(NOTE)

so i decided to write one of these to say hi and to let you guys know that im open to suggestions. i was quite stumped on where i'd be going with this but so far, i have a few ideas.

if you have any storylines you think would be good, message me directly and i'll credit you and maybe we can plan future chapters together c:

im gonna be as interactive as possible so don't be shy

thanks for reading

The next day was really sunny.

I spent the afternoon swimming with dolphins and catching fish with Massimo but Luca, on the other hand, was with HER.

I tried to make pancakes, they came out wonky and I laid the table for me and Luca but he never came down.

I thought he was still sleeping but when I went up to check, he was laughing in Giulia's room. So, I just ended up sitting at the table with two very uneaten pancakes.

I didn't really see him until midday when Giulia ran outside laughing and a Luca running down the stairs after her.

'So last night meant nothing?'

I was getting sick of it. So, when he was about to zoom past me, I grabbed his arm firmly and aggressively hushed, "So you're back to kissing her ass?"

He looked at me a little shocked but that disappeared within seconds and shifted into an unconcerned, "Why don't you just join us if you want to spend so much time with me?"

He stole his arm back from me and sighed, "Meet me at the pier in an hour."

And with that he just fucked off after her. I stood there a bit shocked. Was I being clingy? I scratched my head and just wandered around the kitchen in circles. I pace a lot when I get anxious, something I did even with fins.

Was it me? Was I the problem. Because to me, she was the hook in the fish's mouth.

"Alberto, what're you doing?"

I stopped in my tracks and looked up to see Massimo staring at me. Well, I thought he was staring at me. Couldn't tell with those eyebrows.

I chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of my neck. "You know…just getting my steps in."

I started marching around the table with a fake grin on my face but then one thick slug of an eyebrow was raised; from then I knew he wasn't buying it.

He sat down in one of the chairs and gestured for me to sit across from him. I got a little nervous but I obliged.

"You can joke, but I can see something is the matter."

I didn't really know what to tell him. Couldn't exactly say, your daughter is getting in the way of me hanging out with my best friend.

"Uhh…" My mind was completely blank.

I couldn't lie to Massimo. He could smell a lie better than a dog can smell, well, anything.

"Umm…"

I thought some more. But I couldn't really say anything without it being a lie or without it being the truth either. So, I just gave up.

I just needed to talk to Luca.

"Alberto-"

"Why can't you just leave me alone?!" Instantly, I slapped both my hands over my mouth and stared at Massimo apologetically shocked.

Without thinking, I darted out the room, and off to the pier.

-

I calmed down a lot. But instead of being angry, I was now stressed. It was bad enough that Luca was barely talking to me, but now I can't go home because the fish man might actually make a spaghetti out of me?

I growled and kicked the that dared show me my face. I watched the ripples float out and simmer back to normal, and there was another face in the reflection.

"Holy- Luca!"

He giggled and that kind of bought a smile to my face and filled my empty stomach.

'Is…that weird?'

I smiled a little and he sat next to me, shoulder to shoulder. I wanted this. Just me and him. When it's just me and him, nothing else really matters, just the way it used to be like when we made our own Vespa.

'Wait…the island!'

My lips stretched into a smirk and I took a peek at Luca. I really just wanted to be alone with him, I'm sick and tired of losing him to her. Sharing doesn't seem fair anymore.

"Hey Luca." He looked up at me with those big brown eyes that made this idea even more worth it.

"Wanna have a sleepover?" His eyes squinted and his head tipped a little. "Where?"

I pointed to the little island in the distance. My island.

And then the most annoying noise happened. "Lucaaaa!"

I groaned lowly and I know Luca heard me. "Oh…uh, heyy, Giulia."

'I swear to god I just wanna put Luca in my pocket and swim the fuck away from here.'

The image of doing that made me snort a lot louder than I intended.

She rung her shitty little bell on her shitty little bike and asked, "You wanna go for a bike ride up the hill? I know a spot we can study for our assignments."

