Sarit
The drive there today was filled with silence. Abyss was looking between us, trying to nudge me. Chada was still busy driving, but I did not like his sister, some woman, a human, showing up and interrupting us.
The whole family has this way of treating me like I'm some cute kid even though they themselves are like puppies.
He looked over at me in the passenger seat and adjusted the temperature. "Is this cool enough?" he asked, paying close attention to me. I just grumbled at him.
Behind us in the middle, Abyss said, "You two sound like a married couple. Sarit, you specifically are such a grumbly wife."
The both of us objected at the same time. "I'm a man. There is no need to apply heteronormative speech to this," I said.
Chada nodded in agreement, saying, "Exactly, he's right. There can be two husbands or two wives for sapphic individuals. There is no point in trying to make homosexual relationships conform to being the same as a man and a woman; otherwise, what is the point of being gay or gendering those terms in the first place?"
His response made me feel, at least finally, right now we seemed to be in agreement.
Abyss said, "I was just teasing, but you're right. I should have known better, especially given how normal it is in the sea. We don't really term it like you guys in general. It's usually something akin to mate, gender neutral."
Chada seemed to find this interesting. I watched his reaction carefully, noting how he reacts. "So is it normal for the same sex to pair in the sea?" he asked. Abyss and I both nodded as Abyss said, "Yeah, actually it is, especially because many species can even change their gender, so it doesn't really matter."
Chada seemed a bit surprised but pleasantly. "Ah, so kind of like the clownfish I hear of," he said and Abyss nodded.
"Gender doesn't matter or it can change. Some species can conceive in other ways too, so we never learned society like you guys," I said.
He glanced over at me as he drove. "So what about you? What is it like for your species?" he asked.
"Rude," I said to him, appalled by the audacity to ask such things.
Abyss just smirked at us. "Oh, his species is about as compatible with humans as it gets. Haven't you seen his human form? It's very adaptable," he said teasingly.
Chada kind of sputtered a bit, glancing in the rearview mirror at him. "Well, uh, yeah I have... I didn't see, uh... never mind," he cut himself off.
"Didn't see what? You've seen all of me," I replied, faking a glare at him.
I heard Abyss gasp in the backseat. I shrugged like, what is the big deal; he saw it day one and almost every day since.
Abyss snickered in the backseat, enjoying this. "What, Abyss? Don't act like you haven't seen all of me too, come on," I said.
Chada looked over at us. "What?!?" he gulped. "He has seen all of you?" he said, looking at us in shock but trying to focus on driving. He almost pulled over, giving me a pouty upset-mixed face.
"It's no big deal. We all do this, plus Abyss and I are supposed to be mates," I said, shrugging.
Now this time he really pulled over. "Mates?! No, you two certainly make good friends but mates? Hell no," he said, staring at me.
"What, are you jealous?" I said, raising my eyebrows at him.
"Yes, in fact, I am," he said without hesitation. Both Abyss and I were taken aback. Abyss's face twisted into a shipping smirk.
I hadn't a clue what to say or how to react to this. I just floundered a bit. The car was filled with my own awkward silence for the rest of it while the other two kept looking at me.
Abyss even turned to Chada, saying, "I'm not your enemy, man. I wish you the best of luck. The mate thing is just something the others arranged for us. It doesn't actually hold any meaning."
I reached back to slap his shoulder. That traitor. I would get him for this.
That seemed to make Chada ease up a bit, however. A small determination and confidence rested on his shoulders and entire demeanor.
Finally that car ride that felt like twelve centuries was over. Abyss quickly skipped out of the car and ran away ahead of me, avoiding my wrath.
I tried to get up to follow him before I was pulled back suddenly by a gentle but fierce muscly arm. I couldn't even form a "what" when my lips made contact with his. He pulled me into that kiss as if trying to make me waver and like him. When he pulled back, I was slightly stunned, off my game. He bumped his forehead to mine before saying, "Mine."
What a wolf in sheep's clothing. You give him a fruit basket and he organizes a feast. How could he think that some time together using him means he can kiss me whenever, right after trying to hide me from his sister?
I was still pouting, so I just said, "as if," and slammed the car door on my way out as he smiled nonetheless.
I found myself back in the company, actually starting to look forward to this project. My nerves, though, suddenly they were talking about upping the date for my debut, but while I may have the talent, I'm not good with crowds. What would happen if I sang them all to the ocean and our cover was blown?
Why should I deign to perform for the humans? I honestly just wanted to curl up in Chada's house playing his games or be back home in the sea in my cozy bed. It's safer that way; it feels that way anyway.
I found myself sweating droplets while practicing so hard, I actually enjoyed doing it, though. I just had to keep dabbing it all away before it ruined my skin.
I knew I had an easy time because I hadn't debuted before. Debuting this soon is already legendary and has the company talking a lot. The concern I have is not only will I have photoshoots and events and interviews and performances, but also needing to socialize and get my name around by participating in shows and getting investors' attention.
This is all so new to me. I am glad I have Abyss and, thankfully, a seemingly reasonable company guiding me; however, it's still hard and tricky. They keep running over how to respond to media questions, in particular because I have a sassy, snappy attitude they deemed perhaps unsuitable.
They also started trying to prep me for stalkers or online hate or cameras in my face. The very thought of those things made me very unsure how I was supposed to maintain double lives without anyone noticing. It also meant I would need to be around Chada a lot more, all while hiding him.
Telling me these things was one thing; the reality was another. Already, before even having debuted, there were some fans of mine waiting outside the lobby. I tried to wave at them but got too nervous to do so.
I shook it off, trying to muster my usual flirtatious confidence. I knew I was amazing. "3, 2, 1" went the flash of the cameras for some magazine they said was essential. I posed perfectly, my confidence growing. Now this was another area I'm good at. Especially when they handed me a mirror, I could pose as sassily as I wanted.
The photographers seemed to coo, being happy with the work, which made me smile. Maybe this whole thing isn't so bad after all.
Next they ushered us to an outdoor square. Many of the trainees that may be debuting would perform here to build up some semblance of an audience if they didn't already have deals to be in TV series.
I was offered, but I turned them down, as I can't manage being in that much close contact with people.
I found myself feeling the excitement of going on stage. When my cue finally came, my nerves had now subsided. By the side of the stage Abyss was cheering me on. I saw even the front of the crowd; Chada had come, ending his work early to watch me. For some reason this made me smile. I started singing with confidence, the audience completely pulled in and almost hypnotized. During the entire thing he continued to lock eyes with me in that steady gaze.
I found myself getting drawn into the emotions and lyrics of the music, swaying to it like ocean waves.
For the first time since I stepped foot on this land, I finally didn't feel scared. I finally saw beauty in it.
Also for the first time, I felt like maybe I could belong.