Request by runningonibuprofen (Wattpad).

Little Mermaid AU

Disclaimer: I don't own IT.

3rd Person P.O.V.

Eddie's long green tail glistened in the water. The clear blue waves rushed over his head, the current lazily guiding him to his hidden hideout. He looked back and forth, scanning the underwater horizon for any hidden stalkers. After all, Eddie had some rather embarrassing stuff in there, and preferred no one else to know. Except for his best friend, Stanley.

Stanley was a fish, a little on the smaller side, red with vibrant purple stripes. He went everywhere with Eddie, and therefore knew about his secret hideout. Stanley was a nervous fish, always flitting around and fidgeting with his fins. He felt like he was being watched, a feeling he never had in Eddie's hideout before.

Bill poked his head into a hole in the rock. Peering inside, he spotted Eddie and Stanley, in some sort of... hidden place. Bill watched intently, ready to report back to Queen Sonia. He sighed. Bill had never really liked his job. The queen was a terrible ruler, having come into the throne after the death of her uncle. She was a helicopter parent who didn't do her own helicoptering. No, that was Bill's job. It had always been difficult to keep up with Eddie and Stanley, since he was a lobster. Not quite as fast as a merman and a fish.

Eddie threw himself onto the statue dramatically, posing in the arms of Prince Richard Tozier, the teenage son of the king of the forbidden land. The prince had dark, curly hair and brown eyes that sparkled like calm seas on a sunny day. Ever since that fateful day when Eddie had spotted the prince, he hasn't been able to get him out of his head. He was crushing, and hard.

"Oh, my prince, it's an honor to meet you!" Eddie exclaimed. "You want to marry me? Oh, but we've only just met! Of course, I'm not opposed to the idea..." Eddie sighed dreamily. Stanley rolled his eyes at his friend. Eddie could fantasize all he wanted, but Stanley was bored. He would much rather look through some of the treasures collected in the hideout. He picked up a particularly odd object, a smooth, silvery piece, branching off into three smaller pieces.

"Hey, Eddie, what's this thing do?" His spoken words snapped the merman out of his trance, focusing his attention on the small fish. He picked up the object, studying it for a moment, before the lightbulb went off.

"Well, it's for hair, obviously," Eddie answered confidently, running the object through his hair. Stanley watched with wonder as his best friend figured out the foreign comb.

"What's it called, then?" Eddie looked thoughtful.

"I don't know what they call it. I suppose we could give it a name?" Eddie paused, deep in thought. "Aha! I know! It's a dinglehopper."

"That's pretty good! Ooh, ooh, can I name something?" Stanley picked up a barrel shaped piece connected to a long tapered stick. He thought for a moment before speaking: "Addclar!" Eddie cringed.

"Ok, that was terrible. Let me try." He picked up the object, staring at it. "Snarfblatt," he decided. Stanley went slack jawed.

"How are you so good at that?" He whined. Eddie shrugged. The merman flipped his tail, swimming back to lounge in the Prince's stiff arms.

Bill smiled gently at the young mer, understanding his fantasy of forbidden love. Why, even Bill had a "crush", if you will. But, much like Eddie, he knew it could never be. After all, he was a lobster, working as part of the royal guard. And being in love with someone he was always around during his work? Not good. And yet, Bill couldn't help but stare at the young fish.

Stanley frowned. There was definitely something different happening... could he have been being watched? He swam around the wall-like barriers of the hideout, searching for a peep hole. About three-forths of the way up, Stanley ended up face to face with a lobster.

"AHHH!" Stanley and Bill screamed in unison. Eddie jumped, quickly swimming up to comfort his friend, when he spotted Bill.

"Bill?! Did mother send you?" At Bill's nod, Eddie sighed. "I thought I told her to leave me alone! We're perfectly safe, we aren't in any trouble-"

"You wuh-will be, when I report buh-buh-back to her. In love w-with a human? Sh-she will not be happy with th-this!" Bill scolded, trying to sound angry. But Eddie knew better. Bill wouldn't actually tell his mother anything. Eddie knew his secret, and that was enough to keep him quiet. Eddie smirked, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Oh, Billy, but I thought we had an agreement!" Bill cringed at the nickname. "Unless... unless you wanted me to-"

"No, no, th-that won't be necessary," Bill interrupted, speaking quickly. He snuck an occasional glance at Stanley, his small mouth turned up in a nervous half-smile.

"Wonderful!" Eddie's smile was genuine, his relief showing. If he was being honest, he hadn't expected Bill to let him off that easily. But he had, and now it was Eddie's turn to be pushy. "Hey, Bill, we were just heading to the shallows. Why don't you come with us? I'm sure Stanley would be more than willing to give you a ride." The two of them blushed, turning even more red than they already were.

"O-oh, well, I... I wouldn't wuh-want to be a b-bother..." Bill explained. He stuttered even more than usual when he was nervous. Stanley looked up at him shyly. It was rather cute.

