"I got you this. From the shore." Atlas grinned, shoving the shell into the hands of his crush, its pale pink hue contrasting with the deep blues of the ocean. Either the teen was just being subtle, or his best friend couldn't tell that he was clearly trying to flirt. He complimented them, told them he loved the color of their fin, the way their scales glimmered against the bioluminescence of the whales they swim past, but all he got was a platonic smile back. Not even a blush, or maybe a twiddle of their fingers. The most the merboy got was the most un-romantic hug ever that was worse than a handshake. Was he just that bad at mingling with the ladies? Atlas cringed eternally, maybe his crush just didn't like him back - is what everyone else would say - but the teen liked to believe that they were playing hard to get.

"We can go near the surface, ma's not watching us. Maybe scare the humans a bit!" Atlas offered with the most charming smile he could manage, a hand skimming against his friends forearm in a way that should have been giving a strong hint, but instead, he found himself getting another un-romantic, platonic, definitely just friends smile shot back at him.

The merboy internally screamed.