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Johnny pulled his worn grey hoodie over his head, tugging the fabric down until it settled at his hips. Dark eyes stared back at him for a second until he averted his gaze. The bathroom lights were a dim yellow. It made the circles under his eyes look worse. He’ll have to ask Two-bit to pick new bulbs up soon. Assuming the rusty-haired man remembers to get them on his way home from work.
Johnny picked his phone off of the counter. 7:45pm. It’s going to be dark soon. He put the slightly cracked phone into his hoodie pocket. With one last fleeting glance at the mirror, he pulled the hood over his inky curls and left. The TV competed with the soft snores that came in from the living room. Two-bit was sprawled over the futon, a beer bottle loosely in his fingers. Dally sat in the old recliner with his icy eyes trained on whatever it was that he turned on the TV.
Some horror flick. Johnny walked into the room and peeled Two-bit’s fingers from the bottle. It was empty, apparently, but it didn’t matter much. He set it onto the low coffee table. Dally’s eyes flickered over to him. “Hey man,” Dally greeted. “You headin’ out?”
“Yeah,” Johnny tugged at his hoodie nervously. “Needed some air.”
Dally nodded before fixing Johnny a cool look. “It’s gonna be dark soon.”
“I know.”
“It’s cold as hell out there.” Johnny glanced down at his outfit. Hoodie, swim trunks, and a pair of flip flops. Not at all fit for any sort of cool breeze. Johnny shrugged.
“I’ll be alright,” he said. “I’ll be back before midnight." Dally stared at him for a while with a blank expression. Johnny tried not to fidget so much under his gaze.
“If you say so,” Dally said at last. “Don’t be stupid.” Johnny nodded again and started to walk towards the door. “Hey.” Dally called out. Johnny turned around. “Tell Buck to get his hillbilly self up here to fix our A/C when you come back.”
Johnny smiled, exhaling a bit through his nose. “Sure. Later, Dal.”
“Later, man.” The hallway was dull like always with its peeling floral wallpaper and terrible lightning. Fortunately for Johnny though, no one was in the hall. Just him and his uncomfortably loud footsteps. He could hear a couple people inside like Mr. Richards and his piano and Luke, the apartment building’s resident ‘bad boy’ playing music too loud. His parents are gonna get a noise complaint again. Johnny shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket.
The elevator wasn’t in order. It hasn’t been in order for a while now. He sighed, pushing the door to the stairs open. Buck said he was gonna do something about it, but that was days ago. Johnny didn’t know why the man didn’t just call someone about it. He won’t though, so now Johnny was going down three flights of stairs. He couldn’t wait for his legs to be sore once he hit the ground floor.
The ground floor was just as quiet and empty as his floor. Well, it was empty until Ms. Lorraine hobbled out of her apartment. She was a sweet old lady, Ms. Lorraine. She loved Johnny, Dally, Two-bit, and Steve (when he came over) to bits. Giving them leftovers and talking way too much to them. Her wrinkled face lit up when she got a glimpse of him. “Johnny!”
“Hi, Ms. Lorraine,” he waved meekly. She pulled him into a hug. Wow, she was strong for a little old thing. “How are you?” he asked mostly to be polite.
“Oh,” she waved his question away. “You know how it is, dearie. I’m going to visit my grandbaby!” she clapped her hands together.
“That sounds fun.”
“I made her a little care package!” Ms. Lorraine gestured towards a cardboard box that sat next to her open door. It wasn’t little at all and looked too heavy for someone her age to be casually lifting. “She’s been a little under the weather, you know?”
“Do you need help?” Johnny asked. “It looks heavy.” He didn’t really want to help, wanting nothing more than the salty air of the beach and the lukewarm water and — Well. Nevermind that thought. He couldn’t just leave her. She has always been good to him. It’s the least he could do.
