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Liam swims around the party room, preparing for Louis’ 18th birthday party. It had to be perfect, or King Triton would have his head. This was extremely important, as merpeople were typically married before they turned nineteen and the whole city was going to be at the party, along with every eligible bachelor and bachelorette. It had to go perfectly and end with Louis falling in love. “Liam, everyone is almost here. Is everything ready?” King Triton says, swimming up to where Liam is by the catering. “Yes, your highness,” Liam says as he enters the chocolate fountain, “everything is ready. We can get started whenever.” “Well then let’s get started now?” Triton says. Liam nods, swimming up to the stage. “Hello everybody. Welcome to Louis’ 18th birthday celebration. We hope you enjoy yourselves. The food is to the left and entertainment will come on shortly. But first, the birthday boy himself. Here’s Louis!” Behind Liam, a curtain opens up and standing behind it is a worker merman, but no Louis. A look of panic rushes over Liam’s face. Where the hell is he?****“C’mon Niall. Your so slow.” Louis says, looking back at Niall as he swims ahead.“Are you sure this is a good idea? Your supposed to be at the party.” Niall says, worriedly.“Fuck that. It's so extra, and I know the entire time my parents are just going to be trying to find me a wife or husband. It’s bullshit.”“What are you talking about? You’re always talking about falling in love and getting married.” Niall points out.“I want to fall in love because I want to, not because my parents want me to. Plus, there's no one in Atlantis that I want to be with.” Louis says as him and Niall reach the surface of the water.“Then who would you want to be with?” Niall asks.“Him.” Louis says pointing to a ship off in the distance. Two men are visible standing on the ship. It’s hard to make out any features from their distance, but they both look very attractive. One has a darker complexion with black hair styled up. The other has long, curly, brown hair and his large biceps can be seen from under his long sleeved, white shirt. “Which one?” Niall asks.“The curly haired one. He’s so handsome. I've been watching him for a couple days now” Louis swoons, wishing he could be up on that ship with him, going wherever he goes, getting to live life like a human.
“We should go. We don't want them to see us.” Niall says.“One minute.” Louis says, wanting to admire the beautiful man a but longer. Niall just shrugs and goes back under the water. Louis only stares a little bit longer before the man notices him and Louis quickly pops back under, hoping the man just thinks he saw a fish or something. He swims up next to Niall and the two start to swim back towards the palace in Atlantis.“You know you can't be with a human, right?” Niall points out. Louis frowns at that statement.“I know,” Louis says, dejectedly, “I wish I was human.”****
Harry stares out at the water, shocked and confused, yet amazed.“Zayn,” Harry says, shaking his best friends shoulder, “Did you see that?” He asks, pointing out to the water.“See what?” Zayn asks, confused.“It was a person. Out in the water. A boy.” “Are you sure it wasn't just a bird or a fish or something?” Zayn asks.“No. I’m sure. It was a boy. He was beautiful.”“Harry, mate, I think your just sexually frustrated and seeing beautiful people ‘cause your horny. We have been stuck on this boat for months.” Zayn says. Harry nods in agreement. That’s really the only explanation for why his dream boy would randomly be sat in the water and then disappear one second later.“Speaking of sex, how did you and Princess Maria hit it off?” Zayn asks. Harry frowns.“I don't think it's going to happen. She’s not my type.” Harry says. “So we traveled for months to South America for you to find a wife, and your coming home without even trying? Your parents will be so angry.” Zayn says. Harry wants to be angry at his best friend, but as the advisor to the royal family, he knows that it’s his job. “I didn't come here to find a wife. I came because I love to travel and go on adventures. My parents just gave me an excuse to do so.” Harry tells him.“No wonder your 21 and still unmarried. You’re not even willing to try at love.” I am willing to try at love, Harry wants to say. For example, if that boy he imagined was real, he would try really really hard.****“Where the hell have you been?” Liam screams as Louis and Niall swim into the palace as the party begins die down. “Out.” says Louis, hardly looking at Liam. “Your father is going to kill you! Scratch that, he's going to kill me!” Liam says.