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New Story!

Been a year since I last posted. And what a year it's been!

To the people who follow me: I'm not retiring Secretarial Duties. In fact I have two more chapters in the pipeline, almost finished.

For now though, I wanted to do a bit of work into Zach's story.

A heads up, that portions of this were written when I was High as Balls. I was going to rewrite them, but I feel I need to move forward otherwise the story will stall.

Again, this story is LONG. I have plans for it being a saga, so again, only a little smut. Worry not, there will be more.

Peace, Guys.

~Parz.

***

The Freeway had begun to change. Zach hadn't noticed. Not that he had been paying attention in the first place, but as he zoned in and out, he noticed a definite change in scenery. If only the music would change. He had always hated early morning starts, his mind usually crying out for a nap by lunch time. He had awoken earlier in the day by the perverse screeching of his phone's alarm, heralding the advent of 3am. He hated 3 am. He hated most am. But 3 am was definitely the worst. 3am was in that disgusting curve, between too late to be up and too late to begin sleep. At 3am, a decision has to be made about whether you just tank the rest of the night out and force yourself awake for the rest of the next day so you can get back to a regular sleep pattern the next night, or go to sleep and wake up passed noon, a slippery slope. Before you know it you're reverse cycling and with every passing day it gets harder and harder to get back into sleeping through the night and being awake through the day.

The truck hit a pothole, and Zach jostled slightly. He glanced over at the driver, his dad, an older goat with large arms. His flannel shirt covered his bulky frame and even complimented the slight gut he had formed over the years. His horns were much more impressive than Zach's, whose own only came out two inches from his scalp, whereas his dad's curled around, reaching the small of his neck. His dad, who up until now had been focussed on the horizon in front of him glanced sideways, locking eyes with Zach. He shot a cheesy grin at his son, who rolled his eyes slowly, but smiled back.

'You doin' okay, champ?' Jake Donoghue asked his son.

Zach nodded slightly. The CD player jumped from a portion of silence into Teeth Rattling Bass, as whoever it was began an instrumental section.

'It feels like we've been listening to the same song for five minutes.' Zach frowned.

'We have!' Jake beamed. 'It's a Rock Opera!'

'A what?'

'A Rock Opera. Don't-' he took his eyes back off the road and focussed on his son with a comical frown. 'Don't tell me you don't know what a Rock Opera is.' Zach shrugged his shoulders.

'Argh!' Jake slammed a fist down on the wheel. 'What are they teaching in schools these days!?'

Zach shrugged again, shuffling in his Hoodie.

Jake sighed. He shifted in his seat, holding on to the wheel with his left hand so he could gesture with his right.

'A Rock Opera,' he began, looking over his glasses as he lectured, 'Is a way of telling a story through song.'

'I thought songs were stories.' Zach replied.

'They are,' Jake retorted, holding up one finger. 'But a Rock Opera is a way of portraying a long story, through the medium of song. It has a protagonist, an Antagonist, a beginning, middle and end.'

'Like a musical?' Zach grinned back.

'No!' Jake retorted, 'Not like a musical! Musicals have acting, Rock opera's tell the story and you sort of have to imagine the Visuals.'

'It sounds like a musical.' Zach replied.

Jake sighed with annoyance. Now he was just being difficult.

'Fine,' he grumbled. 'Imagine it's like a musical. Except that it rocks.'

Zach frowned at the CD player. Someone with a high pitched voice, undoubtedly male, had begun to sing in a screechy manner. He couldn't make out all the words, but whoever it was was saying they were a Priest in a Temple.

'ACDC?' Zach frowned.

Jake gave a sharp breath through his nose.

'I know you're upset right now,' he muttered over the song. 'We're moving across the country, you had to get up early. So I'm going to forget you just thought that RUSH was ACDC.'

'It kind of sounds like,' Zach frowned, trying to listen to the song, 'It kinda sounds like he's saying that he's decided what people can and can't listen to.'

Jake smiled. 'Listen to, Look at...You're picking it up quickly.'

'Isn't that kind of...' he frowned. 'I dunno fucked up?'

'Language!' Jake hissed, turning his attention back to the road. 'And you better believe it's fucked up.'

'Well then why is the Protagonist a Dictator?'

'Eh?' Jake frowned. 'You think this guy is the Protagonist?'

'He's the first voice I've heard in minutes!'

'That doesn't mean that he's the main character!' Jake boomed with laughter. 'It doesn't mean anything!'

'Are you sure we can't listen to my stuff?' whined Zach. He pulled his phone out of the pocket on his Hoodie. 'Seriously, if you give it a chance, you might like it.'

'A,' Jake grumbled, 'Unlikely. B, If you gave this a chance,' he gestured at the CD Player. _ 'You_ might like it. And C, yes I'm sure we can't listen to your music. This thing doesn't have Auxilliary.'

Zach looked at the phone and then at the CD Player and pouted.

'And to think,' Jake guffawed, 'You made fun of me for keeping my music on CD's.'

'The one time being a Luddite works in your favour.' Zach murmered, putting the phone back in his hoodie. 'You couldn't have shilled out for a more current truck?'

'It's a rental!' laughed Jake. 'And it's a moving van! There's a reason you don't see Celebrities stepping out of these things onto the red carpet.'

'Yuk, Yuk.' Zach rolled his eyes.

The song continued, but Zach had already begun to tune it out. There was something slightly depressing about fitting his entire life into a truck, which was now trundling down the freeway. All of this had happened so fast.

After he had finished high school, he had originally thought he wouldn't be accepted into College. His grades weren't stunning, and while he had a passion for writing, he had never stood out with anything of particular note. So when he got accepted into his first choice College, he was, suffice to say, a little shocked. He hadn't made any plans to move anywhere, but now that it was all upon him, he felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of what he would need to do to attend. He'd need to first move to Mawson City, clear across the country, find a place to live, have enough money for books, food, miscellaneous. Then he'd need to find a job, to make sure he kept his head above water, and all of this with only two months before the acceptance deadline. He had done some research and came to the conclusion that it simply wasn't feasible. He was a broke High School Graduate, even if there were scholarships available, he was probably too late to apply. He had told his parents three nights after receiving the acceptance. While they were both initially ecstatically proud of his accomplishments, they soon understood his hesitance. Jake Donoghue was a Baker at a popular bistro/café on the outskirts of Macon. Alyssa Donoghue was a lawyer, who had recently announced her candidacy for Mayor of the City, a campaign that was quickly gaining steam. Both of them had long careers and had amassed a savings, but by no means were they wealthy.

Zach watched from across the dinner table as Jake and Alyssa locked eyes. It seemed like an eternity, but both eventually gave an imperceptible nod to each other.

'You leave it with us, Bud,' Jake had replied to Zach, without breaking eye contact with his wife.

'Uh,' Zach stammered. He sat for a moment in silence, as neither one of them moved. 'Okay.' He pushed himself away from the table and got to his feet. Alyssa stood up as well, and marched over to an attaché she kept slung over a coat rack in the hall. She plucked from inside of it, a notepad and a pen. Jake stood up and walked into the kitchen. He turned the espresso machine on and begun to rummage through cupboards for cups.

Jake stood there a little concerned as he watched them.

'Um,' he stammered, as his mother deposited the pad onto the kitchen table. 'It's fine if I don't go to College, you know?' he murmured. Alyssa wrapped her arms around her son, who was at first taken aback. He looked over to his Dad who gave a smile and a small wink.

'Don't be silly,' Alyssa whispered into his ear. Jake slowly brought his arms in and returned the hug. 'No son of mine is going to squander this amazing opportunity. You will go to College. I promise.'

After a short while, she broke the hug. He stood there a while as his mother gently brushed his face. Was she crying?

'W-what-' he stuttered 'What's wrong?'

A large hand cupped his shoulder. He looked around and saw his dad was now standing beside him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, a brown leather number, and withdrew a note from inside.

'Here, pal,' he murmured. 'Take my Car and go see a movie. We'll talk to you when you get back.' He put the note in Zach's hand. His mother wrapped his fingers around it.

'What's going on?' Zach blurted out. 'This is weird, are you guys okay?'

'We're fine sweetie,' Alyssa smiled, more tears welling up in her eyes. 'Just go out for a few hours. Your father and I need to talk.'

Zach looked down at the note in his hands. A fifty. He looked back at his parents, who both looked at him with warmth and small, smiles.

'B-But-' he bleated softly, before his dad cupped his shoulder again.

'Go!' Jake beamed. 'Buddy, look,' he steered his son towards the door and walked with him. 'This isn't the first time we've thought about this for you. We've wanted you to go to college since Preschool!' he got to the door and turned his son towards him. 'Now, there's something we might be able to do to help you here, but we need to work this out properly. You give us a few hours, and we'll discuss it with you, okay?'

Zach glanced back at his Mom, and then to his dad. He gave a small nod, but wondered what he had just done.

'I just want you to know,' Jake continued. 'That we both love you, and whatever happens, everything will be okay.'

And with that, Zach had shuffled outside. He made a few calls and met up with some of his friends to go watch a movie, but all throughout he couldn't help but wonder what on earth his parents were doing. His dad had promised that everything would be okay, so he could take that at face value.

The main character in the movie turned towards his companion under gunfire and said 'Everything will be okay!' as a bullet whipped off his ten gallon hat.

Zach Scowled.

He didn't know what to expect, throughout the entire movie. But when he returned home, his parents were waiting for him, and wanted a frank conversation.

Divorce is hard on every single party involved. But there is an adage in the legal system that says it's hardest on the children. At this point in his life, Zach understood why. But as an adult child of Divorce, he was sent reeling. His parents sat there, and explained to him what would be happening. His father had inroads with a Baker friend in Mawson who was only too happy to give him a job as an experienced baker of some twenty years. As a result, Jake would move out to Mawson, where Zach could live with him, thereby taking the pressure off him financially. It was perfect, he'd have a place to live, not need to work himself to the bone just to survive and he could focus on getting his degree. In return Alyssa would pay for his Tuition, which she was only too excited to do.

Zach sat on the dining room chair in cold silence. He didn't understand what was happening. He made a mental inventory to see where it had all gone so wrong. He had applied for College. He had gotten into college. He had told his parents that he couldn't afford college. His parents were getting divorced.

Both made him immediately assured that this was nothing to do with him. They told him they couldn't go into why just yet, but it was something they were amicable to do.

He remembered yelling at them, what was said he couldn't quite recall. But he did remember tears running down his face as he did, while they both tried to frantically calm him down, before storming off to his room.

He had written an email to Mawson College that night declining his offer. His parents had lost their minds, and he was needed here to try and piece them back together. He had tried to send it, but the WiFi had stopped working, at which point during the letter writing he didn't know. He saved the draft and had a fitful nights sleep, but when the Wifi was still out in the morning, he crept out of his room, hoping not to run into either of the two psychopaths. He found his Mom sitting at the table, waiting for him, sipping from a Mug of Coffee.

'Have a seat, Sweetie,' she said in a curtly. 'We need to talk.'

Zach swallowed hard, and glanced over at the Modem, kept on the Kitchen Bar. It sat with a coil of wire on top, unplugged.

'Your dad said that was a good idea,' she gave a small grim grin. 'Said you might do something regrettable.'

Zach let out a hollow laugh.

'Wouldn't I be entitled!?' he spat.

'You would,' she nodded, taking a sip of coffee. 'But we're your parents, it's our job to stop you from doing something that would ruin your life.'

'Ruin my life?' Zach looked at her incredulously. 'You want to get divorced!'

'We do,' she nodded again. She crossed her legs and fixed her son with her best Lawyer-ly stare. 'And if I'm being quite honest about it, you're being particularly selfish about it.'

'Oh my god,' Zach mumbled, cupping his hands in his face and slumping down into the same chair he sat at last night. 'You've lost it, you've both lost it!'

'Zachary Marcus Donoghue!' Alyssa snapped. 'If you want to argue about something you what?' she chided, looking at him with pursed lips. He hated when she did this. Her lectures always involved audience participation, but he had hoped growing up that this technique would lose its power. It hadn't.

He rubbed his face a bit, before sitting back up in his chair. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of eye-contact, but if he ignored her, she was liable to get even more fierce.

'You what!?' she huffed, louder than before so as to enforce her stance.

'Listen.' Zach mumbled. Slouching in his chair. Normally she would chastise him on his posture for this, but not today.

'Exactly!' she gave a toothy smile, she referred to as 'Law Jaw'. It wasn't meant to portray happiness, just satisfaction that someone was obeying her will. 'And I think it's fair to say, you haven't given us any respect in that field, correct?'

Zach huffed and sank further in his chair. Alyssa's posture visibly broke, as she turned back to compassionate.

'Sweetie,' she softly began, 'I know this is upsetting, but you have to believe us when we say this is something we both want. Not just for us, but for you.'

'Don't make this about me.' Zach pouted, tears welling up again.

'I'm sorry,' she nodded softly, reaching out and stroking his hand. 'We both mean it when we say this decision has nothing to do with you, though. But we don't see it as a bad thing,' she wrapped her fingers around his. 'On the contrary, this is an opportunity!'

Zach rubbed his face on his arm, and looked up. He tried to make eye contact with her, but as soon as he saw the same bottle-green eyes she had given him, he welled up again.

'I know this is difficult,' she continued holding her son's hand. 'I know that it's painful, but you have to understand, neither of us are feeling bad about it. We're excited!'

'But why?' Zach began, choking back a sob. 'Things have been going great between you lately. You guys never fight!'

She fixed him with a slightly impetuous look.

'Sweetie,' she grinned, 'You're old enough to know by now that isn't a good thing. Couples are meant to fight occasionally, it's healthy.'

Zach digested this for a moment, before wiping his face on his arm again.

'Are you really that unhappy?' he hiccupped. 'Are you so unhappy that you want to divorce?'

She let go of her son's hand, and sat back in the chair. She took her mug up and frowned to herself, taking a sip. She pondered to herself thoughtfully.

'It's not that Simple,' she mused, putting the mug back down. 'Your scenario is predicated on the belief that we're unhappy. And the truth is we aren't unhappy, sweetheart.'

'Then why do you want to end it!?' Zach shot back up. This was the question on his mind since the beginning, that had somehow gone unasked this whole time.

Alyssa sighed deeply, and uncrossed her legs, crossing them again opposite.

'I know you aren't going to like this,' she muttered. 'But I promised your father that he could tell you.'

Zach sank back down in his hair again. 'Oh my god.' he murmured, rubbing his face again.

Alyssa reached over again, and pulled her son into a hug. It was a little awkward as they were both sitting, but he felt her warmth.

'Sweetie,' she began, stroking the hair on his head. 'I know this is difficult, but believe me when I say this is what we want. And we're not angry at you. Quite the contrary, this is an opportunity for all of us. But be aware that everything that's happening now is a good thing, okay?'

He sniffled slightly.

'He'll tell you everything, I promise. It's just after last night, he's a little anxious that he might upset you again.'

She broke the hug but held him at arm's length. 'You just have to promise me you'll be patient with him, okay? I love your father, he's a wonderful man, but he's not a forward person.'

Zach rubbed his face. He felt better after letting his emotions run wild a bit, he couldn't deny it, but he still wanted answers. Of course he knew he wasn't going to get any from his mother, but her promises were always able to be banked on. He did feel a little foolish, there was no doubt in his mind that children would have handled it better than he had. But if they were both in agreement on this, what business was it of his to go against their wishes.

So Zach waited. Jake didn't get home that night until well after ten. Alyssa sked where he had been, but he had explained that he had been making arrangements. He had been working solidly for hours, so he needed some rest. He trudged off to the Guest Room to sleep, while Zach had shot a look at his mother.

'Tomorrow,' she nodded knowingly. 'He'll talk to you about it tomorrow.'

But tomorrow came and it was much of the same. Gone all day, exhausted at night. So the next day came. And the next day. And the next day.

Zach held his mother's promise at heart, and threw himself into preparing. It sounded weird to him that he would be going to College, but as the days wore on, he realised another feeling in his stomach that he hadn't noticed for a while: Excitement. Nervous excitement. He began to research Mawson online, and found that the excitement grew. He would be leaving everything here behind, but this was a chance at a new beginning. True he wasn't sure why he needed the new beginning in the first place, but it was exciting nonetheless. He focussed himself on preparing for the move, what he would require. Two weeks after announcing the Divorce, Alyssa took him out to shop. Zach was at first taken aback by this, as she had told him they were going shopping for his Books and Supplies, then they would need to get him a new computer. She had been quick to tell him that the computer would be only good for studying, not playing games, but it was again, exciting nonetheless.

As the days wore on, so did the pile of freshly purchased goods specifically for college get bigger. At first it was stationery and the laptop [Which Alyssa had made perfectly clear would remain unopened until Mawson!], but soon expanded to include clothes, Laundry Supplies, Kitchen Utensils and a myriad of other Devices Alyssa had found that he couldn't go without.

With two weeks until the move, Zach had begun to pack these items into boxes, and then when the pile had been boxed, had begun to pack his other possessions too. As the move drew closer, so did the jobs that Jake had to do wind down, and he began to spend more time helping prepare for the move. However, at every point he and his father were alone, Zach wondered if now would be the time that he was filled in on the situation. Every time he was disappointed. Zach had also noticed something else weird. As the day drew closer, both Jake and Alyssa seemed to get more and more excited. He had friends whose parents had gotten divorced in their lives all of whom had informed him that it was perfectly normal for his parents to not want to be around each other. This advice was strange, as it seemed to be the opposite for the two of them. They laughed and joked around, touched each other and held lengthy conversations, none of which ended in bitterness. In fact the only thing that had changed was that Jake now slept in the Guest room.

'That is weird,' said Linus, one of Zach's closest friends at his farewell lunch, three days before the move. 'I hate to say it, though, but it does sort of make sense.'

'Eh?' Zach asked, as the Chameleon motioned to the waitress, ordering another round of drinks to the table of twelve.

'Well you say they won't tell you why, right?' he continued, as the other guests chatted animatedly amongst themselves.

'Yeah?' Zach narrowed his eyes.

'Well I hate to say it,' Linus repeated, 'But it sounds to me like they were only staying together for your sake.'

'Dude!' Alex, the large Panda punched the lizard in the arm. 'Shut the Fuck Up, you don't know what the fuck you're talking about!'

'Think about it!' Linus hissed, rubbing his arm. 'They wont tell him anything, which would kind of make sense, right? No one want's to admit to their son that their marriage is a sham, right?'

'You don't know that for sure!' Alex spat. 'Sweet Fucking Christ, you got some salt to pour into his heart too?

But as Zach sat there, he did briefly consider this point of view. As strange as the very thought sounded it did tick all the boxes.

The stretching expanse of desert had begun to turn green. The two goats in the cab had been in silence now for over an hour. The CD in the player had ended some time ago, but hadn't been changed. The Truck Approached a billboard for a Chain Diner called 'Al's', supposedly located in ten miles.

'Uh,' Jake punctured the silence. 'You feeling hungry?'

Zach sat up and glanced around the cabin. At the beginning of the journey, they had stopped at a Supermarket and loaded up on snacks, the wrappers of which sat scattered around the cab. They had stuffed themselves at the beginning of the trip and had gotten Snack Full, the very worst kind of full. Now he was feeling slightly peckish.

'Sure,' Zach replied. 'So long as we're not going to break the schedule.'

'Nah,' grumbled Jake, looking at his watch. 'We're a little ahead in fact. We should get there by Nine, Nine-Thirty.'

Al's was a little Greasy Spoon nestled into some bulging overgrowth on the outskirts of a national park. Zach had seen Pine Trees in his life, but never this many. As he got out of the cab, he was greeted by a small depressing nudge of isolation.

Jake's boots hit the asphalt of the parking lot. He took in a deep breath through his nose and exhaled loudly.

'Never had air this clean, bud,' he grinned. 'Grab all the Wrappers and chuck 'em over there,' he motioned at a fenced off dumpster some twenty feet behind the restaurant. 'Make yourself useful.' He shot a grin at Zach, who rolled his eyes.

'I uh,' he continued, 'Need to hit the head. Meet you inside?'

'You got it.' Zach began to grab the litter in the footwell closest to him.

After he had disposed of the empty packets, he made his way inside. The entire diner was empty, save for a Rhino in an apron sitting in the closest booth reading a paper, and an older Duck Lady wiping down the counter in a pink uniform.

'Hey hun,' she grinned as the goat walked in. 'You just stopping by or you wanna order something?' Her voice was high pitched and lilting. Zach liked it.

'Uh, yeah,' he nodded. 'Me and my Dad. He'll be in soon.'

The Rhino in the booth grunted loudly and rolled his eyes. He folded the paper up and hoisted himself up and out of the booth. He trudged slowly to the swinging doors that led into the kitchen and pushed his way through.

'Don't worry about Glen,' the Duck rolled her eyes. 'He's allergic to hard work. Take whichever seat you want hun, he's gotta get the grill fired up, takes about five minutes anyway.'

He slinked over to the booth in the far corner and slid in facing the door. The Duck marched into the back as well. Zach pulled his phone out of his Hoodie and pressed the single button at the bottom. The screen lit up with a picture of a character wearing yellow robes with golden orbs flying about his head. He scowled at the NO SERVICE at the top of the screen and tucked it back into his hoodie. They were still four hours out of the city, but he still needed a new Provider. The blackout spots were ridiculous.

The door swung open, ringing a bell above it and Jake walked in. Seeing his son, he began to walk over to the booth. A light chatter in the kitchen stopped and the Duck stuck her head out of the window dividing the Dining Room and Kitchen as Jake drew level with it. Her eyes widened a bit and her head shot back behind the divide. Jake came up to the booth and sat opposite Zach, sliding into the booth.

'Just spoke to the Landlord,' he said, groaning slightly as he got comfortable. 'He's got an appointment tonight, so he's going to leave the key to the apartment in the breaker box for us. Says he'll come and meet us tomorrow some time.'

'You got service out here?' Jake asked.

'Yuh-Huh,' the Older Goat grinned. Zach scowled. 'Not my fault you didn't want in on the family plan anymore.'

'The data was terrible.' Zach pouted.

'Well, maybe if you used your phone like a phone, you'd be able to speak to others right now too.'

'Shaddup.' Zach glowered.

Jake chuckled and plucked a menu from between the salt and pepper shakers at the end of the table.

'He said,' he continued, squinting through his glasses at the colourful menu, 'It would be early, so you probably be in class.'

'Class?' Zach raised an eyebrow.

'Yeah,' Jake looked up from the menu. 'Don't you have class tomorrow?'

Zach shook his head. 'Orientation,' he replied, 'At twelve. And only for a few hours.'

'Oh,' Jake nodded. 'Fair enough. Forgive me,' he smiled, returning to the Menu, 'I never went to college.'

Zach took the other menu from between the shakers and opened it up. It was colourful and well printed, but old and dog-eared. It really was the curse of chain joints that everything was pretty cookie-cutter, even the menu was the same region-wide. Not that he'd ever eaten at an 'Al's' before, but the dilapidated menu was clearly a couple years old.

The door to the kitchen swung open and the waitress strolled over to the table with a pot of coffee.

'Hey Guys,' she smiled as she drew near. 'Welcome to Al's, I'm your waitress Beth.' she tapped a name badge on her lapel.

Jake had put the menu down as the duck approached. 'Hi Beth.' he gave her a warm grin. The duck giggled in response. Zach frowned a little. He could swear she was wearing freshly applied make-up.

'Coffee is all you can drink,' Beth explained. 'To customers only, though. Can I pour you guys a cup?'

'Please,' Jake replied, reaching for an upturned mug next to the shakers. He flipped it and placed it in front of Beth.

'I warn ya,' she concentrated on pouring, 'It's not for the faint of heart. We don't do any of that espresso stuff, and it's only me n' Glen out here for today, and another team that comes in every second day, so we make it strong.'

'Sounds like just what the doctor ordered,' Jake shot the duck who wink, who broke into another fit of giggles. He looked at his son. 'You want any?'

Zach shifted in his seat. Seeing this flirtatious display upset him a little, but his father had always been this way, even when they went out to dinner as a family. Contextually, this was rubbing against the grain.

'I never had it before,' he mumbled. 'Will it keep me awake?'

'You betcha,' Beth grinned, reaching across and grabbing the spare mug. She flipped it and set it in front of the younger Goat. 'You look like you could use it.'

He picked the mug up and took a sniff, his nostrils immediately flaring in disgust as the bitter scent hit them.

'Augh!' he winced. Jake had already begun to sip from his mug and watched with interest and a raised eyebrow. He chuckled at his son's reaction. Beth began to giggle again.

'That'll put hair on your eyeballs,' Jake smiled. 'And strip the paint off your lungs.'

Zach brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. Immediately his head was flooded with bitterness. He swallowed and gagged a little. 'How can you drink this?'

Jake laughed and put his mug down. 'Maybe black coffee was a bit advanced for you.'

'I'll get you some Cream, Kiddo,' Beth grinned. 'And some sugar. It's not so bad then. Or I can get you something else?'

Zach shook his head. His heart fluttered a little as a teeny surge of adrenaline took over. 'No, No,' he replied. 'I'll get the cream and sugar.'

Beth gave an enthusiastic nod. She turned to Jake, 'What about you, Hun?'

'I tell you what,' he replied, flipping the menu open. 'I could eat a boot at this point. How's your-' he scrolled down the menu with his finger. 'Barbecue Plate?'

'You got good taste,' Beth grinned. 'Texas style, slow cooked in our signature sauce. I eat it all the time! Well-' she added, blushing slightly, 'Not all the time. Too much of it and I blow out my figure.'

'Sounds incredible,' Jake flipped the menu shut again. 'I'll take that. But no cilantro. Hate the stuff.'

Beth put the pot of coffee down and took a ticket book out of her apron. She slipped a pen out of her breast pocket [The shirt of which Zach noticed had been popped open a button to reveal her bust a bit more] and began to scribble the order down.

'And what about you, hun?' she grinned at the younger goat as she finished up.

Zach flipped his menu shut. 'I'll get a Cheese Burger.' he muttered. Beth nodded and began to scribble again.

'And how you want that cooked?'

'Medium.' He grunted.

Beth looked slightly taken aback, but picked up the menus. She turned on her heel and faced the window.

'Glen!' she shouted into the kitchen. 'Texas Fixin's and a Medium Standard!'

A grunt could be heard from the kitchen.

She walked over to the window and put the ticket on the rotating cuff, and spun it into the kitchen.

'It won't take long,' she smiled, turning back to the table. 'The Barbecue is done in our special cooker which is running all day every day, so all he's gotta cook is the burger.'

She sidled back to the table.

'So where are you two headed?' She asked, hands behind her back. 'Not bein' Nosey or nothing, just we don't see many goats out this way.'

'Really?' Zach asked raising an eyebrow.

Beth shook her head. 'Nah, in fact it's quite a rarity.'

Jake grinned and twiddled his thumbs. 'Mawson.' He beamed.

'No Kiddin?' Beth gave an open mouth smile.

'No, ma'am,' he shook his head animatedly. 'My son here,' he gestured at Zach, 'Made us all so proud and got into College up there, so we're moving out there.'

'Us Too!' Beth exclaimed, beaming. 'Well Glen and me, anyway,' she turned towards the kitchen. 'Aint that right, Glen?' she shouted. Another grunt was her reply. 'He's just cranky,' she dismissively waved at him. 'Thinks he's too old to move. I told him that he can still drink beer and watch hockey games in a city setting.'

'You guys are moving?' Jake asked quizzically.

'Yeah well,' Beth gestured at the diner around her, 'As you can probably tell this place aint exactly hopping. Ever since they finished the I-407, trucks don't come through here no more, so Corporate decided to shut this place down and put up a new one closer to town.' She shook her head sadly as she spoke. 'Normally, Glen and me would be for the scrapheap too, but we've been working here for thirty years now and the bean counters at corporate figured out it would be cheaper to keep us on until we retire than offer us Redundancy.'

'You guys get Redundancy?' Jake raised an eyebrow. 'No offense.' He added quickly, blushing slightly.

'None taken,' Beth smiled. 'What can I say? We got a great Union. Keep that in mind kid,' she nodded at Zach. 'Gotta cover your own butt, cuz nobody's gunna cover it for ya.' Zach gave a polite nod.

'So you got a new place, huh?' a small grin had sprung across Jake's face. 'You got any workers yet?'

Beth shook her head. 'Uh-Uh. We both gotta look at a stack of resume's and hire people we feel will be good for the job, but first we gotta close this place down. Three more days,' she held up three feathered digits. 'And then we're on the road ourselves.'

'Well,' Jake winked at his son, 'As it just so happens, my boy here is in the Market for a job. Maybe he could apply with you guys?'

Zach blushed a little. His mother never believed that his father was a forward person, but he had to disagree. When it came to embarrassing his son, Jake was on top of the pile.

'Sure!' Beth smiled. 'You ever worked in a Diner before, honey?' she asked, beaming at the young goat.

'U-Uh-' Zach stammered. 'No. I never had a job before.' He trailed off with embarrassment. He had done some work helping his dad out whenever they had a big order, and his mom occasionally had him running errands for the firm, but that work had dried out when she left the firm to begin her run for City Council. Beth waved dismissively. 'There's nothing to it,' she smiled, 'You can learn on the job. I tell ya what,' she took the pad back out of her apron and began to scribble on it. 'I gotta email, you send me your Resume, and I'll give ya a shot.' She tore the sheaf off and handed it to the younger goat, who accepted it, blushing.

'Say thank you!' Scolded Jake.

'Th-Thank you,' Zach stammered, the blush rising. 'I'll do that.'

'No worries hun!' The Duck beamed hugely.

'I'm Jake,' Jake extended his hand to the Duck. 'And this is Zach.'

She reached out and accepted his hand lightly.

'The Pleasure's all mine, Jake,' she replied, softly, a small blush of her own beginning to rise. A loud clatter from the kitchen rang through the diner. She jerked her hand away and pivoted on her heel. 'Damn!' she seethed. 'Sorry boys, I gotta go help Glen.' She stopped briefly and faced the two again. 'We're just colleagues!' she stated, her eyes flitting back to Jake, 'But I swear I'm always cleaning his mess up. I might as well be his mother!'

With that she stormed into the kitchen.

Silence washed over the Diner. Zach sunk down into his chair as Jake shuffled nervously across from him.

'You uh,' Jake broke the silence, gesturing with his hands, 'You excited for college?'

Zach gave a small shrug. Silence beat down upon them again, so he decided to continue to conversation a bit longer. 'More nervous than anything.'

Jake nodded slightly.

Another moment of silence passed before the older goat sighed heavily and slumped down on the table placing his head in his hands. He groaned to himself before sitting up straight again.

'Listen,' he began in earnest, 'I think we should have a talk before we go any further.'

Zach's heart skipped a beat, and he pushed himself back up from his slouched position. Jake started rubbing his thumbs on the same fingers of each hand, a nervous habit he had, when he was about to talk about something difficult. Zach had only seen this once before in his life, when his grandfather had died. Jake had taken him out for ice cream and sat him down at the counter, and had a brief, but curt conversation with his son.

'Firstly,' Jake's eyes flitted in their sockets, as he reached for the right words. 'I just want to say, I'm sorry that I kept you in the dark this long...' he fixed his son with a sombre look. 'It wasn't fair to you. I've been busy these last couple of weeks, and your mom said that I needed to talk to you, but I wanted to make sure the foundations of everything was set up before we talked about it...'

Zach gave a small nod, which his father acknowledged.

'Of course, then I finished preparing, and I just kept putting it off. Because it's kind of hard to talk about...'

'Your marriage was sham right?'

At first Zach couldn't believe that he had said it. The sentence was out in the open and he had wondered who had asked it before he registered it was his own voice. Jake stumbled over himself and his eyes bulged a little as he stared at his son in shock.

In for a penny, in for a pound, Zach reasoned with himself, ploughing ahead.

'I've had a bit of time to think about it,' he murmured. 'And my friends all talked about it. They say that you only stuck around until I left because you didn't want to hurt me, but now that I'm leaving, you can leave guilt free...' he looked up at his dad, whose mouth had opened in shock a little. 'I know you wouldn't do that!' he exclaimed at his father's horror, 'But you got to admit, it checks a lot of boxes, right?'

Jake shut his mouth and sat back in his chair.

'Wow,' he chuckled to himself. 'Okay I guess I deserved that. Like I said, it wasn't fair of me to keep you in the dark. But I want to make one thing straight to you, boy,' Zach shrank a bit, as Jake leaned into the table. He was only ever called 'boy' when he was in trouble.

Jake cleared his throat softly. 'Your friends,' he said, giving his son a small grin to show he wasn't angry, 'Are teenage, prepubescent dumbasses.'

Zach's eyes began to sting. He reached up and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. When he pulled away, his eyes were streaming. Two months of pent up emotions, wondering just what he had done to cause this rift came tumbling out.

'Heey,' Jake cooed, reaching over to the napkin dispenser and pulling a few out. He passed them to his son, who took them, but held onto them. 'No crying, kiddo. I'll admit, what I did was shitty, but it's nowhere near that shitty. Come on,' he reached over and grabbed his son by the wrist, who began to splutter. Zach raised his napkins to his eyes and wiped his face again. 'Come on, you gotta let me fill you in on this okay?'

Zach blew his nose into the napkins, and tried to calm himself. For whatever reason, he couldn't find his centre, and his nose began to flow with his tears.

