It was day two of the lockdown and my anxiety was already at its peak. Being in lockdown with the one person I could possibly consider an enemy was anxiety inducing in itself, and I had tossed and turned all night, eventually waking up in a pool of sweat. Instead of ruminating on the bad dreams and the situation I was stuck in, I pulled myself out of bed and headed straight to my bathroom to have a shower. The moment I stepped inside the doorway it was obvious that I hadn't been the last person to be in here - the towels Peyton had used were crumpled on the floor and the body wash, shampoo, and conditioner had fallen from the shelf and were laying on the floor of the shower. I rolled my eyes, picking up the towels and hanging them on the towel rack to dry properly. After showering off the sweat that had coated my body during my horrible nights sleep, I dried myself off, braided my damp hair and packed some concealer over the dark bruise that had formed around my nose and eyes from the soccer ball. I changed into a pair of high waisted shorts and a loose cropped t-shirt, sliding my feet into my fluffy slippers.

As I walked down the hallway back to my room, I peered into the spare bedroom where I knew Peyton was sleeping. She was curled up under the covers, her arm draped around Dennis' sleeping frame. She looked peaceful...harmless, even. For the first time in as long as I could remember, looking at her didn't stir anxiety inside me. The feeling wasn't long lived as Dennis stretched in his sleep, kicking Peyton in the side as he did so. She groaned loudly and rolled over, and I quickly ran out of sight. The last thing I wanted was to be caught staring at her while she slept, I would never be able to live it down.

I crept downstairs slowly, not wanting to wake the sleeping pair, and got to work in the kitchen making breakfast. The smell of cooking bacon must've roused Dennis from his slumber, as he appeared moments later. I threw him a piece to chew on as I finished cooking the eggs, placing them on the plate with the bacon and two slices of buttered toast. I didn't know why I was so desperate to impress the girl who had disliked me for so many years, but I had this insatiable need to do so. I took the plate of breakfast upstairs, planning to wake her with a knock on the door, but she was already awake.

She hadn't noticed my presence. She had discarded the shirt I had given her and opted for a sports bra, still wearing my sweatpants I had given her last night. She was on the floor of the room doing push ups; her shoulder, arm, and back muscles peaking through her tanned skin. Much to my dismay, I couldn't help but admire her perfectly sculpted body.

"Uh...Peyton?" I spoke awkwardly, and she looked up at me from the floor.

"I'm busy," she said, before continuing the exercise.

I nodded in defeat, leaving the plate of breakfast by the door and going back downstairs to join Dennis on the couch. I didn't know what I expected Peyton's reaction to be, but I had hoped for more than just an 'I'm busy,'. I hadn't expected her dislike for me to dissipate overnight, but I thought that she would at least appreciate my hospitality. I sighed, falling back onto the couch and curling up underneath a soft blanket. I turned on the TV, hoping to distract myself from the disappointed and uneasy feeling in my stomach.

" - still no cure in sight. Yesterday recorded over nine thousand new confirmed cases Australia wide and experts are saying that this number is expected to increase rapidly if we do not stay inside and abide by the rules set by the Australian Government."

Well, that did absolutely nothing to make me feel better. The news anchor continued,

"In better news, we can confirm that ninety seven year old Sydney resident, Doris Mansfield, is the first person over the age of ninety to officially recover from ENOV-18 in Australia. Our producers have spoken to her over the phone and she has confirmed that she is safe and well, resting at home with her family."

A picture of Doris Mansfield appeared on the screen, surrounded by her family. A spark of hope ignited inside me - could her recovery be the start of a decrease in mortality? I changed the channel in hopes of find something slightly less depressing, but to no avail. Every single TV channel had full time coverage of the virus, so I instead opted to watch something on Netflix instead. I chose to watch 'Riverdale', a guilty pleasure of mine - no matter how pathetically unbelievable and cringe worthy the show became, I just couldn't stop watching it.

I found myself immersed in the mess of a storyline, momentarily forgetting the craziness that was the real world. Dennis and I curled up together on the couch, his head resting against my shoulder as I scratched behind his ears. Cheryl and Toni were kissing fervently on the bed, hands groping and bodies rolling.

"I didn't know you were into lesbian shit."

I jumped, quickly snatching the remote and pausing the TV. Dennis whined at the lack of scratches and pawed at me in annoyance, but I ignored him. It wasn't as if Peyton had caught me watching some sort of lesbian porn, so why was I so embarrassed? I looked up and met her gaze, immediately regretting it. She was still wearing her sports bra and her six pack was on show. Her body was extremely impressive and I found my eyes roaming it with envy. When my gaze finally returned to her face, she had a smirk set on her lips and an eyebrow raised.

"It's just a TV show," I admitted, but I could feel the blush creeping onto my cheeks.

"Yeah, whatever you say, McMann," she rolled her eyes.

