Golden Waves (Solangelo AU)

Chapter 1

Hello! First, I'm so sorry I haven't started on the sequel to Monster Beneath the Surface. Between some technical problems, school, and just not having enough inspiration, I'm going to take a break from that story, but I will be coming back. In the mean time, I've decided to work on this, an old passion project of mine. I hope you like it, and thank you for understanding!

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"Will?" the little boy asked tentatively, staring at his feet that were dangling over the edge of the dock.

"Yeah?" his friend answered.

"How...how do I know you're real?" the eight year old prince asked, finally looking up at his friend, his big brown eyes shining like a doe's.

"What do you mean?" Will said, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Papa and Bianca think I made you up," the boy said, slight frustration in his voice. "The only person who believed me was Mama...but she's gone now."

"Why would they think you made me up?" Will asked his friend, his arms crossed under his chin as he rested his head on the edge of the dock near the young prince, the rest of his body flowing freely in the water.

"Because they think mermaids aren't real," Nico pouted, his bottom lip jutting out and his eyebrows creased.

"But I am real!" Will said, flicking his golden-yellow tail out of the water for a moment to prove his point.

"But..." Nico trailed off hopelessly.

Will rolled his eyes. He and the prince had been friends since Nico found him near the docks when they were both seven. Will was worried he'd be in trouble for letting a human see him, but Nico pinky promised not to tell anyone. The two had been visiting each other in the same spot since.

"Well...what if I do this?" Will said, reaching out his arm. Before the little prince could process what was happening, Will had placed a wet, webbed hand on Nico's cheek.

Nico felt as if a surge of electricity had just run through him, the hairs on his arms standing up, and an almost invisible shiver passing over his body. He touched the spot on his cheek where the mermaid's fingers had just left.

"You're real," Nico said, smiling shyly, even though he had always known his friend wasn't made up. He shouldn't have let anyone convince him otherwise.

"Now you can show me to your family as proof!" Will said, smiling brightly, showing off his missing front tooth.

"I can't," Nico said, fiddling with his fingers. "Papa is always working and Bianca is going to our cousin Percy's birthday party," the young prince said bitterly, his eyes becoming a bit watery. "I wasn't invited because apparently I'm too much of a baby and the party is only for big kids."

"Don't think about it too much, Neeks," Will said, trying to cheer up his best friend. "Big kids are dumb anyways. They think they're so smart when they actually aren't."

Nico laughed a little bit at that, wiping away his tears with his sleeves. "Yeah! Besides, it means I get to spend more time with you, which is way more fun than anything at a big kid's party."

Will hoped Nico didn't see his blush. 

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"Happy birthday, Neeks!" Will said cheerfully, but immediately stopped smiling when he saw Nico sobbing, his eyes red and puffy and his cheeks tearstained. "Nico, what happened? Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

"I-I'm okay," Nico said quietly, his words stuttering as he took in shattering breaths. He sat down near the edge of the dock, pulling his knees up to his chest and hiding his face. "Just a bad day."