Who am I sharing a room with? (Nicholas)

[LEWIS ZACHARY BROOKES]

Lewis huffed out a deep breath as he finally graced the floor of the hallway where his room was. He had lugged his belongings around all day since his mother has kicked him onto the school grounds and drove off.

'Probably to return home to her precious wolf shifters.' He thought bitterly,biting the inside of his cheek,his en longed front canines protruding a little more. Pulling his shoulders back, he grasped the handle of his suitcase once more and pulled his shoulder bag further up his shoulder as it slipped off on the trip there. He plunged his hand into his coat's pocket and fished around before he pulled a slip of paper out of the abyss of said pocket.Flipping the folded paper open and reading the number on the slip,he sighed. He walked forward and kept glancing up at doors and back to the paper. Soon enough the numbers started to get close to the ones on his slip,so he relaxed before tensing up.He stopped walking momentarily,seeing as he didn't know whom he was rooming with.the lady at the office had simply given him the paper and told him he would be sharing a room with someone else. Feeling panic and nausea rising in his gut, he pressed on with a slight shake in his hand now.

'What if this guy is a homophobic? I might lose my temper again and I'll get kicked out before the first day! Ah,But what If he's okay with it? Ah, who am I kidding,everyone I've met has NEVER been okay with it,why would some random guy I don't know be okay with it?' He put all of these thoughts aside and pulled up to the door,Sighing deeply,he knocked three times before pulling the handle and pressing the door forward.


He was greeted with the sight of his apparent room mate,on his claimed bed and reading upside down,the other boys head resting upon the floor with his face up in the book.Lewis stood for a second before shaking his head and stepping in and closing the door.


"My name is Lewis, I'm your new roommate. And first things first,why are you reading in such a weird position?" He asked,back turned as he wheeled the suitcase up to the bed and dropped his shoulder bag on the mattress.


[402 words]

[NICHOLAS WINTERS]

Nick had been reading for god knows how long. It had been just after dawn when he had started the book... now by the shadows in the floor he subconsciously noticed, it was probably around three. His raven curls were splayed out on the ground, curling over the floor. He didn't even look up when someone knocked on the door, to lost in the words. With a side glance he watched the boy enter his room, baggage, was he finally getting a new room mate? his mind was still trapped in the story line. "Hmmm.... Mustv slid off my bed, still reading..." he muttered, his eyes scanning over the pages rapidly.

A few moments went by and he finished the chapter. He quickly replaced his bookmark and set the book down on his bed. He then looked at the male, his eyes scanning over his blonde hair to his dress shoes. "Hey another person who knows how to dress themselves!" he said, trying to slide the rest of the way off the bed.

In a last minute decision, her went to sling his legs over the side of the bed. Only, His long legs seemed to want to do other things, slipping to the side and colliding with his desk. With a oof and a crunch, his legs finally hit the ground, slightly tangled.

He quickly straightened out and stood up, blushing slightly at his own clumseyness. 'great first impression Nicholas...' he thought to himself, running his fingers through his raven curls and to the back of his neck. "Sorry about that..." he said, an awkward chuckle escaping his lips.

270

[LEWIS ZACHARY BROOKES]

Lewis paused in getting things out of his bag and onto the desk beside him that was for his use. His ears perked up at the voice that responded to him,even if they completely disregarded his question.The boy must have been really into that book.

"Yeah,Well,My family only dresses their kids in the best,heh,I mean,this would be my preference any day,no matter my family but uh...yeah." He replied,glancing at the boy behind him before going back to placing objects on the desk. He pulled his laptop out along with the cords and just placed them when he heard the thud from the other side of the room. Rotating his head and body to look at the other boy,he watched with a slight smirk ad he collected himself from the ground and apologized.Slapping his hands together slowly and repeatedly,he laughed.

"That...was...graceful." He commented back.As his laughter settled down he took in the other boys appearance and traced the shark curves of his face before looking away slightly,blushing. He busied himself with the ceiling,or the floor,which ever one his eyes seemed to land on in that second and coughed slightly.

"I assume you were too into you're book to hear me when I came in. Uh, My name is Lewis Brookes. uh,I'm new here,obviously,but yeah.You can call me Z or L really if You don't want to use my full first name."He said,glancing at the other male before nodding and shifting from foot to foot.

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[NICHOLAS WINTERS]

"Sorry about that... uh I kinda... get lost sometimes... i've been reading since... id say about dawn" he said chuckling again, his baritone voice echoing throughout the room. "And good to hear, some of the people here seem to dress in the dark and think it looks cool" he said, grinning slightly.

With a genuine smile he held out his hand "Nicholas Winters, Just nick if you don't mind, Nicholas is a bit of a mouthful. " he said chuckling. "Ah, you saw that... I guess it was an impossible idea that I could hide my clumsyness from you... I do apologize if I ever trip and or fall into you" he said, biting his bottom lip slightly, hoping he was making up for his Smashing first impression. He walked over towards Lewis's side of the room, gathering some of his own stuff that had migrated over towards that side through the months he had been room-mateless.

