Two Different Worlds (Re-Write) - A Hermitcraft Mermaid AU

Chapter 9 - Suspiciously Suspicious

I couldn't resist the chapter name. I'm sorry.

Xisuma's POV

To say I don't notice Scar, BDubs and Ezra disappear every day would be an absolute lie.

At first I considered going after them (only for Joe to insist they were safe and to talk me out of it). Then I began to trust them, knowing wherever they were wandering off to must be safe when they came back alright and uninjured every day before sunset.

Then, within the last week or so, I noticed that Scar was acting strange. Not strange in a really bad way, but he's been barely paying attention to anything around him, is always smiling way more than usual, and never takes this bracelet he found a few weeks ago off.

"Do you think he's ok?" I ask Stress, who knows a lot more than me about medical things.

"He just looks... happy?" She shrugs, not really thinking much of it.

"He looks like Tango when he started liking Zedaph." Wels admits. Stress's eyes light up, and she turns to Wels with a bright smile.

"Oooh! You don't think he has a crush, do you?" She asks him, Wels simply shrugging a little.

"I agree." Zedaph adds from behind me, watching Scar. "He definitely looks like Tango when he started liking me."

"I support that statement." Tango agrees. "I'm seeing a lot of similarities between Scar and my 16 year old self right now."

"Wh-what? He doesn't have a crush, stop teasing him!" I deny, crossing my arms. "It's something else...definitely not that."

"You never know X." Joe shrugs, smiling at me. "He might've met someone out there who he likes."

"No way! Not already!" I insist.

"Xisuma... he's 27, not 5." Wels reminds me patiently. "You don't need to look after him anymore."

"I know he's an adult!" I argue, despite the fact that it feels wrong to admit it. "I'm just certain it isn't a crush, ok? I'm gonna talk to him about it..."

Scar's sitting outside his and BDubs's house, turning that little bracelet over in his hands and softly humming to himself. When he sees me, he quickly slips the bracelet back onto his wrist, and smiles a little awkwardly.

"Scar, we need to talk." I tell him, before he can say hi. I watch his eyes widen in concern, before I sit down next to him. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble or anything, I just need to ask you something."

He nods anxiously, smiling as genuinely as he can and trying not to look at the bracelet. He's doing a terrible job.

"You've been acting a little off lately, I just wanted to make sure you were alright." I continue. "Nothing bad or anything... just checking."

It's almost funny to watch Scar's silent panic, and the way he's trying to smile and nod through it all. Eventually though, I ask what he seems to be nervous about, just to get it out of the way.

"So where'd you get the bracelet?"

I haven't seen someone's face go red so quickly since Zed and Tango were figuring their relationship out. Now that I think about it, I'm really starting to see the similarities between the two scenarios...

"Did someone give it to you?" I ask, nudging his arm a little and smiling. He hesitates for a moment, before slowly nodding.

"Is it a new friend?"