'Look,' Jake said, sitting back up in his seat. 'It's a little more complicated than that. And its something we should have talked about long before this, but you gotta believe me, we had our reasons okay?'

Zach looked up from his napkins. He shot a look over to the kitchen, but apart from the jostle of movement throughout and a faint sizzle, he couldn't see anyone who might be watching. He turned back to his father and gave a small nod.

'Before we begin,' he made a reassuring nod, 'I made your mother promise to let me tell you, so you can't blame her okay? She wanted to tell you that night, but things got a little hand.'

Zach blew his nose again. He scrunched the wad in his hand up and reached out for the napkin dispenser, but Jake beat him to it, wrenching out a handful more. He handed them to his son.

'Let me tell ya,' he continued, as Zach dried his eyes some more. 'She's really been riding my ass about it these last few weeks. Even tried to spring it on me a few times, you know? Shock it out of me. I'm just glad that Jerry was able to get her to see some sense!'

Zach frowned and looked up from his napkins.

'J-Jerry?' he stammered. Jake's face fell a little.

'Oh, shit.' he murmured.

Zach had met Jerry back when his mother first announced to the family she was running for public office. She had announced it a dinner at a ritzy French Bistro restaurant to a small crowd of family and friends. The night had been a grand affair, with everyone slapping her on the back and congratulating her decision. Many toasts were made, after which a tall Otter had made a speech advising that they hadn't announced to the press yet, so while tonight was night of celebrations, they were trusting everyone to keep quiet until tomorrow morning, when they had made an official announcement. Of course it was only for City Council, but anyone who knew Alyssa Donoghue, knew this would only be a stepping stone. Jake wrapped his arm around his wife and smiled broadly. Of course he had known, she was his wife after all. At some point in the night, enough champagne had been consumed to have a few of the guests of the night spill out onto the dance floor. Alyssa had been approached by friends at all hours of the night and pulled into hushed conversation, so Zach was soon surprised when he looked up from the claw machine in a fenced off area to the side of the bistro, affectionately coined 'Platz du Enfant', to find his mother grinning at him. She teased him slightly as the stuffed whale fell from the claw at the peak of the grab, a bullshit move, as it jostled when it did so, causing the whale to tumble in the first place. She asked him if he had enough pocket money, and he had blushed slightly. She asked if she could have a shot, which he allowed, only to have the whale tumble at the peak too. Alyssa declared the game was rigged, just as the Otter from earlier approached. He advised her that the manager was asking some of the rowdier guests to leave, so had gone ahead and booked cabs, which would be arriving shortly.

'Zach,' she motioned, after thanking him, 'This is my Campaign Manager, Jerry. Jerry, this is my son, Zachary.'

'How do you do, young man?' the Otter had shot him a friendly smile and offered him his hand. His grip was firm, but not intimidating, or stupidly tight.

'Nice to meet you.' Zach had replied.

'Lyss,' the Otter turned his attention back to his mother, 'If you were to remind your guests as they leave not to mention anything until tomorrow, it would sound much better than coming from me.'

Alyssa nodded, and turned back to her son, placing a kiss on his forehead.

'I'll be back soon Zach,' she smiled, 'That whale will be ours!'

Over the years, Jerry had become a somewhat regular fixture around the Household. After the election had finished and Alyssa had been elected, he stayed around, which made little sense to Zach, until Alyssa announced she would be running for Chief Council Woman. And not long after that Mayor. Zach got along well with Jerry, who was always busily rushing around handling some sort of clerical work, or having long heated discussions with various parties.

'What's mom's campaign advisor have to do with any of this?' Zach asked, incredulously.

'Oh boy,' Jake muttered. He ran his fingers through his hair. He picked up the mug in front of him and took a fortifying gulp of hot mud. 'Okay,' he nodded, running the scenario through his head, 'What I'm about to say might be a little shocking, bud, so I want you to brace yourself.'

Zach's anxiety rose and a little chill ran down his spine at these words.

Jake let the words sit a moment, before taking a short breath and forging ahead.

'Jerry is your mother's boyfriend, pal.'

At first, he could feel nothing. He sat there, staring ahead as the raw lump of information ore worked its way through his brain. Surely he had just heard wrong. His father had structured the sentence poorly, or perhaps his brain had stroked out at that very moment. He leapt to his feet, as an explosion of confusion, laced with anger and agitation bubbled to the surface.

'WHAT!?' he shouted loudly. His hips had drawn level with the tabletop and bounced off. His body was immediately wracked with pain, but he didn't even register it. From in the kitchen, the rhino poked his head out through the window and shot a grumpy look out in their direction. Jake raised his hands, in an attempt to calm his son, and simultaneously, gesturing to the cook that everything was okay. The rhino scowled and withdrew from the window.

'Calm down, Zach!' the older goat said in a loud whisper.

'Mom was cheating on you!?' Zach spat back. He didn't know why, but he matched Jake's whisper. His body was rigid with anger.

'No!' Jake shot a glance around the diner. 'Zach, please you have to calm down here-'

'I can't believe this!' Zach began rocking on his feet. 'All this time, and she was cheating on you!?'

'ZACH!' Jake interjected loudly. Zach trembled a little and stopped, fixing his father with a frightened glance. 'Sit Down!' he whispered, again looking around the diner. 'And for the love of god, let me explain!'

Zach lowered himself, but still trembled with rage. 'You explain!?' he seethed. 'I'm just now learning that my Mother has been having an affair now for five years, and you want to explain?'

'Okay,' Jake nodded, raising his hands slightly in a truce-like manner. 'That was definitely the wrong way to bring it up, but you need to understand, this isn't as simple as it looks.' He looked at the door to the kitchen, then back to Zach. He glanced down at the table and found his son's fists were clenched. He sighed deeply, and sat back in the chair. He rubbed his face, then quickly leaned forward on the table again.

'Alright, Zach,' he muttered quietly, a strange calm surging throughout him. 'I guess there isn't a right way to do this. I was kind of hoping I'd find it along the way, but it's not happening, so I'm just going to say it...'

Zach leaned forward, blood surging through his ears.

'All cards on the table!' Jake continued, assured he had his son's full attention. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

'Zach,' he matter-of-factly stated, 'I'm Gay.'

The Oppressive Silence receded immediately, taking with it the feelings of crushing anger and agitation. Zach was once again left feeling numb. It was like a vacuum had been placed around his entire existence, and for a split second, there was no adolescent goat in the booth. The logic centre of Zach's brain disconnected from the rest and floated off into the void. His fight/flight response was disabled as well.

'G-' his mouth stuttered, again not in control of the functions that served him. 'Gay?'

Jake gave a nervous grin and a small nod.

Surely there had been some disconnect here. All his life, Zach had seen his father as a devoted family man, who loved his wife to pieces. Everything he knew lay in tatters around him, and even his own perception of his father had changed. He knew deep down he was the same dad who had helped him with his homework, taught him to stick up to bullies, took him to every little-league game. And yet now there was something else. Like he didn't even recognise this completely familiar man, a guiding force in his life. He swallowed hard. Surely he didn't have all the information.

'G-Gay,' he stumbled 'How?'

In his mind torrents of questions, with addendums and multiple points began to form, but for now all he was able to form were single word sentences.

Jake gave a small single laugh, a smile spreading across his nervous face.

'Gay,' he replied, his eyes twinkling, 'As in, I like men, bud.'

Zach slumped back in his chair, desperately trying to process the new information.

The door to the kitchen swung open and Beth returned to the table carrying two plates. She deposited them down in front of the two goats.

'One Cheeseburger for Zach,' she smiled, rotating the plate slightly so the burger was at the fore-front. 'And one Barbecue Platter for Dad.' She deposited the heaping plate in front of Jake. 'Also,' she continued, rigging a small metal jug in her fingers, which she had been keeping underneath the barbecue plate. She placed it next to Zach's coffee. 'Cream and Sugar!' she reached into her apron and withdrew three short, narrow pink packets, which she placed next to the cup. 'Betcha thought I forgot, huh?' she beamed at the Goat, her smile immediately dropping upon seeing his blank expression. 'You okay hun?' she asked with concern. 'You look like you seen a ghost!'

'We're fine, Beth,' Jake reached over and grabbed her hand. She tore her eyes away from Zach and gazed at the older goat, a blush beginning to rise. 'Thank you for your concern. Do you mind if I ask for just a few minutes of Privacy with my son?'

Beth giggled slightly gave a small nod. She began to make her way back to the kitchen.

'Just ten!' he called after her. 'Maybe fifteen?'

She nodded slightly and pushed her way back into the kitchen. He returned his gaze to his son.

'Are you okay?'

Zach blinked. And then again. His eyes began to hurt again, but this time tears didn't flow. In his confusion his brain had turned off the automatic blink feature, and were beginning to welter. Jake looked down at his food. The plate smelled absolutely delicious, but he pushed it towards the window, so he could continue the talk with his son.

'Look, I know you have a lot of questions, okay?' he continued, pushing the derailed train back to the tracks. 'And I'm happy to answer any of them. Right here, if you like, or we can continue in the truck?' he looked outside. The truck was visible and fine detail could be made out but it had started to get darker.

'H-how,' Jake spluttered. His damn brain still wasn't working. He reached over and grabbed the jug of cream. He poured a hefty amount into the cup, and brought it up to his lips taking a fortifying gulp. The coffee was now luke-warm, and still bitter, but much less so. He swallowed it down, and returned to the car-crash in his mind. Structured sentences had begun to form, but he was still having trouble getting them into order.

'H-how long?' was all he was able to muster. That was better, this sentence had twice the amount of words than the last one. It still made little sense to him, it wasn't any of the questions he had, and he didn't understand why he had asked it.

'Uh,' Jake sat back and pondered for a moment. 'Well, not to be that guy, he grinned slightly. 'But all my life.' He tried to pull it off as a joke, but his sons eyes had begun to dart around again. 'Okay,' he nodded, 'How long have I known? Well that's a little more tricky.' He took his glasses off and retrieved a new napkin from the dispenser. He polished them in silence for a moment, before returning them to his face.

'Uh, well,' he coughed, clearing his throat, 'I guess the full story is the best way to go about this. Obviously, I haven't been honest with myself my entire life. If I was, you probably wouldn't exist right?' another attempt at a joke, but his face dropped in horror, 'Not that that's what I want!' he quickly added, correcting course. 'Ah geez, I'm sorry kiddo, I'm no good with on-the-spot thinking.'

Zach fixed his father with a confused look, tinged with desperation.

'Okay,' he nodded, 'So the beginning. I grew up in Macon, just like you, you know? Now, as much as it's a friendly place, you gotta remember, Macon is proudly southern, alright?' he made odd, seemingly random gestures with his hands as he spoke, like they were moulding his thoughts into words as he went. 'So I went to High School in 1981, okay? And you gotta believe me when I say, it was a very different time back then.' He clenched his knuckles. 'A very different time. I mean there was a lot of racial issues back then, you probably know that right?' he glanced at his son, who gave a small nod, his brow furrowing slightly. 'Yeah, well,' he continued, 'It wasn't a great time to be Gay either. Especially in Macon. Everyone went to church and nobody questioned why. It was just something that people did. Like Sunday Lunch. Except with no food. And spent at church. And it was about that time, that the church had really started coming down on what it called the 'Gay Epidemic'.' He made air quotes around the phrase. 'You know, homosexuality was considered evil and people who chose to be a part of it were deviants. That sort of thing.'

Zach thought about it for a moment. He had watched scores of movies from the 80's and 90's where being gay was considered a joke, something to be laughed at.

'Basically,' Jake continued, 'What it did was vilify the gay man, make him this evil presence who infected the youth of society and promised to send everyone to hell for his sins.' He glanced up at his son, who had begun to sit back up again, his eyes moving slowly in his head as he processed the information. 'Now Gay men and Women everywhere fought back, and it worked! Kinda. I mean today it's a lot more accepted than it was, but there are still people out there who believe it's wrong. But the issue is, you now had a generation of young people who saw being gay as a sin. It was abnormal. It was wrong!' he made solemn gestures as if to highlight a point. 'Which is pretty much what society wanted at the time, but what it also created was a generation of young, gay men and women, who would then spend their formative years denouncing homosexuality. Even if you didn't go to church, it was still considered wrong.'

Jake had begun to look into his hands as he spoke, which strangely gave him confidence. He locked on to his son's eyes.

'That was the generation I grew up in, Zach. My parents weren't religious, but they still viewed it as wrong and immoral. So I went about my formative years, growing up convinced that I was straight. I dated girls in high school, I had fist-fights with guys my age. But even as I did all of it, I could tell there was something...' he frowned and dropped his hands, staring at the table between them 'Something that just didn't feel right about it.'

A moment passed. He sharply shook his head and continued.

'The years went by and I met your mother. And I know with everything I've just said it might sound strange, but it's 100% true. We fell head-over-heels in love with each other. We got married. Had you,' he gave a small smile. The frown had disappeared from his son's face and was now a look of intense concentration.

'And that's something I need you to understand kid, I loved your mother. Still do to this day. She's my best friend and an incredible partner. But she was the first one to notice.'

Zach's eyebrows shot up.

'Oh yeah,' Jake nodded. 'It wasn't even me that figured it out. Your mom's a brilliant lady. At first she just said it jokingly, but as things between us got worse, she kept bringing it up.'

'Th-things got worse?' Zach faltered slightly.

'What you don't remember?' Jake beamed. 'You were about six, seven, maybe? Your mother and I got into fights all the time. I mean, at the time it seemed so important to make everything right and push these thoughts out of my head, but then there was the...uh...the moment...'

'Moment?'

'The moment I finally accepted I was who I was. You remember Pee-Wee Soccer?'

Jake rummaged through his memories. He did remember Soccer when he was younger. His dad was the Assistant Coach of their team, a title that probably shouldn't have existed at all given that all players were eight at the time, but the league wouldn't accept them if they didn't have all necessary positions filled. Jake had volunteered when the last one quit after a coup to become head coach had failed.

'Remember Coach Wylie?' Jake offered.

Zach squinted as he tried to remember everything he could. He did remember the very tall bull who had helped train them to "glory". His eyes snapped open in realisation.

'No...' Zach breathed heavily

A blush had crept up the older goat's face. He winced and nodded.

'It was the semi-finals. One of the fathers had promised the team ice cream if you won, and you did. So you all piled into the van, and left the equipment to us, like you usually did back then, so Aaron, er- Coach Wylie and I stayed behind to pack up. We locked the marker cones away, and when I put the goal nets away, we found ourselves alone...and then...' he covered his face with his hands and and laughed embarrassed into them.

'We made out like freshmen,' he groaned. 'I don't know what came over me, at first I thought it was him, but then I realised at some point I was kissing him back...'

Zach had begun to blush ever so slightly.

'Anyway,' Jake continued, composing himself and leaning back into the conversation. 'Nothing too extreme happened, we stopped before it went any further, but I still quit the next day. My denial was pretty strong there for a few hours, but as I went about my life, pretending like it didn't happen, I realised something. There was this huge knot in my stomach that had simply vanished. I didn't know it at that point, but I figured it out a few days later. I was happy. I had given in to a part of me I had denied existed for years, and it felt incredible!'

He stopped mid story and gave a huge sigh.

'I told your mother the day after I figured it out. I thought she was going to be furious, but she just laughed. Gloated, would be more accurate, teased that she had known all this time. I said to her that it would never happen again, and that I was going to be more devoted to you and her than ever before.' He stopped again, and gave himself an inward grin. 'You know what she said?'

Zach shook his head slightly, completely entranced.

'She said,' Jake continued, 'That she didn't want that. She had noticed that over the last few days I was a changed man. I was clearly happier, calmer. She said that if I went back to denying it, she'd take you and leave.'

Zach's eyes widened.

'I mean it was a confusing situation. Our marriage was over, yeah, but then something pretty incredible happened. We tried living apart for a while,' Zach frowned deeply and scanned his memories agape. Why didn't he remember any of this? 'But after a few days we realised something. We both missed each other. Incredibly. And I also missed you. Even more than that. So your mother and I talked and we eventually came to a pretty surprising conclusion: Our marriage wasn't dead. Really it was only our sex life together had ended!'

Jake's blush deepened. As embarrassing as it was thinking about his dad making out with his soccer coach, it was still more embarrassing to think about his parent's sex life.

'At first,' Jake soldiered on, 'I thought it was denial. There was no way this could work, right? Two people pretending like our marriage was strong? Sounds like a soap opera plot. But after a while, it became apparent it was working. Your mother and I loved each other, we both loved you, so why did anything have to change?'

Something had flitted to the front of Zach's mind. 'Hang on,' he said, raising a hand. 'I seem to have a memory of coming home one day and finding Coach Wylie there.' He remembered it vividly. It was during football season, which Zach had never played, and he thought it was strange that the coach had come to his house. The bull had explained that he was there to see if Zach would come back next year as team captain. He remembered how excited he got, and now realised that this excitement had pushed any suspicions out of his mind. Almost like, that was exactly...the point...

Jake's blush rose again.

'It was a school day,' He offered meekly, 'And we kind of...lost track of time...'

Zach looked down at his hands and frowned. Funnily enough, his team hadn't won the following year. They hadn't even made the finals. Not even close.

'Aw man,' Zach sank back in his chair and grinned slightly. 'So I'm not a soccer superstar?'

Jake chuckled. 'Sorry son,' he grinned. 'You were terrible.'

He felt a little hurt, but there was something else there too. It was a very funny story.

'And while we're in the vein of things you let slip by without question,' Jake added, 'You know your Mom's business trips? You ever wonder why she kept coming back with a tan?'

Zach's smile dropped as he pondered.

'Wait,' he looked up in shock, 'Mom too?'

'Son,' Jake nodded, a huge smile spreading across his face, 'It was Montreal. In the Winter. Where was she getting any sun? Nah, she had a resort in Boca she'd go to when she needed some 'me' time. I mean, she was a lot classier about it than me, but she had a string of lovers after me too.'

'Really?' Zach asked, burying his face in his hands.

'What?' Jake laughed. 'We're both Adults. We have needs. Just because we weren't having sex with each other, doesn't mean we weren't having sex!'

'Oh my god.' Zach moaned.

'Anyway,' Jake continued. 'Back on topic. We both had our new personal lives we were excited to explore, but neither of us wanted to end what we had. I don't think your mother was all too keen on the idea of joint custody, so things stayed as they were. With a few new additions. And you want to know the truly crazy thing? Our relationship got better because of it. I was a kind, caring and supportive husband, and she was just as amazing as a wife. Things started to get better. Our careers took off, our savings got bigger. Before you know it, you were in high school, and we couldn't be prouder of you!'

Zach looked up from his hands. His father's smile vanished, so he sat back in his chair, waiting for the boom to drop.

'But then your mother met Jerry. I liked Jerry, I liked him a lot. He was the only one she had ever brought up to speed about our personal situation, and he seemed fine with it.'

'Wait,' Zach held up his hand again. 'He was Mom's Boyfriend before the City Council Campaign?'

'Well,' Jake added, 'He was a Campaign advisor for the mayor at the time. Your mother worked as a prosecutor in City Hall, and that's where they met. They hit it off right away. You remember when I'd take you out to the movies on Thursdays?'

Zach pondered briefly and nodded.

'They had a physical relationship for a while, but I could tell your Mom was getting serious about him pretty early on. The way she got nervous when she got ready for dates. The way she spoke to him on the phone. I could tell this was the chance for her to have something that I couldn't provide. So I started taking you out to Dinner and Movies on Thursday Night to give them time alone. Then one day, we're having lunch while you're in school, and he says that there's going to be a vacant seat on city council, and he believes that your mother would be the perfect candidate to fill it. You should have seen your mother's face, She was so shocked and excited. We all were.'

He took another deep breath. 'Your mother thinks I'm not very perceptive. But I saw it. She jumps to her feet, completely giddy with joy, and kisses Jerry.'

He grinned in deep thought.

'It was long, and it was passionate. When it was over she kissed me too, and it was just as passionate, but I suddenly realise something.'

He sniffed slightly and removed his glasses, placing them on the table in front of him.

'She was in love with him.'

Silence washed over the two again.

'I don't blame either of them. They're an amazing couple. They support each other and only serve to make the other better. In fact,' he leaned forward, his smile fading into a wistful grin. 'If I'm totally honest, Jerry would make a much better husband for her than I ever did.'

He sighed softly.

'I told your mother how I feel about this. At first she denied it. Just like I did for all those years. But I eventually got her to see sense. I love your mother. And she loves me. But she's in love with Jerry. And that's simply something that we can't get around. 'So we talk about it. The possibility of me coming clean about everything, stepping aside and letting them be the couple they had every right to be. She says she doesn't want that, she want's me to be a part of your life. I tell her that this would be a new experience, but we could do that apart from each other. Eventually we include Jerry in these conversations, who says that we can't just split up. He says that if she wasn't running for Mayor, it might be possible, but for us to split up at this point would be disastrous. 'See, as a Councilwoman, she was under scrutiny, sure, but as Mayor, everything she did, both personal and public would be under the microscope. We can't just break up, because various parties would launch investigations as to why. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not ashamed at this point in my life of who I am, but your mother is a politician in a Southern Community, if someone discovered our personal life, it would be absolutely decimating to her campaign.'

He stopped and replaced his glasses. 'You with me so far, champ?' he asked, sitting back in his seat.

Zach nodded without hesitation. He wanted to hear how this story ended.

'Anyway,' Jake continued, tenting his fingers and resting his head upon them. 'Jerry says that we need to keep up appearances. He doesn't want to at this point, you understand, he loves your mom just as much as she loves him, but your mother is an independent politician, the good she could do for that state is immeasurable, and we can't afford to risk that. 'And then one day,' Jake continued, grin beginning to spread across his face. 'You come home and tell us that you've been accepted to College. And I could tell, by the way your mother looked at me she had the same realisation I did.'

Zach's eyebrows rose imperceptibly.

'Here was a chance,' Jake continued, 'A chance for Glory! It was like all the stars aligned in perfect order. See, your mother and I knew you'd applied to colleges, but we never dreamed that you'd applied to Mawson. We figured Randolph, Georgia State, hell, maybe even Tampa. But Mawson, Washington? We didn't even know you'd applied!'

He shuffled forward for a moment.

'See, it couldn't work with the others. If you went to college in Georgia, and we got divorced, then everyone thinks what your friends did, we were in a loveless marriage and we were just holding out until you left the house. Even a couple states over was a bit of a stretch. It could all come back and harm your mother's career. But Mawson? You're clear on the other side of the country. You don't know anyone. So the story started to fill itself in. 'You go to College, and I leave too. Suddenly, it looks like I've left your mother. I know it sounds crass, but try to understand: Married to a Gay Man? Her career in Georgia is up in smoke. Married to a No-Good Man? That's old hat! Nobody gives two shits about that story, No-good's are a dime-a-dozen!'

'Wait,' Zach piped up, 'Why did it have to be Mawson again? You could have done the same thing if it was any college. You could have done it if I just moved out!'

Jake nodded, 'There were a few reasons, but the biggest one would be if I moved out, and people looked into me and my personal life, suddenly it's a coverup. And I still wanted to be a part of your life, there was no way I was moving away to leave you be! But in Mawson? Nobody knows who I am. Nobody knows the connections we have to Georgia, and what's more, it's the West Coast! Nobody cares!'

He laughed slightly, and resumed the hand gestures.

'So, now you need to move to Mawson, but there's no way you'd realistically be able to afford it. Your education is the highest priority for your mother and I, and if you're going to college, come hell or high water you're going to college at the best one you can get in to! So I move to Mawson, with you! I take financial responsibility, which is no issue for me, you get the best education available, Your Mother and Jerry can finally be given a chance to have the relationship they deserve, and the cherry on the cake?'

He smiled broadly.

'I finally get to be myself.'

The anxiety in Zach's heart was gone. Finally he had been given the whole story. Now he just had to digest it.

'I'm gonna miss your mother.'

Zach looked up. His father was staring wistfully at the table in front of him.

'That's the only negative I see in all of this, bud. We may not have been intimate with each other for the last decade or so, but I meant what I said before, she was my best friend. We shared a bed. Even these last few month's I've been trying to get used to sleeping alone. She'd hold me when things seemed insurmountable and I just felt so safe. And of course I did the same for her...'

He trailed off. Another small clatter arose from the kitchen, followed by a shrill 'Dammit Glen!', from what seemed like a couple rooms away.

'The way I see it,' He added, 'there are four people who this affects. It was wrong of me to keep you in the dark all this time, and you gotta believe I'm truly sorry about that, bud. But, this opportunity, give all four people involved a chance at a better life. Could you honestly say it's not worth it?'

Zach let his mind reel for a moment. His brain was back to a functioning state and was beginning to wind up his conclusion to it all.

'Now I've given you a lot to think about here son,' Jake piped in further, 'I understand if it's going to take a while to process. I'm fully aware that you may not accept me as your dad anymore, but I just want you to know I'm still the same guy I always was. Only now, I-'

'Shut Up.'

Jake blinked as shock ran through his system. He looked at his son, taken aback, as the young goat fixed him with a stern look.

'I don't care about any of that, Dad,' he couldn't help but stifle a grin at his father's reaction. 'Don't get me wrong, I'm furious that I didn't know about any of this.'

'I wanted to tell you, buddy,' Jake replied. 'I just never knew-'

'Seriously, dad,' Jake shot a toothy grin at his old man. 'Shut up. Of course I support you, why wouldn't I? You're my dad, and I love you. I want you to be happy, so why shouldn't you be? But if you ever keep me out of the loop again,' he leaned forward and affected what he hoped was his most serious tone. What came out was a little grim, but it got the point across: 'I won't ever forgive you.'

The roaring silence had returned. Jake swallowed hard. He extended his hand to his son.

'Understood.'

Zach looked at his dad's hand for a moment, before accepting it. He'd never experience his dad's handshake before. It was firm and comfortable.

Jake leaned back in his chair and sighed. 'Oh my god,' he chuckled. 'You have no idea how good this feels, bud,' he shook his head. He pulled his plate over to him. Zach also sat up and begun to survey his plate. It seemed like an eternity ago that Beth had dropped it off, but the fries were still warm. He plucked one off his plate and popped it in his mouth.

It was the most delicious thing he'd tasted in months.

Jake picked up his cutlery but froze.

'Wait.' He closed his eyes and huffed. Zach looked up from his plate again.

'No,' Jake shook his head and put his cutlery down. 'Fuck it, look, I'm sorry buddy, but there's one more thing I wasn't going to mention, but now I feel like I should. You know, in the spirit of getting things out in the open.'

'What?' Jake knocked his head to the left quizzically. Was there no end to the Bombshells this evening?

'Yeah,'he nodded curtly. 'I wasn't going to even bring it up until we'd settled in for a few months, but you took everything just now like a champ, and it doesn't seem right to hide it from you now.'

Zach picked up a fry and held it between his fingers casually interested.

'I uh,' Jake blushed slightly. 'I have a uh...Boyfriend.'

Just like it was the tide of the conversation the silence again receded into quiet silence.

'What?' Zach finally piped up. For some reason this news made him feel a little better. 'Seriously?'

Jake nodded, jaw clenched. It looked like he was trying to force the blush back down.

Zach frowned. 'Wait a moment,' he fixed his dad with a stare. 'Coach Wylie?'

Jake laughed, the redness in his cheeks receding. 'What? No!' he guffawed loudly. 'No, Aaron and I didn't work out. We were both married at the time, but I embraced who I was, he chose to ignore it. Last I heard he moved to Canada a couple years later.' He beamed at his son. 'Now that's the real Canada. Not the Sun Drenched Tropical Canada.'

'Shaddap!' Zach smiled, hiding the redness rising in his ears.

'No, in all seriousness,' Jake forced the smile off his face. 'His name is Lane, and he's seriously a great guy.'

'Lane?' Zach asked, popping the fry into his mouth. 'Like Car Pool?'

Jake grimaced. 'If that helps you remember, sure.' He said monotonously, drenched with Sarcasm.

'And how's he with you moving away?'

Jake flashed a wink. He picked up his cutlery again and began to cut into his meal. 'That's the best part. From my perspective anyway. He lives in Mawson.'

Zach blinked stupidly. 'How on earth did you manage that?'

'He used to live in Macon.' Jake replied. 'We got kinda serious a few years ago, but six months before you got accepted, his work offered him a better position out here. He didn't want to go, but I told him he'd be a dumbass not to accept it. Besides, at the time there wasn't an opportunity for us to go any further. When you got accepted, I contacted him praying he hadn't found anyone else by now. And wouldn't you know it, he hadn't even been looking for anyone else.'

'How serious was it?'

'Furthest I'd ever gone with a man before,' Jake shrugged. 'Maybe it will work out, maybe it won't. Who knows?'

Zach picked up his burger and began to chew. He floated the idea about his dad dating another man around his head. It still seemed kind of strange, but then again one hour ago he thought his mom and dad were in a simple relationship.

'You excited?' he asked after a big mouthful of cheese burger. For some reason while it was perfectly plain, it tasted like his first real meal in years.

Jake considered it for a moment. 'Definitely,' he nodded. 'Lane is open about who he is, and never been married, but our relationship revolved around sneaking around. I'm more nervous about being open with who I am around him.'

Zach chuckled to himself.

'What?' Jake asked raising an eyebrow.

'You know Beth was flirting with you right?'

'Mmm,' Jake nodded over a particularly saucy rib. 'Son, if there's one thing I don't understand, it's women. I went my entire life trying to get them to notice me, the moment I came to terms with who I am, they've been throwing themselves at me.'

'Ugh.' Zach dropped his burger back onto his plate and rolled his eyes.

'Don't worry,' Jake smiled, speaking over a mouthful of food. 'One day you'll find one that perplexes you just as much as your mother did me.'

'I'm going to the Bathroom.' Zach announced, pushing himself out of his seat.

'Mm,' said Jake, nodding his head, 'It's lovely this time of year.'

Zach extracted himself from his booth and began to turn, when he his father grabbed his arm. He looked down to find a concerned look on his face.

'Are uh,' he stammered, 'Are we okay?'

Zach nodded animatedly. 'Absolutely.'

Jake began to nod, and let go of his son.

Zach opened the door to the restroom, and found a single stall at the far end of the room on a wall lined with stainless steel. He lurched forward and rammed the door open. It was clean, but he put the seat down, before turning around and closing the door. His small frame shook, as he lowered himself down.

In the space of an hour he learned that his Parents were in an Open relationship, and his Father was Gay. His father had just come out to him.

He shook with a strange mix of anxiety and fear. This was by far the weirdest day of his life. He looked down at his feet, only to find his knees slightly trembling.

It had been such an emotional exchange, he almost confessed himself. It seemed like such a perfect moment, to put everyone at ease, and then Jake had made the remark about finding a woman. He stuffed all the courage he had almost summoned to completion back down. Excitement dying into anticipation and anxiety.

Of course he'd never spoken about it to anyone before, but he too knew exactly what his father was going through.

Being Gay himself, he knew it only too well.

Zach blinked in the morning light, his pupils dilating in abject horror. Up until that moment it had been a peaceful sleep, one that had been able to block out the perverse rays of the Sun, but even that had it's limits. He raised his head from the pillow, and scowled. His cheek was moist with drool, which he wiped on his wrist. They had found the place at 9:45 at night, finding the key in exactly the spot the landlord had left it. It was a small apartment complex, five floors, each floor dedicated to a single apartment. They were on the fourth floor, so after finding the Service Elevator, they made their way upstairs and into the empty apartment. Jake opened the door, allowing Zach to step over the threshold. He fumbled on the wall and found a light switch, clicking it on. The apartment remained dark. Jake informed the confused young goat that the Electricty wasn't set to turn over until the next day. Zach fumbled in his pockets and pulled out his phone, switching on it's flashlight function. The apartment was definitely spacious, no argument there. They mapped out the apartment, figuring out which room they each wanted, Zach choosing the smaller of the two, as it had a better view of Lamplit park across the street, and returned downstairs to the truck. Jake fumbled around in the back for a moment. Zach paicked up the box closest to the door.

'Nu-Uh, Bud,' Jake called out. Zach stopped and turned towards his father. Jake had opened up a box in the back and had begun to pull linen out. 'It's been a long day, I think we both need some rest.' He took two folded blankets and hung them over his shoulder. 'All of this can wait til tomorrow. I'll help you get your mattress upstairs,' he patted a mattress strapped to the wall of the truck, 'And then you come back down and help me get mine.'

Zach's eyes protested, but after a few blinks he was able to get them to adjust a bit more. He pushed the sheet off, which had turned out to be fitted, but after hauling two mattresses upstairs, the day had taken it's toll on him, so he collapsed and curled up into it. He staggered to his feet and over to the window. The park was gorgeous, the trees clustered around open rolling greens. He could make out a collection of people at the far end, gathered around someone or something, all of whom were making miniscule movements in unison. Possibly a Tai-Chi class. Maybe outdoor Yoga?

He heard the door open and close, and walked over to his bedroom door. He walked down the hall and was shocked by the massive pile of boxes now in the middle of the main living area.

'Woah.' he muttered, rubbing a bit more sleep from his eyes.

Jake was panting, over a pile of boxes he had just added to the pile. He chuckled slightly and wiped his brow on his arm.

'Morning, Champ,' he grinned. 'Sleep well?'

Zach nodded, yawning deeply and stretching. 'Best sleep I've had in a while.'

