Art provided by @Inkendz
TW in the description
LUCA POV
Over the next three days, Giulia put the two Sireni hard to work. They were making posters, tying banners, and measuring the exact distance for the swimming portion of the race. She even made them go door to door, handing out flyers to remind everyone that the race was still on. There would be a gathering in the square a few days before the race where the sponsor would explain the rules and hand everyone a map of the race track along the island.
On the day of the big announcement, Luca noticed Giulia wasn't her bubbly self. She kept twisting her curly hair over and over and looking around nervously.
"Hey, this place looks great." He said, gesturing to the stage they had built and the multitude of decorations they had hung around the square.
"I know, but what if nobody comes? They will find out that I am the new sponsor, and nobody will show." She said, starting to pace on the makeshift stage.
"Well, they better show," Alberto called as he secured a large banner that said,
PORTOROSSO CUP
SHOW US WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!
SWIM, BIKE, AND EAT PASTA!
"We have busted our butts getting this all ready. If they don't, I'll knock on doors and drag them out myself." He finished with an evil grin.
Luca laughed. "We won't need to, Alberto. They will come."
The clock tower in the center of town rang twelve times. It was noontime for the big announcement. Giulia looked around nervously.
"Look!" Luca pointed, his body light with excitement.
Sure enough, dozens of kids came running around the corner and stood in front of them on the stage. Luca heard Giulia let out a long breath of relief.
"Luca waved to them sheepishly. Many of the youngsters openly pointed at them, saying,
"They're the Underdogs! They won this race before!"
This was usually followed by several "ooooh's" and open stares. After the kids had gathered, their parents not far behind, Giulia started the announcements.
"Welcome to the Portorosso Cup!" Giulia shouted so loudly she made Luca jump.
As she spoke, Luca watched many of the parents pointing at them. He wasn't sure what they were saying, but it made his face turn red anyway.
"Once they get used to you, they'll stop staring so much," Alberto said, sidling over to him and whispering so only Luca could hear. Giulia continued explaining the rules to the crowd loudly.
"Why are they staring so much?" Luca said, trying not to move his lips as not to interpret Giulia.
"You're like me. A Sireno. They're already used to me being around. You're kinda new. And Portorosso has had a lot of people move in since you left. It'll go away." Alberto said, nudging him on the shoulder reassuringly.
Luca gulped and tried not to let the pointing and the whispering bother him.
Giulia finished her announcement and was flooded with kids handing over their sign-up sheets and participation fees. She hurriedly collected them, and the crowd began to dissipate. Just as she gathered the last sign-up sheet, a loud voice spoke behind them.
"Wow, the Underdogs unite again. Che Patetico."
Luca spun around to see a group of five men approaching. The one that had spoken to them walked in front. Luca noticed that he was lavishly dressed with his black hair styled professionally. He had a haughty air to him and was, in a way, charmingly handsome.
"Ercole?" Luca said disbelievingly.
"Who else would it be, piccoletto?"
"What are you doing here?" Luca asked.
"I'm here to see what a disastro this race is going to be," Ercole said, tearing off one of the flags and stomping it with his boot.
"What? You want to participate? I think we can lump you in with the Jr. Contestants." Alberto said, crossing his arms and smirking. "Then you might have a chance."
Ercole was considerably older than Luca and Alberto. Since he lied about his age so much, Luca wasn't sure exactly how much older. But he suspected Ercole to be roughly twenty-five years old now. He wasn't the skinny teenager that used to bully them when they were kids. Luca couldn't help but shrink away from him and the group of guys surrounding him. Something about them, the way they carried themselves, the way they all looked at Luca in particular... they weren't just here to gloat. They looked dangerous.
"Ha! Very funny - Mongrel," Ercole said, putting venom in the last word as his eyes locked on Alberto. "But I will not be staying for your stupid race. We are only passing through to collect some money the town owes my family."
"What does that mean?" Alberto snapped back.
"It means that you idiote have ruined everything!" Ercole spat. The guys behind him nodded and rubbed their fists, looking at Alberto and Luca.
Luca's heart began to race with fear.
"Alberto, let's just go," Luca said, tugging his arm. But Alberto ignored him.
