I'm...ALIVE!
Hopefully all makes sense. I figured Edd could still be Double D since mermaids are reading books and would figure out ways to spell their names (I hadn't thought that deeply about it, tbh). Some quotes are from the show. I plan to finish this. Thank you for your support. :)
When Edd returned to his home in the sea cave, his heart was still pounding. His lungs ached with the urge to laugh uncontrollably; he wanted to swim in circles.
He had spoken to the object of his human-admiration yet again! Edd pressed cool fingers to his cheeks, feeling the latent heat from excitement coupled with embarrassment. The fact that the human had risked his life to see Edd made the veracious beat of his heart quicken further.
"Humans are endlessly fascinating!" he squealed. A nearby mer gave him a strange look, to which Edd flashed a bright-toothed smile. Normally slightly reclusive, he could not keep this excitement to himself. He had to tell someone!
After making certain that his makeshift library was in order, he dove under the water in order to make his way to the populous caverns that housed the rest of the mers in this area. He darted around colorful wildlife, his interests little in the wildlife. He needed to find Eddy and Ed; they would understand the situation without "freaking out", surely.
Edd twirled around a school of fish, the ocean's cool waters doing little to tamp down his jubilation.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" Eddy shouted.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down," Edd hissed, looking around. They were clearly alone, but that didn't negate the possibility of an interloper making an appearance. "I assure that it was perfectly safe, Eddy."
Said merman was looking at him as though he'd grown another fin. His tail thrashed wildly, his arms working in a frenzy of frustration. "Are you fucking crazy?" Edd frowned; Eddy had a fondness for human profanity that he did not share. "I expect this kinda stuff from Ed, but you're supposed to be the smart one!"
"Oh, please Eddy, do you really expect a simple human to have the ability to convince the world of our existence? That coupled with modern technology, of which I have only had glimpses-" he sighed longingly, "-could leave him with any other conclusion. He may have questioned our existence, but I didn't necessarily give him a concrete answer. Isn't this exciting?" he gushed. "Perhaps I can conduct a closer study with this subject. I've always wanted-"
"Wait, wait!" Eddy sighed loudly and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You're never the reckless guy, Edd. That's my job, got it? Why'e you suddenly interested in this dork?"
Edd hesitated. "It's not necessarily him alone. He did have companions and they appeared to be using their legs in a regular motion for no reason at all-"
"I'm gonna stop you there," Eddy interrupted, his grin shark-like. "I get it, Double D. Humans can sometimes look as good as I do. Some of those legged maids are hot, I gotta admit." Edd sputtered. Eddy's smile disappeared and he moved closer to a flustered Edd. "You'd better be careful your little crush doesn't get all of us killed. I've got enough problems with recent shark attacks. My people are stretched thin."
"C-crush? I have no such thing!" he shrieked. Then, in response to Eddy's grin, he forcefully calmed himself. "One would think you of all mers would appreciate that 'business is booming'," he remarked, his fingers forming air quotes he had observed the humans use. Eddy ran a business of sorts that involved fewer brains and more brawn. He used Ed and a variety of muscled merman to offer services as escorts for younger or smaller mers that feared the deeper parts of the ocean, but still wanted to explore. Edd wasn't entirely sure what his profits included (nothing like human money, certainly), but he clearly felt it was worth the danger.
At Eddy's curious look, Edd fought a blush. It wasn't an obsession like Eddy claimed: he was just curious!
"Look, I don't really care. So...whatever, egghead. I can tell you're not about to stop seeing this loser-"
"I am not seeing him," Edd hissed.
"-so I'm just going to hold the 'I told you so' for later," Eddy continued. "Don't come begging to me when you've got harpoons sticking out of your back."
Edd narrowed his eyes and flicked his tail, sending himself up a few meters. "Don't worry Eddy. I'm well aware of the consequences. It's just a mere curiosity. Nothing more," he lied, secretly hurt by Eddy's lack of compassion. It wasn't anything new.
Thinking of Kevin's dark eyes made his heart race. He effortlessly swam around Eddy and out into the open ocean.
Once on his own, he twisted his fingers together, a nervous tell. As much as he hated to hear Eddy's (surprisingly) rational response to his situation, he had a point. Humans were complex, devious creatures. Ed was a testimony of that.
Edd was frowning, deep in thought, when he ran into a brick wall. He shot backwards, sputtering, when he recognized the person attached.
"Ed!" he exclaimed, maneuvering around his friend in excited circles. "I haven't seen you in days. Eddy tells me you've been busy."
"Double D!" Ed shouted, pulling him into a crushing hug. It was something mers had picked up from the humans that some enjoyed. It was personally awkward to Edd, but he put up with it for his lovable friend. "I got to fight a shark! He was twice the size of us!"
Edd's worry for Ed was quelled when he noted how excited the other seemed at the prospect of defending passengers from giant fish. "That's lovely, Ed. I'm relieved that you and your…" he peered behind him and saw a mermaid wave to him shyly, "passenger are safe. Go report to Eddy; I have something to which I must attend. I hope to see you later!"
