So, this is where it all starts. Hope you like it. 

Remember, this is not the same storyline like in the show. Also the characters and their lovestorys will be very different.

The picture has nothing to do with it. I just stumpled over it and got war flashbacks. So I thought I take you down with me ;D 

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The Sun was shinning right in his face. The water looked amazing in the afternoon sun. Normally he would have hung out with his friend Stan, but Stan was far away from him. Back in England. Don't get him wrong, he's happy for his mother and glad she has a good job here in Australia, but moving again doesn't make it easier for him. 

It's Saturday. School started on Monday. Until now school was okay, but it didn't happen that much. Just the usual beginning stuff and choosing your classes. He really needed time to get used to the australien school system. In the three weeks he was here now he hasn't made any friends. Maybe because he was afraid or maybe because he was a little shy sometimes with new people. Or maybe both. He knew that his mom said they won't move again but it happened five times in three years so he needed time to realize that this time it was different. He can make friends or even find his soulmate....or rather not.

He was slowly walking around the docks when he spotted three boys from his school. His brain didn't want to remember their names. Except one. The tall guy with the brown hair and brown eyes. He was rather popular and had an interesting reputation around school. His name was Shawn. 

"Well, you were just there. Oh who am I kidding....I can't stand you"  Shawn laughed at a dark haired guy on a small red boat. 

"Oh tell me something I don' already know and by the way the feeling is mutual" the boy returned rather sarcastic. 

The boat slowly drifted of to the sea. "C'mon Shawn, you had your fun" yelled the boy.

"Aww, is someone afraid of a little water" Shawn mocked the boy. 

Enough is enough. He walked towards Shawn and his curly haired friend. They didn't noticed him at all.  

"Ey, do you think this is funny? Bring him back". He was surprised by himself. Normally he was way too shy to say something. 

"Well, look who we have here. Aren't you the new one? Lewis?" Shawn turned to him with a smirk on his face. 

"Louis" he corrected him shyly. 

"Look, LOUIS. There are two kind of people. The cool popular ones, that will achieve something in live and then there are people like him. You should choose wise which one you want to be. Once chosen you can never come back" Shawn smirked. 

"That's absolutely ridiculous. Where did you get that claim? From a birthday card?" Louis laughed. 

"You're rather sassy for a guy your height. You should watch your back Louis. Don't mess with the wrong people" Shawn threathend him. 

"Just leave him Shawn. He's not worth it" his friend intervened. His voice was rather raspy and deep. Very interesting and unexpected. He shook off the thought.

Louis' gaze turned back to the boat. It almost drifted off the harbour. Without thinking about it, he ran down the dock and jumped into the boat. The dark haired boy let out a little scream of suprise and then looked at Louis. 

"What are you doing? The boat isn't working. There is no way to get back to the docks and now we're stuck together" asked the boy.

"I thought maybe I can help you in some way" Louis answered shyly. 

"Thanks Louis". A suprised look crossed Louis Face. "You know my name?" he asked incredulous. 

"Oh, yeah of course. You're the new one. We have a few classes together. I'm not good at meeting new people or else I already would have said hello to you" the boy explained. Louis was lost for words and didn't exactly knew why. 

"I'm Zayn by the way" he introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you" Louis smiled. 

"So why is the boat not working and why did Shawn did that to you?" Louis asked curious. 

"There is a piece missing, but I don't know wich one. I have no clue. And Shawn...Well, long story short. We're not exactly friends and he just likes threatening people. So by helping me you put yourself on his victim list" Zayn explained. 

Before Louis could answer something someone jumped on the boat. He jumped, startled. 

"Niall, what...what are you doing? Are you stupid? Wow, now where all three stuck. Two idiots one idea. Why are you smirking like that?" Zayn exclaimed. 

The guy,  Louis supposed was Niall, held something in his hand. He was blond with bright blue eyes. "That was you" breathed Zayn out in realization. Niall just smirked even more if this was possible and went past zayn. 