Jake smiled, still panting slightly. 'Good' he pointed into the kitchen, open access to the rest of the living space, 'I picked up some breakfast for you, from the local coffee place,' he sighed deeply and grimaced. 'Only mass produced Danish, I'm afraid.'

'I thought you were going to wake me,' Zach rubbed his left eye. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, leaving an indent in his thigh where it had been pressed into all night and turned it on. His battery was only fifteen percent, and it now showed that he had reception, but it was now 10:15. 'We were going to get this stuff up together.'

'Well, I got up at Six,' Jake replied, 'Went for a walk, picked up breakfast. I don't know this place all that well though, so by the time I finished it was only 6:45. So I figured 'what the heck', right?' He shrugged. 'Might as well get started. And I figured yesterday was kind of a big deal, so I just let you sleep.'

Zach nodded, putting his phone back in his pocket. It sat awkwardly against the imprint in his flesh and felt a little uncomfortable. 'I'm not complaining,' he murmured. 'Is this all of it?'

'Most of it,' Jake grinned enthusiastically. 'Just a few more of the heavier boxes, then the furniture. But I can handle the rest of that today while you're out. This afternoon, however,' he pointed a finger at his son raised an eyebrow, 'You're going to help assemble everything and sort the boxes into rooms.'

Zach nodded again. 'That's fair. I guess I should be heading out soon anyway.'

'You need a lift?' Jake replied.

Zach frowned. His dad had sold his car before they moved up here.

'In the Truck?' he gave a small grin.

'Yeah!' Jake quipped. 'What's wrong with the truck?'

Zach shook his head and sighed. 'I'll be fine, Dad,' he smiled. 'Campus is only like, a half hour away.'

Jake pursed his lips in agreement.

'Besides,' Zach continued, 'Isn't it a rental? You should get it empty then return it ASAP.'

'Fair call,' Jake replied. 'Just don't be late, okay?'

'What are you going to do for a car, anyway?' Zach pondered.

'I'm going to go looking tomorrow.'

Zach squinted at the boxes. A few of them were labelled here and there, but after a few boxes got sealed without being labelled accidentally, the two goats had given up.

'You need something?' Jake asked, following his son's gaze.

'I could really use a Shower,' Jake pondered. 'And my teeth are growing fur.'

'Ah,' Jake muttered. 'Sorry, haven't found any of the Bathroom Stuff Yet. But I did find,' he reached down onto the couch, and pulled up a collection of items. 'This stuff.'

Zach looked at the detritus in his dad's hands. A can of body spray, a dish towel and a packet of mints. He cringed a little.

'It's going to have to do until we find the other stuff,' Jake tutted. 'Tell ya what though, I'll make it top priority. I'm really feeling a nice hot shower too.'

'What's the Dish Towel For?' Zach frowned. He was afraid he knew the answer already.

Jake jerked his thumb at the kitchen sink. 'Birdbath,' he muttered. 'Trust me you'll need it. Otherwise you're going to have to keep reapplying this,' he shook the bodyspray. 'And no son of mine is going to be a little Garlic Blossom on his first day of college.'

'Did uh,' Zach cringed a little further. 'Did you already use it?'

Jake sighed and rolled his eyes incredulously. 'I used my own, Butthead!' he groaned, jabbing his finger back to the sink. Zach noticed hung over the faucet was a dish towel that looked thoroughly wrung out, drying in the morning sun. 'What do you take me for?'

'Sorry,' Zach mumbled. He shuffled forward and took the collection of loosely defined toiletries. 'I'll do this in the bathroom.'

Jake nodded, and picked up a box cutter from the couch. He tore open the closest box to him and wrenched the top open. Zach watched with a mixture of interest and hope. Jake peered in and shook his head at this son with a sombre grin.

'Books.' He muttered.

Zach grimaced and made his way to the bathroom.

Upon entering, he found this was his second favourite room in the house, just behind his bedroom with the incredible view. The fixtures were all modern, and the faucet hung from the ceiling instead of the wall, all concealed by a thick glass pane that separated the shower from the rest of the room.

He propped everything on the vanity and looked at himself in the mirror.

'Eugh,' he winced, noticing a stain on his Hoodie, right on the pocket. Probably courtesy of his meal the night before. He ripped off the sweater and chucked it into the corner of the room. He admired himself in the mirror and gave a small sigh.

Just like everything in his life, he considered his physique, nothing special. At a height of five feet seven, he was dwarfed by most other races, but even for goats he came just short of average. He was skinny, and a swoop of blond hair fell down over his eye, contrasting with his white fur, which he had inherited from both his mother and father. His shirt fitted almost perfectly over his slender frame, displaying a character from the videogame series Into the Void on it. He wished he had thought this through a little better. At least his jeans were clean. He unbuckled his belt and let them fall to his ankles. He took his shirt off and dropped it on the floor next to him, before taking the washcloth and washing it under the faucet. He brought it up to his armpits, the cold water feeling like an alien sensation as he began to scrub. After his arms, he lowered his underwear and began to rinse off his groin. At least this was something he could be a little proud of, if nothing else. Eight and a Half Inches, fully erect. Which put him above most goats back in Macon, according to various dubious internet sites, but nothing impressive.

He'd never had a boyfriend before, and girls his age hadn't really paid him any attention, but from what he understood, everyone preferred massive dicks to average ones. Not that he'd ever had any reference to base this on, other than porn, but after nobody shows you any sort of interest in your life, it begins to take its toll.

He finished washing himself, and pulled his underwear and pants back up. He buckled his belt and reached for the can on the vanity. He gave a quick squirt under each arm, before putting his shirt back on. He wished he could do some work with his hair, but he didn't even have a brush, let alone the various products he used to tame it on a daily basis. He winced and popped open the pack of mints, after rubbing his fingertip over his teeth. They now felt a little smoother, and the mints would be working their magic. He quickly rinsed out the dishcloth and wrung it damp, before leaving the bathroom.

Back in the living room, Jake had managed to pop open a few more boxes.

'I found some of your stuff!' he motioned enthusiastically. He reached into a box and pulled out a wad of white cotton. 'You need some new socks?'

'God Yes!' Zach smiled. He walked passed his dad and into the kitchen, hanging his dishtowel next to the currently drying one. He kicked off his shoes, signalling his dad to throw them to him. He caught them and began to peel the current ones off, nose wrinkling a little at how gross they clung to his feet. As he was putting his shoes back on, a loud buzzing echoed throughout the Unit. Both men looked to the door and frowned. Next to the switch that Zach had fondled the previous night was a box with a circle speaker and two buttons underneath, one white, one red. He'd never lived in an apartment before, but Zach immediately recognised the Intercom system from the myriad of nineties sitcoms he'd watched in his life.

'That'll be the Landlord.' Zach sniffed.

'Nooo,' Frowned Jake. He put one hand on his hip and stared at the door. 'He came by at 7:30. We had a chat out the front.' He chewed his lip inquisitively. 'Who could tha-' the colour suddenly drained from his face. 'Oh,' he murmured, his physique dropping. 'Oh shit!' he cursed. He looked at his son with a terrified expression on his face.

'What?' Zach asked, a little fear coiling up his spine.

Jake breathed heavily. 'It's Lane!' he hissed. 'Oh Shit! I forgot!'

Zach watched his father's eyes widen in horror.

'I invited him over last week!' Jake hissed. 'I thought you were going to be in classes today and I thought it might be a chance to catch up!' He rocked back and forth on his heels. 'It completely slipped my mind!'

Jake's eyes bulged in terror, flicking between the door and the room at large.

'So?' Zach smiled bemusedly. 'Buzz him in!'

Jake blinked for a few moments. 'I didn't think you'd be here, bud,' he blurted out. 'I honestly thought you'd be in class. I didn't want it to be awkward!'

The Buzz filled the apartment again.

'You're kind of making it awkward.' Zach offered. 'Okay,' he grabbed his father's shoulder. 'Calm down, this is fine, okay? Here's what we'll do,' he let go of his dad's shoulder and marched over to one of the few labelled boxes, 'Dad - Shirts'. He lifted it up, with very little effort and thrust it into his dad's arms. 'I'll buzz him up and let him in. You go and change into something a little less Paul Bunyan.' He motioned to the red flannel shirt his dad was wearing. Jake's eyes flitted nervously between Zach, the Box and the Door. 'I left the Spray in the Bathroom. Maybe wash up a little before you come out, yeah? I mean, you've been hauling boxes up stairs.'

Jake had begun to breathe heavily again. He looked down at the box and back at Zach. 'If you're not comfortable with this,' he began. Zach began to roll his eyes in frustration. 'I can call him and tell him to come back a bit later-'

'Go!' Zach pointed at the Hallway the bedrooms were off. Jake took a deep breath and nodded, shuffling down to his room.

Zach turned and walked over to the Intercom. The buzzing picked up again, but ceased the moment he hit the white button. He could hear the sound of sprinklers through the intercom.

'Come on up!' he called out, letting go of the white button and pushing the red. A small grinding buzz emitted from the intercom. He held it down for five seconds then let go. The intercom died, and no more buzzing could be heard.

He felt his heart do a little backflip. Up until yesterday he didn't even know his dad was gay, and now he was about to meet his Boyfriend. He decided to put it out of his mind, and began to rummage through open boxes, seeing if his dad had found anything of intrinsic use. In the third box he looked into, labelled 'Zach - College', he found his messenger bag. He gladly pulled it out and opened the flap, showing exactly what he needed for his first day, an orientation pamphlet the school had sent along. He closed the bag and propped it up on the couch, just as a knock on the door echoed around the apartment. Zach heard a clatter from the bedrooms, and rolled his eyes. He walked over to the door and took a deep breath. He briefly considered looking through the Peephole, but instead grappled the handle and twisted it open.

In the hallway stood a slender draft horse, wearing bootcut jeans and a black shirt that accentuated his muscled torso. His mane was neatly combed and down his head and back in long, jetblack locks. His eyes were blue and haunting, his muzzle shorter than most horses.

Their eyes met with different reactions. The Horse's eyes widened in shock a little. Zach's dilated as his heart almost backflipped. Truth be told he had spared the thought of his dad's boyfriend hardly any effort. He didn't know what to expect, least of all this excessively handsome specimen of a male in front of him. He gulped heavily.

'Oh' The Horse finally managed after some awkward silence. 'Hey there, Kiddo.' The way he said it made it sound like the least natural sentence structure imaginable. His voice was deep and rich, and even though he was frozen in the headlights, Zach thought it was deeply cute how he stumbled over himself. 'U-Uh,' he Stammered, looking down at his feet. In his hands he held a bouquet of spring flowers. 'I'm uh,' he offered his hands to the young goat, 'I-I'm Lane!' he gave a toothy smile, as Zach took his hand and shook. 'I'm uh...' he stammered, after a brief shake, taking his hand running it through his thick, glorious mane. 'I'm your dad's-' a brief pause., He looked down at his feet and back up to Zach's eyes. 'Friend.'

Zach gave a little smile and stepped aside. 'Please come in.' he gestured. Lane paused briefly, but confidently crossed the threshold. Zach closed the door behind him. As it swung close he glanced at the Horses body from behind. Broad Shoulders, A Narrow Waist, a tight, tight rear. He watched as the Horse turned around, after surveying the city of boxes and turned to face him again. He snapped his bottom jaw shut just in time.

'I uh,' he continued, 'Heard your old man was in town, so I thought I'd come over and catch up with him, you know?' he gestured with his free hand by pushing it fully opened, slowly out. 'Very Casual.'

Jake giggled inside. It was like he had added that last part in an attempt at subliminal messaging. He gestured at the flowers in the Horses hand.

'Those are very nice.' He gave a small smirk.

The horse looked at his hand, as though he just realising he was holding onto them.

'Yes!' he exclaimed breathlessly. Zach couldn't believe how unbelievably cute this was. He could almost hear the gears in the Horse's brain grinding into overtime. 'Yeah, well uh,' he pointed at the flowers, not one feet from the pointing hand, 'See, I heard that you guys had just moved in. So I thought I should probably get a Housewarming Gift! And these seemed like a good option. Because I uh...' he trailed off frowning. Obviously he was hoping the train of thought would arrive at the station naturally. 'And also!' Lane suddenly spluttered, as if hopping tracks, 'They were selling these at a Forecourt on the way here! So I stopped and...Um...Bought a bouquet...'

Zach failed to stifle a short giggle.

'Don't be a Jackass, Zach.'

Jake had entered the room. He was wearing a short sleeved blue shirt, and faded black jeans with a pair of dark brown loafers. His hair was damp and combed back, obviously using his fingers.

Lane turned to face the Goat, his eyes immediately lighting up.

'It's fine, Lane,' the Older goat grinned. 'We talked about it last night. He knows.'

The Horse froze a moment, before immediately relaxing. He let out a deep sigh.

'Jesus!' he Hissed into a Chuckle, 'I thought I'd got the time wrong or something.'

Jake shook his head, 'Naw, that's my fault. Seinfeld here,' he jerked his thumb at his son, 'Filled me in last night. He doesn't have classes today, just a meet n' greet.'

Lane took a few deep breaths of air, before standing back to full height, three inches taller than Jake, eleven taller than Zach.

'He brought a housewarming gift.' Zach beamed, gesturing at the flowers.

'Knock it Off!' Jake seethed, fixing his son with a stern look over his glasses. Zach pursed his lips and tried to wipe the smile from his face.

'Oh!' Lane exclaimed. He held the spring blooms up, 'Yeah,' he blushed a little, holding them out, 'Guess I can drop the act now. These are for you!' He was blushing, but still had a full smile, a small twitch of embarrassment lingering in his eye. Jake took the flowers.

'Aw, thank you,' he murmured, blush aslo beginning to rise. He rotated to bouquet to showcase the bunch. 'We haven't unpacked much, so I'll put them in water as soon as we find some cups or a vase.' He walked into the kitchen, and reached into the sink. He filled it with a bit of water from the faucet, and lowered them into it gently. 'This will do for the time being.' He turned and came back to the Horse. They stood close enough for Zach to register it was a little strange. Their eyes locked onto each other and they stood, small grins creeping across their faces. For a moment there was silence. It looked like they were going to kiss, before Jake turned to look at his son, surveying the scene.

'What?' Zach blurted out, causing the blush in Lane's face to deepen. 'Seriously?'

Jake pursed his lips, putting his hands on his hips.

'Okay, I probably should be going now, anyway,' Zach admitted. He grabbed his satchel from the couch and slung it over his shoulder.

'Actually,' Lane piped up as Jake watched his son prepare. 'Could I use your bathroom quickly?'

'Sure!' Jake smiled. 'Down the hall, Second Door on the Left.'

Lane nodded, and walked down the hall.

Zach knelt down to tie up his shoe. Jake watched as the Horse left the room then turned to his son.

'He's Nice.' Zach mumbled, as he tied.

'Be nice!' Jake seethed.

'I'm sorry,' Zach replied, standing up. 'It was funny though. He was stumbling over himself like chair!'

'Come on,' Jake pleaded, 'He's a really nice guy.'

'I'm not being Sarcastic!' Zach replied, calming his father down. 'He seems like a cool dude. I just thought it was funny. I mean,' he glanced at the hallway entrance briefly, 'Did you guys not have any contingency plan? What if you didn't tell me about him last night?'

Jake sighed and looked down at his feet. When he looked back up he had an embarrassed grin on his face. 'Yeah, I didn't think that one through at all.' He straightened up, looking his son in the eye. 'Listen though, I really want you to spend some time with him too, okay? He's really excited to meet you. And it would mean a lot to me if you got along with him.'

'I will!' Zach grinned, touching his dad's shoulder again. 'I promise. But for now, you spend a bit of time together, yeah?'

Jake looked down at his shoes again, and nodded. Zach smiled and turned to the door, before stopping and turning back.

'Oh,' he added. Jake looked back up. 'One more thing, this Orientation is only for two hours, okay? So I'll be back at like, I dunno,' he thought briefly, 'Three? If you need me to clear off for a while after that, just hang a tie on the door.'

'Oh my God.' Jake mumbled, shaking his head.

'Oh, right, first you gotta find the ties...' Zach replied, looking around the pile of boxes for a clue.

'It's not like that!' Jake interjected angrily. 'He volunteered to come over and help me unpack everything!'

'Sweet!' Zach grinned. 'Less work for me. But seriously...' he walked over to the nearest open box and rummaged around inside it. He found a pair of swimming goggles at the bottom and yanked them out. 'Use these for now. We'll work out a better system later.'

'Oh my god, Shut Up!' Jake seethed. 'We're not Horny teenagers, okay? We're not going to have sex the minute you leave! We're grown men!'

Zach raised an eyebrow. 'Who haven't seen each other in how long?'

A faint flush could be heard down the hallway.

'Six Months.' Jake replied, matter-of-factly.

'Uh-Huh,' Zach grinned. He deposited the Goggles on the arm of the couch. 'Please, for everyone's sake, use them if you need them, okay?'

Jake shook his head, blush beginning to rise.

Zach leapt out the door, grinning from ear-to-ear.

You won't find Mawson College on a list of Ivy League schools, but it's Alumni list is impressive enough on its own. The campus spans over Sixty Acres, with Departments spanning across Medicine, Engineering, Arts and Academics. At the centre of the Campus, it's beating heart, Garrison Auditorium, a spanning stage that swept out in a half dome. The room made use of natural harmonics, allowing even the most timid of voices to have far reaching spectrum. Today, however, a Microphone stood on an empty stage, a cble feeding along the floor into a breaker in a hidden panel at the front. The Auditorium had begun to fill with furs of all shapes and sizes. By the time Zach arrived, the front seats were already three quarters full. He scanned around the are and found an empty row five seats back just left of centre stage. He made his way down to the front.

It was a strange sensation, he swore he could feel eyes on him, a feeling confirmed when he looked around and caught a few people from a few different groups eyeing him. A chubby Frog nudged her friend, a sow, in the ribs and whispered in her ear as he drew close.

Zach felt himself turn a little crimson. Surely he was imagining this.

He slumped down at the far end of the empty aisle and looked around the room. There was something so liberating about the general vibe of the room. He couldn't put his finger on it. Everyone seemed so happy, so positive. Everyone smiled as they spoke, but it wasn't forced, it was as natural as it could be. Perhaps he had spent too much time in High School, perhaps he thought it was natural for every sentence to be thinly laced with contempt among peers.

There was a loud crash and something heavy collided with his left shoulder. He lurched forward slightly, as a Lion with dark brown hair, wearing a High School Letter Jacket carried forward by a huge amount of momentum was flung to the ground beside him. An Orientation Pamphlet fluttered in a wide arc through the air and landed in the second row, several feet across. The room feel silent for a moment, before it broke into laughter. Zach rubbed his shoulder, still a little dazed. A bull in a black shirt had drawn level with the Lion, bellowing with laughter and pointing at the Lion, who threw himself to his feet. The bull lurched forward down the stairs, the lion tried to follow, but got tangled in his feet, falling sideways once again into Zach, who leapt up and allowed him to fall away from him. The Bull reached the Stage and turned around Cheering. The Lion, who had made a paltry attempt to catch the Bull stopped a few feet from the impact site and doubled over, panting for air.

'Champion!' bellowed the Bull.

'No Fair!' growled the Lion, waving at Zach, without turning around. 'Interference! The Goat tripped me!'

The Bull began to swagger back down the aisle.

'Play it as it lies, Bitch!' he beamed, also panting for breath.

The Orientation pamphlet had made its way via the hands of bemused and amused onlookers. Zach felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw the owner of the poke was a Short Tabby Cat girl, with long purple hair. She grinned, and handed him the Pamphlet. He looked at it confused for a second before accepting it gingerly. The Lion stormed up and ripped the Pamphlet from his hands.

'Thanks, Dick.' he grumbled, before turning away and skulking over to his friend.

'Asshole.'

Zach looked back to the cat still behind him.

'Typical High School Meat Head,' she shook her head in Disgust, wrinkling her nose. 'Don't worry about him,' she added. 'In a couple months he'll be a Typical Frat Meat Head.' She chuckled at her own joke. Zach rubbed his shoulder and returned a weak grin.

The Auditorium had returned to its level of chatter, attention no longer focussed on him. He relaxed a little.

'So you're a Goat, huh?' the Cat asked.

Zach frowned. This chick was a little weird.

'What gave it away?' he replied.

'The Horns.' She responded, nodding thoughtfully. 'You were either a goat or Satan, so...' she shrugged, her eyes twinkling a little. 'And we all know he's too busy to attend a College Orientation. What with helping actors get Oscars and whatnot.' Her smile remained. Zach gave a weak chuckle.

'I'm Abby!' she added, offering her hand.

'Zach.' He replied.

'Mind if I sit with you?' she asked.

Zach blinked. 'Sure.' he nodded. He sank back into his chair. Abby sat next to him. She pulled a comically large backpack from beside her feet and deposited it on her lap.

'Whoa,' Zach grinned, frowning a little at the bag. 'What is that, a Generator?'

'Uncultured Swine!' she hissed, opening up the bag and reaching in. 'For your information this is a replica of the backpack that Suidan Ichiko used in Masul Ui Usan to sneak his friends into the Glutton Demon's Lair!'

Zach blinked stupidly. Abby retrieved her information packet, and zipped the bag shut.

'Yeah!' she grinned, laying the bag back down at her feet. 'Bet you feel real stupid right now, huh?'

'U-uh.' Zach gave a confused laugh.

'I Cosplay,' she muttered. 'Masul Ui Usan is a Korean Anime.' She leaned back in her chair, stretching out as she did so. She wore very short shorts. Definitely not in the same realm as Booty Shirts, but parts of her thighs were exposed. She also wore a white hoodie, a few sizes too big for her. 'It's your basic Hero Story,' she added, 'Boy Meets Girl. Boy likes Girl. Girl turns out to be the daughter of the ruler of Hell. You know how this goes.'

She stopped a little and blushed slightly. Zach liked the ring on her bottom lip. 'Yeah,' she mumbled, 'I'm a huge nerd. I was kinda hoping to reinvent myself when I got accepted here...' she looked around the room. Two Parrot Girls a few seats down were pointing at her backpack and snickering. 'As you can see, I'm off to a flying start.' Her shoulders drooped a little. Zach felt a twinge in his stomach for her.

'Okay,' he nodded, 'But let me ask you a question.'

She looked back up at him.

'Why do you need to be the one to change who you are?' He gestured around the room. 'You think any of these people have to change themselves?'

She still looked a little embarrassed but a small grin had begun to creep over her face.

'At the end of the day,' he added, 'you only gotta be big enough to contain yourself.'

Her grin broke into a smile. 'Thanks, Zach.' She beamed. 'Full disclosure though,' she added, 'I don't pick up on Social Cues very well. So if I say something stupid, you gotta tell me, or I won't know how to fix it.'

Zach laughed. He reached into his satchel and pulled out his information packet.

'Take earlier,' she continued, 'For example. We hadn't even been introduced, and I point out you're a goat!' she slapped her palm on her forehead. 'Stupid Abby!' she scolded, giggling nervously. 'I mean, you are a Goat, but it that really the first impression I wanna make?'

'Strangely enough,' Zach scowled still looking out on the crowd. He still could feel eyes on him, but when he looked up they looked away again, 'I'd welcome it over this.' He looked Abby in the eyes. 'Can I ask, are people staring at me?' Without skipping a beat, she nodded vigorously. 'Yup.' She grimaced. 'I don't think it's you so much. I just think they don't see all that many Goats around here.'

'Really?' he gave her an incredulous look. The waitress last night had said the same thing.

'Yuh-Huh,' she replied. 'One of those things I guess. Not to sound racist or anything,' she raised her eyebrows at this, 'But Goats don't usually come this far north...' She paused for a moment in thought. 'Nevada? Maybe you'll see a few goats. Wyoming? I could believe that. But you don't see many Goats outside the South, now that I think about it.'

Zach rolled his eyes. He wanted to like Abby, but this was a little Demeaning. 'I'm from Georgia.' He mumbled.

'Called it!' she beamed, which quickly vanished when she saw the look that Zach was giving her. 'Sorry,' she added. 'See what I mean? Open foot, insert mouth.'

Zach sighed, and returned to glancing around the Auditorium. His eye cast over the Lion who collided with him earlier, surrounded by other men of toned physique. Some were wearing letter Jackets, like he was, but none of them matched.

'Funny, huh?' Abby said, following Zach's gaze. 'They seek each other out. I mean,' she leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands, pointing at clusters around the room. 'You got these guys, they all wear the same thing, and to them they think "These Guys are Cool!". But it was only last year, they were clashing heads against each other. Last year they were bitter enemies, now, they're all Bros!' Her Ears perked up a bit. 'Oooh, she excitedly pointed back to the crowd. The bull from earlier had his arms out in a 'Come-at-Me' type gesture, facing back towards the lion, who puffed his chest out. 'There's gonna be a Headlock.' Zach giggled. 'You're nuts.' he replied. 'That's a Sack Tap moment right there.' 'Ten Bucks says you're wrong.' Abby raised an eyebrow.

'Oh you are so on!' Zach leaned forward, watching the display with interest. The Lion bounced his chest up against the bull, who didn't even stagger back. He couldn't make out what was being said, but it lacked the definite bloodlust associated with actual brawling. No, these were to men locked in a pissing contest.

'C'mon, Big Guy,' Abby murmured, resting her chin on the chair in front. 'Momma needs a new backpack!'

The Lion ripped his Jacket off and threw it on the ground, puffing his chest up even further.

'Tease,' Zach grinned. 'Swat those Gonads!'

Abby giggled audibly beside him.

The rest of the Auditorium continued its chatter, unaware of this juvenile display of masculinity. The other guys in the circle had formed a makeshift ring around them. A Panda in this ring, accidentally jostled a Bunny girl sitting in front of him, who scowled and rolled her eyes. She nodded to a court of other girls that she was going to move. They all stood up and stormed off.

Suddenly, the Bull wrenched his arm up and pushed the Lion backwards. In one fluid motion the other arm came down and wrapped him in a Nelson Hold. Zach hissed through his teeth.

'Boom!' Abby roared with laughter. An Orca behind her jumped a little in fright.

'No, No, No!' Zach grinned 'The deal was a headlock. This isn't over yet!'

The Lion flailed madly trying to break the hold. The Bull pulled him down so that he was hunched over him and released his left arm, leaving the lion bent over, trying to pry his head loose from the lock the bull's arm trapped him in.

'Damn!' Zach spat, flinging himself back in his chair in disgust. The ring around the Gladiators broke into laughter, and immediately dissolved. The Lion tapped the bulls arm, who immediately let go, causing the Lion to stagger slightly.

'It's not the Money, that makes this moment so sweet,' Abby crooned, her arms stretching out on the seat behind her. 'Although I will be taking it.'

Zach scowled, and reached into his pocket. His heart fell a little as he precognitively realised he didn't have his wallet.

'Shit!' he breathed.

'Problem there, Chintzy-Pop?' Abby giggled.

He flung his bag back into his lap and flipped it open, knowing before he had even looked that it wasn't there either. A sleepy memory had drifted to the surface of the night before. He had woken in the night to find a pain in his back. He reached into his back pocket, pulled the wallet out, which was raising his right side an inch higher than his left, and flung it off the mattress, before immediately rolling over to resume his slumber.

'I uh,' he mumbled, pulling his hand from his empty pocket. 'I left my Wallet at home.'

'Deadbeat.' the Tabby laughed, putting her feet up on the chair in front of her.

'I can pay you tomorrow?' He offered.

'I dunno,' Abby clicked her tongue. 'No offense, buddy, but I don't know you from a sack of grain.'

Zach was going to retort, but was interrupted by a Stag who had strolled onto the stage. He wore a navy blazer over a white shirt, his hair cut neatly and swiped back around his impressive antlers, adding a couple extra feet to his already impressive 6ft stature. He walked up to the Microphone and tapped it a few times. Nothing could be heard, and the general din of the room carried on, the vast majority of the room completely unaware of his presence. The few who had realised his presence chatted at a quieter tone but didn't stop. He looked up above the crowd, pointing to the Mic. Zach followed his gaze, looking around and up to find a balcony area perched over the entrance. The Stag tapped the Mic again, this time it echoed around the room. The crowd quietened, but not completely.

'Alright,' he waved to the crowd, 'Settle Down, Folks.'

The remaining standouts hushed and turned to face the stage.

The deer motioned to himself 'My name is Timothy McClellan,' he gave a warm smile to the gathered crowd, 'and on behalf of the the Staff and Faculty of Mawson College, I would like to welcome you to what is hopefully the next stepping stone in your lives.'

A single 'Woo!' c echoed from the back row, eliciting a small bout of laughter from everyone, Zach included.

'I'm the Dean of the College,' the Deer continued, smiling up at the general direction the interruption had come from. 'And like most people in my position at the various institutes of learning around this country, I have many different responsibilities. I sit on the Board of Directors. I adjudicate over the Student Council and weekends I host a Trivia Night at Lucy's, Mawson's Premier Hotspot. I hope to see you all there.' He made finger guns and winked to the Audience. 'For those interested as to who sponsored that shameless plug, Lucy is my Sister.'

The crowed gave a polite chuckle.

'But enough about supporting a Local Business, who has half priced drinks between 5pm and 8pm on Saturdays,' he made an aside to the crowd, 'Perfect for you less Economically Blessed College Students out there,' he gave another warm smile, 'My job also encompasses aiding new students, showing them around and helping them adjust. I know for the majority of you, you're fresh out of high school-'a large cheer came from a group of girls in the front row. 'Yeah, yeah,' the Dean nodded towards them 'I love the enthusiasm. But we also have to remember that Mawson has a very extensive mature age program. So my job is extra difficult, as I have to cater to you snot nosed punks,' he gave a cheeky grin to the girls in front, 'and people closer to my age. Which if you've ever tried to do in the past, you know it's like mixing oil and vinegar.' He pulled the mic from the stand. It was cordless, so he immediately broke into a brief stroll around the stage. 'If there is one piece of advice I can offer all of you,' his eyes scanned the entire audience, 'it is this: Here at Mawson, we tolerate no form of discrimination. Whether it be Ageism, Sexism, Racism, I don't care. You're all at the same level here, people. You will show respect to all staff and faculty of this college, and in return we will show equal respect to you.'

The Room was quiet as the students absorbed the information.

'Now,' the Dean continued, 'it is worth noting, that statistics are used as the benchmark of determining the quality of anything in this world. However, my personal opinion is that Statistics are only an indication of possibilities. For instance, statistics show that the current Drop-Out rate of Colleges in this country rests somewhere in the area of 60%.' He paused for dramatic effect. 'If this is to be taken as gospel, this means that less than half of you sitting in this room today, will achieve your goals.'

Another Affected Silence.

'We here at Mawson,' he continued, 'feel this simply isn't good enough. Simply put, we refuse to accept the average, the baseline. It is my job to help facilitate your path to success.' He returned the Mic to the stand, and stood with his hands in his pockets. 'I became Dean of this college five years ago. All those in the running for this job had ideas on how to improve the education of students. I was chosen because my ideas asked not what you can do for this college, but for what this college can do for you. 'This does not mean,' he added gesturing at the Audience with a raised eyebrow, 'That we will go out of our way to facilitate you. If you show no interest in your own education, I'm afraid nobody here is going to either. What this does mean, is that we have a series of programs designed to increase the quality of life of our students, and I'm not talking about three therapy sessions a year, here.' he grinned. 'After we are done here, you will divide into groups and go on a tour of the campus, each led by a Senior Volunteer. After they have shown you around, they will bring you back here, where you will each be given the chance to sign up for your Mawson Pass Card.'

He rocked on heels for a moment, before continuing.

'This card will serve not only as your student ID, but also provides your eligibility to programs the College has bartered with various local businesses around town. There is a booklet in your information pack, which we will begin to hand around in just a moment, with a complete list of the offers to students of this campus, but if you want a brief overview-' he began to count off on his fingers, 'Regularly Changing Discounts on popular restaurants, Access to the College's 'Food for Students' initiative, which offers another hefty discount towards groceries bought from the various establishments across town, access to various message boards on the Online Portal, offering part time work to students seeking it...-' he looked up at the ceiling in thought, 'Uh, what else? Oh!' he pointed out the doors, 'The College has a state-of-the-art Gym, including lap pool and Sauna,' he aggressively swooped his arm out in a small arc, 'Free! To all Students of the Campus.'

Another 'Woo!' echoed from the back row, which achieved a small, smattering round of applause. Zach looked over to find the Lion who fell over him earlier, and his collective of Football Playing Friends, leading the charge on the applause.

'Sorry though,' The Dean Added, as the applause died down. 'No plus ones, I'm afraid. Your Pass will serve as your ticket to that particular perk. I even use the facilities myself. A healthy mind,' he tapped his head beneath his left antler, 'Begins with a healthy body.'

A wolf whistle came from the back of the room, a louder burst of laughter accompanied it.

'See me after Class.' the Deer pointed in the direction it came from, with a mock look of seriousness on his face. 'The Senior guides are much better versed with what the card offers than I am, so if you have any questions, you can feel free to ask them about it. For now, however,' he Gestured towards the back, as half a dozen older furs began to circulate, weighed down with white bags, 'Please take your Information Packs, and we can settle into a brief History of the College, it's Alumni, followed up with a brief Q & A, then the tours can begin!' A chubby Panda approached.

'Name?' he whispered.

'Uh,' Zach blinked stupidly, 'Zach Donoghue.'