Ed was already swimming backwards, well used to the drill. "Sure thing, Double D! See you later!" he called, his grin splitting his face. When he was out of sight, Edd's big smile softened and he continued on his journey.
He wasn't going to see whether or not the human he had rescued was by the ocean. Certainly not. He was merely curious to see the state of the beach. That was all.
Edd grinned to himself and surged for the warmer surface water.
Kevin told himself that he wasn't insane. Amongst the worried faces of his friends, it was easy to focus on Rolf, who looked like he was disappointed rather than worried. As if on cue, he opened his mouth.
"Stale end piece of white bread" he declared. "Rolf knew that agreeing to your strange customs of endless running would result in this turn of events. What manner of spirit lured you into the wild waters?"
Kevin was still reeling from his jaunt in said ocean, and only had the strength to grin weakly. "You're whack, dude," he croaked, receiving relieved smiles from his two other companions.
"Dude, are you okay?" Nazz said softly, her gaze warm. Kevin rubbing the back of his neck.
"He's fine!" Nat declared, smacking his back. Kevin doubled over into a coughing fit, earning Nat two sets of glares. "Okay, mostly fine. Mostly is good, right Kev?" As nonchalant as he sounded, his eyes were dark with worry.
Kevin didn't know what to say. They'd call him insane if he told them that he might believe that mermaids were real.
Don't tell anyone that we exist. Thank you.
That guy's English had been a little rusty and awkward, but his diction and knowledge were perfect. Kevin stared at his hand and clenched it into a fist, nerves remembering the slimy feeling of his tail. Just like a fish, he thought. When he looked back up, all of his friends were shooting each other worried glances and the medic or coast guard-Kevin didn't really care at this point-bent down to examine him for any wounds.
"You really scared us, Kevin. Are you sure you're okay?" Nazz whispered. "We can go to a doctor if you need it!"
"No, no. I'm fine, guys." He balked at Nat's disgruntled frown. "Dude, seriously. A little water never hurt anyone, right?"
"Almost drowning for no apparent reason does," Nazz snapped.
Kevin sighed.
He spent the next thirty minutes convincing them he hadn't gone crazy. His cover story was that he'd just wanted to swim and get some cool seashells under water. After much convincing, they seemed to buy what he was selling. Clearly though they were keeping an eye on him, because for the next few hours he wasn't let out of their sight. They went and got ice cream, dropped Rolf off at his farm, and returned to the Peach Creek boardwalk for some more summer fun. The entire time, Kevin couldn't stop turning over his mind's image of the boy's smiling face. It was obvious that the others could tell he was miles away, but they didn't bother him about him. Much.
He sighed. Maybe that guy is crazy? That could have been fake. Japan makes some weird tech.
Kevin kept staring out into the ocean, as if hoping he would see the non-human aberration peek up at any moment. He found himself strangely disappointed when he didn't.
Maybe I am crazy, he thought, digging his feet into the sand. His toe poked a seashell that reflected the sunlight brightly. He watched as sand cascaded over his feet when he raised them out of the sand. Nazz and Nat were on either side of him, talking about the upcoming school year. He wasn't looking forward to his first year of university; it would really bite him hard. He'd never been great at keeping up in school.
When he sighed for the fifth time, Nat poked him.
"What gives, Kev bro? Feelin' like a stale piece of white bread again?" Nat responded to Kevin's glare with a snicker.
"Nothing! I'm just..." he grasped for something to talk about, "worried about school, I guess." He looked at the gentle waves and felt his heart flutter.
"Aw," Nazz cooed. "You know we got your back, right? I'm planning to be a chem major, so you can count on me for the hard stuff. Any idea what you wanna do?"
He shrugged. After staring at a piece of floating debris, he said the first thing that popped into his head. "Marine biology would be cool."
"Whoa!" Nat exclaimed. "When did you grow a brain in that square noggin' of yours. I never knew you liked marine wildlife."
Kevin shrugged again, feeling his spirits lift a little at the thought of having a purpose for his education and not just school. Fish were pretty rad, if he were honest with himself. "I dunno...it just came to...me...what the..."
Later he would blame his trip to the ocean on his reaction to the next chain of events. A dark smattering of what looked like seaweed appeared far out into the water, and then two eyes followed. When they spotted Kevin, they widened considerably and disappeared.
Kevin stood up suddenly, stopping himself shy of running into the ocean again. "It's him," he hissed to himself, fingers curling into fists. It had to be.
"Kevin? Kevin!" Nat and Nazz were both calling his name, snapping him out of his reverie. He rubbed a hand over the front of his shirt, feeling his heart's quick beat. "What's wrong with you today? You sure you don't need your brain checked?"
With his heart still racing, he turned away from the water and smiled at his friends. "Just thought I saw a shark, y'know? I freaked out a little. I think it was just a dolphin, though."
After much cajoling he promised his friends they could go get dinner at a nearby diner and leave this all behind them. After casting the beach a final goodbye, Kevin promised himself that he would stop obsessing over whether or not what he'd seen was real.
No; he was going to find out for himself.