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It was.. A little odd, Gisu would admit, but weird stuff was kind of her thing. She found comfort in the odd and unusual, couldn’t tell you how many hours she spent on the internet as a teenager just doing research on UFOs, cryptids, and the likes (and still does). And well, here she was now, driving to some abandoned lighthouse where no one ever goes, on her way to hang out with a girl who was deemed THE local cryptid.
And Lizzie definitely fit that job pretty description well.
She looked like any normal person (well, aside from the, you know, the big tail, scales, gills, and frills). She got her reputation, though, from going around at god-knows o’ clock stealing license plates off people’s cars. Most people weren’t too happy about it, but Gisu thought it was extremely funny. Lizzie just says she’s helping them avoid government tracking from traffic cameras, so she gets a cool license plate for her collection, and they get to fight the system, it’s a win-win, really!
The road was quite bumpy and uneven, given that it wasn’t actively maintained, it wasn’t surprising. But Gisu didn’t mind, she could see the old lighthouse coming into view anyway. It was a pretty scenic drive with the tall firs and pine trees to the left, decorating the cliffside. On the right was a short cliff that led down to the bay. It reminded her of their first meeting.
To be fair, it would be pretty hard to forget hitting someone with your car, especially when that someone was 6 foot tall walking, talking sea monster (outdated term, she thinks, sea person sounded a lot less offensive).
The road to the skate park, also pretty unused, looked similar, except the inland cliffs were less extreme, moreso just hills than cliffs. Just her usual drive back to her dorm after dark, until she turned one of the corners and BAM! A half dead Lizzie lying unconscious in front of her car in the middle of the night.
She didn’t even take in what she looked like at first, since she had just hit someone with her fucking car. She almost drove to the hospital at first, but that was when she finally processed that this wasn’t exactly a “normal” looking person. So Gisu stuffed the poor thing in the back and brought her to her dorm. Definitely not funny in the moment, but after Lizzie woke up the next day, she simply laughed it off and said it was fine.
“Not the first time I’ve been run over, believe it or not!” She had said so casually.
She had even said the bathtub was a cozy spot for sleeping, despite her limbs sticking out all over the place.
At that point, Gisu couldn’t not want to hang out with her, like, all the time. Her college life had been pretty boring and predictable up until then. It must have been fate, if such a thing even existed. Not only was it supernatural, her favorite kind of weird, but she also did, genuinely, get along with Lizzie very well. Both their personalities fit really well together, almost like a puzzle piece, except from two different puzzles cut in the same mold; maybe a weird jumbled mess of a full picture to most, but the pieces still fit perfectly, and much more interesting than what they’re supposed to look like on the boxes.
Exactly the kind of person she would break into old abandoned buildings, or just pass a blunt with.
Exactly the kind of person Gisu would want to spend her time with, even if she wasn’t half fish.
Which brings her all the way out here, to the end of a long, barely frequented cape somewhere along the Northwest Pacific coastline, at least 45 minutes out from most civilization. She hadn’t even known of this place until Lizzie pointed it out on the map. Apparently she had a few secluded spots like this, but this was the first one Gisu has come to, but, hopefully, not the last.
As the road curved more in, pulling out from the treeline, and away from the edge, up a steady slope to the top where the lighthouse stood at the end of the rocky cape, she could already spot her friend sitting at the edge of the cliff, waiting for her. She parked the car in the grass at the end of the road, and hopped out.
Lizzie must have heard her close the car door, because she jumped up from her spot on the ledge, and dashed over to her side. Surprisingly fast for someone who spent more time swimming than walking. She smiled up to her taller friend as she approached, she smiled back.
“Took you long enough,” Lizzie spoke, lighthearted, of course.
“Well, hello to you too, my dear friend whom I missed soooo dearly,”
She rolled her eyes at that, the smile still plastered on her face, “Oh, please, you saw me, like, two days ago.”
“48 is a lot of hours, though, just saying,” Gisu retorted back, her own grin still present.
It seemed all their conversations started with little, casual banter like this, but that’s how she liked it. She knew that she could talk openly and relaxed with Lizzie, there weren’t too many people she could just be herself around anymore. Dion and Morris were cool, but they definitely weren’t nearly as fun and exciting as Liz.