'Donoghue, Donoghue,' he flipped through a clipboard. 'Yep, you're one of mine!' he grinned. He rummaged through the bags, and retrieved one with a 'DONOGHUE, ZACHARY,' printed on the Lip.

'However,' the Stag erupted, in a booming voice, standing with his feet wide apart. He leaned into the Mic, 'I'm sorry I have to do this,' he said in a much calmer tone, 'But it's a tradition, so...' he looked at the wall behind him, which lit up with a projected image of the College Crest. 'Welcome to Mawson!' he boomed. 'Let's make your Future!' as he said the words they appeared underneath the Crest in loopy cursive font.

The logo vanished, and the Stag sighed and shook his head. 'The one year we didn't greet the new students with that, the English Department burned down.' He explained.

'Eeee!'

Zach looked at the Tabby beside him, literally on the edge of her seat. 'This is so exciting!' she beamed.

The rest of the day was fairly standard fare. Seniors led focussed groups around the College, showing them the facilities, while the new students ignored most of what was said and instead flicked through the personalized class schedules that came in their Information Packs. Zach's senior was a Rat with plugs in his ears, and a white shirt, he was obviously instructed to wear for the occasion, untucked over baggy jeans. Zach was too engrossed in his Information Pack to make a choice in groups, but Abby, who was positively buzzing with excitement, pushed him up to the Rat. They were soon joined by a handsome Parrot and a Busty Doe with long blonde hair.

As the rat strolled through the campus, pointing out various buildings and reading from a script everyone was pretty certain he was told to learn before the date, but never did, Zach found his schedule and began to pore over it.

'Aha!' he beamed, tracing his fingers down the spread sheets. The middle of the week was packed down with various introductory courses, but his weekends were clear gaps, and free periods were scattered throughout. The Rat explained that if there was any red cells on his schedule, that meant he would need to go to the Student Advisor as this meant there were overlapping courses. Luckily, there weren't any on Zach's page.

'You're doing Arts?' Abby asked, squinting over his shoulder.

'Literature,' Zach replied, not looking up from the page. 'I want to be a writer. Maybe a journalist.'

'I could see that!' Abby nodded enthusiastically.

'We'll see,' Zach mumbled, pushing the schedule back into the bag. He thought briefly on what the Dean had said about the Drop-Out rate. A small twinge of doubt pooled in his stomach. 'What are you doing?' he asked her.

'Software Engineering!' she enthused. 'Basically programming,' she added 'But I like the sound of 'Software Engineer' better than 'Programmer.'

'Cool,' Zach grinned back. He had to admire her determination, she looked like she was struggling, hauling that massive backpack around. 'Isn't that supposed to be really difficult?' he asked, trying not to sound like a jerk.

'I got a Scholarship!' she replied. 'Back in High School I made a Program that locks a PC down that can be unlocked only with an Phone App. I only made it as an IT Project, but the next thing I know, My Teacher wants to publish it in a magazine, and well...' she trailed off, as they passed a square building with glassed walls, the Campus Gym. Facing away from the window they were immediately passing, on the other side of the room was a row of Treadmills, most of which were free, except for a large tiger in a black tank-top. He was running at a decent speed, ear buds connected to his phone, resting on the console in front of him. Zach had to Stop and admire as well. Of course he couldn't see the Tiger from the font, but he could definitely appreciate the Rear shaking in front of him. He blushed a little, his eyes darting away as Abby stopped admiring the view as well.

'My Mom said I should apply for a Scholarship,' she continued. 'I didn't think it would be worth it, but they were pretty impressed with my Work, so, yeah...' she grinned, but her smile faded as she looked around. The Rat and the others had moved on. They cast their gaze around and found them moving into a Quad a few yards ahead.

'Shit!' she breathed, and began to awkwardly sprint after them, her backpack clattering as she ran.

The two of them caught up as the Rat was seemingly answering one of the Parrot's questions.

'-eally depends on what you're using it for,' he explained, his script hanging limply by his side. 'But yeah, it's a real life saver. But word of advice?' he looked around the Quad and when he saw no one leaned in, 'The Dean says it's all good with the town, but there are some places who don't accept the cards, even though the pamphlet says they do.' He brought his fingers up and began to count, 'Sal's Pizza, Modorishi Café, The Buzz. The Dean says he's going to talk to the owners soon, but you just gotta know the places that accept it. There's a message board on the Portal with a list of places who don't accept it or are really rude to students. It's worth giving it a look.' He nodded, pretty satisfied with his answer. 'Oh, and speaking of which!' he blurted out, a look of realisation washing over his face, 'you guys are gonna need to bring some Picture ID back to the Auditorium.'

'Picture ID?' Zach felt an uneasy wave wash over him.

'Yah!' the Rat nodded. 'They use it for Verification Purposes. No ID, No Card.'

'I forgot my Wallet!' Zach moaned. 'Do I really need it?'

'Uh-Huh,' the Rat replied. 'The Admin guy who makes them comes in on Orientation day, otherwise you're going to have to wait until Tuesday.'

Zach's heart sank a little. Ever since the Dean had mentioned that the Campus had a gym, he had felt a little buzz of excitement. He could never afford Gym Fees before, having never held down a job. He was eager to try it out, and with two and a half days before his first class, he had really been hoping to jump in this evening, maybe early tomorrow morning.

'What time does the Signup end?' Abby asked, butting into the conversation. The Rat looked a little taken aback.

'U-Uh,' he stammered. 'Four pm?'

Abby turned to Zach. 'You have a car?' she asked, with a serious look on her face.

'Um-' Zach looked between her and the Rat, 'N-No.'

'I'll give ya a lift!' she replied.

'W-Wait!' Jake stammered.

'It's no big deal!' she added. 'Where do you live?'

Zach blushed a little as he looked around the small group. The Rat looked a little afraid of Abby. The Macaw snickered a little.

'U-Um,' Zach bleated. He searched his memory, trying to remember the address. He had only spent one night there, but had made a note of it on his way there that morning so he wouldn't get lost on the walk home. 'Plymouth Street? In Valleyviews?' He suddenly felt very stupid. Why was he sharing this information openly like this, and how had she managed to get him to do it?

Abby thought for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she concentrated. 'If we leave now, we can be back here by two thirty!' she finally blurted out, finishing her calculations.

'N-No,' Jake stammered again, but she cut him off.

'Really, it's no trouble!' she grinned. She grabbed him by the wrist and began to walk him off. He could only stand agape as she tugged him by the wrist away from the group.

'D-Do you guys know where to go?' The rat called after them. 'The Auditorium!?'

'Yeah!' Zach called back.

The two had made it across the Quad and through an open arch to a stretching green. On the other side was the student parking lot.

'Wait!' Jake slowed himself down. Abby tried to continue, but stopped when Zach slowed to a grinding halt. She looked at him with a bit of confusion. He realised, he was frowning, so he tried to shift it from his face. 'Look, it's not that I'm not grateful,' he gave her a confused grin, 'but why are you helping me?'

Abby frowned, she looked a little hurt. 'I-I Dunno,' she stammered slightly. 'Because we're friends.'

Zach looked a little a puzzled at her response.

'O-Okay,' he replied. 'We're friends, but we only met like, an hour ago. I mean, I could be an asshole.'

Abby gave a slight shake of her head. 'You're not an asshole,' she replied. 'You're nice to me.'

Zach raised an eyebrow. 'You know that doesn't necessarily mean I'm a nice person, right?'

'Look,' Abby cut across in a slightly sad monotone. 'I get it. I'm weird. But you're the first person I've met who didn't try to ditch me. You may have already figured it out, but I had a pretty shitty time in High School...'she trailed, off a pained look flashing across her eyes. 'I got a little excited,' she muttered.

Zach sighed a little, feeling like an asshole. He cupped her shoulder.

'I'm sorry, Abby,' he murmured. She looked down at her feet. 'Thank you for helping me.'

She looked up and grinned. 'A-are,' she stammered. 'Are we supposed to hug?'

Jake gave an incredulous laugh.

'Well I don't know!' she chuckled, giving his light frame a shove.

'Maybe another time,' Zach grimaced. 'Not much of a hugger.'

Abby sniffled, and pointed to the Parking Lot. 'My Scooter's over here,' she said. 'Come On!' she resumed walking. Zach followed.

'A Scooter?' he asked, giving a jogging burst to catch up to her.

She nodded. 'I live in town!' she enthused. 'I'm a Local!'

'Me Too!' Jake smiled.

'I know!' she nodded. 'Earlier you said you left your Wallet at home. If you were living in the dorms, you would have said Dorms!'

They arrived at a footpath and kept following it around to the parking lot. 'You said you were from Georgia,' she continued. 'When did you move out?'

'Yesterday.' Jake replied, puffing a little to maintain the brisk walking place.

They walked down the steps to the parking lot. Abby walked up to a bright red scooter. Zach's eyes widened in horror a little. It looked like something out of a Doctor Seuss Book. Abby opened up a satchel on the side, under the foot well and pulled out a Helmet. 'I'm sorry,' she muttered, throwing the Helmet over her head and buckling it up. I don't have a second helmet. I mean,' she swing her leg over the body and lowered herself down onto it, while Jake watched. 'I do, but I hate carrying it around and I don't use it all that often so I left it at home.' She pulled her keys out of her left pocket and jangled them between her fingers. She found the one she was looking for, and jammed it into the ignition. The engine roared to life, or more accurately it whined to life.

'Don't worry though!' she called over the engine. 'I'll take the backstreets, so the Cops will leave us alone! Hop on!'

Zach frowned. 'Uh, Abby?' he called out over the engine. She turned her neck backwards. Zach was staring at her backpack, which was so comically large it took up the entire passenger spot behind her, extending out to the rear bumper frame. She frowned, and killed the ignition. The Scooter hushed immediately. 'Ah.' she puzzled. She gave a brief thought, before dismounting. She sat on the seat facing sideways for a moment. Zach raised an eyebrow, watching her with interest.

'It's fine, Abby,' Jake grinned. 'I can just wait til Monday.'

Abby chewed her bottom lip. She sat on the scooter, deep in thought. Zach wondered if she was okay, before she shot to her feet.

'No!' she exclaimed. She peeled the backpack off, and twisted it from behind her. She went down on her knee, and unzipped it. 'Doctor Allyn says I need to stop clinging to the past,' she said determinedly. 'I'm not in high school anymore. This is a new chapter of my life,' she reached in and pulled out the white bag inside. 'So it's time to stop clinging to the past.' She turned her head towards the Goat. 'Can I ask you to hold onto this for me?'

'Oh!' Zach responded, understanding what was going on. 'No, Abby, it's fine, really!'

'No!' she replied dismissively. 'It's fine! This thing has always been so heavy and clunky!'

'I really don't think-' Zach began, but was cut off by the Cat.

'I made this for a con two years ago, Dude,' she gave him a grin with flash of sparkling bottle-green eyes. 'I only brought it because I don't have another bag.'

'And what are you going to do tomorrow?' Zach mused, leaning back and folding his arms. 'When you need it for classes?'

'Tomorrow's Saturday, Dude.' She grinned. 'I'll just have to get one for Monday on the weekend.'

Zach sighed. Abby thrust the information packet into his hands. It was clear she wasn't going to take no for an answer. He accepted the packet, and flipped his satchel open, tucking it next to his own. Abby stood up and tucked the backpack under her arm, with a bit of difficulty.

'Be Right Back!' she grinned, marching over to a Dumpster perched just off of the parking lot.

Zach flipped his satchel closed again and watched as Abby struggled to lift the top, and squashing the backpack into the small opening she did make. Guilt washed about him as she worked. He made a solemn vow that he would replace her backpack.

You gotta have money to buy Backpacks, Genius, his inner voice chided from within. His heart sank a little as he knew it was right. He reflected upon the Duck's offer from last night. The thought of working didn't exactly excite him, but he did figure it would be nice not having to go to his dad every time he wanted something. He began to get a slight tingling sensation in his fingertips, associated with excitement as he realised he'd be able to buy whatever he wanted. His mind skimmed over game consoles, a gaming PC...sex toys...

He blushed crimson. True, he might have been a virgin, but he had a healthy curiosity nonetheless.

His thoughts of self-gratification were interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind him.

Zach turned. Strolling towards him, were a very tall Pitbull, and a shorter orange cat, with tight cropped black hair on his head. Each wore casual clothes, tee-shirts, jeans and sneakers so couldn't be mistaken for faculty. Each had a messenger bag like his slung over opposing shoulders. The Pit-Bull wore a red baseball cap, slung backwards over his head. Both were chatting animatedly, both completely oblivious to the world around them.

Of course, what really caught Zach's eye, was the fact that the two of them were holding hands.

The couple drew level with him, and Zach gave a heavy gulp.

It was only at this point did he understand now, just how different everything was.

Growing up in Macon, Zach had become aware of his sexuality at twelve, roughly the time that the other boys in his class were coming into the terrifying field of puberty. Of course, the majority of them became really weird around girls. Some would get rough with them, played pranks on them, tease and bully them. This was the majority, sadly, and most of these boys grew into awkward teenagers, with spotty faces and squeaking voices. Zach had always found this to be the most ironic joke of life: the moment you started gaining an interest in sex, and wanted to attract people to you, life made you as unattractive as it possibly could, both in looks and personality.

A few boys cottoned on fairly early, and adopted a more effective, if somewhat sleazy approach to girls, by being charming and complimentary. Yes, it was just as greasy as it sounds, but to girls who had been going through puberty for a year or more before the boys did, it was somewhat effective. Suddenly boys were taking an interest in them, and it would prove to be very exciting.

Of course, the girls weren't stupid, and cottoned onto this approach fairly quickly.

And so life continued for the idiot teenagers of Macon. Some grew into their bodies, others didn't. Some became creepy in their approach to the opposite sex, some were gifted with the ability to charm the ever-loving pants off whoever they sought out. Zach felt his entire teenage years, like he was trapped in a bubble, watching as everyone around him changed, while he himself remained as he was. After a while it became apparent to him that he had no interest in chasing girls. That was fine, there were a few who didn't. But as the years wore on the number of seemingly asexual individuals began to dwindle.

Some time, during the ninth grade, Zach's Gym class were instructed to meet out on the soccer pitch. Most of them were under the impression that they were going to learn the fundamentals of soccer, but were honestly surprised to find targets set up in a row at the far end of the field. Mr Prave, the Gym Teacher, a large Puma, arrived shortly after the majority of the class, a huge cage on wheels rolling undertow. He asked for a hand unpacking the trolley, and it became apparent that the day for Zach and his classmates had arrived: the fabled day they were to be taught archery. Not being a stranger to physical activity, having been a member of the school swimming team, Zach was still surprised to learn just how difficult Archery was. The coach explained the difference between Recurve, Compound and Crossbows. Zach had also played more than his fair share of videogames in his life, so got excited about the prospect of crossbow, only to learn that the school only had Recurve. The class had been pretty abysmal for the whole class. Only two hits were recorded, one on the outer frame of the target and the other centre left of the bullseye, but as the Frog who had fired it had hit the target next to his, it wasn't nearly as impressive. Or even impressive at all. Zach, however, had been having an even worse time. Unable to even pull the draw back as far as it could go for the first half hour, he wobbled uncontrollably until he let it go. The Coach had refused to give any students an actual arrow until they could prove they had the strength to use it, to avoid any misfires, which was a wise move it transpired. A chubby Fox had to go to the school nurse, after he sustained a nasty graze from the bow shredding into his forearm. After which, most students hadn't been as eager to fire the weapons. As Zach stood with the bow, he leaned backwards thinking it would give him extra strength, only to reach wobble-status a few inches short of his best effort.

'Easy there, Donoghue,' Mr Prave had ushered jogging over to him. Most of the class had either given up in disgust and were talking in huddled groups amongst themselves or were taking pot-shots at the target range. The Puma grabbed the Drawstring of the bow and slid the goat's fingers down an inch. 'Find the centre,' he explained. 'Also your stance is all outta whack, here-' he helped guide the string back and stood behind Zach. He kicked his feet into Zach's feet, causing them to slide outwards a little. 'Feet shoulder width apart,' he explained, nudging the Goat's foot a few inches to the left, 'Chest Parallel to your hips,' he grabbed Zach by the shoulders and rotated him, 'And now,' he sidled in to Zach, his body flush with the Goats. Zach immediately went numb, his entire face beginning to flush. He could feel the warmth of the older male on his back, all the way down to the small of his torso, just above his ass. Suddenly, two powerful arms wrapped around him, connecting with his own, paling in comparison. The Puma wrapped his hands around the boys, and aimed upwards. As he didn't have an arrow, he didn't need to aim at the target yet. 'Line up your shot, Deep Breath In,' he gave a long drawn out inhale. Zach felt the man's chest push into the nape of his neck a little more, 'And out,' he breathed out. 'Now pull it back.' Zach wasn't sure if it was the coach helping him or the stance correction had worked, but he managed to wrench the draw back to its full capacity. Zach would later be grateful that nobody had been paying attention, and that Mr Prave wasn't able to see his face from that angle. He could feel the heat rising from his cheeks. 'There ya go!' the Puma encouraged. 'And when you've got the target lined up, release!' He let go of the string at the same time as Zach. Shot back to its original position with a 'Phwap!' as it sliced the air. Mr Prave took a step back. Zach was suddenly very aware of the cool air on his back, and a familiar tightness in his shorts no stranger to any teenager. He gulped, unable to connect words to his lips.

'We'll have you at the Olympics in no time!' the Puma beamed, cupping him on the shoulder. 'We'll try again next week, give you an arrow to fire too, huh?' Zach had begun a small pant. He prayed to any god who might have been listening the Coach couldn't see it. His head tipped forward and back a few times, in what was the most awkward interpretation of a nod his mind could muster. Mr Prave looked over his shoulder.

'Ellis!' he roared, turning on the spot. 'What did I tell you about aiming at anyone!? No, I don't care that it's not loaded!'

Zach's pant increased as he felt Mr Prave's presence fade. His knees felt weak, his heart was hammering in his chest, and had begun to sweat a little.

Looking back at his life, Zach knew that this was the realisation that he liked men. Of course he had had clues up until that point but he had always had the veil of not knowing for sure to hide around. Now he stood alone on a patch of soccer field, holding a bow with one hand and nursing an erection. He took a few deep breaths, and hoped nobody would come over to talk to him.

Of course, while this revelation may have been some comfort to him development-wise, Growing up Gay in Macon had provided challenges. The previous night, Jake had explained his own self-discovery and had highlighted that in his time, being gay was considered a sickness. Wellbeing a child of the late nineties had seen some societal change, but in communities in the South, it was still treated as taboo. Nobody talked about it. Whenever he went to high school parties, Zach would hear in whispered hush from gossipy girls he was friends with that someone a few schools over came out as gay. When it was followed up with where that person was that night, nobody of course knew, because they hadn't been invited. It wasn't that Zach believed that anything was wrong with him. He had grown up in full acceptance of who he was and began to see all Anti-Gay Causes to be the Homophobic Hate-Speech they were, but there was just something terrifying to revealing who he was to his friends. He didn't know anyone else at school who was gay, and if there were, they certainly kept it under wraps. He didn't think his parents knew any gay people they were friends with, the irony only becoming apparent to Zach many years later. One spring in Eleventh Grade, Zach had visited a Steak House in Macon his parent's had visited for his birthday. The meal was great, and Zach loved the restaurant, because it had a Juke Box with all his favourite songs on it. But the night had taken a sour turn sometime after the Entrees had arrived. As Zach downed potato skins, a waitress, a Deer in a beige uniform with short cropped blonde hair and too much mascara had entered the dining room with a Shake in a Hurricane Glass. She was young, definitely in her teens. Jake had motioned to her to ask for another dipping sauce as she approached, which she had completely ignored. She marched over to the booth across from the table they sat at, where to men, a Leopard and an Alsatian, chatted animatedly among each other. 'Here ya go!' she shouted over the din of the dining room and the jukebox, 'Compliments of the Management!' she upturned the shake over the Alsatian, who leapt up in horror as the viscous liquid ran down his head and onto his shirt.

'Hey what the Fuck!' the Leopard spat, standing up. The dog looked in shock, as he watched his shirt get more and more ruined as the shake dripped lower and lower.

The Deer slammed the empty glass on the table in front of the Alsatian. 'We don't want your business here!' she spat at the feline. 'I saw you two! Playin' footsies under the table!' she pointed at the Leopard like he was a convicted felon. 'We don't serve fags here!'

'You stupid bitch!' the Alsatian roared. It seemed he had finally overcome his shock and was holding his shirt away from his body. 'You're gonna pay for this!' he snarled. He took a step forward, but the Leopard reached out and stopped him in his tracks.

'Don't!' he hissed.

'What are you gonna do!?' the Deer shot a grin at the Dog. 'Give me a Disease? You fucking disgust me!' she spat on the floor at his feet.

At the entrance to the dining room, a team of servers rushed over to the table. A tall giraffe had begun to dab with a napkin, somewhat uselessly at the Alsatian's shirt. A wolf in a button-up grabbed the deer by the wrist and started to tug.

'Get Offa Me!' she screeched, wrenching her arm from his grip.

'Get out Lu!' the Wolf growled, pointing at the door.

'I aint leavin'!' she glared back.

'You're fired!' the Wolf spat.

Her eyes widened in shock. She pointed at the cat again, 'These guys are Fags!' she spat.

'GET THE FUCK OUT!' the Wolf roared. The restaurant went silent, the only noise was Whitney Shafer crooning about how all his Exes live in Texas.

The Deer huffed and stamped her foot. 'Fine!' she hissed, stomping out the front door. She walked passed the window to the dining room and shouted something to the street in front, pointing in through the window. Zach didn't hear what was being said, but wasn't really paying attention. There was something inside his stomach making him feel an odd mix of fear, anger and anxiety.

The manager rushed over to the diners, and begun to talk to them, making many gestures wildly with his hands. The conversation looked animated, but Zach couldn't hear anything over the pounding in his ears. He looked back to the window. The Deer was gone, but what shocked him the most, was that most of the other tables had gone back to eating, chatting and drinking. A few tables away, an older couple looked over to the Alsatian and Puma. The old woman, a human with a tight bun, glared. Her husband gave a small disapproving shake of the head. He looked back at the confusion. At no point had he seen any of the Foot play the waitress had described, if it had happened at all!

'Come on,' Alyssa mumbled. She reached for her purse and stood up. 'We're leaving.'

Zach and Jake both stood up without argument and followed suit.

At the checkout, the Manager rushed over after his discussion with the unfortunate victims. The Alsatian stormed into the bathroom, the Leopard walked passed them in the middle of dialling his phone.

'I am so Sorry,' the Wolf muttered as he dashed up to the counter. 'This never happens, I assure you!' he added breathlessly. Alyssa looked at him with a cold glare. 'Please,' he continued shrinking a little as he spoke to her, 'I want to make it clear that she in no way speaks for management or the beliefs of anyone here-' he made gestured wildly as he spoke. 'Then next time,' Alyssa cut across him, stopping him dead in his tracks. 'You should vet your people a little more closely before giving them a job.'

The wolf froze and gave an embarrassed nod. He had tried to comp their meal, but Alyssa had refused to accept it. She said she would pay the full price for the entrees, as that was what they had received, but nothing more.

As she walked out, Jake shook his head at the wolf, disappointedly.

They caught up to Alyssa outside. She was giving the Leopard, who was holding the phone a foot from his face, frowning at her. She muttered something and pulled a card out of her purse. He looked at it for a moment, but accepted it thankfully, before turning back to his conversation.

They had gone to a different restaurant a few blocks away for Zach's birthday instead. A Ramen Place. The night wasn't a total loss. He had discovered his love for soupy noodles that evening.

His entire life, this set of responses to Gay People in the southern community had been pretty standard. People would either ignore the mistreatment of their fellow man, or outwardly oppose it. His entire life, the only gay people Zach knew were people who flew the flag of Gay Rights. People who were mad as hell that the community saw them as a mistake, and wanted nothing but acceptance. He could count the number of people in this category that he knew personally on one hand, and even then, he never knew them very personally. So he had lived his life repressed. Accepting who he was, and knowing that the antiquated views of his sexual preference were still somewhat mainstream.

And yet here, in open daylight, two men walked hand-in-hand, proudly out in the open.

Zach gaped. He watched as the two drew even with him and walked on, towards the stairs that he and Abby had just bounded down. They showed no sign of acknowledging anyone's presence as they talked.

'Oh my god!'

Zach snapped his mouth shut, and swung his head around. Abby had returned and was standing next to him with a look of wonder on her face. She looked at the couple who just passed and back to him.

'Oh my god!' she repeated, a broad smile beginning to crawl over her features. 'Zach,' she grabbed his shoulder, a little more painful than he was used to from anyone, 'Are you gay?!'

The same numbness that accompanied the discussion with his dad the night before washed over him. He felt heat rise in his neck and spill out in every direction across his face.

'N-N,' he stammered, instinct beginning to take over. He was about to go full denial, when he felt Abby's grip loosen and her other hand touching his forearm gently. He looked her in the eye, a mistake, as another burst of heat shot up. He looked at his feet. Why did he feel embarrassment at this? His reason replied immediately.

You haven't come out to anyone yet.

He took a deep breath. Abby's smile faded slightly.

'Yeah.' He muttered not looking up.

A year passed in Zach's mind. He felt a stab of embarrassment as he began to drag the truth back into a cage to be locked up forever, when a loud shrieking whine almost physically knocked him off his feet. He thought he might go deaf in one ear, as Abby's grip tightened again. She began to hop from one foot to the other, jostling him as he did.

'EEEEEeeeeee!' she squealed, beaming in utter excitement. 'Oh my god!' she squealed. She wrenched him forward and into a bone crushing hug. Zach felt all the air in his body compress and shoot out his nostrils. As his entire head was rough 100 degrees, this was accompanies by a little snot as well.

'Oh my God!' she let go and jumped backwards, pulling around in an excited dance that rotated her in circles on the spot.

'My first friend is Gay!' she squeaked excitedly. 'My first friend is a Gay Guy! Oh my god!' she stopped mid circle, facing away. 'He's also my best friend! My best friend is my Gay Friend!' she babbled, resuming her excited dance.

'O-Okay!' Zach stammered, grabbing her by the arm, stopping her mid-rotation. 'N-Nobody knows yet!' he added desperately looking around the parking lot. Empty. 'You're the first person I've ever told! But you gotta keep it a secret!'

Abby tilted her head slightly 'Why?'

Zach frowned in confusion.

'Oh never mind!' the smile leaping back across her face. 'Okay!' she nodded, grabbing his arm again. 'I promise I won't tell!' she tried to affect a serious tone, forcing her smile into a grimace, very unconvincingly. 'I won't tell.' She repeated, but couldn't keep it up for every long, the excitement back in full swing. She did a few more rotations before stopping. 'This is so exciting!' she squealed. 'My first friend in ten years, and he's a cute gay goat!' She turned and grasped him by the hand. 'I thought it would take years!' she excitedly exclaimed. 'Years of Research, Trial and Error...But here you are!' she beamed proudly, which fell slightly, 'Oh,' she continued, her eyes widening a little. 'I'm sorry for calling you cute,' she mumbled embarrassedly. 'If that made you uncomfortable, I promise it won't happen again.'

'I-It's fine.' Jake stuttered, getting more embarrassed by the moment. At least she wasn't shouting anymore. 'We should go, yeah?' he chipped in, hoping full well it would end the conversation.

Abby frowned and tilted her head slightly, before her ears perked back up. 'Oh Yeah!' she grinned. 'Come on!' she hopped back on the scooter. Zach felt his heart hammering in his chest.

The scooter zipped down quiet suburban streets. They passed very few people. The few cars they did meet shot a look of interest at the ludicrous design of the scooter, but Zach couldn't get a good look at anyone's reaction for long enough. Abby's driving was skilful, yes, but also incredibly terrifying. She mounted burbs and took corners on the sidewalk, before spilling back onto the road. She had assured him that there wouldn't be any cops, which Zach was grateful for, because if any of them saw this driving it would end in a car chase.

'Down this one!' Zach shouted over the motor, pointing out to a street he was familiar with. Abby peeled out across the sidewalk and clattered down into traffic. If he had been riding his bicycle, the landing from the sidewalk to the road from this height could squish a ball. With Abby's driving, he was fairly certain every available extension of his torso was coiled up back inside him.

'Take the next right!' Zach called out hugging the Cat's waist as tight as he could. 'And it's on that street!'

'So you never came out because of what happened at the Restaurant!?' Abby called out. They had had as in depth a discussion as they could on the way over. Abby was very inquisitive.

'No!' Zach called out, as she took the turn at full speed. He really wished he had a helmet. 'There were a few things that stopped me. I was just sayin' that was really damaging!' They passed an old Human on a Mobility Scooter. He shot them the Devil Horns and smiled. Abby waved. Zach would have laughed, but if he opened his mouth he would probably have screamed. Abby's scooter hit the stoop of the sidewalk and bounced off. She corrected her course in time, for Zach to point at the Apartment Complex ahead. 'That's the one!' he shouted desperately.

She pulled up at the Curb, and killed the engine before the Scooter had come to a complete stop.

'I dunno,' she pushed down the kickstand and leaned back into him. Her head awkwardly rested on his shoulder. He would have been uncomfortable, but at least he was alive. 'I mean, it's your story,' she added, pulling the helmet off her head. 'But it was just a shitty moment at a restaurant. In my family, that's a regular Thanksgiving.' She swung her leg over the seat and stood up. Zach realised his entire body was frozen in its position, he cradled the space she took up a moment before. She popped open the saddlebag and deposited her helmet. 'Just seems like there's more to it, you know?'

'W-What are you,' Zach stuttered. He forced himself to move. It reminded him of those old cartoons where they pulled the duck from the ice and his limbs moved stiff and creaky. 'A shrink?'

She helped him up. He had never been so grateful to be on solid ground.

'Sorry.' She muttered softly. Zach was about to admonish her driving but he realised in time she meant for needling for information. She had done this a few times on the ride over. Zach briefly wondered if she was doing it for sympathy.

'It's fine.' He added, taking a shaky step towards the Complex. 'You're right, anyway.'

'Oh?' Abby with a grin, raising an eyebrow. She did seem to enjoy being right, this one.

'Yeah.' Zach muttered. Abby looked at him with a happy grin and raised her eyebrows urging him to continue. He shot her a filthy look. When it became apparent he wasn't going to talk she pushed further.

'Might make you feel better to talk about it?' she wheedled.

'I don't wanna talk about it,' Jake muttered. They reached the door. He fumbled for his keys before bringing them to his face. They were still new and there were three of them so he wasn't sure which one was correct. Jake had tossed him the set last night when they had arrived, but they used Jake's set to get in. 'Also,' he added, trying the first of three. 'Remember when you told me to tell you when to shut up?' The key inserted, but didn't twist in the lock.

'Nuh-Uh!' she grinned cheekily. 'I said to tell me if I don't pick up on social cues!'

Zach looked her in the eye.

'Shut up.' He grimaced. Abby rolled her eyes.

'Fine!' she grinned rocking on her feet. 'But if we're gonna be friends, you gotta tell me some time.'

He fixed her with a questioning glance as he turned the second key in the lock. The handle rotated, and the door opened. 'Hey!' she added, throwing up her hands in mock surrender. 'I don't makes the rules. I just enjoys em.'

Zach scowled. They entered the building, door slamming closed behind him. He walked up to the service elevator they used the night before to haul mattresses, and wrenched the door open. Both he and Abby stepped in and he closed the door behind them pressing 3 on the number pad.

The elevator lurched upwards, and Zach had a sudden realisation. 'Oh.' He moaned to himself. 'Shit.'

'What?' Abby flinched.

'I just uh,' he looked at the dial over the door. It hit three and the elevator stopped. He gave a small sigh. 'Can you do me a favour?' he asked. He opened the metal frame door.

'Sure.' she replied with a confused frown.

'Can you take a look in the hallway, for me?'

She shrugged and stepped into the hallway. She squinted and scanned the walls. 'What am I looking for?'

'A pair of goggles.' Zach groaned. He hadn't spared his dad's situation any thought on the trip over, having made a huge leap in his own journey of self-discovery on the way over.

'Goggles?' she repeated, squinting harder.

'Yeah,' he replied. 'Swimming Goggles. On the Doorknob?'

She frowned and stared at a point in front of her.

'Nope.' She muttered. 'Not there. Are they supposed to be?'

Zach peeked his head out from behind the door. The Door to the apartment was indeed, sans goggles.

'Never mind,' he sighed in relief. 'I'll tell you later.'

He walked over to the door Abby in Tow. He just hoped his dad had taken his request to heart. He reached for the handle and it opened, unlocked as he had left it that morning.

The living room was even more cluttered than when he had left, the number of boxes opened now totalling some 90%. The room he had left that morning was beige carpeted and cream-walled, but was now a little more colourful as some personal items had been removed from the boxes and scattered around the room in the general place they were going to live. The flat-packs of furniture, which that morning had been stacked on a far wall of the living room were now torn open, bits of cardboard, Styrofoam and packing sheet were cluttering the open space, but no sign of furniture could be seen, save for the dining table, which stood successfully assembled in a bright nook of the room in the far corner. Zach's bed, which had been dismantled in Macon was also gone, presumably now assembled in his room. Zach couldn't see anyone so stepped inside. That was when he registered the music. His dad's portable radio sat on the table, Pinball Wizard was just wrapping up. Zach frowned. His dad never left that running.

