Definitely not the Little Mermaid

Meeting the bae

Chapter Seven

Laiken sunk lower in the water and blew bubbles. He decided that he liked blowing bubbles and it was a great stress reliever. The boy watched the fish tail flick some water onto the floor. His fish tail. He sighed and surfaced.

His mind kept replaying what the strange squiddy faced man had called him. A prince? There was no way he was prince. He didn't think so at any rate. Weren't princes supposed to know who they were and where they came from? He was pretty sure they had to. However, there was something about those squiddy faced men that seemed familiar to him. He just couldn't pinpoint what. He was almost entirely certain that he'd seen them before.

Laiken decided to put them out of his mind for now. He picked up a small squeaky yellow duckling that had been nesting on the bath. It squeaked. He smiled and put it in the water. As expected, it floated and bobbed happily in the water. Laiken sunk back under, staring at the ceiling.

He heard soft knocks on the door. The boy considered hiding his tail. He quietly rose and stared at the giant tail. It waved cheekily at him. He sunk back down. He couldn't hide it.

The door opened. He waited patiently for the startled shriek and someone to pull him out of the water to demand how he had a tail. Nothing happened.

Minutes trickled past.

The door shut only to open again mere seconds later. It slammed close.

Laiken surfaced, startled. Gareth blinked in shock, reeling back.

"Hi," Laiken smiled.

The twin settled down and knelt, resting his arms on the edge of the tub. He gave Laiken a tiny smile of his own.

"Hey," he nodded. He paused and looked over at the tail. Laiken watched it flop contentedly in the water and he slid down into the water until only his eyes were above it. He started to blow bubbles.

"So Angelica sent me up here to tell you that lunch is ready," said Gareth slowly, eyes locked on the tail.

"Lunch?" Laiken enquired. His tummy loudly complained and told him that it didn't need more food.

"I don't think my tummy's hungry," Laiken added.

"Well, it's lunch and Angelica wants us all there. She's a little rattled. I heard you guys almost got robbed," Gareth rocked back, flicking his stare to Laiken. The blue haired boy raised his shoulders in a shrug and watched the yellow duckling bob in the tiny ripples.

"Jett also wants to know why you've been in the bath for so long," Gareth added.

"Jett?" Laiken scrunched up his face, trying to put a face to the name.

"Angelica's boyfriend," Gareth shrugged. He looked like he couldn't believe it. Laiken didn't ask why. He simply grabbed either side of the tub and lifted himself out of the water. Gareth wisely straightened out and stepped back. Laiken swung himself onto the floor and laid there, allowing the coldness of the shiny floor to seep through him.

"I'll get you something to wear," Gareth offered quickly. Before he could leave though, the bathroom door opened once more and Austin burst in, holding an armful of clothes. Laiken pulled a face and pushed himself up. His tail flicked, angry at being taken out of the water.

"I brought clothes," proclaimed Austin, holding it up. He glanced down at Laiken, made a face and set the clothes on the floor.

"Do you need help getting dressed?" he asked, leaning down and poking Laiken's gills. The blue haired boy shied away from him. Austin let out a low whistle and straightened up. He turned to his twin.