An awkward silence filled the room and I was desperate to break it in whatever way I possibly could.

"Did you eat the breakfast I left for you?" I asked, desperate to change the subject to anything that wasn't that.

"Yeah," she replied. No 'thank you', no sort of appreciation whatsoever. I physically felt my body deflate — why did I bother?

A booming knock at the door pierced the silence and Dennis immediately ran towards the front of the house, barking and whining at the visitor. He was used to being walked once a day and he hadn't been further than the backyard since yesterday morning. He was going stir crazy (myself included) and was desperate to get outside.

"Can you hold him back?" I asked Peyton, gesturing towards Dennis. "He'll try to run outside otherwise."

I answered the door and was faced with another person in a hazmat suit, his hand outstretched expectantly.

"Form?" he said, and I quickly rushed to the coffee table and picked it up, handing it over to him. I could hear Peyton struggling with Dennis in the background, which inspired me to ask what I assumed was most likely a dumb question.

"Dogs can't get this virus, can they?"

"No," the man responded, "but you can't walk him. This virus is airborne, if you come within six feet of someone who is infected you will almost certainly be infected yourself."

"So we can exercise him in the garden?"

"Yes, but that's all," the man confirmed.

"McMann, can we speed this up a bit?" I heard Peyton's annoyed tone from behind me. I turned to see her practically sitting on top of Dennis in an attempt to stop him from escaping out the front door.

"Your next food package will be delivered within the next week," the man said, before turning and walking back to the army vehicle.

I closed the door behind him and heard Peyton sigh with relief as she let go of Dennis. I heard his paws clamber against the floorboards as he raced towards the closed door.

"I'm going to take him out the back and play with him for a while, he needs to run around," I told her.

Playing with Dennis proved to be a good distraction. Our house had quite a large backyard, including a pool and a large grass area for Dennis to run around on. I threw his ball and chased him for at least an hour, giving him exercise as well as myself. By the time we finally retired inside it was just after midday and I decided to prepare lunch for myself and Peyton. As I walked inside I saw Peyton sitting on the couch staring down at her phone, her eyebrows furrowed and her lower lip pouted in a slight frown.

"Are you okay?" I asked her before I could stop myself.

"Fine," she replied shortly.

"Are...are you sure?"

Dumb question, Zara.

"Fuck off, McMann!" she snapped at me, causing me to flinch.

"Y — you don't have to be rude," I retorted.

"You don't have to be so fucking nosey, either!" she yelled. She looked back down at her phone without a second glance at me, apparently deciding she no longer wanted to be in my presence. She stormed up the stairs without a word and a few seconds later I heard the spare room door slam.

I stood stunned in the doorway wondering what on earth had just happened. Had I overstepped any boundaries by asking if she was okay? Did I just ruin any possible chances I had of actually getting along with her?

I busied myself making lunch for Peyton and myself, opting to make a stir fry with some left over ingredients I had found in the fridge. I took a plate up to Peyton's room, leaving it at her door. I knocked once to get her attention, but disappeared down the stairs before she opened the door — I couldn't face her right now. I kept wondering what I had done to illicit a change in her behaviour. Yesterday had been half decent — she had actually thanked me for making dinner, but today was awful. I didn't have a chance to ruminate on these thoughts, however, as my phone began to ring. I looked at the screen and saw it was my mum calling, and I answered straight away.

"Mum?"

"Zara, sweetheart. Are you okay? How is everything?" her worried voice spoke through the phone.

Hearing her voice instantly made me tear up, and I collapsed onto the couch in a heap.

"Mum, I miss you," I cried, letting a tear fall down my cheek.

"I miss you too, honey. Are you safe? Have you received the package from the army?"

"We're safe. Everything's okay, it's just...Peyton is being so difficult!" I admitted.

"I thought she was your friend?"

"No, she's never liked me, mum. I've tried to hard to make her feel comfortable and it feels like all she does is try to make things difficult!"

"Zara, honey, the only thing you can do is be yourself. Remember, she's in a strange house away from her family," she reasoned.

"I know, I'm trying. Are you okay, are you safe?"

"Yes, I'm safe. We get tested every morning and night here," she reassured me.

"Will you call me every day? Please?" I begged.

"I'll try my best, I promise!"

"I love you," I sniffled.

"I love you, too!" my mum said, and then she hung up.

I let myself break down, the uncontrollable sobs wracking through my body. The stress of everything had become too overwhelming and I let myself crumble. I hugged Dennis while I cried, letting myself be vulnerable to my surroundings. I had no way of knowing, however, that Peyton was at the top of the stairs, listening to every word.

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AUTHORS NOTE
Thank you so much for 1k reads and over 100 votes, I really appreciate it. My updates might be a bit slower from now on as I was hospitalised yesterday and they limit phone use here. Hopefully with the free time that I have, I can write some more and update when possible. Thank you for your support! x