Chapter Text
POV- Porchay
“Get fucked, idiot!” A squeaky teenage voice above the water squawks. Laughter. The sound of water guns squirting. The slap of bare feet on concrete. More laughter.
I’ve been listening to these sounds for hours now. Because I’ve been stuck here in this fucking pool. For hours . God, the more I listen to kids having fun up there, the more I just want some lightning to strike down into this fucking stupid pool and just end my miserable existence.
Why can’t I get out of the pool and have fun, you ask?
I am a merman.
Yes, you heard that right. I, a merman, went to a pool party. Fabulous idea, I know- save your applause.
I know it may be hard to believe, but normally I have much better decision-making skills than this. My brother and I don’t go anywhere near water, we take every precaution there is to take. We’re smart.
Unfortunately for me, strong emotions tend to override my intelligence.
My crush was going to be at this pool party, alright? So, can you really blame me for doing this? You would too if you were in my shoes.
I’ve been trying to get any and every excuse to talk to him all year and this was my absolute last resort.
When I arrived at the party, everything was going smoothly. I was socializing, cracking jokes, unleashing my charm on the populace- and most importantly I was staying away from the pool. The only thing left to do was locate my target: Kim.
I looked EVERYWHERE for this guy. Everywhere in the house I could get access to (and it was a big house, mind you, but I combed that place THOUROUGHLY) I checked the backyard, the front yard, the side yard, everywhere on the goddamn property.
Kim was nowhere to be found.
Defeated, I made my way to the kitchen in search of something nonalcoholic to drink (because my brother would skin me alive.)
As I approached, there were some… suspicious noises. But, I was really fucking thirsty, so I crept up the hallway to see if I could quickly sneak in and out unnoticed and preferably untraumatized.
The second criteria was not met.
Through the doorway I saw Kim lifting some girl up onto the counter and kissing her- and god damn that dude’s jawline was no joke- and oh God why is everything blurry, oh tears, that’s why-
Needless to say: I got the fuck out of there.
I started elbowing people out of my way, desperately trying to find the way out. Wasn’t there a gate? There was a gate, where was that fucking gate-
One second I was standing on solid ground, the next I was falling.
I had plunged feet first into the pool. Foolishly, I attempted to keep my tail from forming through sheer willpower. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that.
I had just fell into a pool in front of a crowd full of people. If I didn’t surface soon they might think I needed help. But if I go back up, they might see my tail-
I strained to listen to the chatter above me, listening for anything like: “Hey did you see that kid that just fell in?” “Is he still down there?” “Is he drowning?” But, nothing.
No one had noticed me.
Which, in retrospect was the best possible outcome if I didn’t want to get found out- but in the moment, it really stung.
So there I sat, at the bottom of the pool, waiting for everyone else to leave so that I could go home and get this awful day over with.
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Several hours later, I look up through the water to see a couple blurry figures jump out from behind something and ambush someone, pushing them into the pool. There’s a splash and bubbles obscure my vision. I quickly dart away, hoping I’m swimming the right direction, because, like I said, I can’t fucking see .
I get far enough away from the bubbles to make out the boy with flailing limbs. The boy’s muffled screams echo creepily through the water. I flatten myself against the pool wall on the deepest end of the pool praying he doesn’t see me. Why did I even get that close to begin with? I should have just kept floating in the corner like this.
I wait for the flailing to stop and for the boy to swim to the surface, but he just keeps screaming and flailing. Why isn’t he going to the surface?
It quickly dawns on me. Can he not fucking swim?! Those kids that pushed him in- surely they couldn’t have known right? I can hear them laughing- oh they totally did know, those assholes .
What do I do what do I do??!! I can’t let anyone see me! But, the boy-
He’s stopped moving. He’s stopped fucking moving. A lazy trail of bubbles float out of his open mouth. It’s a beautiful mouth.
It’s Kim’s mouth.
I dart forward, swimming the entire length of the pool in less than a second and drag Kim to the surface, flinging his limp body up onto the concrete- I could have done that more gracefully but I was in a hurry- oh God I hope that didn’t hurt him- WHY AM I WORRIED ABOUT THAT HURTING HIM? FIRST, I GOTTA FIND OUT IF HE FUCKING DROWNED -
I poke my head out of the water and wait a second, wondering if he will wake up on his own. A second passes. Two. “Oh, for fucks sake.” I grip the side of the pool and hoist myself out of the water. I tilt his head and open his mouth to let the water drain out, but he still doesn’t wake up. That means I’m gonna have to-
I take a deep breath and put my hands on either side of his face. Well, this was certainly not how I imagined this going. “Sorry, P’Kim-” I lower my face down to his and-
With a great, rattling cough, he spits up a bunch of water on my face. I scream and fall back into the water. What? He startled me.
Ew God, my mouth tastes chlorine with an aftertaste of backwash. I hear him coughing. I conclude that he’s not in further need of… resuscitating… and sink back down to the pool floor.
“Hello?” He croaks. Oh, God. He totally saw me.