"Shawn Mendes is a jerk" he stated in a thick Irish accent while he was screwing on the enigne. "Everything I can do to mess with him is okay with me". 

And suddenly the engine ran again. "Anyone feel like a jaunt?" he askes cheekyly. 

In this moment Louis knew that him and Niall could be good friends. 

While they drove  off onto the sea they heard Shwan yelling in the background. "Just wait until I get you. Harry, come on, let's catch up". 

Louis didn't want to think too much about it. The view was amazing. The gold coast was beautiful. The reflection of the sun was visible on the water. Clear blue water. They passed another dock and saw Harry, Shawns friend, skateboarding along it. His gaze was directed to them. Apparently Zayn had noticed it too. He gulped heavily like he was afraid of what might happen. Niall was still focused on the sea. A blonde woman crossed Harrys way and he turned his gaze away. She winked at him and Louis could've sworn he saw Harry smirking at her. Whatever it was, it distracted him and so he overlooked the end of the jetty and crashed into the water with his head first. There was a slight panic in Louis, but then Harry reappeared. However, he didn't seem to be conscious. 

"Guys, let's turn around and help him" Louis pleaded. 

Zayn wanted to argue, but Niall cut him off. "Course.  And no Zayn, we don't let him drown". 

When they arrived at Harry they pulled him in the boat. He was still unconscsious but he was breathing. "What do we do when he wakes up? Don't forget he is Shawn's best mate" Zayn asked.

"I don't let him spoil my fun. I say we drive furhter out to the sea. He can't do anything unless he wants to drown himself with us" Niall suggsted. Louis wasn't sure what he should think of Niall's argument. But he didn't want to mess up his first chance at making friends by being a coward. 

For a while they drove over the sea. Almost forgetting Harry until he coughed quietly and sat up. "Where the hell am I?". Oh his voice sounds even deeper now. Not that Louis cared. 

"Well, you're on a boat because you almost drowned yourself. No need to say thank you for saving your life" Niall joked. 

"You" Harry glared at Zayn. "Turn around. Now! It's not your boat" Harry ordered. 

"First of all I'm not driving it and second, Shawn said if I can make it work again I can keep it. So..." Zayn trailed off, a little bit unsure on what to say. 

"Unbelievable. I'm stuck with three losers on a boat in the middle of nowhere" Harry said more to himself but they all heard it. 

"We can still throw you over board. That way you're not stuck with us losers" Louis mocked him but immediatly regretted it. 

"Look, who can speak. Listen Lewis". 

"Louis" he corrected him. 

"I don't care. Just keep your sassy mouth shut, okay?!" Harry glared at him. 

"Hey, don't talk to him like that" Zayn stepped in. "If it wasn't for him you would be lying on the bottom of the ocean now. I would have let you drown, but there are good people in this world". 

"Woah Zayn. I'm impressed. That were many words for you. But if I remember correctly I was in for helping him too" Niall laughed. 

"But not right at the first second" Zayn contradicted. 

"Even now you're still annoying" Harry pouted. 

"Next time we'd let you drown" Louis murmured. 

Harry wanted to answer something when a strange noise suddenly sounded. A clack. Then a rattle and suddenly they stood in the middle of the sea.   

"It just keeps getting better" sighed Harry sarcastically.

 "Oh no Niall. What did you do" Zayn panicked. 

"Nothing. The engine doesn't start any more. That's not my fault. The boat is scrap". 

"Great, and what now?" Zayn asked scared. 

Louis looked around and saw an island not far from them. "Should we paddle over to the island?". 

Zayn looked at him dumbfounded. "Mako Island? Forget it. Nobody goes there". 

"He's right. The waters are full of Sharks and strange creatures live in the woods" Niall agreed with him.

"Listen to this one. It sounds like you're scared of a simple island" Harry laughed at them. 

