George arrived home to find a frantic Mitchell and Annie waiting for him. Seeing him still in his human shape, they were really confused until George told them about the eclipse.
"A month off! That's such good news!" said Annie, giving him a hug.
When George told them about his day, Mitchell clapped him on the back.
"A new job and you made a date? Guess they can't keep a good man down! Brilliant! When do we get to meet her?"
"You guys should come by tomorrow night. Or at least you Mitchell, after all, no one can see Annie these days." As the words left his traitor mouth, George wished he could have taken them back. As he consulted his inner guidebook on women (admittedly more of a pamphlet) he decided that it would be a coin toss between rage and tears, with a slight chance of both. Mitchell fled the room after a horrified look at Annie.
It was rage.
"Oh, well done George. Very sensitive of you. As if I have any control over this! You know, I've been meaning to give you a piece of my mind – "
An hour later, he was dismissed and allowed to fall onto his bed after barely managing to get the soggy apron untied (he forgot to take it off and walked home like that) and get undressed. He was asleep in seconds.
George knew something was wrong the moment he woke up. The wolf was inside him. Denied its night of rage, George knew from experience that it would spend the day with him, coloring his thoughts and impulses, trembling on the outer edge of his control and waiting for a chance to blow sky high at someone.
And he was supposed to take Penny to the movies, after demonstrating to his new bosses why he was indispensable.
"Why does this always happen to me?" he roared.
After thoroughly demolishing his room, he felt he had vented enough to be safe in public.
Mitchell and Annie quickly figured out what was going on when they heard him raging, and had both left for greener pastures. George stalked to work, a thunderous scowl on his face.
At the restaurant…
"Penny, don't you think it's too soon to make a move on our newest employee? I meant to have a word with you yesterday, especially seeing as how you're on the rebound (Kate looked at the goldfish) and I don't want to lose this guy. Besides, I'm more than half convinced he secretly prefers gentlemen. Not that I care about that, but I don't want to see you get hurt."
Penny looked shocked.
"George definitely is interested in me. Just because he is fantastic in the kitchen doesn't mean anything. You're stereotyping! That would be like saying we should have green skin and warts!"
"Penny! There's no need to be rude. I'm just surprised, I didn't think you went for the nice guys. No offense, you usually attract jerks. You always had it for guys that were…I don't know. Tough guys, all macho and stuff."
A harsh voice startled the three of them.
"Hello! Is there any chance of you birds OPENING any time soon? Or are you so rich, you don't need customers anymore?" The guy was one of those obnoxious gym bunnies Penny usually went for. He wore a muscle shirt despite the cold weather, and his hair was so gelled down it didn't stir at all in the wind.
Kate sighed and opened the door.
"I'm sorry, Sir, I didn't realize the time. Please have a seat."
Amanda went around turning on the lights. She smirked, reasonably sure this guy might get a "special" pizza if he continued to be obnoxious.
George walked in, gave the women a tight smile, and began to head into the back.
Penny quickly worked out he was feeling moody, and George gritted out an apology in advance, saying that he was subject to mood swings about once a month.
Kate and Amanda exchanged knowing looks, smirking.
Penny frowned, thinking he was making a joke in poor taste, and George wanted to scream his frustration at her that he was not bloody joking about having a period or any other feminine traits. He held himself back, his pulse racing in his ears. Penny came over and put her hands on the sides of his head, humming slightly.
Unbelievably, the wolf pulled back a bit, and George was able to get a firmer control over his inner turmoil. This was a dangerous game however; it could come roaring back at the slightest provocation.
"Um, thanks for that, whatever you did. That feels much better."
George began to set up in the kitchen, and he filled the customer's order along with a complimentary side of garlic bread for his inconvenience. Immersing himself in the days tasks, he lost track of time until about half an hour later when he heard raised voices through the pick-up window.
In the dining area, the customer had just been given his check, when he noticed that Penny had accidentally added the garlic bread onto the bill.
"What is this? You give me free garlic bread and then charge me for it?" he shouted from his chair.
