Sink or Swim - Luca x Alberto

Green Eyes (PART ONE)

He takes my wrist and holds it up, placing the rock in my hand and closing my fingers around it. "If you lose this," he says, trying not to smirk, "... I will probably punch you."

I roll my eyes and shove the rock in my pocket. "Good luck with that," I reply teasingly.

"Good luck with that? I could easily punch you, if I wanted to."

"Do you want to?"

Alberto pretends to think about it, tapping his chin. "I dunno. Maybe." He grins.

I laugh and gently nudge him away. "Oh yeah?" I look out at the ocean, an idea popping in my head. "You'll have to catch me first!"

Before Alberto knows it, I plunge into the water, feeling my skin turn to scales as I swim between the giant rocks. I glance up at the water's surface, and not a second later, Alberto jumps in. I grin ear-to-ear and quickly swim the other direction.

"This is cheating, you know!" I hear him shout out. I just laugh and keep swimming away, clutching my pocket to make sure the rock is still there, then keeping my hand over it protectively.

I swim through the kelp that line the entrance to my village, running my hand through them and watching them sway. I hear Alberto swimming behind me, so I dash towards the seagrass meadow.

I hide behind a clump of tall seagrass, pulling my tail towards me so it doesn't give away my hiding spot. While watching for Alberto, I admire the meadow. I used to come here a lot when I was younger; I would bring the goatfish here and lie in the grass while they played. The grass gets cut regularly by the townspeople, so it's perfect to relax in.

Thinking about the memories makes me smile, and I get distracted.

Until suddenly...

"Gotcha!"

Suddenly, I'm being wrapped up in a big hug as Alberto and I are launched forward. I let out a startled shriek, which immediately makes my face burn because it sounded incredibly girly.

"What do you have to say now?" Alberto asks, putting his chin on top of my shoulder.

"You scared the scales off me, you meanie!" I look up at him and smile big, especially because I'm overjoyed that we're hugging again.

"Wow, I care sooo much." He returns the smile despite his sarcasm.

Us looking at each other like this makes me want to hide my face. He looks so adorable right now, but I can't fully enjoy it without thinking about what happened on Monday. I can't look directly at his beautiful and amazing self without remembering that he doesn't share my same feelings. There are times (such as this one) where it seems like he does like me back, but I have to remember that he only thinks of me as a best friend.

Thankfully, before my smile goes away, I think of something really cool. "Hey!" I say, pulling away from the hug only to grab his wrist and bring him over to the seagrass. "I just realized something."

"What, that this is a great place to nap in?" Alberto guesses, reaching down and running his hand over the soft grass.

"No. Well... actually, yeah, it might be." I join him down at the blades, grab one, and pull it out from the ground. I pinch the dirt off the end of it, then hand it to Alberto. "It's not a rock, but it matches your eyes perfectly."