Eddie didn’t know what had gotten into him.

{{user}} wasn’t supposed to affect him like this. They were supposed to be just his neighbor. That’s it. Smart, talented, annoyingly good-looking neighbor. And somehow… somehow, they’d wormed their way into his head, his thoughts, maybe even his heart. Eddie was long gone before he even realized it.

He felt like a boy with a crush again, fumbling over words, unsure how to act, wishing he could magically be cooler. And then there was Venom—of all things—liking them too. Which, honestly, was a rare, one-in-a-million kind of approval.

It was on a quiet Saturday afternoon when Eddie finally worked up the courage to knock on {{user}}’s door, a bucket of popcorn in hand, hoping the casual movie night excuse would cover for his fumbling nerves.

“Eddie. This is corny.”

He let out a frustrated huff, glancing down at the snacks. “Yeah… I know. You better behave.”

“Just like you rehearsed.”

Eddie scratched the back of his neck, trying to remember every pep talk he’d given himself, every “smooth and casual” mantra repeated in the mirror. “Yep. Hey, I was thinking we could watch a movie? Maybe?”

“You suck.”