He looked into the kitchen, and found two figures in close formation. Jake stood at the counter, a scattering of jars and a bag of bread in view. They had bought them at the beginning of the trip in case they wanted a sandwich. Lane was behind him, the tall horse pushed up very close to the older goat. His arms entwined around the Goat's midriff. They were both fully clothed, but it seemed like an extremely intimate moment. Zach froze. As far as he could tell his Dad was preparing sandwiches. Lane leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Jake's neck, who tilted his head back and gave a soft audible moan, reaching up to stroke the horses face.

Abby gasped from beside Zach.

All three men leaped into the air. 'SHIT!' Jake roared, whipping around, brushing Lane to the side as he did so, who tumbled backwards in fear. Jake brandished the butter knife wildly for a moment, until he focussed on his son. 'Oh fuck, Zach!' he seethed, clutching at his heart. 'You scared the shit outta us!'

Lane gave an audible laugh. He leaned against the sink, panting heavily as adrenaline surged throughout him.

'S-Sorry!' Zach blurted out. He hoped he wasn't as red as he felt. 'I didn't mean t-to...' he looked at Abby, who had a small blush rising in her cheeks as well. 'I just forgot my wallet!' he exclaimed.

Jake gasped for air. 'Jesus Christ,' he panted, putting the knife down. 'Give your old man a heart attack!' He pointed at the unfamiliar girl 'I saw her first and I thought...Oh shit,' he leaned back on the counter. He sat for a moment, a smile spreading across his lips. He leaned forward and strolled over to the pair in front of him. He offered his hand to the cat, 'Hi,' he grinned sheepishly. 'I'm Jake. Sorry I thought you were trying to rob us.' Abby took Jakes hand and shook it. 'I'm Abby.' She blushed. She couldn't keep eye contact with him. 'Zach's Friend.'

'Nice to meet you, Abby,' Jake grinned. 'Sorry, my son didn't tell me he was going to be bringing guests back to our very messy home,' he glared at Zach, 'Or indeed, he would be back so soon.'

'I just need my wallet,' Zach mumbled. 'Then we'll be out of your hair again.'

'N-No,' Jake stumbled. He looked back at Lane and then back to his son. 'It's fine, really. I just thought you wouldn't be back until four, like you said.'

'I need my License,' he replied sheepishly. 'For my Campus Pass.'

'Well don't let me stop ya,' Jake grinned, motioning to the dining table. Zach squinted and found his wallet sitting on top, almost blending into the grain. 'Found it this morning when we assembled your bed. Oh, where are my manners?' he turned towards Lane and ushered him over. The horses ears perked up and he got off the counter. 'Abby!' he smiled, 'This is Lane.' Abby gaped a little as the Horse drew near. He offered her a hand, which she accepted, but also couldn't keep eye contact with him.

'Nice to meetcha, Miss.' Lane beamed.

There was a moment of silence, before Abby turned to Zach, 'I need to make a call!' she announced, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She fumbled with it slightly. 'It was lovely meeting you all!' she lilted, before turning around and gliding from the room. Jake and Lane watched her with curiosity. She closed the door behind her.

'Sh-She's fine,' Zach noted to the couple. 'She's a little awkward around new people.'

'I'll say.' grinned Jake.

The room echoed with noiselessness.

'I uh,' Lane punctured it, 'I should probably be going, anyway.' He shuffled nervously.

'No!' Zach exclaimed. He hadn't meant to end anything, and felt slightly guilty that he had. 'Don't be silly, I gotta head out again anyway, Stay!' he scooped his wallet off the table and put it in his pocket.

'Naw,' Lane shook his head. 'It's cool. I mean it's getting kind of late, maybe we sh-'

'Seriously?' Zach gave him a cool grin. 'Stay, okay? I gotta head out anyway.'

'It's fine,' Jake shook his head. 'We should really-'

'Enough!' Zach shouted exasperatedly. Jake and Lane stopped babbling. 'Seriously, how long has it been since you guys saw each other?' he looked between the two of them 'Six Months!? You're really going to pretend like you don't miss each other!? After six months!?' The room went quiet, as both older men began to blush and shift nervously on the spot. Zach gave a deep sigh. He needed to dial it back. 'Dad,' he said in a calmer voice, 'Last night you agreed you wouldn't keep any secrets from me anymore, right? Well let's change that, huh? How about instead, you agree to treat me like an adult? The reality is, you two are dating, and I honestly don't mind. In fact I'm happy for the two of you!' The redness had spread to lanes ears. Zach liked how he was able to get this reaction from the mountainous Horse. 'I'm going back to School.' Zach stated loudly. 'Then, Abby said she wants to get a bite to eat,' he felt a prick of shame as he wove the lie, which he rationalized wasn't completely false. He had forgotten to grab the Danishes on his way out that morning, and the last time he ate was at Al's the night before. 'I will be back at,' he looked at his watch. 'Six-Thirty. If you guys want to spend a bit more time together, just let me know!' He gave a brief laugh at the sight of two grown men, one who had raised him, before him blushing. Without waiting for a response, he started for the door, before coming to a halt at the threshold. 'Uh,' he turned back towards them, 'But before I do that, can I speak to you for a second, Dad?'

Jake looked up from his feet and shook his head with a cheeky grin.

'You need Cash, right?' he asked, raising an eyebrow.

'Uh,' he felt himself blush a little. 'Yeah.' He turned back to his old man and walked over, a little embarrassment in his gait.

'How much?' he rolled his eyes, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.

Zach hesitated for a moment. 'Like...A hundred bucks?'

Jake looked up from his wallet, a look of amused shock on his face. 'Going to grab a bite at Chez Pierre?'

'Naw,' Zach shook his head with a little embarrassment. 'It's a long story, but I kinda owe her a Backpack...'

'You rogue,' Jake laughed. He pulled five notes from his wallet, and pushed them into his son's hand. 'If you're gonna start telling me off,' he added, watching Zach fold the bills and tucking them into his own wallet, 'Maybe don't then grease me up afterwards. You put in that application with Beth?'

Zach wondered briefly what he was talking about, before remembering about the night before. He had forgotten the waitresses name. 'Oh!' he exclaimed in realisation. 'N-No, not yet.'

'Well get on that,' Jake scolded. 'Can't keep living off my disposable income. Then what am I gonna buy my stupid shit with?'

'I will,' Zach grinned. 'Do we got internet yet?'

Jake nodded. 'Guy came by this morning.'

'I'll do it when I get home, then.'

'You better.' Jake grunted.

'Bye Lane!' Zach leaned around his dad's stature. 'Thanks dad, I gotta go!' he turned and walked towards the door again.

Lane raised a hand and waved but Zach stopped at the threshold again. 'Wait,' he mumbled. He whipped around, squinting at the Clutter in the room. His eyes widened as he saw a box labelled 'Zach - Misc.', and jogged over to it. It was opened, but he knew what he was looking for. He reached in and pulled out a bright red helmet, a souvenir from when his friend's all rode bikes, in the dark days before they could drive. He held it up to the room at large, and flicked his eyebrows, pursing his lips as he knew what was coming. He jogged back to the door, and out of the apartment.

'Aw,' Lane chuckled. Zach wondered what in the hell the helmet was about. 'That's cute. He's got you wrapped around his pinkie!'

'Shaddap.' Jake grumbled, returning to the kitchen.

In the hallway, Zach found Abby standing by the elevator on her phone. She looked up as he approached, excitement creeping up over her face again. She struggled to keep it contained as he approached, she pursed her lips and trembled as he approached. Zach, who was still blushing, pushed the button, before stupidly realising the elevator was on this floor, where he had left it.

'Nohmygod!' Abby finally burst, as he slid into the small metal box, following him as she began her excited dance. 'OhmygodohmygodohmYGOD!' She began to rotate on the spot again. Zach tried to ignore her, but she grabbed his arm again, as the elevator began its descent.

'You're Dad's Gay as Well!?' she Beamed excitedly.

'Y-Yeah.' he muttered.

'How does that Happen!?' she roared almost triumphantly, doing another rotation of excitement. 'Two cute Goat's move to town, both adorable, both gay!?' She grabbed his arm again. 'It's just like Match Ochimaru Love!' she blurted excitedly.

'U-Uh-' Zach stuttered as the Elevator came to the bottom floor.

'It's this Yaoi series I was really into a couple of years ago,' she explained, still buzzing. 'You guys are the absolute coolest people in town!' she added, rather loudly. 'At least that's the way it was for the main characters of M.O.L...'

'Abby!' he desperately squeaked as a mouse in a shirt and business tag entered the lobby. Abby shut her lips tight and watched the mouse as he walked passed them to the stairs. He gave a nervous glance at the couple as he passed, making a concerned look as he met Abby's gaze. Zach waited until he had rounded the corner and begun the climb. He exhaled deeply, feeling his tension abate. 'Dad doesn't know.' He whispered to the cat, whose ears went flat.

'Wait,' she took a step back and fixed him with a frown. 'What?'

Zach gave a small sigh. 'My dad doesn't know I'm gay.' He repeated, a little louder.

Abby stood agape for a moment. 'How!?' she gave a small shout. 'How does that happen!?'

'I didn't know he was gay either,' he responded. 'Until yesterday.' He added. Abby stood there, confused look washing over her. 'It's a long story,' he muttered, beginning his trek back to the scooter of doom. 'I'll fill you in on the way back to Campus...'

'Oh!' Abby piped up.

Zach stopped and looked back. 'What?'

She held up her phone, which had been in her hands the entire time. 'About that!' she concentrated on unlocking the screen, and then held it up for Zach to see. He squinted, and could just make out the College's logo.

'While you were in there, I thought I'd check out the Portal,' she explained, pointing at the screen. 'I found the page on the Passes!' she gave an accomplished smile. 'Turns out the person who makes 'em only takes people's photos today. Then in four to five business days, we get em in the mail.'

Zach heart sank a little. 'You mean even if we go back,' he asked, deflating as he spoke. 'We won't get them for another week anyway?'

'Looks like it,' Abby squinted at the screen. 'There's a message board too. One of the freshmen from last year said that the guy didn't even send the photo's in until halfway through the next week. He sounds kinda shitty about it...' she scrolled down the page. 'Ah, the College Replies: The Policy is to wait until all Photos are in before submitting them to the printers. This allows late applicants and those unable to attend Orientation to receive theirs in a timely manner.'

'Ugh,' Zach growled. 'Seems like such a waste. We get there, take a Photo and then we come back? And even then we won't get them for a week?'

'Worry not, Squire,' Abby added, her fingers furiously tapping at the screen. 'I found this in the comments...' she poked at the centre of the screen, 'Some guy calling himself "PrometheusAndHisPompadour" says that we can print out temporary passes after we sign in to the portal for the first time. They won't work with anything off Campus, but they'll let us use the library, equipment rental...' she flicked the screen lightly.

'And the Gym?' Zach asked, trying to sound uninterested.

Abby looked up for her phone, with an arrogant grin and gave a nod.

'What?' Zach asked, feeling his blush intensify. Abby raised an eyebrow humorously. 'I want to get in shape!'

'Mmm-Hmm.' Abby mumbled, sticking her phone back in her pocket. 'We get out photos taken on Monday, Blow the rest of the afternoon off, and spend the weekend admiring the view in the Gym?'

Zach huffed, feeling the blush envelop his face again.

'I like it!' she enthused. 'Good plan!'

'Not that it matters,' he muttered, trying to change the subject. He shot a look up at the ceiling. 'I kinda don't want to go back up there right now...' he sighed, realising the corner he had painted himself into. 'And I said I wouldn't be back until tonight anyway.'

'You can come to my place!' Abby blurted out. Zach raised an eyebrow. 'Yeah!' her eyes widened even further, to the point of looking almost bugged-out, 'I got a printer! We can print out both our temporary passes!'

Zach mulled it over. He really didn't have anything else in the way of choice.

'Okay,' he finally responded. 'But first, let's go to the mall. You do have a mall in this city, don't you?'

Abby tilted her head slightly.

'I owe you a backpack!' Zach gave her a small grin.

'Oh, N-No!' she stammered, raising her hands in resistance. 'There's no need to-'

'We're doing it!' Zach cut across her. She flinched a little. 'Plus, I'm starving. They have a pizza place there?'

Abby paused, and gave a small nod, enthusiasm beginning to bloom. 'I-I uh,' she stammered. 'I don't like going to the Mall, usually,' she glanced down at her feet. 'Too many people...' she looked back at Zach, 'but I've never been with a friend before...'

'How is that Possible!?' Jake gaped, astounded.

Lane threw back his head, and gave a loud whinny, which echoed around the bedroom, eliciting a moan from Jake, who was face down in the sheets, impaled on the Horse's Cock.

'Oh Fuck.' Lane hissed. He lowered himself down, so that he was laying on top of his boyfriend, and rocked his hips back and forth. The room reeked of sweat and sex, as the two lovers fucked each other into sheer bliss.

The Bed gave diminutive creaks underneath them, but it was fresh from the box, so perhaps it needed to settle into its own skeleton. The two had spent an hour assembling it, looking stupefied at the various brackets and weird screws they pulled from the Box. Lane had found the instructions, a small booklet of paper containing no words, just a dopey cartoon human, and diagrams of him assembling. He briefly thought it was better that this way. At least he wouldn't lose the English translations among the various European Dialects, so it might be even easier. He was wrong. At one point he had screwed something together that looked like an A-Frame, only to discover the next instruction wanted screws to be put in on the opposite side of an Iron bar, where no holes existed. He briefly wondered if they wanted him to make holes, but doubted it completely. They disassembled and started again. This time they got further than the last, but not much farther. The diagram advised that the A-Frame needed to be guided down to another frame with locking screws. They attempted but the holes didn't match up. They had almost given up at this point, when Jake had suggested that they try something his son had told him to do once: Look for a solution online. They had found a Youtube link that offered a step-by-step instruction for the same make and model as the bed from a handsome raccoon in a handyman's uniform assembling them piece by piece on Lane's phone. By pausing it every twenty seconds, completing the actions and then restarting, the entire process took less than 25 minutes from start to finish.

They lay the mattress on the frame, and Jake ripped open a packet of new linens he had bought for the bed, excited that he was finally going to be getting a King to himself. Lane swatted his rear and reminded him, not _all_to himself, which made the goat blush. After the bed was dressed, Lane read on the packaging it was supposed to be washed before it was used.

Jake shrugged and crumpled the package up into the recycling.

They tackled Zach's room next. They had believed it would take just as long to assemble this one, but it was pretty straightforward. Whoever made his bed had made it to be collapsed and reassembled with ease. They too completed this one in 25 minutes.

The two of them had made eye contact a few times throughout the day and had looked away, blushing deeply. Jake offered to make them some lunch, and Lane had gotten a little bolder, sneaking up behind him while he worked and beginning to caress him.

Of course it was at this moment that Zach had come home. With a friend.

Of. Fucking. Course.

He wasn't mad at Zach, nay, he was even a little proud he had made a friend, in fact she seemed a little cute, maybe his charm was more effective that he thought it was.

But Zach hadn't stayed long; in fact he wasn't there for four minutes, before heading out again.

Oh the life of a College Student. He had made a point he wouldn't be back until later that evening, which of course only made the older goat even more Crimson.

He had briefly thought that the earlier interruption would have cooled Lane's jets. Wrong again. After lunch he had asked if the Horse wanted a beer. He had gone over to the cooler to grab out two bottles, when he had felt two rough hands groping his ass as he leaned over to fish them out. He shot back up, in time to see the Horse checking him out. Lane gave him a wry smile, as he stroked and caressed the Goat's Ass. He sighed, depositing the two bottles on the counter, and taking the horse but the hand, leading him back into the bedroom.

'I've missed this ass so much,' Lane whispered into Jakes ear. The Goat felt his arm hair stand up on end, as he felt the hot warmth spread around his ear, and Lane pushed another inch of solid horse dick into his ass. 'You fuckin' ruined me!' he spat. He cradled his boyfriend's body for a brief moment, loving the tight warmth sucking down on him, before pushing himself up on his knuckles. He moaned in ecstasy, as he drove down into his lover. He grabbed a tuft of the Goat's brown hair and wrenched his head backwards so it was next to his. He turned his muzzle and grabbed the goat's earlobe, closing his lips around it and beginning to suckle.

'Ogh!' Jake moaned. He rued the day Lane had discovered his weak spot. His eyes rolled into the back of his head. 'Lane!' he shouted breathlessly to the room. The horse let go of his hair, and he fell down into the sheets again. Lane's pace increased, and the sound of his balls slapping against the goat's ass echoed throughout the house.

'I move all the way up here,' the Horse groaned, not slowing his hips, 'Try to forget about you. Miss you like fuckin' crazy!'. He stopped for a moment, and switched to slower, deep strokes. Jake let out a small bleat. 'Ah, Fuck!' Lane hissed, as he registered the Goat pushing his ass back to meet the horse's hips with every thrust, he resumed his onslaught at the quickened pace, delighted to see the Jake continued pushing back.

'But you know something?'

Jake gasped slightly as he felt the dick buried in his ass pull out over half way, and a pair of strong hands grasp his hips and push him to the side. He wondered in perhaps he intended to fuck him sideways, but was pleasantly surprised when the hand continued to push him onto his back.

The Deep Brown Horse, towering above him was, simply put, an Adonis. His toned muscles clung to his sculpted torso, his hair, long and black, was drenched in sweat, as was the rest of his body. His eyes, bottle-blue, stared into his soul, and lit him on fire!

'You ruined me!' the Horse repeated. He didn't make a move, his cock still only halfway into his lover's asshole. Jake gave a tiny moan in desperation. He couldn't even feel the medial ring. He gave a small push down, but was stopped by the horse's powerful arm pressing into his torso.

'Two months in and I'm horny as all fuck!' he spat. 'But no matter what, I can't bring myself to get back on the horse,' he gave a deep, throaty chuckle, through his panting, 'So to speak. So I figure, I'll jerk off, maybe that'll calm me down...'

He plunged down into his lover, his hips crashing on the plump cheeks beneath him. Both men gave a content groan. 'It was like ordering a Coke,' he hissed, pulling back out again, 'And getting water!' he plunged back down. Jake gave another bleat, this time louder, more desperate. 'Like trying to catch smoke,' he pulled out, 'With a butterfly net!' he crashed back into the poor goat's abused asshole. He rotated his hips slightly and gave a satisfied grunt. This was everything he remembered and then some. 'Not even a Vibrator can scratch my itch like you can, Lover Boy.' He resumed his regular pace. Jake tried to match his tempo, but found himself unable to move. His boyfriend's hard, slippery rod was gouging his insides with intensity and desperation.

There had never been another like Lane. He had been a silent, stoic guy in the sheets up until that point, loving being able to make his partner's moan and groan, but usually staying as quiet as he could. Lane had been the only exception. Their sex was loud and unabashed. Two hotels in Macon had asked them not to return.

He hadn't really been one for dirty talk, but Lane had converted him. The way he talked to him in bed, like he was a sentient fucktoy, sent chills down his spine. He gave orders, and punished him when they weren't followed, which would usually take the form of the Roughest Sex Jake had ever had, with men or women. Not that he disliked it. Far from it. He even enjoyed occasionally disobeying an order.

'So here's how this is going to go down.'

Jake had phased out, at some point his eyes had rolled back into his head, and he came crashing back to reality, when he felt his boyfriend lower himself back down onto him. He loved the way his muscles pressed into his own, still bulky, but slightly softer frame. He felt soft lips press into his and immediately began to kiss back, moaning into his lover's mouth, as their tongues began to entwine around each other. Lane wasn't moving again, but was balls deep inside, flooding Jake's synapses with the exquisite fullness he too had been craving for months now.

'I'm gonna cum inside you,' Lane finally moaned, wrenching his lips off his Boyfriend's. 'It's been a while and I've been riding the Knife's edge for a while now...' Jake nodded enthusiastically. He wanted it. He needed it bad. 'So it's not gonna take me all that long. Then we're starting this,' he swatted the Goat's ass, eliciting a shrill moan from the man beneath him. 'All over again!' he began to smile and began to rut again. 'I'm not even gonna pull out!' he moaned, as the Goat tightened around him. 'Oh fuck yeah,' he groaned, 'Keep doing that. Not really a round two, more like round one point five. You took Jerkin' Off away from me, so I figure I'm entitled to two in a row.'

Jake nodded again, rolling his eyes into the back of his head again, as the Horse began to roll his hips into his cheeks. The slimy pole inside him deviated lewdly, causing him to moan again.

'Then,' Lane powered through, his thrusts getting more frantic and desperate, 'You're going to take your fat dick,' he grabbed the goat's own package and entwined his fingers around it. It was even bigger than he remembered; he couldn't wrap his fingers around it the entire way at its widest point. Jake's eyes shot open, as the pressure inside him began to climb rapidly, his boyfriend hammering up and down into his groin. 'And put it under my tail. You're going to make me squeal like a bitch in heat-'

'Lane!' Jake moaned in Desperation. His limit was approaching quickly.

'You're going to make me feel like a girl, you understand!?' Lane hissed through gritted teeth. He could feel his balls begin to draw up into himself, signalling the edge was very, very close. 'If I'm not leaving this place walking funny, you haven't fucked me right, UnderSTAND!?' He had reached his vinegar strokes. The end was nigh.

'YES!' Jake bellowed, small white lights beginning to pop in front of his face. 'FUCK ME LANE!' he roared, as fuzzy warmth surged through his body. Searing Hot Cum arced up from the tip of his dick and over his left peck, drenching Lane's fingers with a pearly white Sheen, just as the Horse slammed home, burying his bone in the Goat's pucker.

'Oh FUCK!' Lane whinnied, as he unloaded his pent up balls into his more than willing lover.

To Jake the effect was immediate. His insides were flooded with scalding heat, which quickly cooled to pleasant warmth, which kneaded and soothed his battered insides. His every thought had turned to mush. He hadn't felt this good in months.

Lane lowered himself down and lay atop his lover, the two of them panting in earnest. Jake had brought his hand up and twirled a lock of the Horses' glorious mane around his fingers. Lane lowered his face again, and brought Jake in for a sweet, tender kiss, not filled with the fire and passion of the earlier one, but even more meaningful. He loved the way the Goat's lips tasted, and adored the way they greedily pushed back into his. At first it was long, drawn out smooching. Then soft, delicate pecks, the two of them gazing into each other's eyes, before they gave up, and focussed on regaining their breaths. Lane lay his head down on Jake's chest. He could hear the Goat's slightly elevated heartbeat.

'I'm so happy you came back,' Lane muttered, as Jack ran his fingers through his hair. The ceiling fan started tapping a series of clicks, as it reached the limit of its parabola. It continued for a moment, before the inertia brought it back to an arc it was happier to maintain. 'I was not looking forward to the Singles scene again.'

Jake chuckled slightly.

'Just the thought of going back to Singles Night at another God Damn Gay Bar...' he sighed and gently shook his head.

'Well,' the Goat murmured. 'We haven't discussed how we're going to go about all this.' He stroked the Horses cheek with his finger. He may have loved the dirty talk, but in the afterglow, he was a sweetheart, which he absolutely adored as well. 'Six months is a long time to be apart, you know? Do you want to pick up where we left off, or...?'

The Horse pondered for a moment. 'I don't know,' he finally answered. 'I mean, if I'm being honest, the thought of starting from the beginning is kind of...' he paused for a moment. 'Exciting.' He nuzzled the hand caressing his face. 'In Macon, we had to sneak around...' he trailed off for a moment. Then he pushed himself up. Jake gasped a little, as the pillar of Horse Meat inside him hadn't deflated. He glanced down. Neither had he.

'I don't want to sneak around anymore, Jake,' the Horse said, ignoring his erection. 'I don't want to hurt your feelings about this,' he added, fixing him with a Doe eyed stare that melted the already melty Goat, 'but I was getting pretty sick and tired of having to keep it a secret.'

He looked down at the goat, and reached up to his face, caressing it gently, before bringing the hand down to the Goat's firm Pecs. 'I want to go out on Dates,' he continued. 'I want to tell people the truth when they asked how I spent my weekend. I want to tell them that I was with my Boyfriend.' He half-heartedly pulled out an inch, before stuffing it back down. Both he and Jake let out audibly anxious moans. They may have still been raring to go again, but both were still extremely oversensitive. Lane sighed. He had tried to encompass everything he had felt after Macon, the Hurt, the Longing, but any attempt to put it to words would have only paled in comparison. Right now, both he and the man he had pined for these last few months were interlocked, at their most vulnerable. The sheer bliss he felt ripple throughout his body was enough to wipe the frustration away.

'I want to introduce you to my friends. Maybe even go on double dates with some of them.' He blushed a little. He intensely liked the idea, but also saw how it could be seen as a little embarrassing. Teenagers acted like this. 'I want it all.' He added, trying to regain his masculinity.

Jake watched the Horse above him, his heart feeling heavy. Of course Lane had never mentioned any of this during their time in Macon, but then he didn't have to. He had been feeling it too.

'If you still feel like you have to keep it a secret,' Lane added, reaching up and brushing back a lock of his hair from his face. 'I understand. I don't like it, because it means that I can't be with you, but I'll understand.'

Jake paused for a moment, before pushing down on his elbows. Lane backed up onto his Haunches, as Jake scooted into the horses lap, wrapping his arms around the horse, who returned the gesture. He stroked the horses face gently. He could feel the horses plump sack nestled firmly into the cleft of his ass, and inside, his cock twitched at the sensation.

'No,' he mumbled, an inch from his face, 'It'll never be like that again. I never want it to be.' He leaned in and planted a kiss on the Horses' lips, who greedily kissed back. He could feel Lane beginning to suckle, a sign that he was beginning to get excited again, confirmed again, by another twitch from deep in his ass. He broke the kiss, knowing he had to get this out before he couldn't think clearly again. 'I'm sorry,' he continued, stroking the horse's cheek, who nuzzled back. 'It wasn't fair to ask it of you last time. But I want exactly what you want out of this, Buster.' He poked the horse in the Chest. 'So, I guess the question is, do you want to be my Boyfriend?'

He briefly wondered if that sounded as stupid as it did in his head. That was the trouble with trying to form a cogent thought with eleven inches up your ass; you have to think on the fly.

Their lips locked once more, this time, their tongues met to dance.

Guess that was his yes, Jake thought, filled with golden joy and Horse Penis.

Lane began to shift on his haunches, signalling he was going to reposition. Jake thrust his hips forward, causing the horse underneath him to topple backwards. He looked up at the Goat in surprise, who pushed himself up, now straddling the horse Cowgirl style.

'Where do you think you're going?' he grinned. 'You promised me one more round, and then I get to fuck you.'

The Horse gave a deep laugh, resting back into the sheets around him. He grabbed Jake's hips and rocked slightly, causing his dick to slide from its station and back again. Jake gave a small groan, firmly planting his butt cheeks on the horse's groin.

'You didn't tell me how I was going to fuck you,' he added, a demonic grin spreading across his face. 'But I've had six months with nothing but my imagination. Got a few things I'd like to try.'

The mall was the absolute largest Zach had ever been to in his life. He had heard rumours back in Macon that the West Coast had the most decadent malls around, but it truly had to be seen to be believed. When they had pulled up outside of the gargantuan megaplex, Zach had glimpsed a growth of squared metal bulging out of the top, visible to most of the Parking Lot. It looked like a Shack had been renovated. With a little embarrassment he realised it was the housing for the Juggernaut-esque Air Conditioning. Inside, stores stretched outwards in every direction, with little rhyme or reason for their placement. An Athlete's Foot stood next to a Boutique Candle Store, which in turn stood next to a Comic Book Store, which stood beside an Optometrist, across the Way from a Tattoo Parlour. Those unlucky enough not to have a commercial lease on a store front had erected booths in the centre and bid their time, waiting for someone to move or go under.

Abby looked anxious, as she led Zach through the bustling crowds, but seemed a little comforted by his presence. Their first stop had been to a place that specialized in luggage. They found a section up the back that sold handbags, and next to that a small selection of Backpacks and Messenger Bags. He immediately realised he hadn't asked for enough from his dad. The cheapest backpack looked like a fever-dream, Tie-Dye and oddly shaped. He cringed just looking at it, then blanched at the price tag.

'Five Hundred Dollars!' Abby shrieked. 'I'm gonna fill it with books! Not Truffles!'

The next boutique offered similar. Disappointment and Annoyance. As did the next. On a whim, Zach had asked to go into one of the Dozens of Department Stores, to see what they offered, but all he found were cheap-looking, plastic-esque 'Back to School' bags, with pictures of Super Heroes and Princesses. He had asked a Ginger Haired Human in a Red Uniform if there were others available. The Human had pointed him to a corner at the end of the stores, where the more mature accessories were.

Unfortunately, here too looked tragically poor made. The Backpacks were closer to what he was looking for, and with prices far better suited to him, but he didn't feel like any of them suited her or could replace her own.

'How do you feel about a Satchel?' he asked her, as she sneered at a black book bag with 'Sassy' written in a Diamante.

'You mean one like yours?' she asked, tilting her head. She looked down at his. 'Yeah,' she mused, mulling it over in her head. 'Yeah, I could see myself with something like that.'

In a different, slightly higher class Department Store they found a larger selection of bags, but when Zach leaned in to peruse a model similar to his own, found another shockingly high price tag. He sighed in frustration. They were back to where they started.

'Zach!' Abby's disembodied voice called a few rows over. 'Zach, Over Here!'

He found her in an Aisle full of designer bags, which made his heart drop a little, but found her clutching something like a new-born babe.

'It's Perfect!' she squealed, thrusting it out. It was a messenger bag, like his own, but made of Denim.

'Really?' he asked, turning the bag over. A tag flopped from the opening. A list of prices were ranked in descending order, all of them crossed out, save for the bottom, which read '$19.99'. The Top price was '$200'. He hailed a passing Sparrow in a pencil skirt and white blouse. She looked annoyed he had interrupted her. 'Excuse me,' he asked, 'Is this correct?'

The Sparrow rolled her eyes. 'That item,' she spoke with the true air of Condescension, without even looking at the tag 'Is from the Autumn Avant Nuvee collection,' she paused with a sneer, 'Five years ago.' She paused to let her barb sink in. She picked up the bag, and held it away from her, turning it in her feathered hands to examine. 'It should be in the trash,' she muttered, thrusting it back into Zach's hands, 'But management has a policy. No items to be thrown out unless damaged.'

'Thanks,' Zach muttered bitterly as she slunk away. He turned back to Abby, expecting to see her disappointed, but still wearing the excited tremble. 'Are you sure?' he asked examining the bag again. 'I mean, I can't buy you the world, but twenty bucks?'

'It's perfect!' she repeated again, beaming. She snatched it from his grasp, and clutched it to her chest again. 'It's almost a Dead Ringer for the satchel Mortar wears from Mortar and Pestle!'

'U-uh,' Zach stuttered.

'It's a videogame!' she snapped, rolling her eyes. 'And there's a Con next month! I haven't even thought about a costume, but this seals it!' she raised the bag high above her head. 'I can whip up a Gender Swapped Mortar Costume in no time!'

'O-Okay,' Zach gave her a little grin. 'If you're sure.'

They ate Falafel at the food court. Zach had wanted Pizza, but the line was incredible, stocked to the brim with high school students in uniform. It was pretty good, as Falafel goes. Abby chatted animatedly about Mortar and Pestle, a game Zach remembered playing in the early 2000's. He had almost choked on a mouthful of Orange Soda when she had launched into a discussion about how she was going to cover her breasts for the costume.

'Normally I Bind,' she said thoughtfully, over a mouthful of Pizza. 'But last year this Professional Cosplayer I follow on Twitter did a Revenant Crossplay, where she used a bikini...' She took a sip of Soda, completely oblivious to Zach's coughing. 'I don't think a Bikini would work for Mortar...I mean it's a family game. But I don't have to hide 'em, I suppose...'

Zach took a deep breath, his eyes full of tears.

'What?' Abby asked, finally realising his predicament.

'I thought,' Zach spluttered, 'You didn't like Crowds. I thought you were shy. But you can talk about your chest in front of them?'

Abby waved her hand dismissively. 'I'm not as self-aware when I Cosplay,' she grinned. 'I can even talk about it in public. I mean, it's not me, right? It's the character.'

'I Guess.' Zach replied, raising an eyebrow.

Abby had paid for the food, despite Zach insisting he pay. He had put up a struggle, but it seemed, for some reason, that she really wanted to pay for it, so in the end he let her.

They went into another store that sold Videogames, but Abby was starting to look a little anxious as she clutched at her new bag's shoulder strap, so Zach had suggested they leave.

'Yeah,' she had happily replied, nodding vigorously, 'Nothing coming out until next month anyway!'

He had hoped that by the time they had finished he would be able to just go home, but his phone teased that it was only 4:35 by the time they got back to the scooter. Abby had again jumped at the opportunity that they should go back to her place. It wasn't that he didn't want to. He liked Abby just fine, but he was starting to feel tired. He had agreed, but had also told Abby that his dad was expecting him back by at the very latest 7pm. She had nodded vigorously, and promised that she would make sure to respect his wishes.