Louis simply ignored him. "We probably have no choice". 

With these words, Niall and Louis took out the hidden paddles and set off for the island. 

Arriving at the island, they got out of the boat and looked around. Heavy fog over the woods, but no bird was heard. 

"And what now?" Zayn asked, still visibly frightened. 

"Does anyone have a cell phone? This way we can get help then?" Niall suggested. 

"My phone is ruined" Harry moaned. 

"I left mine at home" Louis just shrugged.                                                                                               

"Wich normal person leaves the house without a mobile phone?" Harry asked horrified. 

"Someone who does NOT expect to be stranded on an island during a short walk with a total jerk" Louis said, annoyed. 

"Woah, calm down, sassy princess" Harry chuckled. 

"Call me princess again and you will regret it".

"Oh really? And what do you wanna do, princess?" Harry challenged Louis. 

The anger began to seethe in him. But before it could escalate Niall intervened. "Louis he isn't worth it. We should think about how we proceed." 

Slowly, Louis breathed deeply in and out. Calming down again.

"I have my cell phone with me, but I have no reception" Zayn changed the subject. 

"Then we have to climb" said Niall plumb. 

"You don't really want to go in there" Zayn shuddered, pointing to the woods. But he got no answer. 

Niall was already on the way.  After a few seconds, Louis followed him. For a moment Niall turned around.  "Do you just wanna stand there and stare at the air?". 

Without waiting for an answer, he went deeper into the woods, followed by Louis. Moments later, Louis could hear Harry and Zayn's footsteps behind him.  For a while they climbed through the undergrowth until they came to a source of water. There was nothing to hear except the running water. They were standing on a big rock and Niall was about to leap across the rocks when they suddenly heard a shrill scream that had come from Harry. Lightning fast, they turned around and Louis caught another look as Harry seemed to be swallowed up from the ground.

Immediately, all three ran to the spot in the rock. They saw an opening in the rock, which led steeply into a dark cave. Harry was sitting on the floor, rubbing his head. 

"Is everything ok?" Louis called questioningly into the cave.

"Sure, I just fell into a cave and hit my head. I'm fine" Harry glared at him. 

"You're really something. Can you come up?" Louis asked anyway.                                                    

"No, it's way too steep, you idiot." 

Sighing, Louis shook his head. "I'll go down to him and see what I can do from there" he announced. 

Niall gasped horrified. "What?". 

"None of you will do it. Am I right?" Louis stated. And with that, Louis plunged into the hole.  With a crash he landed on the hard ground. 

"Wow, you're really a genius. Now we're both stuck down here and I thought you couldn't be more stupid." 

"Harry, just shut your mouth for a second so one of us can think" Louis shot back. 

A rattling of earth sounded behind them and the next moment Niall fell on Louis. 

"You're verycomfortable, Louis. Nice ass by the way" Niall chuckles. 

"Sorry Niall, you're not my type" Louis laughed, pushing Niall down. 

"Hey, save me that homo fuss! Just for your information, there is no other exit". 

"First, stop being a pain in the  ass. And second, how do you know that? From lying on the floor?". 

"Ugh, I hate you two so much". 

"The feelings are mutual" Niall retorted. 

Carefully, Louis looked around in the dark. It was getting darker outside. The moon was already almost bright in the sky. He spotted a small corridor but couldn't see where it was leading. 

"Guys, here is a way, but I can't see where it goes".                                                                          

Niall turned to the exit. "Zayn we'll see if we can find another exit, wait there if you want, if we don't come back ... well I hope you can run fast". 

"Niall" Louis exclaimed. 

"What?". 

"That's my job" laughed Louis.

"Well then you are now unemployed or we share". Niall's laugh was really special. It was impossible not to laugh along with him. Kinda addicting.  

"Oh god, what have I done to deserve this?" Harry sighed and disappeared into the hallway, limping. 