"You Sea Monsters have kicked my family out of this town. MY town." Ercole said using the old verbiage, and with so much hate, Luca nearly turned and ran. He could see Alberto tense up, ready for a fight.
"My family owns the world's largest shipping company. We used to ship fish to this town because the fisherman here was so bad. We used to OWN this town! But now that the Sea Monsters have moved in suddenly, they don't need help with fishing anymore." Ercole finished.
"I don't see the problem," Alberto replied. "The town is doing well on its own, AND we can get rid of you. I say it's a win-win." He said, smirking.
Luca watched the guys behind Ercole step closer, their hands in fists.
"Alberto, come on!" Luca said, tugging Alberto harder. Their eyes met, and Alberto dropped his hands.
"Whatever, get what you came for and leave," Alberto said, already turning to go. Giulia blew raspberries at them before following suit.
"Oh, and one more thing," Alberto said, turning back to them. "This is MY town now, Ercole. Now get out of it."
~.~.~.~.~.~
Alberto POV
Alberto couldn't sit still. He paced the living room of their home, still fuming with anger.
"I can't believe that weasel had the nerve to show his face here again," Alberto said loud enough for Luca and Giulia to hear. They sat on the couch, watching Alberto pace.
"Well, from the sounds of it, that will be the last time we see his catfish face," Giulia said, leaning back and biting her nails.
"It better be," Alberto said, still seething.
He couldn't believe that Ericole had the guts to show himself again. The people of Portorosso loved and accepted the Sireni. But Ericole never did. He continued to persecute them whenever he got the chance. It continued so much that the town's people finally got tired of it and shunned him away. He left to live on his family's estate after that and didn't come back... until now.
"I didn't know that about his family," Luca said.
"What does it matter? It's a good thing they're gone. It's better for Portorosso and better for us Sireni."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Luca agreed.
Alberto continued to pace until they heard loud booming sounds from outside.
"What is that?" Luca asked.
"They're fireworks," Alberto said, stopping his pacing to listen. "They set them off every summer to celebrate the official start of the fishing season."
"Can we go!?" Luca said, almost jumping from the couch. All at once, Alberto's anger melted away. He wanted to have fun.
"Yeah, of course!" He said with a half-laugh.
"Giulia, you coming?" Luca asked, turning to her. She yawned loudly.
"Sure, I'll go. Why not." She said with a bored voice.
"Oh, it'll be awesome! Let's go before it ends!" Luca said, jumping off the couch and racing to the door.
The docs were packed full with onlookers. In just a few hours, food stalls and festival games had been set up in the square. The sound of loud chatter and the boom of fireworks filled the air.
"Let's get up high where we can see better!" Luca said, pointing to the large hill overlooking the town.
Alberto raced after him taking in the smell of the carnival food and the warm night air. The hill was wholly unoccupied, so they chose the best spot of grass and sat down. The fireworks boomed and crackled in a rainbow of color and sound.
The three sat beside each other, with Luca in the center. Alberto watched the fireworks pop high above the harbor, reflecting on the calm waves below.
"Wow! Look at that!" Luca explained, pointing at the sky. Alberto looked over. The light of the fireworks sparkled in Luca's eyes. He found himself smiling. He could have watched Luca's reaction to the fireworks forever.
"Luca Luca, look over there!" Giulia placed her arm around Luca to turn him to see the second display of fireworks starting.
"Wow, so cool!" He said. Alberto noticed Giulia scoot closer to Luca until their shoulders touched. He shrugged it off and focused on the fireworks. Alberto put his hand down to lean on it in the cool grass. It bumped into Luca's.
"S-sorry," Alberto said, reaching his hand back. He felt his heart do a small skip.
"No, it's ok," Luca replied. Alberto couldn't tell if it was the light of the fireworks or if Luca's ears were turning red.
"They're so beautiful, aren't they?" Giulia said and took a big scoot over in Luca's direction. She tucked her arm under his and rested her head on his shoulder. He continued to watch the sky, seemingly oblivious to their closeness.
(Credit to Inkenz on Instagram)
Alberto couldn't watch the lights in the sky anymore. He kept glancing at his two friends. He should be happy, right? The trio was back together. But as he watched Giulia and Luca, his chest began to feel empty. When Giulia nuzzled her head ever closer, Alberto abruptly stood up.
