Under the Ocean Waves

One of the most difficult parts of being a siren, in anyone’s perspective, is the fact that they often go days or even weeks without closing their eyes for a single moment of sleep. That may lead some to go crazy or increase the paranoia that they are hearing something in the silence of the ocean or it may just drive emotions and stress extremely high, and of course, movement becomes difficult. It wasn’t going to stop Kellin though. Even though it had been seven or eight days since he’d rested, he wouldn’t let it stop him from swimming against the current, in to the water where the undertow wanted to pull him and crash him against the rocks. He could see Vic on the sand, waiting for him, but poor Kellin had been carried further down the beach by the waves. And it was difficult to move in the said, and pull himself on to the beach without legs. And of course the sun was climbing higher in the sky and that meant people would eventually coming here.

Down the beach, closer to the rocks, Kellin could see Vic pacing back and forth, waiting for him. He stuck his head above water and screamed out, but he didn’t hear. The last thing Kellin wanted to do was resort to one of the powers sirens had in them, because God knows what kind of attention that could attract. If he didn’t find a way down there though, he might have to. Staying in the shallow water, Kellin maneuvered ways to get down there with less of a current. He was so exhausted after a night of chasing down Matty (unsuccessfully) to various parts of the ocean, some of which he’d never even seen before, that he could almost feel himself falling asleep when the wet sand was just beneath him, tempting him to stop and close his eyes. But no, Vic was more important than that. Much more. And when Kellin turned his eyes up to look for the skinny Mexican boy, he realized with alarm that he was starting to walk away.

He had no choice - he had to move himself above the water and let out a screech of such a high decibel that anyone near him might have gone deaf. Vic immediately whipped around and spotted the head and shoulders that were practically glowing, sticking out of the water and he started sprinting, kicking up sand as we went.

When he was near enough Kellin started to get as close as possible, pulling himself on to the shore and finally, dropping face down in the sand.

“Kellin!” Vic yelled, struggling to catch his breath after his run. “Are you okay? What happened? Why aren’t you human?!”

“Matty took back the necklace.. Vic I’m so sorry I made you wait, I thought you were gonna leave and I just… And he took it and I chased him but… and…”

“Calm down,” Vic knelt beside him, gasping when the water came up and splashed against his bare knees. “Just breathe, Kellin. Come on, we need to get you over to the rocks or something before someone sees you…”

Without even waiting for a response the tan boy wrapped his arms around Kellin like he had a few times before, dragging him all the way behind a few rocks so that no one could see them. Kellin couldn’t protest because, well, he was just too overwhelmed to. By the time Vic had set him down he was practically asleep. “Vic..” he moaned, stirring a little to look at him. Vic leaned against one of the rocks, thankful that it wasn’t wet. He was facing the beach, keeping an eye out for any visitors so that he could somehow find a way to wave them off before they got to Kellin. It was still fairly early, so they shouldn’t have too many problems.

“So… What happened?” Vic asked, returning his eyes to the tired siren.

It took a moment for him to breathe and gather enough strength and sense to speak properly. “Matty doesn’t like that I’m up here so much, Vic. He ripped the necklace off of me and went away and I haven’t slept in a long time so I couldn’t catch up. I have no idea where he is, I gave up looking when I noticed the water getting lighter and I swam here because I didn’t want you to think I forgot…”

“Why would he take it back? Oh Kels… are you alright? Why weren’t you sleeping?” Concern flooded Vic’s mind as he glanced up to check for any strangers.

“I’ll be okay.. Just gonna rest when I go back,” Kellin said, closing his eyes and resting his head against the stone. “And he doesn’t want us to see each other. I don’t think he trusts you.”

“Well, fuck him. Would it be better if I only saw you at night?” Vic asked, slightly ticked off about the whole Matty situation. But regardless of any issue that got in the way there was nothing that was going to stop Vic from seeing his fishy friend that he was growing very attached to.

“I mean… I guess… Its annoying, Vic,” Kellin started, taking a deep breath to make it easier to talk. “I want to walk around on the surface with you.”

