She was flitting through the news channels, trying to find some news that didn't pertain to fake conspiracies, when the doorbell rang. She jumped at the sound of it and went to open the door. She sighed when she saw who was on the other side. "Rae," she said in lieu of a greeting.

"Aria," he said, nodding. "Where's Jill?"

"Back at her parent's place. She left a few days ago."

"During the lockdown?" he asked, frowning.

"Well, not really. Before that. And now she's stuck there."

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" he asked, lifting a brow.

"I would, but I don't want to give you the idea that I tolerate you."

He sighed and pushed past her to enter the apartment. There were clothes strewn here and there with the occasional wrapper of chips. "Is that the reason you didn't want me here or is this?" he asked, amused.

"Oh please, you've seen the apartment in worse condition." It was true. When Jill was there any sense of cleanliness went out the window. "Besides, I was going to clean up eventually. Believe it or not, I actually don't like a messy apartment."

"Sure," he said rolling his eyes.

She ignored him and went to sit back on the couch, this time taking her laptop from the coffee table to continue working. The news continued to play in the background. After a few seconds, Aria flinched at the sound of his throat clearing. "Oh god, you're going to startle me to death, aren't you?"

"Did you forget I was here?" he asked.

"What? Pssht, of course I did. You're not worth remembering. Besides, Jill's not here and I don't want anything to do with you, so I naturally assumed you left."

"How very nice of Her Highness, to forget about everyone but herself."

She rolled her eyes. "It's Her Majesty. Okay so what are you doing here?"

But his attention was on the TV. She frowned and was about to make another sarcastic remark when her attention was snagged by the spokesperson on the news. She stood in front of what was starting to look an awful lot like her neighborhood, and there were police barricades everywhere. As if to prove the point, she could hear sirens wailing in the distance.

"-and it seems like there are four infected people in this area, and many others who had come in contact with them have also been placed under strict observation." The spokesperson then went on to name the names of the people infected, and while Aria may have heard those names before, she didn't know the people, which made her feel a bit better, until she realised exactly what this meant. She was stuck here with Raedan Thompson. Not the best thing in the world, when she was already one step away from murdering him. Looking at him, she knew the feeling was mutual.

"I gotta get out of here." he said.

"Okay. But if you can't get out of here, then you know where to find me."

He grimaced, as if even the thought of glancing at her again made him sick to the stomach.

"At the supermarket across the street."

With that she took her wallet from the table and walked out of her house, leaving him standing there like a lost puppy.

******

While originally she had had enough supplies to last her at least another two weeks, having another person in the house had complicated things and tightened supplies. Aria had had no other choice but to rush to the supermarket. She knew exactly where Rae had gone, and she hadn't tried to stop him either. If there was even a slight chance that he could leave then she wasn't going to be the one who stopped him. But either way, she had to get the supplies.

She talked the manager into closing the store but allowing her to buy the supplies and exit from the back entrance. Just as the manager was about to close shop Rae slipped in. The manager glanced at Aria, who sighed but nodded, and the shop closed down. She took a shopping cart and started walking down the aisles taking her time looking at the supplies and her mental checklist. "So I'm guessing you can't leave?" she asked, exasperated at the turn of events. She had been hoping that there could be a chance for him to leave.

"Yeah, I can't leave."

"Okay then take another shopping cart and help me stock up for another three weeks or so."

Rae silently complied and went to another aisle and started putting in whatever he thought would be necessary, mostly food items and essentials. At one point he found himself in the aisle of toiletries where he put in the shampoo he needed and then shouted for Aria. "Aria! What shampoo do you want?"

"I have two unopened bottles already, but if you are in the toiletries section, then get me some pads! Or tampons. But make sure the pads have wings," she shouted back. "On second thought you'll probably mess the choice up, so leave them, I'll get it on my own."

Though Rae was a little offended at the fact that she thought he couldn't buy her the right choice of pads or tampons, he nodded. "Okay!"