"What's wrong?" Luca asked.
Alberto didn't know how to answer that. What was wrong? Why was he suddenly so angry?
"I'm gonna get a snack at the stands." He said hotly.
"Oooh, get me a soft pretzel!" Giulia called.
"Sure," Alberto said shortly and walked down the hill.
He wasn't hungry. If anything, he felt sick. The lights of the stalls passed by as Alberto marched through the square. He stopped at the edge of the dock, the waves lapping at him.
Nothing made sense anymore. Everything he felt didn't make sense. Shouldn't he be the happiest he's ever been? Luca was back! Why was he constantly so upset? He didn't want to think anymore. Without warning, Alberto dove off the edge and into the ocean.
The cold ocean water instantly soothed his hot skin. Scales rippled down his body. His feet elongated and became webbed. He took a deep breath, feeling the salty oxygen-filled water pass through his gills. Then he took off. He swam hard and fast. He pushed his tail to work hard, his feet to paddle faster. Soon he was gasping for breath until he hit a familiar beach and slowed.
Alberto walked onto the empty beach, still panting. Scales disappeared as he looked around. The beach was too familiar. He had spent many months on it alone.
Abandoned.
The island was the same as it had been all those years ago. Alberto often came here when he was upset or feeling lonely. Some of the darkest times of his life were spent on this island. It was a place he could go to be alone and let the darkness take him for a while.
He had cleaned up the island a bit over the years. No more trash littered the ground—only the spiky grass and sparse trees covered the island. Muscle memory took him to where he needed to go. The tower still stood with one of its sides crumbling away. Alberto found the same bricks he had climbed a hundred times to hoist himself up.
The small inside room was empty. The only things left were the check marks on the wall he had scratched years ago. He stared at it for a moment, feeling the pain of his past self, then climbed to the roof. There he found his old metal fire pit and a radio tucked under a few planks of wood.
It was a windless night, and Alberto was able to start a fire in no time. Soon it was roaring and crackling in the metal bowl. He could still see the fireworks in the distance.
"What am I doing here?" He sighed to himself.
Nothing made sense in his head. What he had wanted for over three years had finally happened. His family was back together. But ever since Luca and Giulia had arrived, he felt miserable. He watched the small dots of lights that were the fireworks in the distance. Luca and Giulia were on that hill waiting for a soft pretzel. They would probably end up going and getting one themselves.....they would probably share it.
Alberto groaned as the thought hit his head.
"What is wrong with me!?" He shouted to the sky and fell onto his back. He looked at the stars above. It didn't feel that long ago that Alberto had told Luca, they were anchovies swimming above them. The moon was the largest anchovy of them all and protected the little ones. Of course, he had been wrong. Giulia explained it to Luca. She was the smart one, and Luca clung to her every word.
Alberto reached up a hand to the sky, trying to touch the "Big Fish."
"I'm such an idiot," Alberto said to himself.
"Alberto?" A small voice spoke.
Alberto shot up to see Luca climbing the ladder to the roof.
"What are you doing here?" Luca asked.
"I..." Alberto shook his head, "I don't know."
Luca walked over and sat beside him. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"
"It doesn't matter," Alberto said, cutting him off. "Why aren't you with Giulia? Weren't you watching the fireworks together?" He said more hotly than he intended. Luca recoiled a bit.
"I wanted to watch the fireworks all together. And when you didn't come back, I got worried."
"So, where is Giulia?" Alberto asked, not looking at him.
"She ran into some friends and decided to stay at the festival."
Alberto gave a 'Hmph.'
They sat quietly for a while, listening to the fire crackle.
"How did you find me anyway?" Alberto asked, his voice loud in the night.
Luca took a deep breath. "I don't really know. Somehow I just knew you'd be here." He said. "And I was right."
"Well, you found me." Alberto snipped. "You better get back, or Giulia will be looking for you."
"Oh," Luca said, looking disappointed. "If you want to be alone, I'll go."
Alberto's chest grew tight again. He was getting tired of this feeling. His heart was speeding up, despite the fact that he was sitting still. He heaved a heavy sigh.
