Bird Box (Oc x reader)

Chapter 1

"I see a whole bunch of people sitting together, but they all feel incredibly lonely."
—

Your older sister, Jessica Hayes, comes to your small studio apartment in the city while you paint. Not hearing her arrive, as you listen to your favourite music blaring loudly from the speakers, she turns it off and you turn to her.

"Uh, asshole, I was listening to that."

"Yeah, and so was the people down the street." She tells you and you roll your eyes turning back to the painting, while she heads for your fridge. "The store was packed. This thing seems serious. Wow, you literally have no food here."

Your sister had a tendency to act like she's your mother, especially since she's a lot older than you. It didn't really bother you, you loved her for it.

"What thing?"

"Are you serious?"

"I'm serious."

"Turn on the news, dumb-dumb."

"Dumb-dumb." You scoff and head for the remote. "What channel, dumb-dumb?"

"Any of them."

"Airports and train stations have shut down. Streets are crowded with people escaping cities by car and on foot as witnesses report unexplained mass suicides. First recorded in Romania, there's now an alarming spread of incidents into Europe and Siberia. Estimated death toll is in the tens of thousands." A reporter says as you watch the footage being shown with a frown, then turn the channel to another, now an anchor sitting in a news station studio. ".. don't yet know what is causing the mass suicides in Europe and Russia. The eyewitness reports tell of people exhibiting psychotic behaviour. Our sources are telling us this does not appear to be pathological or viral. US authorities are advising the public to remain calm. There have been confirmed inst-" You turn off the sound and go back to your painting.

"Well, it's in Russia, so.."

"Try telling that to the soccer moms fighting over bottled water. Speaking of which, I just got off the phone with mom. How come I have to update her about you all the time?"

"Why do you guys have to talk about me?" You ask her.

"Well, I'm sure not gonna tell her about my life." She says and you scoff a soft laugh as you tilt your head with a smile. "At three o'clock, I'm gonna go check out an Arabian stud in Sausalito."

"See, now that is a sentence you don't hear everyday." You say.

"You wanna come?" She asks and you hum while thinking about it for a moment.

"Sure, why not."

"Great, I'll drive!" She says in a slightly higher pitched voice and you squirm slightly where you stand with your pencil in the air.

"Why does your voice get so high when you get excited?" You ask your sister.

She ignores you and head closer to look at your painting.

"What do you think?" You ask her, your mouth in a tight line.

"I think, I see a whole bunch of people sitting together, but they all feel incredibly lonely." She tells you moving closer to it.

You just hum looking at your painting.

"We need to get you out and back into the real world, you know, with other people. You're just stuck here all day, Yn. You never leave."

"Why should I leave? When I have you to get me groceries." You smirk.

"You have to move."

"No, not moving."

"Why?"

"I love this apartment!" You tell her gesturing around you.

"Yn, I know it took you a long time to find a studio that you loved, and you've gotten a lot more work done since you moved in. But.. maybe you could just use a roommate. Or you know, a boyfriend.." She says and you turn to her with a raised eyebrow, she shrugs. "Just saying."

You roll your eyes and chuckle.

"You won't meet anyone if you stay in here all day, everyday."

"Why do I need a man, again?"

"Fine, I guess you don't need one, but don't you think it would be nice? To have someone in your life?"

"I have you."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah. Nah, I'm good. It will happen when it happens they say."

"But you never give anyone a chance, Yn. You would just play around and then throw them out the window when it gets serious. And now you don't even try anymore."

You just sigh to yourself, having always had a hard time opening up and giving yourself fully to someone.

...

You're sitting in the passenger seat of your older sister's car while she drives through town, humming the song playing on the radio and rocking slightly in your seat to the beat.

As she drives you watch outside the side window at the buildings. Passing a bigger building under construction, you suddenly frown when you thought you saw something weird, then gasp when it happens again and realise it was indeed a body falling down at the construction site from the roof.

"What?" Jessica asks you, not having seen it. You kept your eyes on the building while you pass and see more people, all of the workers that was on the roof jumping intentionally down to kill themselves. You look back at the road ahead with a horrified look.

"It's happening.. Jess, it's happening."

"What is?"

"The thing in Russia, that's making everybody crazy, it's here. It's here now." You say looking around in worry.

"What?"

"Jess!" You exclaim pointing ahead at the woman walking on to the road in front of the car.

The tires screech as your sister kicks the cars breaks, sliding to a stop right in front of the woman. Instead of reacting normally, she just walks away and in front of another approaching vehicle, who doesn't see her in time and you scream when they crash into her.

"Just go around." You say after a few seconds of shock, trying not to look at the woman lying on the road.

"But the woman.."

"She's dead. There's nothing we can do, just go around Jess!"

"But there's cars stopped in the middle of the road."

"Just go! Go, go, go!" You say and she does, driving around the scene and away.

—