That's one way to meet [nick,lewis,zach]

[LEWIS ZACHARY BROOKES]

Lewis hummed to himself as he rounded a corner.He passed other rooms that held the other boys of the school.He strode forward,eyes closed,using his senses to make sure he didn't walk into a door and make a fool of himself. however,that was cut short as someone else rounded another corner at the end of the hall and came barreling into him.

"gaHHH!"Lewis and the unknown figure both fell back.As Lewis fell,he curled his arms in and rolled when he felt his butt touch the ground.He flipped right over and landed on his hands and knees. He carefully stood up and brushed off his jeans with his hands before helping the other male up onto his feet." What on earth was that about? why in bloody hell would you be in such a rush?"He looked at the boy with large wide eyes,confused, but welcoming.

He took in the other boys appearance,ruffled hair,wide eyes,despite them not showing fear or any other emotions.
'Bloody gorgeous eyes though.Must be a common trait in his family.' He through,absentmindedly.  He waited for the other boys answer as he brushed himself clean of the dirt.


202                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

[ZACHARY QUINN]

Zach let the stranger pull him to his feet,and discovered he was taller than the boy he had run into. He scuffed the bottom of his shoe on the ground and rubbed at the back of his neck.

"Ah,sorry about that,love..." he stopped,he usually called everyone 'love' but this guy was new."ah,sorry,habit to call people 'love', my apologies.I uh..I tend to be in a rush. I forget that I don't actually need to run."He chuckled,before offering his hand." Zachary Quinn,Animal shifter,but please,call me Zach,It's less of a mouthful." He grinned widely. He ran his other hand through his messy brown hair and dropped it to stuff it in his pocket.After the handshake he stuffed his other hand in hi free pocket.

"I thought I was going to be late as knobs to get to curfew,and when I got inside the dorms,I bloody forgot to stop running. so,Sorry about that.I may not look it but I have strength,but I really don't know how to control it."he joked,laughing slightly,and grinning when the other boy laughed with him.

He pulled out his phone really quick and checked the time. He wasn't going to be late,so it was all good.He could talk for awhile.

227

[LEWIS ZACHARY BROOKES]

++Lewis chuckled,this guy was an odd one,and he was certainly bold. He ran a hand through his own hair and let it settle once more.

"It's alright mate,just be careful okay?"He grinned,his canines slipping out.He took a hold of Zach's hand and shook."Hey,my middle name is Zachary,so now we have something in common!My name is Lewis,Lewis Brookes, I'm an animal shifter too,that's awesome,I only know one other animal shifter in this academy."He spoke again,taking in the boys appearance.He was good looking,adorable hair and stunning blue eyes,but Lewis wasn't attracted to him.

"Late as knobs? You're British aren't you? Me too,and so if my room mate. Hey,you should totally come and chill with us in our room tonight. You and me could play some video games if you're up for that?"He offered.He glanced at the older male in anticipation.He wanted to get to know this guy,as he and Nick hadn't been getting on well in the past weeks."You look like a gamer to me,and I'm sure you would put up fair game against me."He continued with the topic of coming to his room to game.

212

[ZACHARY QUINN]

"I'll try." He grinned back. "Ahh,Good name!~I shift into a small-ish owl,what about yourself?"He asked,as Lewis motioned for them to walk.He walked along side the shorter male and shoved his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. He listened as Lewis talked some more. before he answered the last question the other Brit had asked.


"British I am mate! I would love to game with you.You're pretty top you know. You barely know me yet you ask me to game with you.Top knobs mate,top knobs." he spoke as Lewis guided them to his room. "So what of your room mate,what's he like?"He asked, glancing over to the shorter male. "Does he like video games?He could play with us if he does!" He spoke,grinning widely."You two must get along swell,both being British, right?" He looked forward as he realized where they were."Hey, You live directly across form me,this is my door!" he pointed to the door opposite to the one Lewis was in front of."We, are basically neighbors! That's the coolest bloody thing ever! we can game anytime we want now!"He chuckled.

