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mermaids r real
Justine Reynolds just added me into a group chat.
Uh, what? What group chat?
I swear the Skype notification is judging me. I can't see who else is in the group chat — if I want to know who's in it, I have to accept it.
The notification disappears and I enter the group chat. I immediately get invited into a video call, and I scan the members quickly: Justine Reynolds, Trey Gonzalez, Jude Reynolds. Oh my God. Trey and Jude in one video call? Hell is most likely breaking loose.
A message pops up from my personal chat.
I'm sucked into the video call, and like a time bomb, the voices explode from my computer. Colours and faces swarm my vision, but I'm too caught up with how Jude's loud, outrageous voice contrasts with Trey's calm, firm one:
"You don't even take fucking track, or any sport," Jude accuses. "How would you know?"
"Observation and textbooks. Clearly you lack in academic areas if you hadn't approached that method by now."
"You motherfucking — "
"Jude!" I scream, covering my eyes. "Why are you naked?!"
My voice silences all of them. I slowly peek from my hands and survey my fellow friends. I start from the left, where Trey is in a simple grey shirt with his naturally-styled brown hair. In the middle is Justine, who still looks effortlessly good with the messy bun. And then there's Jude — shirtless.
Mother of God.
"I'm wearing boxers," is all he says.
The boys momentarily forget about their dispute when Trey squints, moving closer to his screen. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought he was staring at my chest. Not that I'm big on that department. "MERMAIDS R REAL?"
He's quoting what's written on my purple T-shirt. I drop my hands down. "Mer-people exist, okay? Don't fight me on this."
"But statistics say — "
"Guys!" Justine blurts out. "You can talk about mer-people when we're in the water park."
We all stare blankly at her. Trey arches an eyebrow, Jude glares, and I am confused.
Justine grins. "You heard me. We're going to Aquatica."
***
Aquatica is one of Orlando's biggest waterparks. It has pretty much everything you'd expect in a water park — white-knuckled slides, big wave pools, and lots of screaming children.
We start with the wave pools, where everyone is crowding. Trey and Justine are in the deeper parts, near the buckets when it's about to pour down. They're splashing water on each other, grinning and laughing. I don't think they even realise that people are watching them.
They're two attractive people who are attracted to each other.
I'm just laying down, my bare legs stretched on the ground. My surf shorts are soaked but my loose top is thankfully still dry (I'm not as confident as Justine yet.) Jude's sitting down too, leaning back with his palms flat on the surface. Right beside me.
When Justine and Trey pair off, we unconsciously get paired off, too. The heat of his body is so close to me it makes my head feel dizzy. It doesn't help that Jude has a fine build. Six-pack, toned muscles, hard lines around his waist that leads to —
Oh my God.
"You done staring?" Jude asks roughly, but his eyes glint with amusement.
I'm confident enough to hit his shoulder, but it damages my hand more than it damages him. "I wasn't staring."
He looks at me like I'm an idiot.
The sound of bells ring, a signal that the giant water bucket is about to fall. Children, parents, teens — all people of age start running to the shallow shore, where Jude and I are lounging around. But I stand up.
"Where the fuck are you going?"
I grin down at him over my shoulder. "Going to the depths of the sea."
I'm like battling against a tidal wave. People pass me by, but I keep walking, my legs slowly being swallowed by the water until I reach an area that's close to the bucket. My loose top is soaked now.
Only a few people remain. I hear splashing near me — someone's approaching. I'm shocked to see that it's Jude. A smile is slowly lifting on his face.
"Three..." he murmurs, turning to me.
"Two..." I continue, looking at him back.
He grins. "One."
The bucket drops and water explodes, drenching us cold. The sparks of water feels like soft razor blades on my skin. My heart pounds fast and the force of the wave knocks the breath out of me, and I'm tumbling down, my body completely underwater.
A few seconds later, I'm gasping for air. Squinting my eyes, I see Jude who's not far away from me, looking like he just got up, too. His hair is soaked with water, droplets falling from his strands. He's breathing heavily, water running along his biceps, and we make eye contact.
And we both just start laughing.
It's a breathless kind of laugh. When everything just lets go inside of you and you're feeling content about the world. I don't even care if my top sticks to my skin, if my neon-pink bikini is flashing like a red light. In this moment, Jude and I are the only people in the world.
***
Trey and Jude are in line, waiting for the buns for our lazy river ride. We're all too tired from the water slides, but I still want to try the extreme ones. Trey and Justine aren't up for that, but maybe Jude is.
Justine and I are hanging around some potted plants. In the distance, the guys bicker, with Trey crossing his arms and Jude using grand hand gestures. His muscles flex when he's doing it.
