Tails
Last night Mary had gotten in deep shit for going to Mako that late. Especially because of the fact that the water police discovered her swimming in shark infested waters, it's safe to say that her flip-phone was taken immediately. Luckily, her pool in the garden was not taken. Mary was wearing her favourite bathing suit, a baby blue two piece.
She did some stretches on the edge of the pool, appreciating that her parents and brother weren't home to disturb her. After touching her toes, she dove into the water, enjoying the cool sensation spread over her skin. Suddenly, a different feeling shot through her. An unfamiliar feeling; uncomfortable prickles along her skin.
Mary swam up hurriedly and gasped for air, as she kicked her (what once was) legs. When she looked down, she almost fainted right there. Replacing her bathing suit, was an orange sea-shell bra - along with an orange, scaled tail. She panted as she got used to the feeling, it had to have been something on mako, she knew that. Mary carried on swimming around, slightly enjoying the tail.
Maybe the other girl's had also become ... whatever this was. It definitely looked like a mermaid's tail, but that's impossible. Unless, maybe it wasn't. As if on queue, Lily and Marlene both came storming up the staircase, one looking less unimpressed than the other. Judging by the disbelieving expression on Lily's face, it was obvious that she had become one of these as well.
They pulled Mary out of the pool, and waited on the beach chairs which were next to it as she was still in this form. Marlene's posture was slouched and her legs were spread, luckily she was wearing cargos. Lily, on the other hand, was pacing around the place, looking extremely stressed out judging by the paleness of her skin. Mary loved the colour in Lily's face, and it hurt to see it gone.
"I bet Dorcas did this!" Marlene squealed.
"How would Dorcas turn us into fish?" Lily replied, agitated. Suddenly, that same tingling feeling coursed through Mary's veins, and her once-mermaid tail turned back into human legs. Along with it, her top half changed back as well, and soon enough she was back to normal.
"So it goes when we're dry?" Mary commented, thoughtfully. "Wicked." She wriggled her legs as if not believing that they were back, before pulling herself up. Mary wondered into the house, and as an instant response, the other girls followed her inside.
She led them into her living room, and all sat on her sofas. "Okay, let's go over what we know." Marlene said, airily.
"We turn into mermaids if we touch water, and the transformations are around ten seconds after contact." Lily answered, resting her chin on her hand as she followed along with the conversations.
"You timed it?" Mary responded, breathlessly. Lily was honestly fucking amazing, she's the second smartest girl in the year, third overall. Ahead of her is one of James' friends, Remus Lupin, and one of the creepiest people in the school, Severus Snape. Lily nodded, looking as if there were a lump in her throat.
"So we all agree that we can't tell anybody?" Marlene said, honestly. Mary nodded immediately, but once she turned to look Lily, there was a concerning expression on her face. Marlene must've called up on this too, "Lily?" She asked, again.
"Except for James, right?" Lily said, clutching onto the arm rest of the sofa so hard that it seems as if the thread of it would tear off under her grip. Marlene scoffed, and Mary slapped herself in the face.
"Come on, you told him?" Mary whined.
"Not yet!" Lily frantically blurted out, "I've just never had a secret from him, it'll feel weird." She sighed, disappointed.
"Well we have to keep it between us." Marlene finished for her, giving Lily a pointed look. Lily sighed and nodded, resigning to these conditions.
Mary pulled herself up, huffing as she walked towards the kitchen which was connected to the living room and opened the fridge, cold air blasting in her face the second that the door was no longer closed. "Anybody up for a bottle of water?" She shouted from where she sold, slightly moving her head to be facing over her shoulder.
"Go on then!" Marlene yelled from across the room, even though they could probably talk in a normal voice and be plenty loud. Mary giggled as she searched the fridge, and pulled out three bottles, holding them between her finger tips. She could hear inaudible chatter coming from the other girls, but it didn't sound like arguing.
When Mary had returned to the room, the moisture of the water had weirdly not made her grow a tail this time, which was strange. She handed them out to her friends, giving them plastic straws as well. "Nice thinking." Marlene said, sweetly.
When Lily opened her water, though, something extremely weird seemed to occur. As she twisted the cap off, and lifted it up for a sip, she seemed to have lost her grip and it began to fall onto the floor. The water, however, didn't fall with it. Lily put her hands out to grab the bottle, she obviously wasn't quick enough - based on the loud sound the plastic made against the floorboards. The water floated above the ground, never touching.
"Holy shit!" Marlene commentated, and all three girls stood up, Lily not moving her hands in the process.
"Am I doing that?" Lily asked them, panicking.
"Try moving your hands!" Mary added on.
"But the water-" Lily started.
