A man with light blue-gray hair paced close to the door of the delivery room, his shark tail swaying from side to side.
He had been in the room with his wife, Ameli, whom was currently in labor, but the doctor had forced him out of the room when Ameli suddenly started to be in even more pain than before. He wasn't sure what exactly had went wrong. Everything happened so quickly, he was still trying to process it. He prayed his wife and their child would be okay.
"Mr. Davey Poseidon?" A doctor called as he stepped out of the delivery room. The man, Davey, was instantly right in front of the doctor.
"I'm here! How's Ameli? Is she okay? What about the baby? Are they okay?" Davey spoke quickly, sounding quite worried. The doctor sighed, a sad look on his face. Davey felt his heart sink, knowing that wasn't a good sign.
"I... I'm sorry. Your wife began losing too much blood, and... We weren't able to stop it quick enough. She didn't make it."
"No. No no no..." Davey didn't even realize that tears had started forming in his eyes, nor did he notice when they began rolling down his cheeks.
"You're joking. She can't be gone. You're joking. Please, tell me you're joking... She can't be..."
"I'm sorry, sir. I wish I could say it was a joke, but I'm afraid I can't. However, I am able to tell you that you are now the father of a baby boy. He seems to be healthy, despite the complications during his birth."
~~~
"Alright, what are you doing this time, you silly kid?" Davey laid his book down next to him on the couch, confused yellow eyes watching as his half shark son wiggled around on the blanket he had laid on the floor for him to play on. Somehow, this one year old child had managed to grab his own tail, pull it up between his legs, and was now nomming away at his tail fin, not a care in the world. Somehow, he had also managed to get a bunch of tiny pieces of fuzz in his dark blue-gray hair, too.
"Finnley, seriously, what are you doing? I doubt your tail tastes that good, get it out of your mouth." Davey chuckled. He reached down to remove his son's tail from his mouth, and laughed as Finnley began babbling afterwards, seemingly angry.
A year had passed since Ameli's death, and though he was still finding it hard to believe that she was dead, Davey was doing his best to continue on and take care of their son. Thinking about how excited Ameli was about the baby made him smile, however he was quickly sad again once he remembered that she didn't even get to properly meet Finnley once he was born.
As Finnley began wiggling around on the blanket again, probably on a mission to grab his tail and nom on it again, Davey began wondering what Finnley would be like when he got older. Would he be as carefree and happy as he is now? A gentle giant like Davey, or mischievous like Ameli was? What things would he like, art, sports, video games? What kinds of friends would he make? Davey hoped he could raise him well on his own.
~~~
Gray eyes blinked open slowly, the boy in which they belonged to covering his face with his arm, disliking the sunlight shining into his eyes. The boy, Finnley, now 8 years old, suddenly threw his blankets back and jumped out of bed. It was Saturday, and his father had promised to take him to the beach to swim, an activity him and his father both enjoyed, potentially due to them both being half shark.
"Daaaad, wake up!" Finnley went to his father's room and began shaking the man, eager to get to the beach.
"Ehh...? Finn, whatcha doin'..." Davey mumbled sleepily, sitting up after a few moments and rubbing his eyes.
"It's Saturday! You promised we'd go swimming today!"
"Oh yeah. It's 8 in the morning though, why don't we just lay back down for awhile? It's a little early to go to the beach..." Davey laid back down as he spoke, clearly still sleepy.
"Come on! You said that last time too, so we ended up getting there late, so we didn't get to stay and swim long! I didn't get to get any ice cream like I wanted last time either..." Finnley pouted. He was not about to give up without a fight, he was determined to get to spend all day at the beach and get ice cream. Davey sighed and sat back up when his son began shaking him again.
"Alright, alright, I'm getting up." Davey mumbled, yawning. Once he had gotten out of bed, Finnley went back to his own room to change out of his pajamas and into a dark blue T-shirt and shorts.
--
"Hey, slow down! The water ain't going anywhere, kiddo!" Davey called out to Finnley. As soon as they had gotten to the beach, Finnley had jumped out of the car, running like his life depended on it to the water, while Davey had only just barely started to get out.
"Come on, slow poke!" Finnley exclaimed, stopping for a moment to wait for his father to catch up.
Not much longer later, the two were swimming around in the water and playing. Finnley splashing Davey with water whenever Davey got close enough, and Davey sneaking up on Finnley and grabbing him while they were both swimming, making the 8 year old shriek before beginning to laugh.
