[3rd Person’s POV]

Levi arrived at school wearing a toga. As he stepped out of the lift, the smile on his lips came pursed. Seeing his fellow classmates and schoolmates along with their parents made him feel melancholy for a moment. Shrugging his thoughts away, he headed inside the school campus.

They are gathered inside the gymnasium as the rites begin. Levi could have been named as the school’s Magna Cum Laude. Sad to say, he didn’t suit the position. Levi had to submit assignments delayed and begged his professors to accept it.

His part-time jobs were tiring. Much as he wanted to submit the tasks on time, he couldn’t. Poverty, somehow, contributed to taking the spot of special awards for him. But Levi slowly accepted it. Thinking that there is a bigger blessing than what he was deprived of.

Levi has always been optimistic about his life amidst of the unfortunateness.

While singing their graduation song, Levi couldn’t help but cry. Much as he doesn’t want to, like him, every student gets emotional as well. Who would not cry during graduation?

While Levi was living the best moment of his life, he felt a pair of cold emerald eyes lurking at him. Twisting his head as he looked around, as he tried to find the one staring at him. But it was impossible. The gymnasium is crowded.

After receiving their diplomas, they sat back in their seats once more. Together, they took off their graduation cap and threw it in the air in unison. Their cheers, screams of joy, and laughter resonated in the spacious gymnasium.

Levi strolled his way out of the campus. He kept his eyes busy staring at the classroom buildings that once were his room. The corners of his lips curved, reminiscing on the memory he created. But the smile on his face faded away in an instant.

Seeing his fellow schoolmates merrily chitchatting with their family makes Levi envious and melancholic. Much as he despised these feelings, he couldn’t help himself. As humans we are, feelings and emotions are valid. No one should invalidate it. Especially not yourself.

Levi wished deep inside his heart that his parents were here to congratulate him. The feeling of longingness of a parents’ love and affection were the emotions he had been seeking for ages. Standing on the side road, waiting for a cab, he saw a familiar black Lamborghinni parked in front of their school campus.

The car’s window was tinted, but Levi felt the familiar gaze inside the car. His body hair rose in an instant. He gulped, averting his gaze from the car, acting as if he had seen nothing at all. Levi was about to leave his spot, but the car began to drive towards him.

The loud pounding of his heart could be heard through his own ears. Levi felt his feet cemented, unable to take another step. The car screeched as it stopped in front of him. The car window rolled down. The familiar expensive yet strong cologne irritated Levi’s nose.

He could already tell by the aroma that it was none other than… Brandon Dermott.

Flashing his mischievous smile while eyeing Levi from head to toe as if he’s staring at a fillet mignon. Brandon wanted to devour him in this instance. “Levi,” he called him by his name. Brandon’s baritone voice was as deep as an ocean.

It contrasted well with how he looked. Underneath his corporate attire hides a Greek-God-like body with arms covered in tattoos that caused any gender to drool over him. Brandon softly moaned as his manhood throbbed against his white boxers, imagining Levi’s lips around the tip of it.

“Let me drive you to your home,” Brandon’s voice implies dominance and order. Not a chance his intonation speaks inferiority. Levi tried to flash a forced smile, but the fear he felt overpowered what he was about to do.

More so, he clutched the diploma he was holding and began to run like a mad dog without looking back. Bullet-like sweats dripped all over his face, people were staring at him as he ran. He never stopped running until the school was nowhere in his sight.

Levi panted, wheezing as he walked along a slim path that only one person could enter at a time. Behind a black barrel, he hid. Waiting for another five minutes before he decided to go out. The smell of dried urine, trash, and flies roaming on his skin makes him uncomfortable.

The toga he wore had an unpleasant smell. Looking from left and right, Levi sighed in relief. Fortunately, Brandon’s car was out of his sight. He believed he had successfully escaped from the billionaire. Well, at least.

He took off the toga and folded it neatly while waiting for a cab to ride home. Two minutes passed, a taxi stopped in front of him. Without hesitation, he rode inside the cab. Levi felt relieved to know that he was riding a cab.

“Narra Street,” Levi recited the place he lived. Resting his shoulders on the back seat, he glanced heavenwards. He smiled. At last, he will start to fulfill his dreams tomorrow. Levi had already prepared his resume to apply for work.

A line etched on his forehead. The car wasn’t moving at all. Moreso, the driver was sitting still. Levi cleared his throat. “Excuse me, sir. Would you drive me to my place or shall I ride in another car?” he asked politely.

But a deafening silence was the man’s answer. Levi’s eyes fell on the front mirror. His body hair rose as he saw a furtive smile, dazzling in the mirror. A faint gasp eluded from his mouth after recognizing the perfect set of porcelain teeth and a bearded face.

The man may have changed clothes and wore a cap, but Levi couldn’t forget what "he" looked like.

Levi swallowed stuck saliva on his throat. Big beads of sweat embedded on his forehead. “I-I s-should just r-ride another cab,” right before he could open the car’s door, the clicking sound of the car indicated that the doors were closed.

The man slowly lifted his gaze and their eyes met on the mirror’s reflection. He wore a mask before spraying something on the air conditioner that made Levi feel dizzy and sleepy.

“H-Help! H-Help!” he screamed, but no one could hear him. Smashing his hands and elbow on the car’s window, hoping it would shatter or somehow, he could acquire someone else’s attention. But it was all a hope for Levi.

His eyelids are becoming heavy after inhaling the scent. Levi could tell that he was on the verge of fainting. Right before darkness consumed him, he heard the man speak.

“The prey is now in my hands… forever,” the man looked behind him and, even if he had a surgical mask, Levi figured the face. It was the billionaire, Brandon Dermott.

“W-Why,” was Levi’s last word before he fell asleep.