Update! YESSSS! It's been a while, but not 6 months! :D I'm sorry this took so long. School's crazy. I hardly ever get to be home any more. Most of this story was written on scraps of paper during my government class :P It's a little longer than my other chapters, and I'm not really sure why... Oh well. I hope you guys like this. I'm not very used to writing dialogue. It's been a while since I've written any. Regardless, I hope you guys like it!

~Chapter 8~

I woke up feeling really heavy. I couldn't even open my eyelids; that's how bad it was. I could hardly tell where I was, but I knew I wasn't in the ocean anymore. I could tell because the water wasn't salty. It was too clean. Like...bathwater.

Am I dead? I could faintly feel my limbs. I wasn't floating, but was resting on something. There was a faint smell. Like...must and...something cooking...i think it was some sort of pasta.

Maybe I washed up...into a pond..by the inn? Chase's house? I was so confused. I wanted to open my eyes and get a look around, but there were 2 things keeping me from doing so. 1: My head was sorta spinning and I felt too weak to move. 2: I was scared out of my mind.

I was too scared to move for what felt like forever. As I came to my senses a little more, I could feel the difference in the air. It was calm. That was incredibly rare out on the ocean, or anywhere on this island. I was starting to get the feeling that I wasn't even outside anymore. Where the hell am I?

I was still too freaked out to open my eyes. I could feel my hands on a smooth surface underneath me. I slowly pushed myself, careful not to slip. My muscles were so sore, they were like noodles. I'm guessing I made it up about 1 inch before my arms gave out and I bashed the back of my head against whatever it had been resting on. A moan escaped my lips.

"Oh my Goddess! What happened?" I heard from a somewhat familiar voice.

No. Fucking. Way.

My eyes shot open and I was face to face with her. Molly. I think my heart stopped a little at that moment.

As soon as we made eye contact, she froze for a split second, staring at me. I'm sure I scared her. I was pretty freaky looking. She was definitely shocked, but I could've sworn I saw a slight expression of relief on her face. Like she had been waiting for me to open my eyes.

As soon as I had recognized what had happened, it was over. Molly rushed to my side and quickly began patting at my forehead, and when she pulled the gauze from my face, I saw blood. She quickly – and panicking – proceeded to pull out a new, clean bandage.

Maybe my heart did stop. It was like, for a second, I wasn't even a part of my body. As if I were floating above it all. I'm in her house! That was all that ran through my mind..well, that and the concerned wrinkles on her forehead, the worried expression in her eyes, the way her hands knew exactly how to take care of everything, and the way her hair softly flipped around her face... What was I supposed to do? Introduce myself? Say thank you? Scream? Screaming felt like a good idea, but the sound wasn't coming.

I'm assuming she was done, because she fell back and sat next to the tub, about 4 feet away from me. We both just sat there, staring at each other and panting, unable to find words.

Come on Gill, you can do this. You've been waiting for this moment for almost a year. Here's your chance... Say something, damnit!

"So, umm...would you be hungry, by chance?" She asked, her eyes wide with anticipation. She was probably just as freaked out as I was; Maybe more.

Food? Now? Of all the things I imagined would be the first things we would say to each other, I have to say that food was not the topic of choice. But, I guess if I were in her position, I would be thinking along the same lines. Maybe it would be better for the both of us if the conversation didn't start off with such a serious, grave topic.

I nodded, averting my gaze as she got up. I looked around the small room. In the opposite corner was a bed, next to that was a small phone, a bookshelf, dresser, tool box, and simple kitchen. She was flitting around her kitchen, stirring various pots of steaming stuff and adding stuff after she's tasted it. I'd never been good at cooking, unless cereal or, like, a salad counted. Which it didn't.

Eventually she came over to me and gave/shoved a plate of food at me and almost ran back to her kitchen to get some for herself before she sat down on the edge of her bed. I felt bad that she was so blatantly freaked out. I may have been conceited before, but I could still tell when a girl was feeling uncomfortable. She just sat there...looking like she had so much to say, but was way to scared to.

