1 Prologue. It Just Happened!

"I can't really say how it started because I have no idea. I've had a pretty ordinary life; I went to school, I'm in college, work part time as a barista. Enjoyed the craziness of turning eighteen."

"It was after turning nineteen when I noticed these changes begin to happen. The day after my birthday I woke up in a cat's bed. Some would call that a wild night, but I'm pretty sure I didn't drink much, but why I could not remember anything I had no idea."

"In the following weeks I would often wake up in bizarre places. On the dinner table, A bench at the zoo, airport terminal. And yes, always naked, but fortunately someone had covered me up at the airport incident when I came round."

"When I realised what was happening; it took me a few days to come to terms with it, but then I started to embrace it, I learnt to control it. I call them my powers because I don't know any other way to describe it. My friends don't know, I haven't told anyone about what is happening to me. I have never met anyone else like me. I'm scared of what people would say if they knew."

"I wish I had a cool backstory to tell you. I was exposed by gamma radiation or I got struck by a lightning bolt, but no. It is just me and this, I wanna call it amazing but it has its flaws, gift. It definitely has its perks I won't lie but I am worried what could happen if someone found out the truth."

"I really don't know how this happened. I just woke up one morning and there it was, this power I had harnessed. It just happened."

(Sighs.) "I am Amy Moore, and I am a shapeshifter... Surprise!"

Amy sat in front of her laptop screen with the mouse hovering over the live button for facebook. She emphasized the "Surprise!" with glowing cat eyes she could see reflecting back at her. She looked down at the keyboard and hit the delete button on the title tab, and then she sighed again.

"One day Amy you will hit the live button and show the world, maybe you won't feel so lonely then." She said to herself before turning away from the laptop. A spark and a pop filled the silence as she turned into a bird and flew into her bed and under the covers before shifting back into her human form again. The clothes she was wearing fell into a messy pile on the chair in front of the desk.

"I wish I could find someone to talk to about this. Find someone else with this gift." Amy mumbled to herself as she drifted into sleep.

* * *

On the other side of the city a girl named Gwen was driving towards her new student accommodation where she'd be spending her term time in a new dorm.

There were two other girls and two boys in the house and they seemed friendly enough from the video chat she had with them prior to moving in. She pulled into the driving space allocated for her and dragged her suitcases up to her dorm room one by one. She opened them up and smiled at how organised they kept.

Gwen checked her phone and considered updating her Insta to show her new room but decided not to. She organised her toothbrush, hairbrush and cleaning products etc in the en-suite and returned to hang up her clothes and dresses and neatly fold her pyjamas into the drawers. She pulled out all the books she had brought and arranged them into alphabetical order on the shelf above the desk.

It was almost nine so Gwen decided to get dressed into her pyjamas and have an early night ready for her first term to begin. just as she was doing up the last button there was a knock at the door.

Gwen opened it to find Cassie, Rebecca and Steve, her housemates, on the other side. She recognised each of them from the video chat and noticed the fourth one, Chris, was missing. She just stared at them. Cassie spoke first. "Hi roomie, we just want to officially welcome you to our house, now your house also, by inviting you down for a few drinks to settle in."

"Erm..." Gwen started.

Rebecca reached in for a hug. "Welcome Gwen. Damn you are prettier in person."

Gwen adjusted her glasses but didn't say anything.

"Anyway, what do you say roomie?" Cassie asked.

Finally Gwen spoke but the others were disappointed. "Actually I'm kinda tired. I was hoping to get an early night ready for college."

"Oh," replied Cassie. "That's too bad."

Steve did not say anything but he put his arm around Rebecca and slowly started to pull her away. Gwen guessed they were a couple. Rebecca spoke out, "We'll be in the lounge doing shots if you change your mind."

Cassie smiled and hugged Gwen lightly. "I'm not great on long driving either. All I will say is, welcome to Oxfordshire! We'll catch up as soon as you are rested." She began to walk away. "Goodnight roomie."

"Thank you." Gwen called. she watched Cassie disappear down the stairs then closed her door. She leaned against the door and heard the faint sound of Steve somewhere down the hall. "She seems kinda boring." He retorted.

"Give her a chance." Rebecca replied.

Gwen did not want to hear anymore so she climbed into bed. She felt like she should have been insulted, but in a way she did not mind. She liked being boring, it has kept out of trouble and away from unwanted attention all her life so far. Boring was something she felt she could live with. She rolled over and fell straight to sleep to the sounds of her new housemates cheering each other on with shots.