"Lewis... Very nice name, Why do people call you Z? Lewis is such a lovely name" he said, his eyes widening a bit as he realized what he has said. 'bloody hell what is going on, Swell time putting your own foot in your mouth' he thought, inwardly kicking himself, hoping his new room mate wouldn't react this is slipped words.

217

[LEWIS ZACHARY BROOKES]

"It's okay. I'm not unfamiliar with getting lost in something such as a book. I've read my fair share of intriguing novels as well."He replied,stuffing one hand in his jeans pocket and scratching the back of his head with the other.He looked down to see 'Nick' had offered his hand in greeting.Dropping his own, he grasped the boys hand and gave it a firm shake,like his uncle had told him to do,lest he come off as a pansy with a weak grip.

"Nice to Meet you Nick.I'm not that graceful either,so no worries man."He chuckled and shoved his now free hand into his free pocket.

"Well...Yeah,My middle name is Zachary,After my fathers middle name.Yeah,My father gave me both my first and middle name,but my mother wanted completely different names for me when I was born.But my dad was adamant about 'Lewis Zachary' so my mother want with it for him."Lewis did hear the last part of what Nick said to him.''It was probably just him being nice,there's no way such a well dressed guy like him would be gay.He must be popular with the ladies in this place.' He thought bitterly to himself.

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[NICHOLAS WINTERS]

"Well you father had good taste in names" he said absentmindedly, setting his items onto his desk. As the realization of what he had just said hit him he froze, stopping dead in his hunched over possession, his shoulders squared and tense. "Uhhh if you don't mind I'd prefer to call you Lewis, unless you highly dislike that name, in which case ill go over the other options" he said, sounding a bit businesslike as his arms finally unfroze and absentmindedly reorganized his desk are.

As the new items were placed into new spots, he flopped down onto his bed, leaning against the wall, legs crossing at the ankles. At the moment he was dressed in a button down shirt with dress pants, his suits waistcoat and coat were draped over his desk chair.

"Anyway... I guess we need to get this out of the way at some point, If you don't mind me asking, what Type of creature are you? Ill of course tell you the same information, even first if you wish" he said, shrugging. He knew some people liked to keep it hidden, and if Lewis decided he wouldn't like to reveal it, he wouldn't push the matter, but he was curious.
205

[LEWIS ZACHARY BROOKES]

Lewis watched Nick move across the room,in a trance. He shook his head and look to the floor.

"Uh,Yeah,I guess he did."He smiled slightly,wincing as he remembered that his mother hated him because his father died shortly after he was born.She called him bad luck now a days,among other more colourful names.He shook himself.'This guy is new,make him like you,not pity you.' He backed up till the insides of his knees his the bed and flopped down.He placed his elbows on his knees and leaned forwards,placing his chin on the backside of his hands."Yeah,sure.I'm okay with that.My father would have always called me that,and would never had let people shorten my name."

'NOT HELPING LEWIS.MAKE.HIM.LIKE.NOT.PITY.'He screamed internally at himself.

Startled by the last question Nick had asked him he contemplated it for a few seconds before speaking up again.

"No ,no,I understand. I'm an unusual animal shifter for my family,but I shift into a winged silver fox. The rest of my family is either wolves or dragons."He spoke, running a hand through his short hair before laying it on his knee and pushing his weight onto that side of his body. "And yourself?"He inquired,looking at Nick,taking in the other boys eyes more clearly now,but blinking or looking away to avoid awkwardly starring.

244

[NICHOLAS WINTERS]

"Fascinating! another Animal shifter! Brilliant!" he exclaimed, sitting up and grinning. "although a bit smaller in size, still interesting... Nick winters, Griffin Shifter" he said, holding his index and middle finger up in a small salute. "I haven't met any other animal shifters here, mostly Shifters in general and one anthropomorphic Otter... But Oh this is great!" he said, Leaning against the wall.
He Flinched as his still bruised back hit the wall harder then expected.

He smiled shyly at the look of questioning that had appeared on Lewis's face "A few days ago a group of guys cornered me in the hall, one of them pushed me against the wall several times, bruising my back, Asked him if he fancied a snog, Got myself punched for that on, but it was worth the look of shock on his face, _{I wouldn't have minded if he wasn't such an arrogant twat...} always thought he was in the closet... the look he gave me" he said, chuckling at the memory. "Anyway... small warning, they don't appreciate a large bird horse running through the halls, but it was terribly fun, although I suppose you're lucky, you probably are small enough in animal form to slip out of your clothes... I was picking up fabric shards for hours"

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_{(Smaller text= Muttered under breath, missed by Lewis)}

[LEWIS ZACHARY BROOKES]

"Griffin eh,Interesting,I've never met a griffin shifter before,My mother always kept me at home. Scared I would be eaten if I was in shifted form in front of such a big creature...or any big creature. Anyways."

Lewis froze up inside.

