Above: Chapman's Pool

Zelan was woken in the morning by the sunlight streaming in through his windows. He lay in bed, trying to sort through the thoughts in his head.
He could hear Jonah and Eddy laughing, Penny talking to the chickens in the farmyard. There was the sound of a tractor trundling down the track, and shouts as people greeted each other.
There was always something going on at the farm, but Zelan took a moment to close his eyes, pausing a while before getting up.
He had promised to meet his friend Mimi after her track practice, which meant driving to the nearest school, where her athletics club met Sunday mornings. It had been a while since Zelan had set foot in the school, and it brought back memories best forgotten.
Mimi was still running, so Zelan sat down on the grass to wait for her. She was racing a guy with bright yellow hair, and two blades.
Mimi wasn't tall, but she was fast, and she beat the guy by a solid couple of seconds.
Taking a drink, she noticed Zelan, who saluted her lazily.

"Hey." Mimi smiled, sitting down next to him. "Good run, Coby!" She shouted at the yellow haired guy, and he grinned back at her. "How've you been, Ze?"

"Good, yeah. The company's doing well, I've done a few shoots in the past week. We're still mainly working for small, independent companies, but that's okay."

"Good, but I didn't mean the company. I meant you." Mimi grinned, taking another drink from her water bottle.

Zelan paused. "Yeah, I guess."

"Descriptive." Mimi laughed.

"Shut up." Zelan smiled. "That was a good bit of running you did. You beat him by quite a bit."

"Don't you dare say I only beat Coby because he's on blades. He's hella fast." Mimi smiled.

"Well, yeah, I saw-" Zelan stopped. "Wait, did you say his name is Coby?"

"Yeah." Mimi frowned slightly, her eyebrows knotting together. "OI COBY!" She shouted. "Come and meet my mess of a friend!"

"Shut up!" Zelan punched her shoulder lightly, and she laughed.

Coby walked towards them, draining his water bottle as he did so. "You gave me a good challenge, Mi." He laughed, sitting down next to her. "So what's his name?"

"Zelan." Zelan smiled. He searched for recognition on Coby's face, but found none.

"Nice to meet you." Coby smiled. "Mi, you're up again. Against Anna."

Mimi grinned, and stood up. "Don't kill each other, kids." She laughed, heading back towards the track.

"So." Coby broke the silence. "Did you get any sleep in the end?"

"So you did recognise me." Zelan grinned triumphantly.

"Course I did. I never forget people who offer to buy me a drink." Coby smirked.

"You still up for that?" Zelan asked.

"Yeah." Coby smirked. "Listen- can you not mention that you met me last night? It was the first time I'd gone swimming for, well, ages, and I don't really want anyone to know about it just yet."

"Just you and the sea?" Zelan nodded, understanding the sentiment.

"Exactly." Coby smiled, surprised. In the sunlight, he seemed even more freckled than he had the previous night, specks of orange covering his skin.

"And Ray." Zelan muttered.

"That was you too?" Coby laughed. "Yeah, Ray's my brother. He helped me, well, adapt some prostheses for swimming."

"Nice." Zelan smiled. "So, you new to the area?"

"Not exactly, why?" Coby asked.

"I don't remember you at school." Zelan said.

"Well, I wasn't very memorable at school." Coby agreed. "The prostheses are only recent."

"I wasn't talking about that." Zelan muttered.

"Oh? Thanks." Coby smiled. "They're usually the only things people notice."

"Well, I noticed your hair and your freckles and your golden eyes." Zelan smiled.

"You're flirting with me." Coby smirked back.

"Badly." Zelan agreed.

"No, no. It was fine. It was- nice?" Coby smiled. "Your eyes are brown."

"Like shit." Zelan nodded.

"Chocolate." Coby argued.

"Glad someone finds them interesting." Zelan muttered.

Coby smiled, lying back on the grass. "You also noticed my bare chest last night." He laughed.

"Okay, so I did." Zelan laughed. "What about it?"

"Want to see it tonight?" Coby smirked.

"You know I can't say no." Zelan laughed.

