Entry for the Arrowverse Quarantine Fic Exchange, for Shanachie

Chapter Summary: Imagine Caitlin and Cisco are teenagers in this modern virus world, dealing with quarantine and family drama and boredom...all over the world wide web. If they make it through at all, it'll only be by doing so together.

A.N. Chapter title from "I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones

Day 1

"This is seriously the worst thing ever." Cisco drawled, his head hanging upside down over the edge of his bed. The blood rushed to his head as he held the phone to his ear. Outside of his room, he could hear his aunts and uncles and parents fight with his younger cousins, his grandparents shouting over them, and he was pretty sure he could hear his brother's stupid clarinet too.

"It can't be that bad." His childhood best friend Caitlin sighed on the other end of the phone, in that sweet reassuring way she always had.

"No, I'm pretty sure this means the world's going to end sometime this year." Cisco sat up, rubbing his forehead. "Haven't you seen the memes all over facebook and tumblr? I found the one about there being plagues in 1820 and 1920 too especially foreboding."

"Cisco."

He shivered at the tone in her voice - that 'ok, Mr. Dramatic, let's just calm down' one. "What? The end times are seriously nigh, Caitlin. For some of us at least. I swear, if this virus doesn't kill me the boredom will. Or maybe I'll end up killing my whole family 'cuz they're so annoying."

She giggled. "How much sugar have you had today?"

"That's not relevant." He flopped back on the bed, his head missing the pillow entirely. "I'm serious here, I don't think I'm gonna make it through this quarantine thing. Not in this house, with these people. I never thought I would say this, but I really wish I could just go to school."

He heard her sigh and he scrunched his face, imagining those cute little lines that wrinkled on her forehead when she was upset about something.

"All we can hope for is that the doctors and scientists figure out something soon, or that the virus runs its course. Honestly, if people just stay in their houses and away from other people like they told us to, it shouldn't take that long." Caitlin said. "I'm pretty sure my mom has her entire staff working on this - it wouldn't surprise me if she found a solution before the CDC does."

"Yeah sooner would be better than later." Cisco winced at the sound of one of his little cousins screaming. Because of course just before this whole quarantine thing started, his aunt and uncle "temporarily" moved in with their three kids while his uncle recovered from a broken leg and couldn't work. Oh...and yeah, his grandparents lived with them too.

"Everything okay over there? Sounds, ah, kinda loud-ish." Caitlin said.

"Oh nothing, just one of my cousin Sofia's little girly fits. She does that a lot." Cisco reached his leg out, grunting as he struggled to reach the door. Finally, his feet hit wood and he kicked his door closed - not caring that it slam shut.

There was silence for a few moments before Caitlin answered. "Yikes - girl's got quite the set of pipes."

"Oh that's nothing, she's not even at her usual full set of crazy. Don't get me wrong, I love the little girl but damn… I swear, girl's only six and she's already crazier than her mother. Should be fun when she hits puberty. Hell, we'll probably still be stuck in this house when she does become a teenager."

"Let's hope not. If I'm trapped in this house by myself much longer I may go insane too." Caitlin huffed.

"What do you mean, by yourself?" Cisco froze.

The line was quiet for a few minutes. "Nothing. Forget I said anything."

"I mean, I know you and your mom don't exactly get along but she still counts as a person." Cisco said.

"It's just . . . She's quarantined herself to her home office, which has its own bathroom, kitchenette, portable cot, and door to the outside. I'm pretty sure she's only showering and washing her clothes at work." Caitlin drawled. "Which, I guess makes sense because she's exposed going back and forth to the lab as well as the fact that she literally works with the virus itself there . . . I actually haven't been in the same room with her for over a week already, since she started working on it before the country officially went on lockdown. She left me a credit card that connects to her account and pretty much left me to my own devices."

"Wow, Caitlin - I never realized. That sucks." Cisco listened to the sounds of his family fighting, He'd totally ditch his family and go spend the rest of this stupid lockdown with his best friend so she wouldn't have to be alone.

"Eh, it's what I expect with her anyways." Caitlin sighed. "Really, I'll be fine. I'm usually here solo anyways."

"But at least you got to go to school before. The movies, the museum, anywhere." Cisco looked over to his desk, at the picture of Caitlin and him together from when they were little. "Seriously Caitlin, whenever you need to talk just hit me up. Okay? Like, I mean it. I don't care what time it is. We can talk or facetime or text - whatever. Just send stupid funny memes back and forth. Anything. You hear me?"

