Once Upon a You | A Beauty and the Beast Retelling ✔️

12 | Be Our Guest (Ross)

"That... that was you?" Z-man hugs his knees, staring at Bea as if she's just sprouted horns. "The... you know... The mountain lion? And you're saying there's more of you? Shape-changers?"

"Yup," Bea says. She's still limiting herself to brief one-word or one-sentence answers, and she keeps looking down when she speaks.

I hate how much it costs her to embrace her essence,  and I hope it will get better with time.

"It's fine, Z." Lu pats his arm.

"Fine? Fine? It was one of the most traumatic moments of my life! We hit that thing with my car. It was almost midnight, I was god damn tired, and we had to drag that mountain lion all the way to Ross' toolshed."

"I remember you kept yelping in fear all the time. Chicken." Lu sticks her tongue at him, and I so appreciate her attempt to diffuse the tension.

"Thank you for not calling animal control," Bea speaks up.

"You're welcome. But, that, I, er, I guess that was all Ross." Z scans me next with an Are we sure this is a good idea? look.

"Ross was quite an animal whisperer that night." Lu winks at me.

"And hey, um, sorry about calling you stupid," Z adds. "I had no idea you could understand me, you know.'"

"Oh, is that because it's perfectly fine to call an animal stupid if you are sure they don't understand you?" Lu teases him.

"It's no big deal, Z." Bea blushes.

"And of course I was scared. Heck, anyone would be scared if a friggin wounded mountain lioness roared at them." Z twists his Not Giving a Fuck cap in his hands that are trembling slightly.

"I think it's fortunate we came across Bea the way we did," I say calmly. "She was all alone, scared, and undergoing her first transformation."

"Oh, wow. That's why you suddenly went missing from your own party!" Z-man slaps his forehead. "Whoa, shit. Stopped coming to school and all. Everyone's been wondering where you were. The sick alibi ain't gonna last much longer if you ask me."

"And that's why you..." Lu points her forefinger to my chest, "were so obsessed with the library books on shapeshifting."

They are taking this rather well, all things considered. And, reacting exactly how I thought they would react.

"Why can't you go back to being... You know, like a hundred percent human?" Z is bold and direct, as always. "Do you only have those..." He raises his fingers to his mouth. "Teeth? Or..."

"Z!" Lu smacks his nape.

"What? I think it's kinda cool. I've never met anyone with superpowers before. Can you control the shift?"

Bea slowly lifts her head and assesses him. "No. Not yet. But I hope to learn soon. And to answer your other question..." Her voice trembles. "It's not just the teeth."

Z leans forward with almost morbid curiosity.

"There's also... this." She brings her hoodie down, and he whistles at the sight of her ears.

"They're awesome!" He wolf-whistles.

"Awwie! And so fluffy!" Lu's hand twitches.

I have to shake my head lightly in her direction so she'd understand.

No. No ear cuddling.

Lu's hand stops moving, and she pouts.

Z-man hops from the couch and paces, deep in thought. It feels like he wants to compensate for all the awkwardness from before, and genuinely offer a solution. "But yeah, like, you definitely can't walk around like that. How have you been getting your groceries?"