It would’ve been nice if they could all hang out today, but of course they both had classes the only day Gisu didn’t have any. Still, a part of her is kind of glad it was just the two of them here, although she couldn’t really put her finger on why… oh well, that’s something future Gisu could worry about, it was probably nothing, anyway… probably…
“Wanna help me get the cooler out of the trunk?”
“Heck yes,” but Lizzie was moving before she even finished her sentence. “Did you bring the Monsters?”
“I did, I can’t believe you actually like that shit.” she responded while following her to the back of the car.
“Hey at least I don’t drink Coke like you, now that shit fucking sucks,” she had already stuck her whole face in the box, shifting through the ice for her disgusting energy drinks.
She couldn’t help but chuckle a little at Lizzie’s antics. Her whole upper body had to be buried in that cooler now, (it’s not even that big) while sounding so aghast about her friend’s apparent horrific taste in soft drinks.
“Come on, it’s not that bad-” the last word was cut off by the crack of a can opening, then Lizzie, very over-dramatically, taking the longest, noisiest sip of her drink, followed promptly by a loud click of her tongue and a satisfied ‘ahh’ sound,
“Sorry, couldn’t hear you, what was that?” with the most innocent and relaxed look on her face.
She scoffed, "Whatever, just come help me get all the stuff out," reaching to close the cooler again, then grabbed the handles on the side.
Lizzie set her drink down on the ground, then went for the two foldout chairs stored deeper in the trunk. After moving them both under a single arm, she used her free hand to pick up the can again and take another, albeit, shorter swig.
"So, how are we supposed to get down there anyway?" Gisu asked as she walked up to the cliff's edge. From here it was a pretty straightforward fall directly down to the rocky beach below. It had to be at least a 40ft drop. "I don't suppose you have an escalator?"
"Well, not exactly," she nodded her head to the left, towards the other side of the lighthouse. "I know a pathway down, come on."
Lizzie started walking again, this time leading instead of following.
"It's a little steep, though, so watch your step."
---
At some point they had just ditched the chairs and cooler on the beach and jumped in the water, so, really, it was kind of pointless bringing them in the first place, she thought. They sat and relaxed for a total of maybe 10 minutes (or was it 10 seconds?) before they got bored of it and traded the slippery, and sometimes pointy rocks from the beach for some swimming instead.
Why did we even set up here?
Well, whatever, she was planning on spending most of the time in the bay from the start anyway. Still, it probably would've been better to just leave their stuff near the lighthouse, especially since the trail down was more rugged than she’d imagined, even with Lizzie’s previous warning. They’ll worry about that later, though, for now they were both just enjoying the cold water.
Lizzie was definitely more built for the temperature than Gisu, but she didn’t mind it. Coming here during Spring or Summer, rather than Fall, would’ve been nicer, but that's also when tourists came flooding up north to escape that southern California heat. She’d choose the cold over the crowds every time. Something she’s sure Lizzie would relate to.
It didn’t take her too long to get used to the chill, anyway. She found it refreshing, even.
They spent a good while just goofing off in the water, as if they were 10 years old still. Splashing at each other, seeing how fast Lizzie could swim from point A to point B, seeing how fast she could swim with Gisu clinging onto her back for dear life (she was still pretty fast, turns out).
Lizzie was very skilled with her water tricks, as you could expect from someone like her. Her favorite was what she called the ‘Great White Splasher’. Which is exactly what it sounds like, mimicking the hunting technique of a great white shark by swimming down to the murky depths, then bolting up and out of the water as fast as she could, and likewise, she went flying through the air each time. Instead of catching a seal in her mouth, though, she’d just catch empty air, and the occasional bug.
She was quite good at this trick, she looked graceful doing it, even, except for the landing. Almost every time she landed flat on her face, except for the times she’d land in some other awkward position, but always created a huge splash regardless. Some of them even sending Gisu tumbling back under the water from the waves it created.
Overall a very impressive stunt. Lizzie waved it off as nothing, but the tone of her voice gave away that she thought she was the coolest person ever when she performed it to her audience. Gisu found it charming, she always smiled at the girl’s demeanor. It gave her a pleasantly warm feeling that could keep her afloat in the cold waters for a century at least.
Now they were exhausted, though. All that screwing around drained them, so now they floated on their backs peacefully, staring at the sky scattered with stray clouds, having small and pointless conversations in between bouts of silence, yet content floating.
"Sooooo, why is this state called Washington anyway?" Lizzie broke the silence again.
