◟ 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓈𝒾𝒸 ◝

someone, it seemed, had the same idea. just as he was about to doze off the door slammed shut and he was once again fully awake. alert, ready to head out and help. “ shit. what’s going on? you…” a cough and another one and another one and he was now struggling for air. “ is everyone alright? fuck.”

   five hours, she was stuck in that god awful room for five hours  .  if it hadn’t been for the bed made of fresh sheets, being on the second floor, and a nice pile of roses tucked under the window --- she might still be in there. she’ll stomp through the hallways of the hospital, it’s been several hours since the outbreak had moved in the right direction of finding it’s cure. people were getting better, the fluids were working ----  something was helping. what that was, she wasn’t completely sure yet. “i swear to god if you don’t tell me where he is --- i’ll take that stethoscope and shove them so far up your ass, they’ll call it prada. now where -- is-- he.” a wide eyed intern, corned against the wall, trembled with a pointed finger towards the closet, and she let’s them go.  one step at a time, until she swung the door open, closing it behind her. “are you out of your fucking mind, castillo!” the shelves shook, and she’s pissed. gaze darts around, to the iv, to the fluids running, to the way his cheeks warmed with a little more color than before. “i don’t care - get up.” she’s kneeling down, wrapping one arm around her shoulder. “come on- i can’t carry you without some help-” a mumble, stumbling slightly against the weight of his chest. “you need a bed.” 

( x )

     CHAOS of a completely different kind flooded the streets of halloway , and this time , there would be no party to celebrate the end . there was only FEAR . fear and the sound of heaving as she braced herself against the wall , hidden in a shadow behind a back door of the hospital . STRESS , it was just stress , but no amount of rationalization could stop the panicked rise and fall of her chest , shallow breaths making her heart race , her chest ache , her head dizzy . she wiped her mouth on the back of her wrist , hand shaking as she moved to slump against the wall . she didn’t have TIME for this . not today , not when she had a fucking job to do . the sound of footsteps forced her upright . “ i’m — … ” she cleared her throat , alarmed at the weakness in her own voice , “ i’m headed back in . i just needed air . ” a shaky breath , “ thought we had everyone either quarantined or — … tied up with a task . what are you doing out here ? ”

   ariana will find her own way around the impact of what happened  ----   around layton  ,  around the quarantine  . instead  ,  she rounds the corner at a faster pace than she realized  .  she’s walking  ,  running with a purpose  ---  before he catches her again  .  and then  ,  it stops  .  her feet are anchored to the ground  ,  dark eyes watching with a conflicted worry  .   able to see it in her features  ,  the way she moves  ,  the heaviness of her shoulders   .  there’s distance between them  ,  about a foot of it  . “you’re--” it’s swallowed in panic  ,  and restrictions are dubbed in the palpitation of a fluttered heart  . “you’re sick --”  it’s wordless  ,  it’s caught in between her throat  ,  it’s completely broken  .  eyes dart against the floor ,  watching for anything  ,  examining the speckled concrete  .  “h-how did you --” the body  , the hospital  ,  it was all too easy to guess  .  

  for someone who believed the world was now signifcantly less  ,  there sure seemed to be more people  .  masks were clung to every face  ,  coughing nearly causing her to blink  ,  to flinch  .  she tries to keep her calm ----  tries to be useful   ,  but she’s freaking out  .  she hadn’t seen dani  ,  hadn’t seen esme  .  where was maverick  ?  ajay  ? newt -- saint --- her chest dropped  ,  and she shoves the stethoscope around her neck onto a tray with a clank  .  dainty hands touched her face  ,  and she rubbed down her temples  ,  face still suffocated by the precautions  . “this is fucking useless -” strained voice  ,  she doesn’t curse  ---  normally so well put together  ,  but the stitches that were holding her in place  ,  were beginning to rip at the seams  .  

she’ll tilt her head in an exasperated sigh  ,  a tiny shake and furrowed brows  . she’ll turn ,  her back faced to the crowd  .  “sorry  ,  there’s very few people i share drinks with  .”  that being those she were rooming with  ,  or getting under  .  there’s a twist in her gaze  ,  and he flattens out his blazer  ---  incorrectly  ,  she might add  .  so dainty hands smooth out the shoulders  ,  picking lint from the front  ,  and rolling her eyes  .  “run to you  ?  you say that like i’m easily scar--” words cut off  ,  and there’s a thud behind her  ,  followed by gasping of air  .  before confusion can even take place on her face  ,  someone screams  ,  and ariana jumps  . “what the hel--” and panic unravels  . 

               “ anyone infected, get them into a private room, lock the doors. there is a shit tonne of antibacterial, so you better lather yourself up. put gloves on, masks, any shit that isn’t going to leave you open to this disease. this could go airborne, and i’m not dying today.” BREATHE. “ any questions or ? ”

   heart racing  ,  mind pounding  ,  and the structure chaos is starting to get out of control  .  masks are being handed out left and right  ,  and she’s already suffocated by one of them  .  dark eyes dart around the room  ,  and she jumps back as someone nearly bolted into her  .  “this is madness---” absolute  ,  complete  ,  and utter maddness  !  “they’re all going to kill each other  -” it was worse than the party  ,  worse than the crushing realization that they were never getting back home ----    now  ?  now you didn’t know who was infected  ,  and who wasn’t  .  she replays the scene with minnie in her head -----   had she touched her  ? had she coughed near her  ?  around her  ?  panic is making her heart beat faster than she thought possible  “we’ve got to do something selene --” words muffled by the mask  ,  hands shaking  ,  trying to find gloves   ,  trying to find anything  .    

#just besties living together