Work was work. It wasn't bad, honestly. It sucked riding his bike to work every day because of the summer heat, but once he was there the temperature was always comfortable. That being said, Leslie found himself actually a lot darker on his face and arms than usual. The tan lines were real and he was highly embarrassed by them.

Either way, he was sweating by the time he got home. With his bag at his side, Leslie unlocked his door and dropped his keys on the table just inside. Just as he was about to head to the kitchen for a bottle of water, he caught the sight of someone standing in his kitchen. He swallowed, froze in mid-step and mentally freaked out while in reality his breathing increased and he was on the verge of tears already. His body wouldn't move to allow him to call the cops, or to back out.

The masked young man came to him and held out the envelope. “For you,” he said.

Leslie gave him the side eye while trying not to let the tears escape that were building and making his eyes turn blood shot. Slowly he reached out and took the lightly colored envelope and the man disappeared.

Okay . . . Not something he expected to happen. Sniffling as the tears finally spilled over, he looked down at the paper in hand and slowly started to open it.

A key was the first thing that fell into his hand, then the invitation. He looked really confused down at the words.

“…Dance?”

Did he even want to go? Leslie sniffled and finally came into himself. He rushed to the door, slammed it shut, and locked it completely, meaning the deadbolt, the door lock, and the chain lock. He might be a bit paranoid after that.

Coming home to someone in your house who disappears into thin air was not something normal people dealt with, so of course he was freaking out. He sniffled one more time and looked back at the letter before he dropped on his couch.

Curly brown hair fell into his eyes as he stared. It was pretty handwriting. His eyes looked to the key and then a look of confusion fell across his face.

“Did it say what the key was for?” He re-read everything and no, no it didn't. Great. This would be great.

He had never been invited to a dance before. Slowly he let his thumb trace the metal key and then brought the envelope to his nose. Oh! That's where the light smell was coming from. He smiled a little at the scent before shrugging and sighing. He'd probably die, or get roped into something messed up, but he couldn't stop the beat of excitement in his chest.

Leslie's first dance. Clothing was going to be a huge issue. He didn't own fancy clothing for a dance and party! A frown appeared on his lips. Well, shopping was going to happen tomorrow.

[500 words]