'Where am I?' asked a fearful, teenage male voice.

His surroundings were so pitch-black that he could not see even a few inches from his face.

'Am I dreaming?' Though he asked, there was a bit of certainty in his tone as if he were just confirming.

He tried to squint his eyes to see if he could see anything at all, but it seemed fruitless in the face of the thick fog that blanketed the area.

'I can't see anything at all...What kind of dream is just darkness?' he thought in annoyance, a bit angry that his dream was boring.

However, a strange feeling crept up his spine, the anxious feeling of being watched from the darkness. Although there is no basis for this feeling, just the cold tingling sensation running up and down his back. His body hairs standing on end and his breathing was a bit labored.

'This weird feeling...' The fearful feeling continued to grow, but as he looked around, he saw and heard nothing.

"Grrr~..." A deep and loud growl suddenly shook the depth of his soul!

The surroundings seemed to vibrate as the growl got louder and louder!

He grabbed his head in terror and tried to look around but saw nothing.

"GRRRRRR~..." The growl seemed to shake up the entire darkness; the fog seemed to be blasted apart by a supernatural force.

"AWOOOOO~..." The loud growl soon morphed into a full howl that sounded primal, ancient, and wild like the Amazon forest!

"Clink! Clink!" Accompanied by the roar, the sounds of chains breaking and falling to the floor echoed in the darkness as if a chaotic beast were breaking free!

At this point, the young man was supremely terrified. Covering his head did not matter; the growl and roar of such a creature made covering his ears pointless.

Suddenly a bright light illuminated the surroundings, breaking apart the darkness. The roaring also stopped, and the young man stopped clutching his head. Curious about the light, the young man looked forward and was terrified by what he saw.

Two large, almond-shaped eyes with deep-red, reptilian, slanted pupils stared at him like bright suns. The light in the darkness came from this pair of eyes that stared at him. The young man took a step back as he recoiled in horror. The eyes were several times bigger than his body!

The red eyes seemed ancient, wise but primal and chaotic as if they were a force of nature condensed into pupils. The deep red color seemed to be like oceans of blood condensed into two drops that made eyes. The more he stared at it, the more his terror peaked, and he could not even move an inch as if he were paralyzed.

Suddenly everything disappeared, and he regained consciousness.

"...*Gasp* *Gasp* What the hell was that!" he exclaimed in sheer terror. His bed and clothes were soaked in sweat, and he gasped for air as if he were beneath the ocean's depths.

"What a terrible dream! It felt so realistic!....*sigh*" The young man exclaimed and let out a sigh of relief as he was happy to wake up.

He looked around the room to confirm his surroundings and saw his familiar yet messy room. The room was simple and small; aside from his closet, bed, and PC space, there wasn't much room for anything else.

'I need to clean up this place before Mom sees,' he thought inwardly.

He glanced at the clock and saw it was 7:00 AM, and a shocked expression crawled on his face. Usually by now, he would have already woken up and done his daily hygiene activities.

'How did I sleep so long?...' He pondered as he thought this was quite strange.

'Whatever...let's get the dailies done.' He shoved the useless thoughts to the back of his mind and rushed to the bathroom. He quickly showered and started brushing his teeth while he stared into the mirror at his reflection.

A young man of 18 years old, his face was incredibly handsome. His chiselled facial features didn't lose out to a fashion model, with raven-dark hair and pitch-black eyes that seemed to draw a person in. A toned body that stood at 6'0 and wasn't too slim nor muscular but very well defined. His physique resulted from steady dedication and a proper nutritional diet.

'Who's this handsome guy?' He thought narcissistically to humor himself.

'It sucks going to Graduation Day solo... Well, it's not like I couldn't get a date. Just... I would feel weird going with someone I don't know.' he thought with a bitter expression.

'I've been so busy with work and school, I haven't had the time to focus on that. Besides... it's not like I've seen anyone I like either.' he thought seriously.

'Well...I can just come home early and play some Call of Duty, right?' he wondered as he weighed the options.

'Actually...maybe I should just not go? I don't have any friends either...No, I should go. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event...and Mom would blow a gasket if I didn't take any graduation pics.' He struggled internally and finally decided he would go.

Thinking about his mother, who worked as a nurse at the hospital, and how she barely had any time to see him, he felt his heart get much warmer, and the internal struggles ceased entirely.

'She does so much for me and works so hard to put me through school... I should at least do this for her... even if I end up looking like a Kraft single's cheese.' He made up his mind and finished brushing his teeth.

'First, let's clean up and then go pick up my tux from the cleaners...' He made his way back to his room and started cleaning up.

'Friends...hmm,' he thought as he stopped brushing his teeth and suddenly seemed to remember something. The faces of two beautiful girls came to mind.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

'...I wonder how they are doing?' his eyes squinted as if reminiscing.

'They probably have some decent guys as dates...Guys that don't have to rent a tux! Hahaha!' He humored self-deprecatingly, but a deep sense of sadness gripped his heart.

As he thought about his estranged childhood friends who suddenly stopped talking to him after they entered high school, he suddenly felt a sense of loneliness again.

'They both come from extremely wealthy families, they both look like supermodels, they are at the top of the school in grades, and they both have a huge social following...we don't even live in the same world,' he thought dejectedly.

'I do have confidence in my looks, though, so I'm not entirely a lost cause,' he thought proudly.

However, he knew in his heart that aside from his good looks, he couldn't compare with people like his two ex-friends in terms of everything else. He just wanted to bolster his confidence a bit. Though they no longer spoke to him, he didn't hold any grudges since he just considered it part of growing up.