"Chapman's Pool." Coby smiled. "10. Don't be late."

"I won't." Zelan smiled. Mimi had finished her race, and was standing by the pickup, calling his name.

Zelan looked at Coby. "Go on, get out of here." Coby waved him away. "See you later." He smiled.

"Bye." Zelan muttered.

***

Coby was down on the beach, sitting on a towel with a book in one hand.
"I brought drinks!" Zelan called down to him, holding up a crate.
Coby gave him a thumbs up, and put his book away.
Zelan walked down the rickety steps, and sat down on Coby's towel.
"Is this a date?" Zelan asked, looking out to sea as he handed Coby a bottle of beer.

"It's whatever you want it to be." Coby grinned. "A date, a quick fuck, whatever."

Zelan choked. "You'd be up for that?" He asked.

Coby shrugged. "Sure."

"A proper date?" Zelan muttered.

Coby looked surprised, but nodded. "Sure."

Zelan grinned. "If I'd known I'd have brought food."

Coby laughed. "Next time."

"Yeah." Zelan muttered. "Next time. I'd like that."

Coby looked at him. "You're not used to this, are you?" Zelan shook his head. "Alright. Start by telling me a bit about you."

Zelan smiled. "Well, I grew up here for a bit with my brother, after we were adopted. My family lives up at the farm. I now live in Brighton, where me and a couple mates dropped out of uni and have started a modelling company that's going pretty well. Err, not sure what else there is to tell. I'm 21, love sailing, I sing along to radio, and I hate apples."

"Nice." Coby smiled. "I'm 20. I'm redoing sixth form- got my first exam in about two weeks- because of all the hospitalization, and a lode of other shit. I don't know if I want to go to uni, but I have no idea what else I can do so I'll probably end up going either way." He laughed drying, "I love swimming, reading, and running. And I hate it when people throw shit into the ocean."
Zelan smiled at Coby's anger.
"Hey, it's not funny!" Coby said. "Do you know what it's like swimming and then bam there's plastic in your face?"

"I wasn't laughing at you." Zelan smiled. "You're cute when you're angry."
Coby reached over to hit him with his book.
"Dude, you're reading Ingo? My little sister reads that."

"Hey, it's fucking hilarious." Coby laughed.

"Whatever." Zelan grinned, pulled off his tshirt and heading into the water. "You coming?"

"No." Coby shook his head.

"Why not?" Zelan asked, worried. "What's wrong?"

"I just don't really want to?" Coby shrugged, a look of panic on his face.

Zelan sat down next to him. "Want to talk about it?"

Coby looked out to sea, not meeting Zelan's eyes. "Don't freak, okay?" He muttered, standing up, and heading into the water.

Zelan followed him, a mixture of confusion, worry, and interest.

Coby disappeared under the waves, and then re-emerged, holding his prostheses. "Hold these- I can't manage this for very long so hurry the fuck up." He called over to Zelan, who rushed into the water to take them from him, depositing them carefully on the shore. "You got goggles?" Zelan searched his pockets, then nodded. "Put them on then." Coby muttered.
Zelan did so, wondering what Coby was getting at.
"You can't tell anyone, okay?" Coby urged, and Zelan nodded. "Okay, now dive."
Zelan did so, and came up a moment later, a look of shock on his face.
"Say something?" Coby asked, worried.

"Dude, you're a fucking mermaid?"

"Correct term is actually Seiren." Coby smirked. "With an e, in front of the i." He paused. "But yeah, I guess." His arms were moving in the water, keeping himself afloat.

"Need a hand there?" Zelan smiled, offering him an arm.

"Actually I need the bottom half of a tail." Coby smirked, taking Zelan's arm, and floating next to him.
Zelan lay in silence for a while.
"So I scared you, right?" Coby asked.

"No, I'm just trying to convince myself that this is real." Zelan muttered. "Even for me, this is taking a while." He looked at Coby. "It is real, right? Not my imagination?"

"Not your imagination." Coby muttered. "You must have a pretty good imagination to have to ask that."

