Demons [Eddie Brock] Venom

1. Neighbour

                Rory flipped open her paperback, folding the cover all the way around in a way that would make her mother gasp. Untucking that little dog-eared fold, she reached for her steaming mug of tea with her free hand. Brown eyes adjusting to the little black letters on the page, she submerged herself back in the tale that swept her from her small apartment in San Francisco and up into the worlds above. Spacecrafts filled with brave adventurers and scientists exploring other worlds, aliens that clashed with the human intruders.

Just as she began to lose herself in the space travels of astronaut Megan Jenkins, a dull thumping sound broke through her bliss. She jerked her head around to look at the door as if, like a superhero of some sort, she could see through the door at the cause of the disruption. The thumping grew louder and Rory took a sharp breath, as if that would make the sound stop.

Louder still, Rory could not get back into her novel, back into space and out of this planet. Placing the book face down on the arm of her couch, she unfolded her legs from underneath her. As she placed her tea down as well, she walked over to the door and pulled the chain lock off, then opened the door.

Rory saw a head pop up from the stairs, a man walking backwards, carrying black garbage bags in one hand, and pulling a suitcase behind him up the stairs.

"So, you're the cause of the thumping," she announced.

He glanced at her, eyes narrowing slightly. "Yeah, sorry."

She wasn't expecting the apology, and squinted, unsure if it was sincere or not.

"You're welcome to help me," he suggested, slightly disgruntled as he continued to drag everything up the stairs.

"Or, you know, you could do more than one trip," she threw back, arms crossing over her chest.

"If the elevator worked, I would be more than happy to do multiple trips." He made it to the top of the stairs, then dropped a bag and flexed his hand. There was a red mark down his palm, the weight of the bag pulling on his skin, chafing it.

She smiled. "You new here?"

"Mhm," he replied, combined with a nod.

"That elevator has never worked, so you best get used to multiple trips," she said curtly. "Consider it your cardio for the day."

Turning towards her apartment, seeing no reason to stick around; the people in this building didn't speak to each other, the closest thing to interacting was when a misplaced letter got shoved under the door, and that was if they were being kind and didn't throw your utility bill into the trash. Rory knew it was better to pretend her neighbours didn't exist, even if they were loud, obnoxious and rude. It looked like her new neighbour wouldn't be any different from the last.

"Hey, what's your name?" he asked as she was halfway through closing the door.

The question sounded genuine, sincere. It wasn't in a creepy way like Mike from two doors down would speak to her, or some guy shouting across the street at her -she hated cities. It wasn't a male employee who cornered her in the xerox room to ask her out on a date she'd said no to fifteen times already.

It was a genuine question.

So, she turned halfway and cocked her head to the side, her chin-length, wavy brown hair swayed. "Rory."

"Eddie," he replied, and watched as she closed the door with a small smile. 

-----

I am completely pantsing this. 

Comment your thoughts, don't forget to vote, and add this story to a reading list if you want to show your support! 

Dedications will be given to people who comment, as usual!