"Eh, it was named after some old white guy, I don't know why though, he kinda sucked."
"I see," she paused again for a moment, then added with a small chuckle "you land people are so weird sometimes."
Gisu gave a small laugh in return, "tell me about it."
They both went silent again for a moment, going back to their quiet floating. Lizzie then started swimming around her in passive circles, just out of reach of her outstretched limbs. It caused Gisu to spin with her, like she was the centerpiece of the world's slowest whirlpool to ever exist.
She snickered again, "you're making me dizz, Lizz."
It felt like she was always laughing and smiling around her.
Lizzie eased her circling a little, but not completely. She looked at her with a bit of an awkward smile, "sorry."
There was another short pause before she changed the subject again.
"Gisu, how long can you hold your breath?"
"Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all," she thought for a moment, "probably a minute or so, but never really tested it before. Why do you ask?"
"I wanna show you something cool," she pointed a webbed finger below the water, "down here."
Gisu was still a little suspicious, but what the heck, she’ll bite.
“Alright, what do you want to show me that’s sooo cool?”
“If I tell you, it’ll just ruin the surprise, man! Just hang onto me, and I think I can get us down there before you start drowning.”
“ You think , huh?” she was already wading over to her, though. Probably a dumb decision if she didn’t trust her, but she did.
Lizzie turned around so Gisu could wrap her arms around her neck and cling to her. The fish girl was slippery, as most fish tend to be, so this was (hopefully) the most secure grip she could manage. It worked for them earlier, as long as Lizzie didn’t swim too fast. She just hoped it would work long enough to get to this super secret, and apparently super cool location.
“I hope this will be worth having water clogged in my ears for the next month.”
“Personally, I think it will be worth having your ears clogged for at least a whole year. Just tug on my fin if we need to come back up,” she pulled a little on one of her cheek frills to indicate which of her fins she meant, then turned her head to look at her passenger, “ready?”
“Yup. Lead the way, captain,” she gave a mock salute before returning her arm to its secure grip.
With that, Lizzie dove under, bringing them close to the bottom. It wasn’t too deep of an area, thankfully. She then tilted to the left, bringing them to the stony walls that made up the base of the cape where the lighthouse stood, then dove a bit deeper, and started to feel around the rocks. Gisu squinted her eyes a bit to try and adjust her vision to the underwater landscapes better.
What is she looking for?
It didn’t take too long before she found it. ‘It’ being a small opening to a tunnel, apparently. It blended in so well with the rest of the rocks that she didn’t even notice it until Lizzie was pulling them into its depths. It was too dark in here to see anything, but she could tell the passage was a tight fit for the two of them considering her back kept brushing up against the top. Luckily it wasn’t very long either.
Soon enough, her head was above water and she was gasping for air. Wherever they were, it was completely pitch black. All she knew was that she could breathe in here somehow.
“Lizzie, where are we?” she heaved out.
“Oh, right, almost forgot you can’t see in the dark very well,” she paddled them a little to the left? Right? She couldn’t tell anymore, but her feet could touch the bottom now, “just hang onto my arm, I think I have something that can light this place up.”
Lizzie led them out of the water and across a damp stone floor. Gisu almost slipped a few times, but Lizzie held her up. She was completely relying on her friend to keep her alive right now, and luckily she was doing a pretty good job at it.
“Okay, they’re around here somewhere, stay here for a second,” Lizzie unhooked her arm from her then.
It wasn’t exactly scary, but she did feel a little more uneasy without her tour guide in the dark. There was a rustling sound as Lizzie apparently searched for their light source. It took a minute, but she eventually heard a small “aha!” sound off a few feet in front of her. Seconds later, an object was placed in her hand.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a glow stick! Go ahead and crack it out.”
“Glowsticks? I thought you couldn’t go into, like, any store ever.”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t go after everyone’s gone, that's when they have the best deals, anyway!”
“Lizzie, that’s just stealing.”
“Okay? And? It’s not my fault the security at Walmart sucks ass, just light the thing up.”
Gisu did as instructed then Lizzie followed suit. In a split second the cave was lit in a neon green glow. She had to blink a few times to get used to the new light, and when her eyes adjusted, they immediately shined with wonder.
