Everything Hurts - Symbrock

Chapter 1: A Rude Awakening

Eddie, wake up.

Eddie grumbled quietly and tried to bury his head into the pillow, desperately trying to ignore the voice in his head.

"Eddie, we are hungry. Wake up."

His eyes shot open at the sound of the voice, no longer in his head, and all he could see was the familiar white eyes and black gloopy body of his Other hovering in front of him. Venom really was terrifying to look at, but the two had been together for so long that Brock could now look past it. He knew how dorky and affectionate they really were, how the symbiote that could crush enemy bones and violently rip the heads off of their bodies with ease could also be the most annoying, whiny little nerd Eddie had ever met. They would sing stupid songs, ask nonstop questions whilst Eddie tried to focus on the TV, read a surprising amount of comic books and drew the characters from them a lot. As much of a nuisance Venom was, Eddie was extremely fond of the creature and would without a doubt be lost without them.

Looking over towards the alarm clock and upon realising the time, Brock groaned, frustrated, and returned to his pillow.
"You are insufferable, you know that?" mumbled the host from the comfort of the feather-filled bedsheets. This was nothing new, to Brock's dismay. Venom had frequently woken him up for any number of reasons, from their unbridled curiosity for the strangeness of human culture to their bottomless pit of a stomach. Eddie was severely sleep deprived, but his parasitic partner was relentless.

"EDDIE. Do you want us to die? We need food. NOW. Your organs are looking delicious..."

"Oh, shut up, you'd never. Fine. What do you want? We have hershey, uhh, fuckin'... tater tots, chickens.." Eddie started, before the apartment began to shake with noise. Harsh, high pitched and very near deadly to a symbiote. The pair shot up in bed and Venom started to convulse in agony, while Eddie held his ears flat against his head to block it out. They flung themself away from Eddie's body, leaving him feeling vulnerable and alone. Eddie hadn't been without Venom for a long, long time. Still reeling from the sound, Eddie's ears began to bleed and he cried out in pain.

The noise stopped just as abruptly as it had started, but Venom was now nowhere to be found. Usually, after something as disruptive as that, they would slink back into Eddie's body, seeking the comfort and warmth that came from being inside their host.

"Vee, bud, where are you?" Eddie laughed nervously. As much as he claimed to 'long to be alone', it was mostly a lie. Sure, they clouded a lot of his thoughts, and his head was always full to bursting, but they were definitely a huge comfort. The pair had a strange relationship, abusive and parasitic, but full of care, fondness and understanding for each other. They both had something to gain, and even more to lose. They were codependent in every way.

Eddie had torn his apartment apart looking for his strange alien friend, anxiety growing every minute he wasn't with them. This had never happened the past couple times they had separated, at least not recently. The symbiote would always come back within minutes and Brock would never feel as much anxiety as he was feeling then. They had been apart for at least 2 hours now, with no sign of Venom.

Where did that fuckin' noise even come from? Eddie wondered, still shaken. The urge to go back to bed was strong, but the need to find his friend was stronger. He was in no position to sleep, hide away and relish in being alone now, no matter how much he thought he wanted to.

I thought I wanted to be alone, why can't I stop looking for them? I feel so...empty without them. I don't like it. Where is Venom? Have they...left me...? Are they gone...?

Without realising, Brock soon found his feet wandering over to the window, and his heart sank even further once he realised it had been smashed open.