Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I last updated, but I'm glad to hear you guys are liking the story! I've been busy with preparing for college (freshman year hell yeah!) and making a portfolio (art major hell yeah!). I also had some nasty depression and anxiety problems to deal with that were interfering with my motivation to write, but then I read the reviews I was getting and my drive has been reignited! I hope you guys like the new chapter!
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It's been a week since I last saw Steve. I know it sounds weird, but I kind of wanted to see him again. Maybe try to convince him to be my friend or something. He'd been nice to me, despite my being a mermaid. People are usually scared when they meet something different, something they don't understand. Steve hadn't been aggressive towards me… He'd been kind. I had decided that my mom was right, a guy like that would be a great help if I ever got into a sticky situation.
It was a nice day out, and I was wandering the streets of the city. I'd been looking around, trying to see if I could pick him out of the crowd, but I hadn't been able to find him after all this time. Weird, I ran into him when I didn't want to see him, but now that I want to find the guy, he's nowhere to be found! I scowled as I turned a corner.
Looking up, I saw the unusual shape of the new tall building in the area. Stark Tower. I'd seen in the newspaper that it was running on clean energy, using the same arc reactor that powers Tony Stark's Iron Man suit. I'd seen him flying over the city a few times. It's crazy what that guy could do.
I glanced off to the side, and a spot of blond hair caught my eye. Steve Rogers was sitting at the café across the street, drinking a cup of coffee and scratching something out with a pen on the paper placemat. I crossed the street hurriedly, pushing past businessmen and women, shoppers, and tourists. I squeezed out of the crowd and walked into the seating area and plopped down in the metal chair across the table from Steve.
He looked up, surprised to see me. He started to open his mouth to say something, but seemed at a loss for words. I looked at the paper in front of him. It was a sketch of Stark Tower.
"Nice drawing," I said, trying not to sound flirty. He smiled, a wide grin angled to one side of his face.
"Jacqueline. I'm surprised to see you here." Steve responded.
"Glad to hear you remember me. Listen, not to sound creepy or anything, but I've been looking for you." His expression changed, he looked kind of confused. He also seemed a bit concerned.
"Last time we met, you seemed like you wanted nothing to do with me." I looked down. He sounded hurt.
"I'm sorry about that. I was scared, I didn't know whether or not you were going to try and expose me. You could get a lot of money being the man who discovered mermaids exist." It felt weird being this honest, opening up to someone I hardly knew. I hoped I was right in seeking him out.
"I don't need the money," Steve said, taking a sip of his coffee, "And I understand why you were scared. I wasn't offended when you ran away, if that's what you're apologizing for. I was offended when you didn't thank me." I looked up, but the amused expression on his face told me he was kidding about being offended. I blushed lightly; I hated people teasing me like that.
"So, mermaids. Do you know any others?" He asked.
"No, as far as I know, I'm the only one."
"Your parents?"
"My father died when I was young, but his family aren't fish. I've seen them in the pool. My mom isn't a mermaid either. It's just me." It felt kind of good to get everything off my chest. I didn't feel as alone anymore.
"So, it's some sort of mutation?" Steve asked. Ha! As though I was some genetic freak of nature.
"No, magic. I was turned into a mermaid by some magic that I've yet to understand." Steve's eyes widened. He must be a skeptic. I looked over at his half-empty coffee cup. I held up my hand, and focused on the water. I felt magic in my palm, and on my fingertips. The sensation rippled, like I was touching a waterfall, skimming the flow. I concentrated on a warm feeling, and felt the heat in my hand. The coffee started steaming in the cup.
"Be careful," I smiled as Steve gawked at his cup, "It's very hot." Steve blinked, and closed his mouth. He looked up, his eyes still wide. He struggled to find something to say.
"I can use magic, but only magic that affects water. I was transformed by sitting in a moon pool under the light of the full moon." I doubted he'd ever find the moon pool back in New Hope, and I didn't know whether or not there were moon pools elsewhere. Due to worldwide mermaid lore, I figured there must be.
"Moon Pool?" Steve asked.
"I dunno what it is about that location in particular, but I've only ever seen one. Every full moon, the pool calls me back. The full moon is coming up too, so I've got to stay inside that night."
"Why do you have to stay inside during the full moon?" I knew he was going to ask me that.
"If I come into contact with water or the light of the moon, or look at the moon or a reflection of the moon, I fall into a trance. I have no control over what I do while I'm in that trance. My mom found out about me soon after I changed, and after our first full moon encounter we learned our lesson…" I trailed off. I really regretted what happened that night.
"What happened?" Steve sounded worried. I must have looked a little depressed, because his expression mirrored his concern.
"I flooded the town because, according to my mother, I wanted to swim down the main street. She stopped me from exposing myself, but the river rose to the point where people were wading through shin-deep water. No one was hurt and nothing was damaged, but I still feel horrible about what I did. I've been very good about keeping out of moonlight ever since." Steve was quiet; I could see him processing all this new information while he sipped his now very hot coffee. Then he looked up at me, his eyes meeting mine, his expression grim.
"Why are you telling me this?" He asked. I stopped and pondered what Steve had just asked of me. Why was I telling him so much? I hadn't planned on handing over my life story, nor all my dirty little secrets. I still hadn't told him all of my powers, and those were cards I could keep close to my chest…
"Because I've never had anyone to talk to except for my mother. She's great to talk to, but she's not a friend, and I've never been able to bring myself to trust anyone before. Steve, I know I'm asking a lot of you, but you've been nothing but kind to me, even though I'm a freak. You can keep my secret, right?"
[Steve's P.O.V.]
"…You can keep my secret, right?" Jacqueline asked me. When she was telling me about herself, and about what happened to her, she'd seemed so strong and rough. But now, her posture changed. She hunched over a bit, and her face reminded me of a small child, scared and alone.
"Of course I can, Jacqueline… I'll keep your secret safe." As I spoke, my stomach twisted and I felt the coffee I'd been drinking turn sour in my gut. I was lying to her, to an innocent child who wanted nothing more than to live as normal a life as possible and I was lying to her face. I hated myself then, but I knew Fury would find out one way or another, and I wanted to spare her from some of the less comfortable methods.
Jacqueline didn't pick up on my distress, and smiled brightly. She was genuinely happy to have found someone to confide in, and it hurt like a knife in my chest.
"Call me Jackie, and thanks so much for this. Come with me, I want to show you something…" She stood up. I pulled some money from my wallet, setting it under the saucer before rising from my seat and followed her. Jackie wove through the throngs of people, and I struggled to keep up. We broke through the crowd, and she led me away from the more crowded areas of the city, and to an alley near the canal.
On the ground, I saw a metal trap door, and I remembered Fury had told me about it before. She had been using a storm drain system to get in and out of the water without being seen.
"Come on!" She smiled, opening the door and sliding easily down the ladder. I stepped down cautiously, and hunched over in the dark of the tunnel. Jackie's outline was visible against the light of the tunnel's opening over the canal. She walked to the edge, and waved me over. I crouched next to her in the lighter area of the tunnel. I could see her clearly now. She pointed down, only a foot and a half between the water and the opening of the pipe. Glancing around, she dove in.
Jackie made barely any noise when she hit the water, and she seemed to go down fairly deep. I could see her shape, but a weird color washed over that. She rose to the surface, and faced me. Her clothes had disappeared, although she was wearing what looked like a bikini top made of the same golden scales of her tail, which glittered in the water. I stared at her tail in awe.
"Impressed?" She asked, grinning from ear to ear. I nodded.
"Very!"
