Leon's alarm went off. Again.
He groaned, rolled over, and slapped at his nightstand without looking. His hand knocked the phone off. It hit the floor with a dull thud.
"…Great," he muttered, voice muffled by his pillow. He pulled the blanket over his head and let himself melt into the mattress. Just a few more minutes. That's all he needed.
His phone buzzed from the floor.
Leon cracked one eye open, sighed, and dragged himself halfway off the bed to reach his phone.
Mark:Yo, you alive?
Leon:Barely. I hate mornings.
He tossed it aside and dropped back onto the mattress, still in yesterday's shirt.
Buzz.
Mark:If you're not up yet, I'm bringing coffee.
Leon:Don't care. Just come over. It's one of those days.
Eventually, he forced himself to sit up. His body felt heavy, like he hadn't fully come back from sleep. He rubbed at his eyes, stretched half-heartedly, and wandered toward the bathroom without bothering to check the mirror.
The apartment was a quiet mess. A couple of dishes in the sink. Socks on the floor. A pizza box from two nights ago is still on the table. He stepped around the clutter without thinking about it—just part of the background now.
He brushed his teeth, then stared at himself in the mirror. He didn't look bad, just… tired. Burnt out in that way that doesn't show up in selfies, but you feel it.
By the time Mark showed up, Leon had managed to throw on a hoodie and jeans, but the hoodie was inside out, and the jeans were barely zipped. He opened the door.
Mark held up two coffees like peace offerings. "Figured you'd still be vertical-ish."
Leon took the cup and mumbled, "Bless you."
Mark stepped inside, gave the place a once-over. "It's not that bad in here. Just looks like you haven't had a good day in a while."
Leon shrugged. "Yeah. Been in a bit of a slump."
They settled onto the couch, both quiet for a minute. Leon took a sip of the coffee. The warmth helped. It didn't fix anything, but it helped.
"You working today?" Mark asked.
"Supposed to. Got edits due for that freelance thing, but I can't even look at it right now." He leaned back, eyes on the ceiling. "Feels like everything's just... static. Same day, different flavor."
Mark leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You've felt like this for a while, haven't you?"
Leon nodded. "I don't know what I'm even doing anymore. I wake up, scroll for an hour, maybe work, maybe don't. Then I do it all again tomorrow. I'm 21 now but I still don't know what to do with my life. I'm scared I'm just... wasting time."
Mark glanced over. "That thing you said about your dad—what did you mean?"
Leon exhaled slowly. "You know how he left when I was ten. Just disappeared. No explanation, no goodbye. I guess I always thought... I don't want to be like that. But here I am. Just kind of floating through life. I don't want to vanish. But I feel like I already have."
The silence between them wasn't awkward. Just heavy.
"You're not nothing," Mark said quietly. "You're stuck. That's not the same. And you're not your dad. You're still here. That counts for something."
Leon gave a small nod. He didn't have the energy to argue, even if part of him wanted to.
Mark leaned back. "You need something different. A shift. Doesn't have to be big. Just something that reminds you the world's still moving."
Leon glanced toward the window. The light outside was dull, overcast. "Like what?"
"I don't know. Go somewhere. Change up your routine. Talk to new people. Anything. Just... break the loop, man."
Leon nodded again. "Yeah. Maybe."
He looked down at the coffee in his hands. It was still warm.
—
Leon sat at his desk, fingers hovering over the keyboard. His inbox was full. Client revisions, a couple job notifications he'd ignored, and an unread message from his landlord.
He opened one email. Skimmed it. Closed the tab.
His eyes were tired. Not just from lack of sleep—he slept plenty, if you counted the hours. But none of it felt restful.
He played some lo-fi music on his phone. Opened a Word doc. Typed a sentence. Deleted it. Typed another. Deleted that too.
He shut the laptop. Rested his forehead against it for a few seconds.
By mid-afternoon, he'd showered, put on clean clothes, and made something resembling lunch—a toasted sandwich and an energy drink. He ate it slowly on the couch, staring at a muted TV screen.
The silence was easier than sound.
His phone buzzed again.
Mark:Still thinking about earlier. Want to do something different tomorrow? Even if it's just getting out of town for a few hours.
Leon:Like what, a road trip?
Mark:Or a bookstore. Or the coast. Doesn't have to be big.
Leon:Yeah. Okay. Something.
Leon tossed the phone on the table with a sigh. Maybe Ben was right. Maybe he did need to shake things up. Break the loop.
He lay back on the couch, staring at the ceiling, feeling the weight of routine. Of nothing changing.
Then—boom. The floor tilted under him.
"What the—?"
A flash of light. A loud, cracking sound like the universe short-circuited.
Then everything went black.
—
Leon's eyes flew open.
"Holy crap."
He sat up fast. The sky above him wasn't gray or full of sirens and smog—it was bright. Blue. Birds were singing. Something was growling in the distance?
"…What the hell?"
He looked around. Not his apartment. He was on grass. Actual, real grass. The air smelled clean. Too clean.
And then he saw it.
Something huge. Furry. Very not supposed to be here.
"A mammoth?" he whispered, blinking like that would change what he was seeing.
But nope. Still there. And now it was looking at him.
"Okay, Leon," he said out loud. "Deep breaths. You're dreaming. You have to be dreaming."
Then the mammoth roared.
And started charging.
"OH HELL NO."
Leon's heart nearly exploded. He couldn't move. The ground was shaking. The thing was massive. Its tusks caught the sunlight like swords.
"I'm dead. I'm so freaking dead."
-------
Hey everyone!
I've always wanted to try writing fanfiction, and after thinking about it for a while… well, here I am, finally doing it! This is my first time diving into the world of fanfics, so I'm both excited and nervous to share this with you all.
Also, just a heads-up—English isn't my first language, so there might be a few mistakes here and there. But I'll do my best to make the story enjoyable, and I really hope you have fun reading it as much as I had fun writing it.
Thanks for giving this a shot. Let's see where this journey goes together!