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just never sure what's real." Zelan muttered truthfully. "And my mum was schizophrenic, so I don't trust myself much to not be."
Coby was silent.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to offload on you." Zelan smiled.

"It's okay." Coby smiled. "I basically just offloaded my biggest secret on you so you can offload on me all you want."

"Why did you?" Zelan asked. "I wouldn't have made you swim."

"I know, and that's why I told you." Coby smiled. "I don't want there to be secrets like that between us. And me not being human would be a pretty big secret."

"Cute." Zelan smiled. They lay in the water in silence, the dying sun in their eyes, their arms interlinked, legs and tail floating in the water next to each other.
"Atlantic cod." Zelan muttered. "That's you, right?"

Coby nodded. "You know your fish."

"My dad used to take me fishing." Zelan muttered. "He used to always tell my mum that I'd let all the fish I'd caught go, because I never caught anything." He smiled, and Coby did too. "I catch fish now, but I usually let them go. Dad did the same."

"Good." Coby smiled. "You know, you're an interesting guy, Zelan."

"You're an interesting fish." Zelan laughed.
Coby laughed as well, and then the two of them were in fits of giggles.

After a while Zelan helped Coby out of the water, trying not to stare as the other boy's tail morphed into legs.
"So what happened?" Zelan asked, and Coby immediately understood what he meant.

"I like telling people that it was a shark attack." Coby shrugged, and Zelan didn't press the subject. The sun had gone down, and they made their way carefully back up the path.

"Need a lift anywhere?" Zelan asked.

"I'm staying in Worth Matravers, it's, what, a kilometre from your farm. I'll be fine." Coby smiled.

"Then Winspit is your closest beach access." Zelan said as they walked. "The quarry's pretty cool, too."

"Yeah, but Chapman's is more, I don't know, private?" Coby shrugged.

"I know what you mean." Zelan smiled. His hand brushed Coby's, and he gripped it firmly. Coby didn't complain, so Zelan didn't let go.
"Who are you staying with?" Zelan asked.

"There's a couple of seirens who run a sort of boarding house idea for the kids who want to attend human school. We still go home a lot, but all our books and things can stay dry, and we have somewhere where we can bring human friends."

"Nice." Zelan muttered. "If you ever want to stay at mine as well, feel free. My parents wouldn't mind, even when I'm back in Brighton."

"Thanks." Coby smiled. "First date and you're already suggesting I move in?"

"Yeah." Zelan laughed. They had arrived in the farmyard, and Coby turned to face Zelan. "Let me drive you?" Zelan asked.

"Honestly, it's okay." Coby smiled. "Goodnight."

"Night." Zelan whispered. "Can I kiss you?"

"That's what I'm waiting for, duh." Coby muttered, as Zelan closed the distance between them, smiling.

Still smiling, he waved goodbye to Coby, and let himself into the house.
Jonah and Eddy were leaning against the banisters, either side of the stairs. They were identical in their stance, arms crossed.

Zelan looked at them. "Alright, kids?"

"How was your date?" Jonah asked. "What's he like?"

"Shut up." Zelan grinned, ruffling Jonah's hair as he walked upstairs.

"Coburn Gadus, wasn't it?" Eddy smirked.

Zelan stopped, and turned on the step. "How the fuck did you know that?" He asked, realising that he hadn't known Coby's last name.

"News travels fast." Eddy grinned.

"Whatever." Zelan sighed. "Go revise or something."

"Ooh touched a nerve?" Jonah laughed. Zelan scowled at him, and jogged up the last few steps.
"Ze!" Jonah called after him, running up the stairs. "If you find a date here, will that mean you won't leave again?" He asked his brother quietly.

"Jo, you know I've got to keep my job." Zelan smiled, ruffling the boy's curls. "Sorry. But you can come visit whenever you want."

Jonah nodded, and smiled. "I hope you're happy with him."

"We'll find out." Zelan grinned, heading into his room.
Still grinning, he stripped down to his boxers, and got into bed. His mind was racing.
Sighing, Zelan fell asleep, still feeling like he was floating in the cove.