Part Of Your World

Katherine pulled away from Matt, taking a deep breath. She opened the cooler and grabbed a drink, taking a large sip of it. She had to be dehydrated or something, and that was why she was hallucinating. She sat down on her towel and looked out over the ocean again before looking down at her legs, imagining it as that tail again. She ran her hand over the skin of her thigh, trying to imagine a life where she didn't have legs. It was just impossible, and wrong. Humans weren't meant to live that way. Well, she guessed there was a difference between humans and mermaids. They weren't the same species. Right? How could she be two different species? She was completely overthinking all of this.

Matt couldn't help but notice how weird Katherine was acting, and there was no way she could have fallen into the water and dried off completely that quickly. He sighed as he sat next to her, following her gaze to the ocean, wondering what it was like under the surface. His father was a fisherman, so he'd always heard stories about the mythical creatures that lived under there, and while he was a bit skeptical, not as much as Katherine was, he wondered sometimes if they really existed. But then again, they were mythical creatures for a reason.

@ the killing lights.
Gemma was only able to watch for a few more moments before something tugged at her tail, pulling her under. She looked over to see Brian, who looked extremely pissed off at her. "What are you doing? You know you aren't supposed to be up there. Did anyone see you?" Brian asked frantically, freaking out. Gemma rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Of course no one saw me, Brian. I stayed hidden. God, don't be such a kill joy," she said, sighing and frowning a little. She whistled for Bubs, grabbing ahold of the dolphin and waiting for Brian before taking off on it.

Brian knew that something happened up on the surface that Gemma wasn't telling him. She was acting different towards him and he wanted to know why. When they got back to her house, he grabbed her by her arm and stopped her from going inside. "What's wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?" Brian asked, furrowing his eyebrows together. He scoffed when all Gemma did was yank her arm away and go inside, shaking his head. Something definitely happened. He just didn't know what.

The rest of the day for Katherine was kind of weird, mostly on her part because of what had happened on the beach, but she tried to make the most of it. She decided that the next night when everyone was asleep, she'd go back to the beach, to try and see if she could find the mermaid again. And if she didn't, then she'd know it was all in her head. She snuck out of her house around midnight and walked to the beach, taking a deep breath. It could actually get pretty cool during the late night hours around here. She pulled her sweater snug around her body and walked into the sand, looking around. She was kind of nervous, but at the same time, she was actually beginning to get curious about the mermaid.

@ the killing lights.
Later that night, Gemma decided to go back up to the surface to see the moonlight. She wanted to see what the air would feel like at night, see if it was still hot or if it had cooled down by now without the sun. The water always stayed the same temperature down below. Gemma sighed, debating on wether or not she should take Bubs. He would probably make a lot more noise, but he would get her there and back a lot faster then if she went by herself. Against her better judgement, Genma took him, getting to the beach in record time. She let go of Bubs, surfacing and looking around. There was a slight breeze, it felt cool against her skin. It was nice.

Katherine looked around as she walked towards the water, watching the soft waves roll in. She took a deep breath as she watched the water get closer and closer to her feet. She backed away, scared to see if it would change her legs again. She looked around to make sure nobody was around before clearing her throat. "G-Gemma!" she called out, wondering if the girl could even here her or if she was even around here anymore. What if she'd scared her off?

@ the killing lights.
Gemma heard her name being called, whirling around and spotting Katherine in the distance. Should she go approach the girl once more? Probably not, but she was most definitely going to. Gemma began to swim closer to the shore, stopping when she felt the water getting shallow and her fin touch the seafloor. "Hi, Katherine," she spoke, waving to her. She was definitely taking a risk talking to her again, especially so openly right now. But it was dark, there wasn't much light out, and there wasn't anyone here at the beach except for the two of them. At least as far as Gemma could see. But if anyone showed up, they would just think she was going for a night swim. Even though that was ridiculous.

