Fins (Transformations: Book 2)

“I have to admit: they’re awfully cute,” Angela said as they watched the penguins.

“Don’t let them fool you,” Eric said, “They’re vicious little creatures, liable to bite your hand off at the first opportunity.”

She laughed at that. “Adorable and dangerous; I like them.”

“Me, too.”

She looked at him. “It figures your favorite exhibit would have birds.”

“I like birds,” he said, “Sue me.”

“How much do you like birds?” she wondered, “Would you want to be one if you could?”

“More than anything,” he replied, fervently, “I guess that must sound a little silly.”

“Not so much,” she assured him with a smile.

“You don’t think so?” He looked at her.

By way of answer, she brought her lips to his. It wasn’t a long kiss, but she could just about hear his heart beating as she took his hand. “Can you keep a secret?” she asked in a hushed tone.

He nodded dumbly as he stared at her.

“Then come with me.” She pulled him with her and he put up no fight.

Eric seemed to have forgotten how to form words as he allowed her to lead him out of the aquarium.

“What’s so funny?” Alizarin wondered as he saw Aria suppress a giggle.

“Nothing much.” She did her best not to laugh again, partially from nerves. “It’s just that I realized I’m kind of getting you back for those times you suddenly grabbed me, you know? I guess we’re even, now.”

“You could get into serious trouble, you know.”

“You could have gotten in trouble that time you trapped me in the shed.”

“I was following orders.”

“I’m not,” she said, firmly, “I made this decision and I know the risks, so don’t worry about me. If you’re at risk of getting in trouble for this, you can say the crazy land girl got a siren to help her kidnap you.”

“And get you in more trouble?”

Aria shrugged. “They’re already trying to kill me, so whatever.”

“This isn’t going to help your cause.”

She placed her hands on his shoulders. “Rin, it’s Christmas. I know that doesn’t mean much to you, but it means a lot to me. Let me do this for you in the name of Christmas, okay?”

He met her determined gaze and relented. “What am I supposed to do with my night of freedom, then?”

“That’s your choice,” Aria told him, “Kind of the point, you know. Tell me what you want to do and we’ll do it.”

He fell into a thoughtful silence for a few minutes. “I don’t even know, to be honest. After all, I don’t really know anything about the land. What do humans usually do for fun?”

Aria had to pause at that. She usually went swimming for fun, but that didn’t seem to be the right answer in this case. It took a moment for anything to occur to her. “Well…we have parties and stuff, I guess.” Her eyes widened as she thought of that. “The party!”

“I’m not really welcome at those parties,” Rin pointed out.

“No, not the merfolk parties; my party…well, my friend’s party.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I should find Freya. We need to get going.”

“Am I supposed to look after him?” Kai wondered.

“I don’t need anybody looking after me.”

“Come with me,” she said before even thinking, “It could be fun and it’s a Christmas party, so you could see that.”

“Would that really be okay?” Rin asked.

“It’ll be fine. My friends are super nice,” she promised, “I’m sure they’ll like you.”

His expression made it clear he was less confident. “I wouldn’t want to cause you more trouble.”

“It’s no trouble. It will be fun.”

“Aria!” Freya rushed up to her. “You can’t go running off like that! Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

“I’m sorry,” Aria said as the nymph wrapped her in a hug. “I just had something I needed to do.”

“That would be me,” Alizarin commented, “Sorry if I made her cause you trouble.”

“I’m sure you didn’t make her do anything,” Freya replied, reluctantly releasing the girl, “Aria tends to do what she wants and heaven help anyone who tries to stop her.”

“That’s right,” Aria told him with a grin, “Don’t you dare try to think you have any control over my actions.”

“I would never make such a claim.”

“Yet, you take responsibility for my actions,” she pointed out, “How do you think that works?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be going to a party?” Kai reminded them, “It’s probably best you don’t hang around here too long, especially with him.” He gestured towards Alizarin.

“And that is why he’s coming with us,” Aria announced, “I won’t take no for an answer.”

“She really means that,” Freya said, “So we may as well get going.”

“Right.” Aria grabbed him by the hand. “Let’s go.” She dragged him along behind her as they headed to Freya’s car. It wasn’t until they were there that she realized Kai had followed, as well. “Are you coming, too?”

“Am I not welcome?” he wondered.

“Of course you are,” she rushed to assure him with a smile.

“All aboard who’s coming aboard,” Freya called as she hopped into the driver’s seat.

Aria opened the back door and looked at the boys. “Climb on in and we’ll go.”

Alizarin hesitated and glanced down, causing Aria to realize she was still holding his hand.

She blushed and quickly released it. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He climbed in first and scooted over, so Kai could get in as well.

Aria closed the door behind them and got in beside Freya, staring straight ahead at the road. “Well, let’s be off.”

“What are we doing here?” Eric asked as Angela led him into a party.

She just smiled and kept pulling him along behind her. “It’s a surprise. Astrid!” The last word was directed at a girl who was talking to her friends.

Astrid smiled as she saw Angela. “I thought you weren’t coming, this time.”