Abby lived in a Corner Block of what was Mawson's attractive Cherry Street, in the beating heart of the district of The Vale. Unlike, the Hustle and Bustle of the inner city, The Vale, had taken a completely different direction, and had instead fought hard to keep up its suburban roots. The grasses were neatly trimmed, the sidewalks kept in immaculate condition. There was no government housing within the five mile radius of The Vale, opting instead for quaint cottages, Ranch Style Homes and Sprawling Front Yards. At the centre was Cherry Street, a long stretch of homes and shops along an immaculate cobble road. Every block was decorated with Cherry Blossoms that bloomed pink every spring and gave the entire region a feeling of warmth. This usually brought with it people from all over the state, who made an annual pilgrimage to watch the trees bloom, and sip tea from the boutique style cafés peppered along Cherry.

Abby's house was a three story townhouse that stuck up at the end of Cherry. It had a tendency to stick out like a sore thumb, but really with more endearing qualities, like a slightly crooked smile.

Zach hopped off the Scooter, again grateful to kiss the earth. It seemed Abby's driving only got worse when her mind was racing with ideas for Cosplay. His knees shook a little, as he looked up at the Blackwood door at ground level. To the left of the door was a storefront filled with an assortment of antiques. He squinted at the front door of the shop, which read 'Elizabeth Graves' in neat cursive script. Beneath were block letters, which read ' Medium. Clairvoyant. Mystic.'

Abby bounded off the Scooter and over to the Blackwood Door, fumbling with her keys as she went.

'I can't wait to get started on this costume,' she buzzed excitedly. 'I need to hit up the Goodwill Circuit again, see if I can find anything like his vest...' She slipped the key into the door, but didn't twist, instead turning back to Zach. 'I don't suppose,' she asked coyly, 'you'd be interested in Cosplaying Pestle?' she let go of the keys, and grabbed his arm again. 'It would be so cool! You already have the hair!' She glanced up at his scalp,' Blond and Messy!'

'Eh!' Zach Grunted, pulling away as she began to stroke her fingers through it. 'It's not normally like this! All my products are still boxed up.'

Abby gave a small sniff. 'Your Shower Stuff too?'

Zach immediately blushed crimson. 'Aw, Geez,' he sighed, 'Is it that noticeable?'

'Nah,' Abby waved her hand dismissively. 'Only when I'm up close.'

'Thanks.' Zach grumbled.

Abby returned to the door, and twisted it open. Directly in front of them were a staircase that led upwards, but Abby pulled away to the right and down a hallway, peppered with pictures of Tabby's of all shapes and sizes.

'Mom!' she called out, 'I'm Home!'

'Hey Sweetpea!' came a reply. Zach followed Abby closely, admiring the pictures on the wall. Immediately on his right was an open Lounge Area, with a sunken level. He glimpsed two young tabbys on the couch, playing what appeared to be a Playstation in front of an enormous flat screen television. Neither even registered his presence, opting instead to focus on their game, where they raced around a track on Go-Karts.

The Hallway opened up into an impressive kitchen, which was brightly coloured and well lit. Appliances spread out along the benches, giving Zach a brief feeling like he was in a laboratory. In the middle of the kitchen was an island, covered in open packages and boxes scattered haphazardly across. Facing the doorway, was an older Tabby lady, flour flecked across her face and shoulders. She squinted at an open recipe book on the counter to her left and stood mixing over a big orange bowl. Zach could immediately see the resemblance from Abby to her mother, they both had identical eyes and full lips, but whereas Abby came across a little chubby, especially in the face, her mother was thinner, and her jawline pointed. She also kept her brown hair up in a tight bun. Perhaps this was something to do with her current work, Zach figured. She wore a sleeveless blue shirt which gracefully swam about her figure and grey pants that ended mid-calf. She looked up as Abby entered, her eyes forming a smile long before her lips did. As she noticed Zach following behind her, her smile dropped a little, and Zach could swear that her eyes narrowed slightly. He let a little uncertainty about this woman wash over him, before he became of the absolutely delicious smell wafting about the room. Definitely savoury, but made Zach's mouth water. 'How was your first day at school, Hun?' she asked, tearing her gaze away from the goat back to her daughter. 'Amazing!' Abby blurted out, pulling her mother into a tight hug, which she returned just as enthusiastically. 'I made a friend!' she excitedly beamed, gesturing towards Zach. As she pulled away from her mother, she too was covered in flour.

'Really?' her mom fixed the goat with an amused smile.

'This is Zach!' she continued breathlessly. 'He's an English Major, He's a Goat and he's Really Nice!' she clutched at her mother's arm. Zach noticed the areas of her mother's forearm around her fingers were turning white.

'Hello.' Zach gave a small twitch grin.

'Easy Honey,' her mother chuckled, peeling her daughters vice grip away. 'That's great!' she added, she glimpsed back at Zach. There was an imperceptible twitch of her eyes, like she was sizing him up.

'He bought me this!' she excitedly swung her bag around and held it up for her mother to see. 'Oh, also I uh...lost my other backpack...' she added.

'How did you lose it?' she admonished, taking a hold of the bag and turning it around.

'There was an...incident,' Abby replied with a coy smile. 'But Zach was my hero and replaced it with this for me!' she added. 'It's incredible! I'm going to use it in a Cosplay!'

'Hmm,' Abby's mom turned the bag over in her hands a few more times. 'Well I'll be honest; I absolutely hated the last one...' Abby rolled her eyes slightly. 'But as long as you're happy with this one, then I suppose Zach deserves a reward of some kind.'

'O-Oh, no,' Zach shook his head, 'that's okay.'

'Nonsense,' the Older Tabby replied. 'You like Sausage Rolls, Zach?'

'U-Um.' Was all Zach could get out before she whipped around to the oven behind her? He wasn't sure what a Sausage Roll was, but watched with interest as she slipped on an oven mitt, opened the large face of the oven and from inside pulled out what looked to be pastries wrapped around brown, shapeless meat. The incredible scent in the room intensified.

'Mom's cooking is incredible!' Abby explained, as her mother degloved and picked up a large knife from the chopping board.

'Sweetie,' the older Tabby said, not looking up from her work as she began to cut the long pastries into smaller, bite sized portions, 'The WiFi went out again. Your brothers have been pestering me for two hours now, do you mind giving it the old magic touch?'

Abby groaned and rolled her eyes. 'What would you do without me?' She turned to Zach, 'Come on Zach, we can go up to my room after and print up that stuff.'

'No,' her mother interjected, 'Zach can stay here while you do it.' Her voice was warm, but contained sharpness.

'U-Um.' Zach repeated, glancing between the two Tabby's. He prayed Abby would put up some kind of fight, but she shrugged, and turned back out into the hallway, 'Fine!' she huffed. 'But be nice!' before gliding away.

Zach had never been a fan of meeting the parents of his friends, but this was the first time one of them wielded a large knife. He gulped heavily, as he watched the Tabby pull a plate out from under the counter and slide a small portion of the pastry onto it, before offering the plate to Zach. 'Be careful,' she warned, 'It's very hot.' He gave a small, weary nod, noting the steam surging out the top. It smelled just as incredible up close, but was somewhat retracted by the hugely intimidating presence of the woman before him, who hadn't put the knife down.

'So,' she fixed him with a scowling gaze. 'English?'

Zach nervously nodded. He put the plate down in front of him.

'Planning on becoming a teacher?' she continued, folding her arms in front of her. It wasn't an intimidating pose, but it wasn't inviting either.

'U-Uh,' he noticed as he stuttered, her left ear twitched. 'No. I was thinking more Writer...' he trailed off when his response made no indication of being heard. 'Or maybe a Journalist?' he trailed off.

'Mmm,' Abby's mother gave a curt nod. 'You know,' she narrowed her eyelids, 'Abby's a special girl.'

Zach gulped. Could this be heading where he thought it was?

'She hasn't had the best luck with friends...' she paused for a second, 'Or Boys.'

She bent over and plucked a larger plate from the island beneath her, which she began to slide the rolls from the hot pan to. She used her fingers, giving them a quick wave as she did so, to abate the heat.

'Not that I ever thought she was incapable,' she continued, not looking up from her work. 'She isn't repellent. She's just shy.' She transferred the last roll to the plate, and picked up the pan, walking over to the sink, which happened to be just off where Zach was standing. She turned on the faucet and doused the pan, which gave a defeated sizzle.

'She doesn't do well in crowds,' the Tabby continued. 'And as you may have already figured out,' she straightened and leaned back against the sink, crossing her legs. 'She's a little more "Forward",' she emphasized the word with air quotes, 'than most people like. Now, Zach was it?' she raised an eyebrow. Zach gave another imperceptible nod. 'Zach,' she nodded in agreement, 'We're so proud of Abby, and everything she's achieved. Her entire family. We just love the stuffing out of her. But we all know she's not exactly suited for social interaction. When she finished High School, I started looking for Online College Courses. But she was adamant. She wanted to go to an actual Campus...' She trailed off, frowning. 'It made no sense to me, but she couldn't be persuaded otherwise. I was kind of figuring that the first day might overwhelm her a bit, but here we are,' she gave a slow, calculating blink. 'She makes a new friend. On the first day. A Boy, to boot.' She narrowed her eyes once again. 'So I guess what I'm trying to find out here,' she wound up, 'Is what exactly my daughter might mean to you.'

Zach swallowed. His inner self saw the humour in it.

'We're just friends!' Zach piped up, breaking the silence. 'Just friends...' he trailed off.

Abby's mom continued to stare at him in silence.

'I-I'm new to town,' Zach continued. 'I don't have any friends either. Abby showed me around a bit today. It was...' he froze a little, as her gaze narrowed even further. 'Nice.' He finished somewhat lamely.

There was a pause so tense, you could have cut it with a spoon. But just as Zach wondered if she was going to throw him out, her frame sank and a warm smile replaced her gaze.

'Good.' She replied. 'I'm glad. And not just for her sake, Sweetie,' she jerked her head at a place on the wall next to Zach. He turned and found a photo. He might have mistaken it for a team photo, had all the people in it not been Tabby's with similar markings throughout. Abby sat in the front row of the collective, slightly younger than she was now, surrounded by, and Zach had to count this, Ten other Cat's. He recognised the two in the living room, sitting next to her, also somewhat younger than they now appeared, and her mother, standing next to a stocky male tabby with an infectious grin he supposed was the father, as he was the oldest, and the only other cat not sitting.

'Seven Brothers,' the Tabby continued, 'She's the only daughter I have, Zach. And if anyone hurt her...' she closed her eyes and gave a sad shake of the head, 'let's just say her older brothers are just as protective of her as I am.'

Zach inspected each other Tabby. Most of them were older than Abby, but at least three were definitely younger.

'Ma'am,' he piped up. The tabby raised a suspicious eyebrow, 'I promise that will never be an issue. I like Abby, but just as a friend.' A brief pause. 'Swear to god.'

The warm smile returned. 'That's all I want to know, Hun.' She stood up off the sink and motioned to the plate in front him. 'Eat up before it gets cold. Oh!' she blinked as realisation appeared on her face. She extended a hand towards the Goat. 'I'm Lacey.'

'Nice to Meetcha,' Zach replied, visibly relieved that the grilling was over. He shook her hand, gently just as Abby re-entered the room. She was smiling, but it slid off her face as she noticed the handshake. She fixed her mother with a dirty look.

'What did you do?' she asked suspiciously.

'Nothing!' Lacy replied, looking mock offended. Her hand fell from Zach, and she touched her chest in pantomime, 'We had a lovely talk, and got to know each other a bit better, didn't we Zach.'

'Yep.' Zach grinned at Abby. She narrowed her eyes in a way almost identical to her mother.

'WiFi's fixed,' he grumbled. 'You better not have been embarrassing!' she seethed at her mother.

'Embarrassing?' Lacey put her hand on her hip, 'Moi?'

'Come On, Zach,' Abby grabbed Zach's hand. He really wished she hadn't. 'Let's go get this stuff printed up.'

Zach snatched the Sausage Roll up as she steered him from the room. They went back down the hallway and turned 180 degrees at the front door beginning the ascent of the stairs.

'One Foot on the Floor at all times, please!' Lacey called after them.

Abby stopped halfway up the stairs.

'Mother!' she gasped, redness rising in her cheeks.

Abby's room was simply enormous. Actually, Zach was surprised by just how big the entire house was. It looked quite humble from street level, but inside, the hallways split off in different directions. Zach figured it was probably not as strange as he thought, having eight children required a large budget of room. But as she led him to the far end of the upper floor, he glimpsed a room filled with weights and barbells, another room filled with a mannequin and sewing table. He thought back to the photo and supposed that perhaps the older siblings had moved out. Abby's room was filled wall to wall with book cases, crammed to stuffing with paperback books. Upon closer inspection he found most of them to be Manga's and western comic books, but a few cases were stacked with actual books. Her bed was on a raised platform with stairs leading up to it, and an immaculately made bed sheet displayed characters from an Anime in action poses. Several posters with similar littered the valuable wall space.

Abby marched over to a table with a high end gaming PC on top.

'Absolutely embarrassing!' she seethed, dropping her bag down next to her. 'I'm sorry about her,' she added, speaking to Zach with an exasperated voice. 'She's just protective.'

She fired up her PC and sank back into a large office style chair while Jake chuckled. He looked around the room and found a Beanbag that resembled a Snorlax near a bookcase on the far wall. There were no other seats in the room, so he waltzed over and grabbed the Snorlax by the ear, dragging him back to the PC.

'She didn't, ask what your "intentions" were, did she?' she asked exasperatedly.

'Kinda.' Zach replied, sinking down into the beanbag's stomach. Abby cringed.

'I'm sorry,' she muttered again. 'She means well. You didn't happen to tell her you're gay, did you?'

Zach gave a sneer. 'Why would I do that?'

Abby shook her head, defeatedly. 'Because she's going to warn me about you for the foreseeable future at every chance she gets!' she spat. 'I had a guy I played with in my WOW guild, for a while, who I kinda had a crush on...' she blushed as she spoke, her monitor finally displaying a logo, 'I made the mistake of telling her about it. The next Sunday she takes me out to brunch and warns me about men and how they only usually want something...' she again flinched in disgust. 'Ugh, so embarrassing.'

'You can tell her,' Jake replied, his heart going out to her. 'If you like.' Abby looked up, with a look of hope on her face. 'My mom was a little overprotective too,' he added. 'After I brought my first girl friend over, she wanted to go over how Condom's work, with me.' He shuddered just thinking about it. Easily the most awkward moment of his life.

'Really?' Abby gave a small giggle. 'I mean, I don't want to overstep myself here...'

Zach waved his hand dismissively. 'If it gets you out of lectures, by all means.'

'Thanks Zach,' she gave him a grin. 'I kinda wanna hug you now. Is it still too soon?'

Zach sank a little further into the beanbag. 'Uh, maybe after I'm out of this...'

Abby nodded and giggled.

They spent the afternoon, navigating the University's awkwardly laid out Portal. Abby pointed out everything about the design she found stupid, and clunky, which Zach found surprisingly funny. She had a way of finding the humour in any subject, and portraying it in a way that he could understand.

It took them fifteen minutes to get her signed up on the Portal, which involved retrieving the information from Zach's bag (he returned Abby's information Packet to her in the process) switching tabs out to open activation emails, but eventually they managed. They switched seats and Zach began his turn at getting everything set up. Abby chatting animatedly as she did so. Their tastes in games were pretty much identical, so things were pretty fluid between them. Zach noticed that Abby was more at ease in private, and took full advantage of this. With her help, his Portal ID was created in half the time of hers. He went with the Screen Name Kazooie93, which made Abby roll her eyes. After this was done, he navigated his way to the Toolbox of the Portal, and found a Temporary ID in his inbox, ready to be printed out. He saved the file to the Desktop, and switched out again, allowing Abby to get hers as well, before she sent them to her printer, which chugged out two sheets of paper with the College Logo up the top and standard boilerplate beneath. They also had big red dates printed vertically on the side, indicating they were to expire in two weeks.

Zach was particularly excited.

'All teasing aside,' Abby asked, as the printer reset its position. 'You seem kind of excited about the Gym. Any particular reason, apart from the Eye Candy?'

'It's not like that,' Jake groaned as she passed him his. 'I mean yeah, it's a definite perk. But I doubt anyone would be interested in this...' He motioned down at his body. 'I mean, a little definition couldn't hurt right?'

'Whaddayamean nobody would be interested?' Abby retorted. 'I mean, I was interested. Kinda...' She blushed again. Zach wanted to be sarcastic, but he felt himself blush too. 'But that was before I knew!' she added hastily.

'I dunno,' Zach mumbled. 'I don't exactly have guys dripping off me,' he reasoned. 'Not that I ever had one to begin with.' he added feeling the heat in his head rise again. He glanced up at Abby, who had covered her mouth with her face, her pupils huge and a look of awe on her face.

'Oh my gosh,' she whispered excitedly, 'You've never had a Boyfriend?'

'Shaddap.' Zach groaned, putting his face in his hands and venting.

'Zach,' she cooed, reaching out to touch his arm. 'You are so unbelievably cute!'

Zach groaned into his hands.

'Seriously,' she continued, stroking his forearm, 'You'll find somebody. And soon.'

'Oh my god.' Jake moaned, bringing his face back up into the open.

'It's fine!' Abby soothed. 'I mean, I never had a Boyfriend either! But I'm determined!' she flexed her knuckles, 'This year is gonna be the year for Abby Graves, mark my words!'

Zach gave her a grin. He reached out and grabbed her hand. It felt nice. He'd never had a friend like this before. He doubt he'd been able to be this open to anyone back in Macon.

'With determination like yours,' he nodded, 'I believe it.' She returned the smile, rubbed his fingers in her hand.

'Am I doing this right?' she asked, looking down at their hands. 'I've never touched anyone else before.'

'Seriously?' Jake scoffed.

'Shut Up!' she hissed, tearing her hand away. 'I'm kind of a touch-a-phobe.'

'Oh Sorry,' Jake replied in earnest, 'I didn't know.'

'S'Okay,' she grinned. 'It felt nice.'

Abby turned and grabbed her phone, checking on the time.

'You know,' Jake added, feeling the need to tease her a little, 'I can keep my eye out for ya.'

'Shut Up!' she seethed, leaning back in her chair. Jake laughed. 'Only if I can do the same for you!' she replied.

'You know any eligible Gay Bachelors?' Zach asked jokingly shuffling in the beanbag.

'Naw,' Abby replied sadly. 'Drawbacks of being a loner. I don't really know anyone outside my immediate family,' she pondered for a moment, 'and you of course.' She added hastily.

'Figures.' Zach mumbled.

'Although,' Abby continued, 'It'll be hard to find anyone for you if you keep the fact that you're gay a secret.'

Zach sighed. She was right of course, but that made it no less annoying.

'I know,' he groaned. 'But it's difficult.'

'Why?' Abby tilted her head slightly. 'I mean, don't get me wrong, it's your journey,' she added, shuffling in her seat, 'But you seem pretty open about it already? Why try to hide it?'

'You wouldn't understand.' Jake mumbled. This conversation was starting to make him uncomfortable.

'Help me understand!' Abby huffed exasperatedly. She put her legs down again, and resumed stroking her forearm. Zach flinched, turning away. Abby pulled her hand away in shock. The room went silent.

He sat for a moment, drinking the silence in. He very much hoped the conversation would end right there, but his defiance was soon overwhelmed by how much of an Asshole he was being.

'I'm sorry,' she mumbled. He looked up at her, and found her slouching over the table, head in arms staring at the wallpaper on her monitor. His annoyance quickly dissolved. 'I'm such an idiot,' she spat in annoyance. 'We just met this morning! And I'm grilling your own private business?' she turned her head away from the goat, giving small sniffle. 'I'm sorry, Zach,' she muttered, a tinge of sadness in her voice. 'If I'm being honest though,' she added gloomily, 'being friends with me isn't exactly easy. So I wouldn't be hurt if you wanted to leave,' she sniffled, 'before you spend too much effort on me.'

Good God, Zach thought to himself, ashamed of his own shitful attitude.

'Hey!' Zach reached over and stroked Abby's Arm. She turned her face back to him. Her eyes were drenched. 'It's not like that,' he explained, 'I'm sorry. Look, it's nothing against you, Hun,' he soothed. She gave a sniff, and a tear rolled down her face. 'There is a good reason as to why I don't tell anyone I'm gay, okay? There was an...' he pondered how best to put it, 'An incident. Back in high school, that I had. It kinda messed me up.'

Abby's ears flattened, as she listened intently, punctuated at points by sniffles.

'I don't like talking about it,' Jake went on, sinking back into the beanbag, 'I don't even like thinking about it. I promise that one day I will tell you about it, but not today, okay?'

Abby gave a sniff and nodded.

'Hey,' Zach continued. He pushed himself out of the beanbag and lay face down on the floor for a second, before pushing himself to his feet. He stood next to the Tabby, looking down at her. She raised her head from her arms. Zach sighed and raised his arms defeatedly, opening himself up for a hug. At first, Abby didn't understand what was happening, but after a moment her eyes lit up, and she threw her arms around his midriff. He staggered a little, expecting her to have stood up first, but he brought his arms around her shoulders and hugged.

'This is not a regular thing!' He chirped after a moment's silence. 'I'm not a big hugger. So these are for special occasions only.'

Abby giggled weakly. 'Bullshit,' she mumbled, turning her head away from his chest so she could be heard. 'I never had a non-family hug before.' She squeezed a little harder, forcing the air out of his lungs. 'I can definitely get used to this.'

'Ahem.'

The hug broke as the two of them turned to face the door. Lacey stood with her arms crossed, watching them with a raised eyebrow.

'Mother!' Abby seethed, leaping to her feet. 'Why can't you ever knock?'

'I'm sorry,' she replied. She held out her hand, in which was a phone handset. 'It's your father.'

'Daddy?' Abby immediately perked up. She bounded across the room and snatched the phone from her mother's hands. She was about to put it up to her ear, but stopped, turning back to Zach, 'Oh Zach,' she said breathlessly. 'I'm sorry, but I need to take this...'

'That's okay,' Zach responded. He picked his Satchel from beside the beanbag and slung it over his arm. 'I should probably head out anyway.'

'I'll give you a lift home!' she piqued, clearly anxious to talk to her dad. 'Just wait for me, okay? Like ten minutes?'

'It's fine,' Zach shook his head. 'I can just walk home.'

'Nanna!' Abby suddenly thrust her finger at her mom. 'Take him downstairs and introduce him to Nanna! Please!' she wheedled her mother, mock begging. 'Please!'

'Okay!' her mother chuckled. 'C'mon Zach.'

She heralded him out of the room. Abby marched over to the bed and threw herself down onto it, beginning to chat animatedly. He cast one more gaze in her direction, before following the older Tabby from the room with some reluctance.

'That was-' he began, 'That wasn-'

'It's fine, Zach,' Lacey replied, without looking back. 'I know a friendly hug when I see one. Just wasn't expecting it is all...'

He slowed down, as the walked through the corridors.

'You know I don't mean any harm, right?' Zach asked quietly, considering each word as he spoke.

Lacey stopped as the reached the stairs and sighed. She gripped the hand rail and turned back to the goat. 'Yeah,' she admitted flatly. 'I guess a part of me does, Zach. You don't seem like a bad kid.' She looked down at her feet, before returning his gaze, 'But it's probably going to take me some time to get used to you.'

'That's fair,' Zach nodded. He clutched the strap over his shoulder. 'If there's anything I can do to change your mind about me, you let me know?'

Lacey pursed her lips for a second, before breaking out in an incredulous smile.

'You got stones, boy, I'll give you that.' She chuckled. 'Come on,' she motioned down the stairs. 'She wants you to meet Grandma.'

They resumed their trek down the stairs.

'They're pretty close,' she piped up, a few steps ahead of him. 'So if you think I'm bad, you got another thing coming.' They reached the landing. 'I'll apologize on her behalf up front about kicking you out of her room,' she added, reaching for the front door. 'My husband is a contact worker, who is currently out on an Oil Rig,' she pursed her lips again, 'He only gets an opportunity to make a call once a week, so she's pretty excited whenever he calls.'

'U-uh,' Zach stammered looking outside with confusion. It seemed like he was being kicked out.

'Hm?' she asked, raising an eyebrow. 'Oh right, Nanna Graves lives downstairs.' She explained, pointing at the storefront to her left.

'Oh,' Zach replied, looking uneasy, 'You mean the Psychic?'

Lacey gave a small chuckle, and fixed the goat with a humoured look.

'Whatever you do, Zach,' she beamed, 'Do NOT call her a psychic to her face.'

Zach frowned and stepped out onto the doormat.

'Oh, and one more thing,' she added, 'When I say Grandma, I mean she's actually my grandma.'

Zach replied with a slightly confused look.

'She's Abby's Great Grandma, and she hates it when people confuse her for her daughter. That would be my mother.'

Zach peered around the corner. Maybe he could just wait on the street. The storefront was just as devoid of customers as it was earlier.

'Like I said, they have a close relationship,' Lacey continued, 'If she likes you, you're in like Flynn.'

He briefly wondered how far it would be to walk home.

'Not that she will,' Lacey pondered for a moment. 'She doesn't like anyone, the stubborn old goat.'

She suddenly straightened in horror, 'Sorry,' she winced. 'Just a turn-of-phrase.'

He looked back to her. 'Well, curiosity is killing my cat, so to speak.' He grinned.

Lacey threw her head back and laughed. 'You know what,' she grinned, 'I changed my mind about you. Maybe you aren't so bad.'

Zach smiled, but took a step backwards to let her out of the doorway.

'Oh,' she mumbled, suddenly straightening up, 'I'm not going in there.' She raised an eyebrow and gave a humoured look to the door. 'She doesn't like the place being crowded by "Unnecessary People".' she air quoted. 'I don't understand how I'm unnecessary and my daughter isn't,' she pondered for a moment.

'I'll ask.' Zach replied flatly.

Lacey closed the door.

Zach opened the front door to the shop, which gave a jingle from a tiny brass bell above. Immediately he was hit by an odour to the room he didn't immediately recognize. Maddening Neutral. Not musty, but definitely aged. Perhaps this was history in scent. The items scattered about the shop at random intervals certainly would have lent credence to the theory. In the centre of a room, a square table, no bigger than five foot squared sat, surrounded by chairs made of seemingly dark wood. To Zach's eyes they were black, but the lighting in the room wasn't incredible, so it could have been just rich brown. Atop this table, a small curved bowl sat, with two sticks of incense burning side by side, one much lower than the other. These were undoubtedly the source of the scent. The carpeting was dark, but immaculately clean, contrasting horribly with Zach's sneakers.

'Hello?' he called out to the empty room. He was answered with silence.

He continued to look around the room. The walls were lined with bookcases, very similar to Abby's upstairs, but whereas Abby's were filled with Trashy Paperbacks, these were lined with heavy looking, hardback tomes, with no names on the spines, at least not in English. He squinted at one and tried to make out the dialect. He could definitely make out a backwards Capital "R".

Russian. He thought, briefly, before turning away.

At the far end of the room he found what appeared to be a deck of cards. He picked the top one up and found a hand clutching a dagger. He realised they were Tarot cards and immediately returned it to the deck.

His eyes were immediately drawn to another shelf, not far from the table. He made his way over and found small statues, carved out of what seemed like gold at a glance. He picked up a particularly gruesome little figure, a small man with a potbelly, lower fangs and a massive tongue, snarling in pose. He wrinkled his nose at the ugly little figurine before replacing it.

His eyes were drawn next to what appeared to be a Swastika, made out of something he couldn't he identify. He dropped it almost immediately upon wrapping his fingers around it, recoiling in horror, recognising its texture as hair. He pondered it for a full minute, wondering why it didn't look right, apart from the obvious follicular problem. He soon realised the arms were all pointing counter-clockwise.

Just then he noticed on the shelf below this one, something that stood out in this collection of Curios. In between a silver lamp, the one you might rub to find a genie and a taut velvet pouch with a black chord, sat a tea set, which was white, smooth and had figures carved into it. He picked up one of the cups and began to examine it. Apart from the carving work, which was intricate, it looked and felt to Zach like it was made of plastic. The kind you'd find in a little girls toy tea set. He tapped his finger against the side of the mug, which gave a hollow 'Thok-Thok', confirming his belief that it wasn't china or even porcelain.

'Are you in the habit of touching things that don't belong to you?'

Zach's heart leaped up into his throat, as he leaped a foot into the air. The cup began to tumble downwards, but even in his frightened state, managed to lurch his body forward and snatch it out of mid-air, a foot from the ground.

Adrenaline coursed around his body and he began to pant, his eyes bulging wildly about.

Next to him stood another Tabby, this one much shorter than any of the ones he'd seen today. She wore black everything, even down to her shawl, which draped over her shoulders and hung about her thighs. Immaculately straight, long, jet-black hair hung around her face, tapering off at her waist. Her eyelashes were also heavily set in eyeliner, the effect making her look like some interpretation of Cleopatra, accentuated by the numerous gold chains and pendants around her neck. She stood at full height, hands behind her back, surveying the goat with a mixture of very minor interest and annoyance. Her face was considerably more aged than Lacey's, but he felt her piercing cold stare look right through him, just as it had done in the kitchen earlier.

'Oh my gosh!' Zach gasped for breath, his heart pounding wildly against his chest. He held the cup out in front of him like it was the Holy Grail. 'I am so sorry,' he blurted out, 'I was just interested.'

'You were interested?' the Tabby replied. The way she structured her words made it sound, not like a question, but as an unbelieving parent, who'd just been told by their young pre-teen, "it's not what it looks like?"

'Y-Yeah,' Zach blundered on. He held the cup up to show her, but without adjusting, it really only highlighted the awkward angle it was held at. 'See, I was curious!' he showed her the cup, 'It looks strange, and I just wanted to see what it was made of!'

She immediately snatched the cup from his grip. He stood for a second longer in the same awkward pose before relaxing a touch.

'Ivory.' She mumbled, not looking up from the cup. She returned it to the shelf with its family.

At first Zach thought he may have heard her wrong. 'I-Ivory?'

'Incredibly valuable, and exceedingly rare,' she turned and began to stroll away from the shelf. Zach gaped at the tea set with a look of horror. 'So next time you want to come in and wreck up the joint, can I ask that you just push me down instead?' she gave him a fake, toothy grin, accompanied by a scowl. 'My hip replacement would be far more affordable.'

'It's also illegal!' Zach retorted, still looking at the tea set with shock.

'Illegal to buy and sell,' the Tabby spat, rolling her eyes. 'Not to own, simpleton. What are you, a cop?'

Zach blinked, and straightened his stance, tearing his eyes away from the Tea set.

'N-No,' he stammered. He offered his hand to the old woman. 'I'm Zach.'

She considered his hand with little interest for a moment, before shifting the same bored look back to him. He withdrew for a moment.

'I'm Uh,' he continued, hoping to end the awkward silence, 'Abby's friend.'

Her eyes narrowed, in the same way Lacey's did for a brief moment. 'Her dad called,' he went on, hoping she wasn't about to call the cops herself, 'She said I should come down here and meet you. Then when she's done, she's going to take me home.'

The old lady considered this story for a moment, before rolling her eyes.

'I suppose that explains your presence,' she muttered. 'Fine,' she motioned at the table behind him. 'Have a seat, let's get the awkward 'Meet and Greet' over with.' She pivoted and began to walk into the back.

Zach gulped, and pulled a chair out. He prayed that Abby was coming down the stairs as soon as possible. The Tabby returned with a tray, on top of which sat another tea set, this one definitely ceramic. She placed it on the centre of the table and flipped a cup over.

'Cream and Sugar?' she mumbled, not looking up as she poured.

'U-Uh,' Zach stammered. He was as big a tea drinker as he was a coffee drinker. He briefly considered turning it away, but something about this woman made him feel like this would be a bad idea. 'Please.' He gave a polite nod.

'You're lucky,' she grumbled, sliding the cup towards him, followed by a small jug and a pot which matched the Teapot respectively. 'I was just about to have my evening cup of tea, so I suppose it's a happy coincidence that you came along and nearly shattered a priceless family heirloom.' There was no humour in her voice. Just annoyance.

She leaned back in a chair that sat opposite him. He could immediately tell it was different to his. It rotated back and forth as she adjusted herself, and once she was comfortable, she leaned back, showing that it was also capable of rocking. She groaned as she nestled into the chair.

'So Abby's making friends,' she mused from the chair. 'I suppose all good things must come to an end.'

He looked at the older cat with a hint of confusion.

'Don't give me that look,' she waved her hand dismissively, 'I hate people. I think this world would be better off with fewer of them, and I especially hate it when people insist on spending time around you.' She wrinkled her nose in disgust. 'Abby reminds me of me at her age. I didn't have any friends and look how I turned out.' She gestured at the empty shop around her. Zach followed her gesture.

'That was a joke, kid,' she muttered, rolling her eyes again. 'I'm a bitter old woman. Abby still sees good in the world. Give her a few more decades and she'll start to see things my way.' She rocked the chair forward and retrieved her cup, and saucer. She took a sip of tea. 'I'm Elizabeth, by the way,' she added, staring off into the distance. 'You may call me Madame Graves.' She gave a single nod of her head to this, like she was agreeing for him. 'You can try to call me Elizabeth if you think you have the balls,' she winced as she adjusted herself in her chair, 'But I can already tell you don't. So let's keep it at Madame Graves for the foreseeable future.'

