Part Of Your World

Katherina Everhart || Danielle


Brian Haner Jr || Tori.

Katherine woke up with a groan when her cell phone alarm rang, stretching her legs out as she rolled over. She yawned and slowly cracked her eyes open, grabbing her phone and grinning when she realized what day it was. It was her sixteenth birthday. Finally, the day when she actually felt finally like a real woman. She hopped up out of bed, a little bouncier than usual. She walked into her bathroom and turned the sink on, reaching down to splash some water onto her face and frowning when the water averted from her hand. She pulled her hand back and the flow of water returned to normal. She had no idea what was going on, but she guessed she'd just have to put moisturizer on or something. Maybe she ate too much sugar before she went to bed and she was imagining things. Yeah, that had to be it.

She walked into her room and changed out of her pajamas into her swimsuit, pulling some shorts and a shirt on before she put her hair up into a ponytail. Her boyfriend Matt had promised to take her to the beach today, which was right down the street from her home. She typically spent most of her time at the beach when she wasn't at school or doing homework. She loved the beach and the ocean, and she would live there if it were possible. But she knew her mom wouldn't like that very much. She was extremely protective of her and she barely let her leave the house sometimes. But lucky for her, Matt was the most amazing guy and he always kept his promise to bring her home at the right time. So her mom trusted him, which was always a good thing.

"Wake up!" Someone yelled, tugging at Gemma's covers, trying to take them off. Which wasn't a very hard thing to do, considering nothing stayed in place around here. "Go away," she grumbled, turning over and burying her face in her pillow. "Today's your birthday, and I have a very special surprise for my birthday babe." Gemma instantly knew who it was now, not being able to help the smile that appeared on her face. She huffed, rolling over and opening her eyes, seeing Brian. "So does this mean you're taking me to the surface today?" she asked, hope in her voice. The look on his face clearly said no. She rolled her eyes, pushing him out of her way. She stretched, swimming over to her vanity and raising an eyebrow at her hair. She shook her head, beginning to brush it out. She didn't know why Brian couldn't just take her up to the surface and let her have a little peek. Him and his friends did it all the time. One way or another she was going up there. It was her dream to see what it felt like to have the sun touch her face, to feel the freeze against to skin, to see what would happen to her hair when it dried.

"Who let you in anyways?" Gemma asked Brian as they went into her kitchen. Brian just scoffed, shaking his head at her. "Come on, Gemma. You act like we haven't been friends since we were in diapers before we started dating. It's called being a mermaid and the window," he said, rolling his eyes at her. Before Gemma could yell at him, her parents came in singing happy birthday to her. "Guess what we got you for your birthday!" her mom said excitedly, grabbing her hand and pulling Gemma out of the house. She didn't know what her parents could have possibly gotten her, since she hadn't asked for anything at all. "A dolphin?" Gemma said in surprise, her eyes wide as she stared at the creature in front of her.

Katherine walked downstairs, smiling when she saw Matt standing by the front door. She walked over to him and leaned up, kissing his lips softly. "Good morning, birthday girl," he said, sliding his arms around her waist. "Ah ah ah," she said, wiggling her finger in his face. "That's birthday woman to you." She grinned when he rolled his eyes and slapped her ass. She squeaked and narrowed her eyes at him before she went to grab her beach towel and her bag with all the things she'd need in it. "We're leaving, Mom!" she called. Her mother yelled back a short "happy birthday" and "goodbye" before she left with Matt. They walked down the sidewalk towards the beach, Matt asking her about what she thought she would be getting from him.

He always did this to her. He would sit back and torture her about her present and he found it completely amusing. He did it every year. But it was worth it because all of his presents were amazing. They started walking down the beach towards the ocean, Matt smiling as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a car key attached to a cute little key chain she said she had wanted. Katherine stared at him with wide eyes, her jaw dropping. "No you didn't," she mumbled, thinking that she was definitely still dreaming. "I did," he smirked. He knew her mom couldn't afford her a car, so since he'd gotten a new one for his seventeenth birthday, he decided to give her the old banged up one that he practiced driving in. "But you can't drive it yet. Not until you get your license in three months." Katherine pouted and glared at him. "Fine."

@ the killing lights.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Gemma said, hugging both of her parents tight. She couldn't believe that they had gotten her a dolphin for her birthday. It's not like mermaids couldn't already swim fast or anything, it's just dolphins could definitely swim much faster and help you get to where you wanted to go a lot quicker. Gemma looked at her parents and Brian, a small smirk making it's way on to her face before she got on her dolphin and took off, getting as far away from them as she possibly could. If Brian wasn't going to take her up to the surface for her birthday, then she would do it herself. Once Gemma knew that she was far away enough, she let go of her dolphin, who's name was now Bubs, and began swimming up to the surface. Gemma was almost there when she began to freak out, wondering if she should really be doing this or not. The water was getting warmer and warmer the closer she got, which excited her, but scared her all at the same time. Should she really do this? Should she really go up to the surface?

