Disclaimer: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors.
Author's Note: Apologies for taking so long in finishing this fic. I have to admit I wrote myself into a corner with the last chapter and had no idea how to continue it. Also, my writing has seriously degenerated over the years so apologies on that as well. I want to thank all the people who read this fic and those who made reviews of the chapters. It really means a lot to me. Hopefully, this will be the second to the last chapter.
Chapter Four
"Ronnie, I am Keith."
It took several minutes for the words to sink in and for Ronnie to actually understand. "You. Can. Talk?" she gawked. "I should have asked a lot more questions about you." Ronnie shook her head as she returned to the eggs she had begun to cook. "Well sit down and I'll fix you your breakfast. Soon as I'm done cooking mine."
Keith nodded and wordlessly did as he was told. "Are you going out today?" he asked as the pajama-clad writer placed a bowl of salad sprinkled with crickets in front of him.
"No, I thought I'd stay in and maybe start working on my next book's draft." Ronnie smiled as she began to dig into her food. "Why? Do you need something? I can easily go to D's and get it."
"You don't have to do anything like that. I just thought I should ask." He assured her with a small smile. The lizard lifted the bowl to his mouth as a slender, lengthy tongue shot out between parted lips, curling around insects and leaves before being pulled back in. It was quite a sight for Ronnie as she paused, mid-bite, and stared.
Keith didn't seem perturbed as he soon polished off the food. Once he noticed the unblinking gaze on the writer's face, he waved his hand before her eyes. "Ronnie? Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah, sorry, your tongue is just, well wow. You really are a lizard. I mean, I knew you weren't ordinary with all the changing and stuff." She apologized, which led to her rambling then apologized for rambling. She trailed off when she realized that Keith was smiling and barely suppressing a chuckle.
"Is something on my face?" She asked, a hand reaching for the corner of her mouth. Keith shook his head in amusement as he once again changed into a young woman with strawberry blonde hair and glittering hazel eyes. Her skin was a healthy tan, the sort one only found on those who spent their days in the sun. Her simple form-fitting dress accentuated the way her waist tapered perfectly into the flare of her hips. And Ronnie felt a twinge of jealousy at how pretty Keith looked.
"There is nothing on your face. I just think you're pretty." Keith giggled, reaching out to lightly tap the very tip of Ronnie's nose before adding "For a human."
The apples of Ronnie's cheeks grew hot and colored crimson, "Um, thanks, I think. If you want, we could go to the park but you'll have to wear a hat and clothes that won't change when you do. The question is do I have anything that'll fit you? Maybe we should go shopping first?"
Ronnie seemed excited about the prospect of going out to buy clothes for Keith. After all if all those people who owned dogs and cats can go buy them pants and shirts, why couldn't she buy clothes for a lizard, albeit a lizard who looked human at first glance. What may have been a shopping montage began to play in Ronnie's mind when the doorbell interrupted her thoughts.
"Who could that be?" The writer pursed her lips as she rose to answer the door. She peered through the peephole and a shriek caught in her throat. Quickly she dashed to Keith and started pushing the lizard towards her room.
"R-Ronnie? What's going on?" Keith blinked.
"It's my agent! I didn't know he was coming! You have to hide!" Ronnie whispered. It was going to be difficult to explain how she happened to have a guest who could transform at a moment's notice. The doorbell continued to ring as Ronnie instructed Keith to stay inside the room while she donned a robe.
"Coming!" Ronnie called out before finally answering the door. Standing in the doorway was a young man with dark brown hair, bangs cropped short to keep out his bright blue eyes. He was clothed simply, no brief case in tow, no fancy suit, it was hard to imagine he was an agent from the way he was dress. "John, sorry for taking so long. I couldn't get out of bed."
John chuckled as he entered the flat. "It's my fault. I should have called ahead and made sure you were already up."
"So, how's having the whole pad to yourself treating you?" John asked while Ronnie ushered him to the living room.
"A bit creepy since I no longer have any explanation for all those noises at night." She admitted sheepishly, "Over active imagination, can't help it."
The agent sat down on the couch and made himself comfortable. "I'll be honest, Ronnie. This is more of a personal call than a business one."
Ronnie felt her stomach knot and a lump formed in her throat, "P-personal? In what way?"
"You see I've, ah, how do I say this." John began, "I've kept our relationship a purely professional one because, well, Gerry was around. And well, I didn't think it was any of my business what went on between the two of you so long as I got you the book deals and got your works published. And now that Gerry's gone, I'm sort of wondering if-"
"My writing will not decline or degenerate because of Gerry's absence!" Ronnie gasped in indignation. "I am shocked you'd even entertain that notion!"
"What? No! Ronnie, that's not what I was going to say!" John shook his head before taking a deep breath. "I know this might probably sound extremely unethical but I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me."
"Oh." Ronnie's eyes grew saucer-wide, "Oh! John, I don't know what to say. But you have to understand it's only been a few days since Gerry left."
"You don't have to have dinner with me tonight or tomorrow night or even next week." John took Ronnie's hands and held them firmly but tenderly. "I can wait for as long as it takes."
Ronnie felt her face flush and her heart hammer in her chest. "J-John I, I don't know what to say."
"A 'yes' would be nice." He smiled hopefully, and squeezed her hands lightly. The smile left his face when Ronnie pulled her hand away and avoided his gaze. Had the writer not been distracted by the dozens of questions buzzing in her head, she might have noticed the grim line that was John's lips. When she finally faced him again, an understanding smile greeted her.
"Give me time to think about it." Was her response before she showed John out. Once she closed the door, Ronnie let out a squeal. Someone actually wanted to go out on a date with her! It sounded shallow but the whole thing seemed like something she'd write in one of her romance novels.
"Keith, you can come out now!" Giddily, she called out. Ronnie trembled in excitement as characters and plots practically wrote themselves in her mind. She saw Keith enter the living and motioned for her to sit on the couch. She had to tell someone, so why not Keith?
But just as they sat across each other, Keith began to change forms once again. The lizard shifted into a form that was distinctly male with hair the color of moonlight and hints of midnight at the ends. Slender eyes that glittered obsidian stared hungrily at Ronnie and before the writer could so much as blink, Keith lunged at her.