“Relax. You’ll be fine.” Louis says, swimming up to his room. He closes the door behind him and sighs. All he wants is to be a human. Life sucks down here. He’s always being told what to do and where to go, but up there everybody seems so free and happy. He wishes he could be like that too. Suddenly, his door swings open and Louis knows exactly who it is. “Louis! What the hell is wrong with you?” His father screams as he swims into Louis’ room. “I’m not sure what your talking about.” Louis says, playing dumb. He picks up a fork that fell off of a ship and plays with it in his hands as his father talks to him. “We has been planning this party for months and it was all for you! How dare you not be there!” His father yells. “Well if it’s my party, shouldn’t I be able to choose if I want to go or not?” His father's face turns even redder than before, his anger growing. He moves closer to Louis and for a second Louis thinks he’s about to hit him and he turns his head. Instead, his father grabs the fork out of his hands. “Hey, give that back!” Louis cries. “Where the hell did you get this? Don’t tell me you went to the surface again!” Triton yells. “No, I swear! I found it on the seafloor!” Louis cries. “So you didn't go to the surface?” Triton asks him. “Well, I didn’t say that.” Louis says, quietly. “That’s it!” Triton screams, “you know the surface is forbidden! What if one of those evil human saw you? You’d be killed in an instant.”“But dad, they aren’t evil! They are wonderful. They look so happy all the time and there smiles are so kind.” Louis says, thinking of one human specifically. “Your head is full of nonsense. Humans are evil. There isn’t any two ways about it! Whatever made you think they aren’t is tricking you,” Louis tries to butt in, but Triton continues, “and since you went to the surface and blatantly disobeyed me, you’re grounded!” “For how long?” Louis asks. “Until I say you aren’t!” Triton yells as he leaves Louis’ room and slams the door. Louis swims to his bed and cries. Now he’s never going see that beautiful human again. *** “Harry , what are you doing out here?” Zayn says, running out of the ship cabin. Harry is snapped out of his trance. “Have you been in that same place this whole time?”“No,” Harry lies, “What do you need?” He asks.“Can't you see? It’s about to storm. And a really bad one at that. We need to get inside and prepare!” Zayn says, and Harry looks up to see the that the clouds are in fact dark and the winds have picked up significantly. How could have he not have noticed? He must have been to busy looking for that stupid, beautiful boy. He rushes to the rest of the crew to help secure the ship. “Your highness, you should get inside. We’ll take care of this.” A member of the crew says to him.“I’m apart of this crew too!” Harry says, climbing up to the flags to secure them. As he stands at the top of the ladder, the wind picks up greatly and rains starts hitting heavily. “Harry, get down!” Zayn yells. Harry begins to climb down, but begins to lose his grip as the ladder shakes. Just as he starts to step down to the next, a large wave hits the boat and Harry falls overboard. He falls under the water and tries to swim up to the surface, but the rough water continues to hit him under the water. Suddenly, another wave hits him farther under water until he hits a hard object and everything goes black.***Louis sits around his room, bored as hell. He plays with some of the nick-nacks that he’s collected throughout the years, but that only entertains him for so long. Suddenly, he hears a knock at his door and Niall is entering his room.“How the hell did you get in here?” Louis asked, not expecting to have seen his friend for a long time.“I just walked in? Like usual.” Niall shrugs.“Well, i'm supposed to be grounded.” Louis tells him.“Oh,” Niall says, “should I go then?” “No way, fuck this. Let’s get out of here.” Louis says, getting out of his bed.“Won’t you get in trouble?” Niall asks.“Not if we don't get caught.” Louis opens up the window and swims out. “Are you coming?” He asks Niall. Niall follows with a worried look on his face.“This is a horrible idea.” Niall mumbles.“Probably.” Louis says, as he continues to the surface. The two boys reach the surface and are surprised to see a horrible storm raging.“Wow,” Niall exclaims, “This is the worst one in awhile.” Louis nods, worriedly looking at the boat that's rockin around on the water. He sees a group of men looking overboard, but the beautiful, long-haired man isn't with him. Louis realizes the possibility that the man is what they are looking for. Louis swims up closer to the ship to try and find out.“Louis, I don't think this is a good idea.” he says, staying back.“Then you don't have to come.” Louis says, swimming closer to the ship. He starts to be able to pick up on some of the things they are saying.“Where did he go?” One man says.“Fuck, we can't lose the prince. His father is going to throw us all in jail.” Says another.
