TRIGGER WARNING: I care for you even if I don't know you. Stay safe, please!!

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August P.O.V.

I feel everything. Love, kindness, passion. Sure, I feel those. But mostly I feel sadness, loneliness, hatred. That's what drove me to do this. An unexpected halt to my life. The life with a mother who is a drunk, a brother who always has some sort of disease, and no father to look after us. And who knows, maybe I could reincarnate into a baby princess, but it won't be the same. That's good, I won't feel the things I'm not supposed to feel. Other people's emotions. I don't know why, I just don't want to anymore.

I look down into the murky waters of the river. Being swept up by the waves won't be so bad, right? I watch my dress swish in the salty air. The dress I was supposed to meet my best friend. At prom. He said the dress made my eyes pop. Made my hair stand out. The mint green frills were beautiful. The silky texture was unbelievable. Even in this dark setting. I looked extraordinary.

I stand on the bridge that I used to play on when I was a little girl. In a brighter time, when I had a father who would play tag with me. Who cared for me. Who loved me. Thinking back on those days made my heartbreak. Remembering how happy I was. Laughing at nothing. Not a single care in the world.

I close my eyes and listen to the waves that crash on the shore. The cold, wintry breeze numbing me. People on the roads most likely think I'm just a girl on her way to prom, which, obviously, was tonight. Obviously, I'm going to miss it, because I'll be dead.

And to be honest, my birthday wasn't so great either. All I did was think about how this was going to play out. Wondering what would happen to me when I go. No one will ever know.

I turn toward the west. Toward the sea. I hop easily onto the railing, my balance perfect. I close my eyes and push-off, my ears echoing with the wind. I don't dare scream. I don't want anyone to find my body. I mean, I don't want to be anywhere near six feet under the dirt, with maggots and worms. I just want to be left in peace. Mother would know that.

My feet hit the icy water, quickly followed by the rest of my body and gown. My limbs instantly freeze up. My dress swishing in the water before me. I no longer know what direction I am in. The water is pulling me downstream. I blink once, seeing clouds in my vision. Twice. A figure appears in the distance. Three, still there. I'm hallucinating now. I close my eyes. My lungs are burning, waiting for the air they can't get. I cough and my lungs only get full of water. This is not what I was planning. I wanted it to be peaceful without a struggle. Except life is a struggle.

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Joel P.O.V.

I see a splash of water in the distance and see a person. I remember what father always tells me, 'no helping humans, the only thing you can help them with is to help them die off faster. Go into extinction.' He would laugh then. Very terrible man. I'm not quite sure I agree with him though, but I could obey him just this once.

I turn away from the human but quickly look back, feeling a pull to this person in distress. Green ruffles cover the girl's body. Drawing me in further. Red sparks of hair, waving in the water, signifying a great struggle. My tail swishes, towards the odd girl. Nothing could divide my attention now, and the way she moves is mesmerizing. Shit, I don't even know her, all I'm going to do is help her, that's it. Then I go home to Father and my brothers. Where I will get another task for the month. To disrupt humanity. Again.

The last of her air bubbles rise out of her mouth. I am only a couple of feet away from her now. I swim to her and watch as her beautiful green eyes widen. She struggles to get away, getting caught in her ruffly dress. I reach out to her and grab her arm, and think of the only way to save her now. To change her, unlock her secret. The secret I saw in her eyes. You could say I peered into her soul, almost. She is very vulnerable at the moment.

I press my lips to hers.

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August P.O.V.

My breath is gone. My lungs are full of water. My vision is blurred. Life has just gotten worse, and I also have a person with a merman tail kissing me. And the last time I checked, people didn't have tails. I look into his eyes and they are the loveliest shade of brown. His hair as black as night. I'm losing my mind. His gold and silver tail is swishing back and forth.

I can't feel my legs, they have been numb for a while now. The cold. It hurts. He dims the pain in my life for some odd reason. Then I feel something strange in my legs. A weird popping that I hear in my ears.

Uh. Deep breath. Uh. Another one. I take one more breath and scream. My legs are in pain and my neck is burning. I push the merman away from me and I clumsily swim to the surface. Because I don't have two legs anymore. I have one big tail that I saw under my dress.

"What did you do to me?!" I command.

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"Who are you then?" I ask as we come up out of the water. My dress trailing in wet waves behind me. My bare feet are on the cool rocks. It looks very cold out tonight. People are walking on the sidewalk, rubbing their arms together to keep warm.

I'm only about a foot away from him. But it felt like miles. I feel almost an irresistible pull to him. Almost like I have to be with him at all times. I'm afraid he is going to leave.

I look down and see my hair whipping in the wind. There is a strange new color in it though. My waist-length hair, that I vowed never to cut, is colored a blueish green. It shines in the dark of the night. That, or it's just the street lights.

He finally says something, "I'm Joel. Do you mind sharing your title?" He asks politely.

"I'm August," I plainly say. I don't really want to share anything else with him. I only have one friend, and he has been there for me ever since I and my family moved here. Aiden, the one person I could confide in. I almost ruined that relationship tonight. I don't say that.

"What is a little thing like you doing in a river in the first place?" Joel asks me."I mean, I don't think swimming in a prom dress is good for the dress nor you. If you were human that is."

"Then why couldn't I breath?" I fold my arms across my chest, and I don't feel comfortable with telling you why I was in the river."

He peers at me from under his black eyelashes. I look back at him in his chocolate eyes. "Stop looking at me. It's weird." SO not true.

"Tell me why you are in a dress though?"

I sigh," fine, okay. I was going to prom tonight with Aiden and fell off the bridge. Happy?" This is not even half the story though. And Aiden is probably wondering where I am. Oh well, I will try to explain tomorrow.

When I said 'prom with Aiden', Joel choked up. "Who is this Aiden, and what is prom? Is he your boyfriend or something?" I laugh. "No, he is definitely not my boyfriend. And prom is a high school thing that we go dancing with our friends. They decorate a gym at the school and they play music and there are lights everywhere. I can't believe you don't know what prom is."

"Also, I'm not really Aiden's," I pause, "type?" Aiden is into guys. He's probably with Colten, his boyfriend.

"Oh," Joel says," I get it now. You don't need to explain any further."