Nice to see you all again! I am now in fic mode again. School is almost out for the summer—Less than two weeks!—so I will have lots of time to write Down Under and Got it bad, my two in-progress fics. Hoping to finish Got it badby the end of May-beginning of June, actually, so I can focus completely on this story. I have everything planned out in my head, just have to write it down. Harder than it sounds for me, unfortunately. Chapter three though! Yay! I redid the summary for this fic as well, because the summary sounded sort of . . . well, lame. It was really lame. Got it bad's summary was even worse, but they are both much better now. Anyways, it's getting late and I have to be up relatively early for school, so goodnight and I will be seeing you soon!
(:
As the days go on, James starts to think that maybe Kendall did like him. They held hands everywhere they went except when Kendall's mom was around them. Kendall says that he doesn't want her worrying. What would she have to worry about? They hadn't done anything but hold hands . . . well, Kendall did try to kiss once, or at least James thinks he did.
They had stayed up late watching another sappy movie on some vintage channel, and Kendall was getting closer and closer to James and sort of . . . kissed his cheek. James guesses that if Kendall had been able to see what he was kissing, he probably wouldn't have missed. Kendall looked kind of hurt after James didn't do anything, and now he wishes he had been the one to initiate the late night kiss.
After all, James could see perfectly fine in the darkness. All merpeople had a lens of sorts on their eye, which flips down when it's dark and flips up when it is light.
When is first happened to James, as a human, two days ago—the first time he was in a truly dark environment—it hurt. Like shooting an arrow into your eye kind of pain. He drank some of the salt water though, and while feeling charged, he turned off all the lights and waited for the tiny click feeling. It didn't hurt, but it did make his eyes water slightly.
He still hasn't asked Camille about it yet, but he keeps a bottle of the salty water by his side at all times. And the night they watched movies, he had two bottled downed before the end of dinner. The morning after, he was still high from the energy. He was going to meet Camille for lunch, going to finally have some mer-to-mer socializing. He had so many questions for the witch. First of all, where did she live on the surface? Did she stay with someone? Camille seemed pretty popular with everyone; Wiccan charm, that's what she says.
"Good morning," James says when he sees Kendall preparing a tall glass of purple-colored drink. Kendall looks up and smiles. James' legs feel weak, just from his smile.
"Hi!" Kendall takes a long drink before setting it back down on the counter. "I was thinking . . . we should totally go into town today, just me and you. There's this really awesome—"
"I am going to go into the town today to meet with Camille," James interrupts him, and the blonde's smile disappears. "Oh, yeah, okay. Never mind then."
Kendall looks at his feet, and James can nearly feel his embarrassment. "Would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow, perhaps?"
"Huh? I-I never said we were going on a date!"
James smiles. "But that is what you want, right?" He leans dangerously close, and the tension coming from Kendall is almost unbearable. "You want a date?" He repeats, smiling when Kendall nods.
He wants so much more than a date. He wants to kiss him. James is so polite and unusual and sexy and Kendall just wants to kiss him. He tries, kissing the air when James suddenly pulls back and away, turning his head. "You can wait," He sticks out his tongue and Kendall doesn't know if can wait.
When he finally meets up with Camille, his legs are throbbing. He tells her about his pain, and she makes a tsk'ing noise. "Your body is still trying to adjust to the legs. Take it easy."
He doesn't want to take it easy. He wants to be able to walk or run around for hours, like a normal human. Jump around and skip; whatever it was humans do. He hasn't even tried to run yet, of course.
"Have you taken a bath yet?" is what Camille asks next.
"I took a shower and washed my hair, but my legs were starting to bind so I ran out as fast as I could after that."
"Yeah, that's one of the spell's faults. You can stay in human form as long as you don't stay in un-salted water for more than ten minutes. Twenty if the water has chorine in it."
"Really? Why? What about salted water?"
"I don't really know. It's just the way it works. And in salted water . . . uh, you have about thirty seconds to a minute before they bind. Then it's back to fin for you!"
