Both Jake and Olive come from entirely different backgrounds and professions, they had never met before prior to their initial encounter which takes place during an annual gala hosted in a fancy building for high ranking professionals, hence why they’re both obliged to attend against their wishes. At first, they find themselves in the company of their colleagues etc. until the awards begin, and they adapt their professional ways in order to get through the boring stuff they both couldn’t care less about. During the start of the night, Jake manages to stir up issues between two of his colleagues, Abbey and Dorian, due to the ongoing affair he’s been having with Abbey behind Dorian’s back and Olive is brushing off her colleague Shane’s advances toward her.
Once the awards are over, Jake decides to search further afield for entertainment for the rest of the night as he is bored with the pretentious people downstairs. Therefore, he goes upstairs which happens to be off limits, but he doesn’t exactly care about that. He stumbles across an unlocked door, the only unlocked door, where a piano sits inside. Naturally, he goes in and begins to play in the dark room; still able to hear the party going on below him. Meanwhile, a bored Olive also decides to venture upstairs, wandering around aimlessly alone until she hears the sound of the piano. Curious, she follows the sound and winds up standing in the doorway, watching Jake. After a while of being alone, he suddenly feels eyes on him and turns to see Olive.
Instead of being defensive about it, Jake invites Olive in where he shares a bottle of champagne he previously found with her. The two seem to get along pretty well and hit it off on their first meeting regardless of not knowing anything about the other except their names. Eventually, one thing leads to another and they find themselves hooking up in the empty, dark room. After this encounter, they decide to go back down to the party for fear of inevitably being caught in an off-limits area. When they join the party once more, they go off to their different groups yet seem to catch each other’s eyes from across the room. At the end of the night they eventually part, seemingly believing they will never cross paths again.
But, as fate would have it, the two come together again in an unexpected way. A few weeks following the party, they’d end up face to face again due to a suspicious virus breakout occurring in the local hospital. Olive would want to inspect the hospital for a news report and Jake would be working the same case. Despite the fact the police had the hospital shut off to the public due to the nature of the virus being contagious, Olive takes it upon herself to somehow manage to sneak in after the police forbid her entering. However, what she didn’t expect was a quarantine taking place which traps her inside the infected building and wouldn’t you know, Jake also happens to get caught inside also, which he isn’t best pleased about. Eventually, the two would bump into each other (literally) and instantly be like “what are you doing here?” “My job?” And it would immediately be awkward between them, he would be assy and she would be sassy, which is both their normal nature anyway (except when drunk together, apparently?) but add that to the fact they’re lowkey worried about catching this virus, their assy/sassiness is amped up tenfold, thus they take it out on each other, actually not getting along at all sober compared to how well they got along drunk. It would sort of be like I thought I’d see the last of you which I was fine with but nope. And also, Jake would be like looking at her like “whoops, didn’t realize she was this sassy, I kinda like it” and probably looking at her and being like, flashback city and she’d pick up on this and sass him more.
At the beginning of the lockdown, they’d both pretend to dislike each other and throw attitude towards each other like no body’s business due to the fact they definitely were not expecting to see each other again, especially not in these certain circumstances. All of the squabbling and disagreeing would ensue for some time before a few situations might arise that requires them to put their heads together and shove aside their attitudes and disagreements for the sake of their lives and the lives of the others also trapped inside. It would be in Jake’s nature to make sure the others are safe, and he would know a wee bit about protecting the others thus everyone else would come to rely on Jake to see them through, and in time, so would Olive. The two would slowly begin to look out for each other and trust each other, resulting in the easing off on the attitude and starting to get along more.
Over time, the two slowly begin to grow closer due to the fact the population inside begins to dwindle down thus they only really have each other and some part of Olive knows Jake can keep her safe and she grows to rely on him and he grows to trust her, even if she drives him insane with being such a reckless, sassy woman; cue all of his eye rolls at her and pulling her out of all of the dangerous situations while she’d sass him about it, claiming she can handle herself and of course, he knows she can but wait, has he grown to actually care about her life as much as his own? Throughout the course of it all, they would end up having to find supplies to live on, he’d have to patch her up a few times and she would have to patch him up a few times, they’d have to find safe places to hide from infected patients and visitors, he’d probably have to kill a few people who were chasing them etc., they’d end up hiding in supply closets, sleeping in the on-call room where he’d insist she takes the bed and he’d take the floor (naturally, she might ask him to sleep next to her the further it gets because she low key feels safer with him right beside her, help) and having to sneakily slope off to find a working shower where they aren’t at risk of being found by any possible infected people. Slowly, they both internally don’t know how to cope without each other.