The space wasn't incredibly big, but it sure was an astounding sight. Just about the entire cave was made of limestone. The glowsticks bathed everything in a green hue, but she could tell most of the walls were light in color, while only certain areas were painted darker in small hatched patterns. The ceiling reached about 12 feet or so above her head, adorned with stalactites, so close she could probably reach out and touch them if she tried. They quietly dripped water down into the pool where they entered. Smaller ones also spread out on the floor of the cave, scattered between them, but still with a good amount of walking space.
It felt as if she was in the jaws of a giant sleeping beast, surrounded by its sharp teeth. In a cool way, though, of course.
"Holy shit, this is amazing!" She immediately made her way to the wall, slipping up a few times, but still managed to get there without falling completely on her ass. Entirely unable to hide her excitement, she touched all around the stone, feeling up every texture she could, "Dude how did you find this place?"
Lizzie smiled at her friends reaction, seemingly very proud of her discovery, "well, you know I like to explore, and it's always a good decision to enter dark, narrow tunnels you've never been in before"
"This is incredible, Lizzie!" She turned to look back at her briefly, "are you the only one who's ever been here? It looks completely untouched! Aside from your pile of stuff over there, I mean."
"As far as I know."
She walked over to stand beside her now, holding up her glow stick so Gisu could see more of the wall. There were faint patterns of ancient seashells and tiny fossils scattered within the calcite. Both lightly brushing their hands across the rough textures.
"I didn't even know you could find caves like these in this area at all," Gisu spoke up after a few moments, the excitement in her voice toned down now, just a little bit.
"I thought you might like it."
"Like it? I LOVE it!" the enthusiasm in her voice rising up again, "I could make out with you right now, like honestly!"
Shiiiit, why did I say that out loud?
Luckily, Lizzie only looked amused at the comment, "wow, at least take me to dinner first."
She so casually laughed it off like it was nothing. Gisu, on the other hand, was starting to lose her mind a little.
Wait, I kind of want to, like actually?
Friends do that, right?
Friends make out with each other all the time, don't they? Completely normal, tongue and all!
Christ, where are all these thoughts coming from?
It was a good thing she could keep a straight face right now, years of practice coming to rescue her from what would be a very, VERY awkward situation. She decided to try and distract herself from the insane thoughts by focusing back on the cave.
She'd never seen limestone so undiminished before, she could make out each individual fossil and fragment. Some of them even poked out enough to where she could nearly feel around the whole shape of it. If she could, she would just sit here all day mapping out each inch in thorough detail.
It wasn't until she heard Lizzie’s voice echo from across the cave that she realized she was now standing alone.
"Hey, you wanna see something even cooler?"
"There's more?" It genuinely shocked her that this little cave could possibly have anything cooler.
"Yeah, c'mere!" She waved her glow stick in the air to point the way.
Gisu made her way over, carefully this time, hugging the wall and keeping her eyes on the floor for better insight on where to step.
Past a small cluster of stalactites stemming out of the ground hid another small outcrop that pushed a little deeper in than the main area. Lizzie was crouched down near the side, gesturing her over.
It only took a second to reach her side and kneel down next to her.
"Alright, care to show me what could possibly be more mind-blowing than a whole wall made of ancient bones?"
"I would care to, yes," She brushed her hand over a small region in the stone close to the floor, then moved her stick to hover just above it, shining the light on her point of interest. It was weak, with whatever unholy liquid they use to make those things glow starting to dim, but still bright enough to make the spot pulse with a soft glimmer, revealing its true nature.
"Oh my god, is that actual gold?"
"I think so, I'm not much of an expert on minerals, though. What do you think?"
It was hard to tell, honestly. She brought her head down more to the spot to inspect it closer.
"I mean, it could be. Looks a lot like gold."
Geology fascinated her, and she probably knew more about it than most, but she wasn't exactly an expert either. Still, she called upon her knowledge best she could.
"It usually wouldn't form in limestone, but I guess it's not impossible."
Before she could put any more thought into it, Lizzie leaned her head down right next to hers to get a closer look as well.
Oh my god, she's so close.
This feels weird, why does it feel weird? It wouldn't have felt weird before, right?
What the hell is going on?
Okay, focus. FOCUUUUSSSS.
Gisu had to mentally wring herself out for a second. An idea of an answer popped in her mind then, it was enough to snap her out of her mini trance.
"Okay, I think I might know what this actually is," Lizzie moved her head back a tad to look at her, "considering it's much more likely to form in a cave like this, my guess is that it's pyrite."
