Quarantine Bae

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Jared's POV

"The pandemic has hit nationwide proportions..." my boss tells me, "I hope you understand but we'll have to lay you off—-permanently."

I go home after getting laid off to the big red sign that says Sunnyside Hills. There was nothing Sunny about this place. Not this day and age. A huge shadow had swept through the country and by the time I get home everything hurts. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone or something. A part of me is hoping that somehow I wake up from this nightmare and I'm back to a world that this didn't happen in. This plague had wiped out so many jobs. Over 50 percent of unemployment had swept the nation.

In front of my building, I see Ms. Jules. She's unloading some groceries from her car. She's an older lady that lived on the third floor of the three-story co-op housing unit. Everyone owns the building together. Because of the shared responsibility, there's an interview process to become part of the community. It made us all close for the most part.

"Hey Ms. J. Want me to take these to your door?"

"You're the best sweetie."

I grab all her bags in one go and head into the building without her. Ms. J. liked to take her time. I turn my phone up and step into the elevator. It's been on the news all week. Hell, all month. The Dark Fever. It was supposedly some strange new disease going around that was spreading in parts of Europe. It was causing this frenzy on the Internet.

Truth is I was the type of person to get caught up in tears. Already my anxiety was building up. All over the news, I saw it. The virus was spread through skin-to-skin contact. They didn't know that much about it. Not with all their technology. Not with all their knowledge. It was humbling at the end of the day that at the end of the day everyone was just...human...

"You know that Dark Fever is a hoax right?"

I turn to the elevator and see this him. He is in his early 30s I think or maybe even his late 20s. His hair has this right wave to it and it's the same color brown as his skin. He is a little taller than I am. His chest is a little broader. He's standing behind me and peaking over at my phone with these deep-set eyes that were the color of fresh honey. He smiles when I look back at him showing off this dimple that was so deep that it was like someone took a pin and pressed right into it.

"Oh..."

"No really. It was on an episode of the Simpsons from like 20 years ago."

I pause and let out a quick, short, awkward, "Ha..."

That's all I say and I turn back to my phone in the most unwelcoming way ever. Good job, Jared. This is why you don't have a boyfriend. This is why the only people I ever hung out with were people I was related to. The reason was you, Jared. But you knew that already. It was always you. Could you ever get more awkward?

Just then the elevator acts up. Great. The lights flicker on and off a little bit and then the elevator in our apartment complex goes to a halting stop.

Worst day ever.

The man with the dimples reaches past me saying a calm, "Excuse me..."

I almost hold my breath when I feel his body rub up against mine to get to the elevator button. Yeah, I would excuse you. Just give any excuse to rub up on me like that again.

After a few minutes, he turns to me and says, "Guess it's stuck. Maybe the Dark Fever got the elevator fucking sick."

He laughs and I just stand there. It isn't until the moment passes that it occurs to me that he was trying to make small talk again. I stand there like a fuckin statue until he clears his throat.