Niall and Louis just looked at each other and frowned. Silently, Louis could hear water. The dark corridor led to another opening. Before they could go through, however, a clunky sound and footsteps sounded. In the darkness Zayn appeared. 

"Awww, you probably couldn't live without us" Niall joked. 

"One day I'll turn your neck around" cursed Zayn.

As they walked through the opening they couldn't believe their eyes. Right infront of them lay a grotto. Surrounded by volcanic rocks, the water glittered in the dim moonlight. 

"Wow" Louis breathed out breathlessly. 

"Madness" Niall whispered. 

They moved closer to the edge of the water. Suddenly a cell phone beeped.

"Seriously, you have reception here?" Harry asked unbelievably.

"A message from Liam. He asks where we are. He probably saw us on the boat earlier" Zayn ignored Harry and turned to Niall and Louis.

"Perfect. Write him where we are. He can pick us up with his boat" Niall suggested.

"Good ... wait, how should we get out of here?" Zayn asked worriedly. 

Niall knelt at the edge of the grotto. "Tidal rings, which means that the sea level alternately rises and falls" Niall said cheerfully.

"Thanks for the lesson, but what's in it for us now?" Harry asked annoyed.

"There's a connection to the Ocean. This way we might be able to get out of here" Niall explained, taking off his shoe.

"There's an underwater exit, thanks Niall. Sometimes you can be really smart" Louis joked.

"Only sometimes?" he laughed before disappearing into the water.

Harry, Zayn and Louis sat cross-legged on the floor and waited. It was dead silence and you heard nothing but the sound of water. Louis looked up and saw the moon almost shinning directly through the opening of the volcano. It must be pretty late.  

Niall finally appeared again after an eternity, breathing deeply in and out. "I was right, you dive to the south side of the island in about 20 seconds" Niall announced. 

"Through there? No way" Zayn murmured softly. 

Harry just jumped into the water and splashed Louis wet from top to bottom. What an idiot. 

"Come on, Zayn, that's easy. Before you know it, you're outside and I saw Liam's boat in the distance" Niall tried to persuade Zayn. 

"I..I-..I can't swim very well" Zayn admitted meekly. 

"That's no problem, just give me your hand and I'll take you with me" Louis assured him with a smile. 

"I don't know you at all" countered Zayn. 

"No, not really, but I can tell you I know how you feel right now. Everyone is scared of something and sometimes you just need a hand that you can hold tight". Louis extended his hand.  After a brief hesitation, Zayn grabbed Louis' hand and climbed into the pool. 

The moment they were all in the middle of the grotto in the water, the light of the full moon fell down through the cone of the volcano. The water immediately started to bubble. Sparks of light flew through the air. The boys looked confused and sceptical at each other. Was this normal for water?  

"Okay, let's go" Niall said and was the first to go down. Harry followed immediately. Zayn paused for a moment, then looked at Louis, who nodded encouragingly to him and then dived down with him. They swam through the underwater outlet and pierced the water surface again after a short time. Panting, they gasped.

"That was more than 20 seconds" Zayn gasped.

 "You survived it, didn't you?" Niall meant. 

"Zayn" a calm and warm voice called. 

Immediately, Louis turned to the voice. It belonged to a boy on a boat with bronw hair and brown eyes. That had to be Liam. 

One after another got on the boat. Liam gave them blankets and immediately returned to the mainland. He didn't questioned them and Louis was thankfull for that. 

"Hey, what you did for Zayn, and also for Harry,  was really great. Not everybody would have done that" Niall turned to Louis as they both looked back at the island. 

"I was just trying to give him courage and help. It was nothing special" Louis said. 

"If you say so, but hey he didn't listen to me and I've known him for a year. Think about it". Niall left Louis alone with these words. His gaze wandered back to the island over which the full moon was still shining.

The next morning, Louis woke up too early. It was Sunday. Why did his head not let him sleep? Half the night he lay awake and thought of the events of yesterday. The island had something indescribable. There was just no word for it. And has he already mentioned the funny moment in the water? Creepy.