“Guys, lets just try to find Harry.” Is that the man’s name? Harry? And he’s a prince as well? Louis knew they had something in common. He couldn't let Harry die. He knows they don't know each other, but he feels connected to him in ways he can't explain. He dives under the water, looking for the man. He searches around the boat for awhile, and finally sees a body sinking further down to the seafloor. He swims up to Harry and takes him in his hands. He finally gets a better look at the man and he’s more beautiful than he thought. Small freckles scatter his face and his long eyelashes frame his closed eyes that he assumes are beautiful as well. He also has the most perfect lips that Louis just wishes he could kiss. He swims up to the surface to give the man air and swims to the nearest shore. He lays Harry onto the shore and moves his hair from his face. Louis doesn't know what humans do in these situations (is it CRP or SPR?) so he really hopes that the man doesn't need that. He touches Harry’s skin and lips, partially in hopes of waking him up and partially because he is amazed by his beauty. Suddenly, the man's eyes begin to flutter open and he looks Louis straight in the eyes. He reaches out to touch Louis, still not fully back to normal. The two boys look at each other for awhile, enamored. They were both seeing the person they had been fantasizing about up close. For Harry, it's even more amazing as he didn't even know if the boy he saw was even real.The two boys are still looking at each other, when suddenly a voice is calling Harry’s name, a within a flash, Louis is gone.***** “Harry! Are you okay?” Zayn says, running over to where Harry is lying on the floor. “Did you see him?” Harry says, ignoring Zayns question.
“See who?” Zayn asks, looking around.“That boy. It's the same one I saw earlier. I think he saved me.” Harry says.“Mate, I didn't see anybody. Maybe your a little woozy from almost dying there.” Zayn says.“He was just here, though! He was even more gorgeous up close.” Harry says, starting to stand up from where he was lying. “Don't get too comfortable talking like that, Haz. You know I won’t say anything, but if anyone else hears you talking about another guy like that, you could get thrown in jail.”
“Zayn, my dads the King. I won’t be thrown in jail.” Harry points out.“You’ll be in so much trouble, through. You won’t be allowed to leave the castle like this ever again and your father will pick a wife for you,” Zayn points out, “I know it sucks, but I’m just looking out for you.”Harry sighs, “I know, Zayn. It’s all talk anyway. Like you said, I probably just imagined the lad anyway.” Zayn slaps Harry’s shoulder, leading him towards town.
“Luckily, we aren't far from the castle. Let’s head home.”
****Louis swims back towards Atlantis with a smile on his face. Niall spots him and worriedly swims over.“Louis! Where have you been!” Louis grabs Niall’s hands and spins him around in a circle. “Niall, I think I’m in love!” He says.“With the human?” “His name is Harry and he’s so beautiful. I saved him when his boat sank.” Louis tells.“Louis! You let a human see you?” Niall yells.“Well, I couldn't just let him die! He was out of it, anyway. I doubt he saw me, and if he did, he probably thought he imagined it.”“You know you can't be with a human, right? We’ve been through this.” Niall says. Louis frowns, not wanting to accept that as the truth. “I’ll figure it out.” Louis says. What the two mermen don't know is that in the distance, two eels watch them, listening to them talk.****As Niall and Louis swim back into the kingdom, they are immediately stopped by Triton and Liam.“Where have you been? You are grounded.” Triton screams at Louis. Louis doesn't answer, instead just turning his head away from his father. His father looks at him, then back at Niall. “Fine. If you won’t give me a response, I’ll just ask Niall.” Louis sighs. Niall is horrible under pressure. He’s definitely gonna rat him out. “Where were you and Louis?” Triton asks, cornering Niall against a wall.“Uh-uh nowhere, your highness.” Niall squeaks.“Are you sure you want to lie to your king?” Triton says, raising up his pitch fork. “No, I would never!”“You know lying to me is a crime!” Triton says as he puts his pitchfork up against the wall next to Niall’s face.“We went up to the surface and Louis saved a human!” Niall says, flinching at the pitchfork by his face.“You what?!” Triton screams, turning to Louis.“I couldn't just let him die!” Louis cries. He’s never seen his father this angry.
