BOYS WILL BE BUGS ~ Warren x Shrignold

1. New Teachers

WARREN POV: 

I knock on the red wooden door of the house three times before stepping back and awaiting someone to open the door. As no sounds come from the inside, I go to knock again. Though before my knuckles even hit the door again, the door quickly open as I stand in front of a tall, weary-eyed gloved clock with red hands slowly ticking across his face just below his eyes and red-and-white lazily tied sneakers.

We stare at each other for a long time before he finally speaks. "Well?" He said, raising an eyebrow in question. "Oh! Apologies! Warren the Eagle, at your convenience!" I flash a toothy smile and pulling my business card out of my vest pocket, which the clock takes and reads closely. "Eagle, heh?..." he looks at me up and down, making my smile quiver uncomfortably. "You don't look like an eagle." He said bluntly. my smile faded and I swallowed back frustration as I cleared my throat. "I'm aware of that, sir." 

He stares  at me for a moment longer before opening up the door more. "Well, come inside then."I smile once more at the Clock before walking inside. "My name is Tony, by the way." He says, walking away before I could even answer him again. I turn my focus back to the house, the red mesh carpet felt comfy underneath my sneakers as I take in my surroundings. I saw that Tony had gone over to the wall and propped himself above a desk, his arms and legs retracting into sides and his eyes closing. 

The rest of the house was pretty normal. A small TV, a couch and a rocking chair. The living room connected to a fully equipped, though cozy kitchen with a round table with cloth and chairs. A desk, which held a computer. And stairs leading to the second floor of the house. 

"Hello!" I heard a voice say, a was confused, until I saw a small sketchbook on the desk next to the computer, waving at me. "Oh! Hello." I walk over to them as they reach out to shake my hand (though their hand was much smaller then mine, so we just decided to fist bump) "You can call me Sketch! We are so  glad to have new teachers in the house!" they looked over at Tony, who was lazy-eyed staring at Warren, then looked away when Sketch saw. "Well...at least I am." They said. 

"It's great to be here..." I  look around, realizing the rest of the house is silent. "Am...am I the first one here?" I ask. "Oh yes! You're the first one of the new shipment of teachers. But there are many more of us already here then meets the eye." They smile, then begin to count their fingers "There's me, Tony, There's Colin here, but he's charging." They said, patting the computer next to them. I bite my lip in embarrassment, not even realizing it was a teacher.

Sketch continued. "Then there's Larry, the health gang, Shrignold...but you won't see him that often." They dismissed it with a wave of their hand. 

"Your room is upstairs. The only computer in the house is Colin. So don't look up anything suspicious...he can and will hold it against you." Tony said with caution. Sketch simply nodded at his words. 

"Well, thank you very much!" I say. Me and the two teachers part ways as I head upstairs. There where your rooms across the hallway, and I wondered which was mine. I spotted the third door down the hall with a piece of white tape with the name "Warren" drawn in sharpie. I open the door and set down my backpack, breathing a sigh with the weight off my shoulders. 

A small bed lay on the left wall of the room with a desk with a light on the far right. I window lay on the back wall of the room, the backyard and sky visible through its panes. The rug underneath matched the rug I the hallway. Brown shag. 

I pull my laptop out of my ragged backpack and set it on the desk, along with multiple self-help books. As I empty out the rest of my things (which weren't much), a half-empty pack of cigarettes fell onto the floor. "Dammit, I thought I got rid of these..." I huff. I throw them in the desk drawer without another thought and sit down on my bed, taking deep breathes as the sun began to set outside. 

Before I even knew, it was dark out and the stars above the house shone like glitter hitting the sun. I changed into my sweatpants and lay down on my bed, the quilted blanket surprisingly comfortable, and fell into a fitful sleep.

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