Author's Note: Two for one today! Enjoy!
The binder sat beside Metz, the notebook with their feedback from Eddie open on their lap. They furiously wiped at their eyes as they tried to scribble a note on a margin. They'd been pacing the apartment until they heard Eddie's apartment door open and close. Frozen in their spot, they struggled on whether to follow him or not. That was, until his words rung in their head again, making Metz wince. Instead, they directed themselves to the couch, where they were sat for the past hour, trying to distract themselves. Except, these stupid tears wouldn't stop falling.
Metz couldn't stand being in the apartment any longer, though. Putting the notebook aside, they snatched up their cell and headed out. Upon opening the door, their breath caught in their throat. A familiar turquoise helmet was set on the ground, the one Eddie bought just for them. Swallowing, they picked it up, staring hard it before turning towards the inside of the apartment to set it on the coffee table. A clank sounded when the helmet touched the table, too loud for it to be caused by simply setting it down. Metz picked it up again and turned it over, finding a ring looped in the safety straps. There was no mistaking it – they'd seen the simple gold band many times. It would switch between Eddie's pointer finger and thumb.
Was this some form of apology? If it was, it was pretty shitty, Metz thought, even as they took the ring and slipped it over their own thumb. It was still too big so they dug around their bedroom next, finding an old, thin gold chain and sliding the ring into it before clasping it around their neck. Tucking it under their clothes, they headed out once more, out of the complex and towards Mrs. Chen's store. She'd know what to do.
The world outside looked and sounded just like any other normal day. Metz gazed around with half-amusement, wondering how people could go about life while a serial killer prowled the streets in the night. Without thinking, they flipped on their hoodie, hiding their features as they walked. The familiar sign came to view and they hurried their step a bit, pushing the door of the convenience store open. The tinkle of the bell sounded, but the counter was empty. Frowning, Metz stepped towards it, noticing the door to the backroom ajar.
"Probably bathroom break," Metz muttered to themselves and walked down the aisles. The shadow of fear that trailed behind them outside had dissipated as soon as they stepped into the store, and they now considered taking snacks back to the apartment and just watching a movie instead. They were half-hidden towards the back of the store when the bells filled the air and Metz tilted their head slightly to see who had come in. A blonde woman with a dark haired man went straight to the counter, and Metz noticed then that Mrs. Chen was back in her place, flipping through a magazine. They were about to move towards the front of the store, but something held them back when they noticed Mrs. Chen's defensive demeanor at the appearance of the couple. Instead, Metz simply moved closer to listen to the conversation, hiding as best as possible along the aisles.
"You broke Eddie's heart," Mrs. Chen spat out, and the words caught Metz by surprise. Their eyes shifted back to the blonde woman. Anne. That was the only reasonable conclusion. But why was Mrs. Chen so upset about that? Was she closer to Eddie than Metz realized?
"Okay, I don't have time to explain how that's wildly off the mark," Anne replied in exasperation. "Do you know where Venom is?"
Those words chilled Metz. Why would they be asking about poison to Mrs. Chen? Though with the way she asked that… it might be a nickname for someone, right?
"Why, so you can break his heart, too?" Mrs. Chen retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. Metz exhaled as quietly as possible. Okay, it was a nickname. Good. They didn't need additional worries about Eddie in the form of their ex trying to kill him.
"Look, I'm not going to get into who did what to who, alright? Eddie said that he might be here because of the chocolate," Anne said. At the mention of Eddie, Metz leaned down a bit to peek through a gap in the items. "I just need to speak to him."
The man looked troubled at Anne's words. "Hey, you said there weren't going to be any aliens." Metz's eyes turned to the man, confused. Okay, this was turning way weirder than they expected.
"I meant more aliens," Anne clarified before turning back to Mrs. Chen. The fact the trio looked serious when the word was speaking confused Metz even more.
The television caught the trio's attention just then and they all turned to look at the screen, giving Metz the chance to sneak a little bit closer. "Kasady and Barrison should be treated as armed and extremely dangerous. An all-out manhunt continues tonight." Metz's heart dropped to their stomach at hearing this. This was bad. Way, way bad. Kasady now had some sort of accomplice and Eddie was on his own. Metz gritted their teeth, but forced themselves to wait. Anne knew where Eddie was, and while Metz felt a pang that she knew, they pushed it aside to focus.