"If that happens . . . if my legs turn back into a fin, you can fix me right? Turn it back to legs?"
"Of course. You could do it yourself though, you know. You're full of wonderful potential magic." She pokes his arm and he smiles. "Any problems with your gills?"
"Hmm. I don't think so. Kendall did ask about them though."
"Really? What did he say exactly? What did you say?" She watches the Prince carefully, sipping at her dark bubbly drink.
"He just asked me what they were. I didn't say anything." James stares at the thousand mini bubbles in her drink, pointing at the glass. "Please explain to me what that is, Camille. It looks absolutely revolting."
She just grins at him. "Taste it."
He immediately leans back in his chair. "No, no thank you. I am sure I am not going to enjoy it."
He raises an eyebrow when Camille rolls her eyes. He didn't usually notice, but in this bright sunlight he can see the night lens below her eye when she rolls them. He would have to remember that.
"Stop talking like that!"
"Huh? Talking like what?"
"Like you're a Prince,"
"Camille, I am a Prince!"
"Not here. Here you are James Diamond, regular human."
"Sorry, it's hard to talk any different way after ten plus years of etiquette tutoring."
"Well try, Princey."
"Who are you calling Princey? I am not a Prince; I am just James Diamond, regular human!" That makes them laugh, and James is even happier for leaving. Speaking of . . . "Have you heard any news? About Hallendria?"
As much as the human part of him didn't want to know, the mer side couldn't help but worry. "Honestly? Your mom and dad are both sad and angry. Your sister might become Queen."
"Sister? Which one?"
". . . Does it matter?"
No, James guessed it didn't really matter. He wanted to know though. He shouldn't know, but he wanted to. Fighting himself and not asking again, he asks instead, "How do you get all of this information?"
Camille smiled a giant toothy grin, sort of frightening James, and whispered, "A very good friend."
"A friend? A merman? Does he live on the surface too, like us?" So many questions to be asked.
"Sometimes. He prefers life in the water, though." She sighs. "Shame, really. He is a very loyal and friendly Wiccan, unlike most of us."
"You're a Wiccan and you're friendly?" James says, eyebrows knitting together.
"To you, yes. To others? Not so much." She grins at him again and James chuckles.
"So, if you don't drink stuff like this," She motions to her almost empty glass of bubbly drink, "What do you drink?"
"Just . . . water." Her reaction is a sharp gasp, like her breath has caught in her throat mid-way. It startles James, his eyes wide. "What kind of water?"
"Um, why?"
She rolls her eyes, James staring at the night lens once again. "We are trying to be human. If you drink salt water, you are making it harder for your body to finish the changes."
"But I feel so good when I drink it!" He is whining, sort of like a child does when they can't get what they want. As embarrassing at it is, James feels like he is going to cry.
"Of course you feel good. It heightens your mood and sense of smell and touch . . . and your hormones . . ." She stops talking, just watching James. "Do you know what sex is?"
"What kind of sex? Human sex or merpeople sex?"
"Human. Obviously."
"Um, I understand the basics. Why?"
She grins her scary toothy grin. "Welcome to advanced Human anatomy. Class has begun."
By the time James returns to his temporary home, all he can think about is sex. He understands and yet doesn't. Why would anyone want to put their mouth on . . .
He blinks away the thought, willing himself to think of something else. This was hard, considering Camille has used such fancy words and lingo and phrases and even got inside his head and showed him. He has all but gotten rid of the dirty thoughts when Kendall steps inside from the patio, torso bare and shiny.
"Went swimming?" James asks coolly, trying not to think about his hands and what people do with hands, not to mention tongues and even with their—
"Yep. Man, you should really come to the beach sometime with me." When James doesn't respond, Kendall shakes his head. "Oh duh. I forgot. Sorry."
He starts to walk toward the Prince when James puts a hand up, signaling him to stop. "Don't touch me until you have dried off completely."
Kendall looks hurt by James' request, but nods his head either way and lunges for the stairs. James sits on the couch, getting comfortable before letting his mind wander.
