Shout out to Amelia F for my second ever review!

Also I have posted my first One-Shot, 'Students and Tutors', remember to check it out!

Nearly two weeks after school had started, Antonio sat on the top diving board in the natatorium, arms wrapped around his legs, chin resting on his knees. As a general rule, Mer usually avoided human swimming pools. Chlorine was a slow-acting recipe for a literal headache, and it didn't exactly do wonders for their gills either.

Despite this, Antonio felt calmer surrounded by water, even chlorinated water. It also meant no one else would be here. He was a people person, but he liked to be alone with his thoughts sometimes.

Alice was the only one who needed to find a life-mate. Coming up on land was originally considered an adventure, a chance to be around humans. Most Mer didn't take it, but they had. Of course if you did find your life-mate, that was a very, very good added bonus. And it seemed that everyone had run into someone that had caught their eye except for him. Even Francis the flirt had spent more time admiring the local fencing champion than any of the other resident females.

Antonio sighed to himself. He was naturally a cheerful fellow, but now was one of the few times he felt really down. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't hoped to find his life mate here. Like the others he'd been around the sea and had yet to find a mermaid that caught his interest, really caught it.

He was yanked from his reverie when someone burst into the natatorium, throwing the door back against the wall with a bang. He peered down from his perch, curious.

A small, slight girl wearing khaki shorts, ankle boots, and a denim jacket over a white tank top stomped over to the water's edge. Even from here Antonio could see her pretty face was set in a scowl, her olive green eyes blazing. She jammed a hand through wavy chestnut hair, muttering an impressive string of curses in both English and Italian.

"Honestly," she growled, starting to pace the length of the pool. "On top of everything else."

She muttered and growled under her breath, so he didn't hear the rest. He did, however, look up when three more girls followed her into the natatorium. The way they looked at her, closing in on her, made a frown crease his normally cheerful face.

The girl spun to face them, as weary as a wild animal.

"Got the message yet?" sneered the ring leader.

"I never needed one in the first place," the pretty girl snapped. "I want nothing to do with that bastard, he's the one who won't leave me alone."

"What Sadiq sees in you, I'll never know," the other girl said snidely, looking at the brunet like she was a piece of rotting fish.

Antonio regarded the three, all wearing heels and cloths that were too tight and/or too short. This was in addition to twenty painted nails each, sculpted noses, and makeup. Then he looked back at the first girl, and decided she was much prettier.

"I don't know why you have a vendetta against me, cagna, but let off," she said, fists clinched.

Very glad he was out of reach of the cat fight, Antonio kept very still and very quite. Maybe if I stay here they won't notice me. I hope the pretty girl wins, though.

Then on some silent cue, that plan flew headfirst out the window.

The other two girls, content with sneering at the pretty girl until now, both grabbed her shoulders and shoved her back into the pool. She landed with a great splash, and the girls began to laugh.

Antonio peered down at the water worriedly. The pretty girl could swim, couldn't she? Most humans could, right?

They had pushed her in the deep end, not six feet from his perch. The marker on the side of the pool said sixteen feet. The flurry of bubbles had slowed, but the pretty girl hadn't surfaced. She wasn't doing anything it seemed, not trying to swim. She was slowly sinking to the bottom.

Antonio fumbled to his feet and sprang from the board. The girls looked up as he dove down, slicing into the water with barely a splash.

It took a massive amount of willpower to keep from transfiguring, to keep his legs as he swam downward. Chorine burned his gills before he forced them back too. It was unnatural, a Mer keeping his own life-support at bay. As it was, he wasn't able to keep scales from rippling over his lower half, his own instincts fighting to change him.

She was at the bottom now, eyes closed, body limp in the water. He wrapped an arm around her, twisting and shoving off as he fought to the surface. Her weight dragged him down, adding to the hindrance of legs, but Antonio was nothing if not determined.

He gasped as they broke the surface, throwing his free arm over the edge of the pool. Bracing one sneaker against the pool wall and grabbing for purchase on the wet cement, Antonio dragged first himself and then the girl out of the water.

Gently, he laid her down on the poolside, water cascading off him as he bent over her. The girl, pretty even soaking wet, still had her eyes closed. He pressed his ear to her chest. She wasn't breathing.

Antonio was a bit scatterbrained as a general rule, but now, in the heat of the moment with adrenaline pulsing through his veins, he forgot one of the most important details of being a Mer.

He braced his hands on her chest as he'd been taught, lacing one hand over the other, and started doing CPR. After the set amount of pulses over her rib cage, he pinched her nose and forced air into her lungs.

"Come on, come on," he grunted, pumping her chest.

The girls hovered as he filled her lungs for the second, and then the third time.

Finally, the fourth time he pressed his mouth over hers, he got a response. Though it had to be said it was hardly the one he'd anticipated.

A ringing slap sounded through the natatorium. Antonio jerked back, almost tumbling back into the pool in surprise. He reached up, touching the forming handprint in surprise.

The pretty girl was awake, eyes wide in shock as she finished coughing up chlorinated water. When she faced him she blinked once, twice, and then saw the handprint.