"So?" Mrs. Chen asked, crossing her arms once more.
"Cletus has a symbiote," Anne said, as if confessing to Mrs. Chen. Symbiote was a new word to Metz. That is, it didn't make sense in the way Anne was using it. Symbiotes were animals that worked together, like a hermit crab and an anemone. And… and both Anne and the man with her mentioned aliens. That couldn't be real, could it? Metz lost the thread of the conversation as they tried to make sense of it, only to come back to when Anne slammed her palms on the counter. "You get out here right now!"
Metz furrowed their brow only to slap their hand over their mouth when a new voice joined the conversation. "Eddie is going to have to fight this battle all by his little bitch self." Their head refused to move towards the source, the familiar gravel in it paralyzing Metz. It was the thing from the alleyway. They were sure of it. The world went fuzzy suddenly and Metz gripped the aisle bars, biting down on their tongue to force the color back into the scene around them. Their heartbeat muffled the the sound still, but they were able to turn their attention back to the counter, eyes wide as they saw Anne looking… well, coquettish.
"Nobody likes you, Dan!" came that voice again. The store gained that watery view again and they bit down on the same sore spot on their tongue, making everything to jump back into place. Squeezing their eyes shut, they took a slow, quiet breathe, counting to three then releasing it just as quietly. "Fine. Let's go save that asshole." At this, all their fear dissipated. They were going to Eddie.
Half-stumbling, Metz appeared from behind the aisles and barely kept their bearings. A giant, black goo was moving from Mrs. Chen onto Anne through their linked hands. Neither woman looked even the slightest bit fazed by it. Only Mrs. Chen noticed the extra guest and her eyes widened. "Metz!"
The couple turned to Metz just as the black goo disappeared into Anne fully. And just when life couldn't get any weirder, the black goo came out again, this time from Anne's back. A face began to form. A familiar face. White eyes with no irises or pupils. Rows of dangerously sharp teeth, akin more to a shark than a human. The head took a sleek shape and its attention was fully on them, too. "METZ! Finally, we meet again!"
"How," Metz started with a dry mouth. They had to swallow hard now. "You – The alleyway," they stuttered.
"Yes! That was me! I saved you from that cretin!" the goo head said with obvious pride. "I told you we were good guys!"
"You threatened to eat him!" Metz said reflexively.
"He tried to steal from you!" the thing – Venom, if they believed Anne about its name – shot back. "He was a bad guy!"
Metz stepped back a bit, realizing they were arguing with an alien. An alien! Of course they couldn't be held to human standards. What even were the standards? Obviously Eddie had kept him on the straight and narrow, even when he faced resistance to it. And suddenly everything fell into place. Taking a breath, Metz tried to keep from shaking as they closed the distance between themselves and Anne.
"Uh, hi, Metz. I'm Anne. This is Dan," the blonde introduced awkwardly.
"I know," Metz replied, their entire focus on Venom. "You were the one he talked to all the time," Metz said with full certainty. "You were always there. You were the one he was fighting with, after the prison visit. You were that 'person he worked with' that messed things up with Kasady. And somehow, in some way, you were part of the reason Kasady was able to get out." Their voice was growing louder with each sentence, their eyes blazing, and the others noticed the way Venom was shrinking now, trying to hide behind Anne. "So really, it isn't Eddie's mess to clean up, his battle to fight. It's yours, isn't it, Venom?"
"We should, uh, we should go," Dan whispered. Anne was watching Metz with a full-on amused expression, though she nodded at her fiancé's comment.
"Where's Eddie?" Metz asked, finally turning their gaze to Anne.
"In police custody," Anne offered freely. "We're technically going to bust him out, not in the best way possible, but the fastest. We can't afford to waste more time, even though I'd thoroughly enjoy watching you rip into Venom."
"It wasn't my fault," the symbiote muttered behind Anne.
"What did you say?" Metz said, eyes narrowing and voice darkening.