Katherine's eyes widened when Jimmy, Johnny, Zacky and the Berry brothers jumped up and shouted a big "surprise!" to her. She squealed and hugged all of them, looking back at Matt and grinning at him. "You know, you're the best boyfriend ever," she said, walking over to him and hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Matt." He smiled and nodded his head. "You want a drink?" he asked as he opened the cooler. Katherine laid her towel out and shook her head. "Nah," she murmured, kicking her flip flops off. "I'm gonna go sit at the pier for a couple minutes."

Matt smiled at her. "I'll come with you," he said. "We'll be back in a few, guys." He took Katherine's hand and led her towards the pier, walking down to the end and sitting with her. He smiled when she leaned against him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and resting his head against hers. He couldn't be happier with his life right now. He had everything he'd ever wanted. He was doing well in school, he had a scholarship in his hands, and he had the most beautiful girl in school on his arm. Life was perfect.

@ the killing lights.
Gemma pretty much just said fuck it and surfaced, coughing a little. "Wow," she breathed, looking around. It was very hot and... very unexplainable feeling up here. Gemma giggled and touched the top of her head to see if her hair was drying yet, pouting when it wasn't. She wondered how long it would take. She heard voices, looking over and seeing some creatures moving nearby. Their upper halves looked like mermaids, but their bottom hales didn't. "Humans," Gemma finally realized, her eyes widening. She knew she couldn't be seen, or else she would be so fucked. She swam over towards a rock, hiding behind it and peeking out every once in a while, watching them. The guy was very handsome, the girl was very pretty. Gemma started day dreaming about what it would be like to be a human. To be able to lay out in the sun all day, put her hair up like that. Gemma bit down on her bottom lip, looking at the rock. Maybe she could just get up on it for just a second. She put her hands on top of it, trying to pull herself up. She almost had it when she slid off, squealing and falling into the water. "Wow. I am so weak," she said, shaking her head. Gemma had thought she was pretty strong under the water, but clearly she wasn't.

Matt smiled at Katherine. "I'm gonna go back and get a drink, you coming?" he asked. Katherine smiled up at him and shook her head. "Not yet," she said. "I will in a minute, though." He nodded and got up, walking back to the beach to sit with his friends. Katherine sighed softly as she looked out over the ocean, a small smile still planted on her face. She had never felt so happy. Today was already ten times better than she thought it'd be. She went to stand up when she saw something moving over by a rock. Her brows furrowed and she leaned over, trying to get a better look at it. It looked like a person struggling to get up. She frowned and stood up. "Hey!" she called. "Do you need help?"

@ the killing lights.
Gemma's eyes widened when that human called out to her, knowing she was in some deep shit now. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't just disappear under the water and never come back up. She'd scare the poor girl. But she couldn't exactly communicate with her either. "Dammit," she murmured, sighing heavily. She looked around, biting down on her bottom lip. Maybe if she just hid behind the rock she would just think she was hallucinating and would just forget about it. Gemma would only hope. She moved behind the rock, pressing herself against it and gasping at how hot it was. "What the fuck," she said, a little louder then she had intended. That really hurt. Who knew rocks could do that to you.

Katherine frowned. She walked back down the pier and headed over to the rocks, climbing up them and looking down at the girl, her eyes wide when she saw her face. The girl looked just like her. She stood there, speechless, not entirely sure what to say. The thought that there was a girl that looked like she could be her twin absolutely terrified the shit out of her. She shook her head, letting out a tiny breath. "Wh-who are you?" she asked sternly, crossing her arms over her chest as if this girl were some sort of imposter in her life or something.

@ the killing lights.
Gemma's eyes widened when she heard a voice, looking up and seeing the other girl. She gasped softly when she saw her face, not believing what she was seeing. It was like she was looking in a mirror. Except, the body was totally different. "Who am I? Who are you. And why do you have my face? I want it back," Gemma said, crossing her arms over her chest. Maybe everyone had some sort of replica of themselves up on the surface that they didn't know about, and Gemma just ran into hers. It was completely crazy to think about. She sunk down in the water a little, hoping to hide her tail. She didn't want to start anymore myths about mermaids, that's for sure. But she didn't know if she was going to be able to prevent one from happening this time.

"Excuse me?" Katherine scoffed. "I didn't steal your face. She stepped back and squealed as she slipped, cutting her leg on the rock as she slid down and fell into the water. She reached down and held her leg, beginning to panic as she sunk lower into the water. Her leg hurt so badly that she didn't want to let go of it, but she had to swim back to the surface or she would drown. She used one hand to try and swim back to the surface, her eyes widening when she felt her body start to transform. She screamed in the water as her legs turned into a tail, beginning to panic even more, but suddenly, she didn't find herself so out of breath anymore. But her head began to spin and before she knew it, she'd fainted from shock.

