"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?"

"Normally my caretaker Amparo gets them, but I went to the supermarket with Ross once. We took the bus."

Z's eyes widen to the fact someone else does Bea's shopping for her, but he luckily retains a modicum of tact, and opts not to comment. "And, I mean, you totally can't go to school like that. Maybe if I lent you one of my caps..."

Bea raises a quirky brow.

"Yep, no, I get it, how that's not your style."

"It's actually a good idea, but what would I do about... These?" She takes her hands out from her pockets, revealing long sharp claws where her nails should be.

"Oh how cool! You're like Wolverine!" Lu exclaims. "You could become a superhero for real, or a vigilante."

"Ooh, or you could do those cage fights. With claws like that, the opponents wouldn't know what hit'em. You'd win a ton of money every time!" Z is now getting eager and enthusiastic.

"Too many movies, Z." I smile at my friend. 

Bea's stomach rumbles unpleasantly.

Lu leaps up from the sofa. "OMG we haven't even had dinner yet! Let me bring the fries, the ribs, and the burgers from the kitchen."

"Yeah, we better feed her before she eats us." Z chuckles nervously, and then he lifts his hands in defense. "I was only joking!"

Lu is back from the kitchen. "Be our guest!" She plops a platter laden with food before Bea.

"Thanks. Greasy curly fries lift my spirits the way only potatoes can," says Bea, as she digs in.

I love watching her enjoy her food. Her spare ribbing technique is the same as mine.

"Bea. Are you sure you are okay?" Lu asks for the tenth time, peering at her over the top of her thin, oval glasses.

Bea nods, absently dragging a greasy fry through the rich helping of mayo.

But I can feel the truth is different. I am thrilled Lu and Z know about Bea's secret now,  but worried about Gus. Worried about the fact that someone who has so much control over me, knows about her.

Her life. All that information... It could be used against her.

"I still say, consider the cage fights. They're handing out insane money to the winners," says Z, holding up a hamburger.

"Mmm... This is too good." Lu rubs her stomach, praising Z's cooking.

I look on, horrified, as the ketchup drips onto her other t-shirt:  Mix Tape for My Lover radio cassette. I make a mental note not to tell her immediately, at least not until the supper is over.

"Screw diet. I'm going back for more." Lu gets up from the table with a resolute expression on her face. "And I'm bringing dessert for you lot."

"Ooh, dessert. BRB. Bathroom." Z gulps down his burger in two bites and leaves us alone.

I reach across the table, grazing Bea's wrist with a few fingertips, wondering if she's comfortable with this situation and the decision I've made.

"Bea..."

"I like Lu and Z. I get why you three are best friends. Guess you were right after all. They didn't have much trouble accepting all of this," she says, returning the light caress.

I swallow at her sudden touch, waves of electricity rushing through my spine.

Bea gently dips my forefinger into a single dimple on my chin. "Boop."

I can't move. I'm frozen, my whole body is frozen and only my heart is on fire.

"Thanks, Ross," Bea adds softly.

I move my hand so suddenly to scratch my nape, that the wine bottle Z brought crashes to the floor, and starts bleeding to a slow death.

"Chocolate Murder pancakes was the only thing my mom could bake," says Lu, coming back with dessert.

I recall her saying something about Chocolate Murder pancakes earlier in the month, but it was easily forgettable, for two reasons.

One: because Lu always talks about food, and two: because my memory is not that great.

Nothing prepared me for the sight of the food in front of me: four cocoa-flavored chocolate chip American pancakes drizzled with syrup and powdered sugar, and topped with a maraschino cherry. 

She slides a plate to each of us with a smile. 

I stare at it like—how am I supposed to eat this monstrosity? and Bea stares at it like: I can't wait to devour this monstrosity.

"Oh, and no worries about the wine," Lu chirps. "Will get that cleaned up right away."

"Sorry, Lu, I, erm... My hand slipped." I'm looking everywhere except in Bea's general direction.

Lu smiles knowingly and a corner of her mouth quirks up.

I'm saved by Z-man who's back from the bathroom. He plops on the sofa enthusiastically. "Ahh. That felt good. Totally made room for dessert."

"Eww, Z, that's gross." Lu turns towards him with a pout.

"Admit it that you secretly like it, because then you have something to be on my back about." He touches her nose lightly with a fingertip.

"Um, do you have any whipped cream?" Bea interjects.

"Yeah, I can get it for you from the kitchen." Lu seems grateful this Z moment was interrupted.

"Ross and I can go." Bea smiles and pulls my hand.

Once we're inside, she grins. "They're cute."

"Yeah," is all I can think of saying. I've always been aware of the spark between my two best friends. Lately, it has intensified and I wonder if they are subconsciously noticing it, too.

Bea opens the fridge and fishes out a tub of Cool Whip. She looks at me with a mischievous expression, and before I can work out what it means, she dabs icing onto my pale cheek.

"I can't believe you just did that," I say, but I'm laughing.

I reach into the container and swipe an icing-coated finger across her eyebrow. "There. We're even."

Our gazes lock for a few seconds, a staring contest.

