A Song In The Night ~ TMF Mermaid AU

Part 2

Time skip (3 years later)

Hailey POV

I couldn't sleep. Again.

My human friends told me that someone was thinking of me if I couldn't sleep. If that was the case, then someone thought of me every night. But I was guilty as well. I couldn't stop thinking about that human boy, Jake. He was perfect in every way imaginable. He was kind, helpful, handsome, and a billion other things.

If I couldn't sleep, I might as well do something. I got out of my bed and swam over to a chest. I dug through it and found a maroon cloth. I wrapped it around my chest. Most mermaids would give me strange looks because I wore it. But ever since that one night on the ship, I wanted to feel closer to the humans, and covering myself up was how I did it.

I swam out of my room through the hole in the wall. I directed myself towards the shore, which was a long way away. Oh well. I had gone this way many times before. I went this way every day to meet with my human friends. This was my first time going at night, though. I swam faster, wanting to get there as soon as possible. The ground started sloping up quickly. I knew I was getting closer. Grainy sand scraped against me, and I slowed down. I folded my tail underneath me and sat up in the water, breaking through the surface. I stared up at the familiar cliff overlooking a small beach. This area was quiet and secluded. I found my favorite boulder and swam over to it. I hoisted myself up and laid down, facing the clear night sky. This was nice. It reminded me of that fateful night when I met Jake. He heard me singing a song in the night, and he sang along with me.

I gazed up at the billions of stars in the sky. Without warning, I started humming. It was the same song that brought me and Jake together. I opened my mouth, letting the song carry out and echo around me. To most, it would have sounded beautiful and serene, full of love and passion. But being the musician, I knew the underlying meaning. I was lonely. I wanted someone to hold onto, someone to comfort me when I was sad, someone who loved me.

I smiled sadly, a tear rolling down my cheek. I hadn't seen Jake once in the three years since we met. I knew that he probably had moved on, and that us meeting probably had just been a coincidence, and that it wasn't love I had felt when I saw him singing along with me. At least, that's what everyone told me. But mermaids had a soft spot for love at first sight, and I'm positive that's what I felt. I recalled the stories I had been told, stories of mermaids falling in love with humans and doing stupid things that got themselves heartbroken or killed. But those stories were different from this. I actually spent time with Jake, and we had fun together. It felt as if we had known each other our whole lives. I stopped singing and curled up against the cool rock. The tears were flowing freely now. I didn't know why I was crying. Maybe it was because I hadn't seen the one I fell in love with for three years. Maybe it was because I missed him. Maybe it was because I didn't know if he even remembered me.

I tried to control my sobs. You're 18 years old. You haven't seen him in 3 years. Just get over him already. The truth is, I don't think I'm ever going to get over him.

A twig snapped. I tensed up, still as the rock I was on top of. Whoever was there could see me clearly, could see that I had a sparkling blue tail instead of legs. They took another step forward, and I squeezed my eyes shut, willing them to go away. Then they spoke:

"Hailey?"

Realization washed over me, and I turned as quick as I could towards the speaker. I covered my mouth in astonishment, "Jake!"

He ran over to me as quick as he could and I slid off the rock into the water with a splash. He reached me first and stumbled to his knees, wrapping me in his arms. "I thought I'd never see you again!" he exclaimed into my hair. I closed my eyes, squeezing the last of my tears out, "Where did you go?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

He pulled back and held me at arms length. "I-" he shook his head and laughed, "Home. I came here for a vacation. I moved out this summer and came here to look for you." I was stunned. He left his home and moved here to find me? I couldn't believe it. He did love me back.

I pulled him back into a hug. I never wanted to leave his embrace again. We stayed like that for a while, then he quickly broke away.

"Oh shoot, I completely forgot, I have to go! I'll come back here soon, though. Tomorrow?" He stood up and started walking back to the beach. Why'd he have to leave so soon? He just got here. I nodded, understanding that he probably had a good reason to leave, "O-okay. I'll see you here tomorrow." He flashed his dreamy smile at me and walked away quickly.

I stayed still for a minute, waiting for him to be out of earshot, before screaming, "Yes!" I flopped back on the rock with a huge grin on my face. "Jake," I sighed the name. I didn't want to go back home. I wanted to stay here and wait until he came back the next day. And that's just what I did.

I woke up the next morning in the shallows, surf lapping over me. I quickly sat up, my hair dried out and sandy. I rubbed my cheek and squinted against the sun. Why am I on land? Last night came rushing back to me. "He's coming to see me later today," I beamed. I fell back in the sand and gazed up at the light blue sky. Today was beautiful. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Quick footsteps came from my left, and I immediately sat up to greet the newcomer. "Jake..." I trailed off, seeing who it was. "Oh. It's you. Sorry Zander, I thought you were someone else." He panted with his hands on his knees. "Hailey," he gasped. "You're not going to believe it. Jake's back." He sat in the sand, trying to regain his breath. I grinned at him, "I know, isn't it great? He came back to look for me."

His face contorted, and I knew there was something he was hiding. "Zander, what is it? Nothing you say will hurt me." He gave me a look of disbelief. "Hailey, there's something you should know about Jake-"

"No! You are not going to tell me lies about him! He is perfect and beautiful and kind and he loves me and nothing you say will change that!" I interrupted him. He looked down at his intertwined fingers and spoke softly, "Did he actually say that he loved you?"

"I-" I stopped. I recalled our short conversation last night.

"I thought I'd never see you again!"
"Where did you go?"
"I- home. I came here for a vacation. I moved out this summer and came here to look for you."
"Oh shoot, I completely forgot, I have to go! I'll come back here soon, though. Tomorrow?"
"O-okay, I'll see you here tomorrow."

Never once did we mention love. But in those circumstances it had just seemed so obvious. "Well, he's coming here later today, so then I'll ask him. But he does love me. Why else would he come to look for me?" I asked Zander. He glanced away and bit his lip. "I'm not going to say anything else because you'll just deny it and call me a liar," I stared at him in shock. Why would I do that? "I promise I won't. Just tell me," I begged.

"It's better if you see for yourself. Go to the docks, over there," he pointed in the general direction of the docks. "Just prepare yourself for what you're going to see." I slid into the water, leaving Zander behind. When I was deep enough I went under, swimming rapidly towards the docks. I had to know what was going on.

I arrived quickly, and my head broke through the water, looking up at the wooden boards. I barely glimpsed peach hair, and I felt my heart skip a beat. I was drawn to him, like a fish on a line. I grabbed onto the rung of a ladder and swung myself up. I grunted, the splinters poking my hands and tail. I finally reached the top and threw my arms up to grab onto the board. I hefted myself high enough to see two people on the dock. One I immediately identified as Jake, handsome as ever. But there was a girl next to him, laughing with the most angelic smile I had ever seen. She looked as if she had fallen from heaven, with pale skin, long flowing silver hair, and two sparkling periwinkle eyes. She wrapped her arms around Jake's neck and kissed him, and he kissed her back.

"Jake...?"

A/N: here comes the angst