Mermen on Accident (DNF Mermaid AU)

Merman Karl

George and I make our way to the beach the next morning. We finally decided to stop taking our bikes, since it made us feel sick to our stomachs.

We walk down the sand with our backpacks slung across our shoulders. I can't help but think about what this weird prophecy could mean, and why it had to be so vague. I didn't really want to be a merman with super powers or whatever, but at the same time, it would be kind of cool. Even if it does kind of scare me.

Yesterday, after Karl left us, we swam back to the shore and dried off to get our legs back. We didn't really talk as we rode home which made me curious about what George was thinking. Even now as we walk down the beach, all I can hear is the sound of the waves rushing to reach our feet, and the sound of our heavy footsteps in the sand.

We hike up the rocks where Karl said he would meet us and look down into the water. George follows me as I slowly make my way to the slightly sandy inlet under the rocks. We drop our stuff in the sand and prepare ourselves to enter the water, taking off our clothes and shoes. Out of nowhere, Karl's head pokes from the water scaring George half to death.

He yelps and I twist my head towards the water. Only Karl's head can be seen in the darkish liquid and he meekly smiles.

"Sorry about that," he apologizes as George regains his composure.

"Did you bring anybody with you?" I ask Karl as I tuck my shirt into my bag.

He nods his head. "He should be here any minute now." His head ducks under the water and then quickly bobs back up. He nods his head again. "Soon."

George and I stand awkwardly, not wanting to enter the water just yet. I shift from foot to foot, playing in the sand with my toes. George sits on his bag and starts messing with the hem of his red shorts.

Karl gazes intently at us. "You look so much more different as humans," he interrupts the silence.

My head swivels to look at him. "Oh... have you, umm, seen a human before?"

Karl shyly nods his head. "I'm not supposed to, but sometimes I get curious." His head tilts as he observes my hands and legs. "Your legs are such interesting things."

I look down at my long legs, feet sticking into the sand leaving footprints where I stand. "Are they?"

George seems to have shifted his attention to the conversation, also observing my legs.

Karl notes, "They let you go places on land, you use them with very little arm movement too. And your feet look so funny." He slightly giggles as I wiggle my toes in the sand.

A head pops up next to Karl's, a dark mop of hair covering a pale face.

Karl's face lights up. "You made it!"

The dark haired boy nods his head. His eyes scan across George and I wearily.

"Who are these guys?" His voice is deeper than Karl's.

"Umm... they are half mermen and they need help to change back to full humans or something. I assumed you would know about it so..."

I look over at George, who is now on his feet, and he shrugs his shoulders.

"They look very human to me."

"Well..." Karl looks over at us. "Yeah. Are you guys going to get in or...?"

I nervously look over at George and he stares back wide eyed. I don't know what makes him seem so nervous to change, but I feel like he gets this terrified feeling swirling in his stomach every time he thinks about it just like me. I usually shrug it off because it feels so cool to be a merman.

We both step up to the water. It is pretty deep in the little cove. There is a small lip about 5 feet out before it drops down drastically. If I just dive in it should work.

I take a step back and leap head first into the pool, a perfect dive. I splash and let the air bubbles around me rush to the surface. I pop my head above the water and look down at my legs as they transform into my sparkling green tail. After the magic has reached my webbed fingers I look over and see George still standing on shore. My gaze turns to Karl and his friend just 6 feet away staring wide eyed at my transformation. I shift uncomfortably under their gazes and turn back to George.

"C'mon George," I call out.

He looks over at me with slight panic.

"It's okay," I try to assure him.

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes as he steps into the water. He takes blind steps towards me, and as he reaches the deep end he opens his eyes and lets his body sink fully into the water. The three of us watch in awe as George's legs morph into a tail, his fingers become webbed, and the tips of his hair turn blue.

"Karl!" the brown haired boy yells. "You didn't tell me they were the blue and green ones from the prophecy."

Karl shrinks at his sudden outburst. "I didn't think you would remember," he mutters.

"We can't be messing with these guys. Do you know what would happen if somebody figured out that we were associating with them? We could be kicked out, possibly worse."

Karl's eyes shift to where George and I are swimming and back to his friend. "But, they don't seem powerful. And plus they were really nice, and just want to change back to humans."

The boy sighs. "You always see the best in people don't you?" His gaze turns to George and I. "I don't know if I can change you guys back, but I will try my best."

George nods his head. "Thank you. We really appreciate it."

"What's your name by the way?" I interrupt before the dark haired boy can get angry again. 

The boy slightly smiles at my friendly gesture. "I'm Sapnap."

How is everyone today? I can already hear all the "SAPNAP!!" in the comments. Just a little bit of a filler chapter, but it has some important character development. I've been trying to update every Monday and Friday if you didn't know already. We will see how far I can make it before messing up. XD

Thanks for reading! :) <3

1081 words