@ the killing lights.
Gemma's eyes widened when the girl fell into the water, diving down and swimming after her. Gemma stopped though, furrowing her eyebrows when she saw what was happening. Was she... was she turning into a mermaid? That couldn't be possible. Could it? She saw the girl begin to sink down to the bottom, her eyes widening as she bolted after her. Gemma grabbed her by her arm, pulling her up to the surface. She didn't know if she still needed air or not, she was so fucking confused right now. She didn't know what was going on. Could this girl really be her twin? "Hey, wake up," Gemma said, beginning to panic when she heard voices. Gemma quickly moved so they were hiding under the docks, frowning at the male's panicked voice. She sighed when he took off down the dock, yelling something that Gemma didn't pay attention to. "Hey, you, hellooo?" Gemma said, patting the girl on the cheek to try and get her to wake up.

Katherine's brows furrowed as she coughed and sputtered water, beginning to freak out again as she realized what had happened. "What's wrong with me? What is this?" she said, reaching down and grabbing her legs. Well, what was supposed to be her legs. "I'm a freaking fish!" she exclaimed, looking up at the other girl. "Get me out. I want my legs back." She thought she was dreaming, but this felt all to real. Maybe this was why the water was repelling her earlier. But this couldn't be possible. Mermaids didn't exist. She wasn't a mermaid. She tried to swim away, but her tail was just jerking around. It felt like her legs had just morphed together and she couldn't move them. She frowned when she heard Matt's voice, looking up at the dock and then back at the girl. "Help me."

@ the killing lights.
Gemma blinked, not knowing what to do. "Just.. just relax. Stop flopping around like that," she said, looking at her like she was crazy. "It's not like you're going to drown. You can breathe under water. I'm not entirely sure how to help you though," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I mean, I don't understand why you changed like that. It's just weird," she said, shaking her head. Gemma was just as confused and freaked out as she was. She didn't know what to do. It's not like she could go to her parents about this or anything, especially since she wasn't supposed to be up here on the surface right now to begin with. They would just freak the hell out and ground her for life. "I don't know how to get your legs back. I don't even know why you changed. I would help you if I could, but I can't," she said, frowning. "What's your name? Mines Gemma."

Katherine sighed softly. "I'm Katherine. I need to go back on land," she said. "I have to go see my friends, they're worried about me." She bit her lip and lunged herself forward, trying to reach up and grab onto the pier so she could pull herself up, but it was too tall. She frowned and rubbed her forehead. "I need to get on land again. Can you lead me over there? I don't know how to swim with this . . . thing." She looked down at her tail and made a face. The idea that she was now a mermaid was making her kind of nauseous. She'd always believed that mermaids were just a fairytale, along with fairies and witches and warlocks among other things. Maybe when she fell, she hit her head and now she was just dreaming. Yeah, that had to be it. "Please lead me to the shore. I promise I'll make sure nobody sees us."

@ the killing lights.
Gemma furrowed her eyebrows together, not really sure if she should let Katherine go back on shore or not. What if she didn't turn back into a human? What if someone saw them? Gemma couldn't risk it, but it looked like she was going to have to. "Alright, fine. I'll take you over to where no one will see you and you can wash up with the waves," she said, pulling Katherine along with her to a deserted end of the beach. "Alright, you can just let the waves take you in. I'll watch and make sure that you change back into your human form before I go," she said with a sigh. "I'm Gemma by the way."

@ the killing lights.
Gemma furrowed her eyebrows together, not really sure if she should let Katherine go back on shore or not. What if she didn't turn back into a human? What if someone saw them? Gemma couldn't risk it, but it looked like she was going to have to. "Alright, fine. I'll take you over to where no one will see you and you can wash up with the waves," she said, pulling Katherine along with her to a deserted end of the beach. "Alright, you can just let the waves take you in. I'll watch and make sure that you change back into your human form before I go," she said with a sigh. "I'm Gemma by the way."

Katherine nodded and she let the waves carry her to the shore, crawling up onto land and away from the water. She sat there for a minute, wondering if she would get her legs back or not. But she began to feel her tail dry, and within minutes, she was back to normal. She stood up and smoothed her shirt down, looking back out to the water and frowning when she didn't see Gemma anymore. She shook her head and began running down the beach, back to where Matt and her friends were. She rushed up to Matt and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. "I'm okay," she said. "I just fell into the water."

@ the killing lights.
Once Gemma saw that Katherine turned back into a human, she went under water and searched for Bubs. That is, until she let curiosity get the best of her. She went back up to the surface, hiding under the docks where her and Katherine once were before and watching all of those humans with curiosity. She couldn't help but find the man she was hugging very attractive. Gemma wished that there were mermen at home more like him. Well, there was Brian, who looked like he would very easily fit into that crowed, but Brian was, well, Brian. There weren't many options where Gemma was from and sometimes the person you grew up being best friends with just automatically becomes the person you end up spending the rest of your life with.