Kawaii-Cherri: So, it's been quite a recovery but I'm getting there and so updates should become regular once more. Thank you for your wishes, they truly made me smile. Also, Hayley is a legend and we know she's gonna be right there for Elsie.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Chomp

'So, let me get this straight,' Hayley said as she ticked off points on her fingers. 'Seb is a merman hybrid, he was born with it and through puberty he discovered this other side to him,' she said as she looked at Elspeth who nodded, shyly. 'Unfortunately, during puberty, he also found that his body was producing this… toxin? Which, until recently, he totally believed would literally kill anyone who touched his skin,' Hayley ticked off another finger. 'Turns out, you're actually immune-'

'Passively reactive,' Elspeth corrected. 'It does affect me, just like a tingle on the skin. Nothing painful or anything, but I don't, y'know, seize up.'

'Because of your immunity it meant that when you found out about the whole toxin thing, you could touch him without fear of death and shit,' Hayley said, raising her brow as she tries to make sense in her head. 'Am I right?'

'Basically,' Elspeth said with a wince. 'You, uh, unfortunately caught him unprepared and well… yeah. You got paralysed,' she sighed. 'He's gonna feel so guilty about it. I have no doubt that he's totally spiralling about now,' Elspeth added. 'Also, the toxin couldn't kill a fly, there's no worries about that. It's just,' Elspeth sighed, not knowing how to phrase it. 'In order to protect Sebastian, Demetrius had told him, that if he touched someone with his bare skin that it would kill them. Which is why Bazzie is so reclusive and well, why he was reluctant to y'know, pursue anything with me,' Elspeth said, biting her lip.

Hayley gave her a look, 'seems like that has changed,' she teased lightly. With a heavy exhale, she leaned back on the sofa, grabbing the bottle of water and unscrewing it. 'Wow… I just… can't believe it,' she said to the room. 'Are you sure? You're sure he's some merman? That it's not just some story?'

Elspeth laughed and shook her head. She began to tell Hayley the story of how she found out and how unbelievable it seemed. 'I kicked him in the face. He lost a tooth,' Elspeth admitted. 'I screamed at him several times and threw rocks at him.' Hayley snorted in laughter and Elspeth relaxed a little. Elspeth got up and walked over to a drawer where she kept photos and things. She pulled out something and carried it over to Hayley. 'This is gross, but don't judge me too much,' she said, prewarning her best friend. She showed Hayley what she was holding. It was a shark's tooth.

'A tooth?' Hayley asked, picking it up.

'It's Sebastian's,' Elspeth revealed.

'Ew!' Hayley yelped and dropped it back into Elspeth's hand. 'Why?'

'I don't know,' she admitted. 'It's just… after the whole predatory fish thing, and how he fought to keep me safe. He even bit the fish several times, I don't know, I kinda wanted to keep one,' she mumbled. It was a clean tooth and a normal person wouldn't know it came from a merman. 'I've also sketched out what I can remember from his other form if you want to see it?'

Hayley's eyes lit up and she nodded, 'Yoba, yes!' She said as she shimmied forward on the sofa. 'I've got to admit, being paralysed wasn't fun but it wasn't the end of the world. More of a shock than anything,' she admitted. 'Why is he so torn up about it? If he wasn't going to hurt me and it doesn't leave any long-term effects- it doesn't, does it?'

Elspeth sighed as she moved to collect her sketch pad, 'Not according to Demetrius' research. Demetrius had been "helping" Bazzie with this whole thing since it manifested. Being a scientist, he did a lot of tests and has piles of evidence and experiments,' she mumbled. 'Demetrius hammered into Bazz that if he let anyone touch his bare skin, they would literally die. For some it would be instantaneous, others would take a couple of minutes,' she said, bitterly. 'Demetrius… he…' Elspeth sighed. She hadn't even told Sebastian yet; it wouldn't be fair to tell Hayley before him. 'He went about protecting Bazzie, the wrong way.'

'Rough,' Hayley said, agreeing with her. 'And so now Seb is living with you?'

She nodded in reply, 'we've got a proper agreement set up, like a lease thing and he insisted on giving me a deposit, which makes me feel crappy.'

