Melody was 15 now, and she couldn't help herself starting to notice other girls. Sure, the young girl still found her heart pounding when a handsome boy called her pretty, but the way girls laughed and smiled stole her attention much more often.

Especially when that girl was Lilo Pelekai.

The sixteen year old had long and beautiful hair, and she radiated sunshine and stubbornness all at once, and it enticed Melody deeply.

But the tail that would show up every time she swam stopped her from pursuing the surfer.

It was true that the surfer was a bit of a weird gal, with her dog that she could swear had a blue tint and her over-eccentric family, but she doubted she would care for the other if she saw as little as a glimpse of her tail.

But an invitation to a pool party started to let fantasies twirl in the teen's head. Her aunt Snow had suddenly invited the family and some of her close friends to her mansion for a pool party, and when Melody passed Lilo in the hallway, she heard the other mention attending the party.

Melody needed advice. She knew her family wasn't the best at offering it all the time, but she crossed her fingers and hoped her mother had a solution.

While her mother tried to persuade her to just tell the other teen, saying it would haunt her later if she didn't, Melody was not satisfied with the answer. She wanted a cure-temporary or permanent didn't matter too much to her; she had her mother's stubborn heart, after all.

While the mother didn't want to, she grudgingly provided her teen daughter with a cure in the form of a pill that would let her swim with no tail for a few hours.

When the day arrived, Melody could barely keep herself still enough to apply her water proof makeup. All she hoped was that the surfer would find her pretty, and hopefully interesting enough to talk to.

Nervously, the teen made her way outside in her frilly pink one piece, heating up as she spotted the other girl's suit that had majestic flowers painted all over the surface.

Melody took a deep breath and stepped into the water, letting out a sigh of relief at the absence of a tail forming.

Slowly, she walked over to wear Lilo was sitting on the side of the pool, her feet dangling in the water, her strange dog sitting beside her.

"Hey, Lilo." Melody called nervously, cursing the crack in her voice.

The other set down her drink and smiled down at her. "Oh, hey, Melody."

"Why aren't you in the water?"

Lilo smirked and looked down at her dog. "Stitch isn't a fan of water." The dog seemed to scrunch up his face at that, and Melody let out a giggle.

Melody watched as the familiar face of a bully approached the two, hands on her hips.

"Wow, Lilo, a flowered swimsuit? How lame." Myrtle called, her friends still adding on a chorus of 'yeah' afterwards.

"Actually, I think it's really pretty." Melody said softly, causing Lilo to smile down sweetly at her, before turning her fiery eyes back to the bully.

The ginger rolled her eyes. "Well, it's not. It actually looks like something an old lady would wear." Her friends snickered and the two walked away, arms still on their hips.

"Don't worry about them. They're all bark, and can't take a punch." Lilo said smoothly, resting her arms on her legs. She looked at Stitch and slid herself into the water. "Go sit by Auntie Pleakley, I wanna swim for a while." The dog seemed to grumble before trotting over to Lilo's aunt, who was trying to tan on one of the beach chairs.

Melody's heart thudded in her chest and she laughed in joy as the other rested her arm on her.

"I'll race you to the other side of the pool." Lilo chided, stretching her arms.

Her heart sinking nervously, Melody bit her lip. "Uh, I better not, my stomach's been hurting. I should probably take it easy."

An odd expression fixed on her face, Lilo cocked her head to the side. "You can't swim, can you?"

Melody felt her face heat up. Of course she could swim, but with legs? She was so used to using her tail that she wasn't sure she could manage kicking her legs feet enough in the water to swim. Unable to conjure up a vocal reply, Melody glared downwards, an ashamed expression glued to her face.

Grinning gently, Lilo looped their arms together. "Don't worry, I can teach you. Then we can race."

Nodding, Melody let the older teen help her learn to kick her legs under the water without creating distracting splashes. The process came rather easily to the mermaid, and soon the two were racing back and forth and giggling at the end of each lap.

As the day passed by, the attendees started to disappear into their cars, leaving only Lilo, Melody, and Snow's families behind. At one point, Lilo had gotten out of the water but continued to chat with the other as she sat and dangled her feet in the water.

An aching feeling started to fill Melody's legs and she knew she had to get out of the water soon, but before she could, it was too late. Her legs morphed together and shifted in color to one of a reddish-pink. She glanced around and caught sight of her mother, who only gazed sadly at her. Sure enough, the girl that Melody was crushing on had already seen, and was blinking at the sight, intrigued.

Slowly, Lilo reached out and touched the tail of the other before a small smile appeared on her face. "I had no clue you were a mermaid, Melody. That's so cool."

A bit taken aback, Melody leaned forward and leaned on the side of the pool. "You...you don't think it's weird? Or scary?"

Lilo laughed, and Melody found her heart fluttering like a fish out of the sea in her chest. "Why would I think that's weird? Have you met my family?"

Confused, Melody tilted her head. Lilo glanced over at her aunt and uncle who had brought her to the party. "Don't tell anyone, but my aunt and uncle are aliens. My dog, too."

Now Melody couldn't help but laugh. "Aliens? I doubt that. Aliens aren't real."

Lilo just raised her eyebrow and smirked, calling over her dog. With a snap of her finger, Stitch stood on two legs and grew two more arms out of his side.

Covering her mouth in shock, Melody couldn't help but grow an interested smile. "And your aunt and uncle? They look human to me."

Still smirking, Lilo leaned forward to whisper to the other. "You ever wonder why they're always wearing sunglasses? It's because auntie only has one eye and uncle has four!"

Melody glanced at the six-climbed dog again and found herself believing the other. "That's really cool. Sorry for doubting you."

Rolling her eyes, Lilo gently tapped the girl's nose. "Don't sweat it. So, um," the older teen reached her hand up and started to nervously twiddleher hair, "Are you free next Saturday? I don't know if it's your thing, but I have two tickets to the new Zombie Slasher movie, and they don't let dogs in, so I've no one to go with..."

Melody felt her cheeks heat up and her mouth twitch into a large smile. "I'd be happy to go on a date with you." She said softly, causing the other to smile gently, obviously relieved at the answer.

"It's time to go home, Little girl," Lilo's uncle called, standing from his seat, lowering his sunglasses slightly. Sure enough, Melody could spot all four of the mentioned eyes from before.

"Okay!" Lilo hollered over to her uncle, leaning forward and gently kissing Melody's cheek before running off. As the older girl left, Melody felt her heart practically hop out of her chest as she happily swam around in little circles, thankful that she had a tail for once.