Pest Control ✔

PC │002

【A L V I N】

"How rude," Antonio began, tossing his ring up in the air before catching it just to repeat the action once more. "You didn't even bother to ask the poor man for his name before inviting him into your home. He could've been a serial killer, you know that right?"

"Well, he wasn't," I shrugged bluntly. "Anyway, why would I even bother asking him for his name when there's a fucking roach on my bed?"

"You should've at least introduced yourself, y'know what they say about paragons of virtue," he remarked with a lopsided grin before throwing his ring over at Margot who was seated in the corner of the room beside Delilah. 

"Okay, resident expert on virtue," I scoffed, pretending to know the meaning behind what I'd just said, when in reality I had absolutely no clue. The perks of being illiterate. 

Allow me to introduce these beings before proceeding. Firstly, Antonio Fibonacci. He's Italian by blood but was raised in France - so he often mixed up both the languages on impulse. He was five foot ten but came off as shorter than he was because of the way in which he slouched. It was a bad habit of his which he never bothered to fix, and in all honesty, we'd gotten tired of reminding him. We often liked to poke fun at him by asking him to add to the Fibonacci sequence - if you know you know.

Secondly, Margot Fleming. We often poked fun at her by bringing up the left hand rule - again, if you know, you know. She was four foot nine and embraced how short she was - she never really let it get to her even though she was often on the receiving end of heightist comments, which I truly admired. 

Finally, Delilah Scherwitz. We had grown fond of teasing her by asking her if she ever let him know what it was like in New York City - for the third time, if you know you know. She was somewhere around five foot ten as well, and anyone could tell she was a few centimetres taller than Antonio, but he would never admit it due to issues regarding his ego.

"Russo," Antonio began, fear laced in his tone as he began backing away slowly. I perked up at the mention of my surname and raised a curious brow at him. He proceeded to back away discreetly with his hands raised up as if to surrender - and his eyes were fixed on a spot on the wall. I followed his gaze and clicked my tongue against the roof my mouth when I saw what he was looking at. 

"What in the holy fuck is that?" he said with a dramatic gasp. 

"Well, allow me to explain," Margot grinned. "That's the hemidactylus frenatus, or a gecko if you will - or even a lizard. They often feed on-"

"Fuck off, I know what it is," he hissed before his expression contorted into that of pure disgust. "What is it doing there?"

I let out a sigh and sauntered over to it before grabbing it by its tail and hurling it out the open window before turning to face a very shocked Antonio. 

"So you can yeet a hemi-whatever the fuck out the window but you can't get rid of a roach?"

"Roaches can fly," I stated.

He stood frozen for a moment before shrugging, "Good point. You should really contact pest control, though. There are bugs all over the place. Feels like an insectarium."

"I think I even saw a caterpillar crawl under your bed," Delilah shivered. "Caterpillars give me the heebie jeebies."

"Shut up, no one says that anymore," Margot scoffed before standing up and cracking her knuckles. "Anyway, I should get going - it's getting quite late. And, regarding what Ant just said, you really should get in touch with pest control."

"Ant?" Antonio cringed. 

"I've tried twice. They said they'll check the place out but it's been around seven hours already. I think it slipped their mind," I sighed. 

"How can someone's job slip their mind?" Delilah said with a tilted head. 

"Consider me a prime example," Antonio stated with a proud grin. 

"You don't have a job," I snorted. 

"Oh, right. It completely slipped my mind," he finished with an obnoxious knee-slap. 

"You think you're real clever, don't you?" Margot sighed in disappointment. "Sometimes I wonder why Rowan even puts up with you. They deserve better."

"Oh please, I'm a living, breathing icon," he scoffed in response, flipping his imaginary hair. "Just ask Rowan, they'll tell you how iconic-"

"Yeah, nobody cares," Delilah interrupted before making her way over to the door of my bedroom. "I'll get going now, it's getting a little dark outside and I'm scared." 

I pursed my lips at the trio before shaking my head, "Alright. Get home safely, guys. Ant, tell Rowan I said hi. It's been a while since I've seen them."

"Will do," he grinned. "And for the love of God, learn how to get rid of roaches by yourself, you big baby."

"No can do, now get the fuck out," I joked. 

I lead them out of my room and over to the front door. I waited for a few minutes till they were out of my sight and proceeded to begin to close the door when something in the far distance caught my eye - the silhouette of a man. A very familiar looking man. The same man whom I'd awoken at three in the morning. 

For a moment our eyes met - but it was only for a brief second, because following that, he turned around and walked into his home and I simultaneously shut the front door.