Chapter Five

"She has to graduate school, so bring her back!" My aunt said to Jason as he picked me up. I felt as if she said it so he made sure I was safe. Being so close to him made my heart pound.

"Is this why you lied to me? Because your secret wouldn't have made sense to me?" I asked. He smelled like salt water.

"Yes. I'm sorry for lying to you." He carried me to the door, one arm under my legs and his other arm across my back.

"I'm sorry for hitting you." I felt my face become warm. "I still don't understand all of this, but maybe you can help." My uncle opened the door.

"Ready?" Jason looked at me. My aunt looked worried.

"Ready." I nodded. He stepped out into the heavy rain. Even though it was never cold where we lived, the rain was cold against my skin. It felt good and I closed my eyes as the rain hit my skin. We were soaked in seconds and I could feel my strength returning. I was still too weak to walk, though. Jason carried me to the beach and set me on my feet. I stared at the dark waves, shaking with fear of drowning.

"Jason, what if I drown?" I watched the dark waves curl over itself. There was no sun in sight.

"You won't. Once you're in the ocean, that side of you will finally activate. I'll be with you the whole time." He smiled. I stared at the waves, a second thought beginning to change my mind. Now that I was here, I didn't want to go in. "Blake, look at me." Jason took my hands. I looked up into his emerald eyes.

"The ocean will protect you. You just have to open up to it." Something in his words calmed me. I looked out to the dark waves again, still holding onto one of his hands.

"Don't let me drown, okay?" I shivered.

"I would never." He smiled softly. I stepped forward, my bare feet touching the cold water. A light appeared when I touched it and I began to feel calm. We stepped together slowly until we were both chest deep, the water glowing bright enough to be able to see in the water. I squeezed Jason's hand as we went deeper. I closed my eyes, submerging into water around me. My mind became empty and I felt at home. I could feel bubbles around me and the feeling of power wash over me. I opened my eyes, letting go of Jason. My eyes adjusted to my surroundings quickly. The water was clear and everything was lite up. Everything was calm now and I could see the sun above us. I looked down, feeling my legs stuck together. I had a long, blue and purple, mermaid tail, my shorts completely gone. All that remained was my shirt. I could see my hair floating in the water around me and it wasn't gray anymore. It wasn't even it's normal brown color. It was a deep red and longer than I remembered. I looked to Jason and smiled.

"You did it." He smiled back.

"You can talk under water?!" I gasped. "I can talk under water! And I can breathe!" Jason didn't have a tail. He just floated, barely moving. He looked even more attractive underwater. I moved my legs to go to the surface, forgetting that I had a tail.

"Move your legs together." He advised. So I did, swimming up. We went to the surface where there were no clouds in sight. Sunlight shined brightly above us for miles.

"How did it stop so suddenly?" I looked around us.

"You stopped it."

"How? I can't control the weather." I snorted.

"Every day you felt bad, it was cloudy or raining. You didn't know it, but you were making it that way." He looked at me. I had never noticed the weather when I felt sick. I stared at the sky above me. It seemed so beautiful. Jason ducked back underwater and I followed with struggle. I saw fish of every color, sharks, and dolphins. We swam deeper, seeing whales.

"I don't know anyone else who can communicate with ocean life." Jason stuck out his hand. I could see little ripples appear, aimed at a passing shark. It quickly changed directions, coming to us. I gasped as it circled around us.

"Hello. I am Baytovin." The shark spoke politely.

"Awe, Baytovin. That's a nice name." I beamed. "I'm Blake. It's nice to meet you."

"You can hear him?" Jason studied me.

"Yes and he is so sweet." I laughed as the shark nuzzled me.

"I am Aquaman's best friend in the sea. He always talks about you." Baytovin circled us again. "I know it's you because sometimes he smells like you."

"Oh, yeah?" I raised an eyebrow at Jason who seemed embarrassed. "What does he say?"

"He says you're beautiful and amazing and he loves-"

"Baytovin, your family is calling you." Jason interrupted.

"Oh!" He quickly swam away into the deep. My heart pounded.

"You love what, Aquaman?" I looked to Jason, half jokingly. His eyes looked golden in the water. Aquaman was considered a hero and was seen on the news. No one knew who he really was.

"I love fish that don't talk so much." He rubbed his head. His long black hair floated around him.

"Are you lying to me again?" I raised an eyebrow again.

"No, I enjoy socially awkward fish, too." He started swimming away.