201

[LEWIS ZACHARY BROOKES]

"I shift into a winged silver fox.Smallish owl huh,can't wait to see that!"He gently nudged the older male and chuckled,walking towards his dorms room."Yeah,My father gave me my first and middle name,my mother just went along with them." He commented back,sticking his own hands in his jeans.

Lewis listened as Zach took off,commenting on everything.

"Yeah,I try to be top,most people adore me for it." Zach just kept going,Lewis barely got his reply in.He watched the seemingly hyperactive young adult act like an over sized puppy.It was entertaining to say the least."He's okay I guess,me and him don't get along that well at the moment,but neither of us really mind that.He doesn't really game,as he would rather read based on what i've seen..."He smirked,remember how he asked Nick if he wanted to game and didn't get a reply because the other boy was so into his book."We live across from you,that's useful as knobs mate.WE totally can game anytime now!"Lewis grinned,finally someone he could game with!

"Well come on in Zach and meet-" He cut off.He had walked in the door and had Zach follow him.they looked over to Nick's side of the room,where the teen was fast asleep,curled into what looked like a nest or pillows and blankets with a book open on it's back beside him."-Nick. Zach this is Nick.Nick,even thought you are asleep,this is Zach. Me and Him are going to game. C'mon mate."

271

[ZACHARY QUINN]

Zach watched 'Nick' sleep,before jumping into the air and transforming mid jump in a flurry of brown and grey feathers.He glidded across the left over distance and Dropped onto the sleeping males head,his fluffy feet making the landing soft and keeping his talons from hurting the boy's head.

He looked over to Lewis,who stood with his mouth open and was pointing at him.Using his speech power,he trilled something out loud,but made it understandable for Lewis;" He looked comfy,I wanted to join in on the comfy.you can't deny me my comfy, Lewis,You will never deny me my comfy.I am so addicted to sleeping in animal form in and on the weirdest places,so do not deny me comfy."

He spun around in a circle on the sleeping boys head and hunched down on his feet and pulled his unkempt feathery head into his shoulders and settled down to rest.He used his large eyes to stare at Lewis."We can game out another time,let's all just rest for now." He watched Lewis shake his head at him and walk to his desk and start playing Minecraft. He coo'ed softly in his owl speech and tucked his beak into his chest.

212

[NICHOLAS WINTERS]

The pressure on his head had woken the slumbering Male. his eyes opening, dark with sleep. "Hmmm..." he muttered, shifting slightly but freezing at the pressure on his head and shoulders. "Uh... Lewis... whats on my head?" he asked, his muscled freezing so he wouldn't disturb the small whatever was on his head.

gently he reached back and grabbed the small creature, picking it up off his neck and sitting of, careful not to wake the small owl. "Uh... why was there an owl on my head? Lewis?" he asked, fitting the small creature into the crook of his elbow, softly stroking the feathers of his neck.

Nick smiled a bit the owl was adorable! one of the smallest he had seen, he hadn't the foggiest how it had gotten into their room, or how it had ended up curling onto his head, but he couldn't deny how adorable it was.

"Lewis, will you get off that bloody game and tell me why there is an owl in our dorm? Whatever I did to piss you off can wait, please explain, have you gotten yourself familiar? Or.... what" he asked, his fingers absentmindedly stroking the sleeping owls feathers. He rolled his eyes slightly, waiting for an answer.

207

[LEWIS ZACHARY BROOKES]

Lewis ignored both Nick and Zach until Nick's last comment. " Oh so,now you want to talk to me? Must have had a good day for once. Finally get that stick removed from your arse? Yeah,there is an owl in our dorm,He's apparently staying the night.It's another student and I'm sure,since he's out like a light,he can't hear us or anything so don't worry about that fact that you're giving another student a neck massage in a way. You however did do something wrong,but then again why should I tell you when you've been giving me the could shoulder from day one.We obviously got along that day but I guess that was never going to happen,hmm? I tried to be friends and you pushed me away." He glared at the other Brit and the new friend whom he was a little upset that he ditched him. He gave Nick a barbed scathing look before turning back to his game.

