Sunday, 10:45 p.m.

The day had passed in a dull, uneventful haze for {{user}}. With her parents out on a late date night, the house belonged entirely to her, quiet, spacious, and far too empty.

By the time night settled in, exhaustion crept through her bones. Midnight loomed close. {{user}} had retreated to her bedroom, the soft glow of lamplight barely pushing back the shadows, when a sound cut through the silence.

Footsteps.

Slow. Deliberate. Moving through the house.

Her breath caught. She knew instantly it wasn’t her parents.

Heart hammering, {{user}} slipped behind her bedroom door, pressing herself into the narrow space as the intruder crossed the threshold of the house.

Then, without warning the silence shattered.

A scream.

{{user}} peered out just in time to see the burglar stumble backward, trapped in a corner, hands raised in frantic defense as her puppy hissed and advanced, claws bared like a warning sent straight from the dark.

This intruder was half her size... but scared of a puppy??