"Alright, kiddo, I'm gonna sit down and rest for a few minutes. Don't go too far in the water until I go back in, okay? Don't want a wave sweeping you off or something." Davey had called out to his son after the two had been in the water for about an hour. He saw Finnley nod and then go back to swimming, swimming closer to the shore now. Davey sat down on the warm sand before laying back, already tired out by his hyper child.
Before he knew it, Davey had dozed off without meaning to, and was awoken by a scream, followed by a splash. He sat up quickly, looking for Finnley, and stood up and ran to him when he saw him sitting in the shallow water, holding his ankle and crying.
"Hey, hey, calm down! What's wrong, what happened?" Davey asked Finnley, worried.
"S-somethin stung me! It hurts!" Finnley wailed. Picking him up out of the water, Davey carried him back to the shore, and sat him down on the sand, being careful to avoid bumping his son's injured ankle.
"Here, let me see. Just calm down." Davey spoke, inspecting Finnley's ankle as the child continued crying. There appeared to be some sort of stinger right above his ankle.
"Did you see what stung you?"
"It was weird a-and flat, it swam away after it s-stung me..." Finnley sobbed. Weird and flat, and had a stinger... A sting ray? What to do, what to do... What did you do for a sting from a sting ray?
"Hey, what's going on here? Is he okay?" A man called from across the beach as he approached the two. Davey assumed the man was the beach's lifeguard.
"I think he got stung by a sting ray." Davey explained, as he motioned to Finnley's ankle. Finnley continued sobbing.
"Geez, those are supposed to be really painful! Stay right there, I'll be back with stuff to treat it. Did it leave the stinger?"
"Yeah, I think that's what this thing is?"
"Gotcha, I'll be back in a few minutes." The lifeguard walked off. Davey didn't know much about sting rays, let alone what happened when they stung someone. He hoped it wasn't dangerous. If it was, and he ended up losing Finnley, he wasn't sure what he'd do...
---
Before long, the lifeguard had returned with supplies for Finnley's ankle, and him and Davey tended to the sting.
Afterwards, Davey took Finnley back to their car, stopping on the way and getting the boy his favorite kind of ice cream, vanilla with chocolate drizzled on top, with blue sprinkles of various shades.
As Davey buckled himself in, after making sure Finnley had done the same, he thought about where he could take Finnley. The most obvious choice was home, but even though his leg was hurting, Davey knew his son wouldn't be happy about that. Saturday was usually the day him and Finnley spent plenty of time together, usually at the beach, since Davey worked throughout the week and was extremely tired by time he picked Finnley up from the babysitter and arrived home every night, leaving little time for him to play with the hyper child. Not to mention he still had to make time to help Finnley with his school work during the week, since he was homeschooled.
Back to the beach was definitely out of the question. Despite Finnley's love for the beach and water, Davey knew he wouldn't want to take a single step back in the water after today's mishap, not for awhile at least. The park was also out of the question, he wouldn't feel like running and playing due to his ankle hurting, plus there was sure to be other kids there, and Finnley seemed to feel really awkward and out of place when around other children.
Hmm... Finnley's love for the water wasn't only because he liked swimming, he also really liked seeing the fish swim around in the water. Maybe he could take him to the aquarium? Maybe they'd even have sharks there, that would surely delight him due to them both being half shark. Davey could probably carry him around the aquarium too, so he wouldn't have to worry about Finnley's ankle hurting more due to him trying to walk.
"You okay back there, Finn?" Davey asked, looking in the back seat of the car where Finnley was. The poor kid was still sniffling, he probably thought the day was ruined since it hurt him to walk due to the sting.
"Yeah, I'm okay..." Finnley mumbled.
"How about we go visit the aquarium today? I know you probably aren't going to want to go home yet even though you got hurt, and I can carry you around the aquarium so you don't have to be in more pain trying to walk." Finnley seemed to brighten up instantly upon hearing the word "aquarium". He had never been to one, but he knew there was a bunch of fish there.
"Yeah! Maybe we can see a shark!" The child spoke, sounding excited, making Davey chuckle.
"Alright then, to the aquarium we go! ...Hey, don't let your ice cream drip all over the seat, please."
"Oh, whoops. Sorry dad."
---
"Wooaaah, look at that one, dad! It's got a bunch of string things attached to it! It looks so weird!" Finnley exclaimed excitedly, pointing out a jellyfish that was swimming around in one of the public aquarium's tanks. Davey laughed at the child whom was currently riding on his shoulders.
