𝓣𝓸 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼|| 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨.𝐒 𝐗 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Ch.3|| The Island

(Y/n's POV)
I walked along the stone ground of the plaza. It was currently midday and the people here were going around doing whatever they did. Though I stopped when I noticed Alberto getting out of a sailboat and standing next to a tough looking fisherman with one arm which I only assumed was his dad. My eyes widened as my gaze shifted over towards the boat. It was literally full of fish. Well, dead fish, but whatever!

When he caught my gaze, I quickly averted my gaze away from him. But he must've seen something because the next thing I knew he was already staring at me curiously. I nervously gulped as he walked towards me. "H-Hi, there Alberto!" I stamererd out timidly. He smirked at the reaction that I gave him.

"Hey, Y/n." He greeted in a calm yet excited tone. I could practically see the stars in his bright green eyes as he grinned. I snapped myself out of my thoughts and cleared my throat. "Wanna hang out today?" I offered. He nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, of course! I mean I've been pretty lonely ever since my sister Giulia and my friend Luca left town too go to school." He explained with a frown but suddenly his expression brightened up again.

"But hey, at least your here to keep me company." He beamed happily. "Anyways there's something I want to show you." He said, suddenly he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the little beach near the dock that was near his home. The area wasn't big but it was still beautiful. I couldn't help but stare off into the distance in astonishment. After a while of staring, I slip my bag off my shoulder and placed it down on the sand.

"Cool right?" Alberto questioned as he wraps his arm around my shoulder. I turned to face him. "Yeah it's great!" I chirped, happy that I found someone like him that was willing to be my friend. "Hey, do you see that island over there with that abandoned tower?" He asked as he pointed over to an island in the distance. I nodded as I looked over to it.

"Yeah, that's where I used to live until my dad adopted me." He explained as he glanced at me. I raised an eyebrow, "Really?" I asked curiously. He smiled. "Yep." He nodded. "Well, wanna go see it?" He asked me with excitement. "Yeah!" I exclaimed, but my smile soon turned into a frown as I remembered something. "I-I mean, no, I c-can't really s-swim." I stuttered out, completely lying to cover the fact that I'm a literal sea monster who has the ability to shape-shift into a human when dry land.

Alberto just stood there, not really seeming to believe in my lie. As if he had told that lie countless of times before himself. "That sounds like something a sea monster would say." He smirked. His smirk then faded to a grin as he placed a finger on my chin. "Why can't you swim?" He questioned teasingly. "I c-" I cut myself off by biting my lips and glaring at him, causing him to chuckle slightly. "I just cant swim."

I heard Alberto let out a sigh as I watched him approach the water. "Um, Alberto...?" I called out to him, raising an eyebrow. He then went further into the ocean, changing into his sea monster form as he did so. His periwinkle scales and purple hair were glistening in the sunlight. I slowly reached out a hand but I stopped midway, feeling a bit weird being this close to the sea. I then felt his tail wrap around my waist before pulling us both into the water. The first thing I notice is that the water is freezing. Then the second thing I noticed that I was also in my sea monster form.

I let out a small yelp and clung onto Alberto as I felt nothing under my feet. A shiver ran down my spine as I tried to calm myself down. I took deep breaths, trying not to freak out. Being in the ocean was definitely something I wasn't used too. "Wow..." He gasped as he stared down at me. "No wonder you were so hesitant about touching the water." He said as he admired my sea monster features, making me blush.

"Shut up, you're making this awkward..." I grumbled quietly, attempting to hide my blushing cheeks. "Oh..." He chuckled nervously as he let me go. I let out a small yelp, but soon after I calmed myself down once I noticed how my legs and tail were treading the water. "Good, I mean whatever. It seems like you're getting the hang of it." He commented as he glanced back over at me. "Now, swimming is just like walking. But with fins and a tail." He trailed off. I stared at him, blinking. Was this dude trying to be teacher? If so, then he's not making any sense.

"C'mon now, I don't need to be taught how to swim." I rolled my eyes with a smirk. He blinked at me with confusion. "I thought you said you've never been into the ocean before?" He stated. I shrugged. "But I never said that I've went swimming before now have I?" I remarked, crossing my arms, tilting my head to the side. Alberto furrowed his brows before shaking his head. "You're right..." He admitted, sighing in defeat.

After a while of swimming, we finally made it onto the island. We both stepped out of the water, Alberto shook the water off fo him like a wet dog while I whipped it off, both of us changing back into our human forms.

Alberto turned around towards me, smiling brightly. "Hey, come with me." He beckoned with his hands. Without hesitation, I followed him. Of course, we had to climb up a couple of rocks but we eventually made it to that tower he was talking about. There was a tall tree besides the tall abandoned structure along with a ladder that you had to climb to get into the building.

"This is were I used to live before I met Luca." He stated casually as he climbed up the ladder to enter some room. I followed after him, jumping off the ladder clumsily, landing hard on the floor with a thud. He looked at me with shock as I groaned and pushed myself up off the ground. With the look on his face it seemed that the loud thud I made startled him.

"Oww..." I whined, wincing in pain as I stood up. "Are you okay?" He asked with concern. I let out a sheepish giggle and nodded. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just slipped." I said, trying to play it off. "Alright then." He hummed, shrugging his shoulders a bit. I looked around the room we stood in, I couldn't help but notice how much of the wall was missing.

I also noticed how much stuff he had in here. But what caught my eye was the poster of a red Vespa on the wall. "Is all of this stuff yours?" I asked, as I stared at the poster. "Sorta? I mean I just kind of found it while swimming" He explained. I tilted my head to the side slightly with curiosity. "You mean, you found all this stuff in the ocean?" I inquired in amazement. His grin widened as he nodded his head eagerly.

"It's nice to know that I'm not the only sea monster in town." I commented which caused him to laugh softly. "Yeah, I agree." He replied with a fond smile. "Sorry if this is personal, but what happened to your real dad?" I asked all of a sudden. His smile faded into a frown at my question. "I don't know for sure if he's still alive to be honest. But he decided that I was old enough to live on my own and just left me." He said with an obvious hint of sadness in his voice. "I thought that maybe he would change his mind. But he never did." He then finished, gazing out the glassless window.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to open up such a painful memory." I apologized with a sympathetic expression etched across my face. "It's okay, It's not your fault. You were just curious." He reassured me with a soft smile. "So how long have you lived in Potorosso?" He asked, changing the somber topic about his dad. "Well I lived here since birth but had to move to America and lived there through the ages of 5 to 14. Then we moved back here." I explained simply, hoping that I didn't sound confusing or anything.

We sat there on the floor just talking and getting to know each other better. At one point it the sun was starting to set which made me realize that I had to go home soon. "Oh, it's getting pretty late. I should get going before my mom starts to worry about me." I mentioned, glancing at the setting sun. He only sighed and stood up before helping me up from my sitting position.

"Will I see you tomorrow then?" He asked, sounding hopeful. I only nodded and gave him a smile. "Yeah, sure." I answered before making my way over to the ladder. With that I sent him a wave and climbed down the ladder. After making it down, I made my way over to the beach and began to swim back over to the town, turning into my sea monster form as my skin hits the water.

After a while of swimming, I made it back to shore and grabbed my bag were I left it and headed towards home.