“Well, I made it, after all,” she replied, “and I brought someone else. This is Eric.” She gestured towards him. “Eric, this is my friend, Astrid.”

“Nice to meet you,” he managed amidst his confusion.

Angela looked past the girl and her smile brightened. “Oh, good, Idun is here, too.”

“Always,” a brunette said, “Did you need something from me?”

“Eric does,” Angela pushed him forward.

“I do?” He looked over at her in bewilderment.

“Eric loves birds,” Angela explained to the girls, ignoring his bafflement, “He said he wants to become one, so I brought him here.”

“Wait,” he said, “What?”

“I see,” Astrid commented as she looked at him.

“I don’t,” he protested, “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Idun laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Yes, everything’s fine,” Astrid promised as she placed a hand on his other shoulder.

Eric stared at them, blankly, but he couldn’t seem to find his words as he felt a kind of warmth spreading through him. “What…” He trailed off as he realized he didn’t even know what to ask. He felt strange, but he couldn’t say why.

The girls removed their hands and Astrid smiled at Angela. “We’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Leave what to who?” Eric asked.

Angela laughed. “Dance with me.” She pulled him into the middle of the room before he could object and Eric found himself getting swept away, but he looked at her smile and decided that might not be such a bad thing.

“Aria!” Ashley hurried to greet her with a hug as they entered.

“Hey, Ashley, merry Christmas,” Aria replied, handing her a present as they separated, “I brought a couple of extra friends. I hope that’s okay.”

“The more the merrier,” she assured her, looking at the boys and whispering, “Especially when they’re so cute.” She smiled at Aria’s roommate next. “And you must be Freya.” She pulled her into a hug. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Oh.” Freya returned the hug and glanced at Aria. “I shudder to think.”

“And who would you two be?” Ashley asked as she looked at the boys.

“Ashley, this is Rin and Kai.” Aria gestured to each in turn. “They’re some friends that are visiting tonight, so I thought they’d enjoy the party.”

“Well, we’ll certainly make you feel welcome,” Ashley promised, leading the group further in, “Megan, Aria’s here and she brought boys!”

Aria blushed at the comment and hoped the mermen didn’t feel too uncomfortable about it. She glanced back at them, but they were too busy looking around at the decorations. Alizarin poked some low-hanging garland and Aria couldn’t help smiling.

Megan grabbed her arm and whispered, “Is one of them that boy you told us about?”

Aria put a finger to her lips and glanced back at them. “Could you help me make sure they have a good time? Their families don’t really do Christmas.”

“Well, we’ll just have to give them a good Christmas party,” Ashley commented. She walked over to Kai. “Care to dance?”

He looked to Aria for guidance, so she gave him an encouraging nod and he allowed Ashley to lead him into the living room where several other teenagers were already dancing to Christmas music. His movements were as clumsy as ever, but everyone was too hopped up on Christmas spirit to care.

Megan made her way to Alizarin and offered him a smile. “Guess you get to dance with me, then.”

“I don’t really dance,” he said, staring at the twinkling lights which lined the walls.

“There’s a first time for everything,” Megan told him, taking his hand and dragging him away.

He looked to Aria for help, but she just smiled at him. “Live a little, Rin. It will be good for you.”

“Are you sure any of this is a good idea?” Freya wondered as she watched Alizarin slowly attempt to copy the movements of those around him.

Aria watched his awkward dancing and shrugged. “I, honestly, have no idea, at this point,” she admitted, “But it’s Christmas in a few days. If ever I were going to hope for a miracle, this would be the time.” She joined the dancers in the living room, determined to make the night as enjoyable as possible.

Freya sighed as she watched the girl and headed outside to get some fresh air. She figured Aria was probably safe for the moment and she needed a minute of peace. She took a deep breath of the fresh air, wafting in from the sea and she stepped out closer to the beach. As she walked, she looked around and stopped when she saw a familiar figure sitting on a nearby porch.

“Dr. Grey?” she questioned as she walked up to him.

“Fulla.” He smiled at her and cocked his head. “What brings you here?”

“Mischief of the fates,” she replied with a smile, not bothering to correct him on the name, since she was sure he’d messed it up on purpose, “You?”

“I live here,” he answered, gesturing towards the house, “I heard Christmas music and came out to listen.”

“Ah, that would be from the party next door.” She looked over at Ashley’s house, which seemed to be alive with lights and music. “Aria’s friend lived there, so we came.”

“Yet, here you are, by yourself,” he noted, “Not a good party?”

“It’s not that.” She sighed and sat on the porch beside him. “Teenagers are just so much more complicated than I remember being.”

“You make it sound like you’re getting old,” he commented.

“Maybe I am,” she replied with a smile, “Were you a complicated teenager?”

“I spent most of my time in my room, studying.”

“You would. I’ll bet you also got perfect grades.”

“Not, at all,” he said, “I usually got good grades in science, but I was hopeless at English. Besides, I’d often get to studying something that interested me and forget to do the assignments I didn’t like. I barely made it through high school, to be honest.”