"No. I'd rather you stay." He confessed. Luca half-smiled.
"I would rather stay too."
"Argh!" Alberto roared in frustration. "This is so stupid!" He stood up and rested his arms on the side of the tower, looking towards the ocean.
Luca followed behind, resting his arms in the same way. "What do you mean?"
"This!" Alberto yelled. "It used to be so easy just to hang out. Why is it so hard now?" He said, his voice full of irritation.
Luca nodded quietly. "I know how you feel. It feels like everything has changed."
"Well, I don't want it to change! I want things to go back exactly the way they used to be." Alberto said, his voice cracking.
"Sometimes change can be a good thing!" Luca said in an optimistic voice. "Like I am done with school, that is a change!"
"I guess," Alberto said.
"A-and you've changed too! Look how tall you are; that's a change!"
"I feel like I tower over you," Alberto said, revealing a side smile.
"I like it, though! It's very cool." Luca said. Alberto's heart did an uncomfortable thump. He grit his teeth, willing it to stop.
"What's that?" Luca said, pointing to the pile of wood.
"Oh, that? It's an old radio I fixed up. I haven't used it in a while." Alberto said, picking it up. "Wanna see if it still works?"
"Yeah, I miss listening to music," Luca said.
Alberto began twirling the dials and flipping the switches. At first, nothing happened, then a loud screechy sound came from the radio. Alberto tuned it, and before long, a spunky Italian voice came through.
"Hey, it works!" Luca said, laughing.
The song was fast and upbeat, and the man's voice trilled along with it perfectly. Alberto set the radio down only to look up and immediately break out into laughter. Luca was dancing - well, if what he was doing counted as dancing.
(Song: Fairytale by Alexander Rybek - "Dance on the Tower")
"W-what?" Luca said, embarrassed, stopping immediately.
"No, no, don't stop!" Alberto said, trying to hold back the tears that welled up in his eyes. "It was amazing. Keep going!"
"No way, not if you're gonna laugh at me," Luca said, his face bright red.
"I'm not laughing, I promise," Alberto said, taking a deep breath. "Here, I'll do it with you."
He began jumping up and down, waving his arms around without any rhyme or reason. Luca started laughing but joined in. They danced to every song that came on, each spunkier and faster than the last. They laughed at each other's silly dance moves until they could hardly stand. Finally, after several fast songs in a row, a soft woman's voice came on the radio. The song was slow and gentle.
Alberto, still panting, looked over at Luca. He was leaning against the edge of the brick wall, catching his breath. Alberto walked over and leaned right beside him.
"Pretty song," Luca said breathily. The wind began to blow, cooling them off. The breeze caught Luca's hair, making it flutter. He closed his eyes, letting the air wash over him. Alberto watched.
"Yeah, it is." He said, eyes locked on his friend. Luca opened his eyes and saw Alberto watching him. Then Luca smiled. It was the most fantastic smile Alberto had ever seen. His brown eyes filled with stars, and they were looking directly at him.
Alberto looked away and cleared his throat.
"So, umm.... what do you want to do?" He asked. It was getting late.
"Let's just stay here for a while longer," Luca said, closing his eyes again, feeling the wind.
"Ok." Alberto wasn't complaining. It was just starting to feel normal again. He looked up at the sky.
"Hey, tell me more about the stars." That was all Alberto had to say to get Luca fired up. Luca stood up straight excitedly. He immediately launched into an explanation about the cosmos. It seemed he knew what every speck of light in the sky was. Even some dark patches that were seemingly empty, Luca explained, were filled with Nebulas, nurseries for baby stars.
"There are baby stars?" Alberto asked disbelievingly.
"Well, it just means they're very, very young as far as celestial bodies go." He laughed. "It's not like they're biological creatures that mate and have offspring."
"I couldn't even imagine what that would entail," Alberto said, grimacing slightly.
"Try not to think too hard about it," Luca said, patting him on the shoulder and laughing some more. He put his arm back on the brick wall, but his pinky finger rested right against Alberto's. Instantly Alberto could feel the heat from Luca's finger to his. Even this small amount of contact felt like a fire in his hand.