Wandering from Hallendria to the surface, where humans have weird and down right dirty sex with each other. Camille says that even though it sounds—and looks—weird, it feels good. He wonders how she knows that exactly. He wonders if Kendall knows . . .
His groin strains against his borrowed jeans, and he decides he'd rather have no knowledge of human sex. It sounded so wrong and so right at the same time and makes James' head spin, not to mention the things it did to his human form. The feeling of having something hard and heavy tucked away in his pants wasn't what James wanted. So when he rubs it, truly hoping for it to go away, why does his breath hitch? He can't do it anymore; he can hear Kendall coming back down. He conceals it with a pillow, pretends to be fascinated with its pattern.
"Hey, you," Kendall is smiling. When is he not, though? James isn't exactly complaining, of course. He was very fond of his lips, and teeth, and really—
"Hi," James' voice is as strained as his erection.
"So . . . I'm dry,"
"Clearly." James didn't mean for it to sound as rude as it did.
"Are you okay?" Kendall sits next to the Prince.
"What? Yes, I'm fine."
Kendall just stares at him. "You have nice lips," He whispers.
"Thank you." James whispers back. That is obviously not what Kendall had been hoping to hear.
"Yeah . . . all right, well I'm going to make dinner. Mom and Katie won't be back till late." James just nods, the strain almost gone.
Well, that was one thing James did not prefer over being a merman.
The blonde watches James carefully as he eats, conjuring up a plan to finally his him. His heart is pulled to him, and he can't figure out why. Hell, actually he does. That hair, and those eyes and his smile and my God, it was like he washed up on the beach just so he could meet Kendall. The taller boy excuses himself from the table, leaving Kendall alone. His phone rings and he knows its Logan, knows he is going to want to know more about James.
He answers, presses it close to his ear and sighs. "Hello?"
"Kendall!"
"Hey, Log. What's up?"
"Oh, you know . . . just wanted to invite you to the Jennifer's annual bonfire, that's all." Kendall can practically hear Logan's cocky smile in his voice. "You in bro?"
"No way! You got us invites?"
"Um, sort of. They saw you with that James kid and told me that we could come if he does."
Kendall sighs. "Of course. Uh, when is the bonfire? What time?"
"Tomorrow night, ten to . . . all night, I guess."
"So we bring James? Anything else?"
"Nah, I'm sure they'll have enough booze to get the whole town wasted." They both laugh over that, and Kendall says goodbye so that he can go ask James.
He hurries up the stairs, pausing at James' slightly open door. He breath catches in his throat, face against the crack as he watches James move around without a shirt on. The marks on his ribs . . . almost like cuts, or flaps of skin. He is sure that are . . . moving? It also looks like James is breathing rather hard, like he is having a difficult time. Tempted to run in and help, he restrains. He watches the brunet put his hands over the mysterious and slightly creepy things and take a few deep breaths. Kendall is, honestly, afraid. It was like James was some sort of alien.
He pulls back and knocks loudly. "James?"
The door opens half a second later, Kendall taking note that James has pulled on a shirt. "Hello, Kendall." He's out of breath.
"There's a party tomorrow night, want to go?"
"What kind of party?"
"Just a regular teenage party. You know, all us humans go to them." He narrows his eyes.
"Of course I know. I'd love to accompany you to the party, thank you for inviting me."
". . . No problem." James smiles at him, and the urge to grab the taller brunet and kiss him comes up again. Of course he ignores it, instead nodding awkwardly with a tiny smile and closing the door. He runs back downstairs, sending Logan a quick and urgent text.
James is down for the party. He is like an alien or something bro!
He rereads the text, knowing he sounds sort of insane, but still sends it. The vibration of his phone signaling an incoming text is almost instant.
Really? We need a plan!
His thumbs race across his keyboard.
Operation Find Out What James Is is a go!
F.O.W.J.I. Nice.
Laughing at Logan's text, he sets his phone down beside him. Yes, plan FOWJI was in motion.
Review? Let me know how I'm doing, or maybe give me some ideas on what you want to see happen?