Addie, turn away!
They both have an aura of confidence, with their equally towering heights. With their Greek statue bodies and drop-dead looks, I don't get caught off guard when girls get close to them. They initiate conversation, twirl their hair, giggle. But Trey and Jude are too engrossed in their own feud, and they leave the girls with zero attention.
For some reason, I'm so freakin' glad.
"Question," Justine suddenly asks.
I slowly turn to her. "Yeah?"
"Do I look fat in this bikini?" She gestures up and down, then shifts to her side.
That is the most ridiculous question I've ever been asked in my life. "Of course not. Justine, what the hell?"
She gives a pointed look. "It's a serious question, alright? The girls say — "
"Never mind what the girls say." I nudge her shoulder and she bites her lip. "They're not here. And it's your body to control, not theirs."
Justine finally returns my grin.
But something catches my eye behind. There's a little colourful booth in the corner that sells gimmicky things like water guns, goggles and... sunglasses. The cutest pair I have ever seen.
"Give me a second!" I race past her, and she's startled I can even move that fast. I go over to the guy manning the booth. "Hi there." I point to them. "How much for those sunglasses?"
He blinks, like I came out of thin air. "Uh, ten bucks."
I fumble around my shorts, but that's when I realise I don't carry cash with me at all. Shoot. I give a dazzling smile to the seller. "Uh... can we maybe negotiate — "
"Save it," a stony voice appears behind me. Jude. He's carrying a bun on his shoulder, and passes the guy cash. "You're killing me with secondhand embarrassment, Hale."
"I can pay you — "
"Addie, it's ten bucks. You're good."
I slowly grin. And that's how I end up chilling on a bun in the lazy river with daisy-shaped sunglasses on my face.
Meanwhile, the not-yet couple is on their double bun, laughing quietly at something like they're in on a secret. Trey leans in to whisper something in Justine's ear, a devilish smile on his face that I recognise so strongly. The same smile in X2.
I frown. The kiss back in X2 was so long ago. Why am I going back to it now?
And why does looking at them make my gut wrench?
I force myself to glance at my double partner — Jude. It feels awkward. Most people in double buns are married couples, partners, parents and kids. We're... neither. I mean, we are friends. But it's still weird.
The more you get closer to someone, the more you'd feel comfortable. Like how I am with Trey, I guess. But with Jude, the more nervous I get. Terrified, even, setting every fibre of my being on edge.
Speaking of edge. I can feel myself slipping into the water. "Aaargghh," I groan. My butt is losing balance.
I am literally so close to falling into the hole of the bun.
Jude notices my displeasure, watching me shift back and forth. "You're fucking small," he states matter-of-factly, smirking. "Should've gotten a kid's bun."
I glare at him. "I hate water parks." I actually don't, but generalising the situation makes me feel better.
"Well, there's a highlight to this." I wait for him to continue, and he grins wide, his green eyes sparkling. "Your bare legs." He gestures to the said legs dangling on the bun.
I flush ten shades of pink, and my first set of action is to attack him with the nearest weapon. Water. The splash hits him right on the face, but he doesn't scowl like he usually does. Droplets of water rain over his hair and face, and he smiles slyly. This causes me to blush even further.
Oh my God.
Are we flirti —
He grabs hold of the handle and shoves my side of the bun and, a second later, I'm hurtled to the cold water. A surprised shriek comes out of my mouth, and my fall causes a big splash that leaves the parents annoyed. I burst out for air.
Jude is still on his bun, clutching his stomach as he laughs so freakin' loud. I'm pretty sure the droplets in his eyes are his tears of happiness. And despite my anger, I can't help ogle at him — he's always been handsome, but his genuine smiles tend to transform him into another person. The sight of him like this makes my heart do a little flop.
He should really smile more.
Ahead of us, Justine and Trey turn their heads, inspecting our little debacle with soft laughs and some head shakes. Trey doesn't watch us for long, but Justine lingers for a bit.
"I hate you," I say in exasperation.
Jude looks down at me. There's crinkles in his eyes, and the morning sunlight bathes him in a golden halo. "No, I don't think you do."
And he offers his hand.
My hand covers his, and the sensation of electricity shoots up my arms. His palm is warm under mine, like fire burning a trail. I instinctively jolt back.
Jude isn't the type to mask his emotions. That's Trey Gonzalez. No, with Jude, I can see it all: confusion, concern, and underneath all that, hurt.
"You okay?" he asks tentatively, eyes searching my face.
I bet he doesn't feel what I feel. He didn't feel the sudden tug in my chest as our hands touched.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
Hell, I better be.
A/N: So much foreshadowing :) I can't wait to unpack this plot.