Something's Fishy...

Chapter 3: Ice Cream Drama

Chapter 3: Ice Cream Drama

As I walked down the street, my new identification papers and a handful of cash in hand, I got the sudden craving for a cold, creamy treat. I quickly zeroed in on Lucy's Custard Shop. I could see happy couples and friends walking in and out of the cutesy custard store. I couldn't wait!

I stepped into the store, and was met with a cool blast of refrigerated air. Goosebumps prickled all over my skin, but the idea of ice cream was too much to resist. Thankfully, the line was short, despite that it was still summer. My eyes briefly glanced over the choice of flavors, but I already knew what I wanted; chocolate! There was no beating the rich cocoa flavor of chocolate ice cream.

There was only one person working the store at the moment, a pretty brown haired girl with almond-tanned skin. She had bright brown eyes, the exact color of dark chocolate, with slightly over-shaped eyebrows that made her look like she had a permanent expression of wonder on her face. Her body was nicely proportioned, not too skinny, but not too curvy. She wore what I guesses was the uniform for the store: tight black pants and a fitted t-shirt that read "got ice cream?".

I could tell from the constant glances of the male population towards her that many guys found her attractive. I immediately felt jealousy towards her. Mermaids were made to be more attractive than most humans, but her she was in all her human glory, capturing the lustful looks from the many guys inside the shop. I just didn't get what they saw in her. She seemed not to notice any of the attention she was attracting.

Deciding not to let my feelings get in the way of a possible friendship, cause she looked about my age, I went up to order my ice cream with a smile on my face. As soon as I entered farther into the store, I realized my mistake. Almost immediately, eyes that were formerly pointed to the cashier girl were now focused on me. I could feel their gaze on me, and I was filled with a feeling of satisfaction that I was the center of attention. It felt great.

My long blonde hair fell in elegant waves around my shoulders, shining brilliantly despite the bad lighting. I knew that my eyes were wide and bright, inviting. My face had never known a single blemish, nor unever skintone. I was lean, but well muscled from all my time swimming. Not to mention I quite an impressively sized chest, as all mermaids do.

Now I was glad that I had gotten some new clothes before heading back into town. I was now wearing black athletic shorts, and a figure-flattering athletic shirt. What can I say? I like looking sporty. 

As a mermaid, I was made to be as appealing as possible, something to do with seducing sailors from olden times. The effects of my beauty were not unnoticed by me, or the girl at the cash register for that matter. I was used to the stares, enjoying the unspoken attention. As I gracefully walked over to where the line started, everyone's gaze followed me. I looked up at the girl who would take my order, and was surprised by what I saw.

Her face was livid. Despite my first impressions of her, I could now see the anger that was plainly plastered across her face. I realized now that she enjoyed the attention of males as much, possibly more, than me. And now she was royally pissed at me for taking the spotlight away from her. 

"Welcome to Lucy's! My name is Chelsea. What can I get for you?" She said acidly. I sniggered inside my head at her blatant attitude towards me.

"Well, I think I would like a scoop of double chocolate fudge ice cream in a cone. With extra sprinkes" I added sweetly, cause I'm just that nice.

"Sure, coming right up." It was now clear to me that she was just a catty girl, most likely an attention-seeking... person. I had seen my fare share of them in my years in high school, but she had no need to fear, I wasn't interested in guys at all. I moved around so often, there was really no point in trying to form relationships of any kind. To avoid heart-break, I mostly just avoided guys all together, regardless of how much I enjoyed their silent attention of me.

Once I had been given my much-awaited ice cream, I paid, then headed outside to sit in the sun at one of the tables. I picked a table that no one else was sitting at, enjoying the cool sensation of ice cream melting in my mouth. I stared out at the crashing waves of the ocean. It had gotten too cool for most people to go swimming, so there were only a few bobbing figures in the ocean. I enjoyed the simplicity of the moment.

Suddenly, I felt another pair of eyes watching me. It wasn't like usual where I could simply ignore it, and I felt pressured to look at who was staring at me. Throught the glass doors of the ice cream shop, I could see a boy, about my age, staring at me. He had shaggy-blonde surfer hair, and his face was tanned a deep brown, but not in a bad way. He definitely had a muscled body, and his tight water-shirt clearly showed his six pack. His eyed twinkled a light blue, like the sky on a clear day. There was no denying that he was cute.

Unfortunately, he took my returning stare as an invatation for him to join me. He got up from his table inside, and started to walk to the door. I quickly looked down, trying to show my disinterest, but the damage was already done. Before I could look up again, he had already pulle up an extra chair to my table, trying to catch my gaze.

"Hey, my name is Davis, what's your's?" I shyly looked up. I could feel a pink blush beginning to creep onto my face. Why was I so nervous?

"Um, my name's Claire..." I said slowly, unsure of where he was trying to take this. Meanwhile, I could hear my heart begin to beat faster and faster. I could even feel a sheen of sweat start to break out on my back.

"Cool. Are you new around here? I've never seen you here before" he replied comfortably, unaware of the way he was making me feel. "Will you be coming to Virginia Beach High for school this year?"

His barrage of questions all of the sudden seemed overwhelming, and I was getting more overheated by the second. He wasn't doing anything wrong, I just felt so unsettled by my reaction towards him. What the hell was going on?

"Uh, hey... Davis? I gotta go, right now. It was nice meeting you" I forced the words out of my mouth, not revealing the turmoil within. Now my insides felt like they were turning to mush, like I couldn't be near him without feeling... well, I didn't know what I was feeling, and I didn't like it. My whole body was shaking as I got up and walked away from the table, from Davis. I couldn't see clearly, and my thoughts were muddled. 

This was just too much for me to handle. I had to clear my head, and try to figure out what I was going through. In my moment of weakness, the pull inside of me towards the ocean grew stronger, breaking down my resistance to its draw.

I had no idea why I felt this way. I had been around guys before, at my previous schools and towns. For some reason I just felt so... out of control, and I didn't like it. Sure he was cute, but there was no rational reason for me to have this kind of reaction. What was wrong with me?

My eyes began to water, tiny stream of salty water trickling down my cheeks. My heart was pumping much faster than usual, and it felt like everyone could hear it. I just felt completely out of control. I knew that I had to get away from everything, at least for the moment.

Making sure to avoid looking at anyone, and hiding my tear-streaked face, I rushed to the ocean. It felt like my feet were flying, my raging emotions forcing my atraction to the sea out of control. My feet seemed to automatically know the fastest way to the ocean. I couldn't have stopped if I wanted to.

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(A/N): Okay, chapter 3 is up. Sorry that it's been a while since I've updated, but I've been really busy with exams and stuff. I'm gonna try to update more this weekend, inbetween study sessions of course! So let me know what you think of this chapter! Constructive criticism in the comments is always appreciated, as well as like and fanning! Thanks so much for reading :D