Katherine bit her lip and she took a small step towards Gemma, not wanting to get too close to the water. "Hey," she murmured. She looked up at the sky, seeing that the full moon had almost risen completely. She looked back at Gemma and took a deep breath. "Is this real?" she asked. "Are you real? Or am I dreaming? I always thought mermaids didn't exist. I thought they were fairytales, but I can't explain what happened to me yesterday. I'm kind of scared, but I'm also intrigued at the same time."

@ kaleidoscopes.
Gemma couldn't help but giggle, nodding. "This is real, you're not dreaming. Pretty much everything you've ever heard about mermaids is true, Katherine. There's really nothing to be afraid of. We're not some got awful creatures that hurt you or anything," she said with a shrug. "I'm kind of curious with the way you look. I feel as if I'm looking into a mirror," Gemma murmured, furrowing her eyebrows together. "Except, there's legs. I don't really understand." Gemma was so fascinated with how her and Katherine looked so much alike. Twins was a rare thing when you were a mermaid, so Gemma never really saw two people who looked alike often.

Katherine looked down at her legs and back up at her. "I know," she mumbled. "I mean . . . I don't really look too much like my mom, but my dad left when I was a baby, and I've never seen him before. My mom doesn't talk much about him, and she doesn't have any pictures, so I always just assumed I looked like him." She sat down in the sand and bit her lip gently. "It's like we're twins. I mean . . . there's no way, but we look exactly the same. I'm just so confused." She honestly didn't understand any of this. Okay, so maybe she could accept the fact that mermaids were real. That was one thing. The fact that she and this mermaid looked like twins was an entirely different thing.

@ kaleidoscopes.
Gemma bit her lip and she shrugged, thinking for a moment. She got this brilliant idea, this sly grin forming on her face. "Do you want to see what it's like to live like a mermaid?" Gemma asked, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. They could easily switch places. Gemma could try getting out of the water and seeing if she could turn into a human just like falling into the water turned Katherine. She wasn't sure if it would work, but there was no harm in trying to find out. "All we would have to do is switch places. Just for a little while, just to see what it's like to be a mermaid. Plus, if we are sisters, which I'm almost certain we are, you can see what are parents are like," Gemma explaind, biting down on her bottom lip.

Katherine bit her lip hard. "But . . . I have a boyfriend," she said. "And my mom, and I have a job. I can't just leave. You don't know anybody I know and I don't know anybody you know." She sat there for a minute, shaking her head. How could Gemma's parents be her own if she already had her own parents? It didn't make sense. And she couldn't just up and leave. Gemma wasn't a human, she didn't know anything about being a human.

@ kaleidoscopes.
Gemma frowned, staring down at her hands. "We could teach each other. Tell each other about our lives. Who's who and what's what. I have a boyfriend too, his name is Brian. We've been best friends since we could remember and one day it just developed into something more," Gemma said, looking up at Katherine. "See? I told you something. I can tell you more if you want, even if you don't want to switch places. We can still get to know each other." Gemma looked up at the sky, noticing how there was a full moon. Deciding to take her chances, she let the tide take her in, hoping and praying that it worked and she changed the same way that Katherine had. She just wanted to try it. She just wanted to see if it would worked. Gemma squeezed her eyes shut, a strange feeling coursinh through her body, especially her tail. When it was over, she opened her eyes to see that she had legs, along with some other strange things. Gemma giggled, moving her new limbs.

Katherine backed up from the water and her eyes widened as she watched Gemma. She quickly pulled her hoodie off and wrapped her up in it. "You're going to freeze," she said, avoiding touching any wet parts of her. She sighed softly. "My boyfriend's name is Matt. He's really the sweetest guy you'll ever meet. He just got me a car for my birthday, but he won't let me drive it until I get my license." She looked at her, realizing she probably had no idea what she was talking about. "Oh . . . um. My mom's name is Mary. I don't have a dad. Mom always told me he ran off when I was a baby because he changed his mind and realized he didn't want us anymore."