She mimicked Lizzie's last movement so they were looking eye to eye, a stupid little smirk forming on her face, "a.k.a.; fool's gold"
Lizzie's curious expression quickly turned into a "you've got to be kidding me" one. An exaggerated groan escaped her mouth.
"Oh, come oooooon, you thought it was gold too, don't deny it!"
"Yeah, for like a second!"
"That was much longer than a single second, and you know it!"
"So, you were counting in your head, I assume?"
"Maybe I was! It was at least, like, two seconds! AT LEAST!"
Gisu finally cracked at the last statement, bursting into a full fit of laughter, followed soon after by Lizzie.
She had to take a moment to catch her breath before speaking again, "please tell me there's enough oxygen in here that I won't suffocate in the next 5 seconds."
"I'm sure there's enough to last you about a day or two. I think."
"Very reassuring, thank you."
They both took another moment to fully catch their breaths, before Lizzie changed the subject.
"We probably should get going now, though. Can't hang out here all day, unfortunately."
"Yeah, I swear I'm already getting light-headed in here."
Lizzie hopped back in the water, Gisu right behind her.
"Ready to reboard the Sturgeon Express?"
"When did you decide to name yourself that?" she lazily hooked her arms around her neck, trying not to think about how close together their faces were yet again.
"Just now actually! Still need that affirmative, though."
"Always ready, Captain."
--------
Lizzie knew something was off as soon as her body touched the water again. She had an acute sense of natural changes in the environment, just like any one of her kind did. Well, most did at least.
She could feel storms coming from miles away, much before they'd actually hit. From the way the currents shifted ever so slightly, to the behavior of the other aquatic creatures around her. But that couldn't be right… they weren't in the cave THAT long, were they?
She made the mistake of pushing the feeling to the back of her mind as she swam out from the cave. At that point, they could both tell what was happening now, and a silent ripple of anxiety passed through the two. The temperature had to have dropped at least 5 or 6 degrees from before, and the pull from the waves was stronger now.
She just hoped Gisu could keep hold long enough to get to shore.
When they broke the surface, the rain was already pouring down hard. Gisu was struggling with her grip and fighting for her breath as the waves continuously smacked into them. Lizzie was desperately attempting to keep her friend's head above the water, while also making her way back to the beach as fast as possible.
She was familiar with storms like this, she actually loved them, it was something to excite about in the otherwise boring, and uneventful liquid desert she called home. This was different, though. This time she was with someone.
Someone who wasn't Sam or Norma.
Someone who couldn't breathe underwater, or effortlessly glide through raging waves and fast currents.
Someone she really, really, REALLY didn't want to lose.
"We're almost there, just hold on!"
Gisu gave a weak thumbs before immediately returning to her death grip around her neck.
It was a major relief when they finally got to the shallows and they could both touch their feet onto solid ground. Gisu had loosened her grip and shifted her position so she was leaning onto Lizzie’s side, with one arm linked in hers and the other outstretched to help them balance, while they made their way out of the water completely.
The waves were rough, but the heavy wind and downpour weren't much of an improvement. They still had their arms linked to help keep them steady. Along with the draft, everything was slippery again, just like the cave, so they still had to be careful.
She looked over to where they had set up their chairs before. The cooler was still intact, but the chairs had been blown off down the beach, nowhere to be seen. That was a problem for future Lizzie, though.
"Let's just get back up to the lighthouse and hunker down there for now, I can come back and get our stuff later," she had to yell in order for Gisu to hear her.
"Fine by me!" She yelled back.
They made their way to the trail that led up to the top of the cape. Luckily, they managed to get there without much issue, but now they had to actually climb up.
She wasn't lying earlier when she said it was pretty steep, It was rugged, too, now with the added bonus of wet, slippery mud. Their only saving grace would be the few small trees that had space to actually grow on the side of the cliff, as well as loose roots poking out from the walls.
Great.
It would be a challenge, but they could manage it.
Probably…
She let Gisu go first this time, that way she could catch her if she slipped. Slowly and carefully, they made their way up the slope. Grabbing each solid branch and root without too much trouble, but, of course, something had to go wrong.
They were almost to the top, Gisu had pulled herself up to a turnpoint, where the trail zigzagged the rest of the way up. Lizzie grabbed onto the same branch to pull herself up, then reached for Gisu's outstretched hand. Before she could even register what was happening, the branch had snapped, and she went tumbling backwards.