Vic nodded and slid down across from him, deciding that there wouldn’t be anyone who would come over here, if they came to the beach at all this early. “I don’t want you to get hurt or to get in the way of someone thats so close to you,” he admitted. “But uh…” he gulped, swallowing the little nerves in his throat before continuing, “But I really like you, too.”

A huge smile spread across the siren’s face as happiness swelled inside his chest at Vic’s kind words. “I like you too!” he said almost instantly. “I have no idea, though. I can try and look for him again tonight… but um, the half moon is coming up soon. I’ll be able to come up on land without the necklace on that day.”

Wondering how the hell any of this was possible, Vic was about to ask about Siren magic, but he was cut off by a loud yawn from the one in front of him. And he knew that his curiosity would have to wait until this boy could move, let alone talk. “I want you to go and get some rest,” he said. “Seriously Kellin. I’ll come back later tonight, okay? You need to get some sleep.”

“I guess,” Kellin nodded. “I just… you promise you’ll be back when the moon rises?”

“Of course,” Vic promised. “Let me help you in to the water, okay?”

Kellin didn’t disagree, so Vic took that as an invitation to kneed down beside him once more to pull him in to his arms. Part of him realized Kellin probably wasn’t even able to get himself out of the little crevice safely anyways. “Wait,” said Kellin, holding his arm out just before Vic was about to pick him up again. He looked at Kellin, waiting for him to continue. “Um,” he could feel his face flushing. “Uh, will you kiss me just once?” He couldn’t put his finger on why he was asking, he just felt as if it were the right thing to do. And honestly Vic’s kisses were weighing heavily on his mind as he was chasing down Matty all night. A small smirk tugged at the corner of the Mexican’s mouth as he moved forward to oblige Kellin’s wishes. As he pulled away his arms slid around Kellin’s middle and he started to pull him up and through the sand.

“I’ll be here when the moon is completely over the horizon,” he told him as they walked in to the waves. Kellin tightened his grip on Vic’s arm as he started to lay him down in the water.

“Don’t let go just yet,” he said, moving his tired body up to kiss Vic’s cheek lightly. “I’ll do what I can to find Matty when I wake up,” he promised. “Just… yeah. I’ll see you later.”

“Sleep tight,” said Vic softly, releasing Kellin in to the ocean. They smiled at each other before Kellin flicked his tail and moved away, going off towards parts of the ocean that Vic could only dream about. He waited until he was sure that Kellin had swam safely away before he turned back towards the rocks he’d just dragged Kellin out from. He noticed a single person walking along the beach; a couple, holding hands and giggling. They must have been in high school and they appeared completely happy. It would have been cute if it wasn’t so hurtful. And why it was hurtful, Vic knew almost instantly, was because he wanted that too - but now, he wanted it with Kellin. There was no point in denying the accusations that he was starting to truly develop feelings for the strange boy.

As he went along the rocks, careful to stay out of sight of the couple so as not to disrupt their happy little walk, he thought of past relationships. Never had he taken a girl to the beach seeing as it was his place and he was glad that he hadn’t. Only now every time he even saw a drop of water or something related to the sea, he couldn’t help but think of Kellin. And that, he decided, was when it became not just his place - but also Kellin’s. And strangely enough it felt like it was supposed to be that way anyways.

Lost in his thoughts, Vic gasped when he slipped on the slippery rocks, landing on his side with the cold water splashed up against him. At first he thought he was fine. It wasn’t until he realized the thud he heard when he fell, was also a crack. And suddenly he couldn’t move his ankle very well. At least, not without crying out in pain. No big deal, right? Just call for help, it will be okay, keep calm. But suddenly the image of his phone lying on the counter top where he’d left it flashed in to his mind and that’s when Vic knew that he was in trouble, because there was no way he could walk out of here by himself.

“HELP!” He shouted, thinking of the couple walking along the sand. “SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!” He couldn’t see them from where he was, he could only pray that they’d changed directions seeing as they were headed the opposite way when he had seen them. “FUCK!”