@ kaleidoscopes.
Gemma tried several times to stand up, but she just kept falling. "What's a car? Whats a license?" She asked, her eyes wide. She really wanted to know what it was. Shes never heard of those things before. Katherine has probably heard of everything that Gemma had in the ocean, even though Gemma has never heard of anything that Katherine had on the surface. "My moms name is Pearl and my dad's name is Steve. They're nothing special, they're pretty normal. They got me a Dolphin for my birthday though, I named him Bubs," Gemma said, smiling brightly. That was probably the biggest and most exciting gift she had ever gotten from her parents. Gemma bit her lip, looking around and attempting to stand one more time, finally succeeding, wobbling a little. She slowly started walking Around, trying to get used to her new legs.

Katherine stood up and watched her. "A dolphin?" she asked, her eyes wide. "You got a dolphin for your birthday?" She shook her head. "That's insane. I want a freaking dolphin." She followed her just in case she lost balance, standing at her side. "A car is a method of transportation. So you don't have to walk . . . or swim, in your case. But you can't drive a car until you get a license to do so. I only have my permit, which is a learning license. It's really difficult to explain to someone who's never been exposed to the real world before. I mean, my real world."

@ kaleidoscopes.
Gemma smiled and nodded. "A dolphin is our way of transportation. Oh! Here, I'll show you," she said, whistling and watching as Bubs jumped out from the water, doing his little dolphin noise before going back down. "See," Gemma said with a giggle, biting down on her lower lip. "So you know what a dolphin is? You know a lot about the sea, I'm guessing. I don't know anything about the surface," she said with a pout, sighing. Gemma stared out into the water, really not wanting to go back anytime soon. But she knew it was getting late, and since Katherine didn't want to go through with her plan, Gemma was going to be needing to be heading back soon. "I hope I get to see a car someday. Will you take me to see a car someday?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

Katherine grinned slightly when she saw the dolphin, biting her lip as she looked back at Gemma. "Well," she mumbled, sighing softly. "I guess maybe we could switch places. But only for a little while." She really wanted to know what it was like under the water, and if what Gemma was saying was true, and that their parents were really down there, she wanted to see them. She let out a breath and took her pants off, handing them to Gemma. "Here. Put these on. I'll show you where my house is. Just act natural, okay? Don't be weird."

@ kaleidoscopes.
Gemma raised an eyebrow at the things Katherine gave to her to put on, not really sure how to do it. She bit her lip and tried putting both legs into one of the holes, gasping and falling. She groaned, thinking she wasn't doing it right. She took them back off, huffing in frustrating and examining them. She slowly put one leg into one hole, then one leg into the other until she saw a foot come out the end, standing up. She raised an eyebrow when they they fell down, tilting her head to the side. "What am I doing wrong?" she asked, pouting. She couldn't even put on a simple pair of pants. Why was the surface so damn complicating?

Katherine laughed softly and tugged the pants up, buttoning them and zipping them. "You have to fasten them or they won't stay up," she said. She took a deep breath and grabbed her hand, leading her quickly to her home and hoping nobody caught her in just her panties. "That's my house," she said, pointing over to it. "My mom's home. If she asks any questions, just act natural. Oh, and um . . . how the hell am I supposed to breathe under water?" Her eyes were slightly wide at the thought of her getting down in the water and then drowning because she couldn't breathe. She was too young to die.

@ finn.
Gemma watched Katherine button the pants, fascinated. She looked over at what she called a house, nodding at everything she was saying. She blinked when she asked how to breathe under water, furrowing her eyebrows together. "Um... You're part fish, sweets. You should grow gills on your wrists. If not there, then most definitely your tail," she said with a nod. "It should just come naturally. Though you have to focus on using your gills and not your lungs. Might take some practice," she said, biting down on her lower lip. Gemma knew that Katherine would be just fine, though. She wouldn't need any sort of practice using her gills.