Zach sat in his chair, and stared. This woman was incredibly difficult to get a read on. Nothing in her face suggested a smile, and she made no attempt to soften any blow she dealt. Silence permeated the room, punctured by a grandfather clock somewhere in the back, signalling it was five thirty.

'So,' Zach finally chirped. 'You're a medium?' he remembered Lacey's warning.

'Figured that out by the door did you?' she muttered in response. Every word out of this woman's mouth had been cutting. Even offering cream and sugar. Zach stared down at his feet, praying for Abby to come down the stairs. Madame Graves gave a small sigh and replaced the cup and saucer on the table. 'Yes, I'm a medium,' she huffed in flat monotone. 'But it's akin to saying a Ferrari is a Chair.' She glanced over at the shelf of trinkets absent-mindedly. 'You could use it for that purpose, but it would be a waste of the Ferrari's potential. I prefer the last word on my door.' She motioned into the air in front of her, 'Mystic.' She shot him a hollow grin. 'It's one of those Buzzwords, isn't it? Sounds like it means a lot, but in reality could mean anything.'

The conversation came to a halt again. Zach took a sip of tea. He didn't have a follow-up question, but he knew if he scrabbled one together, it would be met with the same disdain.

'Would you care for a reading?' she muttered, after thirty seconds of silence. Zach blinked.

'U-Uh,' he stumbled, 'No, it's okay,' he gave a polite smile. She ignored him and gracefully lifted from her chair, marching over to the far end of the room. She picked up the Tarot Deck and turned back towards her guest.

'Nonsense,' she mumbled, stalking back to the table. 'What's the matter, don't believe in Psychics?' she pursed her lips into a thin smile as she sat. It was almost as though she was goading him into upsetting her.

'Not really.' He shook his head. It was the truth too, so he had no issue with telling her.

She cocked and eyebrow as she began to shuffled the deck, 'Smart Kid,' she mumbled, turning her attention down to the deck in her hands. She squared it up, and offered him the deck. 'Normally I'd charge for this service, but as you're a friend of Abby's, I can already hear her mother's nagging in my ear if she ever found out I charged you, so I guess this one will be free,' she nodded at the deck before her, 'Cut it at any point you feel like.'

Zack glanced at the deck, unmoving.

'Go on,' she pressed, 'It'll help pass the time.'

It was plain to Zach that she was determined to do this, so instead of fighting, he glanced out the window, and when he didn't see Abby's figure pushed up against it, reached out and cut the deck in the middle. Madame Graves took the bottom half of the deck and placed it on top of Zach's half when he laid it down on the table. She drew the first card and flipped it over next to the deck.

The card had a picture of seven golden chalices.

'Oh No,' Madame Graves sat forward in her chair, mouth agape at the card. 'The Seven of Cups?' She looked up at Zach, with a concerned look on her face. 'The first card is the Seven of Cups? Oh this is not good, son, this is not good at all.' Zach frowned and shuffled forward in his seat. He tried to see if there was anything more in the picture he was missing.

'W-What?' he squinted down at the card.

'It means Death, boy,' she said in throaty growl. 'Painful, Early, Inescapable Death!'

Zach's eyes widened a little, as he looked at the card. Madame Graves threw herself back in her chair making a noise he wasn't familiar with. He briefly thought she was having a heart attack, but blushed intensely when he realised it was long, drawn-out, cackling laughter.

'You should have seen your face!' she screeched with glee, clutching her stomach.

Zach scowled, sinking back down into his chair, feeling like a god damn fool. He had opened himself up for just a second, but it was enough for her.

'Okay,' she gasped for breath after almost a minute of solid laughter, Zach becoming more and more pissed off as the seconds piled up, 'Okay, seriously though,' she leaned forward and took a sip of tea from her cup. She put the Seven of Cups back on top of the deck. 'Let's do a proper one. For real this time,' she shot him a condescending grin, picking the deck up, however this time depositing it on the shelf beside her, next to the hair Swastika. Zach frowned, wondering what she was up to.

'What?' the old spat, a twisted grin on her face. 'I don't need them to do this. I never did,' she sank back in her chair and stretched out. Zach could see how thin her arms were, as the numerous bracelets on each jangled down her arms to her elbow. She scowled as she lowered them, shaking them back to their original positions. 'Really the cards are just for show,' she muttered, guiding a particularly stubborn bangle back to her wrist, 'When I first set up shop in this town, I used to do readings without them and everyone called me a fake.' She scowled at the memory. 'People are stupid kid. Take my advice and give them what they want. Even if that means they only want shit shovelled into their faces.'

She turned her attention towards the goat. She took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes, watching him. He felt uncomfortable enough in this room with this strange old woman, now she set across the table, judging him. For a minute, she didn't say anything. Her eyes would remained focussed on his, unless he moved, at which point they would shoot to whatever he was doing and watch with interest. After a minute, she began to rub her chin, her expression changing to mild interest.

'Huh.' She mumbled after what felt like an eternity. She gave a deep sigh and broke her stare, blinking a few times, before reaching for her cup again. She took another sip of tea, and shuffled back to a comfortable position.

She rocked back in her chair, setting up an easy rhythm of small back-and-forths. 'Eighteen years old.' She said, staring up at the roof. 'Parent's divorced, but only very recently. You feel like you don't fit in in any aspect of your life. You feel inadequate with everything you do, and you really shouldn't.' She looked down at the Goat, who sat shocked at the Cat's words.

'How'd I do?' she asked, raising an eyebrow.

'U-Um,' was all he could stammer in response.

She gave a satisfied grin, and rocked forward again, reaching out for her cup.

'H-How-' Zach stammered, feeling his heart in his chest again.

'It's not Psychic powers, kid,' she grunted. 'It's your basic Deductive Work. You're a friend of Abby's, so that puts you in her Age Range. How deep in the Age Range was a mystery, but as we know, Goat's Horns have a growth boom just before they leave their teens, and yours are still small enough that you'd only be at the young end.' She rocked in her chair again, 'Yes, you could have been an early admission to College, but the way you slouch when you stand indicates you aren't confident in your abilities, so the far more likely scenario is that you're on the cusp of adulthood, which is usually 18.'

Zach sat on the edge of his chair, listening intently. Madame Graves gave a small inward grin.

'The Parents thing was slightly tricker,' she added, again looking up at the ceiling. 'You don't have any piercings or tattoos, that I can see anyway,' she added, wrinkling her nose, 'And the way you style your hair indicates you'd definitely be interested in getting them.' Zach ran his fingers through his hair. 'You didn't style it this morning, but the smell of product lingers, and the way you keep it meticulously well-trimmed betrays any belief that you don't care about it. 'Anyway, the clothes you wear are indicative of a young man selecting his own clothes after a lifetime of having them picked out for him. If the clothes were newer, I'd probably believe it was just you moving away that allowed this, but everything in your ensemble is worn, but not very much.' She pointed at his shirt, 'The Crease lines have faded, but they're still there. I'd say, two? Three months?'

Zach's eyes scrambled as he tried to remember.

'Thought so,' she grinned. 'Anyway, all of this paints a picture. You're your own man after years of not being, but haven't had enough time to ruin your life by getting pictures injected into your face. You're not in Mourning, don't display any of the signs, so the Divorce thing was the more likely scenario. 'The Inadequacy thing, we've already covered. And I do mean what I said. You really do need to be a little easier on yourself.' She rocked back again, 'Kid like you could get a complex.'

'That's-' Zach took a deep breath in, reeling from the cat's speech. 'That's incredible.'

'Mm, I know,' she nodded. 'It's funny how much goes on in our lives that people don't notice.' She rocked forward and shuffled forward, 'But there's more too.'

Zach raised an eyebrow.

'The stain on the bottom of your shirt tells me you had something with Garlic Sauce for lunch,' she motioned to his shirt.

Zach looked down, and found a blob of dried red clinging to the hem of his shirt. He cursed and tried to rub it off.

'The fact,' she continued, not waiting for him to finish, 'That you have a hint of Abby's perfume following you around says that you were hugging her, and very recently too.'

Zach looked up, feeling the blush rise again.

'Not that I need to worry about that,' she mumbled, sinking back into the chair. 'Because you're Gay.'

He felt a cold chill run down his spine. Once again it was like a vacuum had been placed around his life. He sat in silence for a moment, before he realised he'd stopped breathing.

'W-Wha-?' he stammered, clutching the arms of the chair until his knuckled turned white. 'H-How did you-'

Madame Graves waved her hand dismissively again, as she leaned in for another sip of tea.

'Oh don't act so shocked, boy,' she admonished. 'I'm 108 Years old, I've been around for an excessively long time, frankly I'd be more surprised if I hadn't picked up a few talents.'

Zach breathed heavily for a while, while his mind raced.

'Tell me I'm wrong.' She fixed him with a cool gaze.

He swallowed hard again, and gave a tiny shake of his head.

'Thought as much,' she muttered nodding. 'Your stance is sloppy, but your shoulders are squared. That's where people tell the most about themselves. In the shoulders.' She took another sip of tea, this time finishing off the cup. She returned it to the tray and gave a faint sigh. 'At least you aren't in denial about it, I suppose.' She added emotionlessly. 'People who lie to themselves are so boring.'

'N-Nobody else knows,' Zach piped up. He flickered his eyes between her and his shoes. 'Except for Abby.'

She raised an eyebrow. 'Number One,' she held up her left index finger, 'I don't care. Number two,' she raised her middle finger, 'It matters very little in the grand scheme of things, and finally number three,' she raised her thumb to join the others, 'What do you care what anybody thinks about you?' She gave a brief pause before leaning forward and lowering her hand. 'Although I do detect a faint Southern Accent, might that be the cause of your hesitance?'

Zach gave a sharp nod.

'This isn't the South, boy,' she mumbled, 'I used to live with a married man outside of Kentucky, so I know why you might be worried, I just don't understand why in this day and age you would think anyone would be upset.'

Zach stared at his feet. His mind immediately replayed the scene on his birthday at the restaurant. 'It's happened before.' He grumbled.

'Small Minded Assholes,' she grumbled. 'You're going to find them all through your life, boy, mark my words. What I can assure you, however,' she scooted back in her chair and reclined, staring up at the ceiling again, 'Is that if you let small minded assholes control your life, you're going to keep letting them.'

'I-It's not that simple...' Zach mumbled, shuffling back in his chair too.

'Mmm,' she mused, 'I suppose it isn't. Not having been a gay man in my life, I suppose maybe I don't understand how you feel.'

Silence fell again. He looked back at the bookshelf to his left at the ugly little figures. He knew how they felt. His entire life, nobody had taken any interest in him on a more than platonic level. At some point he had just given up hoping.

'Of course,' she continued, after the longest pause yet. 'You could always make it much, much simpler,' she retracted the legs on the chair and sat back up to face the young goat. 'Have you tried that?' Zach tore his eyes away from the figurines. He raised an eyebrow at the old cat. She had a bored look on her face as she gazed off into the distance.

'Huh?'

'Didn't think so,' she mumbled. 'What's the matter? Afraid of trying something new?'

'What are you talking about?' he replied with a confused grimace.

'Well,' Madame Graves continued, still not making eye contact, 'Let's say, hypothetically, I had something that could help your situation. Would you, hypothetically, take it?'

'U-Um,' Zach stammered, not breaking eye contact with her. 'I-I'm not sure I understand...'

She rolled her eyes. 'And I thought college kids were supposed to be smart.' She took a deep breath. 'Your problem, young man, is that you feel anxious. About everything. You want to be honest with yourself, but you live in fear of what that honesty might mean. The repercussions of it. I don't understand completely yet, but you feel as though you're on the outside, looking in. You don't want to explore too far from your comfort zone, because-'

'Because I don't know how to tell if someone's gay!' Zach leaned forward. He suddenly became aware that he had never had it so eloquently put to him. Even his response, in comparison, seemed so foolish, but then so did all irrational fears. His own father had been gay for the majority of his life and he wasn't even aware of it up until less than 24 hours ago. 'Are you saying you have a way to help me figure it out?'

'Maybe,' the Cat mused. 'Another completely Non-Hypothetic Hypothetical,' she paused for effect, 'but if I did, it all comes down to what it would be worth to you.'

A beat of silence.

'W-Worth?' he sat back in his chair. Of course it had come to this. He had never believed in psychics or clairvoyants before, but from everything he knew of them, they were always after more money. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. The remaining bills sat neatly in the fold. He hesitated for a second.

'I got uh,' he looked up from his wallet. 'Twenty Bucks.' He lied. It wasn't that he was hoping to dicker the old lady down in price, but now he had a reasonable excuse for when she pulled a triple digit price tag.

She gave a loud groan and rolled her eyes so far into the back of her head, he couldn't see her pupils.

'Boy,' she sighed deeply, 'I have stock in Apple I bought in the 80's. I'm the landlord for most of this street, and I have gold buried in my backyard,' she shook her head with distaste. 'When I die, Abby's children and their cousins won't have to work a day in their lives if they choose not to.'

Zach blinked, visibly impressed. He also felt a little stupid for offering a twenty. 'I-I don't understand.' He muttered, a bad feeling rising in his gut.

'What's it worth to you?' she repeated again, loudly emphasizing each syllable. 'How much does helping you overcome your own inhibition cost to you? Not in dollars and cents, you idiot!'

She scowled at him and thought for a moment, scratching her chin.

'I know,' she grinned after a moment, 'I'll help you out, Zach, but in return, I want you to give me an Honesty.'

Zach blinked. 'W-what?'

'An Honesty!' she spat. 'I want you to tell me something about yourself. Something you've never told anyone else before.' She squinted and leaned in closer, 'A dark secret that you've never shared with anyone...' she leaned back in her chair. 'That's my price!' she gave a hollow smile. 'Take it or leave it.'

'Y-You-' Zach stammered, frowning incredulously. 'You want me to tell you a secret?'

'No,' she replied flatly, 'You want to tell me a secret. In exchange I will help you overcome your hang-ups. I think that's a fair price,' she mused for a moment, 'A shrink would charge you thousands and you'd have to tell him everything for the same product. Consider this an undercut.'

'U-Um-' he thought long and hard. Part of him hesitated, not wanting to give this crazy old woman anything, but she had been so shockingly accurate with her reading of him that he wanted to see how far she could go.

'Okay.' he said quietly. He gave a small nod, and leaned forward in his chair. He cast his mind back to the last thing he wasn't proud of.

'I cheated.' He murmured softly. He gently rubbed his hands together as he spoke. 'My Math finals. Last year. I hate math,' he added as a side note to the older cat, who watched with interest. 'Always have. I've never been good at it. Anyway, they gave us these Calculators at the beginning of the year that you could plot graphs and do advanced stuff like trig and algebra on. I wasn't any better with them either. But you could run basic programs through these things to plot wavelengths, so I thought to myself, if they can run basic programs the calculator had, maybe it could be taught to run basic programs you could install. So I did a bit of research, and sure enough, I was able to get a simple notepad running on this thing.'

He looked up and observed Madame Graves. She gave him a very slow blink.

'So I type up this cheat sheet, that I use throughout most of the year for class. They never checked it. Then exams come around, and I figure they'd do a wipe of them before they let us into class, but they never did.

He looked up again and back down at his feet.

'I'm not proud of it,' he added, 'but if I didn't do it, I was definitely going to fail, so I took a chance. I barely passed, and that was the end of it really.'

He finished his story and sat back. The two sat in silence for a moment.

'My God,' the Old Lady shook her head, a look of worry in her eyes. 'That's terrible!' she said breathlessly. She leaned forward 'Did you also steal money out of Mommy's purse?'

Zach blinked.

The expression on Madam Graves' face immediately sunk into a scowl. She bitterly rolled her eyes and gave a loud annoyed sigh.

'I asked you,' she grizzled, 'For Honesty. A glimpse at your inner self, something you were truly ashamed of, and this is what I get?' she pulled a face and gestured at the young goat. ' "I Cheated on a Math Test?" ' she spat. She twirled the chair around, facing away from him. 'Stop wasting my time, Zach.' Her voice grumbled from behind the high back.

A moment of silence passed, before Zach suddenly felt overcome with annoyance too. But not at the old lady. He wished it was, but she had a point. His entire life, he played it safe, never allowing himself to be one hundred percent honest with those around him. And not just them, but himself. Now here he was, hundreds of miles from home, literally an entire country away from everything he knew, and he couldn't bring himself to be the person he was hoping to reinvent himself into.

The clock from earlier struck again, this time only playing a quarter of the song. Zach sighed deeply. He had to let go. If not for this woman, then for himself.

'I fell in love with my best friend.'

It was quiet, but his words echoed throughout his head as alarm bells rang. He felt deeply ashamed of himself, as he now knew he had to relive it.

The Incident.

The chair in front of him pivoted back around, and he sat face to face again with the old Tabby, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He briefly waited for her to say something, but when she didn't realised she was waiting for more.

'In High school,' he continued, flatly. 'Again. His name was Simon.' He looked up at Madame Graves, whose eyes had adopted a faint glimmer he had seen in the other two women of her family he had met.

'He never knew,' he continued. The words sounded wrong, but he had never put words to the emotions before. He had never wanted to. 'I doubt he ever even considered it a possibility. We met on the first day of high school. He was a human. Not that that matters, I suppose. 'We hung out all the time. It was one of those friendships that you think will last forever. It wasn't love at first sight by any means. In fact, I only realised I had feelings for him during tenth grade. I didn't even know I was gay, back then, but I figured it out later that year. Part of me really wanted to see if he wanted to explore these feelings with me, but I never told him. Never had the courage. 'Maybe I was afraid I'd lose a friend if I did, but I was also shit scared of the possibility of telling anyone, let alone the one person in my life I desperately wanted to know. We spent so much time together, and got along so well. 'Half way through the year, I made up my mind that I was going to be honest with him. But I never was. Never had the balls. But it didn't matter. One day, he announces to me that he met this girl.'

Zach looked up. He was surprised he hadn't begun to cry. Every time he'd thought about Simon in High School he had gotten emotional. Maybe enough time had passed.

'That part definitely sucked,' he muttered, looking back down at his feet. 'But it was only going to get worse. I figure, he's my friend, so I gotta be supportive. And I really wanted to be. But this girl...' he trailed off, a sour grimace spreading across his features, 'She really did not like me. I'm talking, intense hatred. At first it's just some playful teasing, but then she starts making plans with him on nights we'd usually hang out, she calls me a third wheel, complains about me to him behind my back. All the while, I'm figuring it's me, right? Gotta give em' even more space. So I start hanging out with other friends. Leaving them to their own devices. I mean, yeah, it sucked, I had been crushing on this guy for years now, but it was choice and I had to let him have it.

He leaned back in his chair. This one didn't rock and remained rigidly still, directly opposing its counterpart across the table.

'That summer,' he muttered, 'I don't hear one thing from him. Not one. He doesn't call or return my calls. He's not online. I try to organise shit for us to do, nothing. I don't see him for two months, and I get really angry. Decide that was it, I wasn't going to waste any more time pining over him, and get on with my life. 'The next time I saw him was the first day of Junior Year. He was standing outside the school gates handing out these pamphlets. She stands between us, also handing em out, so I can't even say Hi to him. Then I see what he's handing out.'

He ran his fingers through his hair.

'Turns out, she was a member of the Street Church.' He muttered, bitterly. 'They were this group of people who organised these rallies in Public, you know? "God Hates Gays", that kind of thing?'

He took a deep sigh, feeling tears begin to well up. 'I've never been more humiliated in my life. I confront him about it later, and he says that he's always felt this way. Then I start remembering the times we spent together, all the jokes he made about gay people. And I suddenly realise that they weren't as harmless as I first thought. I'd been blocking them out of my mind, but sure enough, he really did feel this way.'

He wiped his eyes with his forearm, and took a fortifying gulp of air.

'So there you have it,' he muttered, his voice cracking as he spoke. 'I fell in love with someone who didn't actually exist. I was so sure that I was in love with him, I even blocked out when he was being an asshole, all to preserve this idea of this relationship we could have had.'

He took another deep breath. Madame Graves pulled a tissue out of a pocket in her shawl and leaned across the table, offering it to him. He took it gratefully and blew his nose.

'Ever since then,' he grumbled, wadding the tissue up, 'I've been too afraid to get involved with anyone emotionally. Don't wanna be hurt like I was last time. And after a while, it became apparent that nobody was interested in me that way, so I just sort of...gave up...'

Madame Graves took a sharp inhale through her nose. 'Son,' she muttered a small grin forming across her features. 'That's more like it.' There was a brief pause, before she stood up again, more gracefully than Zach would have given her credit for, before walking into the back of the shop again. She was there for a few minutes, Zach heard rummaging, but nothing else. He looked back out the front window. The sun was beginning to set. Still no sign of Abby.

'I'm not here to Stroke your Ego, Boy,' Madame Graves muttered, returning from the back, clutching a large wooden box. She deposited it on the table in front of her, and sat back down in her chair. She opened the top, and reached under her shawl, retrieving a pair of thick glasses, which she perched on her nose. Inside the box, she rummaged what seemed to be dozens of different compartments around. It reminded Zach of his dad's tackle box, but much more attractive. 'But I'll say this,' the old cat continued as she rummaged. 'You're not inherently repellent.'

Zach blinked. He realised he had just been complimented. Sort of.

'No, your problem,' she continued, lifting a glass bottle with a flat bottom and high lid out of the box. She squinted at the label, shook her head and replaced it. 'Is Inhibition.' She returned to rummaging through the box. 'But not just your inhibition. The inhibition of others around you has also taken a toll on your life. One cannot exist without the other, I'm afraid.'

From inside the box she withdrew a tiny clear bottle, no bigger than the top section of a thumb. The shape reminded him of a Plumbob, the diamond shaped indicators over the heads of characters in one of his favourite videogames, The Sims. The cap tapered out into the shape of a love heart. She put the bottle next to her ear and shook, a small splashing-glugging sound resonating from inside.

'Now,' she continued, rolling the bottle in her hands. 'There is a long list of things I can offer to help you overcome your own inhibition, but I don't think there's any need for it. This should help you enough,' she offered him the bottle. He looked at it in her hands. He had seen bottles like this before. His mother had been on a mailing list of a cosmetics company who would send samples out in the mail.

'Perfume?' he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Madame Graves rolled her eyes. 'A Tincture.' she muttered back. Zach frowned at the bottle, but gingerly picked it up. The inside was clear, but distorted by the shape of the bottle. He could still make out the glass rod sticking down from the lid.

'Rub the contents behind your ears,' she gave a small yawn, 'Like you would a Cologne.'

Zach sighed. He had gotten his hopes up for nothing.

'Oh what?' she spat, the annoyed look washing over her face again.

'N-Nothing,' he said, sinking back into his chair. 'I just thought it might be, like, I dunno,' he rolled the bottle around in his hand. 'Advice? Maybe a clue I could pick up on. I don't think Cologne is going to help me out all that much.'

'So don't use it,' Madame Graves shrugged. 'No skin off my nose.'

She stood back up to full height, and looked towards the front window. Abby had her face pressed up against it, squinting in. Madame Graves gave a small grin and waved.

'We had a deal, Zach,' she explained, turning away from her madly waving great-granddaughter and stalking away to the back of the shop again. 'You delivered on your part. I delivered on mine. Our business is now closed.'

She disappeared behind a folding divider, as Abby opened the door.

'Hey Nanna!' she called out to the shop at large.

'Hello, sweetie.' her voice called back. She didn't return to the fray however.

Abby turned to Zach in the chair. 'I'm sorry about that,' she quickly explained, 'my dad works out-of-state, and I don't get to talk to him that much.'

Zach briefly wondered what she was talking about, but quickly remembered why he was in this strange little shop in the first place.

'No Problem,' he grinned. He stood up, tucking the small bottle into his bag. 'Your Nanna kept me company.'

'Was she weird?' Abby whispered, tilting her head anxiously. 'I wanted to introduce you. She's not exactly...' she rotated her hand looking for the word.

'It was fine,' Zach grinned. He was anxious to leave the store. 'We had tea while we waited.'

'She didn't do the reading thing, did she?' she whispered, her eyes falling on the Tarot cards on the shelf. 'She promised she wouldn't do that again. Ever since the last guy threatened to Sue.'

'It was fine!' Zach chuckled nervously. Abby took a deep breath and calmed herself.

'Nanna?' she called back into the shop, 'Mom made Sausage Rolls. She wanted to know if you'd like some.'

'Please and thank you.' Came the response with an uninterested inflection.

'Abby,' Zach chirped, getting her attention. 'I should probably be getting home.'

'Yeah,' Abby nodded. 'I wanted to show you my favourite Comic Book place, but the call from my dad kinda wiped me.'

He noticed her eyes were slightly red and puffy.

'Is it cool if I get a lift?' he asked. He would have been fine if she wanted to go upstairs, but he wasn't familiar with this city yet, and it was starting to get dark.

'Of course!' she beamed. 'Bye Nanna!' she called over the empty store.

'See you tomorrow, sweetie,' came the reply. Abby bounded over to the door and out. Zach followed close, but as he drew level with the door, he heard 'Bye Zach' in a mocking tone. He briefly considered calling back, but instead opted to pretend like he didn't hear it.

The Terror Scooter screeched to a halt in front of the Apartment Building.. He swung his leg up and over the seat. This ride had been pleasantly less deadly than the last two. Only two red lights run.

'Thanks Abby,' he called out over the engine. He unhooked his helmet and walked up to the front. He wrapped his arms around her from the side, which she bristled at for a second, before returning the hug with just as much gusto as she did last time.

'See you at the Gym tomorrow?' He asked when they broke apart.

'Naturally!' she beamed. Suddenly her face sagged. 'Oh, wait,' she groaned. 'No. I have temple tomorrow morning. And then the whole family is going over to my Aunt's for lunch.' She winced at the thought.

'Temple?' Zach cocked his head.

'I'm Jewish!' she shot him a grin. 'Our temple has services on Saturday.'

'Huh.' Zach gave a slight chuckle.

'How about Sunday?' she asked, as her scooter gave a ritualistic splutter. 'Wait,' her face dropped again. 'You're not Catholic are you?'

'No!' Zach shook his head. 'I'm not anything.'

'Cool!' she beamed wide again. 'I'll see you then!'

Zach stood back and waved as she revved the engine and took off into the night.

At the entrance to the building he was met by a Lizard in a red uniform, holding a portable pizza sleeve. Zach's heart leaped with glee, as he'd been craving it since that afternoon. The lizard was pressing the button to Apartment three. The buzzing immediately stopped and he heard his dad's voice.

'Hello?' he called out.

'Pizza!' the Lizard Grunted.

Zach leaned into the intercom next to the Lizard. 'I'm here dad!' he called out.

'Oh hey buddy!' his Dad's voice replied. 'I got us Pizza for dinner! Can you bring it up?'

'Sure thing!'

The Lizard dragged two boxes out of the sleeve and offered them to the Goat, who accepted them, before turning back around and slinking off into the night.

He took the stairs this time, arriving on the third floor slightly out of breath. He rounded the corner and almost bumped headlong into Lane.

'Whoa!' Lane took a step back. His eyes filled with shock again as he registered Zach. 'Oh hey kid!' he gave a big grin, and ran his fingers through his hair again. 'How's it going?'

'Hey Lane,' Zach returned the grin. 'Pretty good, and you?' He clutched the Pizza boxes in front of him.

'Yeah!' Lane enthused. Zach noted a blush rising in the horses face. God he was so unbelievably cute. 'Pretty good!'

The two of them stood in the hallway, giving each other stupid nods.

'You Um,' Lane mumbled after an uncomfortably long silence, running his hands through his hair again. 'You play any sports?'

'No.' Zach muttered, with a cheeky grin. 'You like sports?' He asked, raising an eyebrow.

'No,' Lane muttered, the blush creeping further, 'Not particularly. Don't know why I uh,' he looked at the far end of the hall, where a window opened up to the rapidly darkening night. 'I don't know why I asked that.'

He shook his head and gave a hollow laugh.

'Okay, full disclosure, kid?' he looked at the Goat with an uneasy look prefaced over a nervous grin, 'I've never dated anyone with a kid before.' He admitted.

'Well,' Zach grinned, 'I'm not a kid,' he offered, trying to make the Horse feel more uncomfortable. 'I'm eighteen.'

'Y-Yeah.' Lane nodded enthusiastically. 'I know, it's just, still really...Unfamiliar...is all...'

Zach watched as the Horse nervously shuffled in front of him. It was time to stop being an ass about this.

'You have a good day with my Dad?' he asked.

Lane's blush rose slightly, 'Y-Yeah!' he stammered. 'Really casual, day!' he enthused, gesturing with his hands as he went. 'We unpacked, and set up furniture. Watched a movie. You know?' he offered to the goat, 'Really nice. Really casual. And!' his eyebrows shot up his forehead, 'Very, Very Respectful.'

Zach's grin rose. His dad's words echoed through the Horses statement. He looked down the Horses' torso.

'Your belt's twisted, Lane.' He grinned.

Lane's eyes widened in horror. He looked down and found the twist at the front.

'Aw, Shit!' he seethed, his shoulders dropping in defeat. He put a hand over his eyes, allowing his own mortification to spill. Zach laughed, leaning back on a wall. The horse unbuckled, and began to rotate the belt to its comfortable position.

'Okay,' he gave a defeated mumble. 'Maybe it wasn't that casual.'

He tightened the strap and looked back up at the goat, with a worried look. 'I'm sorry.' He said ashamedly.

'Okay, seriously?' Zach stood up to full height and locked eyes with the Horse. 'This has to stop. All of this treating me like a kid, okay?' he took a step towards the horse, squaring his shoulders. Lane towered above him, but he maintained. 'It'll be better for everyone if you're just honest with me okay? And that's not just you!' he pointed at the door to the apartment, 'I have to get him to grow up about this as well.'

Lane ran his fingers through his mane again, a small determined frown replacing the shame.

'Did you have a good time?' Zach asked, raising an eyebrow. Lane's blush intensified. 'Well then what business is it of anyone else's if you two are dating, right? Please,' he gave him an earnest look and gestured with one hand while holding onto the pizza boxes with the other, 'For the sake of everyone, Lane. Just be honest with me.'

Lane gave a deep sigh. 'It was pretty great,' he muttered, giving a wry smile. 'But your dad's worried how you're taking this all, you know?' he shuffled on the spot. 'Him, your Mom. I mean, you gotta admit, it's all pretty strange right?'

Zach considered for a moment, and nodded. He'd been so focussed on everything over the last day he'd completely forgotten about his Mom and Jerry. He made a mental note to call her tomorrow.

'Okay,' he replied, 'You might have a point there, but do you really think treating me like a kid, calling me "slugger" and pretending like I don't know, when I clearly do?'

Lane grimaced, and shuffled on the spot.

'I tell you what,' Zach reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. 'Let's make this easy on everyone, okay? Let's build a system.' He unlocked the phone, which was now warning him the charge was dangerously low. He perched it atop the pizza boxes. 'What's your Number?'

'W-What?' Lane frowned.

'Your Number, Lane, your phone number.'

He hesitated but rattled off the digits, as Zach punched them into the screen.

'Okay,' Zach muttered. He poked and prodded the phone for a few seconds, after which a small Buzz with an immediate drop sounded from Lane's Pocket. Lane took his phone out and squinted at the screen. 'That's my number,' Zach stated. 'Save it.'

The horse nodded, and began to manoeuvre his fingers around his screen following the younger Goats instruction.

'Now,' Zach explained, when the Horse nodded his completion, 'Any time you want to some alone time with my Dad,' he explained, 'all you gotta do is send me a message. I'll clear out for a few hours, and you can have him all to yourself!' Lane's blush, which receded as he worked, came back. 'Hell!' Zach added with a large smile. 'It doesn't even need to be a message! Send me an Emoji, okay?' Lane looked up from his screen, 'Quick, Easy, and keeps the details to an absolute minimum.'

'Oh,' Lane remarked, looking back down at his phone. 'That's Good!' he enthused, bringing up a dropdown menu of Emoji's. 'I don't use Emoji's. Like at all.'

He raised his head to look back at Zach. 'Any Emoji?' he asked interestedly.

'Hmm,' Zach frowned looking back down at the phone. 'When you build a System, you need to build some redundancy into it,' he muttered, quoting his favourite English teacher from High School. 'Use a specific one, that way if we want to add to it later, we can make others mean other things.'

Lane nodded with enthusiasm, as he searched the list.

'Umm,' he frowned, 'Birthday Cake?' he looked up from the phone. 'Cuz, you know, he's a baker? No that stinks,' he flinched, looking back. He gave a chuckle and looked back up again, 'I suppose the Eggplant is a little on the nose, huh?'

Zach gave a good humoured cringe. 'A little tasteless.' He agreed.

'Oh!' Lane, chirped, beginning to tap at the phone. 'How about this one?'

Zach's phone gave a buzz. The screen lit up and showed a new text message, a single Hourglass.

'Fitting,' Zach mused. 'Okay, form hereon out, we'll use that.' He smiled, scooping the phone off the box and depositing it back in his pocket. 'Keep in mind,' he added, 'Sometimes I may want to spend some time with him too, okay? So if I send you one-'

'I clear out for a little while,' Lane nodded, dropping his phone back into his jeans pocket. 'Sounds more than fair.'

'We keep this straightforward,' Zach went on, 'We respect each other, and we make sure there are no nasty surprises, I think this could definitely work.'

Lane smiled. 'He's right about you, you know?' he said, cocking his head to the side. 'You're a smart kid.'