"That's a jellyfish, kiddo."
"Is it made of jelly? Is that why it's called a jellyfish?" Finnley asked curiously.
"Well, I don't know. Maybe it is? Why don't I throw you in there and let you take a big bite out of it and find out?"
"Nooo! I don't think we're supposed to swim in there! And what if it will sting me like the thingy from earlier at the beach?!" Finnley did not sound very amused. Davey laughed even more, looking around in search of a tank containing sting rays. He quickly found one, and walked to the tank.
"See that flat looking fish right there? That's what stung you earlier, I believe."
"Ehh?! It looks so weird, and creepy!" Finnley exclaimed. He seemed nervous, not liking the sting rays in the tank. At that moment, one of the sting rays swam upwards, making Finnley suddenly screech.
"WHY DOES IT HAVE TWO FACES?!" Davey began cackling.
"It doesn't! It's eyes are on the top of it, it's mouth and nostrils and gills are what's underneath it. It only has one face, its eyes, nostrils and mouth are just placed weird."
"I don't like it! It's creepy!" Finnley whimpered.
"Alright, alright, calm down, kiddo! Let's go look at something else, I think they have sharks here somewhere."
"They have sharks too?!" Finnley seemed to be in awe, making Davey smile.
"Mhmm! I think they are right over here, somewhere... Oh, there they are!" After a few moments, they arrived in front of another tank.
"According to this sign here, these are leopard sharks! Pretty cool, eh? They aren't great whites, but they are still pretty neat." Davey explained. Finnley looked amazed, despite the fact he had been expecting to see bigger sharks.
"They look so cool! The patterns on them look super cool too!" Finnley spoke excitedly.
After looking at the sharks a bit more, and then looking at a few other fish, Davey decided it was time for them to head home. It was almost 4 PM, and he still needed to make dinner for himself and Finnley.
As they started to leave the aquarium, Finnley still riding on his father's shoulders, Finnley suddenly gasped, seeming really interested in something. Looking to see what his son was so interested in, Davey saw that he was looking at the aquarium's gift shop, which sold various souvenirs, including plushies, books, and other random fish themed merchandise.
"Whatcha see, Finn?" Davey asked curiously. He genuinely had no idea what Finnley seemed so interested in, he had several plushies at home already and a bunch of books, most of the stuff in the shop didn't look like it was stuff that'd interest him.
"They have shark teeth!" Finnley sounded amazed. Shark teeth...? Him and Finnley were both half shark, and their own teeth were pretty similar to actual shark teeth, although definitely with some differences due to them being human.
"Do you want one?" Davey asked him. Finnley nodded eagerly. But then, Davey suddenly had an idea. Finnley's birthday was only two months away, and he was always a bit upset that Davey didn't have much time to spend with him until the weekends. What if he bought a shark tooth, gave it to Finnley, and told him he fought a shark to get a real shark tooth for him? Davey would look cool then, and he might not have to worry as much about Finnley one day feeling like he's unloved due to Davey having to work so much and not having much time to spend with him. Sure, it'd be a lie that Davey fought a shark, but what the kiddo didn't know wouldn't hurt him...
"Hmm. Well, how about this? We don't know whether or not those shark teeth are real, so how about for your birthday, I fight a shark and get one of it's teeth for you? That way, you know it's real! I'll even put it on a string so you can wear it as a necklace!" Davey suggested. Finnley eyes widened.
"You'd fight a shark just to get me a real shark tooth?!"
"Of course, kiddo!"
"You promise?"
"Yep! Here, I'll even make a pinky promise with you!"
"Yay!"
---
True to his word, two months later, during Finnley's birthday party, Davey gave Finnley a real shark tooth as a birthday gift, attached to a string so it could be wore as a necklace. He even soaked himself from head to toe with the water hose several days before Finnley's birthday party, before picking him up from the babysitter's house one night, to make it seem even more like he actually fought a shark. When Finnley had asked him why he was all wet that night on the way home, Davey simply laughed and said it was a secret.
It was difficult to find a real shark tooth, and he might've lost a couple extra hours of sleep each day looking for one, but in his opinion, it was worth it to see how happy and excited Finnley was to receive his birthday gift. He wore the necklace everyday, and for months he didn't miss a single chance to show it off and explain how his dad fought a shark to get it for him.
