Hooked

The next day Ariel found herself at the liquor store. The empty bottle of her liquor had been sitting on the kitchen counter and Hook (Yes, Hook; she would call him Killian when he deserved to be called by his proper name) had been gone when she woke up.

She looked around the different shelves, deciding to get herself some vodka. Hopefully this would help. She stopped when she saw the bottle of Captain Morgan sitting on the shelf in front of her, and just because she’d get a laugh out of it, she bought it for Hook. She’d have to find some way to make him pay her back.

She paid for the alcohol and left the store, heading back to her apartment. She knew that she should probably find a job in town. She had been surviving on a bank account in her name, with a good amount of money in it. She wasn’t entirely sure where it had come from, but she knew it probably had something to do with Prince Eric—she had been given a large amount of money by his family to keep quiet about the whole ordeal and somehow after the curse had been put in place, that money had transferred over to this new world.

When she arrived back at her apartment, she was surprised to find Hook there, staring out the window as she usually did.

“You have a decent view of the town from here,” he said when she entered. “This may just actually come in handy.”

He looked at her and smirked. She rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen with her bag from the liquor store, unsure of how to just give him the bottle of rum. She sighed to herself and pulled both bottles out of the bag. She put the vodka where she normally stored her liquor before carrying the rum into the living room.

“I got you something,” she said, holding up the bottle. “Though I’m not sure you deserve it.”

“I’m sure I could earn it in some form,” he said, winking at Ariel.

“Do you ever stop with the flirting?”

“Rarely,” he said, taking the bottle from her hand, fingers grazing her own in the process. He stared down at the bottle momentarily before unscrewing the top and taking a large gulp straight from the bottle. He made a face. “Not the best, but it’ll do.”

Ariel stood staring at him as he took another shot of the rum. He put the lid back on and handed the bottle back to her as he returned to the window.

“You’re welcome!” Ariel said sarcastically, bringing the bottle into the kitchen and placing it on the kitchen counter. She stood there for a moment, taking in a deep breath and running a hand through her hair. After a moment, she went back into the living room and grabbed her coat. “I’m going for a walk.”

She left the apartment without waiting for whatever response Hook was coming up with. She just needed some fresh air, needed to get away from the pirate—which she had to keep reminding herself that he was, in fact, a pirate. He wasn’t exactly going to be polite and say thank you for things. It was just something she’d have to get used to.

She made her way to the ocean, walking to the end of the dock and sitting down, feet hanging over the edge. It was amazing just how much the ocean could calm her down. The smell of salt and the sound of waves were the best remedy for any of the thoughts plaguing her mind.

If she hadn’t been so relaxed, she probably wouldn’t have dozed off and most likely would not have fallen off the edge of the dock. But that’s exactly what ended up happening.

Ariel awoke with a jolt just before her body hit the water, the ocean biting into her skin with its intolerable icy temperature. She flailed her arms, kicked her legs, but she wasn’t used to being in water in this form. Swimming wasn’t so simple when you had two legs instead of a fin. She could feel the current pulling her down no matter how hard she tried to keep her head above the water, her arms extended to the edge of the dock.

She could feel her finger tips scraping against the edge of the dock as she choked on the icy sea water. She tried getting air into her lungs, but all she could feel was the coldness of it all. Her body was already feeling numb and she was slowly slipping downwards.

When she started seeing spots, she felt something warm wrapped around one of her hands. She could feel herself being pulled—in which direction she wasn’t sure…

She sat up quickly, vomiting water and bile onto the dock. She was shivering uncontrollably, unsure of where she was or how she had gotten there. Suddenly a thick blanket was wrapped around her, before a pair of arms lifted her off the ground. It took her a minute to realize it was Hook who had her, but at this moment she was thankful just to have someone helping her.

With a shaking hand she attempted to pull the blanket closer around her, pressing her face into Hook’s shoulder as he carried her back to her apartment.

When they were safely inside, Hook set her gently down until her feet touched the floor. She gripped his arm as she tried to stead herself, the other hand attempting to hold the blanket around her.

“You may want to put on some dry clothes,” Hook said, he eyed her dripping clothes. “If you need help, I definitely wouldn’t mind undressing you.”

“Y-you’re un-unbelievable,” Ariel got out as she continued to shiver uncontrollably. “C-can y-you help m-me to m-my room?”

“With pleasure,” Hook said, wrapping an arm around her shaking frame and walking her into her room. Once inside, she leaned against her dresser as Hook gave her another once over. “Sure you don’t want any help?”

Ariel shot Hook a glare, and he let go of her, smirking at her before leaving the room. She was surprised he actually closed the door behind him as well.

Reluctantly, she let the blanket fall from her shoulders as she attempted to peel off her wet clothes. It took some time, but eventually they all ended up on the floor. She then pulled out some dry clothes, getting dressed in dry underwear before slipping on some sweat pants and a long sleeved shirt. She carefully pulled on a thick pair of socks before realizing she’d have to do something about her hair, which was still wet.

Carefully she left her room, still shivering, and made her way to the bathroom. She glanced around her apartment, noticing that Hook had taken off again. Once in the bathroom she used her hair drier to dry her hair as much as she could. She just didn’t have the energy to hold the hair drier for long. Giving up, she grabbed a hair tie and pulled her hair back before heading back to her room. She climbed into her bed, curling up under the blankets and savoring the warmth she was starting to feel returning to her body.

At some point she dozed off, not caring what her dreams might bring her. Instead of sour memories, Ariel’s dreams were filled with her family and friends, smiling and laughing with her. It was the happiest her dreams had been in a long time, but she still found herself waking abruptly. She realized after a moment that Hook was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her. She sat up, rubbing her eyes.

“Feeling better, sweetheart?” he asked. She stared at him for a minute, surprised that he actually seemed to be concerned about her. After a moment she nodded her head. He raised the glass he was holding in his hand to his lips, taking a long sip. She could smell the rum. He stood up from her bed and made his way to the door.

“Thank you, Killian,” she said. He paused at the door, glancing back at Ariel for a moment before exiting the room. She knew she probably wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for him. That alone showed her that he wasn’t the pirate she thought he was.