sort of feelings between them. “Good night Marbles.” She murmured as she closed her eyes and tried her best to fall into a dreamless sleep until the morning woke them.
She truly considered his offer. She was sure that it would help the bruised lip that was throbbing lightly as she thought about it. Or even from the other aches in her body from the struggling. But right now, it would require her to move from him, and truly, he was the best pain killer at the moment that she could be offered. He was distracting, from the way his eyes lingered on hers to the way that his voice carried a soothing tone to it as he worried over her. She hummed lightly at the thought. “Maybe later. But I don’t want to move right now, nor do I want you to get up.” Arlo said, in case he got any ideas to get up and get it for her. She wasn’t ready for the removal of his body heat next to her.
His eyes steeled her once again as he talked to her about what she had done. About the life that drained in front of her, that she couldn’t even spare a glance at afterwards. “But what if he had a family... what if he had children... what happens to them? What if he felt he had no choice?” The questions poured out of her before he apologized for not being there. His fingers lingering on the skin of her cheek made her stop, still under the feeling that they offered to her. Her brows were pulled together in anguish but he was giving her something to help relieve it. As he went on with how brave she had been, how he was proud of her for being strong and stepping up to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. Her hands trembled lightly as she swallowed. “I... please lets not talk about this tonight. I-” She heard her voice choke for a second and she closed her eyes. “I know I did what had to be done. It was us or him.” She whispered.
As she shifted her look over him, she was glad to hear him being honest with her. It was a nice distraction from the ugliness that she just spoke about. Her fingers lifted to touch his shoulder lightly, trailing down his arm until her hand reached his and she squeezed it. “If it’s bad tomorrow, you promise to get it looked at?” Her tone was stern, as if what she asked was really not a question. Because she would personally stuff him into the car and drive him to a clinic herself. If they would even be able to support seeing him. They must be just as overwhelmed as the rest of them right now.
She felt a small amused smile tug at her mouth as he went into explaining that she was more than a roommate. She knew it, but it was nice to hear him confirm it and it was quite endearing to see him try and make sure she heard that he meant it. And that was when she had kissed him. A heat hit her cheeks as she settled into his chest afterwards, glad for the moment of trying her best to cool her cheeks. She was running on raw emotion and she had acted without much thought. She was worried that he would be telling her next about how even though she was his best friend, that was it. That her kiss while appreciated was not wanted again. The only comfort for a moment was the fact that he hadn’t tried to remove her hold on him.
And then he started whispering words. Almost like he didn’t want the walls to hear what he was saying. That truly the words were just for her ears, and nothing else. With each word, her heart picked up its pace, until it was racing. Her eyes open as she stared at the fabric that covered his chest, her eyes seeing every little piece of fabric as his words sank in. It. She was it. Her mind placed what he meant easily, but she knew he was not at that realization where she was. Not yet. And that was okay. She didn’t need to have him on that same page yet. Hearing him say what he just did meant more to her than he could even know. Small tears pricked the corners of her eyes and she tried to blink them away.
But they halted all together as his hand slipped between the two of them and tilted her to look up at him. She easily moved her head, freckled face staring at him for a long moment. Committing the look he wore on his face to memory in the low light that was casted around the room. And then he lowered his lips to hers. It was all she needed. Her hands slipped from his body up to his hair and arching so she could fit her lips against his easier. It was overwhelming, but she welcomed it. As she shifted herself slightly higher, so he wasn’t having to lean down so much as she moved her mouth against his. And then she hit a sore spot on her mouth that caused her to groan and pull back lightly.
Her breath shaky as she pressed her forehead against his. “You are my it, Jackson.” She offered back to him, her hands still in his blonde hair and brown eyes searching his marbled gaze a moment before she pressed another gentle kiss to him. They had just crossed a line that she honestly didn’t care too much about at the moment.
His hand reaching out to touch her hair was more soothing than she thought it could be. And as he joked with her after she pressed her lips to his head she let out a shaky almost silent laugh. “That would be a truly terrifying nightmare.” Because that meant that she’d be sitting there every day of her life whispering those three words of: “What the hell”. She kept close to him as he rolled over and mirrored her in bed. His hand coming up to touch her lip reminded her that it was busted. She didn’t even bother looking in the mirror when she went into her bathroom. She was partially afraid of what she might have seen.
She stared into his eyes for a moment, before she shook her head lightly. “Nothing I haven’t dealt with before physically.” She said without much thought. A busted lip was easy to deal with. She was sure she had bruises elsewhere as well, but it didn’t really register to her right now. Which wasn’t shocking considering she was laying down and wrapped up against him. Right now, she felt the most comfortable she had felt in a long time thanks to him. “Jax, I don’t even know how it happened. It was so fast. One moment I just was… I was there and the next we were struggling over it.” She couldn’t bring herself to really talk about the ‘it’ yet. “I don’t even know who pulled the trigger.” That was a truly haunting feeling for her.
When he pushed off her comment to head back to sleep, she almost argued that he should. That he had gone through a lot and physically a lot more than her as well, that she was sure. “How do you feel? Are you okay?” She asked, her eyes scanning his face for any sign of him lying to her. Or brushing off something as nothing. She was worried about him too, in the way that he was worried about her. She only wanted to make sure that if he was injured, that at least in the morning he’d go get it looked at.
As he started to speak again, she stilled against him. Arlo almost felt like her heart even slowed its pace as if it would spook him from talking to her about what he wanted to say. As he talked about her screaming, she almost flinched at the memory. Though she pushed through it and kept her face straight as she could. She watched him process the memory on his own before continuing as well. At the word ‘roommate’ she slightly flinched. Not meaning to at all. But damn she definitely felt like she was beyond roommate. And she knew that she was, but to hear it put simply, she didn’t quite like that. “I’d like to think I am more of a best friend than a simple roommate.” She whispered to him.
“I just…can’t lose you.”
Arlo hesitated for a moment. A long moment as an internal battle started inside of her as she weighed some options out on her head. “You won’t,” she promised him. She didn’t plan on it. And she knew that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. He would find a way to protect her. No matter how far he was, what he was doing, who he was with. He was going to find a way to protect her. And with a daring move that she might regret later, in the later hours of the day, she moved forward and pressed her lips to his. Just for a second, just long enough to make contact before she shifted down and buried her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m not going anywhere Jax. And I’ll fight anything that tries to take me away from you.”
