Chapter 6

Six

Jon's apartment was adorable. It was bright and colorful, with throw pillows and blankets piled all over the place, yet it was organized. There was an eat-in kitchen attached to a living room, a small but neat bathroom, and a cozy bedroom with more colorful throw blankets and photos of sunsets and beautiful scenery all over the walls. Jon had adorably given him a tour, just like Beel was a person. He had then debated with himself on where to set up the aquarium and had decided on the low, long dresser in the bedroom.

"But," Jon added, "you can hang out in the living room with me in the travel aquarium to watch movies and stuff. Or just loose, as long as you don't hop off. You really are the most well behaved frog ever. I wish I had one like you. I like to travel when I can, so a cat or a dog isn't practical, and Marcus didn't really like animals…" Jon trailed off, looking sort of sad.

Who the hell was Marcus? Beel croaked grumpily, dragging Jon out of whatever distracted space his head had been stuck in.

"Yes, exactly," Jon agreed, although Beel had said nothing to agree with. That was the thing about humans—they acted like pets were carrying on a conversation with them and just filled in the blanks. Humans were so weird sometimes.

"Marcus isn't in the picture anymore, so I suppose I can get a pet now if I want to. Not that he lived here with me anyway, or even liked hanging out here, so really a pet shouldn't have even mattered to him. But then I had to shower after work so I didn't smell like animals. I mean, I don't think the pet store really smells, and I don't think I smelled after work, but… well, anyways, he's gone," Jon finished, setting Beel down back in his travel aquarium on the end table in the living room.

Marcus sounded like a total asshole, and Jon was obviously better off without the jerk. Beel ribbitted that sentiment, which Jon obviously couldn't understand.

"Alright, I'm gonna go get the aquarium set up. You hang here, and I'll be right back. Ribbit if you need me!" he hollered as he went out the door and back downstairs.

Beel felt a little bad that the guy was clearly going to use his own stock to set Beel up, and he made himself a mental note to tell Az to reimburse Jon. They really should have thought of these things ahead of time, but he figured the two lovebirds were already off doing things he would rather not imagine.

He watched from his travel aquarium as Jon lugged up a decent sized aquarium, a heated rock, some food, and even some decorations.

"I know, I know," Jon mumbled when Beel croaked as Jon made another trip for more stuff. "But hey, maybe I'll actually get my own pet that needs an aquarium after this. I mean, there's no reason not to. Sure, the store has pets up for adoption and I take care of them, but they're not mine, you know?"

Jon disappeared in the bedroom, and Beel heard stuff being moved around before Jon came back out and grabbed Beel's travel aquarium, bringing it in and setting it on the bed.

Jon started opening boxes and setting up the aquarium. The dresser was against the wall facing the bedroom door, and the bed was in the center of the room. Beel tried not to imagine the prime view of Jon in bed that he would have.

"Yup, this will be perfect, don't you think?" Jon asked, and Beel ribbitted agreement as Jon got all the basics into the tank.

"I know it's a lot," Jon defended as he added decorations. "But like I said, I can always get my own pet now. It would be nice to have some company. The store's pets are nice, but they end up finding homes so fast, and I hate getting attached when I'll just need to say goodbye. I'm not very good with goodbyes."

Jon finished setting the last few decorations in the aquarium, then he sighed, mumbling, "Which is probably why I let Marcus hang around for as long as I did."

Beel croaked grumpily a few times, causing Jon to look over at him.

"Gabe was right. He always used to say you were great to talk to and ribbitted in all the right places," Jon laughed.

Beel just croaked again. If only Jon knew the half of it. Poor guy would probably have a heart attack.

"So Marcus is obviously my ex, and yeah, he was kind of a dick. He had this hugely inflated ego and thought he was so great, and I guess for a long time I bought into his bullshit. I thought I was so lucky to be with him. He was athletic and smart and had a good paying job, and I kind of did feel honored that someone so handsome and smart was into me, because I'm obviously not the greatest catch," Jon added, motioning to himself.

Beel ribbitted quite excessively at that. Jon was a total cutie pie, and any asshole who made him think he wasn't deserved a special place in the labyrinths of hell.

Jon chuckled. "Yeah, he made me feel like crap about myself. Nothing I did was ever right. I'd buy the guy gifts, and they were wrong. Or I'd cook dinner, and it would taste great, and somehow he still found something wrong with it. He was constantly telling me how lucky I was to have him, and for a long time I think I believed it."

Jon sat down on the bed next to Beel, opening the travel aquarium and reaching in for Beel to hop into his hand.

Jon laid back, placing Beel next to his head and facing him.

"You really are such a unique frog," Jon murmured, stroking Beel's back.

Beel closed his eyes in bliss, enjoying the pets, before he opened his eyes again and looked at Jon. He really had the most lovely hazel eyes. He was such a good person, so sweet and kind. Beel got grumpy all over again thinking about some asshole taking advantage of him and croaked his displeasure.

"Yeah, he was a jerk. For a long time I just didn't see it, I guess, but then we were at a cafe for coffee, and he just started talking about how weird the owner was, and just being... well, being Marcus, I guess. But I know that owner; we've gone to town business meetings together, and he's such a nice guy, and I just couldn't sit there and listen to him badmouth the guy. But when I spoke up, he got super mad at me and made me feel like an idiot, but I knew I was right. I knew he was being a jerk. And I thought to myself, my god, this is what he does to me. These are the things he says about me, and I don't stand up for myself either."

Jon sighed before continuing. "It was like a lightbulb just went on. I just had this realization. I wasn't happy with the guy. So… I broke up with him. In the coffee shop."

Jon chuckled a little at the memory, and Beel ribbitted in support. Good for Jon. Beel was glad he got rid of that asshole.

"Anyway," Jon added, his face losing any sense of humor. "Marcus didn't take it well. He still isn't really taking it well, and that happened like two weeks ago. He just can't believe that someone like me broke up with someone like him. He really is a narcissistic jerk, and I don't know how I didn't see it sooner."

Jon stopped petting Beel and sat up. "But enough of that. Let's go make some dinner and sit down for a movie. I happen to be a horror fan, and Gabe said you loved horror movies. It'll be fun to have someone to watch them with. Even if you are a frog," Jon added.

With that, he reached out his hand, and Beel dutifully hopped into it. They made their way into the kitchen, where Jon placed Beel safely out of the way of burners and dishes, and Beel settled in for the occasional tasting of dinner food while Jon cooked, happily chattering away about customers and his work day and his family.

Jon certainly wasn't Gabe, and Beel almost felt a pang of guilt at enjoying himself so much, but it really was a lovely evening with the pet store owner.

It seemed like Az had come up with a fantastic idea, and Beel was excited for his little "vacation" with Jon, even though he missed his best friend and actual owner. Perhaps it was a good thing to step out of your comfort zone once in a while, after all.