~~~
"You sure you'll be okay? I'm sure we can always call the school and tell them you're sick, and switch back to homeschooling you when I have the chance..." Davey asked, sounding worried. A now sixteen year old Finnley sighed.
"I'll be fine, dad. I'm not too thrilled about the idea of going to a public school, but it's too late to turn back now, and eventually I need to learn how to stop being so awkward around other people anyways. I'd really like to actually make a few friends, so I'm not stuck at the house all day bored out of my mind." Finnley said in annoyance.
"Well, alright then. But if anything happens, just call me, okay? I'll leave work and come pick you up."
"Okay. See you later, dad." Finnley picked up his backpack and got out of the car, waving to his father as he pulled out of the parking lot to go to work. Turning to face the school, he began walking to the front door, anxiously holding the strap of his backpack. There were other teens walking to the door as well, along with some still arriving, and he felt more nervous than he thought he should. It was his idea to begin going to an actual school, so he felt like he shouldn't be so nervous and worried.
"Heeey, nice hair!" A guy called out to him from the steps of the school entrance, before entering the school. The guy suddenly calling out to him startled him, but hey, at least he got a compliment? Finnley had started growing his hair out awhile ago, wanting to be able to pull it back into a short ponytail like his dad did with his hair, and it was now slightly past chin length, not quite long enough for a ponytail yet though.
He noticed a girl waving to him as she walked past. It seemed like these people were friendly, and like it'd be easy to make friends with them, so maybe high school wouldn't be as bad as he thought after all...
By time the final bell rang and it was time to go home, Finnley was exhausted, and it didn't seem like people were too interested in talking to him and making friends with him, despite what the boy and girl from earlier made him believe. In fact, he had been cornered by three boys two hours earlier, who began picking on him and shoving him around, laughing when Finnley did nothing to stop them besides politely asking them to stop. Thankfully a teacher had walked past and noticed what was going on and stopped the boys, but Finnley still was ticked off nonetheless from the experience.
"So, how was your first day of high school?" Davey asked as Finnley got in the car, seeming curious, but also concerned.
"It was... Fine. A kid told me I have nice hair." Finnley chose to leave out the part that some boys were picking on him, knowing it'd worry his father.
"Make any friends yet?"
"Nope. It's only the first day though, so."
In the following months, Finnley quickly decided he did not like high school. He wished he'd never decided to try it, because it sucked. He was too shy to talk to people, so he had made very few friends so far, the two people he did manage to befriend seemed scared of him for being a shark. He had also been bullied and picked on almost everyday by the three boys from before, and a few other kids had slowly started messing with him as well.
The only upside was that his grades were good, and today, he had met a girl with short pretty auburn hair and gold colored eyes. He had been planning to go to the school's library, but the three boys had once again cornered him to taunt him. Then, she walked by, and upon seeing what was going on, had decided to intervene.
"Oi! What do you three think you're doing?! Leave him alone, he's not bothering you!" She had shouted at them. Surprisingly enough, after mumbling some things that Finnley couldn't quite make out, the boys left. The girl had introduced herself as Eliza, and left just as quickly as she'd appeared, saying she was in a hurry to meet a friend.
Finnley felt like he was walking on air after she left, and couldn't stop thinking about her the rest of the day. He wondered why.
For the next few months, the two continued to run into one another every few days, and quite quickly became friends. And after awhile, Finnley had to admit that he had a crush on her. She was so kind, and pretty, and she even liked sports and stargazing like him! It seemed as though she liked him too, as she seemed to be quite affectionate with him, often hugging him, leaning against his shoulder when they sat together, and even holding his hand sometimes when they walked together. Eliza would often call him cute and handsome as well, making his face go red.
Though he still kept getting bullied by the other kids, and hadn't made many other friends that he was close to, he began to feel that maybe going to a public school wasn't so bad after all. His socializing skills were improving somewhat, and he had met Eliza.
~~~
Today was the day, Finnley decided. There were only three weeks left before him and his fellow classmates would graduate, as it was their last year of high school, and it seemed like now might be a good time to confess his feelings to Eliza. They had continued to be good friends, and it genuinely seemed like Eliza liked him as well. There were a few moments between the two where it seemed like Eliza was about to kiss him, however they were interrupted every time, and Finnley had realized a year after meeting her that she seemed to be flirting with him a lot.