“Would you?” she pushed her door open more ,so Johnny could pass by her. “I got so excited. She just had a baby, you know.” Johnny grunted as he lifted the box. Ms. Lorraine led the way to her red convertible. It was just as old as she was. “You’re such a nice boy, Johnny.” He gave her a small smile despite his arms feeling like Jell-O. She reached up and pinched his cheek. “You’re so good to people.”
She popped open the trunk and Johnny gently set the box inside. “You be safe, Ms. Lorraine.”
“You too, dearie!” Johnny closed the truck for her and waited until she had pulled out of the parking lot to keep going. The sun was beginning to set; soft oranges and pinks kissing the horizon line. Soon the street lights would turn on and the breeze that blew would be more persistent with its bites. Although Buck’s apartments are...mediocre, Johnny did love the view it provided.
They were right next to the beach. Almost made putting up with Buck’s antics worth it. Almost. There were a few stragglers on the beach, however they seemed to be getting ready to leave. The boardwalk creaked under his feet. He stood on the very edge, watching the waves roll in. He must look real weird to anyone that passed by or looked over briefly. Some guy alone on the edge of the boardwalk with his hood up. He didn’t move from that spot. He stood there, waiting.
Johnny heard Pony before he saw him. A soft melody echoing from underneath the depths of the water. It was the same one each time, but Johnny couldn’t find it within himself to care. He could listen to Pony sing, anything really, for hours on end. He tried not to look as giddy as he felt. Despite that, he couldn’t help the goofy grin that was plastered on his face.
Pony surfaced. His smooth hands grasped the wooden poles. He smiled up at Johnny, fins fluttering and bright green eyes staring happily into dark ones. “Johnny!”
“Hey,” Johnny said. Pony held a hand out. The pearls on his wrist clacked with the movement. “Give me a second, okay?” He slipped his flip flops off and made sure they weren’t too close to the water. His eyes darted to the figure further out in the ocean. He notices Curly everytime he hangs out with Pony, which is often. Curly never shows himself, instead lingering on a rock.
Close, but out of sight. Johnny always forgets he’s there after a while. He carefully took his hoodie off and set it on his flip flops. As soon as he stepped back to the edge, Pony wrapped his outstretched hand around his wrist. It didn’t take much coercion to get Johnny into the water. It never did. The water was lukewarm from the sand, but Johnny guessed it’s better than it being cold.
Pony smiled up at him, sweet and playful. “I wanna show you something.”
“Really?”
“Mhm,” his green eyes twinkled with mirth. The gold of his circlet shining a little in the fading sunlight. He floats backwards, his tail brushing against Johnny’s leg. “Come with me.” The hand on Johnny’s wrist was gentle with its tugging and a bit cold to the touch. Pony would look back every so often to make sure he was alright; a warm smile on his face that reached his eyes.
There was a gracefulness to the way Pony swam. Which, admittedly, Johnny is no stranger to seeing nor is it unexpected. It was mesmerizing and entirely unique to him. They passed by Curly who stirred, but did nothing more than lazily follow them with uninterested eyes. Johnny pointedly ignored the trident nestled at the guard’s side. “Curly’s not coming with us?” Johnny asked.
“I ordered him to stay there.”
“Ah.” Johnny was surprised Curly listened, but he kept that to himself. They were a few miles into the ocean now and Johnny was glad that he was a relatively strong swimmer. The sun had long since set, leaving only the moon and the dim light that Pony gave off.
“We’re almost there,” Johnny almost didn’t hear him. Being only slightly distracted by Pony’s appearance and all. He was bewitching in such a way that made Johnny tongue-tied and heart race. The feeling was somehow worse in the moonlight. “How long can you hold your breath?”
“A minute and uh four seconds,” it took Johnny four seconds to process the question. Steve challenged him to a breath-holding contest a while back and then proceeded to be miffed he lost.
“That’s enough time,” Pony said. “Ready? Deep breath.” And he disappeared under the water. Johnny took a deep breath and dunked himself underneath. He was met with green eyes. Pony grinned before he moved out of the way. An array of colorful fish swam by. It was a bit hard to see in the limited light, but Johnny’s never seen this many fish in one spot. It was amazing.