Her eyes are still bright with laughter. I'm not about to turn this into an all-out food fight with this shapeshifting enchantress.

That just sounds dangerous.

Then something frightening happens: I get the strangest urge to lick the icing off her face.

This is fun. I'm having fun with Beatrice Laurent, whose face I want to lick the icing off of.

God help me.

"Somehow I get the feeling this is the opposite of what we were supposed to do here," she says, reaching for the roll of paper towels behind her. "But I'm not complaining."

With the back of my hand, I wipe the icing off my eyebrow, trying to ignore the hammering of my heart. "Head back?" I stammer.

In the living room, Z is wolfing down his pancake. I grab a palette knife and spread icing on a much safer place: my own desert. I slice it in half, the sugary cinnamon and liquid chocolate  oozing out the sides.

Bea tastes it too. Her eyes flutter closed as she takes a bite. "Exquisite," she says.  I feel a little thrill, as though I made it myself.

"This is officially the weirdest day of my life," says Z, his lips smeared with chocolate.

"Seriously, thank you," Bea says. "For your kindness and hospitality."

"You are most welcome," says Lu. "Would it have been all the time like this, with us, had we been closer during all these years? I just wish we'd met sooner, you know?"

"Talking cage fights, eating Chocolate Murder pancakes with creamy icing and breaking wine bottles? One hundred percent," Z says.

"Think about all the movies we could have seen, all the family dinners we could have gone to," Lu's eyes glaze over.

Something about the way she says that last one tugs at my heart. The feeling is similar to the nostalgia I've felt all day, except this is a nostalgia for something that never actually happened. There has to be a word for that specific brand of wistfulness.

But the present has the strangest way of yanking us away from the past.

"Plus, we solemnly swear we're going to keep this a secret." Lu takes a sip of a caramel macchiato.

"Promise? Pinky swear?" Z teases, lifting his pinky. Grumbling, Lu hooks her pinky to his, and Bea and I join in.

"There's one thing we still haven't told you." I glance at Bea for approval.

She nods, almost imperceptibly.

"Gus saw her transform today." 

Lu opens and closes her mouth like a fish out of water. I think I've never seen her speechless before.

"Whoa, what? Fuuuck. So he knows?" Z man holds his head between his hands.

"It's worse. He... He twonked Ross on the head and I transformed to protect him. I didn't harm Gus but... He ran out of my mansion all riled up."

"Dang." Z bites into his lower lip. "Okay, so we need a game plan."

Bea's face illuminates.

I love how with Z-man, it's an immediate "we." He wants to be included, he wants to help.

"Oh, you don't have to do that." Bea  swallows, and I can see she's very touched — on the verge of tearing up.

"Yeah, no shit, Cat Girl. You one of us now."

Lu smiles and speaks up, finally finding her words. "I am with Z. Bea, apart from Ross, we are the only ones who know about your secret. We want to keep it for you. Gus might... Well,  I am afraid he might do the opposite." Her lips are now thin line.

She's not wrong. 

"You can't go back to your mansion. So I bid you welcome to my lair," Lu says in a voice that makes her sound like Dr. Octopus. "Mi casa es su casa. Stay as long as you like, and I promise I'll do my best not to be obnoxious and I'll give you all the privacy you need."

"Sorry about barging in," Bea says. "Thank you for trying to help me."

"You'll love it here. Your room will be upstairs, and there is a huge garden in the back, where you can chill, read when it's not snowing, whatever. It's super private."

"So..." Bea pulls out her phone, her voice trailing away. "I can PayPal you some..." She adds lamely.

Lu shakes his head with a frown. "What? No, no, no. You are not doing that." She pats Bea affectionately on the shoulder. "I'd have flunked my physics final without Ross."

"Wouldn't we all..." Z mutters under his breath.

"So, I owe him one. Or five."

Bea inhales, probably determined to point out that aiding her is not the same as aiding me.

But Lu shakes her head hard. "No. Absolutely not. Plus, I really like having you around. Your money is not good here. End of discussion, you hear me?"

"All right, take me to your Cheetos," says Z, his forehead scrunched in concentration.

"Cheetos, after Chocolate Murder pancakes?" Lu pretends to be shocked. "As requested." She hands him the large orange bag, "your snack of choice."

"Why thank you." His eyes never leave hers as his hand dips into the bag and removes a handful. "They're for clarity of thought. So. You need time to learn how to fully shift back into human. No weird teeth, no fluffy ears? Amirite?"

Bea nods.

"So, what we do is, we give you that time. Gus isn't gonna tell anyone, not yet. He must be scared shitless. Plus who'd believe the big lug? That a teen girl can shape-change into a mountain lion? If someone had told me that without having seen you, I wouldn't believe it myself."

Z has a point. I like how direct, honest and down to earth he is. Very quick to act and fiercely protective of his friends.

"That's settled, then. You stay here at Lu's place,  and I drive you and Ross wherever you wanna go. You can't bloody move around in that pink Porsche, it's the only Porsche in the New Town. And, if you take a bus you risk someone recognizing you. My car is at your disposal."

A/N: Theme song: Beauty and the Beast (Live Action) - Be Our Guest