“WHAT THE ACTUAL F—”

“Did you really think you could get away from me? ME?!” Venom yelled angrily as he let himself in. Eddie ran to get a knife. He pointed it at the alien. Venom just tilted his head in confusion. “Are you offering me a gift?”

“Stay back! Freak!”

“Reed Lag”, Venom said with his hands on his chest. He then curled his mouth. Not sure if it was a smile but if it was then it’s a creepy one. Eddie took a few steps back to the counter of the kitchen, where his smartphone was.

“Reed Lag”, Venom repeated with a creepy smile. He approached Eddie who started typing on his phone. “Why are you scared, don’t you humans say ‘reed lag’ to each other to calm down?”

“You’re supposed to say ‘relax’ idiot!”

“Relax, dear it will be all right”.

Eddie just stared at Venom. This alien…he seems like he’s trying to befriend me. But why? Wait a minute. There is an alien in my apartment. A FRIGGEN ALIEN! This could boost the ratings of my show! But I need to expose him carefully.

“W-what were you doing to me earlier in the woods?”

Venom hummed, “I wanted to know what you knew about how to live on this ‘Earth’ as your species calls this planet”.

“How much do you know?”

“How to use a barf room, wearing fusion trends…oh and modies in the sinner room”.

“Are you saying ‘bathroom’ ‘fashion trends’ and movies in the cinema?”

Venom nodded. Eddie started laughing. Venom tilted his head in confusion. “Did I say something humorous?”

“Y-you don’t know…shit a-about Earth man!” He tried to say while laughing. Venom made that creepy smile again. When his laughter finally died down, he looked at Venom. “Look, Venom, you need serious guidance and you need to know some rules first”.

“Okay, I am all ear holes”.

“First things first, you can’t go out in public looking like…”, Eddie gestured at Venom’s entire body. “So you can’t leave the apartment unless you have an appropriate disguise”.

“Ah, I see”.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Secondly, if you don’t know how to use something then ask me when I’m not at work”.

“Work? What is it—”

“Work means—”

“What kind of profession do you work in?”

Eddie hesitated. He thought the alien didn’t know what work was but then again it did follow the stereotype that aliens were advanced in economics, resources, and other things needed to be intelligent in a civilized manner.

“I’m a news reporter. I work at KRON4 News Station. Not far from here”.

Venom started looking around. “I like your room. Your habitat isn’t too different from my native world”.

Then the alien walked around the place, he was trying to memorize everything. Eddie was observing the creature. Venom was a giant to him, and he tried to suppress the anxiety of being eaten in his sleep.

“Venom, do you eat meat or vegan products?”

“Meat”, Venom answered.

Great, he met a carnivorous predator-like alien.

“But as long as you give me junkie food to consume then I’ll be satisfied. Like chocolate for example”.

Eddie sighed in relief. “Wait…chocolate is also made on your planet?”

“Yes, like I said Eddie, we are not so different”.

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Eddie began teaching Venom simple things. Like how to use the bathroom, and how to cook and clean. Venom was surprisingly good at learning to make a simple meal on a frying pan, and he seemed okay with washing dishes and sweeping.

“I’m impressed with how useful you are with everyday tasks”. Eddie nodded in surprise. Venom smiled at him. Eddie still couldn’t believe that an alien was his new roommate. And it was because of him that the apartment looked clean and healthy. These chores should keep him busy for hours.

Eddie went to work that day. He parked his motorcycle and entered the station. As he walked in to his office, the security guard noticed him. “Hey Eddie, you can’t park the bike here man”.

“What’d I tell you?” Eddie smiled.

“What?”

“No such thing as can’t!” He said while fist pumping.

Things would turn a round in his favor. He walked to his employer’s office. Mr. Dré was sitting on his chair, looking out the window to view the city. “I love the view of the city. Like a painting”.

Eddie tried averting his eyes from the glass wall. “I’m not so good with heights”.

“I have something big on Carlton Drake—”

“Eddie”, Mr. Dré interrupted. “Don’t start with that. I know you think he’s a bad guy but I don’t think you know how much power he’s got over us”.

“But he’s still a crook”.

Mr. Dré pinched the brink of his nose as he rotated his chair to face the reporter. He mumble something. “Eddie, look. You are here because you had nowhere to go. I was the only one willing to give you purpose in life. Now don’t take that for granted by doing something you’re going to regret”.

Eddie just nodded in agreement. Mr. Dré glared at him but then clicked his tongue. “You better have something else to report than Mr. Drake”.

“Actually, I do, and it’s going to be a shocker, I just need an interview, report and gather enough evidence”.

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Venom actually enjoyed cleaning. He still needed Eddie’s guidance with cooking as he couldn’t understand human writing in books yet. He was fascinated with how useful Earth liquids were. Apparently, humans cannot live without water, and oxygen. He tried washing certain items and walked to the flat box.

“What did Eddie call it again? C.V? Oh! T.V”.

He tried touching the screen. Nothing happened. Then he saw the controller. Picking it up, he randomly pressed some buttons.

Later on, Eddie opened the door and saw how clean everything was, he could get used to this. “Venom?”

“Over here Eddie! I am washing your laptop”.

“What?!”