So, today was the day. Even if he ended up being awkward, or getting too nervous, he would confess his feelings. He had even bought a few lilies to give to Eliza when he confessed, as those were her favorite type of flower. She was usually in the school's garden around this time of day, so that was where Finnley was heading, flowers in hand.
As he entered the school garden, he smiled upon immediately locating a head of auburn hair
near the back of the garden, where Eliza usually hung out with a few of her friends. He noticed her friends seemed to be with her now as well. Oh well, he'd just ask Eliza if he could talk to her in private for a moment, and hide the flowers behind his back.
As Finnley approached, he couldn't help overhearing Eliza's conversation with her friends, and stopped dead in his tracks when hearing something he really wished he hadn't, but later would be thankful he had.
"Ey, what happened to that one guy you've been toying with?" One of Eliza's friends had asked her.
"Oh, that shark boy, Finnley? I'm just waiting for him to confess. When he does, I'm gonna have SO much fun crushing his poor little shark heart. He definitely likes me a lot, and I've been playing along this whole time, so he thinks I like him too. I'm definitely gonna record it when he does confess, I'm gonna make him look like such a fool! He's handsome, but he's so timid I just can't stand him." Eliza had answered.
...Was this what it felt like to have your heart ripped in two pieces? Because if so, it freaking HURT. Finnley had never felt so much pain before, even when he was stung by a sting ray as a child he didn't feel nearly as much pain as he did now.
He dropped the lilies he was holding, and turned to leave, not even registering that tears were forming in his eyes.
"Oh, hey, Finnley! Didn't see you there, how long have you been there?" He heard Eliza call. He ignored her and began walking away, and continued ignoring her when she tried calling out to him again.
---
After that incident, Finnley avoided Eliza completely. Anytime he saw her walking in his direction in the halls, he would turn and go the opposite direction, even if it meant he was late for class a few times. He was never so glad and relieved as he was when graduation day rolled around.
Eliza was distracted by her friends the whole time, so he was able to avoid her. And afterwards, he hoped he'd never have to see her again. His heart still hurt when he thought about what he had heard Eliza say three weeks ago.
After graduation, Finnley decided to go off to college. Thankfully the town him and his father lived in had one near the edge of town, so he was still able to stay with his father during his college semesters.
Nothing particularly interesting happened during his college years. He got his ears pierced, along with his tail fin, and at some point started painting his nails, though he wasn't too sure when he started doing that.
A few of his classmates had tried to bully him like the ones in high school had, but this time, Finnley had had enough, and might've decided to smash one of their heads into a wall, punch the second one in the face, and kicked the third one where it definitely hurt, and he doubted that one would be having kids now. He learnt that as long as he appeared cold and intimidating, people would usually leave him alone. At some point, he ended up getting in a fight with a half cat person, resulting in his tail fin getting some nicks in it.
~~~
After finishing college, a now twenty-three year old Finnley started working at a cafe that, lucky for him, was pretty close to the beach, and after getting a few paychecks he had moved out of his father's house, and into a small apartment.
Though it was annoying working at the cafe sometimes because of certain customers, he had to admit that it was actually pretty nice. It was oddly satisfying to make drinks, and his co-workers, a half tiger girl named Akira, and a girl who was part dog, named Goldie, weren't too bad, and he had begun to think of Akira as a little sister.
As he stood at the cafe's counter, waiting for customers, while carefully watching to make sure none were being creeps to Akira and Goldie, or any of the other customers, Finnley wondered what his life would be like a few years from now. Would he still work at the cafe? Would he eventually have an actual house? A partner? Who knows. Finnley knew he certainly didn't, and to be honest, that made the future seem very terrifying. But he supposed it probably couldn't be too bad...
He had been in the room with his wife, Ameli, whom was currently in labor, but the doctor had forced him out of the room when Ameli suddenly started to be in even more pain than before. He wasn't sure what exactly had went wrong. Everything happened so quickly, he was still trying to process it. He prayed his wife and their child would be okay.
"Mr. Davey Poseidon?" A doctor called as he stepped out of the delivery room. The man, Davey, was instantly right in front of the doctor.
"I'm here! How's Ameli? Is she okay? What about the baby? Are they okay?" Davey spoke quickly, sounding quite worried. The doctor sighed, a sad look on his face. Davey felt his heart sink, knowing that wasn't a good sign.
"I... I'm sorry. Your wife began losing too much blood, and... We weren't able to stop it quick enough. She didn't make it."
"No. No no no..." Davey didn't even realize that tears had started forming in his eyes, nor did he notice when they began rolling down his cheeks.