The three women turned, exchanged a grim glance (they had had more than enough), and rolled up their sleeves to give him a three-for-one special.
They never got the chance.
George was there, his skin beet red with fury.
"It is impolite to speak to ladies in such a tone." He said, enunciating every syllable. George's fists were clenched so hard, every vein stood out like a cable. The customer, easily a head taller than George and a much more frequent visitor to the local gym responded scornfully.
"Then do something about it, four-eyes."
All three women backed off, wondering how much furniture was going to get broken. George turned toward the front door and stalked toward it almost as if he had forgotten the customer was there. In passing, he reached one hand over and grabbed the guy suddenly by the neck and yanked him out of the chair as easily as if he were a stuffed toy. Still focused on the door, and completely ignoring the fifteen-stone bodybuilder dangling from one hand, George barged outside and heaved the lout over a parked car into the cobblestone street, where a passing constable's mount had just left a steaming cushion for him to land on. After giving him a double "V", George reveled in the wolf's approval, and breathed deeply as it pulled back once more.
Back inside, all three women were looking at him in amazement.
"Sorry. My temper gets the best of me sometimes, especially when people are rude to ladies. I hope that wasn't bad for business."
Penny looked as if she might swoon, and even Amanda was reassessing him…and was her face a bit flushed?
Only Kate remained cool, although her voice was slightly more throaty than usual.
"Not at all. It's nice to see that we can rely on you to defend our honor when customers get out of hand. That was a rather impressive display of chivalry. I thought it was dead."
George grinned, relieved.
"Well, I think we met the guy that killed it. Good riddance on him then."
After George went back to the kitchen, the women went to the large front window to view the gym bunny cleaning himself off in a towering rage.
He looked like he might storm back in, so they briefly chanted in unison from a language long dead.
The newly transformed rabbit looked around, bewildered, before being attacked by stray dog. It was over in about ten seconds.
"Oh, I wanted to keep him!" wailed Penny.
"You've got a real man to occupy your time. Can't say I'm not jealous!" said Kate.
"Did you see that? That was unbelievable! He doesn't look that strong! Magic is fun, but it's nice to see a good old fashioned arse-kicking once in a while!" said Amanda.
"Ooooh, I really want this one! Wish me luck, girls!" said Penny.
Mitchell and Annie showed up at half-past seven. Annie sat there looking bored while Mitchell ordered a huge messy pizza for himself. He told Penny he was George's roommate, and she responded that it was on the house.
"And who's your lady friend?" asked Penny, looking at Annie.
Annie's gaze snapped to focus on her.
"What?" she asked.
"I asked who you were. Are you a friend of George's too?" Penny was confused at the unbelieving look Annie was giving her. Mitchell's eyes were round.
"Um…this is Annie. She lives with us too."
Penny's eyes went flat, and Mitchell cursed himself. This must be George's new squeeze, and he hadn't told her about Annie. Why would he? He never thought she'd be able to see her.
"George didn't mention you. Either of you, that is."
George approached, having spotted Mitchell.
"Hey! Glad you could make it. Penny, this is Mitchell."
"We met. Your roommate Annie as well." Penny looked highly suspicious.
"Oh, you told her about Annie?" he asked, his voice high and light.
Mitchell put his head into his hands.
"George, she's sitting right here!" said Penny, now confused as well as suspicious.
"I meant to ask 'have you told Penny that Annie and I are like sisters – I mean brother and sister, because that's how we look at each other'." Stammered George.
Annie chimed in.
"Yes, that's how we are. George has been there for me through all the grief this big lug of mine-" (here Annie put her arms around a startled Mitchell) "has given me through the years. George is our greatest friend."
"Oh." Penny said, looking relieved.
Mitchell and Annie sent a silent prayer of thanks skyward.
"Now for that pizza." Said Penny smiling and handing the order off to George.
