A one shot where Harry meets a mermaid.
Co-writer: thechubbyprince
~_~_~
I was drowning. Water filled my lungs as I felt myself slowly drifting to the bottom of the lake, the stones that were tied there pulling me down. I shouldn't be upset though. I always asked for death and now it was being handed to me on a silver platter, but now I didn't want it. My mind flashed back to Megan, and how happy she would be.
Then I saw the boy, sitting at the bottom of the lake playing poker with himself. I looked curiously at him as my eyes rolled back dramatically. I felt my vision starting to go black, but I fought it wanting to know more about the boy at the bottom of the lake. I felt myself failing, however, as I could feel my body slowly letting go without my consent.
"Finally, you've held on longer than expected," I hear someone say as my vision starts clearing and I feel more at peace. I glanced up, my lungs searching for a breath and somehow finding it in the water. I look around, terrified for a moment because nothing was familiar except for the boy next to me.
"Deloris, get back to work you bitch I'm not paying you to sit around," The boy in front of me huffs, voice void of any emotion. I take a moment to appreciate the boy's features, his cheekbones and fluffy brown hair, eyes the color of the water surrounding us. There was limited air bubbles grazing his chin and dancing across his collar bones. I notice a band around the boy's ring finger and in the ring was a small green stone. I looked down at the boy's legs and nearly screamed as I saw a big ass tail, but I shocked myself again as I heard no sound come out.
"The hell, just because you can't hear yourself yet doesn't mean the rest of us can't," the boy curses as he rubs his ear and glares at me. I gave him a questionable glance, not understanding what the fuck was happening.
"You aren't used to hearing or speaking underwater yet, it probably sounds muffled, but you'll get used to it, promise," The boy gives me a smile teasingly.
"I'm Louis, you're Harry, we've been expecting you." The boy says, taking my hand and starting to pull me somewhere. I decided to go with it since I didn't have much to lose anyways. He slows down a while later so that we were going at a pace that would've been walking.
"What's going on?" I ask, hearing my voice in a way that sounded like it wasn't coming from me, but from someone far away. I notice the highlight sparkling on the top of his cheek and the random fish scales over his arms.
"We were told that a man would be brought to us. We don't know what the point of you being here is considering you are human, but we were told to spare you." Louis informs. What would this weird underwater world want with the likes of me? I was literally gay and depressed. Why would they want me when I didn't even want me.
"Why?" I ask, my voice still shaky and not use to the water. I look down at myself and see that I wasn't half fish, I looked completely normal considering everything. My shirt was lost somewhere, so I was naked from the chest up, but so was everyone else. My yellow swimming shorts were still on me. Thankfully the stones that we around my ankles were gone now.
"Bitch I just said I didn't know. Goodness, you act like I'm the king of the world. But, I did overhear that they were going to kill you anyway." Louis whispers. I wasn't dead? If I wasn't dead then how could any of this be real? I can't breathe underwater and I've had to be been down here for at least an hour.
"So, what do you expect me to do? I'm not the magical creature over here." I say stubbornly, crossing my hands over my chest. He rolls his eyes at me again. I swore the amount of times the boy rolled his eyes they were going to get stuck up there.
"We'll escape of course and ride off into the sunset. That's what happens in the movies right?" He snaps, equally as petty as I was. Now was not the time to have a 'who can be the pettiest' contest considering I was going to be killed by a bunch of mer-people (I know it would make for a great headline for my obituary, but not the most practical at the moment).
"Don't you have the weird thing where you become a human when you get out of water? That would be very useful at the moment." I question. Louis sighs loudly.
"This isn't some damn mermaid film, Harry, this is real life. In real life I'm a mermaid and mermaids are mermaids. We're like fish." Louis snaps.
"Find then, Mr. There-Are-No-Solutions, what do you suggest?"
"I don't know!"
"Then stop shooting down all my ideas!"
"Then wake up!"
"What?"
"I said wake up, Harry!"
"Louis?"
"Harry, please!"
"Louis are you okay? Babe!"
My mind flashes to the boat. Being on the water with my pals and Louis. Louis was drunk and had fallen over the edge.
"Harry..."
Louis' last word tore from this throat as he finally went under the water for the last time. My heart dropped as I saw his body slowly sinking to the bottom of the lake.
"He's not responding!"
My friends, who were mostly drunk as well, starred at me as if I grew another head. One of them clumsily brought out their phone and dialed 911.
"Harry, what are you looking at? We'll be fine, I won't let you get murdered. Maybe we can go the shore and you can leave."
The vision of my boyfriend's body slowly drifting reminded me of a leaf falling from a tree in August.
"Yeah, Lake Justin, he went over and is under water."
I look down at my hand and see a band around my finger that wasn't there before. It was a simple gold color and had a blue stone in the center. I nearly screamed as I saw the thing rust before my eyes as if it had been underwater for months.
"Sir, I know it's been 8 months, but we've found Louis Tomlinson' body. Not only that, but this is for you."
I'm handed a box. I take it and open it. Inside was a ring that was rusted from being underwater for months. I take it and shove it in my pocket. Knowing that night Louis died he was going to propose.
"He's flat lining!"
I remember taking the pills, the anti-depressants to be exact, and filling the bathtub. The water lapping around my ankles as I step inside and wait for it to fill.
"You stupid bitch! You're the reason Louis' dead, if it weren't for you he wouldn't have fallen off the edge. God I hope you die and go to hell!" Megan's voice screams at me when I tell her.
I look at mermaid Louis and frown as I see his face slowly starting to rot in front of me. His clothes tearing and his tail being replaced with beaten up legs.
"I love you. Remember this Harry, no matter what anyone says about you, you are always wonderful in your own special ways. That's what I love about you and that's what I want you to remember when you look in the mirror and think you don't deserve to be here."
The feeling of being utterly alone in life overwhelmed me as I felt the bathwater reaching my shoulders. I turn the water off and sit starring at the framed picture of the beach in front of me.
"He's gone."
The phone rings as I'm in the bath and I let it go to voicemail. I was too tired to focus on it, it didn't matter what it said anyway because I was never leaving this room.
"Look, Harry, I'm sorry about what I said. It's not your fault Louis went over and I'm silly for thinking that. I forgive you. Call me back, okay?"