'Because you're dating?' Hayley said as Elspeth flopped onto the sofa next to her. 'That happened quickly,' she added.

'Well, honestly, we've been flirting and insinuating things for months now,' Elspeth commented. 'The only thing holding us back was his aversion to touch and now that the truth is out and I'm aware of the reasons why, there's nothing really stopping us from being together. It's not official or anything, I've not gotten a bouquet. I want him to give me one when he feels… ready? I think is the word I'm looking for.'

Hayley took the pad from Elspeth and began to flip through, 'yeah, he's probably going to need a little while to be okay with the whole touch thing. It's obvious that you two haven't slept together yet,' Hayley said with a smirk. Elspeth's face flushed deep red.

'And how can you tell?' She asked, a little annoyed that it might be that obvious.

'Elspeth,' Hayley snorted and rolled her eyes. 'He almost smacked himself in the face with the way he covered his eyes, lest he see you naked,' she smirked and laughed lightly, waggling her fingers at her best friend in suggestion. 'It was sweet, even though I was furious at the time.'

Elspeth nodded, 'yeah. I'm so sorry about that. My phone completely died during the whole cliff fall thing and then Bazz moved in and we had to go shopping for his furniture and things,' she said, feeling guilty. 'I did get a new phone yesterday but I forgot to put it on charge when we came home last night and it's dead,' she explained.

'I was trying to give you some privacy over the weekend, as I knew you were going camping with lover boy out there,' Hayley nodded. 'But when you didn't reply on Monday and then my calls wouldn't go through… I worried. I used my spare key; I was worried I was going to find you passed out or something on the floor.'

'Instead, you found Bazz-'

'Looking fine, making coffee in your kitchen with some serious "fuck me" bed-head,' Hayley teased making Elspeth's face flush a deep red once more. She flicked through the pad and found Elspeth's most recent sketch. 'Wow, really?' She said as she looked over the picture. 'He seriously looks like this?'

With a nod, Elspeth leaned closer to look at the drawing pad. 'Yeah, from what I can remember. Bazz hasn't seen the drawing yet, so some things might be a little off and I didn't get a clear look at most of his tail, so I might have missed a few fins or things,' she muses. 'He's this navy-blue colour with like, stripes of grey and black,' Elspeth motioned to her chest as if drawing out the stripes. 'It was so dark in that cave but he has this bio-luminescence dotted that's over his body, there's stripes and dots of it all over him.'

'Sounds insane,' Hayley commented, nodding as Elspeth described him. Hayley raised a brow and looked at Elspeth. 'Honey,' she said gaining her attention. 'Are you sure about Seb moving in and all?' She asked, quietly. 'What with your own… aversion?'

Elspeth rolled her eyes, 'it's not an aversion,' she muttered, not liking where this conversation is going. 'Do you want a coffee? I was going to make one,' she said as she got up to literally walk away from Hayley.

Hayley didn't let her get away and simply followed; albeit a little stiffly, leaning against the table. 'Yes please, and we're going to have this conversation. Is Seb aware of your little… problem?' She asked.

'It's not a problem, or an aversion,' Elspeth said, bluntly. Annoyed that Hayley wasn't dropping the subject. 'He doesn't need to know, as it's not an issue.'

'You are so deep in denial. Elspeth, you literally have therapy and discuss it with your therapist,' Hayley pointed out, making Elspeth roll her eyes.

'Not an issue,' Elspeth said not wanting to hear anymore as she walked past Hayley and opened the kitchen window. The room was getting hot and stuffy and it was a good way to ignore Hayley at the same time. 'Why are you pressing this? It's not been a thing before now.'

The coffee machine beeped and Hayley took over the making of the coffee. 'It has been a thing. The first time it came up between us, you almost passed out. You completely freaked out and you didn't speak to me for two days,' Hayley said simply. She finished making one coffee and then swapped the mugs over for Elspeth's coffee. 'So yeah, I'm gonna say it's a thing.'

Elspeth sighed, 'Hayley… it's a… I don't want it to be a thing.'