Hearing Zach's owl form chirp in it's sleep,he slammed the lid of his laptop closed and stalked over to his bed."Now,I'm going to sleep,you two can stay up as long as you jolly well like,but just know that I will not be woken and should you try,I will hurt you." He stripped to his boxers,not really caring about the two other males in the room and flopped onto his bed.He dragged the covers up his body and curled up underneath them.He turned to face the wall and silently fell asleep.



266

[NICHOLAS WINTERS]

Nick growled, rolling his eyes as Lewis stripped and passed out, throwing a temper tantrum like a child. He grabbed a nearby pencil and chucking it at the infuriating Twat he called his room mate. It bounced off Lewis's shoulder, but the boy didn't stir. thankfully, Nick had a plethora of projectiles in reaching distance. He continued to chuck objects at the slumbering male, growing more amused as the pile began to grow, and he had still not stirred.

Quickly enough, he ran out of things to throw in reaching distance. He slowly got up, not wanting to disturb the sleeping owl. He set the creature down on one of his pillows and set to work grabbing more things to stack onto Lewis. Pens, pencils, books, anything. Eventually he couldn't throw them any longer, they would just roll off the pile. So he started his own game of tetris, stacking, testing. Started playing how much stuff can I put on Lewis's face before he twitches. It was thoroughly entertaining. Made even more so when by the face that Lewis still hadn't moved at all. It was all extremely amusing.

[ZACHARY QUINN]

Zach perked his messy head of feathers. Nick was stacking objects on Lewis' bed and He seemed to be having fun.He stood up and fluffed his feathers,preened his chest feathers and then took off towards the desk.He grasped a few pencils and pens from said desk and flew them over to Nick.He placed them down with a quiet chirp of laughter before going back and grabbing a ruler and a small,thin book. Zach hopped onto the sleeping shoulder of Lewis and chirped quietly,with no response,he chirped louder and louder till he realized this shifter was not getting up anytime soon.He was out like a light!
He flew up to Nick's shoulder and nibbles at the boys ear.once he got Nick's attention.He flew to the desk,grabbed a sharpie and flew back,perching in Lewis' shoulder and dropping the sharpie from his beak and holding it down with his foot. He chirped once more and flapped his wings again,mischief sparkling in his large yellow eyes. He bobbed his head towards Lewis' face and chirped. He knew Nick would get the message.Normally he would never suggest doing this,but he had heard everything Lewis had said to Nick and this was simply going to be revenge! Zach didn't have a roommate,so Nick and him could escape to his room after they were done.

233

[NICHOLAS WINTERS]

Nick chuckled and nodded, tacking the marker and uncapping it. He quickly set to work, drawing flowers everywhere, with small swirls and spirals in the empty space. "Do you see any other colors?" he asked to the small owl, grinning, a devious glint in his eyes. He continued doodling, some of the flowers spiraling down to what was visible of his neck.

Nick had an idea and closed the marker, Come on! Lets take all of my bed stuff and put it on top of the pile! then get the hell outta here" he said, chuckling. He quickly ran over and grabbed the duvet, hauling it over to Lewis and draping it over the entire pile of stuff. He then ran back for his pillows and placed them at the four corners of the boys bed.

The he nodded, laughing "Come on, do you have a room mate yet?" he asked, fleeing from the room with a chuckle. He had grabbed his phone and school supplies, and anything important to him in a bag, not knowing what Lewis would do when he woke up. He also may or may not have switched off Lewis's alarm, just an added touch.

[ZACHARY QUINN]

Zach shook his feathery head,he only saw the black one.He watch in amusement and glee as Nick doodles flowers and swirls.He chirped in evil laughter and flew up to Nick's shoulder. He coo'ed and trilled as he ran back and forth between the two bed and piled the bed supplies onto Lewis' bed.He flew to the ground by the door as Nick grabbed His phone.