Zach blushed a little, the tables having turned on their whole dynamic. It also didn't help that he was the most handsome horse he'd ever met in his life.

'Hey,' Lane added, 'If there's anything you need from me, absolutely anything, you just call, okay?'

Zach frowned slightly, wondering what this offer meant.

'What is it you do, Lane?' he asked.

'Oh,' Lane smiled, 'He didn't tell you?' he looked back towards the apartment.

Zach shook his head.

'I'm a Cop.' Lane gave a crooked grin.

Zach's face lit up. 'Seriously?' he chirped incredulously.

'Absolutely.' Lane grinned. 'Mawson Sherriff's Department.'

Zach's insides twinged with a jab of jealousy for his father.

'Oh, by the way,' Lane added, glancing back at the front door quickly, 'He wants to know if you want to have dinner with us tomorrow. No pressure!' he added hastily.

'I'd like that.' Zach grinned back.

They smiled at each other with mutual respect for a moment. The delicious smell from the boxes in his arms the only other tangible thing in the hallway.

'So uh,' Lane looked down at his feet. 'In the spirit of keeping things out in the open, mind if I ask you a question.'

Zach was tired and hungry, teased by the boxes in his arms, but he obliged his father's boyfriend.

'Sure.' He said breathlessly.

'I Uh,' Lane ran his fingers through his hair again, 'And if I'm overstepping myself here, just let me know,' he added in an aside, 'But I kinda get the Idea that your old man doesn't know that you're gay.'

He wanted to be mad, but by now he was just fed up.

'Oh my god!' Zach spat, leaning back on the wall in frustration. 'You're the third person today to say I'm gay, am I wearing a sign or something?' he seethed angrily.

'Sorry kid,' the Horse grinned. 'Just a feeling I had. If I'm wrong, I apologize.'

Zach sighed. 'You're not wrong.' He mumbled. 'Sorry, it's been a long day.'

'No need to apologize,' Lane grinned sheepishly. 'I'm the one who's sorry.'

'Well,' Zach muttered, 'yes I'm gay, and no,' he looked up from his feet, 'my dad doesn't know.'

Lane nodded with a knowing grin. 'It's cool,' he mumbled. 'At least now I know I won't say anything stupid, right?'

Zach sighed. 'Seriously though,' he said, sliding his shoulder back and forth on the wall. 'How did you know?' True enough, he was embarrassed, but at the very least he might find out a thing or two about his situation.

Lane chuckled. 'Kid,' he grinned, 'I've been in my current line of work for twenty years now.' Zach felt himself deflate. 'You learn to pick up on things. You can read people...'

Zach frowned, remembering his reading from earlier in the day.

'You're pretty mature for your age,' Lane added with a grin. 'That's usually a pretty good sign. Also,' his lips parted into a wry smile, 'You did check me out this morning, when we met.'

Zach groaned and leaned back into the wall. He thought he'd been quicker.

'I suppose noticing your belt didn't exactly hide it, huh?' Zach muttered, with an embarrassed grimace.

'Well,' Lane chuckled. 'Certainly didn't detract.'

Zach sighed, feeling as stupid as his blush made him out to feel. 'I'm not hiding it from him,' he muttered softly. Lane watched the young man as he spoke. 'It's just sometimes he says stuff. Like how I should find a girl...' he looked up at the horse. 'I dunno...' he finally admitted.

Lane cupped him on the shoulder. 'It's okay, kid,' he said softly. 'I'm not gonna say anything.' He let go and stood back up, 'But,' he continued with a knowing look, 'and I know it's none of my business. But you should tell him.'

Zach gave a small nod at his feet. He didn't disagree.

'The longer you put it off,' Lane continued, 'the more awkward it's gonna be.'

Zach gave a small sigh.

'Look on the Bright Side, though!' Lane chirped grabbing the Goat by the shoulders. 'At least you know he'll accept you!' he gave an encouraging grin. 'I didn't get that much,' he added slightly bitterly. 'My dad kicked me out of home.' Zach looked up 'Although,' Lane added with a chuckle, 'That might have something to do with the fact that I didn't so much as tell him, as he walked in on me having sex with a French Giraffe Exchange student.'

Zach let out a throaty laugh.

'Swear to god!' Lane crossed his fingers. He cupped the goat on the shoulder. 'You'll do fine, kid.' He grinned, before turning and beginning his walk down the stairs.

Zach sat there and pondered for a moment, the Pizza weighing him down in the arms. 'H-Hey!' he called back. He put the pizza on the floor and turned down the stairs. Lane had stopped on the first landing, looking back up at him.

'You said,' Zach mentioned with interest, 'That if you could do anything for me, to call you, right?'

'Name it!' The Horse said, leaning back on the bannister.

'C-Could' Zach stammered. He swallowed hard and steeled his resolve, 'Could you teach me how to tell how someone's gay?'

Lane pursed his lips. 'Ah,' he muttered, the smile fading from his lips. 'Uh, sorry kid,' he grimaced back up the stairs. Zach felt disappointment surge throughout. 'I mean, I would,' Lane added, 'But, you gotta understand, it's not like there's a course or anything. I mean,' he gestured with his hands wide open, 'I don't even know I'm doing it, y'know? Just one of those things. Coupled with a lifetime of being gay, and decades of police work.'

Zach gave a small sad nod.

'Have a good one, Lane.' He muttered, cobbling together a morose smile.

'You too, Zach,' the Horse nodded. He shot him an apologetic smile. 'Hey, chin up, eh?' he added. 'You're in college! Things'll start looking up for ya, trust me.'

Zach opened the door to the apartment. Most of the clutter from earlier in the day had been cleared away. Only a few boxes remained and the apartment had begun to take shape. Furniture had been erected and placed strategically around. The couch was now stationed in front of a blank stretch of wall. It had never occurred to Zach that he would need a TV, which was crazy when he thought about it, as his consoles were placed at the foot of the wall. What was he planning to plug them into?

'Zach!' Jake boomed from the kitchen. The cabinets were all open and filled with various appliances and cookware. 'Welcome Home, Bud!' Zach gave himself an inward grin. Somebody was in a good mood.

'Pizza!' Zach groaned, depositing the boxes on the table.

'Hell Yeah!' enthused the older goat. He reached under a counter and withdrew two plate. 'Unfortunately,' Jake grimaced, handing his son one of the plates, 'This is the last takeout for a while. Then it's on to home cooking. Your mom would kill me if I kept feeding you this shit.'

Zach hungrily tore open the first box, supreme, extra anchovies.

'Oh, Baby!' he groaned, pulling out two slices, cheese clinging to the rest of the pie, and depositing it on his plate.

'How was School?' Jake asked, pulling two slices of the Pepperoni in the next box.

'Yeah!' Jake enthused, sitting down at the table. 'Pretty damn cool.' He wolfed down a few bites, allowing gluttonous bliss fill his senses. 'First class on Monday!' he said over a mouthful of food.

'Excellent.' Jake replied, shuffling into his own chair. 'You have class with that pretty girl you brought round earlier?'

Jake spluttered. He had tried to swallow and sigh at the same time. He leaped off the chair and dashed to the kitchen. He wrenched the faucet open and cupped his hands underneath, taking deep gulps when it was full enough.

'Say no more.' Jake smirked, taking a bite of Pizza.

Zach felt his throat push the food down, and he gasped huge lungful's of air.

'Firstly,' he seethed, turning around to face his dad. 'Her name is Abby, and she's doing Computer Science.' He marched back to his plate and sat down. 'Secondly, she's just a friend.'

Jake wiggled his eyebrows.

'Oh for the love of-' Zach huffed, taking another bite of Pizza, 'if you're going to be this way, I'm not bringing anyone around anymore!'

'Suit yourself.' Jake muttered. 'She is a cutie though.'

Zach scowled. 'I ran into Lane on my way up.' he muttered, changing the topic.

'Mm!' Jake cried over a mouthful of Pizza. He swallowed before continuing. 'I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out to dinner with us tomorrow night?'

'He said,' Zach nodded. 'And sure.'

'There's a place he knows that he really likes. Does African Food.'

Zach frowned. 'What's African Food?' he asked, raising an eyebrow. He'd never thought about it for.

'I dunno,' Jake shrugged his shoulders, 'But Lane says it's incredible.'

'I'll be there, with Bells on.' Zach said, stuffing more pizza into his maw.

'You could invite Abby.' Jake said, shooting a grin.

'Oh my GOD!' Zach groaned.

Zach hated waking up at 6am. Almost as much as he hated waking up at 3 am. Upon reflection, it was entirely possible Zach just hated waking up. His phone was screaming at him from his bedside table. His eyes snapped open, and protested as what minimal light perverted his senses. He reached over and wrenched it towards him, the cable in its bottom flicking free and falling to the ground. He jabbed at the screen until the screaming stopped, and forced himself up and into the shower. At first Jake was surprised to hear that his son was interested in the Gym, but was incredibly supportive of it. He hadn't been on a team sport for two years, beginning to workout sounded like a great thing to him.

Zach stepped out of the shower, dried, and fished a collection of loose fitting clothes from his freshly constructed dresser. He pulled them on, and slipped his feet into a pair of old running shoes.

He found his keys on the dresser and his phone where he had left it in his bed sheets. He frowned and began to look around the room for the only missing piece: his wallet.

He stepped out into the dark hallway. Across the hall he could hear his father's heavy breathing. He crept up into the living room and began to search, scanning the table tops. He gave a quick glance around the apartment and found it on the kitchen table. He snatched it up and was about to leave when he remembered he would need the Temporary pass to get into the gym. His shoulders sagged and he cast his eyes around the living room, landing on his satchel where he had left it the night before, slumped against the couch.

He crept over to the bag, picking it up and sitting it on the couch. He flipped it open, immediately finding the loose sheaf of paper stacked neatly against the information packet. He plucked it up from the bag, and squinted in the near darkness, satisfied he had grabbed the right thing when he made out the College Logo at the top. He folded the paper and tucked it into his wallet. He snapped the bag shut.

Then he opened it up again. He had glimpsed a small flash of light from the bottom. He reached in and pulled out the bottle that Madame Graves had given him the previous night. The small amount t of light in the apartment had struck the side of the diamond-esque shape in such a way that it reflected directly into his eye. He frowned at the bottle, remembering the uncomfortable time he had spent with the old cat, who seemed to believe his problems could be solved with cologne.

He unscrewed the top and pulled it out, a glass rod following it, as he expected it would. He brought the lid up to his nose and gave a ginger sniff. He pulled it away, to allow the scent to catch him. When it didn't, he brought it back. Again nothing. He upturned the bottle into his hand, half expecting that the old cat had given him an empty bottle, but was surprised when a spurt of wetness touched his palm. The amount was miniscule, pooling in the hollow of his palm comfortably, not threatening to spill over the sides. The samples of his mother's perfume had come in similar containers, really offering only one application, so he wasn't too shocked with how little was inside. He carefully brought it up to his nose and sniffed. Again, he couldn't smell anything. He remembered his mother telling him that some perfumes didn't have an odour until they reacted with the chemicals in a person's skin or fur. He dabbed his middle and index finger into the puddle on his hand, and brought it up to his face. He gave another cursory sniff as it made its way passed his nose, applying it behind each ear. He suddenly remembered that Madame Graves had told him to apply it like this, feeling a little foolish he had forgotten, but washed by the fact he had done it anyway.

He stood there for a moment, before taking in a deep sniff. The room remained completely odourless, save for the stench the Pizzas had filled it with the night before. He rubbed the rest into the back of his neck.

Zach scowled. The Old Cat had been having a joke at his expense after all. A bottle of water.

Har Har.

He quietly left the apartment before he woke Jake up. He took the elevator down to ground level, as it gave him a bit of time to line up some music on his phone. He slipped the earphone jack in and pressed play.

He left the building and began to jog towards the campus. It was still dark out, every street he passed devoid of any or anything. The only vehicles he passed on his way in were a garbage truck in the next suburb over, and a Jack Russel on a scooter heaving papers into yards he passed. He thought briefly about Abby, remembering his dad's constant teasing the night before.

He arrived at the Campus at just after six-fifty. He huffed and puffed, not having had any regular exercise for a while. He gulped at the air, as he walked through the empty college grounds, until he found the square glass building from the night before. He found the front door, and found the building was actually attached to the building behind it, proving it was much bigger than it looked.

He pulled the door open and stepped inside. Immediately he was met with a comfortable breeze blowing on him, cooling him down from his run. He let the heavenly temperature envelop him for a moment, closing his eyes. The entire room smelled of disinfectant and strong cleaning products. He opened his eyes and made his way over to the front desk, where he found an Otter slumped on the desk in front of him watching Rick and Morty play on a phone screen propped up in front of him. He looked up as Zach approached, but didn't raise his head from his arms, until Zach stopped before him. The Otter sighed and sat up.

'H-Hi,' Zach stammered lightly. 'I-I-'

'Freshman?' the Otter grunted. Zach closed his mouth and nodded. 'You got a Pass?'

Zach reached into his wallet and pulled out the sheet of paper. He handed it to the Otter, who paused the phone and wiggled the mouse of the computer in front of him. 'Sorry,' the Otter said flatly. 'We're a little slow this early in the morning. I swear the IT guys turn something off before they go to bed.'

He punched in a code on the keyboard, mouthing the letters out as he read them from the pass. 'Okay,' he muttered, handing the pass back. 'Newbie. I'll get your welcome pack.' He pushed himself out from the desk and shuffled over to a cabinet behind him. He pulled what looked like a large Frisbee from inside and rolled back over to Jake.

'So we're open 24 Hours,' the Otter muttered, handing him the item. He realised it was a Gym Bag, compressed into a small disk shape. 'The gym is staffed from 9am to 5pm on weekdays, 6am to 11am on Weekends. You get a complimentary bag,' he motioned to the disk in Zach's hand, before reaching over to a stack of water bottles on the counter, pulling the top one off, 'And a water bottle. Until your actual pass comes in, you'll need someone on the front desk to buzz you in, so you'll only be allowed in during staffed hours, okay?'

Zach nodded.

'The floors are fitted with these buttons,' he motioned to a button on the wall beside him, 'every twenty feet. Only push it if there's an emergency okay? We're all trained in first aid, so we can help if you get injured, but push a button without meaning it and they could suspend you.'

Zach gave another nod.

'The Locker Room is multitiered,' he pointed to a set of doors behind a turnstile. 'You get assigned a new one every year. They're still building more floors though, cuz there isn't enough to go round. You gotta get in early as a Newbie. You're in luck though,' he muttered, reaching under the counter and pulling out a key. 'Only a few Newbies yesterday came through. And one before you today. So you're one of the lucky ones.'

Zach nodded, taking the key.

'We are not responsible for any lost or stolen items. Finally, we do have PT's here, but they're no employees of the College, you gotta pay if you want em. Clear?'

Zach gave another nod.

'Okay then,' the Otter muttered. Sitting back in his chair. 'Have a good time. I'll buzz you in.'

He pushed the button he motioned at before, which buzzed the Turnstile. Zach hurried through. He made his way through to the locker rooms. The inside was enormous, with lockers spanning the entire width of the room in all directions. Rows of them, not attached to the wall ran in parallel to each other up the length as well. Zach looked down at his keys and found 3043 printed on the head. He squinted over at the nearest locker and found on the front 1001. He figured this meant he was on floor three, and found an elevator recessed into the wall to his right next to a staircase. He shrugged and pushed the button, a shiny metal box sliding open in front of him. He got out on the third floor, this one identical to the first, however with most of the doors to the lockers open, save for a few to his immediate left. He walked down the aisle, reading the numbers, and immediately found his was the first one on the row which was opened. He swung the door shut, and verified he had found locker 3043. He unzipped the disc, and found it collapsed into a pretty impressive sized bag. He tucked it into the locker, and pulled his belongings out of his pockets. He tucked his wallet into the bag, followed by his keys. He was about to deposit his phone, when he realised he should give Abby a heads up about the locker situation. He unlocked the phone and stood there for a moment before realising he didn't have her number. God he was so dense sometimes. He opened up Facebook and began to punch in her name, figuring he could leave her a message that way, but found only a few profiles with names that matched, none of which in Washington. He was about to give up, when a friend request popped up in his notifications. He clicked the picture and found the request from Abigail Graves. Feeling like the biggest moron in the world for thinking her full name was Abby, he clicked accept, and pushed the messenger button. The app flicked over the screen, and found that the chat icon read three pulsating circles, meaning that Abby was typing already. He thought he should wait until she said what she wanted, but was keen to work out, so began to type.

Zach says: Hey Abby! What are you doing up this early? Listen, the guy at the gym said that the locker spaces were limited, so you should really get down here as quick as you can before they're all gone.

The dots pulsed for a few more seconds but vanished for a moment, before starting up again.

Abigail says: Hey Zach!

Abigail says: I know, right? Temple starts at 8, so we gotta be up and ready by seven.

Abigail says: Mom has to wrangle my brothers to make sure they're ready, and I help out.

Abigail says: I'll do that! I'll get mom to stop by on our way home from Aunt Helen's, so I can get one.

Zach smiled, depositing the phone in the bag as well. He picked up the empty bottle, and looked around the room, finding a Drinking Fountain up against the nearest row of lockers. He started his walk over to it, just as the Elevator Dinged and the door slid open.

Out of the Elevator stepped the Lion who had collided with him at yesterday's orientation, wearing a tank top, basketball shorts, and covered in sweat. Their eyes met, and both stopped in their tracks. The Lion's eyes began to dart around anxiously, as Zach felt the pit drop from his stomach. So this Jerk was the other Newbie the Otter had mentioned. He looked away and continued with his task. He filled the bottle, and marched back to the Locker. The Lion swallowed hard, and walked up to him. At first Zach thought he was going to hit him, but his heart fell even further when he reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys for the locker next to his.

Fantastic. An entire year with this Meathead as a locker buddy. He did his best to ignore the lion, as he checked his phone, finding half a dozen notifications that Abby had continued their conversation.

'Um,' a voice chirped at him behind the locker. He tore his face away from the screen and looked at the Lion, narrowing his eyes. 'I-I'm sorry.' He muttered, abashedly. 'About yesterday?'

Zach looked the Lion right in the eye and gave him a curt nod.

'I-I have a competitive streak,' the Lion continued, 'It's no excuse, but yeah...' he trailed off, nervously glancing around the locker room.

Zach considered this for a moment. 'S'Okay.' he muttered.

'I-I'm Jim!' the Lion offered his rather sizable paw out.

'Zach.' he accepted the lion's paw and shook it.

The Lion gave him a nervous grin, then turned back to his locker. Zach turned back to his phone.

Abigail says: Sorry about last night, with Nanna.

Abigail says: She called you an idiot at dinner.

Abigail says: I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have said that. L

Abigail says: Mom likes you though. I told her about you after I dropped you off.

Abigail says: She wants to bake you an apology :P

Zach says: You'll never guess who I'm locker buddy's with.

He glanced back up at the Lion, who took a towel from inside his locker and wiped his face with it.

Abigail says: Dr. Charles Drew?

Zach says: Who?

Abigail says: I unno.

Abigail says: You said I'd never guess.

Abigail says: So I guessed the least likely person.

Zach gave a derisive chortle, and began to formulate his response.

'So, uh,'

He looked back up at the Lion, who was leaning against the locker with his arm draped over the door.

'You finishing up yer workout?' he asked with a small smirk.

'Uh no,' Zach looked down at his phone locking the screen. He deposited it back in the locker, and turned back to the lion. 'Just got here. '

'Cool,' he replied, enthusiastically nodding, 'It's a killer setup. Freeweights, Nautilus, Lap Pool.' He closed his door and leaned against it with his shoulder. 'You workout often?'

'Nah,' Zach shook his head. 'Not really. Thought I'd check this place out.'He glanced down at his feet, 'Since it was free and all.'

'Righteous.' The lion grinned. 'We all gotta start somewhere.'

'Y-yeah.'

A brief pause.

'You need a spot?' Jim asked.

Zach gave a perplexed frown and replied 'Nah, I thought I'd focus on Cardio, you know?'

'Oh yeah!' the Lion gave a big dopey grin. 'Of course, that's cool.' he paused for a second. 'But if you ever do need a spot, I'd be happy to oblige.'

'Thanks.' Zach gave a small chuckle. He returned his gaze to the phone.

Abigail says: Although, if I'm being technical, the least likely person would be your NegaSelf.

Zach says: My what?

Abigail: You know, your negative self? When fighting games want to stretch out a campaign with a cop-out they make you fight your NegaSelf?

Zach says: You're a weirdo.

Abigail says: So I take it you're not sharing a locker with a Shadow Version of you, then?

Zach says: 9_9

Zach says: That lion that crashed into me yesterday. He's my locker biddy.

Zach says: *Buddy.

Abigail says: Ohhhh right. Henry Headlock.

Zach says: His name is Jim.

Abigail says: You still totally owe me, by the way. For the bet.

Zach clicked his tongue, his brow furrowing.

Zach says: Woman I bought you a bag!

Abigail says: And I love it to pieces.

Abigail says: But that had nothing to do with the bet.

Zach says: Of course it didn't...

Abigail says: :P

Abigail says: My Nanna says I take after her whenever something like this happens.

Zach says: I honestly hope not.

Abigail says: What?

Zach says: No offense, but your Nanna's a little creepy.

Abigail says: Oh I know.

Abigail says: She didn't um...do anything with you, yeah?

Zach says: O_o

Zach says: Like what?

Abigail says: There was a guy that came to see her a while back. Said he was looking for help with his wife.

Abigail says: Big Orca dude, right?

Abigail says: Said he needed help "setting the mood".

Abigail says: She gives him a little bottle right?

Abigail says: Three days later he comes storming into the shop. I was there when it happened. He starts screaming at Nanna, showing her all these lipstick marks all over his chest and neck.

Zach swallowed hard as he read.

Abigail says: They won't come off. Almost like they're tattoos.

Abigail says: He screams at her that his wife is kicking him out.

Abigail says: Nanna just looks at him calmly and says 'Why would she kick you out if she put them there?'

Zach let out a single hollow bark of laughter. Jim looked up from his locker with a quizzical look on his face. Zach gave a small blush and returned his attention to the phone.

Zach says: For real?

Abigail says: Yuh-huh. He threatened to sue, but we never heard from him again.

Abigail says: Sometimes she just likes screwing with people. I think she measured this guy up and decided to do just that when he walked through the door.

Sometimes it's funny just how much a story about a person reflects upon that person identically.

Zach says: Well yeah, she gave me something.

Abigail says: Oh my god.

Abigail says: I'm so sorry.

Zach says: De Nada.

Zach says: She was just having a joke with me. Gave me a little bottle. Said it would bring me outta my shell.

Abigail says: o_o

Zach says: Don't worry. It was full of water. Big joke.

Abigail says: Really?

Zach says: *nods*

Abigail says: I'm not calling you a liar, but that doesn't sound like Nanna's sense of humor.

Zach says: As opposed to Lipstick Marks? I wish I was that lucky.

Abigail says: Naw, with Nanna, 'Bringing you outta your shell' might mean something along the lines of you waking up and your skin had peeled off.

Zach says: ,':I

Zach says: Come on, Abby.

Zach says: You know stuff like that doesn't exist in real life, right?

Abigail says: You never know with Nanna...

Zach says: Well send her my love.

Zach says: On the way to temple this morning.

Zach says: Or maybe after.

Abigail says: Oh, Nanna doesn't go to Temple.

Abigail says: She doesn't believe in much, but she says her free time is too valuable to go stand in a cold building every Sunday morning for hours.

Abigail says: Of course that's what she said about the DMV too.

Abigail says: And her subsequent Driving without a License charge is testimony to that.

Zach let out another laugh, this time more filled with humor. He could just imagine it too. The poor cop who pulled her over. Maybe it was Lane. He made a mental note to remind himself to ask him. The locker next to him closed, and Jim leaned down, busying himself with a gym bag now on the floor in front of him.

Abigail says: Okay, I gotta go. I'll talk to you tonite?

Zach says: Sure thing.

Abigail says: ttyl.

Zach put the phone down at the bottom of the locker and turned to face the Lion who was straightening up before him.

'I'll see you round,' Jim murmured with a big goofy grin. 'It was nice to meetcha, Zach!' He enthusiastically extended his hand again. Zach grinned back and took the Lion's paw.

'You too Jim.' He chuckled.

A moment passed.

And then another one.

Zach's brow furrowed, as he maintained eye contact with the large feline in front of him. Neither had broken the handshake, but both stood there, staring into each others eyes.

The grin on the lion's face began to fade.

And then, he leaned in and kissed the young goat.

Immediately, Zach's eyes widened in a mix of shock and something resembling horror. His mind scrambled, as it attempted to make sense of what had just happened. So many different sources of heat reigned in on him from all sides, he struggled to catalogue each and every one of them. His logic centre moved about with surprisingly swift access, like it was untethered from its usual bonds. Firstly, the external. He could feel heat from in front of him, which could be attributed directly to the larger man crossing the boundary well into his own comfort zone. There was another source of heat, this one perhaps the most pleasant, just in front of the former. More intense, more concentrated. Accompanied with something else.

Softness.

This heat was the lion's lips pushed gently into his own.

Then there was the second source, seemed to be pouring out somewhere near his head.

No. Not near his head. It was his head. He couldn't be sure without looking, but the heat permeating about his face could only mean one thing. That blood had rushed to it, and had turned him an embarrassing shade of Puce. A spark of Electricity shot throughout his body starting in his fingertips and all the way into the deep cavities of his brain. Where it had arced left a band of throbbing awareness of his muscles.

The kiss, Zach's first kiss, lasted but a few seconds. To him an eternity passed, the passage of time slowed by a heady cocktail of shock. Suddenly, Jim's eyes shot open and his pupils dilated. He pushed himself off the goat and leaped back a foot.

'Woah!' he huffed, splaying his hands wide, as though it had been Zach who had just kissed him. He took a few shaky breaths, focussing on his fingertips. 'Oh my god...' he muttered, his mouth agape with surprise. 'Oh my God!' he brought his hands up to his face and huffed into the cup they formed.

Zach stood where he had been all those hours ago when the kiss began. His mouth hung open as well, but his eyes were wide in shock, his face a deep shade of red. His heart hammered in his chest, but his breathing remained normal.

'Dude!' Jim chirped, dropping his hands. 'I am so sorry.'

The words took a few attempts to run through the processing centre of the young goat's mind. Everything had converted to white noise, and sadly, even the Lion's words needed to be filtered.

'I don't-' the Lion began clenching his fists with anxiety, 'That is to say, I didn't mean-' he gulped heavily and forced his arms down by his sides. 'I am so sorry' he repeated, a panicked look in his face.

'U-Uh,' Zach's mouth had begun to function again, and words of unknown origin tumbled out. 'I-Its, okay...' he mumbled, looking down at his feet. He was very much aware of the shade of red he could see in the peripheral vision of his cheeks. It had even begun to climb up the bridge of his nose.

'Nooo,' the Lion shook his head, still taking heady gulps of air. 'No, that was definitely not cool,' his fists had begun to shake at his side. 'I am so sorry. Seriously, I don't even know what happened there.'

Zach nodded and looked up from his feet. He felt somewhat relieved that his red complexion apparently matched the lion, who had begun to nervously fidget in front of him. Jim began to babble incoherently, his hands gesturing pointlessly at the air in front of him. Zach took a deep breath and sharp relief flooded his body. His mind, still reeling just as much as the Lion wondered what it had released to get this incredible feeling, but as he took another breath, he realised that he hadn't been breathing normally. In fact he hadn't really been breathing at all. His mind screamed in ecstasy as it was again supplied nutritious oxygen and he could suddenly think straight. Jim continued to make the same few comments over and over again, like he was an NPC in a Videogame. Zach raised a hand in a calming gesture, to try to get the Lion, who in this point was nearly inconsolable, slow down. Jim's voice dropped off, as his face turned even redder. This was by far the most stupid thing he had ever done, and he wasn't even sure why he had done it.

The two stood there for a moment, as their breath normalised. Jim's eyes darted nervously around the room, but eventually settled on the Goat, who had buckled slightly, his knees bending at an odd angle. He held his hand out, but whatever gesture he had intended had blended into an unrecognisable clump of hand. Silence washed over the two panting furs, as they again locked eyes.

Another moment passed.

Zach stared at the Lion, as an unfamiliar feeling blossomed in his gut. It moved like a gas, but stayed low like a liquid, and with a spark of heat, as he realised how incredibly cute the young lion in front of him was, it ignited.

The two of them simultaneously stepped towards each other. Zach instinctively flung his arms around the Lion's neck, who in turn grabbed him by the midriff and locked each other into another kiss. Zach's lust addled senses were dipped momentarily into shock, as he felt the stronger man push his frame into the lockers behind him, right up next to the currently open one, the juxtaposition of cold steel behind him, and soft warmth before him. Unlike the previous one, this kiss was far more frantic, still just as pleasant, but filled with desperation. Hunger. It was like Zach was looking on the entire scene from the top down, watching as someone else took control of his body. He watched as whoever it was raked his fingers through the lion's mane, whose hands, in turn, had begun to drag them over the goat's midriff. He could feel a hot wetness from somewhere completely unfamiliar, and snapped back to his body. His snapped his eyes open to find his vision obscured by the Lion's face, whose eyes were closed. He realised all to suddenly what the feeling was: his lips were parted and the the Lion's tongue had begun to explore his mouth. He was shocked, as he was want to be, but not nearly as shocked when he realised that he had been kissing back with the same level of curiousness as Jim. For all he knew, he had been the one to start it. He felt the Lion's body press into his, and his deductive mind again melted away, as he felt the firm, but soft warmth envelop him. He let out a tiny moan into the Lion's mouth, who applied even more power, and began to kiss the goat harder.

He was overwhelmed by the litany of sensations that bombarded him from every direction, but still kissed the Lion greedily, knowing that whatever the outcome, he wouldn't care. To Zach, this just felt right, and every synapse in his brain screamed out in agreement.

After what felt like minutes, the kiss broke, but the intensity continued, as Jim lowered his head into the goats neck. Zach gave a minute, pout, but gasped loudly as the Lion began to suckle at his nape. In spite of himself he let out a soft bleat, which echoed around the empty locker room, as the Lion applied pressure, raking his tongue over Zach's flesh.

'O-Oh!' Zach huffed, closing his eyes, and grasping at the back of the lion's head. 'Oh God!'

In an instant, the Lion let out a low growl, and pushed his pelvis even deeper into the goat's midriff, who suddenly became painfully aware at the taut lump, pushing the Lion's basketball shorts out, now pressed firmly against his own groin, which without even being aware, had also engorged at the Lion's attention.

The Elevator Dinged, and the couple broke apart again. Zach had to grab onto the open locker for support, as the blushing lion threw himself off bounding at least ten feet from the crime scene.

The cold Steel doors slid open, and a Gorilla with thick, rugged arms, stepped out, focussing all his attention on his phone in front of him, a slim chord extending from the bottom to the buds in his ears. He strolled into the room and to the opposite row of lockers from Zach and Jim. He pulled a key from his pocket and opened the locker, nodding his head to an unheard beat. Zach tore his eyes away from the intruder and cast his gaze over to Jim. He stood at a locker feet away, arms splayed wide. His left arm was higher than his right, in a demented attempt to support himself where he had landed from the feral leap. Both men were panting heavily, but Jim's eyes were transfixed on the Gorilla. Zach cleared his throat softly. Jim immediately averted his eyes to the goat, who made a gesture with his hands to take a breath and relax. Jim gave a short nod, and hoisted himself off the lockers, taking a deep gasp of air into his lungs. The locker across the room from them swung shut, and the gorilla turned, still focussed on his phone. He began to stroll over to the Elevator again, but gave a cursry glance over at the lion, who was now resting against the lockers again, this time his arms crossed, like he was waiting for a bus. The gorilla gave a short frown, but nodded his head slightly at the Lion, who was still bright red in the face. He flicked his eyes over to the goat, who was also quite red, and panting slightly. The gorilla gave a throaty chuckle, and returned his focus to his phone, shaking his head. He reached the elevator, and stepped into the one that had just dropped him off. The doors slid shut again, but he didn't make any further attempt to spread his attention over anything more than his phone.

To Zach's right, the Lion let out an audible exhale, doubling over. He glanced in the larger male's direction, before a grin broke across his face. He shifted his rear, only to discover, like the Lion, most of his weight was being supported by the lockers behind him. He redistributed his weight and pushed himself up to his feet, wobbling slightly, the muscles in his legs still not at one hundred percent. The lion let out a shallow laugh and stood back to full height, sucking in a lungful of air through his nostrils.

'Jesus.' he muttered, placing his hands on his hips, looking down at his shoes.

Zach took a step forward, his left leg buckling a little. With a short gasp he began to fall, but was stopped as a thick pair of arms wrapped themselves around him, catching him before he reached the point of no return. He looked up into the Lion's eyes, which flashed a moment of shock, conceivably for the Goat's fall.

The two stood there for a moment, the Goat wrapped in the Lion's arms, before he leaned down and placed a small kiss on the Goat's nose. Zach felt the blush begin to creep back up again.

'Do you um,' The lion gave a small, nervous grin, 'Do you want to go somewhere a little more...Private?'

Zach could feel the immense heat between them. He looked into the Lion's crystal blue eyes, and swallowed hard. He gave a small, but unmistakeable nod.