He couldn’t stay down there for long though. So, he surfaced, lungs burning a little. Pony followed suit. An excited look was on his face. “That was amazing!” Johnny said, breathless for two totally different reasons now. “You see that all the time?”
“Mhm!” Pony fiddled with his bracelet. “I knew you humans don’t see things like that often, so I wanted to show you it.” He plucked one of the pearls off. “Here.”
Johnny hesitated and took it gently from Pony’s hand. “For what?”
“To always remember me, silly,” Pony tilted his head, fluttering as if he was embarrassed. “Put it on a necklace or something.” Johnny smiled.
“Sure,” Johnny slipped the pearl into the pocket of his swim trunks. Hopefully, it won’t slip out. “It’ll be pretty hard to forget you though.” It was a heartfelt confession on Johnny’s end. He was only half teasing really. It would be impossible to forget someone like Pony. Johnny doesn’t think he’ll ever forget Pony even when he’s old and full of wrinkles and can’t seem to remember much anymore.
Pony’s face flushed a light pink. “Is that so?”
“Yeah,” Johnny nodded. “You didn’t have to give me anything to remember you.” He paused for a second, thinking. “Why don’t you just give me a necklace?”
“You don’t like flashy things!” Pony flushed more. “Besides, they would notice if I ‘lost’ a necklace like that. They’re not cheap.” Johnny hummed. He was listening. He was! Mostly. It was just so easy to lose himself in those eyes. It was like being caught in a whirlpool, but he didn’t fight it. He embraced it as he fell deeper and deeper. “...What?”
“Huh?” Nice one, genius. How articulate of you.
“You’re staring at me.” He was and he should stop. Pony tugged nervously at the jewelry adorned on him. Johnny hadn’t meant to make him anxious. He began to mumble an apology, but Pony had beat him to it. “Can I try something?”
“...Sure,” Johnny said, surprised. Pony rolled his shoulders back.
“Soda, my brother,” Pony began. “Said we can transfer a tiny bit of our magic to others. Do you trust me?”
“Always.”
Pony placed his hands in Johnny’s before slowly sinking underneath the water. Johnny allowed himself to be gently pulled under. Was it just him or did Pony seem brighter somehow? He always glowed under dim to no light, but this felt more intimate. Even the freckles that were dashed over his nose glowed. “Don’t laugh at me,” he said, pouting.
Johnny couldn’t laugh at him even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. Pony’s grip on his hands was timid and his eyes displayed how vulnerable he felt. Johnny ran his thumbs over the back of Pony’s hands. It was all he could do comfort-wise. He couldn’t utter a single word, but he could do this. He only had a handful of seconds left, but even then his chest felt tight.
Pony seemed to pick up on that and floated closer. He was so close Johnny probably could’ve counted all the freckles on him if he desired. He won’t though. That would be too much. Just as timid as before, Pony pressed his lip against Johnny’s, gentle and sweeter than what Johnny was used to seeing in movies. Warmth blossomed in his chest and filled his lungs.
He inhaled and panicked for a second before he realized something. He could breathe. Unconsciously, he followed Pony’s lips as the mermaid pulled away; brows furrowed a little. A giddy sort of laugh escaped him and Pony smiled so tenderly. “I can breathe,” he exhaled.
“You can,” Pony squeezed his hands. Pony had a bell-like laugh to him that Johnny loved. A lot. Johnny leaned in, capturing Pony’s lips and then again and once more. He felt almost intoxicated and as if he was on cloud nine rather than in the ocean by his apartment complex. He could breathe, but was still so breathless. So weightless as they kissed in a hazy film of moonlight.
Most of the light was generated by Pony as he burned brighter. Really, there was no reason for them to keep kissing. Johnny could breathe just fine by now, but that didn’t stop them. Not when the world was melting away until it was just them. Not when Pony would laugh only slightly breathless against his lips. Not when Johnny had sealed his love so firmly in stone. He was walking on air and there was never a better feeling. He wanted to feel like this forever.