John was in Wal-Mart getting groceries with his mother. He absolutely hated it. His Mom would pick up two identically priced items and compare them. The red packaged loaf of bread or the white packaged loaf of bread, 2 for $1 or 1 for $.50. It drove him crazy. The only and mean only reason he went at all as because he got some candy from the check-out lane. She paid for one and allowed John to pay for any more. He usually walked away with about 6 king-sized candy bars.
They eventually got done with shopping and he browsed though the selection. He had his mom pay for a Kit-Kat and bought 2 Twix and a Butterfinger, when he saw the gum. There was Take 5, winter mint, spearmint, ect, even the ones in the can. However he saw a new one. It had a realistic looking dragon blowing fire out of his mouth around the words 'Dragon Breath.' It was an interesting design and he looked it over. It read, "Warning: may temporally cause uncomfortable pain, fiery breath, and increased senses, whatever you do, do not swallow the gum." John figured that it was a promotion device used to get people to buy it. He had heard of this gum. It was supposed to be the best spicy gum on the market. Only one a year was distributed to a random store. Unlike normal spicy gum it was supposed to come in a variety of flavors and not lose the kick.
John couldn't believe he had this year's stock. It was defiantly worth buying. He gave it to the cashier. As the employee was ringing it up he advised him, "You should eat the rest of the candy first, otherwise it won't taste the same after you eat this." John thanked him and took the bag and ran to catch up with his mom. I looked through the bag but couldn't find the receipt. When he looked for the cashier, he couldn't find him. He guessed that he was the employee's last customer for the day and continued back to the car.
It wasn't until 4 days later that John, following the cashier's advice, finished the rest of the candy. He didn't know why he followed it, but he also wanted to save the best for last. He took the gum out of the drawer it had been put in and took off the plastic wrapper. Inside the pack he found 15 differently colored wrappers. He decided on the red one that matched the color of the dragon on the front of the pack. He opened the wrapper and put the gum in his mouth. As soon as he started chewing he could feel the heat from the gum. It was the most intense that he ever had from a gum. However, he was determined to outlast the gum. He swallowed the excess saliva and continued chewing. He could still feel it burning all the way down his throat. When it hit his stomach it sat there like a smoldering ember. After a while the gum was too much and he swallowed it. He knew he broke the warning but he swallowed his gum all the time and thought nothing of it.
All of a sudden the burning sensation got stronger. It started to expand throughout John's body. It felt like every organ he had shrank to nothing and then expand back to a much bigger size. It really freaked john out when the sensation reached his skin and his tan skin tone started to go red. This was not what he had expected. Then a pattern of lines started to run across his skin, he recognized it as reptilian scales. Then each individual scale lifted up and over the lower, he could even feel each scale as it broke the skin. However he lifted up his shirt and saw larger v-shaped scutes appear, only instead of red they where a dark yellow. However his insides where still expanding and now his clothes felt uncomfortably tight. John felt a strong itching feeling at the base of his spine. Then he felt pain as the same spot felt like it was trying to push through his jeans. When the pants seam finally tore a long red tail continued growing out of the hole. Next his legs felt like they broke and he fell to the floor on all fours. The bones cracked and grated against each other as they reorganized themselves into a new shape. He could no longer feel two of his toes as they seeming fused together into three. He noticed the same thing happening to his hands, however he kept his thumb and a new digit felt like it was growing on the back of each foot. His shoes tore apart when jet black talons grew out of each of his remaining toes and fingers.  His pants and shirt also were torn to tatters when the growing body was too much to contain. He looked down and saw nothing but smooth scales running down his stomach, this freaked him out more than the rest. He felt the scales start to march up his neck. However the process seemed longer as his neck stretched and grew longer.  When the scales caught up with his head he was in horrible agony as the fire from the gum slowly stripped away his humanity. His mouth and nose joined and extended outwards to form a muzzle, his eyes were likewise stretched to the side of his head, increasing his field of vision, and then two horns grew out of the side of his head and to the back. Next was the ears, they become narrower and more pointed, also they tilted back. His back began to ache as the same itching feeling that started his tail, created two arms extending out, as the arm opened, a thin yellow membrane stretched out between the 'fingers' of the arm. The last thing to change was his eyes. He felt them water and tear up as the fire increased the pupils and the iris covering the whites. When the final change was finished John passed out.
When he woke he found his father sitting in a chair across from him holding a shotgun aimed at his head. When he tried to move, he heard the rattle of iron chains securing him to the floor. "Don't even think about moving until you tell me where my son is." The father told him. "But I am your sssson. John said accidently holding the's'.
"Bulls***, my son is human you beast."
"Your birthday isss March 21, your anniverssssary isss on the 16th of thisss month, there isss an ssspare key hidden in Mom'sss flowerpot with daisssiesss, my sssissster isss earning her Massster'sss degree in Businesssss." hoping it was enough to convince him. He lowered the shotgun. "John?"
"Yesss."
"Why...what happened to you?" starting to cry.
"I ate a pieccce of gum?"
He started to undo the chains. "Why are you talking like that?"
"No idea."
Then John heard his Mom's car pull up in the drive.
"Thisss isss not going to be fun."
"John, Michel I…" she stopped as she saw them. "Michel, what is that."
"Hello to you too, Mom." John replied.
She pulled a completely expected move, and screamed.
John withered in pain as his new ears reacted to the sharp noise.
"Honey stop, it is John." The dad said.
"How?" she said at a normal tone.
John walked into his room and picked up the gum pack in his teeth like he had been doing it all his life, he didn't even notice he was walking on all fours. "Thisss" he said as he put the pack down.
"Dragon Breath" his mother read, "How ironic."

After a couple of days they finally accepted that their son was a dragon and that it wasn't a dream. He was enrolled in a homeschooling program and was only outside at night, where he got to fly and stretch in the open air. His parents came to watch him sometimes and he treated them to an aerial display of aerobatics and fireworks as he discovered he could breathe fire.
As he grew up the house become too small for him and he moved to the mountains. However he still comes back and visits with his family every now and then.