Pest Control ✔

PC │007

【A L V I N】

"Holy cow, this tastes amazing," Antonio said, letting out a sound that was anything but holy as he continued to feast on the muffins Lucien had given me earlier. "Where did you get these from?" 

"Lucien made them," I responded, stuffing my face with the muffins myself. Antonio wasn't wrong when he had said that they tasted amazing. In all honesty, they tasted like a slice of heaven. So much so that they made me feel horrible for even having thought about giving him burnt muffins just because I didn't want to eat them myself. I truly was a horrible person.

"He looks different than what I'd initially expected," he commented with the food still in his mouth.

"He's a buff fellow," I remarked, continuing to munch on the heavenly muffins. 

"Huh?" he began, chewing obnoxiously. "Did you just call him a buffalo?"

I rolled my eyes at his stupidity yet let it slide, "I'll probably have to go give this tray back to him after washing it. It's the least I could do for him at this point."

"I smell a romance blooming," he responded with a suggestive look on his face. I shot him a quick glare, "I don't even know if he's gay or not. Plus, I'm not into him. Yeah, he's attractive and all that but I don't know him well enough to have feelings for him."

"Easy there, cowboy," he chuckled. "I was just playing around. No need to get so defensive."

I disregarded his comment once again and set the rest of the muffins onto a plate before grabbing the tray and making my way over to the sink and beginning to wash it out, "How are things going between you and Rowan?"

"Things are going alright," he responded with a small grin. "We spoke about a week ago and Rowan wants kids. Apparently it's always been their dream to have kids at the age of twenty five."

"That's amazing, do you want kids as well?" I questioned. 

He paused for a moment, hummed under his breath before letting out a sigh that somewhat sounded like relief, "Yeah. I really do - and I wouldn't want it to be with anyone other than Rowan. I see a future with them, you know? It's kind of a big deal for me. I want to marry this person."

"I'm so glad you've found your potential lifelong partner," I grinned. "Are you going to propose then?"

"I've been planning on it," he admitted. "I even bought a ring. I'm asking them out later in a few days or so maybe, and if I have my shit together and all that, I'll ask them to marry me. I'm so nervous, though. I don't know what to expect. And, I know we've been dating for nearly five years but I'm still scared of making mistakes."

"I get how you feel," I sighed. "Don't stress out too much over it. I'm pretty sure things will go well for the both of you."

"Thanks, that means a lot," he began. "Are you still uninterested in relationships?"

"I'm not uninterested, it's just difficult finding people in real life without using dating apps, and I don't trust those apps either," I confessed, setting the tray aside to dry. "And I have too much to worry about at the moment. Like my job, fending for myself, and these god damn bugs."

"Don't forget your sexy neighbour," he said with a wink. "This man can bake as well."

"I don't need to worry about him," I snorted apathetically before the vision of him seated in his bedroom downing an entire bottle of alcohol came into my mind along with the image of all those alcohol bottles at his place. I cleared my throat at the memory before adding, "I think."

"I don't know about you but something's off about him," he commented. "I'm not usually one to judge-" I gave him a doubtful look as he said that and he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in annoyance before continuing, "Okay maybe I do judge more than I should - but you can't deny that I have a point when I say that he looks messed up. He looks like he doesn't have his shit together. Is he alright?"

"I wouldn't know," I sighed. "I haven't known him long enough to ask - and I doubt he'd tell me either way. But, I agree with you, he does look like he's losing his control."

Again, the image of him drinking came flooding back. Why was it bothering me so much? It was constantly on my mind, ever since I'd seen it happen. He was usually so calm and laid-back but that day when our eyes met, he looked so pissed off. He looked like he wouldn't hesitate to bash my head in. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but he looked angry.

I don't know if he was angry at whatever or whoever had caused him pain, or at me for being so nosy - but either way, it was scary seeing him mad like that. He made it clear that day that he hadn't meant for me to witness that, and at the same time that action made it clear that I shouldn't dare ask him about it. I was too scared to do so either way. I was never too good at comforting people, and if he told me everything that was going on, I'd probably just sit there awkwardly, unaware of what to do or say next. 

"You should ask him what's wrong," Antonio suggested, snapping me back to reality. 

"I can't do that, it's his privacy, he'll tell me if he wants to," I sighed before beginning to dry my hands. Would he ever want to tell me though? Would we ever reach that level of comfort with each other? I decided to let these thoughts sit at the back of my mind and changed the subject, "Leave some muffins for me as well."

"Uh," Antonio began awkwardly. 

I quickly turned around and upon noticing the empty plate, I let out an annoyed huff; 

"You little bitch."