During their time getting closer, they would begin opening up to each other about stuff and starting to get along and develop feelings for each other, which, of course, they wouldn’t dare say out loud. Over time their conversations would turn into meaningful ones and Jake would eventually tell Olive about his broken relationship with his father due to his father lying to him, how he had to kill his own mother because of a virus she had contracted that is scarily similar to the one they’re in quarantine for, how his brother died. And she would tell him about the death of her parents in an accident and they would kind of console each other and realize the other has more depth and emotion than they both let on. They would continue to grow closer and would both open up more about their lives, even if Jake knows Olive is a reporter and could potentially exploit his story about his mother in order to obtain a front-page headline, but deep down he knows she wouldn’t betray him like that. The conversation about piano might arise and Olive would confess to Jake that she actually knows how to play but hasn’t in years since the death of her parents and he would try and convince her to play again in an attempt to cheer her up.
Due to the nature of the virus (considering it’s like a Croatoan kind of virus), and its supernatural qualities, Olive would be a little shocked to learn that the supernatural exist which would freak her out a little due to how she always thought she had seen something out of the ordinary during the accident with her parents. Meanwhile, Jake would be suffering from flashbacks of his mother every so often, the virus triggering him to an extent because this is the hospital in which his mother used to work and, ultimately, where his mother had caught the virus from a while back. As a result of this, Jake would start to develop signs of PTSD and Olive would recognize this and be there for him. In the middle of the chaos, Olive would be able to push Jake through his panicking by assuring him she was there and that everyone needs him. She would comfort him and even though he’d pretend he’s fine, he knows he isn’t and eventually, he would crumble and accept her help and stop being an arrogant ass with her even though he still would be with everyone else inside. Over time, Olive would become his anchor to reality and help him get through it.
Due to Olive’s reckless and impulsive nature, Jake would always be on high alert and keeping a close eye on her, having to swoop in a rescue her from potential threats left, right and center. Olive might eventually need saving from an infected person or a person in general, and Jake would come to her rescue again and where she doesn’t like being grateful to anyone, she would be thankful for his aid while he’d always tell her off for putting her life at risk and complain the only reason he cares is because he also then has to put his life on the line in order to save hers, when in reality, it’s because he actually cares about her and wouldn’t want to lose her.
During it all, they would slowly start caring and catching feelings and need each other to get through it all.
Somewhere along the road, a situation arises where Olive comes face to face with a close call with one of the infected ones, she would have gotten blood on herself or something along those lines and she thinks she has caught the infection, thus she and others in her group insist of putting her into isolation to see if she’s infected or not (maybe the symptoms tend to show varying between 10 to 48 hours), and while their hideaway is in risk of exposing and the group should move on, Jake refuses to leave Olive behind and sitting with her through it all, reassuring her while she’s trying to make him leave her behind and insists that she’s caught the infection. Okay but this chick could definitely try and convince Jake to forget about Olive and leave her behind, it was also approved that Olive would be sassy af towards a chick and Jake about someone hanging by his arms side whenever Olive is not around (and maybe Jake would even tease her about being jealous but ofc she would admit none of it).
Jolive hc: When one of them would be shooketh the other would lessen their tough love because underneath they’d wanna look after each other but not let the other see how concerned they really are. Jake would patch her up all the time from her wee reckless outbursts and he’d stick with her and keep her with him instead of ditching her. Olive would offer him physical contact as a way of reassurance, I can totally see that. When things would get real crazy she’d take his hand and assure him they got this and they’ll survive together and it would low key make him feel better inside even if he wouldn’t react outside.
the shower headcanon: Seeing one of his PTSD moments and she would be there to witness it and be low key worried boo even if she wouldn’t directly say it out loud but she would probably be there every step of the way to make sure he’s alright. But because she cannot contain herself and she would be all itchy af about it, she would just choose to step in and help him clean. That ain’t intimate and sweet at all, and we ain’t rolling in the deep about this. But as soon as they are back to surviving, they would never talk about it again because dweebs ain’t about admitting stuff.