"Move them." Mary firmly stated; a command, not a request.
Lily did as she instructed, she put her hands to her side, as she held her breath. Surely, the water splashed onto the floor, seeping into the wood. Somehow, Lily had just manipulated water to float above ground.
Marlene, in the excitement, forgot to put the cap on her bottle. She excitedly turned to face Mary, perhaps too quickly. Water came bursting from the top of her bottle, and Mary held up a hand in self defence as well. Her flat palm was facing the water, as if that would protect her, but somehow, it did. The water which had almost hit her, was now frozen in ice.
"I want powers too!" Marlene moaned, as Mary was still in awe of what she had just done. Mary cleared her throat as she aimed her hands in a spider-man-like way towards the icicle of what once was bottled water. Nothing happened. Lily and Mary shrugged, as Marlene tried lots of different hand movements, still, though, nothing.
"This is actually so unfair." Marlene complained, her hands still held up in front of her. Suddenly, the sound of the door creaking open made them all jump out of their skin, and Marlene balled her hand into a fist whilst it was still aimed at the water. The ice beneath her palm began to tremble and then, to her utter amazement, started to evaporate. A soft mist rose from the icicle, leaving behind a dry, magical residue. Bewildered by this newfound ability, Marlene experimented further, realising that she could control the intensity of the evaporation and even shape the mist into intricate patterns. It was as if the very essence of water bowed to her command.
"Oh my gosh," Lily said, her voice a mixture of humour and awe, "We're freaks." The three girls began to laugh, until approaching footsteps made them stop in their tracks. James Potter stood there, oblivious to what had been going on before that. His ruffled brunette hair, crooked smile, sienna skin, golden glasses and disgustingly amazing sense of fashion there for them all too see.
Mary pulled her gaze away from him, and looked over to Lily, who had nothing short of a glint of admiration in her eyes. Maybe she actually did like him. "You're not a freak Lily, just weirdly scared of getting in trouble." Marlene snorted, and James turned his attention towards her. "Sup Mckinnon, got anymore fags for me?" He casually strolled over towards her, taking his seat next to Lily on the sofa, his arm draped around her as if they were a couple.
"You can't use that word, James! It's derogatory and offensive." Lily scolded him, and James raised his hands in surrender. Marlene looked at her strangely, but Mary was used to these shenanigans.
"It means cigarettes, Lily." Mary said, whimsically. The room felt mirthful, as the three girls along with the token boy all laughed along. Lily's face had gone a vibrant shade of red, possibly from embarrassment but perhaps from laughter.
It was a nice feeling knowing that no matter how different their lives got, their friendship would always remain the same. Mary felt a warm, bubbly feeling in her chest at the effervescent vibes in the room, the laughter drifting around the air and filling both their ears and lungs. Mary wanted to stay in that room forever, to inhale the everlasting comfort which her friends brought her.
But now, with this new secret, it would never be the same.
No matter how good she felt in the present, Mary now had to hide this secret from her family, other friends, and even James. Lily would obviously cave in eventually and tell him, but for now, they were all slightly on edge as they joked around with him. This was fine, though. As long as they were together, this secret didn't have to affect them or their friendship too much.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Bellatrix was breathing heavily, practically panting. She had ran all the way to work today, in fear of being late. Bella had long, curly, black hair, refined, painted features, pale, fragile skin and an edgy sense of style. She was wearing ripped tights, a black, velvet skirt paired with a black cropped top which had a v-neck trim. Her black lipstick and eyeliner spoke for itself when anybody asked for her aesthetic.
Bella was also, surprisingly, a waitress who worked at the local smoothie bar. The only reason that she was so eager to come into work today, though, was because of her classmate who ordered the same thing at the same time everyday. Bella was wiping some tables with a white cloth when Rita had walked in for the first time two years ago.
Her long, platinum blonde hair was always straightened and rarely put up. Rita's outfits were far more outgoing than Bella, which she hated to admit. Whilst Bella was usually the centre of attention in every room which she walked in, when Rita was in the same room, it was undeniable who everybody's eyes would be on.
Rita's favourite clothing item was a fur, sage green jacket paired with a red tank top. Rita usually wore vibrant red lipstick, and occasionally blush too. Her bright green eyeshadow always caught Bella's attention, but not as much as her gorgeous eyes did. The bright blue hues mixed in with the earthy greens, and Bella found herself gazing into them for hours on end - wishing she could drown in them.
Bella had never seen herself as a lesbian, or even bisexual for that matter, but that was before Rita. Now she didn't know what she was, but Bella hated labels, so she really couldn't care less. For now, she was Bella swooning over Rita - not a girl in love with a girl.
