Jermaine Deon Carter
April 2, 2020
Precocious Crush
Late one morning, Princess Ariel and I shopped for supplies in Atlantica's marketplace. We were planning our next adventure. She rummaged through her satchel to make sure we had everything we'd need.
"Jermaine, I found a sunken ship the other day," she said. "Do you wanna come and see?" she asked.
"I don't know, Ariel. It could be dangerous," I said.
"Jermaine's right," Flounder said. She frowned and gave us puppy dog eyes. I sighed.
"Alright. I'll go," I said.
"Me, too," Flounder said.
Her frown curled into a smile, and she hugged us. I blushed a little. The three of us went to a large, wooden shipwreck near a coral reef. We swam through a large hole on the side of the ship and looked around. There was a lot of stuff everywhere.
She saw what appeared to be a gold bracelet and a silver necklace on the floor. She picked them up and put them in her bag. Before I could start looking around for my own treasures, Glut the Shark burst through from the other side of the ship and lunged towards us.
"Shark!" Flounder said.
She turned around and pulled Flounder out of the way. Glut kept going and crashed, knocking one of his teeth out in the process. It landed on the floor near me. I picked the tooth up.
I swam away from Glut, just barely escaping his jaws. He pursued the three of us as we swam out of the ship. She and Flounder dove behind a nearby boulder. Glut swam straight at me, his jaws open wide.
"Jermaine, no!" she said as she reached her hand out from behind the boulder.
I punched Glut on the snout and stunned him. I punched his nose again, and he swam away. She hugged me tight before glaring at me.
"Don't do that again! You scared me! You could've been killed!" she said.
"Yeah! You were almost a goner!" Flounder said.
She was curious about the shark tooth I held. I handed it to her. She placed it in her bag. We returned to the palace.
"Jermaine, wait out here for a second," she said. She went inside. About fifteen minutes passed before she came back out. "I have a surprise for you!" she said in a singsong voice. "Close your eyes," she said. I closed my eyes. I felt her put something around my neck. "Okay. You can open your eyes now." I saw Glut's tooth hung at the end of a green necklace.
"Did you make this?" I asked.
"Yes. Just think of it as my way of saying thanks for going on an adventure with me," she said.
"Thank you, Ariel," I said with a smile.
"One more thing," she said.
I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She closed her eyes, put her hand on my shoulder, and kissed me on the cheek. I blushed and grinned. I was in a daze.
A few months later, everybody was getting ready for Valentine's Day. I wanted to get Ariel something since she made me that awesome shark tooth necklace. I went to the marketplace. I bought some glue, glitter, red glass, and pink plastic. I worked until Valentine's Day to get my gift just right. The big day came. I placed Ariel's present into a small bag and slung it over my shoulder before leaving my house. I ran into her outside the palace.
"Hey, Ariel," I said. "Do you wanna come to the water slide with me?" I asked.
"Sure!" she said with a big smile. We played on the water slide for a little while.
"Ariel, I have something for you," I said.
"You do?" she asked.
"Yes," I said. I gave her the present. It was a red heart on top of a pink-and-purple cylinder.
"Did you make this?" she asked.
"Yes. I wanted to make something special for you since you made something special for me," I said.
"This is really sweet, Jermaine," she said. "Thank you," she said as she hugged me. I blushed again.
I didn't know what to do with myself in the twelve years Ariel left Atlantica, married Prince Eric, and had Melody. I was happy Ariel was happy, but I missed having her around and going on adventures with her. I often lounged around the palace and public gardens. One day, King Triton came up and sat down next to me.
"I can't tell you how much I miss her. I know you miss her, too," King Triton said, referring to Ariel.
"I do, Your Majesty," I said.
"I also know you've been keeping something from me," he said. I gulped.
"Keeping…something?" I asked.
"About Ariel?" he asked.
"Uh…," I said.
"And you having a crush on her?" he asked with a grin.
"I did, and I'm sorry," I said.
"It's alright, Jermaine. It's alright. You have nothing to apologize for. You can always go up and visit her," he said.
"It wouldn't be the same," I said.
"Because she's a human and you're a merman?" he asked.
"Yes," I said.
"Why don't we go up to the surface and see?" he asked.
We swam up to the surface. Ariel, Eric, and Melody walked on the beach. King Triton used his trident's magic to turn me into a human. My green tail and fins were replaced with long legs. I also acquired a green T-shirt and white shorts.
"Ariel!" I said with a smile. Ariel turned her head and smiled from ear to ear. We ran to each other and hugged.