Okay, that's not going to happen. We already have plans. That's all you gotta tell her, Luca.

But when I looked at him, he had a sheepish smile on his face and was scratching the back of his head. "Uh…can Alberto come?"

'What…the…actual…fuck.'

I glared daggers at him which made him visibly gulp.

'You little shit. So you can put our plans on hold but as soon as she says the word books you're all under her skirt?'

"Well, we've got a lot to cover, we got science and then chemistry, biology-"

I leaned towards him and whispered, "What the fuck, Luca, we had plans."

Then he responded with a hushed, "Well, I didn't exactly say yes yet…"

My face dropped. How could he say that? Nothing about this was fair, and he seemed like he didn't want to listen. He was being selfish.

I stared at the water with venom in my eyes and I'm pretty sure if looks could kill, this oasis would be a desert right about now.

But then I felt something warm and soft rest on top of my hand and when I looked up, it was Luca. Our eyes met and the purity of the desperation in his eyes honestly melted away every negative emotion in my being.

"Please?" He mouthed.

'You little shit.'

Of course, by law, I had to agree.

When I zoned back into our surroundings, Giulia somehow found herself blabbing on about fun facts that were only interesting to her. I already knew this was gonna be a long bike ride.

I sighed and stood up with Luca following my lead, "Alright already, let's just go and study on the damn hill before I get old."

Giulia finally shut up and looked me up and down; that's when I realised me and Luca were holding hands.

We snatched our hands apart and laughed sheepishly. Even though I kinda wanted to keep hold of him. It made me feel secure.

'That's…probably not normal.'

We hopped on the wooden platform attached to the bike while Giulia mounted her seat before looking back at me.

"You sure you wanna come, Alberto? It's just gonna be studying and you won't understand any of it." Giulia asked.

I scowled at her. "What's that supposed to mean? You calling me stupid?"

"Alberto." Luca announced my name quietly. It sounded like he was telling me to shut up but like in a desperate pleading way.

I sighed in defeat and looked back at Giulia. "I'm sure I can keep up."

-

The ride there was quite fun. We sang songs until they started singing songs about condensation which until now I thought was a health condition.

But either way, it didn't dampen my mood because Luca would check up on me but when he was singing he'd grab my hand and we'd sway in an effort to make me feel included. God, he was so cute.

I mean, it was a stupid effort because I know this song wasn't for me but it's a nice thought.

Every time he did something like that, a part of me would feel fuzzy and warm inside, and I'd feel…nice.

It's hard to explain. But I liked whatever it was. Until I remembered who we were with.

"Aaaand, we have arrived fellow scholar! And Alberto."

'Bitch.'

I scowled at her from behind and hopped off the back with Luca.

It was a nice little spot; there was a big tree on top of the hill on this steep bed of grass. And it overlooked the whole town. Pretty cool view.

I plopped down in the shade and leaned my back on the trunk; Luca sat right next to me. I blushed a little when his knee touched my leg. I'm glad he's not leaving my side.

For the whole day, there were books surrounding us and I ended up just listening. Luca forgot about checking up on me but I felt better that he was right next to me, I understood some of what they were talking about and I learned a few things. And I can confirm that stars weren't actually fishes, they were actually saucepans and lions and shields. I decided I was keeping that book.

I flicked through the pages and for once I actually get why they read so much, it's pretty interesting. I don't get why they read the ones with just words in it but each to their own I guess.

"You like constellations?"

I looked up and both of their eyes were on me. I blushed a little and stared back down at the page. "Uh yeah…it's pretty cool. There are actually fishes in the stars just not all of them."

Luca giggled a little and leaned over and turned a few pages until he found the one he wanted.

"Look, there's actually a merman too with a triton."

I gasped in awe. What if…

"Are we in the stars?"

Luca laughed, "I don't think so but we could probably find one with sea monsters."

Definitely taking this book with us.

Then out of nowhere, Giulia scooched in and flicked through the book. "Actually there is a page in this book about sea creatures."