Finally, the door swung open, and the first costumer walked in. The bell placed on top of the door rung a few times, and a confident yet familiar figure strolled in. "Hiya Bells." Her younger cousin called from the entrance, as he looked over at Bella wiping tables down. Sirius was nothing short of charismatic, especially after he had ran away from home.
After that, their whole family had seemed to hate him, at least publicly. Narcissa, Andromeda and Bellatrix, the three sisters and his cousins, hadn't a hating bone for Sirius in their body. Narcissa and Bellatrix acted like they did, but really, they'd had multiple sleepovers with him since his escape. Bella was proud of him for running away, really. That household was nothing short of abusive.
Sirius had grown out his black hair down to his shoulders, and cut it into a shaggy wolf-cut. He had pierced his ears, nose, eyebrows and lips with silver pins. His outfit style was awfully similar to Bellatrix's, they both loved black clothing and nail polish, which meant that he often stole from her wardrobe, which she didn't mind one bit. Now that Bella was in her last year of high school, she had planned to move out as soon as she could - meaning that Sirius could move out of the Potter's and live with her.
"Sup Siri." She responded, giving him a half nod and smug grin. He walked over to the table which she was wiping, and pulled a chair out from beneath it before sitting in front of her innocently. "Do you have to sit on the table that I'm cleaning?" She groaned, but he just snickered back.
"Of course I do, because how ever would I see you turn red when that gossip girl walks in if I'm not in front row seats?" He sweetly suggested, and Bella hit him with the cloth which was in her hand. Sirius was obviously head over heels for his best friend, Remus Lupin, but Bella didn't think that he even knew that himself, so she didn't remark back with anything.
As if planned, the bar started filling up with people, and soon enough, Rita walked in. Bella dropped her cloth at the sight of her and scrambled for it as it fell to the floor, and she looked up to see Rita only tables away, jotting something down on a notebook. Curiosity took the best of her, and after an encouraging push (literally) from Sirius, she stumbled over to Rita's table.
"C-Can I get you anything?" Bella mumbled loudly, ignoring the obvious cackle from her cousin nearby. Rita put her pen down, and pushed her chair out slightly, tilting her head back and staring at the ceiling as she thought for a second.
"You have any lattes?" Rita said, in a horse voice. The raspiness of her tone implied that she had only just woken up, and come here straight away. Bella smiled widely as she handed Rita a menu, pointing towards every Latte option.
Rita eventually decided on a caramel latte, which just so happened to be Bella's personal choice in drinks as well. She grinned as she walked up to the front desk, and leaned against the marble whilst waiting for somebody to notice her. Finally, her boss, a bloke named Ted Tonks happened to catch her eye. "What's the order Black?" He asked, hands on hips.
"That lovely lady over there would like a caramel latte with a blueberry muffin," She gestured over to Rita, who was again writing on her notepad. Ted nodded, as he began whipping up the beverage and food. Bella leaned against the counter-top, cheeks in her hands as she gazed up at Ted. She moved one of her hands to play with a loose strand of black hair which had fallen in front of her face, and began looping it around her index finger, twirling it as she thought with a glassy expression on her face.
"Who's got you so heads over heels, Dracula?" Ted snickered, before it seemed to click. "Ah, you like feminine girls then? Can't say I'm not surprised." He remarked, and Bellatrix scoffed, putting her hands down before pulling herself up to stand straight. Ted handed her the drink and muffin, and she walked over to hand it to Rita.
When she arrived at the table, Rita was now on the phone to somebody, so Bella pursed her lips and placed them down as gently and quietly as she could. "I don't give a shit, it has to get published by tomorrow or," Rita cut herself off to look up at Bella with hopeful eyes, before mouthing 'thank you' and returning to her intense conversation, "Or I swear to God, I'll stick my heel so far up your-" At that, Bella decided to hurry away, not wanting to listen to anymore.
"God, what's got her knic-" Sirius started, from a few tables away before Bellatrix gave him a sharp slap on the back of his head.
"If you so much as speak of Rita's knickers I'll beat the shit out of you." She said, angrily. Sirius held his hands up in surrender, before a confused expression fell over him. Bella followed his eyes over to the door, which had been pushed open hardly and was still slightly swinging. "What is it?" She turned back to Sirius, confused.
His eyebrows were furrowed, as he pointed over to where Rita was - or used to be - sitting. Bella walked over to the table, and almost squealed at what was left there.
There was an empty mug, half a muffin which seemed to have been cut by a knife placed onto a white, china plate, and a page which was messily ripped from a notebook with jagged handwriting scribbled onto it.
Enjoy the muffin and I'll see you in school.
-R