Mermaids and Men [mlm]

6. Commence Operation: Seduce a Laachlan

"Nicki, Alex!"

The two guys turned around and saw Natalie smiling big, waving at them to come over to her. They both smiled back and quickly made their way over to the girl, who was standing beside her parents and two siblings. Natalie met them halfway and giggled a little, wrapping her arms around both Alex and Nicki, hugging them tight. "Oh god, I'm so glad you two are here. I was starting to get really anxious being around all this water," she whispered to them, slowly pulling away with her hands on their shoulders. Nicki grinned and placed his hand over her wrist, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "It's alright. We just gotta stay as far away from it as possible and avoid getting splashed by all those kids in the pool. Watch out, especially for Maddie; she's a bitch when it comes to splashing me with water," he warned them. Natalie pulled away with a frown, taking a deep breath. "Great. Thanks for the warning--"

"Natalie! Who are your friends?" a woman asked.

Natalie turned around and saw her mom, dad, older brother, and younger sister approaching them the rest of the way. "Oh! This is Nicki and you know Alex. Nicki's the new addition to our friend group; he moved here a little bit ago," she told them. Nicki smiled and waved at them, trying to seem as charming as possible. "It's lovely to meet you all," he greeted. Natalie's mom squealed a bit, smiling and placing her hand over her heart. "Oh my! I love your accent!" she beamed, clasping her hands together. Nicki chuckled a little and rubbed the back of his neck rather sheepishly. "Thanks," he said to her. "I'm Susan and this is my husband Aaron," Natalie's mom introduced, placing her hand on her husband's shoulder. "This is my brother Nelson and my little sister Allie," added Natalie, pointing to the other two. Her younger sister looked at Nicki with a deep blush on her face, nervously twiddling her fingers. "H-How old are you?" she questioned shyly. Nicki smiled and crossed his arms. "Eighteen. I turned eighteen a little before the start of my senior year," he answered. Allie frowned and hugged herself, still blushing. It was obvious she was already crushing on the older boy, upset that she was only fifteen and too young for him. Nelson was only a bit older than Natalie, twenty years old and still living with his family just until he was finished with college. He felt it was better to stay home where his family wasn't going to make him pay for rent, just so he could focus on college and wouldn't have to be worried about anything else, like bills and food. He was the major brainiac in the family, and his studies were more important to him than anything else.

"Do you live around here, Nicki? I know you don't, Alex," said Aaron, raising a brow at Alex, who let out a nervous chuckle, knowing this party wasn't really somewhere he belonged due to it being neighborhood only. But Anthony said it was okay, so it shouldn't be too much of a big deal. "I do, actually. My parents are over there," Nicki answered, pointing to his mom and dad, who were talking to Anthony. "Oh! Well, we'll go introduce ourselves! It was wonderful meeting you; I'm so glad Natalie is making more friends," Susan beamed, waving them off, both her and her husband making their way over towards the other adults. "Natalie's told me a bit about you. She said you're into art and can draw really well," Nelson spoke up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he looked down at Nicki. Nelson was one attractive dude; a little geeky-looking, but he had a nice build and a really good-looking face.

"Yeah! I also paint, and I can play a bit of guitar too," Nicki answered, smiling at him. Natalie placed her hand on her older brother's shoulder and smiled, shaking the man a bit. "Nelson here is studying graphics design in school. I thought you two might get along pretty well! Nelson is really good at drawing too," she informed her friend. "That's awesome; I'm not sure what I want to study in college, regarding art. So many choices with it," Nicki told Nelson, who chuckled and nodded his head, agreeing.

Before anyone else could speak, Natalie's brows furrowed as she looked over Nicki's shoulder, quickly speaking up and preventing them from continuing, "Someone keeps looking over here," she observed. Nicki looked over his shoulder and saw the man whom he met at the bar, casually glancing up at him, then giving him a small wave. The Siren grinned and turned to look at his friends, humming a bit. "Uhh... I gotta go do something real quick--," he paused and glanced at Natalie's younger sister still standing there, preventing him from really explaining what was going on. "Alex will fill you in. In the meantime, you two get started on that... Thing. It was nice meeting you, Allie-- and you too, Nelson! I'd love to see your art sometime."