Luca didn't seem to notice and laughed into another ramble about the moons of Saturn. Alberto smiled, enjoying the sound of his voice. He didn't move his hand away.
They ended up talking late into the night and falling asleep on the tower roof. The fire crackled away until nothing was left but ashes. In the morning, they rose but looking at the Sireno beside them.
"Must have rained," Alberto said, looking at the water droplet stuck to his scales.
"I think the proper term is 'the sky is leaking.'" Luca said with a grin.
"Ha ha, very funny." Alberto chided as Luca quoted from their childhood.
Alberto looked over at the Jade scales beside him. Luca ran a webbed hand through the blue fins on his head. He looked relaxed. But he also looked....beautiful. The familiar tightness rose in Alberto's chest. Before he could stop himself, he reached out and touched the scales on Luca's arm.
"Uh..." Luca said, watching Alberto's clawed hand run down his arm.
"Oh, sorry!" Alberto said hurriedly. "Thought I saw a bug." He stood and climbed down the ladder.
LUCA POV
Luca watched Alberto's purple scales meet his green ones. The second they made contact, Luca felt heat rise to his face. He was glad that the redness of his skin couldn't be seen through scales. He didn't know what to say or even think.
"Uh..." was all he managed to get out. Alberto pulled his arm away and said something, but Luca didn't hear. His skin still felt hot from where Alberto had touched it. When Alberto stood and made his way down the ladder, Luca shook himself and followed close behind.
He wished the night would never end. That night he and Alberto had danced, joked, and laughed so much they almost threw up. It was everything he wanted. But he knew things had changed. Something felt....different. But despite that different feeling, Luca didn't want it to go away.
They climbed down the tower and to the familiar cliff they had jumped so many times as kids.
"Race you back!" He yelled suddenly, passing Alberto in a green blur and doing a flip into the water.
"You're toast!" Alberto said and tried to do two flips on the way down. He ended up under rotating and belly-flopped hard on the water. Luca didn't get much of a head start since he couldn't stop laughing. They raced all the way back. Well... it wasn't much of a race. Alberto had pretty much been training his body all year long with work while Luca was studying in libraries. Luca fell behind quickly, panting hard.
"Hey, hey, take it easy there, speedy," Alberto said, turning back as Luca stopped, pushing water through his gills hard.
"How...are....you so....FAST!" Luca said between gasps.
"Eh, it's part of the job, I guess." He said, waiting for Luca to slow his breathing. They made their way back to Portorosso at a leisurely swim after that.
Portorosso was bustling in the early morning. Fishermen were packing their boats for a long day of work while bakeries and coffee shops opened their doors for business.
Alberto pointed to one of the coffee shops. Luca nodded, and they made their way over. Some of the early goers stared at Luca. The air was so humid that they were still in Sireni form. He waved at them with a nervous smile. He quickly shut his mouth when he realized they would see razor-sharp teeth. But it didn't seem to bother them. They waved back pleasantly. One even called out, "Buon giorno gentle di mare!"
They walked into the coffee shop. A small bell rang as they swung open the door. The smell of coffee and sweets filled Luca's nose.
"We'll take two coffees, please," Alberto said, then looked over at Luca before adding. "Oh, and add cream and two sugar to one of them."
Luca grinned. "How did you remember that?"
"C'mon, I have a great memory," Alberto said in mock surprise. Luca chuckled.
"No, you don't."
"Ok, maybe you're right about that. But when it comes to you, my memory is sharp as a knife. Ah, here is our coffee." Alberto said, taking two cups from the barista and handing one to him.
Luca took the hot cup. But even before he took a sip, he felt his face growing warm.
Words: 4,048
Italian Translations
Sireni - Merpeople (Plural)
Sirena - Merperson (Female)
Sireno - Merperson (Male)
Buon giorno gentle di mare - Good morning, men of the sea
Che Patetico - How pathetic
Piccoletto - Little one
Disastro - Disaster
Idiote - Idiots
Authors Note
Hey! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am going to start posting more regularly. However my AMAZING artist is very busy and can't produce art as fast as I want to put out chapters. So chapters will be coming out without art and I'll update them as soon as I get it! Thank you all!
- TaraZamir
Follow my Instagram: tara_zamir