"No,I live in there by myself,come one,you can take the spare bed. Oh god,we are horrible. He going to be angry when he wakes.I have a lock on my door,so we can keep him out in the morning."He used his speech abilities to talk to Nick as he flew back up to the other boys shoulder when he reached the door. He cackled in his owl tongue and flew off to his bed when Nick had gotten into the room across the hall. He transformed mid flight and landed on the bed with a few feathers sticking out of his hair.Other than that,the boy was fully clothed and not a single scratch from the rough landing due to the increased velocity. He turned to look at Nick and laughed because they had just pulled the best prank ever.

"That was bloody fun as knobs mate,we need to do that again." He said,think British accent falling into his speech.

239

[NICHOLAS WINTERS]

Nick flopped onto the unused bed, laughing happily. "I agree, Although, maybe not at the expense of my roommate. He already bloody hates me" he said, his deep baritone voice along with his accent carried his voice all the way across the room and probably out into the hallway. "Bollocks, Better lock the door" he said, standing up and locking the door, his sides hurting from the laughter.  He  hadn't laughed like that in years! Last time he could remember was back at the old academy with Daneel, watching her try and fail to show off by eating an extremely hot pepper!. The memory made him laugh harder, watching her face go from smug to panicked within a few milliseconds.  

"I guess we better make actual introductions" he said, holding his hand out towards Zach "Nicholas Winters, but please Nick for short, but of a mouthfull" he said, still slightly chuckling, giddy with the excitement from earlier. "Mind if I stay the night?" he asked smirking. "Animal shifter, Griffin, might as well get that out of the way, Fantastic to meet another shifter that isn't a great tosser!" He said,  rolling his eyes.

[ZACHARY QUINN]

"Yes,I'm not sure how he would take to being the main prankee out of the three of us."He chuckled,Zach laughed with the other man and rolled around on his bed,clutching his side.He hadn't laughed like that in many years when his cousins had dumped ice buckets on their brother and they had to run extremely fast just to escape the older male beating them up. he sighed deeply,a smile gracing his lips.He plucked a few feathers from his hair before he too stood up and went to shake Nick's hand.

"Nice to meet you.another shifter,awesome! And you can totally stay the night.If you ever have any issues with that smegpot you call a room mate,you can stay here anytime.I rented out this whole room actually so I won't ever have a room mate,so it's always open to you should you need to escape Lewis' wrath."He chuckled."Griffin,eh? that's a grand beast to be able to change into! lucky you,I only get to be a mingin' 6 inc tall saw-whet owl.Bloody long tail feathers they have.and the size is useful but i wish it was bigger too.anyways,we should hit the sack,it's been a long day and I'm sure you want to get back to the peaceful sleep Lewis and myself woke you from." he grinned widely before taking off his hoodie and shirt and sliding into his bed with his jeans on.

253

[NICHOLAS WINTERS]

"Well at leased your clothed transform with you, ya great wanker! Mine usually explode..." he said, laughing, running his fingers through his raven curls. "And seeing as he's already a great tosser, I don't think he would find the pranks nearly as amusing as we do" He said, another bout of laughter running through his torso.

"And I might have been sleeping yes, but falling asleep while reading gives you the weirdest dreams!" he said, smirking. "Thats amazing you get your own room, how'd you manage that? The reason I had my own room for the longest time is cause my old roommate went bonkers! they had to send him off to a hospital... No idea what happened, but i had to go through this whole interrogation thing, I had nothing to do with it, but it took them forever to reach that conclusion!" he said, Taking off the baggy Tee-shirt he had been wearing, this room being a bit warmer then his own. He flopped back into bed sighing. "I don't even know what I did to him! just after the first day things got odd, cold shoulders and clipped tones..." he said, looking at the ceiling, "But we best be careful, don't want to be on the receiving end of his initial rage at what we did" he said, his chuckle rumbling in his chest.