"Oh. Sorry. Thanks for, um, saving my life."

They both turned as the door shut behind the other girls.

"Why did they push you in?" he asked, turning back to her and getting to his feet. He offered her a hand, but she knocked it away and stood on her own.

"They're the resident high school bitch-queens," she said, stomping over to a bin of clean towels. "Didn't you have them at your last school?"

Antonio trailed her, taking a towel and trying to get off most of the water. Mer didn't have school the same way humans did, but there had been mermaids similar to those girls. They were simply referred to as barracudas or piranha instead of female dogs.

"I think so."

Tossing the towel on the bench, he stripped off his shirt to wring it out. Honestly, he had been surprised to hear human males had worn them. In the sea, unless it was armor or you were in Arctic waters, mermen never wore upper body clothes.

"Feh."

He shook out the remaining free water, and proceeded to dry the rest of his upper half off. The rest would have to dry naturally, he decided. Besides, a good swim in the sea would be the perfect thing to wash all the chlorine away.

When he looked back at the pretty girl, he saw she had turned her back. But when she tossed away her towel, he saw her face was red. Odd.

"So, what's your name?"

"Lovina."

"I'm Antonio."

"Good for you," she said tartly, stalking towards the door, grabbing her backpack on the way.

Antonio smiled, doing the same and trotting after her as he tugged his damp shirt back on.

"I haven't seen you around before."

"I'm not exactly Miss. Popular," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I know. I don't like popular. They're pretty and mean. I prefer pretty and nice."

Again a blush rose in her face, and she tried to shove the door shut in his face. Antonio caught it, still tailing her. Not caring he probably looked like a lost puppy, he bounded after her down the steps, towards the parking lot.

"Shut up, bastard," she grumbled. He wasn't sure why, but he knew she was flattered and pleased as well as embarrassed. He just sort of….knew.

"Will you be here tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's Friday, moron. I kinda have to be here."

Antonio stopped, watching her unlock a red convertible. It looked expensive and fast. Lovina popped the trunk, digging around for a minute. She fished out a beach towel before slamming the trunk shut again, putting it on the seat before climbing in and starting the engine.

"See you tomorrow then, Lovi," he said, smiling and waving as she left.

The car lurched to a stop, her jaw dropping. Antonio laughed at the look on her face, the pure shock. Red rose in her cheeks, and the wheels shrieked slightly as she peeled out.

Antonio set off, deciding to walk, or maybe run to the beach. For the first time since he'd set foot on land, he didn't have any doubts about staying here.

BREAK*BREAK*BREAK

Alice sat on the steps outside the school, chin in her hands as she waited for Yuki. It amazed her that both Lars and Bella had gotten their driver's licenses, as most Mer mixed with cars as well as oil and water. The one time Aunt Rachel had taken her to an empty parking lot to give it a try, she'd found she was one of the majority. Yuki missed school even less than she did, and Alice's house was on her way anyway, so the human never had a problem giving her a ride.

Today hadn't been one of Alice's best days, to say the least. She had no plans of staying on land after graduation, but it still pained her to see the poor grades on human subjects. Today they had gotten back tests in both Biology and Calculus. At least she'd gotten a B in Biology, but she'd barely managed a C in Calculus. Another reporter had beaten her to the story she'd wanted to do for the school paper, and her clumsiness struck again during lunch. Fortunately it wasn't until after she was done, so the tray was mostly empty when it flew from her hands.

Alice sighed, rummaging around her backpack for the old phone Aunt Rachel had given her. It was a simple flip phone, and when she checked the time she realized Yuki was fifteen minutes late. Where was she? She always told Alice if she would be staying late.

"Hey."

She looked up, and blinked as Alfred came to a stop at the bottom of the steps. "Isn't hey for horses?"

Alfred cracked a grin. It looked like was leaving, a sketch pad tucked under one arm and a backpack over one shoulder. Adjusting the strap he asked, "You waiting on somebody?"

"Yes, Yuki. I don't suppose you've seen her?"

"Yeah, she left a little while ago with Heracles. Something about cats."

Alice grimaced. Heracles had developed a fascination with the furry creatures, and Yuki adored them more than she did video games. She was glad they were getting along, really, but now how was she supposed to get home? Aunt Rachel would be working, and so would Lars, though she might be able to get ahold of Bella...

"Need a ride?"

Alice blinked, looking up from where she'd been flipping to her short list of contacts. "I'm sorry?"

"You need a ride? I was just heading home, and your place in on the way."

Eyes narrowing a bit suspiciously, Alice asked, "And how would you know that?"

Grinning, Alfred said, "My mom and Ms. Rachel have been friends longer than I can remember. I got dragged over to her place a lot when I was a kid. I remember the way."

Heart thumping against her ribs, Alice returned her phone to her backpack and got to her feet. "If you're sure it's on your way. I don't want to be a bother."

"Nah, it's cool," he said, shrugging and turning towards the parking lot. "I knew they were hanging out, but I didn't know it was going so well. You know him, right?"