"Cisco, I'll be fine." Caitlin groaned. "But . . . thanks."

"What else are best friends for?" He shrugged. Then his eyes widened. He sat up suddenly, shaking off the dizzy from being upside down so long. "Dude…I just got the best idea ever. We can do a virtual binge day!"

"What do you mean?" Caitlin said.

"We both start playing something at the same time, and we can text each other while we watch." Cisco explained. "So it'll be like we're watching it together, even though I'm here and you're there."

"Wouldn't that be weird?" Caitlin chuckled.

"I mean . . . not really." Cisco said. There was a light knocking on his door and he rolled his eyes. "Go away!" He shouted.

"What!?"

"No, not you Caitlin. There's an intruder trying to invade the premises." Cisco held the phone away for a moment. "What the hell do you want!?" His door opened a crack, and he opened his mouth to let them have it, when the tiniest heart-shaped face peaked through. He let out a heavy breath, deflating. "Hey Sof."

"Everyone's yelling." Sofia's face fell, her shoulders scrunched - as if she'd already forgotten that she herself was just yelling too.

"Yeah . . ." Cisco sighed. "Come here, kiddo." Sofia smiled brightly and scrambled into the room and up onto the bed. His phone fell from his hand as Sofia jumped on him.

"Cisco!?" The voice echoed softly somewhere in the bed.

"Sh-crap!" He grabbed the phone from under Sofia's foot. Sofia giggled as he pushed her away from him. "Cait-Caitlin? You still there?"

"Duh." She laughed. He put the phone on speaker. "What'd you do, drop the phone or something?"

"Sofia tackled me and I dropped it." He looked to his cousin, who was still laughing. "Say hi to Caitlin, Sof."

"Hi Sofia!" Caitlin's voice sounded in the room.

"Hi…" Sophia regarded him quizzically, staring first at the phone and then up at her cousin. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Cisco inhaled sharply, "What!?" His voice cracked, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. All he could hear from the phone was Caitlin's sweet laugh. "N-no….?" It was embarrassing how much that came out as a question, how sweaty he was becoming so fast. Why was the question affecting him so much? It surely wasn't the first time the two of them had been asked that when they were together.

"Sofia, we've known each other since we were younger than you." Caitlin was still laughing.

"That's right." Cisco gulped. He couldn't read the tone in Caitlin's voice, couldn't tell what she was thinking.

Sofia giggled. "You guys are silly." The young girl jumped off the bed and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"She's cute, Cisco." Caitlin gushed.

"Total joker." He chuckled, pulling on the collar of his shirt. "So . . . we up for that virtual binge watch?"

"Oh, I'm in." She confirmed. "Star Wars?"

His nerves forgotten as his Star Wars obsession took over, he sprawled out on the bed. "Hell yeah! See how many of them we can get through at once."

"Okay. I am just going to make myself some dinner and get a little homework done….meet back in an hour or two?"

"Homework? Gross." He scoffed. "School got canceled, Cait. Relax, for once."

"School did not technically get canceled - it's just relocated to home, is all. We're still expected to keep up with the assignments and projects." Caitlin said.

Cisco rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah…."

"I'm assuming that means you haven't done your stuff from today then?" She asked.

Cisco scrunched his face, looking over to his laptop which still had the email from one of his teachers open. "Maybe? Maybe not?"

"You better get going then, cuz I'm not starting Star Wars with you until you have at least one thing done. Two would be preferable but I'll take one." She told him.

"Alright, geez!" He grunted, sliding off the bed. "Bossy much?"

"If caring about you makes me bossy then sure. Homework before jedis, I mean it." Caitlin huffed.

The line went dead and Cisco sighed loudly, tossing the phone on his bed. He glanced over at his book shelf where all his Star Wars dvds, funkos, and other merchandise were spread out. Then he turned to the computer on his desk, frowning. As right as he knew Caitlin was, he sooo didn't want to do homework right now. But, he would do it anyways.

Mostly for Caitlin, because she did care about him and the thought of that left him feeling ooey and gooey inside. (And he sooo didn't know what that meant but it was getting stronger by the day). Really, he was going to rush his way through it because he really wanted to watch Star Wars. After all, he was just a simple man trying to make his way through the universe...

to be continued….