My Collection of Birthday Not-So-Short Stories

The Rules of LOVE Part 2

A/N: Please make sure you read Part 1 completely before moving onto Part 2, since I just updated Part 1.

THANKS and ENJOY!!!!

Summer began in a blur. I was already frazzled by him acting so cold, and not only that, but he knew about my past. He knew I was a mermaid.

My hero was the Human Agent sent to kidnap me.

My heart sunk at the thought. After I told Cecelia about it, she never left my side at school, and didn’t go to sleep at night for the first few days after his threat. Soon, though, she couldn’t stand it and cast a spell on me instead.

The worst thing was, however, that I didn’t hate him. Quite the opposite, actually. When he pinned me against the wall, all serious and threatening, I realized how absolutely hot he was. His short, dark hair looked soft and his eyes looked caring. His face said hatred, but his eyes said something else entirely.

Whenever I thought of him, I thought of the secret smile boy, the stranger hero boy. My mind hated him, but my heart fell more and more in love with him.

Was this love?

I pondered this for a long time. On some days I would just sit out on our porch, stare at the beach that was my backyard, and think about how I could get us together. Cecelia would never approve. He probably wouldn’t even approve.

Oh, poo. I forgot about that. I hadn’t even thought about the fact that he hated my guts. After all, he was human, and I was a mermaid princess. Magics and humans don’t work together for very long. I mean, we’ve been trying to for 2,000 years, and look where that’s gotten us?

I heard the quiet slide of the back door open and close, and turned to see Cecelia yawning in her white nightgown. She rubbed her eyes and sat down next to me on the rocks. Usually, I could confide in her. She was my best friend, after all. This time, though, I doubted that I could tell her about my growing crush on the enemy.

We were silent for a while, just staring out as the blue waves slid on and off the sandy shore. She hugged her left leg to her chest and laid her head on its knee, examining me. “What’s up?” she asked with a yawn.

I didn’t want to answer. I didn’t want to have to face my feelings. I turned the other way.

“Tori? Seriously, what’s wrong? It’s stupid to try and hide it.”

I sighed. I knew it wouldn’t work, but it was worth a shot. “Cecelia…” I started, avoiding her eyes. “What would you say if I told you that I still… liked Nathan?”

She nodded all-knowingly. “Hmmm… I would probably say that I have no clue what you see in him, and that chances are you’ll get your heart broken.” Of course. No surprise. “BUT!” she continued, catching my hopelessness.

But? Did she just say but? Hope crept up behind my heart. “But, it wouldn’t matter what I said, because it wouldn’t change your feelings, now would it?”

This was going better than I thought. “Sooo… you’ll help me try to get him to fall for me?”

“If you don’t make me do anything drastic, because you probably would, then sure, I’ll try to help. You have to promise me two things, though. One, if he tries to kidnap you, I can kick his nuts.”

I laughed. “Sure. And?”

“And two, if he breaks your heart, I can kill him.”

We shook hands. It was a deal.

••••••

Josie was holding a party for the sophomores and juniors in a week. I had made a special request for her to invite Nathan, which she did. When she told me he agreed to come, I started practicing kissing on my pillow. (Oh please, like you’ve never done that at least once before.)