'What else is fucking out there?' Adrian's question repeated in my head like an echo until it faded to silence, and I was brought back to reality. It was a question that I didn't bother asking or thinking about until he brought it up. All that filled my head then was how I would fix this curse to change back to a boy.
I didn't even think that witches existed at first, and lo and behold, there is one sitting next to me now. Lowering my cup to the table, I turned my attention to Isis to see what else she had to say on the matter at hand.
"Hmmm," Isis began, shrugging nonchalantly. "Your guess is as good as mine, honestly. But I would say that anything supernatural in this world is most likely real."
"Seriously?" Adrian questioned, "So you're saying things like werewolves, vampires, banshees, hunters and all those other things are real. Teen Wolf and The Vampire Diaries aren't just fiction?"
"You watched the Vampire Diaries?" Isis wondered, raising an eyebrow. "You don't look like the type to."
Adrian's cheeks started to reflect a slight pink, signifying his embarrassment.
"N-no, I'm the only boy in my family. I only watched it cause I have two older sisters and one younger sister, and they...wait a minute. Why am I even explaining this? The real question is if vampires and werewolves are real, not if I watched The Vampire Diaries."
Isis and Sophie covered their mouths and giggled at Adrian's reaction.
"Relax, I was just teasing you. And to answer your question, yes. They are real." Isis responded, confirming his question.
"No way," I whispered to no one in particular, staring down at the cup between my hands.
"Have you like...ever seen one before? A supernatural, I mean." Adrian asked, his tone that of curiosity.
"Uhhh, obviously not. You think every supernatural out there is trying to make themselves seen. They're among us, just blending in with society. You can be friends with one right now and not know. Hell, you can probably be sitting next to one."
"I guess that's true," Adrian said, rocking his empty cup back and forth on the table while resting his cheek on his left hand.
"No, seriously, you're sitting next to one. Sophie, here is a mermaid." Isis said, as a matter of fact.
"What?!" Adrian yelled out, jumping up from his seat. He tried to shuffle back, but his chair didn't move back like expected. So, instead, he tried to jump on it.
Unfortunately, most of his weight was on the edge, and he tumbled over it, creating his own rendition of Scarlet Takes a Tumble as his bum hit the edge of the chair before falling on the floor.
Despite being in pain from the fall, he didn't even stay on the ground when he landed. Adrian grabbed his chair off the floor and used it as a shield, pointing the four legs in Sophie's direction.
Meanwhile, I just remained frozen in place, accepting my fate. My shoulders slouched, my face paled, and my mouth opened slightly as my imaginary soul left through my body and out my mouth.
'A mermaid...I took the virginity of a freaking mermaid.' I thought
"Isis! Oh my God," Sophie yelled out her tone full of anger. She covered her face for a moment as her right leg shook as if she was nervous.
"Stop making jokes like that. She's lying, guys. I'm not a mermaid, I'm human. I swear!"
"Holy shit! Adrian took a tumble." Isis laughed out loud, leaning her head back when Adrian fell and held the chair at Sophie as a shield. The whole scene caused the individuals in the Starbucks, including the Baristas, to look at our table in annoyance.
"That was the best reaction I've ever seen," Isis said between laughs as she held her stomach. Once she finished laughing, she touched my shoulder, causing me to jump in my seat and move from her touch.
"For crying out loud, Isis!" Adrian yelled out as he slammed his chair back on the ground, putting it closer to me, and sat on it, annoyed. "Don't joke like that!"
"Sheesh, don't be such pussies," Isis frowned, "It was a joke, y'all were getting so on edge for finding out the supernatural exist."
I groaned in annoyance. "So that part is still true."
I placed my arms on the table, resting the side of my head on them as I looked at Isis.
"Yup, that part is true," Isis confirmed, putting a strand of hair behind my ear as I frowned.
"That should help you think that your next possible lay could be a supernatural."
"Okaayyy, I get it," I whined
"That's a good girl," Isis responded, tapping my back twice. This caused me to roll my eyes and sit back up, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Don't rub in the curse you put on me, you witch. You better keep your promise and find a fix for this."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
"Wait, so you're stuck like this for a while?" Adrian asked, looking me up and down. The question made me release a sigh.
"Apparently," I answered.