"Really?!"

'Oh boy.'

"Yeah! There's a story behind it as well."

I sat there with two people already inching their heads closer to the book to the point they were blocking my view.

I sighed and looked at the view and noticed how dark it was getting. We'd been there for hours doing whatever Giulia wanted, how long do I have to wait to get alone time.

"Hey…Giulia, me and Alberto…we actually have plans."

'Wait…huh?'

I looked at Luca with a shocked facial expression slapped on my face. "We do?"

He looked back at me. "Yeah…do you not wanna go to the island anymore?"

I grinned ear to ear and jumped up. "Hell yeah!"

'Finally. Some alone time with you.'

I looked to the floor and picked up the book that dropped. I honestly just wanted to leave with Luca. "Oh, we're gonna do some stargazing so we're going to need this."

Giulia looked like she needed time to adjust to the fact that we actually had plans without her. I'm not surprised since she's had Luca to herself. She should just make new friends instead of trying to steal mine.

"Isn't it getting late? It's going to be sunset soon."

"Uh-"

"That's cool. We're sleeping there."

I had to cut Luca off before they end up talking about whether chickens go through labour when they lay eggs. I grabbed his hand and was about to start walking down the hill until Luca stole his hand back from me.

"Wait, Alberto." He scowled at me.

I tapped my foot on the grass impatiently with my arms cross with my newly favourite book in one hand.

This was already taking too long.

"Would your dad mind if you stayed out tonight?" He asked, sweetly.

Giulia already started packing away her books into the basket in front of her bike.

"Not at all, but don't you wanna eat first?"

'Oh my god'

"Nah, we're not hungry right now but we'll come by when you're sleeping. C'mon Luca." I tried again; grabbed his hand but he yanked it harder this time.

"Alberto, stop!" He yelled at me.

He looked really mad. But it didn't make sense, why did we have to do things at his pace? I just wanted to go.

So, I huffed and waited again.

"Can you take us back to the pier?" Luca said in a sigh. Giulia nodded and hopped on the her bike.

Reluctantly, I dragged myself onto the back and sat far away from Luca. I was pissed. Wasn't sure if I even wanted to go with him anymore but I knew I'd probably regret it if I didn't take this opportunity now.

The ride back was quite silent. No one said anything, even Giulia was quiet. When I took a quick glance at Luca he was hugging his knees and he looked like he was angry too.

Suddenly, a wave of guilt washed over me.

Maybe I was being selfish.

Before I could overthink it, we had arrived at the pier.

Not much was exchanged, Luca got up first and hugged Giulia goodbye while I just said a half assed see-ya-later; Luca practically ignored my existence and dived straight into the water.

-

The silence was killing me. He just sat there, poking at the fire and ignoring me. Should I talk first?

'I'm so stupid.'

"Hey, where do you think we'll be in ten years?" He asked, randomly.

I looked at him a little surprised but I gave his question some thought and when I had a clear picture in mind, I responded with an excited, "You, me, in a beach house with a hundred vespas travelling the world."

Luca smiled ear to ear. "That would be kind of cool."

He looked like he was happy but sad at the same time. What was going on with him?

"Have you ever thought about how we'd do that?"

He'd never asked me that the night before. So why now? Had Giulia said something?

I shifted my position and prodded a little. "Did Giulia say something?"

'Okay, that wasn't prodding, that was impaling.'

He screwed up his face at me. "What? Why do you not like Giulia?"

'Ah shit.'

I scoffed and looked away. I really didn't want to have this conversation right now.

"Well, I don't know, maybe because she's stealing you from me?"

His face kind of softened. Like he didn't expect that kind of response. I didn't expect myself to say that either. Was it weird?

"You say that like I belong to you."

"No but I met you first. You're MY friend."

"But I'm her friend too!"

"But you were mine first!"

"Alberto!"

"Luca!" I mocked.

This was getting stupid. He doesn't get it. I just wanted him to understand but how can he when I don't a hundred percent understand it?

