2 to 3 percent of the population is naturally immune to the virus. 2 to 3 percent of the population is naturally immune to the virus. 2 to 3 percent of the population is naturally immune to the virus. He just had to keep telling himself that. He was immune. He had to be. Almost his whole neighborhood had been dead or dying when he'd gotten the nerve to pack supplies and ditch his house, so he must've been exposed at some point. Exposure without getting sick meant immunity.

Sollux was sitting curled up in the corner of the computer lab at his high school. Former high school now, he supposed. He'd just been a month away from graduation when the schools had closed to prevent spreading of the virus. Now it seemed pretty damn unlikely that things would calm down enough for something like him getting his diploma to matter. No disease had even been close to this devastating since the Black Death in the 1300s, and even that had spared portions of the world.

He'd been alone for about a month, he figured. He hadn't been keeping precise track of the days, and it was difficult when they were all more or less the same. The school had a pretty sizable stock of food, a lot of which didn't need to be cooked, as well as several cases of bottled water, iced tea, and so on. Between that and the computer lab filled with laptops whose lingering battery charge he could carefully ration, there were definitely worse places he could be.

Sollux sighed softly, running his fingers through his hair and taking a sip of his water. He was a relatively solitary person, but he was really missing some human interaction. What if he was the only one left around here?

As if in answer to his mental question, he heard footsteps in the hallway. Gentle, surefooted thuds, not the weak stumbling of the dying. Another immune, then, like him. He got to his feet, taking hold of the wickedly sharp, serrated kitchen knife he'd found. It wasn't a weapon made for combat, but it was better than nothing if this person turned out to be violent.

The hand not holding the knife shook slightly on the doorknob, and he wondered if it might be better to just go back to his cozy corner and hope this person didn't think the computer lab warranted investigation. But he knew he couldn't do that. Not when there was a chance he could get an ally out of this.

He steadied his shaky hand and opened the door, quietly stepping out into the hallway. The figure was turned the other way at first, so Sollux had a moment to inspect it. Taller than him, and more athletic looking. Expensive-looking clothes, and a gun tucked in their pants. Overall, someone he really didn't want to have to fight with his dumb kitchen knife. Sollux didn't have a chance to make any more observations before they turned to face him.

Neither of them said anything for a long few moments, just staring at each other. They weren't friends or anything, not even really acquaintances. The amount of people in their grade was just sizable enough to make it possible for the top two students not to know each other. It wasn't like who was valedictorian mattered anymore, but all through high school, he'd known that it'd be between him and some guy named Eridan Ampora. He'd been pointed out to Sollux a few times, no big deal.

There was that one time junior year too, but Sollux didn't want to think about that. Couldn't think about it now, when Eridan was staring at him, had a gun, and knew exactly what one of his biggest weaknesses was.

He bit his lip, hand getting shaky again. This time the one holding the knife. Not good. Sollux took one tiny step back towards his computer lab, watching carefully for a sign Eridan was going to reach for his gun.

"Sollux..." Eridan's tone was hesitant, the sort you might use when talking to a feral animal. He was just as scared, then.

"Eridan..." He replied just as hesitantly, not at all sure what to do.

"I didn't think anyone else would be here," Eridan finally said. "I don't even know why I came here, really. Just needed some sort of familiar place, I guess."

"Yeah. Me too, I guess." What else could he say? "And there's a lot of computers here, so...I just wanted to be around them." Ugh, that sounded so stupid. But Eridan was acting different too, going by what he'd seen of him over the years. Maybe they were both just that desperate for someone to talk to.

"Would you mind some company? I've been doin' fine on my own, but who knows how many people there are around here...And we kinda know each other already, so..." Eridan shrugged, moving a little closer.

"You want to team up or something?" Sollux raised an eyebrow, more than a little surprised by the offer. It was all he could do not to ask how long. Eridan seemed to figure that part of the question out anyway though.

"Yeah. Indefinitely. For however long you feel like putting up with me. I figured in this situation, it's probably better to have someone with you."

He had no reason to trust him, or to trust anything he said. That one encounter aside, he didn't know Eridan. He could be tricking him. But he certainly seemed genuine...

Sollux wasn't able to carefully consider the pros and cons very long. Even if it was a terrible idea, he'd probably say yes, no matter how much he might like to pretend otherwise.

"Okay, if you really want to spend your days with a dysfunctional computer geek, I'm not gonna stop you. You can be my friend or whatever." And with that, Sollux stepped back into the dim computer lab, wasting no time in getting comfy where he was sitting before.

Eridan followed, sitting next to him and carefully taking a half-stale dinner roll out of the bag in front of him. The school's food offerings had been much better a month ago. After a moment of consideration, Sollux offered him half his blanket. Even in the summer, this part of the school could get a little chilly.

He had a small stack of textbooks off to the side, mostly science and programming. Even if they weren't very exciting, they were something to read. Sollux had one on his lap, skimming through it. Maybe random science knowledge would come in handy in this world.