When he got home, his mother was sick with worry, but he could calm her down when he told her what had happened. Since it wasn't his fault, his mother was simply relieved that he had come home safely.

Grumpily, Louis got up and went to the wardrobe. Without hesitation, he pulled out a stripped t-shirt and red shorts. He still had to get used to the constant warm weather. After all, it was only the end of January. In England he would freeze to death in his clothes. Shuffling, he slipped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The first drops of water touched his skin.

Suddenly his body began to tingle and the next moment his legs collapsed under him. With difficulty he could prevent his head from banging on the ground. When he had recovered from the shock he wanted to get up, but was immediately frozen when he didn't feel his legs. Reluctantly he turned his head in the direction of his "legs". If you could drop your eyes, it probably would have happened in that moment. Instead of his beloved legs he found a strange-looking tail. Trembling, he touched it. The tail was strong, glumy and scaly. He looked like a mermaid.                                                               

Did that happen to the others too?

A few blocks away, Zayn stared at a similar-looking tail as if frozen. As he was about to wash his face his legs suddenly disappeared and in their place this thing appeared. Tapping helplessly he sought for a towel. With a little effort he reached it and dried his face. The most incredible thing happened the moment he was completely dry. The tail disappeared again and his legs came back. Slightly shaky, he got up and leaned against the wall. His breathing was heavy.

What the hell was that?

Niall was sprinting down the street. Nobody would believe him what had just happened. His only thought was: did that happen to the others?

His legs still felt like jelly but he didn't want to lose any time. He had to find the other two to talk to. As he passed the JuiceNet Café, he stopped abruptly. Zayn went straight into it. Was that destiny? Without thinking about it, he also entered the café. He didn't have to look for long. He found Zayn in the far corner. Slowly he approached him. As if he was feeling his presence, Zayn looked up.

"Oh, God, Niall, thank heaven" he breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Only Niall is enough" he laughed halfheartedly and sat down next to Zayn. Before he could say anything, Zayn looked at the door and his face softened.

"There's Louis" Zayn said. 

As if by cue, Louis approached them. "Hi" he greeted them hesitantly. 

"Sit down" Niall offered. 

For a few minutes nobody said a word. Nobody knew where to start. What had happened?

"So" Niall began cautiously. "Did something strange happen to you this morning?". 

"Define strange" Louis replied with a shrug.

"Strange as in unusual and inexplicable" Niall added.

"That's the way to put it" Zayn muttered.

"So THAT happened to you, too?" Louis asked worried.

"If you think that by the touch of water I suddenly exchange my legs for a tail, then yes".

It was quiet for a while again. They looked around with no idea what to do. 

"How do you think that happened?" Louis finally asked.

"I would guess it has something to do with Mako Island. Before, everything was normal, but since we came back ... well ..." Niall trailed off.

"These tails look like ..." Zayn started.

"Just like the ones of ..." Niall said unsure.

"We look like mermaids" Louis summarized.

"Pfft, don't talk nonsense. Mermaids don't exist"  Zayn scoffed.

"How do you explain the whole thing then, Mister Nine-Wise".

"Niall, shut up" Zayn hissed.

"Just because I'm not so small-minded? I'm sorry that I'm looking for an explanation," Niall snorted.

"Let's stay calm. We'll find a solution" Louis intervened.

"What solution? We touch water and we turn into a fish".

"Mermaids, Zayn" Niall corrected.

"Whatever" Zayn huffled.

"There's my man" they heard Shawn calling through the whole cafe. They turned their heads in his direction and saw Harry. Immediately their faces froze and they turned pale.

"Do you think the same thing happened to him?" Niall asked his friends in a whisper.

"Logically, why should he be the only one who was spared?" Louis mused.

"I don't give a damn about him. If he turns into a whale, it is not my problem" Zayn grumbled coldly.

