I never believed in make believe . . .

Deja vu . . . fairies . . . talking mermaids . . . I have never, ever believed in anything of the sort. So, what happens next is completely out of control . . .

"Gus!" I yell again, getting irritated. My heart begins to beat faster and faster as I frantically look around for him. I expect him to pop out of the trees and scare me . . . but nothing. Silence almost drowns the atmosphere around me as I stay still in the water.

All of a sudden, I feel that same scaly tail brush against my leg.

I quickly dash in the water, kicking my feet as fast as I can towards the edge of the lake. I feel the water around me get warmer and try to speed up. When I reach the edge, I use all of my strength to pull my body out of the water.

Squinting to make out the lake, I take my glasses and shake them to get the water off. When I put them back on, I see Gus standing right in front of me.

"Gus! You almost gave me a heart attack!" I yell and walk towards him with my fist up.

"Hey, hey, take it easy now," he giggles as I playfully punch him in his arm.

"Why'd you push me in?" I squeak and turn my attention towards the calm lake.

"I didn't. You fell in, silly," he says and I shake my head in disapproval.

"No, I definitely felt your hands on my back," I lie and try to trick him.

"Fine. It was me, all right? I . . . " he looks away and sighs.

"Gus-"

"I wanted to show you my secret," he says, which makes my heart completely stop.

What secret?

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't feel it?" he asks and my eyes go big.

"No way . . . " I back up a little.

"Are you scared?"

"There's no way . . . "

"Want me to show you?" he offers and points towards the lake. Biting my lip, I slowly nod my head. There has been no physical evidence of anything like this in man-kind, and if I can say I've seen a human turn into a fish-like creature, humanity as we know it would be changed forever.

"Promise me something?" His sweet voice interrupts my nerdy thoughts.

"What?"

"That you won't freak out," he softly says and I promise.

"This is between us," he states and jumps into the water. Within a minute, there is a small layer of darkness in the lake. It gets bigger and I finally hear a splash.

The most terrifying thing just stares as me.

It's teeth are as sharp as a knife. It's horrifying stare would create nightmares in a kids mind for days. However, the beauty of the horrific creature is enticing. The blue and green scales create a shiny look to the creature, making it look beautiful.

Gus simply stares at me, and a smile tugs at my lips. He goes back down into the murky waters, and all at once, human Gus is back onto the grassy land.

"Oh my-"

"Save it," he lets out a laugh and grabs his shirt from the ground.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, mister."

"Let's talk about this over lunch."

***

"So, you just turn into a huge fish whenever you want?" I loudly say as I munch on my burger.

"Shhh . . . not so loud. But yes, I do." His annoyed tone makes me giggle.

"How even-"

"Long story short, my parents sold me to scientists. They originally wanted to test my organs because they thought I wasn't going to make it. Then . . . the scientists injected some sort of syrum into me . . . and now I'm a fish."

"A hot, human fish, mind you," I wink at him as I shove a fry into my mouth.

"Maybe . . . " he trails off and blushes.

The bell to the entrance rings and I glance over to see three men in all black looking directly at us. Out of fear, I quickly grab Gus's hand and point towards the men. They walk right towards us and my heart drops into my stomach.

Something tells me they aren't here to give us an award.

"Are you Gus Hernandez?" one of the men speak directly towards Gus. What would they want with him?

"Yes," he softly speaks. I look into his eyes and he genuinely looks terrified.

"You have to come with us," the man in the back says. He curls his mustache with his finger while the other men start at Gus.

"Wait, why!" I ask, grabbing his wrist firmly.

"Get off, kid!" the quiet man speaks and lifts me off of him.

"Gus! Gus! Don't let them take you away from me! Gus!" I scream and kick while tears well up in my eyes. The quiet man sets me down and jogs out of restaurant.

Gus . . .

I fold my arms on my lap and bang my head against them. Why couldn't I protect him . . . ? This is all my fault . . .

Will I ever see Gus again?

A/N

Uh oh!

So, what do you think?

Will she ever see Gus again? : o