Rolling on to his back he noticed the gash in his arm and screamed when the salt water hit it. “KELLIN!” he said desperately, hoping against all odds that maybe he was close enough for hear or see what was happening. God, the pain in his ankle was getting worse, it was shooting up his leg now and he felt like he was going to be sick. Did the tides rise or fall during the day? If it rose he didn’t know how he was going to handle it because he had no fucking way at all of rolling to safety and even limping was out of the question. And God, had he hit his head too? Because he was feeling dizzy there as well, and he thought maybe his eyes were going blurry.

Someone had to find him eventually, right? He wouldn’t lay here all day like this. His friends and brother would get worried and go looking, and he knew that they would come to the beach first. They had too. The moments passed by and Vic didn’t know if they were going slower or faster than usual. He had no way of checking the time, he just had to lay there, thankful for the shade of the rock so that he wouldn’t have the sun to burn up his skin. Each wave hit him with fresh pain in his cuts and bruises and the cold on his ankle was probably the worst thing ever. His stomach turned; if no one came soon he was going to be sick… “HELP!” he tried again, but no one answered.

At least a half an hour must have passed before Vic realized someone was standing over him. He’d closed his eyes, trying anything to distract himself from the pain he was feeling in various parts of his body. Then water dripping on his face ripped him from those thoughts and eyes looking down at his pulled him back to reality. “You’re Vic,” said the tall boy. Vic simply nodded, unable to speak. “I’m Matty.”

“What?!” Vic’s eyes flew open and at that moment he noticed the sparkling pendant hung around the red-headed boy’s neck. He looked just like Kellin did when they had first met, only his shorts were red. The Mexican tried to sit up but the pain in his body prevented him from most movements. Matty just stared with his arms crossed, silently making judgements about the injured human presented in front of him. “What do you want from me?”

“Why are you talking to Kellin?” he demanded.

Vic bit his lip nervously. This person was capable of both helping him and hurting him. He did not want to say the wrong thing to him. “Because he’s my friend, and I care about him, and I like spending time with him. I don’t think its up to you to decide who can and can’t talk to.”

A little chuckle snuck out of the boy’s throat. “I can try. You wouldn’t want to see your best friend hurt or taken away, would you?”

For a moment Vic hesitated. He glared angrily up at the red-headed siren. “No, I guess I wouldn’t,” he sighed.

“I’m glad we have that understanding,” said Matty. “Now let me show you something.”

Before Vic’s very eyes the once calm looking up was suddenly horribly ugly. His teeth were growing rapidly and his eyes were turning a deep, alarming shade of red. His nails were claws and were those gills on his throat? True fear seeped in to Vic, replacing some of the sickness he’d felt in his stomach. “And this isn’t all I can do. So if you hurt Kellin, I will hurt you.” It seemed that Matty wasn’t a siren, but a monster to Vic. But he supposed that that was just what differentiated sirens from mermaids. “What do you think of that?”

“I think that I don’t even need you threatening me to make me not want to hurt him, Matty. I care about him a lot even though we haven’t known each other nearly as long as you’ve known him,” Vic answered honestly. The pain seemed a little farther away in his mind when he was thinking about Kellin. Matty nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer. His claws were retracted and soon he was normal looking again, which was lucky because that was probably the most terrifying thing Vic had seen in his life.

“Good,” Matty said quietly, taking a step back. “I hoped you’d be thinking that.”

“Wait-” said Vic, realizing that he was leaving. “Wait, could you maybe help me?” he said, craning his sore neck to look at the siren as he stepped in to the water. “Please, just get someone’s attention?”

Matty just smirked and waved and walked further out in to the waves, and no matter how much Vic begged and pleaded and shouted, he never turned back around. And it was still early in the day, and no one was around and Vic’s head was swimming with the effort of yelling and the pain was shooting through his whole being now. It wasn’t even a surprise to him when he felt himself passing out, a sick feeling returning to the pit of his stomach.

On the other hand, already swimming swiftly away to patch things up with his friend, Matty was feeling fine and dandy. Vic’s answer had definitely pleased him - but his thought process pleased him even more. He could see it in his eyes - while Matty was deformed and scary, not once did it ever cross Vic’s mind that Kellin, too, could also turn in to something so horrible. He wasn’t worried about Kellin hurting him, he was desperate to prove that he had no intentions of harming Kellin. And that showed his true feelings and that was how Matty knew he’d passed his little test.