Hayley brought her over the coffee. 'Honey,' she said softly. 'Look, it's going to come up and it's going to be a thing. You just gotta be honest with him and let him know that… you might not be able to say that you love him,' she said quietly as she passed over the mug.

'I…' Elspeth said, feeling her voice catch in her throat. 'I can't say that to anyone,' she mumbled.

'I know, honey,' Hayley nodded. 'I told you I loved you and you freaked out,' she said, watching Elspeth wince at the words. 'After you explained why, it was easier to understand. But, as your relationship goes on, he's going to expect to hear those words or even say them to you,' Hayley said, honestly. 'What are you going to do if he does?'

Her heart began to race and she felt her breathing quicken, 'I would uh, that, I would…' she began to falter. 'I would say… I feel the same way, if uh, if that is uh, what I also felt,' she said as she blew on her coffee and took a sip.

Hayley raised a brow. 'Oh sure. I'm sure he'll be so happy to hear that. He'll say, "Elsie, I love you",' she said in an attempt to imitate Sebastian. 'And you'll be all, "sounds great, babe. I feel the same way", and that'll go down well,' Hayley said, pointedly.

'Uggggh,' Elspeth moaned and rolled her eyes, exaggeratedly. 'I just… those were the last words I said to both my mother and my sister and the next thing I know, they both died and so yeah… I struggle to say those words in any aspect.' Hayley gave Elspeth a sympathetic look and put her mug down on the nearby table before moving closer and drawing her into a hug.

Elspeth sniffed and leaned against Hayley, grateful. 'I know you'll try, honeybun,' Hayley said, with assurance. 'Though to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if Seb says it soon,' she warned. Elspeth looked at her in horror.

'Really?' She said, her voice tight in panic.

'Well, yeah, honey. I mean, like you've said, you've both been flirting and kinda together for months now. You don't actually have to be in a relationship in order to fall in love with each other. It's so clear that he adores you,' Hayley said as she began to undo Elspeth's hair. 'Did you not wash out all the soap?'

She shook her head, 'I was too worried about you,' she admitted. 'Do you really think that Bazz would say that to me?'

'Would it be a bad thing if he did?' Hayley asked, quietly. 'How do you feel about him?' Elspeth shrugged a shoulder and let Hayley fuss around with her hair. She put down her mug and followed Hayley to the bathroom. Hayley turned on the shower head and made Elspeth lean over the side of the bath. 'Well?' Hayley asked as she began to rinse the left-over shampoo out of her best friend's hair.

Elspeth bit her lip and sighed, 'I mean… I care about him a lot. We've been through a fair amount of shit and he's told me his greatest secret… I don't know, it's hard. I don't think that I've ever been in that position in a romantic sense,' she mumbled. 'Do you feel that way about Alex?'

Hayley paused in her rinsing and thought about it. 'Hmm. No, not yet. Then again, things haven't really been as intense as you two. We've been able to go at our own pace,' she muses before squeezing the excess water out of Elspeth's hair before applying some leave-in conditioner. 'Towel?' She asked.

She motioned to the hooks on the back of the door where she was sure one was hanging. Hayley grabbed one and checked the label. Pure cotton. Hayley wrapped up her hair up and they both stood. 'I don't know, Hayley, I just… I'm hoping that if I do get to that point, my actions will speak louder than words,' she says, quietly.

Her best friend nodded and brushed a stray wet curl away from Elspeth's face. 'I know. I do think that you should at least warn him about this, though. You just can't say it, it's not like you won't feel it,' Hayley said, giving Elspeth a small hug. They both heard Buddy barking and they look at each other. 'I think he's back,' Hayley said, simply.

Elspeth nodded and they both left the bathroom to find Sebastian looked very ashamed and standing in the kitchen, trying to keep Buddy from jumping up at him. 'H-Hayley,' Sebastian said, his demeanour that of a scolded child. He held a box in his other hand and cleared his throat. 'I uh, I guess that Elsie, uh, told you everything?'

