Chapter 5
Craig woke up to the sound of his crew mates yelling on the deck, laughing at something as their boots hitting the wooden floor under them could be heard from a mile away.
“God.. it’s too early for this..” He groaned, sitting up and feeling a stabbing pain in his head as he did. “Fuck..” This is why he doesn’t drink. Hangovers are the worst, and not only that but he can’t keep his thoughts away from the merman and if he was okay. Craig sighs, he isn’t in love with the damn thing, he can’t be, he doesn’t like men. Craig stands up, just remembering that he has to see Kyle again. After what happened last night though, he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to try to convince the man that the merman was real, let alone even think about him. But he knew if he didn’t show up, Kyle would end up having to find him and talk
to him somewhere else, and he didn’t want the rest of his crew mates to know he was having fantasies about a creature they didn’t even think was real.
Craig opens the door in defeat, walking across the wooden deck until he got to Kyle’s room, receiving some good mornings or waves on the way. Hesitantly, he knocks on the door, Kyle immediately answering not even a second later.
“I was waiting for you.” Kyle said in a serious tone but with a sweet smile on his face. Craig nods, slumping his shoulders and walking into Kyle’s room, going over to sit at one end the wooden table that sat in the middle of the room. Kyle shut the door and sat at the other side, intertwining his fingers as he looked straight into Craig’s soul, sending a chill down his spine.
“Where do I start?” He asked, acting more calm than he is actually feeling.
Kyle looked at him with a raised brow, “The merman? Tell me ‘bout it.”
“Thought you didn’t believe in that shit.” Craig comments, a small smirk forming in the corner of his mouth.
“I don’t, jus’ wanna know how insane you’ve gone.” Kyle lets out a quiet chuckle.
“Dude, i’m not insane, the thing is real.” He watched Kyle stare him down with impatient eyes. Craig sighs, slumping down, defeated. “He.. He had ocean blue eyes and a green and blue fluorescent tail. Soft skin, silky blonde hair.. chubby pink cheeks, sharp teeth..” He kept going on, imagining pictures of the merman in his head as a pink blush appeared on his face.
“Enough.” Kyle says, snapping him out of daze. “And do ya even have proof the thing’s real?” Kyle asks, watching Craig feel around his pockets for something.
“Here,” He pulls out his location device that had some dents in it’s small black shell. “I lost this, when I was in the ocean. He brought it back to me.” Craig puts it on the table, watching Kyle pick it up and inspecting it, twirling it around between his fingers, then dropping it back in the table.
“That’s it?” He asked, expecting something else. Craig nodded slowly, watching Kyle sigh. “I’ll give ya a break for a couple days.. still need some recovery.” He signals to the door, “Go get rest.”
“I’m completely fine!” He yells, slamming his hands on the table as he stood up, knocking his chair down on to the floor as he did. “I swear he was real I-“
“Don’t you yell at me.” Kyle says, standing up and linking an arm around Craig’s back, walking him towards the door. “You’ll be back up in your feet in a couple of days, for now, take a break. Ya need it.” He pushed Craig outside, slamming the door behind him.
“Fuck you Broflovski!” He yelled, giving the middle finger to the wooden door in a fit of anger. Craig puffed, walking over to the side of the boat and looking out into the ocean. He hoped he’d miraculously see the same green and blue he once saw tail poke out the ocean again, but after a while of staring, nothing happened. He’d honestly think it would be better if he just stayed on the island with the merman, realizing he didn’t miss the ship at all. It’d be better than your own captain calling you insane, wouldn’t it? Whatever, it’s not like he’s going to jump off the boat again. It’s less likely for the same merman to save him again, drop him off on a random island, then find his missing items for fish or pretty rocks. Craig sighs, walking away from the railing and across the deck to his room. He figured he’d get rest again, since Kyle told him to and that he was already pretty tired and had a raging headache. He opened the door, all of his roommates were out on the deck, so the room was completely empty. Lucky him, he won’t have anyone bother him in his slumber. Craig fell onto the hard mattress, resting his head in the pillows fluff with a small yawn, soon drifting off to sleep.