Charlotte was Henry's best friend, and he shouldn't be staring at her like this, but he couldn't stop himself. She had a beautiful tail. It was a whirlwind of midnight blue, with swirls of purple and teal. When the sun hit it, her tail became like a fluorescent light show. Bright colors dancing and shining in his vison. Henry's heart beat wildly in his chest as he blatantly drank Charlotte in. Henry wasn't sure how no one else noticed how memorizing she was. Her dark curls dancing around her head like seaweed, her bright brown eyes that reminded Henry of the warmth of the bay, and her smile that was more precious to him than all of the pearls in the ocean.
"Henry, what are you staring at? Do I have something on my tail?" Charlotte swam around in a circle, inspecting her tail for any sea drift or pesky microorganisms. Henry's bright red tail started to flicker nervously. He hoped that Charlotte wouldn't notice it, but she did. She always noticed.
"Henry, are you okay?" Henry gave her a nervous smile.
"Uh, yeah, I'm just worried about those sharks." Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows and swam closer to him, until there was barely any water between them. Henry forced his tail not to fidget. He had been avoiding this kind of close proximity for weeks. It had been strange not to hug her or play with her hair, but it was for the best. The last time that they had hugged, Henry had barely been able to stop himself from stealing a kiss from her. At the thought, Henry tried to swam backwards a little bit. Charlotte glared and crossed her arms, and Henry bit back a groan. Not only was she suspicious (which was a problem in itself), but she was bringing attention to the lavender seashells on her chest. Henry clenched his fists at his sides and looked towards the surface, anything but at her gorgeous body.
"Henry, stop lying. I know that this has nothing to do with the sharks. You've been acting weird and distant lately. Was it something that I did?" Henry jerked his head downward at the sound of hurt in her voice.
"No, Char. Of course not."
"Then why have you been acting so weird?" Charlotte moved closer, focused on getting a confession. Henry sighed.
"… I've started to feel different about you, Charlotte."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I don't see you as my best friend anymore."
"You don't want to be friends anymore?" Henry cringed. This was going worse than he had ever imagined.
"No, I mean, yes, bu-"
"Just stop, Henry. I get it." Henry watched in horror as tears sprang up in Charlotte's eyes and she swam away swiftly. Henry immediately started to swim after her, and thanks to the speed that King Neptune had given him, Henry caught up to Charlotte. He grabbed her arm gently and pulled her into a hug.
"Henry, let me go. I don't want your sympathy hug." Henry hugged her tighter, reviling in the feel of her body against his.
"I'm not letting you go until you let me explain." Henry felt Charlotte stiffen in his arms.
"Why do you want to hurt me, Henry? Haven't you done enough already?" Charlotte spat out.
"I promise that I didn't mean to hurt you." Charlotte snorted in his arms, but Henry just hugged her closer.
"What could you possibly have meant by that then?" Before Henry could even think about it, the words were tumbling out of his mouth.
"I meant that…Charlotte, I'm in love with you."
"…What?"
"I love you, Charlotte. I've only been distant because I can't stop staring at you, and every time that we touch, I have to stop myself from kissing you."
"Henry, let me go, please." Henry's heart broke in his chest. He knew that this would happen. A smart, beautiful, and talented mermaid like Charlotte wouldn't be in love with an idiot merman like him. He let her go, putting a fake smile on his face. Charlotte moved away from him slightly, and despite the hurt he knew he would feel when he saw the rejection in her eyes, Henry stared into Charlotte's dark, breathtaking, whirlpools.
"Do you mean it?" Charlotte whispered. Henry smiled at her. Even if Charlotte didn't feel the same way, he couldn't lie to her anymore. He didn't want to hurt her any more than he already had.
"Of course I mean it. You're beautiful, kind, loving, and my best friend." Charlotte smiled up at him and leaned towards Henry. Henry felt his heart stop in his chest as her seashells brushed against his bare chest, and her arms wrap around his neck.
"I love you too, Hen." Henry blinked down at her. This couldn't actually be happening.
"I'm sorry, what? I thought I just heard you say that you love me." Charlotte giggled, swimming slightly up until they were at the same height.
"I did. I love you." Charlotte whispered against his lips. As soon as the words left her mouth, Henry crashed his lips against hers. Charlotte responded immediately, and Henry felt like he had been electrocuted by an eel. The way that her lips felt against his was unlike anything that he had ever experienced. It was mystical and perfect, like something from the surface world. Charlotte pulled away a few seconds later with a smile on her face.
"So, earlier, when you were staring at my tail, you were just checking me out?" Henry wrapped his arms around her and started to rub some of her colorful scales.
"Neptune, yes. Your tail is beautiful." Charlotte blushed a little.
"You don't have such a bad tail yourself."
Author's Note: I know what you're thinking:"*sighs* ... Lizlen, wtf is this? Can you update? Thanks." Yes, I get it. I'm being formally harassed by one of my friends to write Chapter 9 (She literally corrected me on the chapter number. XP), so I am working on it! I wrote this only because I was working on the next chapter of Loving You Too Much, and my mind literally can't shut up. Dan wants HD in no grav, and so do I. (Mine is better, lol.) I laughed writing this entire thing, and I hope you enjoyed it! (At least for a good laugh/gush.) As always, thank you to wstrnplsr105 and ArdenThayer.