"Who the hell was that?" I nearly shouted once we left the store. Gage shook his head, his feet pulling him down the sidewalk faster than I could manage. My legs struggled to keep up as his long strides took him further away from me. "Where are you going?" My breath was growing short as I pushed past people. Mentally I cursed my short legs for not working better. I guess this is why I'm a mermaid.

"Olyvya, hurry up." Gage turned around glaring at me allowing me a moment to catch up. I reached for his arm, missing it as I nearly fell forward with momentum.

"Why are we in such a rush?" I whine, stopping to stomp my feet on the ground a few times. Blowing a puff of air I continued on trying to catch the boy.

"You can't talk to Asada like that." He stopped dead causing me to run into him, my feet losing their grip on the pavement, staggering I tried to balance myself.

"Well, why not?" I was so confused. Gage was acting so weird, why was he so afraid of that petite blonde girl that rushed past us in the store. My brain raced nearly as fast as my legs. I was finally at arms length from the frustrating boy. Lunging forward with one last attempt at stopping him I silently celebrated when my hand made contact. "Stop!"

He turned to stare at me once more, his eyes like lightning bolts crashing over the stormy waves of a treacherous ocean. I suddenly felt small, wanting to cower. His face never softened.

"You can't just run away you have to explain to me what is going on here!" I wouldn't even think twice about it if he didn't understand a word I said. My body was shaking with both anger and ignorance. Something bad could have happened between the two of them, but I didn't care. Gage didn't have the right to act like that.

"Asada is not a good person to mess around with," Gage whispered through gritted teeth, his face much closer to mine than before. My eyes trapped in his. The tone of his voice sending shivers down my spine. The hairs on my neck standing up on end.

"Why?" I pressed on, finding just enough courage to mutter the single word question. My mouth felt dry, my palms sweaty from my nerves.

"Olyvya...drop it." Gage turned on his heel rushing once more down the pavement. I dropped my shoulders letting a sigh escape my lips before sprinting behind him.

He kept this pace up until he nearly crashed through the front door of Sammy and I's house. I could feel the beads of sweat rolling down the collar of my shirt. My body praising for rest when I plopped onto the couch.

"I...hate boys with long...legs." I struggled to get the words out. Sammy rushing over with a glass of water standing next to me. She held it carefully in her hand making sure she didn't spill any. I reached for the water, my eyes begging for a drink to soothe my dry throat.

Gage sat angrily on the stool in the kitchen, grabbing some of the chips he bought from the store. Crunching them violently he scrolled through his phone.

"Okay, what happened between you two?" Sammy eyeballed me, sending me questioning glances. I wanted to shout at her, why did she assume it was my fault. Gage was the one acting like a psychopath. I shook my head not even sure what to tell her. Gage ignored the both of us, his jawline tight as he went to town on the Doritos.

"Nothing," I mumbled, that wouldn't suffice her interest but hopefully she would get my hint. I wasn't in the mood to talk about it immediately. Sammy shook her head finally handing me the glass. She leaned closer to me.

"I was hoping he would ask you out," Sammy whispered shooting glances at Gage. He was absolutely clueless about what was going on around him. So focused on his phone that I bet a piano could come crashing through the ceiling and he wouldn't even notice.

"What?" My mouth dropped. Sammy nodded her head. She was seriously trying to set me up with Gage. "Why would you do that?" I tried to keep my voice down, bit apparently Sammy didn't think I was doing that great of a job. My volume earning me a smack on the leg from my best friend.

"Shh," she snarled jumping from the couch leaving me alone to my thoughts. There were so many things on my mind but none of it mattered. It was all trivial junk that wouldn't be relevant in a couple of hours. I closed my eyes trying to slow the world down, trying to slow my thoughts down.

I listened to the sounds of Gage fumbling on his phone. The chips echoing with every bite. Sammy was filling her glass up with water once again, but no words were exchanged. I felt my body kicking into overdrive while finally slowing down enough to relax. My eyelids were heavier now, and I felt myself drifting further into sleep. Soft footsteps danced through the room, someone was getting closer to me.

"Time to practice!" I heard Sammy yell, my eyes shooting open just in enough time to see her tossing her glass of water towards me. The glass tipping as all the water fell from the cup engulfing my face. I tried to dive out of the way but it was too late, my mascara was probably running down my face, my hair dripping wet as the droplets slid down my arms. Before I could even react I felt the transformation taking over, the tingling in my face. Gage rushed over a towel in hand. My heart skipped a beat realizing he was coming to my savior. But he wasn't.

Gage dropped the thick towel onto my legs, the damp material soaking my skin faster than I could rip it off. I tried jumping from the couch rushing to the bathroom for my hairdryer.

"What the hell?" but it was too late. The transformation was complete.