“You could have and you should have! You shouldn't have even left the palace in the first place!” Triton yells.“I’m sorry.” Louis weeps quietly.“Take him to his room, Liam, and lock his door shut. You aren't coming out until the winter ball!” “That's not for almost two months!” Louis says.“You almost exposed us to the humans! I don't care what you think! They are evil! We are done here!” Triton says, swimming away.“C’mon Louis.” Liam says, leading him towards the castle. How was he supposed to live in his room for two months? And what about Harry? If he’s in his room, then there is no way that Louis can find a way to be with him. So Louis decides what he needs to do. He can't stay here. So he quickly he starts swimming as fast as he can away from Liam. Louis is a somewhat fast swimmer, so hopefully he can get away.“Louis! Get back here!” Liam screams. Louis ignores him and keeps swimming.Eventually, Louis loses sight of Liam and the city of Atlantis. He isn't even quite sure where he is. Everything is super dark and spooky as far as he can see. He starts to wander around, trying to figure out where he is and what to do. All he wants to do is figure out how to be with Harry.“I hear your having guy trouble.” Louis whips his head around to the voice that just spoke to him. He turns around to see two eels swimming up to him.“Umm I guess…” He says, sort of spooked out.“I know someone who could help you.” One says, swimming around Louis.“Who?” Louis says, excited about any way to be with Harry.“Nicholas. He specializes in helping poor, unfortunate souls, like you.”“How?” Louis asks.“You’ll have to talk to him yourself if you want to find that out.” Says the other eel. Louis knows, deep down, that he shouldn't trust these eels or “Nicholas”, but he has no other ideas. He can't go back home and, frankly, he doesn't want to. What’s the harm in trying anyway?“Alright, show me to this “Nicholas.”” ***The eels lead Louis to a cave even deeper into the sea. Louis looks around, worriedly, wondering if this was a bad idea. He considers turning around, but he has nowhere else to go. He can't go home, and he can't give up on Harry yet. So, against his better judgment, he follows the eels into the cave. When he swims into the cave, he sees colorful substances in bottles, big mixing pots and a flashy mermaid swimming.“I've brought you a surprise.” One of the eels says, smiling mischievously. The man, who Louis assumes is Nicholas, swims up to him and pulls him into a big hug and squeezes his cheeks.“Wow, you brought me a cutie this time,” Nicholas says, “So what's your issue, love?” He asks. Nicholas smiles at him and Louis can't help but feel like he's up to something, but he brushes his concerns to the side once again.“I want to be human.” Louis says, simply.“Why is that?” Nicholas asks, brushing his finger against his cheek.“Um,” he stutters, embarrassed to say that he’s falling for a human, “It's so constraining, my father basically holds me captive.” Nick smiles his same, evil smile.“Oh love, I already know what you really want.” As he says that, some sort of projection of Harry appears in front of him. He’s sitting on a huge bed (duh he's a prince), lost in his thoughts. God damn, he's dreamy. ***Harry is sat in his room thinking about the gorgeous boy. He couldn't have imagined him. It seemed too real to be just his imagination. “Harry! We’re supposed to be eating with the Duke of Littleon right now.” Zayn says, rushing into his room.
