1 Aaron (Ariel ~the little mermaid)

You watched as the ocean waves crashed into the shorelines in front of you. You were sitting on the sand reading your favorite book.

You felt something nudge your foot. You looked down and saw a crab carrying the most beautiful shell necklace you had ever seen in your entire life. In the middle was a purple claim shell, in the sunlight it looked like it was sparkling. Two little shells were strung on either side of the purple one. All three of them were held together by strong strands of seaweed.

It was beautiful and creative rolled into a very special masterpiece.

You looked around you to see if anyone had dropped it. You shielded your eyes from the sun and saw a figure laying near the shoreline. You set your book on top of your bag and stood up. You began walking towards the figure, not realizing until you got to him, that he wasn't human.

There lying down on the wet sand was a mermaid.

His red hair was a mess and clung to his forehead. His bare chest was muscular in all the right place. You blushed and mentally cursed yourself for thinking such things at a time like this.

You dropped to your knees beside his head and pushed his hair out of his eyes. He stirred and moved his head to the side, but he didn't wake up. You sighed and pushed his hair back out of his face.

Something on his tail caught your attention. You moved towards it to get a closer look. It was a fisherman's net.

You tried to un-tangle it and pull it off his tail, but when you did, you heard cries of pain escaped his lips. You looked up to his face and saw that he was starting to wake up.

"W-where a-am I-I?" He said a little bit out of it.

"Your on the beach. Do you remember how you got here?" You asked him gently.

"A ship t-tried to c-catch me i-in a n-net." He said as he began to come to.

"The net that's wrapped around your tail?" You asked him with concern.

His eyes popped open. Baby-blue eyes looked up at you with fascination.

"You're a human." He said with excitement.

"Yeah, and you're a mermaid." He glared at you.

He sat up in one fluid motion and pushed you down onto the sand and pinned you there.

"Let's get one thing straight, I'm a MERMAN, not a MERMAID. Don't ever get the two confused ever again." He said threateningly.

You nodded your head, afraid to say something offensive. His eyes softened when he saw that he was scaring you.

"I'm sorry. It just frustrates me when someone calls me a mermaid." He puts his hands on your waist and lifts you up.

He then places you on his lap. At least you thought it was his lap, but either way, it caused you to blush. You looked up seeing his blue eyes staring at you while a smile pulled at his lips.

"W-what?" You asked him shyly.

"You're just so, cute." His smile made your heart race.

"D-do you r-realize that y-you have a n-net wrapped a-around your t-tail, right?" You said by trying to change the subject.

His eyes went wide with shock. He picked you up off his lap and set you down beside him on the sand. He examined his tail and tried to pull the net off. You could tell that he was in pain because every now and then he would hiss a curse under his breath.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to help you?" You asked with even more concern for him than when you first talked to him.

He sighs and leans back on his hands. He looks at you, sadness radiating from his face even though he doesn't show it.

"If I don't get this off, it could cut off the circulation in my tail and I won't be able to swim." You tried to think of a way to help him.

That's when you.remembered that you had a pocket knife in your bag.

"I'll be right back. Just try not to move too much until I get back." He looked up at you with confusion as you stood up and began to run back to your spot.

When you got there, you quickly grabbed your bag and searched inside to fund the knife. You found it in the front pocket of your bag.

You dropped the bag and ran back to him. He was there waiting for you to return. You ran up to him and fell to your knees.

"What did you go get?" He asked you suspiciously.

You held out the knife so that he could see it. His eyes went wide as you opened it to begin to saw at the net.

"W-why do you c-carry that w-with you?" He said still.shocked.

You had finished cutting off the net when he asked you that.

"I have to have some way to protect myself when I'm by my lonesome." You said as you closed it and put it in the back pocket of your shorts.

He smiles at you, but he was still a little confused.

"Why would you need to protect yourself?" He asked you as you removed the net from around his tail and threw it into the sand.

"I can't tell you. I don't even know you." You said in a hurry.

"I'm Aaron. So what's your name?" He said with a cocky attitude.

"I'm (y/n)." You said with a smile.

"(Y/n)?" An annoying voice called your name.

You rolled your eyes and stood up. He looked up at you with sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry but I have to go. Maybe I'll see you later?" His face brightened.

"Okay, how about tomorrow?" He asked you with excitement.

You nodded your head and ran back up the beach to collect your things. When you turned back around, Aaron was waving at you in the ocean.

You picked up your bag, book, and blanket, and walked towards whatever punishment your mother and father planned on giving you. You were to never leave the palace without permission. But if you hadn't done so today, you would never have met Aaron.

Your mind was filled with thoughts of his sort red hair and his baby-blue eyes. You never did give him back his necklace though.

But little did you know, you were in more trouble than you thought.