"You're joking. She can't be gone. You're joking. Please, tell me you're joking... She can't be..."
"I'm sorry, sir. I wish I could say it was a joke, but I'm afraid I can't. However, I am able to tell you that you are now the father of a baby boy. He seems to be healthy, despite the complications during his birth."
~~~
"Alright, what are you doing this time, you silly kid?" Davey laid his book down next to him on the couch, confused yellow eyes watching as his half shark son wiggled around on the blanket he had laid on the floor for him to play on. Somehow, this one year old child had managed to grab his own tail, pull it up between his legs, and was now nomming away at his tail fin, not a care in the world. Somehow, he had also managed to get a bunch of tiny pieces of fuzz in his dark blue-gray hair, too.
"Finnley, seriously, what are you doing? I doubt your tail tastes that good, get it out of your mouth." Davey chuckled. He reached down to remove his son's tail from his mouth, and laughed as Finnley began babbling afterwards, seemingly angry.
A year had passed since Ameli's death, and though he was still finding it hard to believe that she was dead, Davey was doing his best to continue on and take care of their son. Thinking about how excited Ameli was about the baby made him smile, however he was quickly sad again once he remembered that she didn't even get to properly meet Finnley once he was born.
As Finnley began wiggling around on the blanket again, probably on a mission to grab his tail and nom on it again, Davey began wondering what Finnley would be like when he got older. Would he be as carefree and happy as he is now? A gentle giant like Davey, or mischievous like Ameli was? What things would he like, art, sports, video games? What kinds of friends would he make? Davey hoped he could raise him well on his own.
~~~
Gray eyes blinked open slowly, the boy in which they belonged to covering his face with his arm, disliking the sunlight shining into his eyes. The boy, Finnley, now 8 years old, suddenly threw his blankets back and jumped out of bed. It was Saturday, and his father had promised to take him to the beach to swim, an activity him and his father both enjoyed, potentially due to them both being half shark.
"Daaaad, wake up!" Finnley went to his father's room and began shaking the man, eager to get to the beach.
"Ehh...? Finn, whatcha doin'..." Davey mumbled sleepily, sitting up after a few moments and rubbing his eyes.
"It's Saturday! You promised we'd go swimming today!"
"Oh yeah. It's 8 in the morning though, why don't we just lay back down for awhile? It's a little early to go to the beach..." Davey laid back down as he spoke, clearly still sleepy.
"Come on! You said that last time too, so we ended up getting there late, so we didn't get to stay and swim long! I didn't get to get any ice cream like I wanted last time either..." Finnley pouted. He was not about to give up without a fight, he was determined to get to spend all day at the beach and get ice cream. Davey sighed and sat back up when his son began shaking him again.
"Alright, alright, I'm getting up." Davey mumbled, yawning. Once he had gotten out of bed, Finnley went back to his own room to change out of his pajamas and into a dark blue T-shirt and shorts.
--
"Hey, slow down! The water ain't going anywhere, kiddo!" Davey called out to Finnley. As soon as they had gotten to the beach, Finnley had jumped out of the car, running like his life depended on it to the water, while Davey had only just barely started to get out.
"Come on, slow poke!" Finnley exclaimed, stopping for a moment to wait for his father to catch up.
Not much longer later, the two were swimming around in the water and playing. Finnley splashing Davey with water whenever Davey got close enough, and Davey sneaking up on Finnley and grabbing him while they were both swimming, making the 8 year old shriek before beginning to laugh.
"Alright, kiddo, I'm gonna sit down and rest for a few minutes. Don't go too far in the water until I go back in, okay? Don't want a wave sweeping you off or something." Davey had called out to his son after the two had been in the water for about an hour. He saw Finnley nod and then go back to swimming, swimming closer to the shore now. Davey sat down on the warm sand before laying back, already tired out by his hyper child.
Before he knew it, Davey had dozed off without meaning to, and was awoken by a scream, followed by a splash. He sat up quickly, looking for Finnley, and stood up and ran to him when he saw him sitting in the shallow water, holding his ankle and crying.
"Hey, hey, calm down! What's wrong, what happened?" Davey asked Finnley, worried.
"S-somethin stung me! It hurts!" Finnley wailed. Picking him up out of the water, Davey carried him back to the shore, and sat him down on the sand, being careful to avoid bumping his son's injured ankle.