I looked down at the plate of food. This was my first meal in almost a year, and I hadn't even taken a bite yet? I held it to my face and inhaled. Tomato. Risotto. I hadn't had a tomato in forever, and I practically inhaled it, once I'd realized what it was. I couldn't remember the last time I felt something warm slide down my throat. I had lived off of seaweed for so long, I had almost forgotten what real food even tasted like. I wish I could say that the food was an example of how she was even more of the perfect person that I had made her out to be, but to be honest, I really couldn't tell what it tasted like. Like I said, I inhaled it.

Before I realized what had happened, Molly was grabbing the plate from my hands and filling it up again. She stiffly held it out to me. I hesitated, wondering if it was alright to take so much from her in such a short amount of time. "Aren't you hungry? Even if you're not human, all guys like to eat...right?" She looked on, questioning her own theory. Luckily, I was still starving, so I gladly ate more. She sat back down at her bed and took little bites from her plate. How is it that everything she does is so damn cute? I swear, the more I see, the more I like her.

After I'd finished that plate, I couldn't eat any more. I'm pretty sure my stomach shrank while I was out in the ocean. It made me sad though. The more I ate, the more I realized she really was a great cook. I wanted to eat more, but I couldn't.

After I got over the strange feeling of actually having something in my stomach, I looked over at Molly again. She was washing dishes in her kitchen. I wanted to help her so bad. I couldn't move though. Stupid gills...I hadn't even said anything to her yet, and she had already done so much for me. I was hardly even deserving of being called a man. Of course, some would argue that I wasn't even a man...but still, it wasn't right.

Here goes nothing.

"...Umm...thank you" I said. Molly jumped, almost dropped a dish, caught it, set it down, and whipped around to face me before I could even figure out what happened. It was the first time I had even said anything since I saw the harvest goddess all those months ago, so it scared me a little too. Her face was a shade of red. Like she had forgotten I was there.

"Ya, ya..no problem" She looked at the ground and scratched the back of her head. I didn't want this to turn anymore awkward than it already was.

"...I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but how did I get here?" It felt weird talking again. It had been so long since I'd even had anything to say.

She relaxed a little and sat down at the edge of her bed again. "Well, you remember that storm?" I nodded, "That was 3 days ago."

"3 days ago?" I asked, trying to stifle my shock. I remembered that storm. Well, I remembered it for little while before I blacked out. How long had I been sleeping in her bathtub?

She nodded, "I went for a walk after everything had died down. You were sorta face down on the beach, so I decided to bring you back here.." Her face was beat red.

I could only imagine what it must've been like for her. Going for a simple walk to the beach, and finding me there. Judging from the throbbing in my forehead, there was probably a lot of blood too. How would I have reacted, if the rolls would have been switched? Would've I have helped her? Would I have been able to look past the scales, the blood, and my own superficial attitude?

"You were bleeding really badly, and I wasn't sure you were gonna make it. That's why I was so surprised when you finally woke up" I didn't know it was possible, but her face turned even more red.

"It seems like you knew what you were doing. Who knows what would've happened to me if you hadn't come along." I felt a smile creep onto my face, and I turned away with heat rising to my face. "I could've died there. I would've died without you...saving me, that is.." I looked at Molly and she had also looked away, her face still red.

She looks so cute when she blushes. I wonder if she's always this flustered, or if it's just because I'm here. While I am somewhat accustomed to girls blushing when I talk to them, I'm pretty she's not worked up for the same reason. There's a fine line between gorgeous blue eyes and perfectly styled blond hair, and slimy scales with green skin.

"I guess it was pretty lucky I found you, huh?" She crossed and uncrossed her fingers, "It was also pretty good that you're wearing pants," A blush still on her face.