Hayley nodded and moved closer, noticing that Sebastian stepped back a little. 'Yeah, it's a little strange and totally out there but I trust Elspeth and y'know, weirder shit has happened in this town,' she said, honestly. 'Dude, we're fine. As long as you can't and won't hurt Elspeth, we've got no problem.'

Sebastian nodded, brushing his hair back, 'that's really cool of you, Hayley. Thank you,' he mumbled. 'I uh, took a drive and um, picked something up. To uh, to say sorry,' he said as he gingerly held out the box. Hayley raised a brow and took it from him, seemingly without fear. Elspeth smiled from the side, where she was drying her hair lightly. Hayley opened the box, pulling out what seemed to be a camera.

'Uh…?' She said, giving Elspeth a look, who shrugged her shoulders and clicked her fingers at Buddy, pointing to his bed. He was getting a little bouncy.

'It's… a uh, a waterproof camera,' Sebastian explained. 'Elsie told me that you were looking into doing some water shoots, some involving uh… well, ironically, mermaids, and I thought that this would make things a little easier,' he said, looking embarrassed. 'I can also show you some really nice spots with pretty corals and things… if you want me to.'

Elspeth hung up her towel and watched as Hayley put the camera back in the box. 'Wow, Seb. That's a really sweet idea,' Hayley said, honestly. 'But it's not needed. I don't blame you for the whole accidental freezing thing, it wasn't your fault,' Hayley said. 'Or for hiding your condition, either,' she added. 'I don't need an apology gift.'

He shook his head as Hayley tried to give it back. 'No, please. Just keep it, apology gift or not… I want you to have it. You've always been kind to me and you're a great friend to Elsie,' he said, feeling awkward. Hayley looked at Elspeth who nodded.

'It's true, you're pretty amazing,' Elspeth said as she walked over to Sebastian and hugged him gently from the side. He was a little stiff but returned her hug with an arm over her shoulder.

'Alright, awesome!' Hayley said as she looked back inside the box. 'Oh, speaking of the whole mermaid thing,' Hayley said as she looked at Sebastian. 'Can you like, show me something? Can you change?'

Elspeth looked up at Sebastian and his face went a little pink. 'I uh, I can't do a full transformation out natural water but I can do a couple of things,' he mumbled. 'If uh, Elsie is okay with it? I'll show you?'

Elspeth tilted her head. 'Babe, it's your body, your change. Don't include me in this. If you're comfortable showing her, go for it,' she giggled. Sebastian nodded and stepped aside from Elspeth, he twisted his neck left and right before turning around and concentrating. There were some oddly organic and fleshy sounds for a couple of seconds before Sebastian faced them once more. His eyes were dark and his skin mottled, the main change was his mouth and his shark teeth were apparent. Elspeth grinned; he looked just like he did in the cave but she was able to see the details clearly now in the light.

Hayley's eyes widened. 'If I hadn't seen Elspeth's drawing, I would be totally freaked out,' she admitted but moved closer, raising a hand. Elspeth grabbed her wrist as Sebastian jerked back from her touch.

'No!' They both said at the same time.

She moved Hayley back from Sebastian and gave her an apologetic look, 'sorry. His toxin is more potent in that form and while I don't know how it works with the whole, partly changed look, I don't want you to freeze up again,' Elspeth explained.

Sebastian nodded and turned around while he reversed his changed. He walked over to the sink and spat his teeth into the basin. 'Sorry, Hayley,' he said from the sink, with a bit of a lisp as he was between sets.

'Nope, my fault. I didn't think,' she admitted. Hayley looked at Elspeth. 'You're officially dating a merman,' she whispered to her best friend.

'Yeah, I know,' Elspeth replied with a playful squeal, also in a whisper. Their smiles large and it was clear that they were going to need a night with wine to process of all of this.

'Those teeth are going to be fun in bed. Chomp, chomp,' Hayley said with inflection making Elspeth's face go bright red. 'Ooooh, the implications,' Hayley continues to tease, enjoying Elspeth's reaction. 'Maybe I should suggest that to Seb,' she added, clicking her teeth together.

'No!' Elspeth almost shouted, tackling Hayley to the sofa; causing a fit of giggles between them both.

Be well. Stay safe.