"Oh, I've missed you!" she said.
"I've missed you, too," I said. Eric and Melody looked on with warm smiles. The family invited me inside their castle.
"Jermaine, since you're here, you and me should do something together," Ariel said.
"What did you have in mind?" I asked.
"How about stargazing?" Eric asked.
"I've never done that before," I said.
After sunset, Ariel and I were ready to stargaze. Meanwhile, Eric and Melody decided to go for a nighttime stroll through their kingdom. Ariel and I went outside and sat on the shore. The sky was clear, so we had a perfect view of the stars. It was beautiful. The following day, Ariel and I swam near the beach. Eric and Melody watched from the shore. King Triton was also there for a visit.
"Wanna race?" Ariel asked me.
"Challenge accepted," I said.
I wasn't used to my new human body, so she beat me easily. She was almost back to the shoreline when a huge wave pushed me under. I was sinking fast. She gasped.
"Jermaine!" Eric said.
"Oh no!" Melody said.
King Triton used the trident to turn Ariel back into a mermaid. She dove down and grabbed me. She pulled me up to the surface and back to shore with one arm, propelling herself with the other.
I was unconscious. She cradled my head with one hand and put the other on my chest, trying to feel my heartbeat. I coughed up some sea water and slowly blinked. She hugged me.
"Thank you for saving me," I said. King Triton returned me to my merfolk state.
"Jermaine, since you're safe and sound now, you wanna go on another adventure?" she asked.
"Of course!" I said with a smile.
"Mom, can I come too?" Melody asked.
"Sure, sweetie," Ariel said.
King Triton turned Melody into a mermaid. The four of us swam back to Atlantica. Ariel, Melody, and I went to the palace so Ariel could retrieve her old adventuring satchel. The two mermaids talked and laughed with Ariel's sisters in their powder room. I felt like I was intruding. I began having second thoughts about our adventure. I snuck out of the room, went back outside, and visited the gardens. Just minutes after I left, Ariel and Melody noticed I was gone.
"Where'd Jermaine go?" Melody asked.
"I don't know. Let's go find him," Ariel said. They swam around the city looking for me until they came to the gardens. They approached me.
"Hey, Jermaine," Melody said.
"Why'd you leave?" Ariel asked. "I thought you wanted to go on an adventure with us," she said.
"I felt like I was just in the way of the fun you two were having with your sisters," I said.
"You were not in the way," Ariel said.
"We still wanna spend time with you," Melody said.
"No, it's okay. You two go and have a mother-daughter adventure together," I said. They both frowned. Melody took my hand.
"Come on the adventure with us, Jermaine. It'll be more fun with you there," Melody said.
"I'm still not sure," I said.
"You hear that, Mom?" Melody asked. "He says he's still not sure," she said.
"I heard. I guess there's only one thing to do now," Ariel said.
"What's that?" I asked. There was a moment or two of silence.
"Please?" they asked in unison as they looked at me with puppy dog eyes, big grins, and clasped hands.
"I can't say no to those faces. Let's all go on an adventure together," I said.
"Yes!" they said in unison.
We left the gardens. We explored the ship graveyard, Ariel's secret grotto, Ursula's old lair, and even Eel-Ectric City. Melody was surprised her mother collected so many mundane objects. Ariel could only shrug in response. At the end of the day, we shared a group hug.
Several months later, they and Eric invited me to their place for Christmas. I didn't get anything for any of them because I didn't know what they wanted. We ate Christmas cookies and drank hot tea around the fireplace. Carlotta and Chef Louie made finger sandwiches in the meantime.
Ariel walked over to the Christmas tree and pulled a green-and-red-wrapped gift out from under it. She handed the present to me. Inside was a green seashell locket with my name engraved on it, not unlike the one King Triton made for Melody. I opened the locket. Images and events from my past adventures with Ariel played in front of me.
"Jermaine, I'm giving you this locket so you'll never forget our adventures under the sea," Ariel said. I cried.
"Thank you, Ariel," I said as I hugged her. Eric and Melody looked on with warm smiles. He then looked up at the ceiling and noticed some mistletoe.
"Oh, look. Mistletoe," he said.
"I guess it's time for me to give you your other Christmas present, Jermaine," Ariel said.
Ariel placed her hand on my chest, closed her eyes, and kissed me square on the lips. My eyes widened, and I blushed intensely. Melody gasped and smiled. Eric folded his arms and smirked. I just stood there speechless.