“Zayn, I can't stop thinking about that boy. He was literally perfect.” Harry says.“I thought we agreed that you imagined him.” Zayn says, clearly over hearing about it.“I know, I know. But it felt so real. And I just felt a huge connection to him. He’s my dream guy.” “Well, you can dream about him later. C’mon, we’ve been eating shit on the boat for the last few months. Don't you want some real food.” Zayn asks. Harry smirks.“True that. I was considering just starving myself.” He says, and the two boys leave the room.*** Louis watches the scene play out in front of him with a smile on his face. Harry was thinking of him too. This just makes him want to be human even more. “I don't blame you, hun. He is yummy!” Nicholas says. Louis gives him a weird look, partially because that's his man and partially because who says “yummy”?“Can you help me?” Louis asks, willing to do anything to be with Harry.“Of course, love,” Louis smiles, but Nicholas continues, “But there is a condition.” He trails. Louis hesitates. Why does there always have to be a condition?“What sort of condition?” Louis asks.“Oh, it's really no biggie. I just need him to propose to you before the new year. It's nothing.” He says, swimming past Louis.“That's in less than two months!” Louis exclaims.“So? Humans get married that quick all the time! I thought you knew a lot about humans?” Louis ignores his question and asks his own.“What if he doesn't propose?” Louis asks.“Well, if that was the case, unfortunately, you would have to become my slave, but isn't that worth it to get your man?” Nick asks. Was it worth it? According to Nick, that's a normal amount of time to date before marriage. Louis is still contemplating his choice when Nick starts pressuring him. “Look, kid. I am very busy and don't have time to sit here and wait. Do you want to do it or not?” Louis, feeling pressured, quickly answers.“I guess.” And with that, Nick snaps his fingers Louis’ body begins to tingle. He tries to talk, but he feels himself drifting off.“I'm glad you made the right choice, Louis. When you wake up, you’ll be a human.” Nicholas says, and before he knows it, everything goes black.***When Louis wakes up, he feels the gritty sand against his back. His eyes flutter open and the harsh sunlight hits his face. Immediately, his bottom half feels different. It feels tingly and extremely weird. He looks down at his lower half. Part of him did not think that it would actually work, but low and behold, he had a fresh pair of legs. He smiles to himself and hugs his legs to his chest. What he does not see is the boy sitting in the sand on the beach only ten feet away from him. “Hi.” he hears and snaps his head over to the right. He immediately gets shy when he sees Harry sitting about ten feet away from him. He’s been waiting for this moment forever, and now that it’s here, he can’t find the words to say.“H-hi.” He manages to croak out. “I found you here on the beach, I was wondering when you’d wake up.” He says, standing up getting and walking over to Louis. He reaches his hand out to help Louis up. Louis grabs his hand, heat rushing through him as he touches the gorgeous man. “You saved me the other day didn't you?” Harry's asks him. Louis shly nods, smiling a tiny bit. Harry smiles back and thanks him for saving him.“What's your name?” Louis finds himself asking. He knows his name is Harry, but it would be weird if he called him Harry without ever asking. “Er, I’m Harry. What about you?” “I’m Louis,” Louis says. He hesitates, but decides to go for it and says, “your really handsome.” Harry looks at him, shocked, as if he’d never been called that before. Louis flashes him a smile and Harry starts to smile as well. “Err thanks, your like really beautiful. I’ve been trying to find you since you saved me. I did not expect to find you lying on the beach unconscious while I took a walk.” He smiles down at Louis. Louis really gets the chance to see how beautiful his green eyes are. “Well, people meet in the weirdest of ways.” Louis smiles.“Ya I guess that's true,” Harry smiles, “So, like, where are you from?” Shit, Louis thinks. He doesn't know what to say about that. How is he going to explain why he is randomly here?“Um, I’m not from around here. I actually ran away from home.” He settles on. He hopes Harry does not press further about where he is from because Louis doesn't know any human places. “Really? Why is that?” He asks.“My dad tries to control everything about my life. Tried to force me to marry someone, doesn't let me leave our ca- house. Doesn't let me leave that house ever. Couldn't deal with it anymore.” Harry nods his head, understandingly.