After an hour or so, he heard Aria calling him, and struggling with his now full cart, he walked towards her. She stood in the men clothing section, her cart almost as full as his, and her shoulder length red hair was tied back. Rae immediately understood why she was there. He couldn't just stay in the same suit for three weeks. "Choose whatever the hell you want. I'm getting those pads I need." Her grey eyes met his hazel ones and then she walked off.

A few minutes later they both stood in front of the cash register, while the elderly lady checked their items out. "That'll be $450," the lady said. Aria took out her wallet to pay when Rae made a noise of protest. Aria frowned, "What? Do you even have your wallet on you? Besides it's against my code of ethics to let a guest-even an unwanted one-pay."

"I wasn't going to ask to pay, I just realised I forgot something." Aria sighed and motioned towards the aisles. Rae jogged back and a few minutes later came back with some pairs of undergarments.

"That'll be $480." Aria paid and they left, when Rae said, "I didn't think it was possible for you to have a code of ethics."

"Shut up," she said, rolling her eyes.

******

Rae entered the living room, his brown hair still wet from the shower. He saw Aria sitting right where he had left her a few minutes ago, in the same shorts and over sized grey t-shirt, though her hair was untied. She was concentrating on the laptop in front of her. He sank down next to her on the couch, and saw a mug of coffee laid out for him. "Thanks."

Aria hummed in answer, never taking her eyes off the laptop. Rae took his own laptop, that they had retrieved from his car on their way back from the store, and powered it on. He then turned to Aria and called her name to get her attention. She breathed out and turned towards him, irritated. "What?"

"I didn't come here for Jill, I came here for you."

"Those are words I never thought I'd hear," she said. "What is it?"

"As you might know, my partners and I have recently launched a new company, and we have narrowed it down to two law firms to represent us. I'm leaning towards yours, Sydney Maxwell, to represent us. So I thought I might talk to you about it in person."

"Pretty sure you could have talked to me about this over the phone."

"You never pick up whenever I call."

"Oh yeah," she said grinning. But then she looked at him seriously. "This is your third architectural company since you left the other two, and the first one you own along with your partners. The company had a big reputation even before you owned it. But maybe under your guidance it just might become one of the best. But the last time I checked, that company was represented by Williams Johnson Willows."

Rae nodded. "One of my partners wants to continue with them, but I think the company will be better in your hands."

Aria smirked. "Of course it will. But let me guess, your partners need some convincing."

"They do. Think you can convince them?

"I convinced you, didn't I? And I didn't even have to do a thing. But if I am to do this, I will be the one to represent you guys in the firm."

"I thought that was a given."

Aria grinned. "Great, you guys can be the first clients I bring in as junior partner."

Rae's eyes widened in surprise. "Junior partner?" he asked in disbelief. He was stunned. Becoming junior partner at the young age of twenty three was rare, but becoming a junior partner at the age of twenty four in one of the best law firms in the state was almost unheard of. If he had had any doubts about his decision, they were now all but gone. He might not like Aria as a person, but he knew she was one hell of a lawyer.

"Yup, junior partner. I'll be starting with the new title next week. You know I was wondering who I would bring in, and I won't lie the thought of your company did come to mind. But now that you are here, it's just a matter of getting your partners on board." There was a gleam in Aria's grey eyes that he had never seen before. He wondered if her opponents in the court ever faltered when they looked at her or when they sensed the confidence and power that radiated from her. While her red hair and grey eyes made her beautiful, they also made her look dangerous, like a predator. He felt just a tiny bit better that she would be representing them.

"So when can we have a chat with your partners?" she asked.

"Tomorrow at 6pm, I think."

"Yeah that's fine. Now if you are done distracting me, I have to write an email to the firm about my current situation."

That reminded him of his situation and he too started writing an email to his partners.

"Oh and Aria?"

"Hmm?"

"Congratulations."

She smirked.

~~~~~~~~~~

Yes, I know it's probably not possible to become a junior partner at the age of twenty three, but... She just did *shrugs*

Maybe she just joined law school really early so...

To the lawyers out there who are reading this, yes it might be inaccurate. I'm not shying away from admitting this.