quarantine • nick austin

1) balcony convos

The wind lightly caressed her skin as she reached the railing of the balcony overlooking the beautiful hills of the Cali. Her skin was still sensitive and soft from the face mask she just had on. Another gust of wind made her shiver and wrap her arms around herself. She wished that she brought a blanket out because a hoodie was not enough.

She sat on one of the chairs that were out there and couldn't help but let her eyes travel to the stars in the sky.

Oh how much she missed going outside.

It's been raining for days on end in Cali and it doesn't help that the state was on quarantine. Today was the first day it was actually clear out and she could breathe in some fresh air.

As she brought her knees to her chest to try and warm herself up more, a noise from behind her made her jump.

"Sorry!" A voice sheepishly responded and she smiled when she realized it was Nick. "What are you doing out here Zay?"

She turned to face him as he sat on the bench next to her and was immediately jealous at the big blanket he held, "I just wanted some fresh air honestly. I've been in that house for too long."

He chuckled lightly as he nodded, "there are only so many ways I can rearrange my room or watch the brothers fight."

Zay laughed as she remembered seeing the two Lopez brothers bickering earlier this morning.

"Literally," she agreed while chuckling. "I'm ready to go."

"I don't know how I'm going to last another month in this house," Nick sighed dramatically making them both laugh.

Zay's laugh was cut short as a strong gust of wind made her shiver hard.

"Hey, do you want my blanket?" Nick offered, getting ready to take it off of him. "You look like you need it more."

"No," Zay immediately disagrees. "I don't want to take it from you!"

Nick rolled his eyes playfully, "Then how about we share the thing? It's big enough."

After almost declining, the wind came once again making her shiver violently. She then immediately jumped into the seat beside Nick making him laugh.

"I don't bite," Nick jokes as he threw most of the blanket on her. "You can move closer."

She rolled her eyes at that but didn't deny the offer and slide close enough to where she could feel his body heat on her.

"Why do white people say the corniest shit?" She joked as she adjusted the blanket so covered her completely.

Nick mocked hurt, "why, how rude!"

"I only tell facts," Zay said which made them both start laughing.

The two soon fell silent, the only thing that could be heard was the gusts of winds that came every few minutes. Their eyes traveled up to the sky as they both admired the sky full of stars.

Zay has known Nick since he's moved into the Hype House because that was the day she moved in. Since they moved in at the same time, they ended up building a stronger bond then they had with some of the other members because they were thrown into something completely new at the same time.

Of course, they each had known some people or we're friends with people before they joined. For Zay, it was Ondreaz and Jack who she was friends with before coming into the house. They were like her internet friends.

She moved from inner-city Philadelphia to the house. She went from being in a two-person household of just her and her mom to a full house.

It was a blessing but also a curse.

Despite all of that, she was lucky to adapt to LA but she definitely missed her city. Nothing beat the subs in that city or the hype every time Philly had a home football game.

She definitely was great til for her life out here and how fast she grew on the internet.

She first started on TikTok in November of twenty-nineteen and she has gained so many followers since then. Right now, she had about thirty million followers and she could never understand why. She was just a plain girl from Philly with a passion for dancing and singing. Everything else after that was pure luck.

"Soooo," Nick suddenly spoke. "How's life?"

Zay giggles as she turned to look up slightly at him, "it sucks. What about you?"

"Same," Nick admittedly half-heartedly. "I want to go see my mom."

Zay nodded, "I felt that so bad."

"I just realized I been forever since we had our last conspiracy theories talks," Nick said excitedly. "We're both guilty of staying in our rooms."

Zay laughed, sheepishly nodding. "Please, I don't think I can endure a headache of debating with you right now."

"Rude," Nick said. "You're just mad I'm always right."

"Nick," Zay said as she gave him a side-eye.

"Ok ok ok!" He said raising his arms in surrender. "Please remind me to never test you during quarantine again."

She laughed, rolling her eyes softy. She could feel herself becoming tired and it made it hard for her to sit up on her own. She couldn't help as she slowly leaned back into the side of him.

Nick watched slowly but didn't say anything. He didn't mind if she laid back, he could tell she was tired. Plus, it made him even warmer.

"Do you think this shit will ever end?" Nick asked quietly, not really expecting an answer as he felt her breathing slow down a little bit ago.

"I know it won't be soon," Zay answered, surprising Nick a little. "And that scares the fuck out of me."

Nick couldn't help but feel a bit anxious, "I get we are some of the lucky ones who are lucky enough to have this beautiful house and the people in it, but I'm scared of what's to come. I miss my family but I can't go see them because I don't want anyone to get sick. I know I'm okay but I just want to be safe but it honestly scares me how fast cases are growing in this country. If something doesn't happen soon, we will lose a lot of our population."

Zay took a minute to respond as she listened to his words. She could detect the anxiety in his voice and she hated it because she felt the same way and didn't know how to help him with it.

"I think with time, things will get better," she answers vaguely. "I know we all want straightforward answers right now but that is just not possible with this virus or this government. I know it's kind of cliche but all we can do is hope. We can't get ourselves worked up or we will drive ourselves more insane than we already are."

Nick, for some reason, felt better after her little speech and lightly wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Thank you," he whispered softly into her ear before the two drifted back into a comfortable silence.

One thing is for sure, this quarantine is definitely going to be a challenge for them and those around them.

She just hoped her mental health would stay intact for it.