'He's...Homophobic,isn't he.great,already,I have to hide my secret from someone,and I haven't been here for a whole day!'He shouted and screamed in his head but chuckled at the comment anyways. This day was off to such a good start,then Nick had to go and say that.Lewis wasn't sure if he could hide Being gay from this one.He seemed perceptive and he obviously wasn't stupid.He sighed inside his mind and focused on something else,that was less depressing.

"I would hope I would be small enough,I mean,a 2 foot tall fox would be able to slip through the neck of a shirt.I guess I am lucky to have a smaller animal form." He spoke again,falling over backwards,his legs spread slightly as he relaxed back into the mattress. He groaned as he stretched and his bones and muscles popped,clicked or tensed up in response to the stretching.

206

[NICHOLAS WINTERS]

Nicks eyes caught how Lewis had froze at the mention of his encounter... he went back over his words again and froze himself, realizing what had slipped out under his breath. 'great... first i fall and make a fool of myself, then i let slip that im gay, only to have a homophobic room mate? fan-bloody-tastic' He thought to himself, forcing his muscles to relax. The strength it took not to roll his eyes and end the conversation was nearly to much for him, but being the usually polite male he was, he took a silent deep breath and answered.

"Ya, i've lost so many suite unexpectedly shifting into my griffin form, its not even a pigme griffin, bloody size of a medium to large horse" He said, huffing, his eyes traveling over  his room mate. He stood up quietly, arching his back and bending backwards, each vertebrae cracking from the top to the base of his spine. He straightened up, and proceeded to  Stretch his arms, legs, various cracks breaching the silence. 

"So I hear a British accent on you as well, Mind telling me where you grew up?" he asked, fighting hard to keep a conversation going with his new roomie. He flopped back onto his bed, wincing as he landed on his book. He quickly retrieved it from under the small of his back and placed it on his desk.

208

[LEWIS ZACHARY BROOKES]

"That must be a hassle. Bloody piss poor luck on your part,but I bet you can fly, right? Oh,how I would long to fly.To be free up in the skies and never let my feet grace this forsaken, wretched ground again.Alas,I was never taught how to fly,so my wings don't exactly work."Lewis replied,stretching his arm towards the ceiling,fingers outstretched and grasping at nothing but air,the air he wished he could fly in.

"ah,Yes,British.I grew up on the wealthier side of London,as my family is fairly rich,no bragging here,but I never really liked it.To be honest,I wasn't very liked back their and Here I can be myself more than I could at home." He spoke,genuine and slowly shoving Nick's earlier comment to the back of his mind."Your accent is British as well,Tell me where you grew up,eh?" He leaned up on his elbows,only lifting his upper half off the body. He grinned at Nick,trying to give of a friendlier vibe,but knowing he was failing poorly.

Lewis yawned loudly,only managing to cover the worst of it with the back of his hand.He made a choice,stay up longer and talk,or sleep away the tiredness of having to leave home at 2 AM just to make it here on time for registering.He would wait for Nick's answer,then retire afterwards.He stood up,getting off the bed and stripped his coat and over shirt off,deciding he would sleep in his jeans for the night,not really caring.

247

[NICHOLAS WINTERS]

"A more rural side of london... sent to a boarding school at the age of ten" he said, fighting hard to keep the edge of disdain out of his voice. he did notice how flat his voice had gone. He sighed silently... this was going so well earlier... but for all he knew the next time he gets ganged up on, Lewis could be in the mix!

He tried hard to keep thoughts like that out of his head, he needed to be open minded until he knew the boy better... but the facts were there, one mention of his room mate being gay and Lewis had tensed up like a toddler caught trying to get into the fridge... 'he must be under that homophobic impression that every gay guy wants to bang you... typical... stop that, no judging without more facts...' he argued with his own thoughts silently, fighting the edge of anger in his head as he casually glanced at Lewis as he got up to take his coat off and over shirt off.

Nick tried and most likely failed to keep his voice kind and calm. "If you need me to ill step out of the room" 'don't want you to think i'm checking you out or anything like that' he hissed inwardly at himself.

218

[LEWIS ZACHARY BROOKES]

Lewis glanced to Nick."your parents sound horrible,10 years old? that's cruel."He commented,flipping the tie off and looping it onto the corner of the bed frame.He spoke up once again." Oh,no,It's fine. We're both guys.Nothing we haven't seen before right? hehe " He smiled awkwardly. He sat down after pulling the blankets back further and laid down.

"Well,honestly,I had to get up at 2 AM to make it here on time to get in,so I'm knackered out and bloody tired as knobs.If You're alright with it,I'm going to promptly loose consciousness in a few minutes." He smiled wide,eyes crinkling at the sides,en longed canines flashing more than usual with the larger than normal smile Lewis sent to nick. He laid down on his back and pulled the covers up.He stuffed his hands under the sheets and curled up into a ball,his front facing Nick's bed and his back to the wall on his side of the room. He peeked an eye open to look at Nick one more time.

"Goodnight.I'll be out like a bloody light in a few,so no worries about keeping it quiet. You could have a party come in here and I wouldn't wake for it." He chuckled lightly before,true to his word,everything fell silent and blackness engulfed Lewis' gaze.