The Unwritten Chapters

Chapter 1. Encounters

     The dreaded alarm sounded at 9am Sharp, pulling Dominic from his slumber. He groaned slapping his hand across the screen as a feeble attempt at silencing it. Finally, when the shrieking dissipated, Dominic got up, stretching and rubbing his eyes. He lazily looked over at his phone checking for any messages while he waited for his eyes to wake up with the rest of his body. They were still heavy from the Xbox marathon he was on all night.

    After what could only be described as an ungodly amount of doomscrolling, Dominic finally slumped out of bed. He glanced around his room—a mess of clothes that had only seen a single day's wear littered the floor. A half-empty water bottle sat on his cluttered desk, surrounded by an assortment of nerdy knickknacks: Funko Pops of his favorite characters, his Nintendo Switch, mouse and keyboard, controller, and headphones.

     He shuffled to the mirror hanging behind his door, looking like a zombie straight out of The Walking Dead. His reflection echoed the same lifeless posture. Dark circles pooled beneath his eyes, and his expression was hollow. As for his hair... it was a monstrous, unkempt jungle of ebony vines.

    He trudged out of his room and into the kitchen, grabbing a bowl and filling it with enough cereal to feed three starving orphans. Slumping at the dining table, he absentmindedly crunched through his Frosted Flakes, his body grounded on earth but his mind drifting miles away. Thoughts came and went, lost in the void. His phone screen lit up, pulling him back. A message from his best friend, Hiko: 'Meet at my place at 11.' Dominic responded with a thumbs-up emoji.

   Hiko and Dom had been friends as long as they could remember. Of Dom's three closest friends, Hiko ranked at the top. Their bond was built on shared interests but even more so on their differences. If Dom was the sun, Hiko was the moon. Neither outshone the other—both had their own way of lighting up the world.

     With a plan for the day and a renewed sense of purpose, Dominic quickly cleaned up his dishes and rushed to the bathroom for a quick shower. After getting dressed, he headed to the parking lot, eager to leave.

    Dominic hated being at home. For most people, their house was a sanctuary, a peaceful retreat from the world. But for him, it felt like a prison. The gray walls of his room, illuminated only by the dim, white light of a corner lamp, seemed to close in on him. He spent too much time staring at those walls, lost in endless, trivial thoughts that somehow managed to take over his mind.

    Dominic settled into his car, buckling his seatbelt—safety first, always. Because safety is important dear reader. He pressed the clutch and tapped the start button. The engine roared to life, vibrating through his seat. He couldn't help but rev the engine, grinning at the sound, despite knowing it probably annoyed his neighbors.

    As he drove, shifting gears smoothly, Dominic tuned into the soft whine of the turbo between shifts, his grin widening. While most people dreaded their commute, he savored every second behind the wheel. For him, driving wasn't a chore—it was a sanctuary. In the confines of his car, with music blaring and no one to judge his thoughts, he was truly free.

     After a short stint on the highway Dom had made it to Hiko's, he parked in the grass and waited for his friend to leave the house. Hiko stepped out the house. He was 5'6 with tan skin, the man was half Japanese and half Jamaican. His Japanese roots showed in his name and mannerisms as he was a very respectful individual and valued his honor among most things in life.

    He wore a My Hero Academia jacket he had bought years ago, some black shorts and a pair of green adidas shoes. The jacket was a bit loose on the man as he had spent the better half of the year shedding a massive amount of weight off his body. Even though he still had some heft to him, the progress he was making was undeniably there. Dominic had also lost some weight this year but nothing like Hiko.