**PRESENT**69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdcETPNRAP
“Mer?” Oscar breathed.
The young man was shaking against the beach house, his legs pulled up to his chest, huddling in a ball. Oscar licked his lips, a lot of questions rolling around in his mind, but he didn’t care. He walked under the small awning that covered the back porch, getting closer to the young man, but he flinched, pulling himself into a ball even more. Oscar was just trying to get out the rain and so he ignored him a little to wipe the water from his face and punch in the code for the door. Once the door was open, Oscar turned back and knelt in front of the young man at the door. There was no doubt who this was and even though he was confused, Oscar knew he had to convince him to get inside.
“Mer…”
The young man shot him a look through his turquoise hair, verifying he was who he was. Oscar smiled a little.
“Hey… We have to get inside, okay? You can’t stay out here like this.”
Mer just stared at him as thunder rumbled in the background, the rain starting to lighten up. Oscar ran his fingers through his black hair, unsure of what to do. Mer was watching him just as intensely as he had when Oscar had rescued him the very first time. The raw confusion and fear made a lump form in Oscar’s throat, making him itch to grab a hold of his friend and shake him to tell him what’s wrong. He could tell that whatever had landed him here was not by good means but he wouldn’t get into Mer’s business.
Eventually, Oscar stood up and moved a little closer, making Mer flinch and shiver even more as he curled himself into a tighter ball. Oscar didn’t care this time and just put his arm under his legs and behind his back, lifting him up and carrying him bridal style into the house. At first, Mer tensed up, still a little confused, but then a familiar scent hit him and he relaxed. As he was carried through the beach house, things started to look familiar and the arms holding him were also familiar. He took a peek at who was carrying him but he didn’t recognize who it was… but he smelled familiar.
“O…ker…?” he rasped.
The young man looked down at him and smiled.
“You can talk now?” he asked. Mer shook his head. There was a reason he could say Oscar’s name now and not before, it’s just he wasn’t ready to go into that reasoning. “Doesn’t really matter I guess. I still know sign language, so you don’t have to push yourself.”
Mer felt himself being lowered down onto something soft and Oscar left him there. As Oscar was leaving to go get some towels, Mer suddenly felt himself grabbing Oscar’s hand. Oscar looked at him in confusion as Mer clung to his arm, trying to tell his friend with his eyes to not leave him. Oscar seemed to get the message and smiled.
“I’m just getting towels to dry us off, okay? I’m not going to leave you. I promise.”
Mer gulped, but he let Oscar’s arm go so that he could get them the towels. While he was doing that, Mer leaned over on the bed and curled up into a ball again. He was cold, confused, and not feeling good. His body felt like he was freezing and on fire at the same time. Oscar came back drying himself off with the towel and holding another one over his arm. He sat on the side of the bed and held out his hand to Mer.
“Here, sit up so I can dry you off.”
Mer just looked at Oscar some more but finally inched his hand into Oscar’s, allowing him to sit him up. Oscar unfolded the gray towel and started to wipe at Mer’s face and then draped the towel over his hair and rubbed it. As he rubbed his hair dry, they were silent. Mer didn’t mind because he was still reeling from what had just happened with him and the fact that the person in front of him was Oscar. It felt like it had been so long since they had seen each other but he knew it had only been about two years since their last encounter… Apparently two years did a lot…
Oscar finished drying his hair and turned his head a little.
“I didn’t realize with it wet like it was that you had cut your hair.”
Mer frowned and touched the top of his head, feeling where his hair was now laying at his shoulders instead of practically down to his knees like before. He made a weird sound and looked disgusted. Oscar deduced it was a sore subject and handed the towel to his friend.
“You can dry the rest of yourself off if you like. I’ll find you some clothes. I’m sure I have a few things that might fit you…” He looked at Mer for a moment. “I think you’re taller than me though… Hmm…”
He stood up again and leave and again, Mer found himself practically lunging after him to keep him from leaving. Oscar knelt down and looked up at his friend, who was shaking again. He curled his pinky and held it up.
