Once upon a time, in a town called Peaceville, there lived a 12-year-old girl named Laney Penn. She was the most beautiful girl in town with long red hair that felt incredibly soft and dazzling dark green eyes. Her choice of outfits were long-sleeved casual dresses and black boots. Yet despite her natural beauty, she had no friends and was incredibly shy. Why you may ask? She suffered from a medical condition known as Chronic Social Anxiety.

For as long as she could remember, Laney couldn't speak. Not because of a birth problem. She knew her vocal chords worked. But when she tried to say something, she would get nervous and words couldn't come out of her mouth. Her appearance even gave it away with her nervous gaze and her hair covering her left eye. In fact, she was so concerned with her looks, she felt it was necessary for her to wear makeup, so she chose black eyeshadow and eyeliner to make her eyes look darker. By now, everyone knew she was better off alone.

That is, until one fateful day...

"Come on, Laney," Mrs. Penn said, taking her on a walk in the local forest. "Don't you think nature is fascinating?"

Of course, Laney didn't respond. She didn't get why her mother brought her out here. She was out here in a dark blue long-sleeved casual dress and her favorite black books, and there wasn't anything interesting going on. What was so special about nature walks anyway? All she saw was a bunch of loose sticks on the ground, flying insects, a mud-covered boy laying near a tree-

Huh?

Laney closely. Sure enough, there was a boy laying near a tree. He was covered in mud, so it was hard to see him. She walked up to her mother and gently tugged her arm. "Laney, do you see something?" Mrs. Penn asked.

Laney responded by taking her mother over to the boy. Upon closer inspection, the he looked like he was around Laney's age. His arms and legs were intact, and he was only wearing black shorts. Fortunately, seeing as his chest was moving up and down, he was still breathing.

"Should we tell someone?" Mrs. Penn asked. Laney shook her head in response, wanting to help this boy. "Are you trying to tell me we should take him home?" Mrs. Penn asked, to which Laney happily nodded in response. "Well... Okay."

But when Mrs. Penn used both arms to carry the boy, something strange happened. When he was lifted from the mud-covered ground, he was revealed to have red and black bat-like wings, an armored tail with a spade tip, and four extra arms. Mrs. Penn gasped, dropping him back on the ground. But Laney was a brave girl. She slowly walked up to the boy and wiped the mud from his face, revealing short black horns on his forehead and bright red skin. She looked up at her mother, silently begging to take him home.

"Laney, sweetie, I don't think it's a good idea," Mrs. Penn said. "He doesn't look human."

Laney whimpered, insisting to bring him home. "Okay, dear," Mrs. Penn said. "Only because you want to help him."

When the Penns got back home, Laney immediately started bathing the mysterious boy. With the mud gone, his body was completely visible. He was well built with broad shoulders and a nice four-pack, but his torso was covered in strange green markings while a blue and black demonic pentagram marked his right shoulder. His hands and feet were rough with ivory claws on his fingers and toes. His shaggy hair was a light shade of grey, the same color as silver. All in all, despite his demonic features, he was quite handsome.

As Laney applied shampoo to his hair, the boy moaned. He slowly opened his eyes, which were all-black with pale green pupils. Realizing where he was, his eyes were fully opened and he sat up in surprise and hissed, exposing his sharp fangs. But Laney didn't look scared. Instead, she continued to wash his hair, massaging his scalp in the process.

The boy relaxed from the girl's gentle touch, a soft purr emitting from his throat. He leaned back, deeply relaxed. Laney smiled as she cupped her hands with water to rinse out the shampoo, getting rid of any mud that was stuck in his hair. She wasn't sure what this boy was, but she knew he wasn't a threat.

When the boy was all dried and his black shorts were on, Laney brought him to her room. He was amazed by all the unicorns, teen magazines, and boy band stuff he saw. While he observed, Laney noticed he was walking on all eights (due to his four extra arms) and meowing. He was behaving like a cat for some reason, sparking her interest. She walked up to him and tried to say something. Of course, no words came out her mouth.

The boy turned his head to look at Laney. He slowly approached her, a dazed look in his eyes. Then, with careful movements, he reached forward and touched her hair. When his clawed fingers came in contact with the red locks, he smiled and meowed again. Laney didn't get why this boy was doing this. Fortunately, she had an idea. She took out a portable chalkboard set from her nightstand drawer and gave it to him. Her mother thought it would help with her social skills, but it didn't work out. Why not give it to this cat-like creature so he could communicate with her?

When the boy got the portable chalkboard set, he started writing a message. Surprisingly, he could pick up the chalk and write legibly. When he was finished, he showed Laney the message he wrote.

Love your hair.

Laney smiled. She was thinking about cutting her hair short for a while, and this was the perfect opportunity for her to do it. She could give the leftover locks to the boy as a small gift.

Back in the upstairs bathroom, Laney showed the boy a pair of scissors, wanting him to see her do this. He was curious about what she was doing, but his expression became a surprised one when she was about to start cutting her own hair. Before she knew it, he used his tail to snatch the scissors from her hand, repeatedly shaking his head.

Laney looked at the boy, trying to ask him why he did that. He responded by leaving the bathroom and coming back with the portable chalkboard set. He quickly wrote a message to her.

Don't do that! You're already beautiful!

Laney was surprised. She thought she was better off with shorter hair, but this boy disagreed. He just met her a while ago, and he already thought she was pretty. She muttered something, tilting her head towards the ground. She looked back up when the boy tapped her leg.

Could you speak up? I didn't hear that.

Laney muttered again, still unable to speak. The boy frowned.

Still couldn't hear you.

Laney took a deep breath and attempted to speak again. But sadly, she still muttered, tears coming from her eyes this time. She grabbed the chalkboard set and wrote a message.

I was thanking you for the compliment. Sorry about my inability to communicate. I have Chronic Social Anxiety, a medical condition that prevents me from speaking.

At this point, Laney and the boy took turns writing on the chalkboard.

You sure?

Yes, I'm sure. I was diagnosed seven years ago.

Don't your vocal chords work?

They do. I'm just a very shy person. I can't seem to speak without getting nervous and loosing my train of thought.

Then I'll have to fix that. I hate seeing you like this. With my help, words WILL come out of your mouth.

Thanks, I guess. My name's Laney, by the way. Laney Penn. You?

My name? It's Corey Riffin.