Soon enough, Eddie was leading the way to one of his favorite spots, closely followed by Stanley and Bill, who was indeed hitching a ride. Eddie poked his head above the water, jumping up out of the water and landing sloppily on a rock. He propped himself up, feeling very mer-ish as the waves splashed up around him.

The rock also happened to be a good way to survey what was happening. And it was a good thing Eddie had been there, looking around, when Prince Richard's boat went up in flames.

The fire blazed madly, the crew of the ship jumping off in a frenzy. They had been there to celebrate the Prince's sixteenth birthday, when a terrible fire had started, quickly overtaking the ship. The prince was still on deck, searching for a clear path to jump, when the mast cracked, charred pieces flying everywhere. Prince Richard was struck, stumbling off the side of the boat and falling into the raging current.

Eddie gasped, diving off the rock and making a beeline for the ship, not caring if anyone saw him. Underwater, he spotted the unconscious body of the prince, sinking slowly into the deep abyss. Eddie quickly grabbed him, carrying him bridal style, all the way back to the shore.

Prince Richard coughed, spitting out the sea water. As he came to, he was vaguely aware of a figure in his blurred vision, a weighty pressure on his body. He faintly heard the figure speaking to him. The voice sounded smooth, like melted butter over hot pancakes. The pure, innocent voice of a young boy, maybe around the Prince's age. The owner of the soft, sweet voice had to be the most perfect boy ever. He couldn't wait to see the face of his savior, listen to his buttery voice in his ear, and, if all went well, marry the boy. After all, he was 16, which was a common age to get married in the royal family.

The Prince opened his eyes, blurrily seeing the face of the boy for a second, before the heavy pressure on his body was released. The guards were here to get him back home safe. He sat up, spitting up sea water, while the royal guards fawned over him. With his vision mostly restored, Prince Richard scanned the beach, which, to his confusion, was completely devoid of his savior.

Eddie hid himself behind a large rock. His heart was beating crazily, his close encounter with a human, the prince no less, had been quite exhilarating for the young mer. He had almost been caught...

Once the Prince had been escorted back to the palace, Eddie swam back to where Stanley and Bill were waiting for him, both with flushed cheeks and wide eyes. Nobody felt much like talking, Eddie was daydreaming, and Stanley and Bill were embarrassed at what had happened as soon as they realized Eddie had left. The two of them were quick to connect, faces mashed into each other in an extremely sloppy kiss. It had been passionate, the world seemed to revolve around them as their lips met.

The three boys arrived back in the kingdom, where an escort was waiting for them. They were brought directly to Queen Sonia, who wore an angry frown.

"William! I thought I told you to keep the boy out of trouble! Now I hear that he interacted with a human?!" Sonia seethed. Bill shrunk back at the intense scolding.

"I-I'm sorry, yuh-your highness." Bill bowed his head. "It wuh-won't happen again, I pruh-promise!"

"It better not, you lousy excuse for a guard!" She spat, looking down at the quivering lobster. "You are dismissed. Leave. And take the fish with you." Bill wrapped a claw around Stanley, gently leading him toward the door. Queen Sonia turned her murderous gaze upon her son. "And you. Edward, I want to know what happened!"

"All I did was rescue him. Humans can't breathe underwater, you know," Eddie replied, biting his lip nervously.

"Do you think I'm stupid, boy? You didn't need to rescue him. You save one human," she spat the last word, screwing up her face as if the word left a bad taste in her mouth. "And risk the lives of every merperson in this kingdom. Now, Eddie bear," her voice switched into a sickly sweet tone. "You wouldn't want everyone here to die, would you?"

"No, mother," Eddie insisted, shaking his head wildly. "I wasn't thinking." Sonia's thin lips curved upwards into a nasty smile.

"Good boy. Now, go to your room." Eddie was quick to escape his mother's terrible glare, the faux sweetness partially masking the venom underneath. He shivered, feeling as if her eyes were still on him. He shook it off, trying to relax. He was jittery, from his close encounter with his forbidden crush.

Eddie sighed dreamily. Prince Richard. The name rolled off the tongue like maple syrup, dripping with sweetness and fun. Well, even though Eddie had never really been able to be around the prince, he could assume, right? Plus, Eddie had observed everything he had done around the water, so the mer had a pretty good idea of what the Prince was like.

Eddie fantasized what his life would be like if he married the handsome prince, imagining a beautiful wedding with seafoam green decorations (Eddie's favorite color, which also happened to match his tail) and Prince Richard, in a slick tuxedo. Their lips met, and suddenly Eddie was brought back to reality. No, none of it was real. And it never would be real, because he was a merman and the prince was human.

It was devastating to think about, but it was the truth. But Eddie supposed daydreaming wouldn't do any harm.

There will most definitely be a part 2, don't worry

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