Gisu had managed to grab onto her tail, though, so now they could tumble to their deaths together, I guess. Despite the slipperiness of, well, everything, she had a good grip on it. Only problem was that they were still sliding fast.
Lizzie wasn't somersaulting more, but falling abaft on your back, down towards the side of the trail that fell off straight onto the rocks below wasn't great either. Gisu was able to get back on her feet after being launched forward from the force of Lizzie's tail, but it didn't do much either, they were still sinking downward.
It only got worse when Gisu tried to wedge her foot to the base of one of the trees they passed in their plummet. It didn't work the way she probably thought it would. Instead of stopping and securely anchoring them to the trunk, only her foot got stuck, while the rest of her body was still pulled forward. It twisted in a way that was so wrong , and made a prominent " snap!" sound . She yelled out in pain, losing her grip on Lizzie, instinctively reaching for her ankle that was still caught.
She, however, continued to fall. She tried to flip herself off her back, but to no avail. By some miracle, though, before she was launched off the side of the cliff, she instead felt her head hit something. Another tree. It hurt, but it did save her.
It gave her the chance to twist around, grab hold of it, and pull herself up a little. Immediately, she looked back up the slope to find Gisu. Given the situation right now, she looked okay. It seems she was able to hoist up the top half of her body somehow, so now she was fully hugging the tree instead of dangling off to the side. A very relieving sight, but they still had to get out of this mess.
"Gisu!" she called up to her, "are you okay!?"
"Yeah I think so! Pretty sure I broke my leg though," she grimaced down at the foot still wedged on the tree.
"Alright, uhhh," she took a look at her surroundings for a second. There was another tree between them that she could just reach, "I'm going to try and climb back up, alright?"
"Okay! This might help, here!"
Gisu threw down a muddy stick to her, but it only smacked her in the head, then tumbled off the side.
"Ow! Hey!"
"Sorry, I thought you'd catch it!"
"Well I didn't!" she picked up on her idea, though, "hold on!"
She stretched up from the tree she was wrapped around to grab one of its branches. After ripping it off, she stabbed it into the muddy earth as hard as could. She held onto it with one hand, while the other reached for the tree between them. It worked well, she was able to get a solid grip and pull herself up, then did the same to get to where Gisu was. She made sure to pull the branch out and bring it with.
"Alright, let's get out of here already."
"Please."
It didn't take too much effort to get Gisu's foot unstuck, but it certainly sounded painful for her. It filled Lizzie with guilt, it was her dumb decision that got her stuck in this mess. Gisu didn't deserve any of this, she had to fix it.
I swear I'm gonna get you out of here, even if it kills me.
Gisu slung her arm around her shoulder, and Lizzie wrapped her tail around her waist for support. Once they felt secure enough, they made their way back up. It was more of a struggle than before, now with one of Gisu's legs out of commission, but somehow, someway, they made it to the top.
Both of them flopped to the ground as soon as there was steady, even land beneath them. They didn't stay long, though. They had to get Gisu into the lighthouse to dry off, and inspect her ankle.
She'd broken into this lighthouse countless times, so getting in was easy. The lock has never been changed since the first time she broke it. Telltale sign that it's not maintained in the slightest anymore.
The inside was run down and damaged from the years of unuse. The wooden floors creaked on just about every panel. Moss grew out from its cracks, creeping up the walls and intermingling with vines of ivy and colonies of mold. Water leaked from multiple different areas on the ceiling. Every gust of wind from outside made the building creak, and whistle through it's walls.
Most people would think the sound was unsettling or creepy, but personally she found it soothing.
It was a good thing for them that the bottom floor still had furniture, even if it was old, unsteady, and probably crawling with bugs and rats. Still, it was better than the floor.
She helped Gisu sit down on the bed. It was small, and the mattress was thin, but it would work for now. There were some pillows stowed underneath that she pulled out, putting one behind her back against the frame, and the other under her injured leg.
"Is that comfortable enough?"
Gisu adjusted her position a little.
"Not as much as I'd prefer, but I'll live," she looked up at Lizzie with the most tired, yet genuine smile she'd ever seen, "Thank you, Lizzie."
A warmth filled her chest and face she didn't even know was possible. No one had ever looked at her like that in her whole life, this was… New.
New expressions.
New feelings.
New confusions.
Is this what Norma feels with Frazie? Huh… no wonder she brings her over so much.
