oneshots || shyland

Ocean Blue

"Shaney?"

I flipped my head around to face my mom, who quickly pasted some sunscreen across my cheeks.

"Mooom..." I groaned, pulling away. "It's not even that sunny out!"

"Better safe than sorry, sweetheart." She smiled. "Okay, now you can head off but make sure to stay where I can see you!"

I huffed, grabbing my towel and running over to the rocks overlooking the ocean. I unfolded the towel, snatching up the Game Boy that had been hidden inside, and took a seat on the rocks.

My family always went to this beach, almost routinely, and it was the same every time. Jerid and Jacob would go swimming or look for crabs, my mom would suntan, and I would sit on the rocks idly for about three hours. I didn't really have anything else to do, I couldn't swim and running back and forth across the beach was just boring and tiring. That's why I'd recently decided that bringing my Game Boy would at least give me something to do, even if my mom did find out about it and get mad, it was probably worth it.

I pulled the towel over my head, shielding the screen from the blindingly bright sun, and went to turn it on before hearing a splash come from the water. I paused, glancing to the water for a moment, before turning back to my game. It wasn't even another minute before I heard the same loud splash.

I set the towel aside, placing the small console on top of it carefully, and took a few steps closer to the water.

Was that... a fin?

My eyes lit up. My mom had told me recently that a few pods of dolphins had been seen around this beach, and how cool would it be if I got to see one with my own eyes?! I leaned even closer over the rocks, squinting to see if I could catch anything else.

Another splash, I whipped my head to the side, watching as the tip of a tail disappeared under the water. Now this was something I could brag about to my classmates. I pulled out my waterproof camera and looked through the peephole, getting ready to snap a picture when the perfect time came.

I watched as a bit of the tail shone through the water leaned in to get the picture... too far, I leaned in too far.

It didn't sink in until I started sinking, into the seemingly endless abyss that was the barely ten-foot-deep expanse of water. I waved my arms and legs frantically, attempting to paddle upwards but to no avail. This was it, this was my death. I was going to die trying to get a picture of a dolphin to try and look cool in front of my classmates, what were they gonna think of me now? Would they even remember me? Wow, what a legacy I lived.

As black dots began to dance in my vision, tight arms wrapped around me, lifting me up slowly to the surface. I gasped, almost choking as I tried to get as much air into my lungs as possible.

I couldn't help but have my first thought be a pray of gratitude towards god, because apparently this wasn't the end he had in store for me, and also whoever had helped me out. I closed my eyes as I was laid on the sand gently, hoping to be able to open them to a hot lifeguard lady like in a movie, but was instead met with worried grey eyes, like the colour of clouds drifting slowly across the sky.

The boy was young, looking to be around my age, with brown almost shoulder-length hair pasted against his skin.

"A-are y-you ok-kay?" He stuttered.

I opened my mouth to respond but instead let out a load of coughs and choking noises. The boy flinched back a bit, startled by the sudden array of noises coming from me.

"Shane?" I heard my mom yell. "Shane, where'd you run off to?!"

I sat up. "I'm here mom!" I shouted back.

I looked back at the boy, who had already advanced a bit further back into the water.

"Thanks for helping me. I'm Shane." I held out my hand.

"Ryland, I'm Ryland." He replied, ignoring my gesture for a handshake. "I've got to go- I'm not supposed to be over here."

"Me neither, do you want to walk back to the beach with me?"

He shook his head. "I'm... not heading to the beach."

I furrowed my brows, nodding slowly. There wasn't really anywhere else to go around here other than the beach or the ocean, and I was pretty sure he wasn't heading to the ocean, but whatever.

"Okay, Ryland, I'll be back next week to see you."

He smiled, retreating into the water. And- oh.

That was definitely the tail I'd been seeing, on him. So, he was heading into the ocean.

I grinned, who cared about dolphins, I'd just seen a mermaid!

I hurried to my feet, running over to where my mom was laying. As I approached, she looked at me before sitting up completely in shock.

"Oh, my goodness, why are you all wet? Did you fall in the water?"

I nodded, smile still shining bright on my face. "Yeah, but a mermaid saved me, mom! An actual mermaid, I saw it with my own eyes, I swear!"

"Oh, Shane... did you bump your head? Does it hurt? Maybe we should get you checked out in case you have a concussion..." She pulled me closer.

"No, mom, I'm okay! I'm telling you, a mermaid saved me. He-"

"Okay, I'm gonna go get Jerid and Jacob and we can pack up and get home, we'll head to the doctor's office on the way back, alright?"

I almost opened my mouth to argue before my mom spoke up again.

"Don't worry, I believe you about the mermaid, but we should just get you checked out for good measures, okay?"

I nodded, getting up. I knew that she was just saying that to get we to shut up, but there wasn't any point to pushing it. And hey, at least she'd let me get a treat from the vending machine when we got out of the doctors, I was craving a good Kit-Kat.

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Word count: 1058

A/N: This is only the start of this story. I have the next part finished but decided to split it in two because it was fairly long as just one part. I'll try to post it in the next few days!

Hope you guys like it so far and, of course, thank you for reading :)

♡ All votes and comments are appreciated ♡