"Uh, we need to go free Eddie!" Venom said and hid itself fully inside the blonde.
Metz ran a hand through their hair, licking their lips as they tried to keep the anger out of their voice. "Do me a favor?" they asked, glancing between Anne and Dan. "Once you get Eddie out? Tell him we need to talk. Before he runs off and saves the world. Yeah, yeah," Metz said as they noticed both Anne and Dan ready to speak. "I know there's no time. I don't care. Tell him that the helmet thing was a dick move and let him decide. Please." Anne looked confused by this, but nodded.
"Alright. I'll tell him," she said. "We should really go, though."
Metz nodded as the couple awkwardly waved before rushing out the door. Once they were gone, Metz turned slowly to Mrs. Chen. The woman fidgeted nervously with the magazine on the counter. "So. You knew."
"You can see why I couldn't tell you though, right?" Mrs. Chen pleaded, leaning over the counter now. "Involving you would be too dangerous."
"Eddie was that 'rude customer' you didn't want me to interact with," Metz pointed out and Mrs. Chen winced. "And this was the reason why, right?"
"Yes," Mrs. Chen said. "I didn't know you two were neighbors, though. Not until Eddie mentioned spending time with you one day. We just wanted to keep you safe. You can understand that, can't you?"
"Why is my safety everyone's concern?" Metz half-screamed, unable to hold back their frustration. "How am I suddenly the only delicate thing to be protected? Do you have some super power I don't know of that makes you an exception? You got another alien that inhabits your body?" Metz asked, furious. Mrs. Chen shook her head. "No? Then why the hell is it okay for you to know the truth but not me? Why wouldn't Eddie just tell me?"
Mrs. Chen reached over the counter and grabbed Metz's hand. She pulled, hard, and their chest hit the counter. "We don't owe you an explanation to keep you safe. You don't need an excuse to keep your loved ones safe. And this isn't mine to even share, but who knows if Eddie will make it out of this? So if you must know, it wasn't a lack of trust. He was afraid you'd reject him," the older woman said, her eyes burning into Metz's. "Before you there was only Anne. Before Anne there was no one. And the truth is, you aren't Anne. I don't mean he trusts her more. I mean it's different with you. You're friends. And it had been so long since he had a friend, a real friend. He told me about the alleyway incident, how brave you were but how terrified, too. And he didn't want you to be scared of him over Venom and reject him. That's it. That simple."
Metz stood still, processing this with a frown. They twisted their wrist out of Mrs. Chen's loose grasp and sighed in frustration. "Fine. I get it. It doesn't change the fact he broke my trust. And not even by hiding Venom, really," they said as they thrust their hands into the hoodie pockets. "I should head home, in case he decides to stop by. I'll see you around, Mrs. Chen."
They turned and hurried away before Mrs. Chen could reply. The sidewalks had enough people on it to make Metz feel some slight sense of safety and they kept an even pace as they headed home. They felt a small stab of guilt, though. Metz couldn't really blame Eddie from hiding Venom, could they? It was… a lot. Would they have taken it so in stride if things were different? If Eddie wasn't in danger? The concept of alien life wasn't something new, but to seeit. To talk to it. Well.
Walking up the steps of the complex, Metz's eyes glanced up and their heart skipped a beat. Eddie's apartment door was open. A glimmer of hope bloomed, and they rushed towards it. "Eddie?" A strange woman turned around at the sound of their voice and Metz blinked before going on the defensive, stepping into the apartment without thinking. "Who are you?" Their eyes shifted to notice the disheveled writing desk, drawers pulled open and rifled with. "Get out before I call the police."
"Feisty little girl," the woman purred and Metz gritted their teeth. The woman walked towards them and Metz tensed, realization dawning on her. "Why don't you just tell me where little Brock is and we can both go on our merry way?"
Metz's hand snuck into their pocket, feeling out the buttons until they were sure they'd unlocked the screen. "You're Barrison, aren't you? You're fucked if you think I'm telling you were Eddie is."
"Feisty, pretty, little lure," Frances laughed, slinking around the couch. Before Metz could defend themselves, much less dial a number, the stranger closed the distance in a blink and head-butted them, making the world went dark.