Hooked

Chapter Ten: Uncovered

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Chapter Ten: Uncovered

Shockwaves rushed through my body as icy water poured over my chest. It seemed to sink into my skin, becoming absorbed and sending my body into a euphoric state. I felt it rejuvenating my being immediately, and I felt as if I were on a cloud with the hydration running through my veins.

A piece of ice sliding beneath my shirt snapped me out of my stupor as I realized what was happening. Not wasting a second, I leapt from my chair and ran towards the back of the restaurant.  I begged anyone that the bathrooms were located there. My figure began to blur as I turned around a corner and forced my body to move at supernatural speed into the first door I found.

I slammed it shut behind me just in time to collapse on the tiled floor. My skin began to flutter, and like turning cards, scales began to appear over my legs in mosaic patterns. The change was over nearly before I had hit the ground, and I let out a moan of discomfort as my body grew stiff again the dirty floor. It was a small room, and my tail was curled at the end to fit. The cotton shirt stuck to my torso, sopping wet and see-through, and prevented me from even beginning to dry.

I could hardly breathe. One part of my mind was in pure bliss: my mer form was incredibly comfortable and so, so natural to me. Everything was enhanced, brighter, more distinctly shaped… But the other half was panicking and making my heart race. Someone could find me and ruin everything I had come here for, and make me a perfect biological experiment for eagerly waiting scientists.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and I immediately flopped over onto my stomach. Trying my hardest to reach out, I flicked the lock on the door and checked the handle as a voice called through the wood.

"Angel," Adrian's voice called. "Are you alright?"

I couldn't even focus on his words. His voice-for some ungodly reason-had a crazy effect on me in this form. I felt everything tingle, from my lips to the tip of my fins.

"Sophie," he said again, louder this time. 

I swallowed and tried to sound normal. "I'm fine! I’m just trying to dry my clothes--."

I cut myself off with a silent gasp. My underwear and leggings were strewn across the floor, torn raggedly down the middle; my tennis shoes had small tears in the heel area, but were hopefully salvageable.

"-- Um, Adrian?"

I heard him adjust his weight outside the door. "Yes, Angel?"

I tried to come up with something on the spot as I began to pull myself toward the hand drier. “My leggings got caught on the door and… ripped.”

I winced at how terrible of an excuse that was.

Reaching up, I pulled myself onto the pale countertop and pressed my hand against the automatic drier. I angled my body towards it, trying to avoid the spotted water droplets on the counter. I felt myself begin to shift, but the change wasn’t coming very quickly. I peeled my wet shirt off, shoving it under the drier as well.

I heard a rustling sound outside the door, followed by his voice. “Sophie, open the door.”

“Um, one second,” I called back.

Hurry up, I thought. Concentrating, I tried to raise my body temperature, but the scales were only just beginning to disappear.

After twenty unbearable seconds, I was absolutely naked—with two legs—in the public restroom. Every article of my clothing was either too wet or torn to put back on, and I hoped Adrian would have a solution as I hid my body behind the door and flicked the lock.

He tried to open the door, but I said, “Can you just say it through the door?”

“I have a shirt for you.”

“Oh,” I responded brilliantly, and slid the door open the slightest bit to allow his hand through. A dark blue shirt dangled from his fingers, making me blush. I slipped the shirt over my head, and it fell to a little above the middle of my thighs. It reached a little further on one shoulder than the other and was too large to really be publicly acceptable, but I didn’t complain as I stared at my clothes, hoping an idea would come to my head on how to safely get them out of here without shifting in the restaurant.