"Damn, that's unfortunate bro."
"It can't be that bad, can it?" Sophie wondered, and she looked at me. "Alex was already handsome as a guy. Now he is...well, she is incredibly beautiful as a girl. Nearly every guy and girl that walked in here checked you out."
The statement made Alex blush as Sophie complimented his looks as a girl and a boy.
"I mean, have you seen the movie 'Beastly'? Isis could've turned you into an ugly girl, but you kept your looks. In my opinion, she probably took it easy on you."
"You could've done that?!" I yelled out, snapping my head at Isis.
Isis shrugged. "Yeah."
'I definitely couldn't have done that. They don't need to know that that was my first actual spell to change another person's anatomy.' Isis thought to herself.
I dove on Isis and gave her a hug.
"Thank you," I said to her before backing out of the hug.
Isis looked at me with confusion. "For turning you into a girl?"
"No, you idiot!" I yelled out, pushing her shoulder. "That part I hate you for. I don't think anyone wants to wake up a girl. Well, besides a guy that identifies as female. I'm thanking you for allowing me to keep my looks."
"Oh, you're welcome, I guess," Isis replied
"Anyways," I began, turning my attention back to Sophie, playfully biting my lips as I stared into her ocean blue eyes. "You think I'm beautiful as a girl, huh?"
She cleared her throat and blushed, turning away from me as she tucked her auburn hair behind her ear.
"Don't push it," Isis said, pushing my head to side.
"Ow, jeeeez. I was playing"
"Like hell you were," Adrian chuckled. "Your Slasher side just came out."
"Slasher side?" Isis questioned
"It's nothing!" I quickly chimed in
"Oh, now I definitely got to hear this."
"It's this whack ass nick name Alex came up with ever since middle school," Adrian said, spilling the beans. "Dude even has a creed of sorts he follows."
"Adrian!" I yelled out, playfully kicking his chair, which caused eyes to again go on us. At this point, a male Barista started to walk over. The one who took my order beforehand.
"I'm sorry, but you're causing a distraction for all the other customers. It would be best if you head out if you're going to continue your shenanigans."
"So? We're occasionally loud. It's not like we're directly interacting with your other customers. I don't see a problem." Isis responded to the middle-aged blonde-haired Batista.
"It's not about interacting with the other customers. Some customers are here to work on their devices or read a book. Your loud outbursts are distracting them."
"And I'm supposed to care? If we're loud, they could go work or read somewhere else like a park or something."
"Miss, I just ask that you kindly leave. It's not about interacting with the customer but about respect. Now, if you'd please, " the barista added as he gestured towards the door.
"Like I said, we're not go--"
"Iris, just let it be," I said, getting up from my seat. Adrian followed my lead and got up as well.
Adrian grabbed our trash and drinks from the table, placed the chairs where they were, and headed to a garbage can. Sophie sighed and got up, following me until we were by the door.
"Argh, whatever," Isis said, getting up and rolling her eyes as she followed us. I looked behind at her to see her pointing her index finger at the Barista's shoes, moving her finger in a circle twice, and drawing an imaginary line down. At the same time, she mumbled something as I watched her lips move.
"Happy now; we're leaving," Isis added as she rolled her eyes and approached the door where we were waiting for her.
"Thank you for your understanding, " the barista added as he turned to walk back to the counter where he was working. The moment he took a step, he tripped and fell hard at his side. Looking down, he realized that his shoes had somehow gotten tied.
"Pfft, you're such an asshole Isis," I said, letting out a small laugh as I shook my head.
"That was so unnecessary." Sophie chimed in with a frown, and Isis just shrugged in response.
"What the hell happened to him? How did he trip?" Adrian asked since he was the one throwing out the trash, so he didn't see what had caused the guy to fall.
"Isis worked her witch magic to tie the guy's shoelaces together," I told Adrian. He turned to look between me and Isis and said,
"Witch magic? I don't think I'll ever get used to hearing that." He sighed and looked at me. "A witch turned my best friend into a freaking girl." He looked at Isis. "You're an actual witch, Isis. The type literally hunted down for during the Salem Witch Trials." Finally, he looked at Sophie. "And the friend of the witch, who I'm skeptical is a mermaid or not."