“Remember this?” Mer nodded a little. “Give me yours.” Mer wrapped his pinky around Oscar’s and Oscar squeezed his tighter. “I promise that I won’t leave you by yourself without letting you know. If I leave, it’s to get something but I will be coming back. I won’t abandon you, okay?” Mer nodded. “Okay…”
Oscar stood up and went to his room to see if he could find something for Mer to fit in. Mer used the towel to dry himself off and took the time to look over himself. His scales were gone, which was to be expected, and he looked down at his legs. Legs… he thought, wiggling his toes. He didn’t like them… but when he thought about the alternative, it was better than nothing. It got him away and it got him where he wanted to be…
Oscar was going to get the clothes for Mer but everything suddenly hit him and he sat down on the bed in his room. The cut hair, the fear, the clinginess… It was very much not Mer. Something had happened to him and it was something bad. From what he was told when they were kids, merfolk don’t get legs if they dry off like in some movies and books. In order for them to gain legs, they have to specifically ask someone with a lot of magic to make one and from Mer told him, they cost a lot of money in the merfolk world. The fact that he was human (more or less) and scared half to death when Oscar found him, either someone helped him get the legs on purpose or he was forced to get legs. He wasn’t sure what was going on…
He rubbed his face for a second, trying to comprehend everything when his phone rang. He grabbed his phone from the TV stand and answered the video call. It was his dad.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, Oz. I thought I’d check in and see how things are going. Did you finally get everything situated like you wanted?”
“Yeah, I got it all stocked and stuff…”
Isaiah frowned. “What’s wrong? You look upset.”
“It’s… It’s just… I found Mer.”
Isaiah smiled. “I’m glad you found him. I know you were worried when he didn’t show up… by your expression though, I can tell something isn’t right.”
“That’s just the thing, he’s not alright. Dad, he has legs.”
Isaiah’s black eyebrows went up. “Legs?”
“Yeah… Remember when we were little and I had asked Mer about them? He had said that merfolk had to pay for them and they were very expensive. He never had any desire to want them, so why is he human now? And his hair is cut and he was huddling outside the backdoor like a lost dog in the rain… I’m really worried something happened to him.”
“Hmm… it sounds like something very traumatic may have happened. Has he said anything?”
“That’s the weird thing too; he actually said my name. I mean, it was a little broken due to his lack of using his voice, but he actually used his voice…”
“That is strange… Well, don’t try to force anything out of him that he doesn’t want to say or do. Be gentle and kind and as helpful as possible. He trusts you the most, so I’m sure he will eventually tell you what’s going on, but the main thing is just to be there for him.”
“Yeah… God, this is so weird… I just… He’s just not himself.”
“He probably won’t be for a while. Just take it slow, that’s all. I won’t keep you then. Keep me updated on everything and if you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask. Oh, by the way, did you ever get that part time job?”
“Oh, yeah, I meant to tell you that. Yes, I got the job at the marine park and they said I could put my art in there to sell as well. I’ll get 50% of my sales.”
“Is that going to be enough?”
“Well, I still have the ones in the online store and I’m working on one now, so it’s just a buffer, really. I wasn’t expecting them to give me 50% though, I was only shooting for 20-30%.”
“Maybe they have seen your work and know how talented you are.”
Oscar gave a small chuckle. “It’s all thanks to Mer anyway… I have to give him some clothes and stuff. I’ll update you anything.”
“Tell him ‘hello’ for me. Take care, Oz.”
Isaiah hung up and Oscar got some clean underwear, pajama bottoms, and a shirt for Mer to wear. Oscar was so happy that his dad knew Mer was real and not just some fantasy he had made up to cope with the loss of his mother. It was nice to talk about Mer as if he were a real person and Oscar was surprised when he told Isaiah about his fishy friend and wasn’t completely dismissed and gave him a chance to prove he was real. He felt lucky to have someone like Isaiah by his side.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJR5Lbn0Sq
