"Check"

"Wetsuit zipped up?" Marty reached behind his neck to check his zipper before answering.

"Check"

"Tanks filled and in the boat?" Marty walked out of the bedroom and stopped for a moment taking that second to look outside at the sh.o.r.eline and their new boat before answering her.

"Check...I"m ninety percent sure I had them filled since last time." Darya gave him a pointed look before breaking and laughing it off. "It"s not like I really need it, if need be, you can use mine if it"s fuller." She spoke as she zipped up the last part of her suit and walked into the kitchen to grab something to drink before they headed out.

"Are you really going to try it again? You can"t fully turn back into your other half." Marty mumbled from behind her before grabbing a bottle of tea from the shelf she was currently grabbing something off of. Elbowing him gently in the ribs before she stood back up she relished in the sound of the air leaving his lungs suddenly.

"I can make the important part show up. The gills...So technically I can swim as long as I want." She slammed the fridge door closed and turned around to see her mother, Denise, standing behind her with a disapproving look on her face. "I didn"t hurt him that bad!" She suddenly confessed and looked at Marty who glared at her before pulling a smile across his face and play punching her in the shoulder.

"It"s not about beating up on your best friend, though that"s not very nice either. It"s about the gills. I"ve told you before that it"s dangerous. Not only could someone see you down there breathing underwater, but what if they just disappear suddenly when you"re under the water! You don"t know what could happen. There"s probably a reason that you can"t fully change back into your mermaid persona and since your father has been radio silence for more than five months, asking him isn"t much of a solution." She breathed hard after finishing her rant and watching the faces of her child and practically adopted son twist into ones of worry and slight fear.

"I guess I wasn"t thinking about that. It"s been working for that last few dives we"ve been on and because of that I"ve been able to get those samples for you..." She sang that last part of her sentence and watched her mother"s face soften. "I hate that you can sway me so easily. Those big green eyes of yours...Worse than the puppy dog look." She smiled and Darya jumped for joy before grabbing her mother in a tight hug and kissing her quickly on the cheek.

"Don"t be gone too late! We have your graduation cook out tonight! Marty, your dads will be here about 7." She shouted after the two eighteen-year-olds as they ran out of the back door and headed for the dock where their boat was.

Over the last few years, the two of them had been saving up the money to own their very own boat that had a decent size cabin and everything they needed to go out further from their home sh.o.r.e and continue their underwater adventures. They bought it used and spent all of their collective savings on it after taking summer jobs that ended up melting into afterschool ones while they were still in school. Their last day was only two days ago and their parents were extremely happy to be throwing their graduation party tonight even though the two of them would rather be out at sea instead.

Their feet hit the sand and they ran until the wood of the dock nearly tripped them up. Laughing the whole way while their feet slammed on the creaky dock wood until they got to their boat sitting and waiting for them.

"The SS Merchild, why did we name it that again?" Darya asked Marty as he jumped into the boat and checked the tanks, something he should have done last night when they came home. "Because you are a child of the sea and I"m an adopted child of the sea...Sort of, it fits just get over it." Marty threw a towel her way before stepping behind the steering wheel and starting the boat. They were both so happy they had a big enough boat to stand and use instead of the motorboat both of their parents owned on their own.

"Just start the boat, the wind is starting to pick up and I want to get under the waves before they"re too rough." She leaned against the control panel as the boat rumbled into gear and lurched off towards their destination.

Once they were well away from the sh.o.r.e and at the marker they left for themselves the other day, Marty began to get the tank ready for himself. Pulling on the flippers, Darya scooted over to help Marty with his before they sat on the edge of the boat and started their fall into the water.

The winds picked up and the boat began to rock harder and harder.

"Dar, the weather is turning really quick, do you think the boat will be okay up here?" Marty asked as he pulled the last strap over his heel for the flipper. Darya looked to the sky around them and then to the water. She felt the waves sloshing and pushing the boat around, her body moved with the boat as it rocked from side to side. She was thinking if this was a good idea or not. Seeing the grey clouds beginning to roll in quickly she made the decision.

"We should turn back, I don"t want to put the boat through something it may not be able to get through." She slipped the flippers off her feet and helped Marty pull of the tank that was already on his back. "Just as well, the tanks weren"t as full as I thought." His cheeky grin made Darya roll her eyes and play punch him on the shoulder. She would never tire of his personality and it was always mutual for him as well. Two peas in the same pod.

"Since we aren"t going in the water, could we spare a few minutes and watch the waves before they force us home early?" Darya asked just as she was walking to start the boat but turned to Marty who was throwing his flippers in the storage case they had on their boat. "I don"t see the harm in that, we just need to head out quicker when the waves start rocking us even harder. I know our parents would be screaming at us to get home but we have all night with them. I think a few minutes won"t kill us." He plopped down on the bench and watched as Darya swayed her way to the bench next to him.

He couldn"t help himself, but his eyes lingered on her face for a moment too long. It was a big no-no between them, something that started a year after Darya"s father came into her life for the first time. She wanted something with him just as much as Marty did but with things being unpredictable and possibly dangerous. Plus their parents would have a cow and throw the biggest party known to man because all three of them have secretly wanted this since they started middle school.

"Don"t give me that look, Martin Todd." Using his full name he smiled and threw his arm around the back of the bench he only laughed and set his sights on the storm rolling in above them. "I know the rules but you break them just as much as I do. That kiss in the hall last week..." He threw her another cheeky grin that made her blush and push him to the side. "I know I"m just as bad as you are but I want to get away from this town for the school year for the first time and test this while we"re at college. Away from our prying parents and the fear that someone will figure out what I am. I"m just scared, that"s all." She confessed making Marty pull her into a tight side hug making her heart race and calm at the same time.

A thunderous crash above them made their bodies jump slightly as they looked to the sky and the waves around them.

"We may have stayed out a little too long. Let"s get going." Darya announced and right before she jumped up to get to the controls Marty stood and stretch out his arms but one ma.s.sive wave hit the boat at the wrong time. Rocking the boat hard and so suddenly that Marty lost his footing. Grabbing onto the sides of the boat as he was thrown forward he believed he got his footing back, looking up quickly to see Darya starting the boat and glancing his way right before another wave slammed into the side making him lose his balance again and this time he didn"t catch himself.

"MARTY!" Darya screamed as she saw his body lurch forward and the slam into the side before he tumbled out of the boat with the crashing waves. Her screams didn"t do anything to help him but what she was about to do would.

Darya ran against the rocking boat and came to the edge where she had been sitting putting her flippers on only minutes ago.

"I"m coming Marty," She spoke to herself once she saw that his body couldn"t be seen from the edge. She began to worry but kept telling herself that the water was her playing ground and she would be able to get him out of it in one piece but the storm that raged above them was trying to prove her wrong.