The room wasn't too big, and neither was it dirty, aside from some clothes that were thrown around and a few empty soda bottles; he cleaned up the mess relatively fast. He started vacuuming and cleaning the furniture and walls; since he had enough time, he would do a proper cleaning.

After cleaning up, he picked up his dry cleaner's token with his name on it that read: "Leon Vasilios." He put it in his pocket and decided to go pick up his clothes.

Leon lived in a small apartment in New York City, America. The moment he walked out the door, the loud, nostalgic city ambience filled his ears. The sounds of taxis blaring their horns, dogs barking, people chatting, and police sirens.

As Leon began walking down the street, he suddenly remembered the dream he had. He remembered the sounds of the growling and the terrifyingly booming roar at the end, which scared him awake.

'There was something there... and that growl...' His dark brown eyes narrowed as he tried to remember. A confused expression on his handsome face.

'Was it a wolf? Why did it have the eyes of a snake?' He pondered as he recalled the dream.

'The growl sounded like a wolf...but it had the eyes of a snake.' What the hell kind of creature is that?... Sadly, I didn't get to see its face. Hopefully, I never see that thing in a dream again,' he thought worriedly.

Lost in thought, without realizing he had already gotten to 'Timmy's Dry Cleaning.'. Leon pushed open the door and walked into the store. Seeing a familiar old face falling asleep at the counter, Leon couldn't help but smile.

The old man was Caucasian and seemed to be around his late 70s; his face was wrinkled, and his spectacles hung loosely on his face. He was dressed in grey old-fashioned dress clothes that were a bit worn out and a matching old cap. Despite the clothes being old, he still looked quite fashionable as they were formal clothes.

Leon looked at the old man falling asleep on himself, a hint of mischievousness in his eyes, and he yelled out...

"Old man Timmy! Give me my clothes; I have a date tonight! What kind of bad service is this...the receptionist is sleeping on the job." Leon yelled teasingly at the old man, a big smile on his face.

The old man woke up, clearly shocked by the sudden loud noise, a look of anger on his face that suddenly turned sadistic when he saw who it was.

"What a date! A loser like you with no friends! HAHAHA!" The old man Timmy broke out laughing as he pointed his finger at Leon knowingly.

"If you could get a date, wouldn't I have many sons?! HAHAHA." The old man burst out laughing again.

"Ugh...Aren't you supposed to be nice to your respectable customers?" Leon asked him provocatively.

"Yeah! As soon as I see a respectable customer, I'll be nice to them! Heh!" The old man Timmy didn't let up and continued to abuse him verbally.

"Hahaha! Old man, your tongue is still as vicious as ever!" Leon laughed hysterically as he knocked on the counter with his knuckles.

"...Indeed, otherwise an ugly kid like you would definitely bully me...Your graduation is today, right?" Old man Timmy asked Leon, but there was a bit of uncertainty in his voice.

"What?... Are you getting dementia? You can't even remember that?" Leon teased with a big smile.

"Come here, you ugly brat; I got something for you..." Old Man Timmy ignored his comment and proceeded to walk to the back. The sound of some plastic rustling could be heard as if he were getting something. Leon moved over to the counter and waited for him to return.

Leon closed his eyes, memories of his childhood appearing in his mind. He had known this old man for quite some time, and he often babysat Leon. He remembered his mother often used to drop him here when he was younger when she had to work and couldn't afford a babysitter or to watch Leon.

This old man was a true blessing to Leon's family, and his mother often came to him for help. No matter if it was babysitting, fixing appliances, or utilities, he would always lend a hand. As the old man had no relatives or children, Timmy and Leon bonded quite quickly, and Leon learned many things from him.

It could be said that Timmy was the closest thing Leon had to a father, and vice versa; Leon was the closest thing Timmy had to a son. Due to this, Timmy taught Leon every trade/craft he knew and how to make a living.

If Leon somehow ended up on the streets, he would never be helpless and would be able to make a living, and this was the greatest gift the old man could have given him. This was why Leon loved this old man so much; in his eyes, he was family.

A few moments later, old man Timmy came out with a perfectly stylish, white silk tuxedo; it was cased in a plastic suit and looked prepared to go. Despite it being a bit aged, that only made it stand out even more. The classic style of the tuxedo looked quite alluring, and it fit Leon's taste quite a bit.

Old man Timmy looked at it for a bit; he stroked it from over the plastic, and a reminiscent look flashed through his eyes. He placed it on the counter and looked Leon dead in the eye.

"Ugly brat, this is yours now! I made some adjustments to fit your size, so it should fit just fine. Don't worry about the suit you brought; I already carried it back! You better take care of it!" Old Man Timmy yelled at him as he looked at him seriously.

"Old man, did you rob a bank? Where'd you get this expensive thing?! I can't take it!" Leon rejected it immediately, although the desire in his eyes was quite noticeable.

"Really?! Well... Why don't you put it down?!" The Old Man Timmy yelled at him as he watched Leon hold it tightly, clearly unwilling to let it go. A hint of a smile crept on the old man's face.

"Hahaha! Never! An old man like you doesn't need to look this good anymore!" Leon teased him and then looked down at the tuxedo gently.

"...Thanks, old man" Leon quietly mumbled as he looked at the tuxedo with appreciation in his eyes.

'Look at you...getting all emotional over...Hmph.' The old man thought inwardly as he looked at Leon, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face as if he were looking at his son grow up.

"Don't worry about it! If you still can't get a girlfriend while wearing this, you're doomed to end up like me... At that time, just burn the suit and don't pass it to anybody else lest we pollute them with our bad luck." Old Man Timmy didn't forget to put the last dagger in.

"HAHAHA!" Leon laughed loudly as tears formed in his eyes.

The two continued chatting for quite some time before Leon decided to head home.