"Oh that's your problem, boy! If he's not careful, everyone will learn about it, and also about us" Niall reminded him.

"But why? We have nothing to do with him. No one will associate his filthiness with us."

"Filthiness?" Niall questioned shocked. "Maybe we're not friends, but we're talking about Harry here, as in Harry and Shawn, the Kings of the school. If he goes down, he'll drag us down with him into the abyss, he'll just expose us in front of everyone".

"Why should they believe him?" Zayn asked, but you could tell from his voice that he had already given up.

"He's Harry Styles. Who wouldn't believe him? Just a drop of water and everyone knows he's right." 

Zayn only rolled his eyes. Louis looked over at Harry and wondered if they were right. Would he really expose them shamelessly? Was he even one of them?

At that moment Harry looked over at them. Blue met green.

In his eyes, Louis could see that Harry knew exactly what had happened. Harry's eyes got darker when he realised Louis was looking at him. He shot him a evil glare and turned around to his friends. 

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Louis turned back to his friends, if that's what you call it.

"What can we do? We'll just live with it" sighed Zayn. "Avoiding water won't be my problem".

"You know, water isn't just in the sea or in the shower?" Niall chuckled.

"What?".

"Water is everywhere, drinks, dishes, school, rain ...".

"Woah, stop it. How should we go to school normally, what do we do when it rains, how do we explain it to our parents? I can't avoid the chores forever" Zayn moaned.

"Easy, Zayn. We're thinking about something. You're not alone, we're all in this together now. With or without Harry, we're there for each other, we'll help each other and listen, yeah? We have a big shared secret now" Niall assured Zayn.

They all looked at each other and they understood  without words. They would master this together. There was no other way

"At school we can try to take care of each other, after all we have a few courses together".

The realization hit Louis like a blow and he slammed his hand against his head. "Oh, that's why you knew my name. Now it makes sense" he laughed.

"What? Did you think I was such a sick stalker sticking to your ass?" Niall asked amused.

"Why not. My ass is fabulous" laughed Louis and grinned.

"Concited much, eh? But you're right with that" Niall admittd cheekily

"It's getting too gay for me" Zayn said, shaking his head.

"Says the gay one" Niall laughs.

"Niall" Zayn exclaimed, but Niall just laughed out loud and almost lay there laughing on the floor. Louis already had a stomachache from laughing so hard, and even Zayn couldn't suppress a giggle.

"That's fine with me Zayn. I don't necessarily care about girls, too, to be honest " Louis admitted. 

"Why does that not surprise me? ". That's when Niall was elbowed by Louis.

"Thanks for the honesty, Louis, but how in the world do you know Niall? Nobody but Liam knows about it" Zayn asked confused. Was it so obvious?

"I didn't, but thanks for the confirmation" Niall said, winking at him. " I guessed it". 

"Wait, you didn't know that? But I thought you were friends? "

"And that means he has to know everything? " Zayn prompted.

"Ehm ... "

"And we're not necessarily friends. We're going to the same school for a year now and have some courses together. In addition, we often hang out at lunch with his friend Liam. That's all" Niall explained.

"That sounds so negative" Zayn mused.

"Oh, don't worry. That's okay with me. Not everyone is open to new people and spends every free minute with them" Niall smirked at him.

That's how they sat there for a while and talked about everything possible. Not thinking about the problems or Harry at all.                                                                                                                   

When it got late they left for home. Niall and Louis agreed to swim in the morning. Zayn, however, said he wouldn't make it, but both were sure that wasn't the reason.

------------------------------A/N-----------------

So that was the prologue. I hope you liked it. I'm still not sure where this story will lead me but we will figure this out together.

Like I said, this is my first story ever, please don't be so hard on me.

What do you think about the story so far?

The boys?

Their reactions?

Their starting friendship?

Harry and Shawn?

What do you think will happen next? 

Love you, honeys <3