"Oh my goodness, he's so handsome!"

Eddie felt his cheeks getting squished by the woman sitting up in the bed. Her auburn hair had streaks of silver within the short bangs. She wore a simple white nightgown with long sleeves and lace. Her eyes had years of wisdom within them. He could actually feel the intense stare shown at him. The twins giggled as he looked uncomfortable in their mother's grasp. Vivi had left them in charge of him as she went to help out in the corn fields. She took the tractor and left him at her family's mercy.

Next time I see her, I'm going to throttle her. He thought, feeling his cheeks redden with the rubbing. The woman stopped and laughed at his embarrassed face.

"Oh where are my manners? I am Vivi's mother Valery!" She replied, patting his cheek. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I tend to make all my babies feel special."

"You mean Eddie is already part of the family?" Viola asked, poking his side. Eddie growled playfully before scooping her up in his arms and tickling her. "I give! I give!"

"Anyone who makes my baby happy is welcomed here!" Valery said, gushing at how good he looked and how nice he was. "But he has to work for his supper! Victor!" She turned to the twin brother, who straighten his back. "Show Eddie around the barn and teach him the ropes!"

"Yes ma'am! Don't worry I shall make sure he is properly prepared to work!" Victor said, grinning at the hulking man. "Let's see this city slicker try to accustom to country life."

.............................................................................................................................................................................

Cleaning the Barn

"First, we have to clean this barn of ours!" Victor shouted, opening the barn doors. Dust rained down onto Eddie's head as he wiped his face. The whole barn was covered in dust, cobwebs, and hay. He could smell the scent of poop wafting around the room. A lone broom was placed on the wall next to a dustpan. The barn was very messy and Victor smirked as he found the perfect task for Eddie.

"So this barn is a mess! I want you to clean this place up so that you and my sister can sleep here!" He tossed him the broom from the wall and grinned. "Good luck!" And with that, the boy twin left to go help make dinner, leaving Eddie to curse under his breath.

"I guess if we are sleeping here, I better get started." He sighed, changing into his symbiont form. Venom stood there and started to web up all the loose floorboards and roof pieces in one pile. Using his strength, he broke them into kindling and threw them outside. With a mighty breath, he blew the dust, debris, and hay out. Then he took the broom and started to dust the cobwebs from the ceiling. He noticed a group of spiders hanging from their threads and gently moved them outside. It was sundown before he could finally say all was finished. The barn looked better than it was before.

Victor and Vivi were walking to the barn to check on his progress. She had insisted that he was going to be done by time they got there, to which her brother scoffed in disbelief.

"He's a city dweller Vi, no amount of farm work will set him straight." He told her, eyeing the basket under her arms. "I don't know why you say he'll be done."

"You just gotta have a little faith in your big sister." Vivi gave him a smirk. "I know more than you think I do."

"Doesn't matter, I still don't approve of him being around Ma and you. Sure Viola won't listen, but you are the last thing that keeps us all together." He shook his head. "Like what if he injected some heroin or some other drug inside you? Or what if he tries to take advantage of you?!"

Vivi was about to inform him that Eddie would never dream of doing those things to her when they reached the barn doors. Victor pressed both hands on the large door and gave her a smug look.

"I'm telling you sis, the second we open this here door, the barn is going to be completely-"

He stopped, the door wide open. Vivi looked inside to see the barn looking even better than she'd ever remembered! The leaky roof was fixed, the loose floorboards were tacked down, and there was even a new fresh coat of paint on the walls. She smiled when she saw it was red. There was no sign of hay, poop, or any cobwebs. The horse station was fixed, the horses themselves enjoying the new quarters built there. Even the guest bed had a new headboard!

Slumped over the railing was Eddie, his face drenched with sweat and eyes closed.

"What was that about Eddie being a no good boy from the city?" Vivi asked Victor, placing the basket down and going up the ladder.

"Maybe I could be wrong...." Victor drawled, smiling happily at his sister placing a blanket on the sleeping Eddie. "But if he makes you this happy, I guess I can let him stay."

He left them to get back to the house. Vivi pushed some of Eddie's hair out from in front of his face. He did look cute when he slept. Almost too innocent and pure for this world. It was a shame that they both had other sides to take care of. If it had been under any other circumstances, they would've been a normal couple.

But isn't normality fake anyways?
Depends on who you ask.
Stop invading my mind Ravage. What do you want now?
I wanna see Venom! Can you make him change form? Your boyfriend is so boring!
You know it gets harder to live with you in my head everyday. Why can't you just stay quiet?
Because then you would have a boring roommate to occupy your mind! Wait...shut up for a second.
Excuse me!?
Be quiet human! Don't you sense that? It's another symbiont signature, only more crazed than me!

Vivi snapped from her stupor as she noticed something hanging from the far corner of the room. The red eyes basically gave away the person as he slithered towards her. She barely had time to register what had happened before feeling her head slam against the wall. Her vision started to blur as a cackling laugh filled her mind.

"Hello Vivi, remember me?"