"We both know I kicked your ass in Chem," Eridan teased when he noticed what Sollux was reading.

"Just like we both know you pretended to be a science wizard the whole year," Sollux retorted, a slight smirk on his face. They hadn't been in the same Chemistry class, but pretty much the whole school knew about that.

Eridan rolled his eyes, scooting a little closer, both for more effective blanket sharing and so he could read over Sollux's shoulder.

"Magic is fake as shit, Sol. Everyone knows that, including me."

"I never said you didn't."

"Whatever."

Once again, they lapsed into silence, both going back to reading the Chemistry textbook. There were plenty of other books sitting there, but Eridan chose to keep reading over Sollux's shoulder.

Sollux lost track of how long that went on, but when he woke up some time later, the textbook was still half on his lap, and Eridan's head was resting on his shoulder, their fingers just barely touching, like they'd moved towards holding hands in their sleep. Odd, considering they hardly knew each other, but comforting.

He just watched Eridan sleep for awhile, glancing down to notice that even now, the Aquarius had all sorts of sparkly gold and violet rings on his fingers. Flaunting his wealth even in the apocalypse.

Before long, Eridan woke up, blinking sleepily. He yawned, picking his head up from Sollux's shoulder.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked, clearly a little disoriented. Sollux had gotten used to not always knowing what time or even what day it was, but apparently Eridan hadn't, wherever he'd been until now.

"I don't know. There's no windows in this room, and the clock batteries died about a week ago," he replied, letting their fingers brush again.

"You've been holed up in here over a week?" Eridan sounded surprised, like that possibility hadn't even occurred to him.

"Yeah, probably about a month by now. When everyone in my neighborhood got sick, I walked here, since I didn't know where else to go. My family was away when it started getting bad, so they couldn't make it back. And I haven't had a reason to leave here since, so I haven't." He shrugged.

"I was at home up until yesterday," Eridan finally said. "We were pretty much set for awhile with food and a generator and everything. It all kinda went to shit when my dad got sick...I tried to take care of him for awhile, figuring I'd get it too before long. But I haven't. Yesterday I couldn't do it anymore. I just...left."

Sollux nodded in understanding. He doubted anyone could bear to take care of someone in that condition for long, especially a loved one.

"I was planning on going back in a couple of days...to finish taking care of things. You don't have to come with me for that, but I feel like it's something I need to do." Eridan's fingers interlocked more securely with Sollux's. "He deserves a proper burial, and I need to gather up some things, so..."

Again, Sollux wasn't quite sure what to say. He'd never exactly been taught what to say to someone who was waiting for their father to die before going back.

"No, I'll go with you. We're a team now, right?" He gently squeezed Eridan's hand, offering him a half smile. "We'll do it together."

"Thanks, Sol." Eridan squeezed back, still pressed close to him under the blanket.

"No problem," he said, staring down at the blanket, tracing the stitches at the hem of it with his fingertip. This was all artificial closeness, created from needing to share a blanket, or both of them reading the same book. He couldn't let himself think Eridan truly cared for him all that much, because that couldn't possibly be true.

"Anyway, uh, we should probably have some kind of plan. We can't just stay here indefinitely like a couple of fuckin' idiots who can't be bothered to think anything through," Eridan said suddenly, eyes glowing with a clear need to talk about concrete logistics instead of emotions.

"Well, yeah, no shit. The supplies here aren't going to last forever, and there's a lot of other things we still need. Plus, this building isn't something we could easily secure or heat or anything like that..." Sollux chewed thoughtfully at his lower lip, trying to remember all the things they'd have to keep in mind from now on.

"We need something smaller," Eridan agreed. "A house would be best, out of the way of any potential looters. Supplies, I'm sure we can find around town. There's hardly anyone left to take them."

"So we'll just...look for a decent house and whatever supplies we can find? I guess that works for now, but eventually we're gonna need a longer-term plan than that. Supplies run out, ED." Sollux hardly even noticed the affectionate term he used, too caught up in his thoughts.

"Obviously. I know that. But don't you think it's better to focus on right now first? We don't even know if we'll live that long."

The silence dragged on until Eridan finally continued.

"We'll talk about it after we take care of things at my house, okay?"

"You were the one who was so insistent on talking about a plan right now, but okay. We'll wait."

The mood was tense after that little discussion, and there was only minimal conversation for the majority of the day in between brief snacks and pacing around the room. Not exciting by any means, that was for sure. Sollux was fed up with such boring days, but he knew that he should be savoring it now, since things could be very different outside the walls of the school.

When it started getting late, the insignificant little argument faded away, and they got comfortable with all the pillows and blankets Sollux had stashed in the room. Unlike the night before, when they'd accidentally fallen asleep close together, they laid down next to each other, cuddling up close.

"I still think about that time..." Eridan said quietly.

"Yeah, I do too." Sollux pressed closer, resting his head against Eridan's chest.

"I'm glad I was right."

"I think I am too."