"Uhh, you alright, Liz?"
She didn't realize till now that she was staring. For how long? She didn't want to guess.
"Sorry! Uhm, yeah, no problem! That's what friends are for!"
She grinned sort of awkwardly, but then cleared her throat to change the subject.
"You probably should change out of those clothes and dry off before you freeze to death."
"Oh, yeah, that's probably a good idea," she looked down at her swimsuit, which was still dripping wet, then grimaced a little "I left my clothes on the beach, though."
"Shit, do you have anything in your car?"
"I probably have some extra towels in there, but I doubt extra clothes," she pressed her palm to her forehead, thinking.
"Okay, so, I can at least grab the towels real quick, then scour this place for any supplies. Maybe there's some clothes somewhere, who knows?"
"Sounds like a plan."
-
It didn't take long to grab the towels (as well as some water bottles left in the back, always a good thing to have) and get back inside. She’d dropped off the items next to the bed, then continued on to the staircase and up the spiral to search for more supplies. Also to give Gisu some privacy while she changed.
She was up in the service room now, rummaging through the cabinets for anything that could be of use. It also gave her some time to think. God forbid.
She thought about the moment before, when Gisu had thanked her. Firstly, why would she be thanking her, of all things? It was her fault that they were in this mess in the first place. If she hadn't brought them down to her secret little cave completely on impulse, or if she'd at least noticed the storm signs before in the first place. But noooo, she was too busy gawking at her friend and showing off like an idiot.
Stupid, stupid stupid.
She stopped her searching for a moment, and just gazed out the window as she fell deeper into thought.
She wasn't a stranger to making impulsive decisions, she made them all the time! But this time, she had gotten Gisu hurt. It didn't matter much to her if her shenanigans ever got herself hurt, but this was her friend. One of her best friends, actually. Well, probably her favorite at this point, honestly.
And that was another thing, she always saw her as a friend, and never much more than that, but… The way she looked at her, so genuinely, with what she could only describe as pure adoration, and even appreciation, despite what they'd just gone through.
She'd never felt so seen, so cared for. Her perspective on their whole relationship up to this point had shifted in just that one moment.
Maybe it was just the moment, though. Just emotions being thrown about after nearly hurdling off a cliff. She could worry about this later, she had to keep looking.
After returning to the cabinet raiding, she managed to find a first aid kit as well as a few dusty blankets. After that, nothing but some old cleaning supplies. This would do, though.
She started back down the twisted staircase, and stopped at the bottom in front of the door to the small living area where Gisu was, then knocked lightly on the wood.
"I'm coming in, I hope you're not still naked or anything!"
She took a moment before she stepped through, covering her eyes with her free hand just in case.
"I have a towel, Lizzie, you're fine."
Her hand lowered again to see Gisu wrapped around one of the towels, the other tied around her chest as if she just got out of the shower. She was shivering now.
"Alright, I didn't find any clothes, but I did find a few blankets," she dusted them off briefly, then wrapped both of them over her, effectively turning her into a human burrito, "hopefully that will warm you up."
"Thanks."
She looked even more tired than before, and honestly, Lizzie couldn't blame her. It was getting late now, the dimming light outside punctuating the point.
"I also found a first aid kit. How's your leg feeling?"
Gisu took a second to rub a hand over her ankle, "it still hurts, but it's more of a throbbing pain now. I can't move it at all, I definitely broke it."
"Mind if I take a little looksie?"
"As long as you don't ever say "little looksie" again."
"Deal."
Lizzie set the kit on the floor, and moved to help her adjust her position to a lying one, with her leg propped up on one of the pillows, the other pressed between her back and the bedframe. She knelt down and leaned over her leg to see the damage.
Upon closer inspection, her ankle was definitely swollen. No surprise there. Her hands moved to the kit next to her, and she popped it open.
It didn't offer much, mostly just small bandaids and their used wrappers, but there was a single roll of bandages she could use.
There wasn't much you could do about a broken ankle in this situation, but this would help for the time being.
She took the roll out and began wrapping around the swollen area, doing her best not to press too hard. She spoke up again as she worked
"So, should we make a plan or something? That's what responsible people do, right?"
"I guess so," A tiny bit of a laugh escaped from her, a small success for Lizzie.
She took a moment to shake her head a little, probably to brush off some of that drowsiness.
