Of Fangs & Fins ✔

iii.

SR: Lord Huron - The Night We Met

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.iii.

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It's always when you're close to death that you start to appreciate all the little things in life.

As I felt my human existence fade away, all I could think about was my little sister. We had an argument before I left for Topside. She didn't want me to leave her behind and sure, it was hard leaving her. We spent every waking moment together. She was my best friend. Whenever I received news about anything, she was the first person I wanted to tell.

It was always Marina, my best friend, my sister, my everything.

That is until I met Hadlee.

I wasn't looking for love when I came to land. I wanted to learn their customs, and what made humans so... interesting. It wasn't until I met Hadlee that I realized there was so much more to land than just humans and college. There was a world beyond that. And all I wanted was to experience it with her.

We didn't get too much time together, that much was true. I always told myself it was for the best since she was seeing me behind her finances back and it would've got ugly if she found out. And we both knew my Dad wouldn't appreciate me dating a vampire, especially as one as old as her. I had no idea if he was okay with me being with a woman in the first place. I never thought about being with any I was attracted to. Jasper and I were supposed to merge kingdoms. Love wasn't something that was in the cards. I had to help hold a whole kingdom up. I was next in line for Aqueria. There was no doubt that with my untimely demise Marina was now up to be the heir. I'm sure she hated that.

Fingers snapped in front of my face. My eyes widened and I straightened up. My chest tightened and I shut every emotion down, one by one. It was something that was easier to do as a vampire. I'd say it was harder, vampires felt so much more. It made sense why a lot of them turned off their humanity.

You shed your human life, leave everything behind, and start again.

Hadlee wasn't like that. I wasn't sure if it was because she was born a vampire. Turned ones are so... angsty, unhappy. Hadlee was full of life. I could remember our first encounter as if it was yesterday.

"I told you I didn't want to go here tonight," I muttered, gazing up at the neon lights above us. It spelled out something that was in a different language. I wasn't even going to try and guess what language it was in.

Wendyll threw the car into park and slid out of the car. Tonight she wore her signature neon purple wig as if we were going to a rave instead of a bar. It was one of the things that made me gravitate toward her. She didn't give a fuck about what anyone thought. I wouldn't want anyone else to be my first human friend.

She loved to party, and always had plans for the weekend. One of her favorite haunts was coming here, a seedy ass bar in a shady ass place. It was daunting from the outside, the black brick imposing on the sidewalk. On the inside, however, was something of the opposite. Red leather cushioned booths lined the outer walls of the bar. In the middle of the nightclub, there was a dancefloor, rainbow strobe lights flickering over the mass of people.

I watched it with my nose scrunched. These people were packed like sardines. They reminded me of schools of fish, working in unison to the rhythm. Wen leaned sideways, an impish grin on her face. "Want to dance?"