I just sighed and hugged my legs to my chest. "I just…I haven't had you to myself since you got back. I don't want to have to share you all the time."

Luca shifted uncomfortably as if he was about to say something I wouldn't like. "But I don't belong to you, Alberto…"

'That's all you got from what I just said?'

I decided I didn't want to talk to him anymore. This was a shit idea.

I grabbed the book from behind me and threw it in front of him. "Forget it, I'm going to sleep."

And with that, I turned over and fell asleep next to the warmth of the fire.

-

I don't know when I woke up but I was wet and the fire was out.

When my vision started to clear up, over the rain, I heard whimpering and sniffles; when I looked up, Luca had his hands in his face and he was all scales and fins.

"Luca?" I croaked.

"You…ha-ate me." He was stuttering and whimpering really bad.

"No, no, Luca, I don't hate you." I rushed over to him and for a second, I hesitated. Do I hug him? I don't know.

"Hey…" I slowly reached for his hands and pulled them away from his face, which, by surprise, was dry. His nose was red and his eyes were overflowing. He looked broken.

Our eyes collided and out of nowhere, he buried his face into my neck and wrapped his arms around my body.

I…didn't know what to do. Do I hug him back? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm allowed.

I slowly wrapped my arms back around him and everything poured out him.

He was so small. I hugged him tighter. He was so cold too. I took in the scent of his scales. He smelt cold and metallic.

'What am I doing?'

"Luca…"

He was in a little fit of sniffles when he slowly pulled away to look at me. His eyes were so brown and they glistened. He was so close to my face it was unbearable. He made me hungry…it scared me.

My hand rested on his shoulder and slid its way to his cheek that started to cover up with scales. Every raindrop made a new scale.

"I…"

My heart was beating like a drum. I felt guilty, I never wanted him to feel like this. I can't, I shouldn't, he's vulnerable. And I don't even know what I'm doing.

I gulped and slid my hand back down to his shoulder. "I love you."

'Shit! That's…the opposite of what I wanted.'

"I-I mean! As a friend of course! You're my best friend, no matter what."

He giggled a little and put his hand on my arm. If I had pores right now, I'd probably be sweating a little because of the extra scale to scale contact.

"Even though I ruined our sleep over?"

I scoffed. "Ruined? We got tomorrow too! Luca, you didn't ruin anything. And I don't hate you, you idiot."

I wiped his tears away and pulled him into another hug.

'I did good, I did good. I'm a good friend.'

I sighed, happily and pulled away before I sabotaged the moment.

"Well…it's raining so, should we go into the tower?"

He nodded and stood up with me. He didn't let go of my hand the whole way down until we took off our shirts and got into a fresh pair of shorts that I had stocked up on from when I used to steal from village peoples clothing lines.

I found an old curtain and laid it down on the stone floors and got a blanket for both of us among the junk I collected.

"Can…I sleep with you?"

I looked at him a little shocked as we both transformed back into our human forms in sync.

'I should say no.'

I'm trying to be good, depriving myself of him has done a lot of damage already, especially since he's shirtless and freckled, if I teased myself now, there's no telling what would happen.

"Yeah…sure…"

We both laid down on the two cushions I'd already set down. We looked at each other for direction but instead we both got gulps and sheepish looks, but surprisingly he made the first move.

He grabbed my arm and put it around himself as he shuffled backwards into me, making him the little spoon. He held my hand on his stomach and snuggled into me.

'Well…shit…'

He was so warm despite being in the rain not long ago, his skin was so soft that I couldn't help but dance my fingers across his belly .

I scooted closer and rested my nose against the back of his neck. This was honestly the best night of my life. "Alberto?"

"Yeah, Luca."

"Thanks."

I smiled tiredly. "Yeah…no problem."

I pulled him closer and not long after, I fell asleep to him stroking my arm softly. It was like a silky lullaby on my skin.

Tomorrow was going to be interesting.