Chapter Text
Josh didn't like saltwater. Tyler knew this. That's why when Tyler told him they'd be going to the beach on one of their free days in tour, Tyler wasn't surprised by his complaints.
What he didn't understand was why Josh despised saltwater so much. He is completely fine with any other water. Once he refused to swim in a pool just because it had saltwater instead of chlorine, and it confuses the heck out of Tyler. He's asked him about it several times, but no matter what he won't tell the truth.
Tyler went to Josh's room on the tour bus and knocked on the door.
"Hey, Josh? Won't you come with us to the beach? I promise you don't have to get in the water, you can stay on the sand."
He heard Josh's sigh followed by mumbling from inside.
"You swear? Tyler, if your planning on tricking me into the water I will kill you."
"Dude, I swear, alright? Please come, it won't be near as fun without you!"
Moment passed before the door opened to reveal Josh.
"Fine."
"Yes!" Tyler held up his hand and Josh couldn't help but give a small smile as he gave him a high-five.
Josh sat on the sand, warm against his skin, far from the water of the ocean. The sun shone brightly down on Josh's face and the ocean before him, the water sparkling back up to it. The calls from seagulls with the ocean waves crashing onto land sounded peaceful and could had lulled Josh to sleep.
Josh saw Tyler, Mark, and Ben in the water, splashing each other with wide grins across their faces. He wished he could be in the water with them, like a normal person. But Josh wasn't a normal person. He would never be.
"Hey Josh, are you sure you don't want to get in?" Ben called, pulling Josh out of his thoughts.
"I'm good! The sand is fine," He called back. It really was fine, honestly. It didn't bother him as much as it used to.
Ben hesitated before responding, "Well, alright man."
Josh sighed and let his thoughts continue, drawing whatever came to mind in the sand.
Later, Tyler came out of the water and plopped down next to Josh.
"Woah, your wet...," Luckily Tyler's wet skin hadn't touched Josh's.
"Dude, it's just water. What's up with you and the ocean?"
"I-I can't...,"
"Why not? Josh, you can talk to me about anything, you know that. I'm here for you," It hurt Josh to look into Tyler's confused eyes. He wished he could tell Tyler. He really did, but if he knew, Tyler would leave him. Just like his family and everyone close to him had in the past, calling him a monster on their way out. It pained Josh just to think about it.
"You wouldn't understand," He mumbled back.
"Let me understand, then! Is it a fear? There's no sharks this close to shore, and I'm pretty sure there's no jellyfish."
"Would you just leave me alone!? I said I was fine, Tyler," He snapped. Frick. That's not what he wanted to do.
Josh looked up at Tyler and saw his hurt expression, and it broke his heart.
"Tyler, I-I'm sorry-"
"No, it's fine. I shouldn't have pushed you," Before Josh could say anything, Tyler got up and went back into the ocean with Mark and Ben.
Josh noticed that Tyler's smile wasn't as genuine as it had been earlier, and it crushed him. It was all his fault. He couldn't even let his best friend have a good time.
Josh wished he hadn't came at all. He could be practicing his drums or exploring the city, but instead he let Tyler drag him here. The beach was the last place he wanted to be.
"Hey, do you guys wanna play a prank of Josh? He's napping in the sand, all we need is a bucket aaaaand....," Mark looked at Tyler and Ben expectingly.
"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea. I promised Josh he wouldn't have to touch any water-"
"Oh, c'mon Tyler, what's the worst that could happen? If anything, we could get him over his fear," Mark interrupted him.
"I just, I think we should respect-"
"Tyler, it'll be fun. You're worrying too much," He was interrupted again.
"Yea, it's just a prank. It'll be fun," Great. Now Ben was taking Mark's side.
Tyler hesitated. "Fine. You guys can go ahead, but I'm not taking any part of it."
"If you say so," Ben shrugged and they both went to the bus to get a bucket.
Tyler had a very bad feeling eating at his stomach, but he ignored it. What was the worst that could happen, right?
He sat down in the shallows with his eyes closed, facing the horizon and listening to the sounds of the ocean. It was calming. He opened his eyes to see a couple of dolphins jumping up and down far out on the water, making him smile.
Tyler turned to look back when he heard the sound of water being dumbed and Josh's gasp.
"Shit," He heard him say, and before he knew what was going on Josh had rocketed out of his spot and ran for life to the water, passing Tyler on the way. When he was deep enough, he dived under.
"What the heck...," Tyler turned to Mark and Ben with wide eyes, "Did you do...."
"Well, I mean... We got him over his... fear...," Ben spoke, clearly just as surprised as him.
Josh was trying desperately to swim away from shore while his flesh, bone, and muscle began to painfully mash together and expand. He couldn't tell if he was crying or if it was just the water around him.
The pain only grew greater but he thrashed with all his might. His friends couldn't see him like this.
Slits in his neck began tearing open. Gills. At least he could now breath while getting away.
When Josh knew he was far enough away, his breathing began slowing down and the pain started to subside.
Josh looked down to see a long shimmery tail and a huge fin, matching the color of his dyed hair. It sent shivers down his spine. He hasn't seen this in a long time.
'I'm a monster,' He thought to himself, putting his head in his hands. 'A monster. A freak of nature. If anyone knew, They'd run for the hills. They wouldn't even be able to look at you anymore.'
He was pretty sure he was crying, but it was still hard to tell.
How would Josh get back? Once he did, he'd be fired with billions of questions that he couldn't answer without telling the truth.
'I could just never go back,' The thought frightened Josh. Without Tyler, Mark, and Ben, Josh was nothing, just a waste of space. They didn't need him as much as he needed them.
With nothing else to do, he started slowly swimming. His tail muscles were stiff from years of not using them.
Soon, he saw a school of fish swim past him, their scales glittering from the sun. Josh smiled to himself.
Next he saw tons of vegetation and sea animals everywhere he turned. All the animals were clearly not afraid of the half-man half-fish. The sun shined down on it all, bringing everything to life. It was breathtaking- or, should I say, watertaking.
Josh couldn't believe it's been since he was a boy since he's seen all this. He realized just how much he missed it. Everything was so welcoming and harmonious. It was almost like he belonged here.
He heard a chirping sound and turned his head to see two dolphins swimming excitedly toward him, not hesitant nor afraid, like they knew him.
Josh chuckled as one swam past him, letting him stroke its side.
"Hey there, fella," Both dolphins chirped in response.
The second dolphin poked him i the shoulder, asking him to play.
Josh smiled and started swimming with both of them beside him. He started out slowly and gradually got faster, warming up his tail.
Soon, he was swimming and playing and dancing around with both of the dolphins. It was incredible, the experience of a lifetime. He saw all sorts of gleaming fish and plants and even rocks. It swept all of Josh's worries away, and he hoped it never ended.