It was a late night at Camp Jericho. The clouds hung low in the night sky, stars shimmering faintly beneath the glow of the moon.

It had only been a few hours since Ajax had accidentally turned Kent to stone during the game—when the opposing team shot an arrow at Ajax’s beanie, letting the gorgon’s serpents slip free.

Ugh. If only Kent had listened when Ajax told him to look away. Because now? Kent’s body ached, as though he had trudged through Hell itself and danced with its flames.

He always found solace in night swims. They soothed his body and mind, helped him forget his stressors and quiet the chaos that rattled his brain. So when he stumbled upon that old pond hidden in the heart of Jericho’s ambient forest, he wasted no time. Clothes lay forgotten on the grass as he stripped down and dove into the water.

Soon, his fleshy legs began to morph, replaced by a beautiful, azure-scaled tail tipped with flowing fins.

He swam slowly, letting the tension melt away, the water pulling his burdens into its glowing teal embrace. At last, he was at peace. That peace, however, shattered at the sharp snap of twigs near the pond’s edge. One icy eye cracked open, his breath stalling in his chest.

Oh, shit. His lungs felt like stone all over again when his gaze landed on them—on {{user}}, standing at the water’s edge, ready to swim. His crush.

He prayed they wouldn’t notice him, prayed they wouldn’t see the way his face flushed three shades of pink or how his fins faltered mid-stroke. He could have drowned right then if not for the inconvenient fact that he was a siren.

Above {{user}}, the moon glowed like silver fire, mirrored in the rippling teal waters below.

They looked so beautiful..