Kate and Amanda were watching this interchange from the sidelines. Amanda gave a warning glance to Kate, who shook her head. Kate, as the eldest, had abilities the other two often forgot about. Concentrating hard, she examined George's two roommates, and gasped aloud.
"Goddess protect us!" she said. Amanda and Penny rushed over.
"Whats going on!" they asked.
"George's roommates are dead. BOTH of them! She's a ghost, he's a vampire!"
Penny and Amanda whistled softly. That explained George's weird behavior. He expected Penny wouldn't be able to see Annie.
"How come we didn't pick up on it?" they asked.
"The ghost is very powerful, she's solid when she wants to be; makes it hard to tell. Same thing with the vamp; he's been off the blood for a while. You have to concentrate to see it now."
Penny looked stricken.
"I'm almost afraid to ask about George."
The three turned to stare through the pick-up window at their helper. Their magically enhanced vision showed them a wolf in an apron and hairnet cheerfully spinning pizza dough in the air. It waved at them, and the pizza dough promptly draped itself over the wolf's head. The customers roared with laughter.
"Bollocks!" the three restaurateurs said together.
"There was a full moon last night!" said Penny.
"An eclipsed full moon. Hence that muscle bound idiot getting thrown out on his ear. George must have been ready to explode."
Amanda was still trying to assimilate all of this.
"How did they wind up living together? It's like the makings of a sit-com, or a horror-drama on BBC3!"
"There was a time when being supernatural was like you were unique! We are just part of the scenery here! Why didn't George tell me about this?" Penny wailed.
Amanda looked at her.
"Um, you have only known him two days, right? And you haven't exactly come clean yourself. Give him a chance. Maybe he doesn't want to frighten you away."
Penny nodded.
"You're right. And I guess I have no reason to be jealous of a ghost. It's not like they can – "
A frantic dinging caught their attention. George was up to his ears in pizza. The girls rushed off to serve the customers.
Kate shook her head.
"Why did he have to be a werewolf?"
At the close of business, Penny and George walked to the movie theatre for their date.
George looked pained, and Penny asked him what was wrong.
"You know how you said you hated liars? Annie and Mitchell aren't dating. They said that so you wouldn't get upset. Annie is really just a good friend who we share the flat with. And there is no chance of anything happening relationship-wise between she and I."
Penny smiled.
"I know that. And thank you for being honest with me."
George looked even more agonized.
"There's something else. Something about me you should know…"
"You're a Scorpio."
George blinked.
"How did you know that?"
"Scorpios are Water signs, just like Cancer and Pisces. It was a one out of three shot. Werewolves are always Water signs."
Now George stopped dead in his tracks.
"How on earth did you know that? Am I that obvious?" he asked.
Penny shook her head.
"No, but I can tell. I'm a witch. All three of us are. We know about your roommates too."
George sat down on the sidewalk curb and stared straight ahead at nothing.
"I should be relieved. Instead, I feel like this is just another chapter in some demented writer's narrative of my life."
Penny sat down beside him.
"I know what's bothering you, I felt this way when I realized what you were. You thought 'Why can I never meet a 'normal' girl?'"
George was horrified that she had seen so clearly into his head.
"George, I liked you before I knew. You liked me before you knew. So, we're different. Did either of us really expect to find normal partners who would accept us for who we are? It doesn't matter. We both have feelings, human feelings, even if we aren't human. And being human is no great triumph, you just take it for granted. We're lucky that way. We get to appreciate what we're missing. Now do you want to see this movie or not?"
George stood up and drew Penny to her feet and pulled her into a surprisingly fierce hug.
"It's a double feature. 'An American Werewolf in Prague' and 'The Return of the Witches of Eastwick'.
"You're joking!" said Penny.
"I never joke about horror movies."
"All of the reviews said these movies are rubbish." Penny remarked.
George took her hand and led her into the theatre.
"And what makes you think we'll be paying any attention to them?"
George bought their tickets as well as an enormous bucket of popcorn and two sodas. They practically had the theatre to themselves, and spent the time laughing at the ridiculous situations the characters managed to get themselves caught up in.