“I relate to that so much, you don't understand.” “Really? Tell me about it then.” The two then talk about their problems regarding their family for hours, just walking on the beach. It turns out they have very similar problems. Harry's tells him that he is a prince (which Louis pretends to be shocked about) and his parents have also been trying to marry him off to some princess. Louis doesn't tell him that he is also royalty, but he does say that his family is high on the social ladder and that they want him to marry another socialite. It’s easy for them to talk with each other and their conversation flows so well. Louis is glad that they seem to be connecting on more than a physical level. He thinks that Harry is also liking him too. He keeps brushing his hands up against him and Louis suspects it might not be completely accidental, considering how Harry keeps looking at him. The two of them don't even realize how late it's gotten. “The sun is going down,” Harry sighs, “I guess I should start heading back. Can I walk you back to your place?” Harry asks him, looking hopeful. Louis bites his lip, not knowing what to say since he doesn't exactly have anywhere to stay. Shit, why did he not think about that?“Um, I don't have exactly have anywhere to stay.” He says, shyly. “What?! Where have you been staying then?” Harry asks, looking genuinely concerned for him.“Well I just left home, but I guess right here.” Harry shakes his head.“No, no. I can't let you do that. You can come back with me.” As Harry is talking to him, Louis sees Niall and Liam looking at him from the distance in the sea. Liam looks angry and Niall looks worried. Louis begs them with his eyes to not do anything dumb and returns his attention to his man. “Um, are you allowed to do that?” Louis asks, knowing his own father would never let him bring in some random person. “No, probably not, but there's no way i'm letting you stay out here alone. It can actually get pretty cold at night. I can't let a beautiful guy like you freeze.” He says. Louis can't tell if Harry is being shy or confident when he says that. Maybe it's somewhere in between. Either way, Louis smiles and blushes. Right when Louis is about to respond, a voice is calling Harry’s name. “Harry! Where the hell have you been?” Says the black haired man that was also on the ship with Harry. “Um here. Talking.” he says, grabbing Louis’ hand. “This is Louis. He doesn't have anywhere to stay so I’m going to let him stay with us at the castle.” Zayn looks at him with anger, but puts on a fake smile. “Can I talk to you in private for a moment Harry?” Zayn asks. Harry looks at Louis as if he's asking for permission. Louis smiles at reassuringly. “Go ahead. I need to go take care of something really quick.” Louis says and Harry smiles.“I’ll be right back.” He says. After Harry and Zayn walk away, Louis goes behind a rock where he can no longer be seen in order to talk to Liam and Niall. He sees them swim up and is bracing to be yelled at by Liam. Niall will probably just be shocked and confused.“What in the world do you think your doing, Louis? Your fucking human!” Liam exclaims, confused and angry.“Yea, isn't it great, Liam?” Louis smirks, spinning around to show off his legs. “How did this even happen?” Liam asks him. “Some guy named Nicholas. He seemed nice. A tad weird, but nice.” Both Liam and Niall look extremely worried.“Louis, no.” Niall says softly, but he is hardly heard over Liam’ yelling. “You absolute fucking idiot!” “What?” Louis asks, wondering why that set him off so much.“Nicholas is evil, Louis! Everyone who ever makes a deal with him becomes a slave!” “Only if I don't get him to propose! It can't be that hard.” He says.“I don't know Louis, nobody's ever actually been successful with one of his deals.” Niall chimes in.“We need to get your father, he’ll be able to fix this.” Liam says.“No way! Harry’s taking back to the castle so you won't be able to get to me.” “Really? Already?” Niall asks. Louis smirks.“See? He’s already gone for me. This will be a piece of cake.” “Your dad will be furious. I don't even know what to say to him.” Liam says, shaking his head. “Don't say anything then. Just leave me alone. I'm happy ok? That's what matters.” Louis sees Harry looking for him. “I've got to go, ok? I’ll be fine, I promise.”“Don't think I'm just gonna leave you alone. I’ll be keeping my eye on you.” Liam says.“Whatever.” Louis groans. Liam dives back under the water. “Please be careful, Louis.” Niall says, before diving under as well. Louis heads back over to where Louis and Harry are standing. Harry smiles widely when he sees him.“I thought you left.” He says.“Course not. Um, is everything alright with Zayn?” Louis asks, looking over at Zayn who is standing off to the side. Harry looks at him quickly as well before looking back at Louis. “Ya, ya, everything's fine. Zayns just worried my dad will be mad about me bringing you back but don't worry about it. He’ll be fine.” “Ok. If you're sure.” Louis smiles. Harry smiles back. “I am.” The two look at each other for a moment before being interrupted by Zayn. “Alright, you two. We better get going before your dad throws a fit.” He tells them.“Yea, alright. Let’s go, Lou.” Louis grins at the nickname and the three of them head off towards the castle.