(Sequel) John Laurens X !Mermaid! Reader

°Chapter 9: Mix switch°

A few days had gone by as Y/N and John joined Hercules' crew and started sailing toward the British camp up North. John has ransacked the whole cheese supply while Y/N mostly sat on the deck and talked with Joseph, a member of Hercules' crew. John didn't seem too keen watching them talk all day. But for some unknown reason, he couldn't really look away either. 

"I see you stopped eating cheese and started biting your nails instead," Hercules commented as he approached John, who was leaning against one of the wooden pillars, staring at the two. John frowned at Hercules, who had given him a raised eyebrow. He slowly lowered his thumb as he had been biting at the nail. He looked at his hand for a second and notice that he had bitten off most of his nails. "New hobby of mine," John coughed and folded his arms, tucking his hands away.

"We don't have time for hobbies, we should leave. Help the men pull in the anchor," Hercules ordered. "I'm not part of your crew," John argued. "Well, you seem awfully bored, so go do something useful," Hercules said, glancing at the pair before looking back at John. John groaned but went and help the crew out.

"And you, Joseph. You don't have an excuse either. Go do your job," Hercules said, to which Joseph nodded and stood up. And so he left the siren alone for a while as the crew members started preparing the last measures before the boat could start sailing.

"Lad, hold this rope," An older sailor told John. Not knowing what the rope held, John took the rope as the others pulled the anchor out of the water. As John stared at the ripples that the anchor had caused in the water, he suddenly felt something pull at the rope. "Lad! Keep a look at the rope! It holds the mast out of the way-" John looked up and before he could say anything, a mast hit him in the face and dragged him over and off the deck. 

With a massive splash, John fell into the water, merging his legs and turning them into a tail. Y/N, on the other side of the ship, felt something weird. So she looked down and saw some fabric she hadn't seen in a while. Her old torn-up soldier's pants. She blankly stared at it for a moment until she realized the meaning of these pants.

"Where's John?" She calmly asked looking around, seeing a sudden crowd of sailors looking at the sea. "There he is!" One of them yelled. Y/N quickly got up, almost falling on her face, and ran toward the crowd. And there he was. Poking his head and bare shoulders above water, looking very unamused. 

Even more so when he saw Y/N. "We should help him out," Another sailor said. "Or we don't," Y/N mumbled, raising her eyebrow. Since it was only a silent mumble, the sailors let down a rope to pull John back on board. Two men pulled on the rope when John had clenched his hands around it and soon he ungracefully stumbled aboard. 

"Y/N." He barked as if it was her fault. "Get in the water," He demanded, pointing up at the girl. "How about no? We have to leave," Y/N said, crouching down beside him. "You can survive a day on dry land as a siren," She said mockingly. "Oh, just like that? We playing this game now?" John hissed, pushing his chest off the creaky wooden deck and staring her right in the eye. 

"Okay, ladies," Hercules said, coming in between the two right before one could lay a finger on the other. "Y/N is right, we have to leave. But she'll transform as soon as we lower the anchor again," He said looking at John and Y/N. "Really?" Y/N asked.

"Shut. Up. Y/N. I'm attesting for you," Hercules said with a forced smile.

"Fine, I'll go spend my day walking," Y/N spat before standing up and doing as she promised. "Yeah! Walk! Walk out of my life while you're at it!" John yelled, but Y/N plugged her ears and kept walking. 

"Both of you are toddlers, Jesus," Hercules sighed as he got up. "No, no, no, you're staying here," John said, grabbing Herc's coat and dragging him back down. "I can't, I'm the captain. I have captainy things to do," He told John. "Like what?" John asked, narrowing his eyes. "Like being a captain. Were you even listening, John?" Hercules asked before jerking his coat out of John's hands and walking away. 

John slammed his fist on the deck. "Ah shiet," He mumbled, looking ahead. "Okay, think, John," He said to himself. "If you were a fish on dry land, what would you do?" He asked himself. He took a moment to think and then violently started doing spastic movements like a fish on dry land. Eventually, he managed to spastically make his way to the space Y/N sat while she was a siren. A good 20 ft away.

There he rested and waited until this dreadful day was over.