Freya laughed at that. “Yeah, that sounds like you.”

“So, I take it your friend is having more complicated issues,” he guessed.

“You have no idea.” She gave another sigh. “Why can’t she just stay in her room and study all the time?”

“Because she’s not completely hopeless when it comes to human interaction?” he suggested.

“I wouldn’t say you’re completely hopeless.”

“If you say so.” He offered her a smile and a thought seemed to strike him. “Could you wait here a moment?”

“Of course,” she said, watching him disappear into his house.

He returned a few minutes later with a small package. “I know you’ve been stressed, so I thought I might get you a Christmas gift to cheer you up. I saw this and it seemed like something you might like. I hope it’s alright.”

“You really didn’t have to get me anything,” she said as she took the present, “But thank you.” She opened the box to find a simple ring, embedded with a blue and gold stone. “It’s beautiful.”

“The stone is Pietersite,” he explained, “I read that it can be used to honor the goddess, Freya, so I thought of you.”

She laughed at that. “I knew you were teasing me.” She slipped the ring on and looked at it. “Just my size.”

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“I love it,” she assured him. After a moment’s thought she kissed his cheek. “Merry Christmas, Dr. Grey.” She stood and headed back to the party.

“Merry Christmas,” he called after her as he touched his cheek.

“Are you alright?” Aria asked as she found Alizarin in the backyard.

“I’m fine.”

She gave him a dubious smile. “You can tell me the truth, you know.”

He thought about that for a second. “I suppose I’m just a little overwhelmed. I’m not used to being around so many people.”

“I guess I should have realized that,” she said, “Sorry if it’s too much for you.”

“It’s not,” he assured her, “It’s just so new and everyone…” He looked back over his shoulder at the bustling party. “Everyone’s been so nice. I just don’t know what to say to them.”

“You don’t have to say anything or you can say whatever comes to mind. No one here will judge you.”

“Another new experience,” he commented. After a minute’s silence, he looked at her. “Is something wrong?”

“No.” She continued to stare at him. “It’s just…it looked like you might be smiling for a second.”

He touched his mouth, as if to check, and shrugged. “Is that so special?”

“I’ve not seen you smile before.”

“Did you want to see me smile?”

“Of course.”

“You never asked.”

Aria laughed. “I don’t want you to smile because I asked. I want you to smile because you’re happy.” She paused. “Are you happy?”

“Aria, Rin, you’re missing all the fun,” Megan called, poking her head out the door, “Better come inside before people start to think you two are up to something.”

“Well, we can’t have that,” Aria told her with a smile. She looked back to Alizarin. “You ready to go back.”

He nodded and they headed back, but Megan stopped them in the doorway.

“Can’t let you through, yet.” She pointed to the top of the doorframe. “You know the rules.”

Aria looked up and felt her cheeks flush as she saw mistletoe hanging above them. “Oh, no, I can’t do that to Rin.”

He stared up at the plant, blankly. “Do what?”

She turned and hurriedly whispered in his ear, then she looked back at Megan. “It would be too awkward.”

“I wouldn’t want to make her do something like that,” he added.

“It’s the rules,” Megan insisted. By this point, a few others had turned to look at the pair.

Aria sighed and looked at Alizarin. “Sorry about this.”

“It’s fine,” he told her, “I’m sorry to cause you so much trouble.”

“It’s not your fault.”

He looked at Megan. “You can’t expect her to kiss me.”

“Why not?” Megan wondered, “I would.”

He was clearly caught off guard by that.

“Rin,” Aria said, “It’s alright. I’ll just kiss your cheek and that will settle things, okay?”

“You’d be fine with that?” he asked.

“If it doesn’t bother you.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Well, do it before we get old,” Megan joked.

Aria took a breath and moved to kiss his cheek. Just then, an enthusiastic party-goer jostled her, causing her to miss and hit his lips, instead.

“You’re going to have to explain to me what’s going on eventually,” Eric said as he and Angela walked outside. He’d needed some fresh air and convinced her to come with him.

“I fully intend to explain everything to you,” she promised, “I’m just waiting for the right moment.”

“And when will that be?” he wondered.

She thought about it for a moment and smiled. “I heard a story once about a girl who met a prince, but ran away at midnight.”

“I’m familiar with that story,” he told her, “Do you intend to run away at midnight?”

“I intend to fly,” she replied, “Whether or not I fly away is up to you?”

“How so?”

“Well, I could fly away from you or you could fly away with me,” she explained.

“If you’re offering me a chance to fly, I’ll take you up on that without a second thought.” He wore an amused smile, thinking this was all part of a game.

“The question is whether you just want to fly or whether you want to fly with me.”

“Of course, I’d want to fly with you,” he said, forgetting Aria for a moment.

“Would you fly away and never return?”

“That’s a bit much to ask,” he admitted.

“I suppose it is.” She looked at him and smiled, again. “But you will fly with me at midnight?”

“Give me wings and I will fly any time you like.”

She stepped closer and gently kissed his lips. “Deal.”