Calum decided not to tell Ashton about the whole I-told-Michael-I-was-a-merman thing. Michael promised he wouldn't say anything, so if Michael sticks true to his word, then there is no need for Ashton to know. That, and the fact that Ashton scares the living shit out of Calum and he really doesn't want to have to face Ashton's inevitably terrifying wrath.
So, Calum keeps his mouth shut as he swims alongside Ashton and Luke. They convinced him that it was time he started helping out around the clan if he planned on being around so often, and Calum was in no place to argue. So here he is, trying to keep up with Ashton and Luke as they gather seaweed and oysters off the ocean floor.
"So, what's it like on land?" Luke wonders aloud, picking up a few mussels off the ground. He drops them into a sandy basket woven out of thick strands of seaweed and algae.
Calum considers this. "I guess it's not that different from life down here. Except we have restaurants and buildings and entertainment stuff, like iPhones and electronic stuff like that."
"Restaurants?" Ashton repeats.
"iPhones?" says Luke.
Calum smiles a little, because this is pretty much how every conversation about land goes. It's weird to think that the mermaids and mermen down here simply have never heard of electronics and buildings and cafes. They live such a simple life, like how humans lives years before they reached innovation. But for whatever reason, they are perfectly fine with it, with no means to change it.
"Yeah. But the ocean is a lot more colorful, you know? It's pretty even close up. Everything on land is covered in rust or it's all dirty and overused and plain. Just grays and browns and blacks. Nothing pretty," Calum says, and Ashton and Luke both consider this quietly. Luke looks like he wants to say something else, but immediately gets distracted by a wonderful field of untouched seaweed, so he swims quickly down to retrieve it. Leaving Ashton and Calum together.
Ashton glances at me sideways, then looks away abruptly. He stares off into the empty space of the ocean, just wide and open blue. He speaks. "I wanted to tell you something, when you were saving Luke from that net."
Calum looks over at him carefully. "What was it?"
"I--" Before Ashton can even begin his proclamation, Luke appeared in front of them, his bundles of new seaweed practically overflowing in the basket. He has rocks placed inside to keep them from floating away.
"Look! More seaweed!" says the over-enthusiastic Luke. Whatever Ashton was going to say becomes lost as Luke talks and Ashton joins him, and Calum nods in all the right places, but he feels like he's missing something important.
The three of them swim further, ducking around rock caves and coral growth among the sand, and Calum watches a shimmering school of fish pass them quietly. Calum looks to Ashton.
"Why don't you all eat fish? Why seaweed?" Calum asks. The moment the words leave his lips, Luke nearly drops his basket in horror. He looks to Calum as if he just announced he kicked puppies for fun. Even Ashton narrows his eyes.
"Is your head full of kelp?" Ashton ridicules, and Calum tilts his head at the phrase. "Why would we eat fish?"
"Because they're seafood? Humans eat them all the time," says Calum. Ashton shakes his head, aiding Luke in picking up a few oysters.
"Well, humans are horrible in that way. Fish are like us. Remember what I told you about how we're at the bottom of the food chain?" Ashton says.
"Unfortunately," mumbles Calum.
"Fish are right along with us. We're in the same field of species. Eating them would almost be like... what's the word? Cannibalism," Ashton says.
"Jesus," Calum mumbles. "Alright, no fish. Got it."
Ashton swims off to find mussels for Luke while Luke hums under his breath beside Calum. He watches Ashton carefully until he disappears behind algae-covered rock. Then Luke turns to Calum. "He's really a nice guy when you get to know him," Luke muses.
Calum doubts this, but doesn't say anything. Instead, he asks a question that's been nagging him ever since he got here. "Where's Ashton's family?"
Luke stops, looking abruptly at Calum. He stares at him, wide and blue eyed, before making sure Ashton isn't anywhere nearby. Then he says, quieter, "He doesn't like to talk about it."
"Did they die?" asks Calum. He starts feeling bad.
"No, they just... left. Sort of. They went missing when Ashton was really young, and no one has seen them since," Luke says. "Ashton had to grow up sort of quick. He matured faster than any of the other kids because he had his childhood ripped away from him. That's why he sort of leads our clan. He's been in charge of himself and others since he was like, six. Everyone sort of looks up to him for decisions."
Calum blinks, leaning back against the slippery rock wall. Luke looks at Calum for a moment before reminding him, "Like I said, he doesn't like to talk about it," meaning don't-talk-to-Ashton-about-his-missing-parents. So Calum obliges. Luke continues swimming in search of more vegetarian ocean food, and Ashton returns shortly. Calum looks at Ashton a little differently, noticing how aged and worn out his hazel eyes are in comparison to how young he is, how that scar drags down the length of his spine, how Ashton moves a little away from Calum whenever he gets too close.
Ashton's cautious, careful, and most of all, he's scared. But he can't let anyone know because he's the one in charge. Calum realizes how hard of a job that must be. He wishes he could wrap his arms around Ashton's waist and hug him tight, but he thinks Ashton might stab him in the back of his neck if he even went into close diameter of him. So he hangs back, and he does what he does best. He just watches.
---
A/N: a little backstory on Ashton's life for ya
okay so what was the last (or current) book you read?
i'm reading paper towns even though i've already read it before because i love john green so much. also side story: john green lived in alabama so he comes back all the time to hang and shit and like a couple months ago he was just chillin by my mom's retail store and I WASN'T THERE therefore I did not meet him and this, friends, is why you should indeed go outside despite the constant urges of watching netflix or reading in bed. I missed out big time and I regret it every day
anyway. this story can be related to the time 5sos hung out in my shitty mall for like 5 hours and i completely missed that too
hope you enjoyed this chapter! 'twas fun. please vote or comment your thoughts and let me know what you thought of it! I hope to update soon.
I love you to the moon.
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Under the Sea ⇔ Cashton ✓
Fanfiction[MERMAID AU] When Calum turns 17, he is diagnosed as terminally ill by a group of doctors who can't seem to explain why he is feeling so sick. However, Calum's symptoms go away when he goes diving in the ocean, finding he has not a disease, but a ta...