"I can't really drive in this condition, so that's out of the question. I would call Dion, or Adam to come pick me up, but I doubt I'd get reception here. It's too late and too rainy to really go out, anyway."
Gisu looked down at her with a small, bashful smile, "So, I guess we're stuck here together until the storm passes."
The thought scared her, though. She’d never spent more than a few hours at a time with Gisu before. Unless, that night she ran her over counted, but she had been unconscious until the morning, and even then, Gisu had left to go to her classes. She had been very confused to wake up in some stranger's bathtub, especially when said stranger wasn't even there, but that was besides the point.
"Are you sure? I could go out and try to find a signal, or something. Or I could drive you myself, even," she tried her best to hide the worry on her face and in her voice, but it probably didn't work too well.
"Gosh, Lizzie, you don't seem too excited about our very first slumber party. Besides, you should never be allowed near a steering wheel, major safety hazard,"
"No, it's not that! It's just.. I don't know, it's dumb."
"What's dumb is trying bottle up your emotions," Gisu leaned over to place a hand on her shoulder, her expression softened into a sympathetic one, "you can tell me, I'm not gonna judge."
Lizzie turned her head, moving her eyes to look at hers for only a second before deciding to glance at literally anything else. It suddenly felt too intense for her, somehow.
She didn't exactly want to pour out her feelings, but she didn't want Gisu thinking that she didn't enjoy her company when it was quite the opposite.
I'll have to swallow my pride, just this once.
"Okay, fine," she sighed, quickly finishing up the wrapping, tearing off the fabric from the roll, then leaned away from the bed to sit back on the floor.
She crossed her arms over her knees, then rested her head on them to hide her face. It was still difficult to look her in the eye, so she stared at the floor instead.
"I guess I'm just.. worried you'll get bored of having me around? That the more sides you see of me, the more you learn about what I'm really like, the more you'll want to just leave me forever," she stopped before adding more quietly, "I don't wanna lose you… dude."
The last word she added in on impulse, to try and make the atmosphere feel less tense, but it just sounded awkward. She didn't dare look at her yet.
Gisu didn't say anything. The silence felt like it lasted eons, though in reality it was probably just a few seconds at most
Great, I just brought her mood down, good job, Lizzie.
"Sorry…"
That seemed to snap her out of it, though.
"What, no no no! It's okay, Liz!" She was shaking her head, "I'm glad you told me, actually."
She leaned over the side of the bed to lay a hand on her shoulder again, and Lizzie finally found the strength to look at her again. She anticipated sensing guilt or sadness in her gaze, but instead it was only warmth.
"Listen, you don't have to worry about that, okay? I'm not gonna run off just because you don't have, like, YOLO Swag twenty-four seven, or whatever. I genuinely really like you, and hanging out with you, I promise."
She could tell that she really meant it just by the tone of her voice, Gisu was practically gushing over her. There was still a part of her, deep down, that would say she was lying, but she could muffle its pathetic pleas for now.
It was reassuring, to say the least.
"So, whether you like it or not, I'm sticking with you, okay? I'm like a parasite."
"Okay," Lizzie let herself smile again, "You're the nicest parasite I've ever met, by the way. And I've had plenty of them to know."
"Very glad to hear that. Now, get up here, I'm not letting you sleep on the floor."
She reached out her other hand now to grab onto both of Lizzie's arms in a mock effort to pull her up.
"You sure? That bed's pretty small, if you can even call it one," it looked more like a military cot than anything.
"Yes, I'm sure. Who else will protect me from all the ghosts while I'm asleep?"
"Alright, fine," she couldn’t say no to that, "but only guard you from the evil spirits of the lighthouse, AND to help warm you up, can't have you dying from hypothermia overnight."
Gisu shuffled back on the mattress to make room as she crawled in next to her, careful not to disturb her ankle. It didn't take too long to settle in, as comfortably as they could manage. They were squished up against each other, and Lizzie's limbs stuck out from either ends of the tiny frame, but neither of them seemed to mind it.
"The ghosts are totally real, might I add," she wrapped one arm over the layer of towels and blankets to pull her in closer, then curled her tail around her calf to help keep her leg propped up, "you wouldn't believe how much weird stuff happens around here."
"Oh, I believe it."
Gisu tilted her head up from its position pressed against Lizzie's chest, then rested her chin on her collar. Now fully looking at her, eye to eye. She gave a small, content smile.
"Weird stuff is kind of my thing anyway."