"I'm not a mermaid, though," Sophie whispered, looking down at the sidewalk with a slight pout.
"That's not the point! Does this whole situation not weird anyone out right now?!"
"I'm just as weirded out as you are, bro," I answered Adrian calmly.
"We both just found out about the existence of the supernatural. I'm literally cursed as a girl, bro, so excuse me for trying to be friends with the one most knowledgeable about it while making amends and starting anew. I may look calm right now, but I'm fucking freaking out, Adrian!" I yelled out at the end.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, releasing a sigh, and turned to Isis.
"I can't deal with this right now. I'll message you later, I guess." I said to Isis. Turning to Sophie, I added, "I hope we'll be able to be great friends. I'll see you later." Finally, I turned back to Adrian. "Just take me home, bro. I need to finish getting ready for tomorrow." I said as I walked to his dark blue Honda Civic, waiting for him to unlock the door to take me back home.
Adrian sighed and looked between Isis and Sophie before saying goodbye and heading to his car. He unlocked the doors so I could get in the passenger side. He got into the driver's side, started the engine, and not long after, we were off back to my house.
***********
Isis's Pov
***********
"Dramatic much?" I told my best friend as I watched Adrian and Alex leave the parking lot to return home. I turned my attention to Sophie and instantly froze once I locked eyes with her. A chill went down my spine as I saw a forced smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. If looks could kill, I'd be dead by now.
"Uh oh," I said as her ocean-blue eyes glowed brightly for a split second before returning to normal. I could tell that she was angry with me again. She hated it when I openly told her secret like that. Even if I do say it in a joking manner. After all, even if you tell a human a truth they would have a hard time believing it if it sounds ridiculous.
If the glowing blue eyes didn't give the obvious clue, I'll just say it. My best friend Sophie here is an actual mermaid. The 'joke' I made to Adrian and Alex wasn't really a joke.
"I can't believe you, Isis!" She said, walking by me to head to my all black Jeep wrangler that wasn't parked too far off from where Aiden's car was.
"Soph, come on, they don't even believe it even if it is true," I said, following behind her in a light jog. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face me, causing me to almost crash into her.
"We have rules to follow, Isis!" She said through her gritted teeth, loud enough for me to hear while looking around at no one in particular, paranoid. "We OtherKin follow these rules to live among the humans, or have you clearly forgotten the rule where the ShadowKin will kill any human that knows of our existence? Do you think serial killings and kidnappings in the world is just for show?"
"You're overrea--"
"I'm not overreacting, Isis!" Sophie yelled, cutting me off, which also caused me to flinch. She is not one to usually yell like this. I guess telling someone who used to be her crush hit a nerve, even if she was heartbroken by them.
"Unlike Otherkin, witches don't get as harsh a punishment, or have you clearly forgotten?! Your kind serve as a bridge between the fantastical and the human realms. You don't have to worry about endangering humans because you are human, Isis. You can tell your secret but don't. Tell. Mines! That's all I ask!"
"Okay, I'm sorry! I won't jokingly tell you your secret anymore," I said, pulling her into a hug to calm her down a bit. You need to calm down, Soph. Your eyes are starting to glow, and your scales are slowly appearing," I informed Sophie, who grabbed my shirt at my sides with her head on my chest until she calmed down.
"I don't want to be the reason another human dies again, even if they were someone I liked."
I sighed and caressed her hair to help calm her down more before responding, "I understand, Soph."
****************
Please read 📝[1]
[1] Sorry for the late chapter y'all. Down the line I'll try to aim for 2500 to 3000 words for the chapters, but I feel like I need to plan this story out more soon. As I struggled a bit to write this chapter without an outline.
Futhermore, fun fact this was an idea I've had ever since I was like 14 or 15 so that reflects in the first two chapters. Especially since Alex's mom is driving a 2013 Nissan Altima. That was considered new around the time lol. I decided to leave that in for a memory/easter egg of sorts on how it started.
This originally wasn't supposed to have supernatural elements, so I thought, 'What the heck, let's make it even more interesting.' I hope you enjoy it as much I enjoyed writing it.
P.S (apologizes for the sudden explicit scene in chapter 3😝)
Thanks again for giving it a read,
ClownxOfxZeus