I found myself getting just as embarrassed as she was. It was pretty convenient that I had decided to keep my pants after the incident. At the time, I couldn't stand the idea of accepting my fate, so I wore my full tuxedo for about a month. After that, frustrated, I took off my jacket. It was like a floodgate of emotions rushed through me at that moment, because I quickly started pulling off my seaweed tie, dress shirt, and even my expensive dress shoes and socks. I went to pull off my pants, but paused. I swore to myself that I would not lose my last shred of my old life. I felt if I did that, I would be giving up on myself. No matter how convenient it would've made my life, I couldn't give in. Those pants were my last grip on reality.

Good choice.

I burst out laughing, " I can imagine why that might be important to you!" There were tears running down my face. I could hardly even tell if it was from how hard I was laughing, or from the shock of actually having something to laugh about. "Of all the things you could be thinking about, you worry about whether or not I'd be wearing pants?" I gasped between fits of laughter. Through the tears, I could see Molly laughing too. Not as much as I was, but enough that she felt she needed to cover her mouth. I finally calmed down enough to hear her laugh. It was cute and funny; cute in that it was this high-pitched giggle, but funny because she sort of sounded like a guinea pig.

"Well think about it! If you would've been naked...I very well might have left you there" She smirked, crossing her arms.

"...Fair enough, fair enough" It's very likely that if I would've been naked, I would still have been laying on the beach, face down in the sand.

"So, I've got to be honest. I'm not really used to this...sort of thing." She scratched the back of her head.

I couldn't blame her. No one should be used to this. "I get what you mean. I'm not used to this either" I gave a nervous laugh. She looked at me, confused, her head tilted to the side.

"What do you mean? Waking up in a stranger's bathtub? I would think that's be an everyday occurrence" She looked at the ground, stifling a giggle at her own joke.

Why is she so damn cute?

"Nah, I do this all the time" I wasn't sure if making jokes was the right way for us to start getting to know each other. I wanted our first meeting to be something serious and earth-shattering. A part of me wanted to take this conversation in a more serious direction, but by the way she was laughing into her hands, I couldn't stand the idea of making her stop so soon.

"Honestly though," she looked at me with a sort of seriousness, " I'm curious, where are you from? Are there others like you?"

"Others like me?" I looked down at my skin, only just now realizing how ugly I must look to her, and anyone else for that matter. Had I been lying to myself the whole time? It felt like any hopes I had were ripped from my hands. I wanted to sink down to the bottom of the ocean, but even that wasn't an option for me at this point. It felt like all of my problems had been solidified at that one moment.

"Wait, I- I didn't mean it like that.." She stammered, trying to make eye contact with me.

I had a sort of revelation at that moment. It was obvious I wouldn't be able to win her over with a wink and a smile, but with a stunning personality. I couldn't rely on good looks to win any one over. Even though I hardly had any sort of personality, I had to try.

Ya, right

How was I supposed to pull that off? My whole life I never had to worry about any sort of character. My looks and money got me anything and any one I'd ever wanted. For the first time in my whole life, I would actually have to work for something. There was no other option.

"You honestly want to know?" I asked her. She nodded , "Well, maybe I'll tell you some day. Not today" She folded her arms in a pout.

"That's not fair.. Don't you owe me? Since I saved your life and all." She raised her eyebrows at me.

"Maybe, but what fun is it if I cave the first time you ask me?" The reality was that I had no idea what to tell her. I couldn't tell her I'd been transformed for being an asshole to everyone I knew. That wouldn't score me any points. I needed more time to come up with a good response. Something that would make her think I was some extraordinary being that had crashed into her life. I had to get that story to make a real impression.

Ya, Okay. I'll get right on that...

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Taa-daa! It's done! I feel like this chapter started out really well, but towards the end, it kind of died. Like I said, I've never written a chapter this long before O.o Haha, Anyway, I really hope you guys like it. You're reviews are so amazing, you have no idea. It means so much :)

I've honestly been so busy(I was the student director for my school's children's theater, so I had NO freetime!), and I don't think it's going to get any better anytime soon. I'll keep trying! Reviews definitely help remind me to keep at it, so don't be shy! Let me know what you think!

Happy Reading!

~Moffy