Alice trailed him through the remaining cars, frowning slightly. "Yes, why?"

"Yuki's an old friend," he said, fishing keys from his pocket. "Just wanna know she'll be alright. Besides, she's an only child, no brothers. If she gets hurt I'll be the one beating someone up."

Alice blinked. While she was glad for the confirmation he saw Yuki as more of a sister than anything else, she did marvel somewhat at his willingness to step in if need be.

Alfred unlocked an old red pickup, opening the passenger door with a playful half bow. "'M lady."

Hoping very much her face wasn't as hot as it felt, Alice carefully climbed in. Alfred shut the door, going around and dumping his things in the back before getting in the driver's seat. She had seen that before, in some of the movies she and Aunt Rachel had watched. Her aunt had told her that gestures like getting the door and pulling out a chair were things a gentleman did for a lady, but she had yet to see them done in the real world.

Alfred started the truck, and then gave one of the radio dials a quick twist, bringing the blaring music down to an almost inaudible level. Alice eyed the radio. "Country?" she asked, arching a brow.

He shrugged, backing out. "Don't knock it 'til you try it."

"I was under the impression it was supposed to be somewhat...melancholy."

"No way, that's just one type. It's like any other kind of music, it all depends on the artist and the lyrics. Don't they have music in Miami?"

Right, their cover story. While there was music in Atlantica, there wasn't nearly the verity as their was on land. Sound traveled differently underwater, after all. Usually it was a band or someone singing to tell a tale, a story or a ballad. Alice quit liked her native music, though she wasn't overly fond of what seemed so popular on land these days.

"Yes, but I never took much interest."

Alfred gestured to the radio. "Start flippen', then, see if there's something ya like. I don't really not like anything, anyway."

Alice pursed her lips, wondering briefly if there was some sort of radio etiquette she had neglected to ask her aunt about, but shook it off. She turned up the volume a little, and started flipping through the channels. Two were commercials, one was a pop song by lady-something-or-other, and another was what the humans called 'rap'. It took a minute, but as they reached one of the town's few stop lights she found a pulsing song she liked very much.

A smile breaking out over her face, she cranked up the volume dial, letting the beating rhythm fill the cab of the pickup.

"What is that?" she called over it, bobbing her head to the music.

Alfred laughed, "Never figured you for a rock fan. That's AC/DC."

"I don't know who they are, but I like it!" declared Alice, unable to help the wide grin spreading over her face. She'd seen people do this head bobbing and shaking before, and at the time she'd thought them ridicules, but it certainly fit the song.

The part of her brain not absorbing the music wondered if this was proper behavior. On one hand she was still getting a feel for whether or not Alfred was life-mate material. On the other hand, if he was to be her life mate, would he mind?

The light turned green, and Alfred took his foot off the break. Alice was pleasantly surprised when he cranked up the volume a little more, one hand patting the wheel to the beat. Grinning, she threw her head back and forth, ignoring the mess it made of her hair. And she'd thought human music wasn't worth listening to!

Alice didn't know which made her happier, the fact that this seemed to be a station dedicated to this type of music, or that Alfred didn't seem to mind at all. That endearing, somewhat goofy grin was on his face the whole way. He didn't even have a problem giving her an answer, or his best guess, whenever she asked what band was playing a song.

It was a surprising disappointment when the pickup pulled into her driveway. Alfred turned the music to a more reasonable level as Alice unbuckled her seat belt, reluctantly pushing the door open.

"Thank you for the ride," she said, carefully climbing out.

"Don't mention it. We still on for Saturday?"

Alice paused. She'd almost forgotten. "Yes. Where do I need to meet you?"

"I'll come and get 'cha, no worries."

Feeling a bit jittery, and still reluctant to shut the door, she asked, "Is there something in particular I should wear?" It was his project after all, maybe there was a theme...of course if she just happened to impress him with whatever wardrobe she selected Alice would hardly complain. The variety of human clothes was a fascination to her, and while she had yet to master the art of makeup application she wasn't above going to Aunt Rachel if it meant a chance to wow Alfred...

"Not really, no. Wear whatever you like, but you might wanna make sure it's comfortable."

"Right. What time should I expect you, then?"

"Nine thirty okay?"

Alice smiled. It meant getting up earlier than she normally did on a Saturday, but for this she would make an exception. Besides, today was Thursday, she would have plenty of time to prepare.

After she said her goodbye's and started up towards the house, it didn't escape the princess's attention when a curtain twitched. She made a face as she unlocked the door, coming inside to find Aunt Rachel standing innocently by the front window, a knowing smile on her face.

"What's that look for?

"Oh, nothing poppet. Have a good day at school? Was that Alfred, Amelia's boy?"

Alice made a face. Aunt Rachel knew her dilemma quite well, and the innocent act wasn't appreciated. "No, that was Scott. He decided to ditch his inheritance and join me on land."

Aunt Rachel pouted. "No need to get snappy. I'm glad it's working out. Now, has he asked you out yet?"

Alice groaned.

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