"Here, let me see. Just calm down." Davey spoke, inspecting Finnley's ankle as the child continued crying. There appeared to be some sort of stinger right above his ankle.
"Did you see what stung you?"
"It was weird a-and flat, it swam away after it s-stung me..." Finnley sobbed. Weird and flat, and had a stinger... A sting ray? What to do, what to do... What did you do for a sting from a sting ray?
"Hey, what's going on here? Is he okay?" A man called from across the beach as he approached the two. Davey assumed the man was the beach's lifeguard.
"I think he got stung by a sting ray." Davey explained, as he motioned to Finnley's ankle. Finnley continued sobbing.
"Geez, those are supposed to be really painful! Stay right there, I'll be back with stuff to treat it. Did it leave the stinger?"
"Yeah, I think that's what this thing is?"
"Gotcha, I'll be back in a few minutes." The lifeguard walked off. Davey didn't know much about sting rays, let alone what happened when they stung someone. He hoped it wasn't dangerous. If it was, and he ended up losing Finnley, he wasn't sure what he'd do...
---
Before long, the lifeguard had returned with supplies for Finnley's ankle, and him and Davey tended to the sting.
Afterwards, Davey took Finnley back to their car, stopping on the way and getting the boy his favorite kind of ice cream, vanilla with chocolate drizzled on top, with blue sprinkles of various shades.
As Davey buckled himself in, after making sure Finnley had done the same, he thought about where he could take Finnley. The most obvious choice was home, but even though his leg was hurting, Davey knew his son wouldn't be happy about that. Saturday was usually the day him and Finnley spent plenty of time together, usually at the beach, since Davey worked throughout the week and was extremely tired by time he picked Finnley up from the babysitter and arrived home every night, leaving little time for him to play with the hyper child. Not to mention he still had to make time to help Finnley with his school work during the week, since he was homeschooled.
Back to the beach was definitely out of the question. Despite Finnley's love for the beach and water, Davey knew he wouldn't want to take a single step back in the water after today's mishap, not for awhile at least. The park was also out of the question, he wouldn't feel like running and playing due to his ankle hurting, plus there was sure to be other kids there, and Finnley seemed to feel really awkward and out of place when around other children.
Hmm... Finnley's love for the water wasn't only because he liked swimming, he also really liked seeing the fish swim around in the water. Maybe he could take him to the aquarium? Maybe they'd even have sharks there, that would surely delight him due to them both being half shark. Davey could probably carry him around the aquarium too, so he wouldn't have to worry about Finnley's ankle hurting more due to him trying to walk.
"You okay back there, Finn?" Davey asked, looking in the back seat of the car where Finnley was. The poor kid was still sniffling, he probably thought the day was ruined since it hurt him to walk due to the sting.
"Yeah, I'm okay..." Finnley mumbled.
"How about we go visit the aquarium today? I know you probably aren't going to want to go home yet even though you got hurt, and I can carry you around the aquarium so you don't have to be in more pain trying to walk." Finnley seemed to brighten up instantly upon hearing the word "aquarium". He had never been to one, but he knew there was a bunch of fish there.
"Yeah! Maybe we can see a shark!" The child spoke, sounding excited, making Davey chuckle.
"Alright then, to the aquarium we go! ...Hey, don't let your ice cream drip all over the seat, please."
"Oh, whoops. Sorry dad."
---
"Wooaaah, look at that one, dad! It's got a bunch of string things attached to it! It looks so weird!" Finnley exclaimed excitedly, pointing out a jellyfish that was swimming around in one of the public aquarium's tanks. Davey laughed at the child whom was currently riding on his shoulders.
"That's a jellyfish, kiddo."
"Is it made of jelly? Is that why it's called a jellyfish?" Finnley asked curiously.
"Well, I don't know. Maybe it is? Why don't I throw you in there and let you take a big bite out of it and find out?"
"Nooo! I don't think we're supposed to swim in there! And what if it will sting me like the thingy from earlier at the beach?!" Finnley did not sound very amused. Davey laughed even more, looking around in search of a tank containing sting rays. He quickly found one, and walked to the tank.
"See that flat looking fish right there? That's what stung you earlier, I believe."
"Ehh?! It looks so weird, and creepy!" Finnley exclaimed. He seemed nervous, not liking the sting rays in the tank. At that moment, one of the sting rays swam upwards, making Finnley suddenly screech.
"WHY DOES IT HAVE TWO FACES?!" Davey began cackling.
"It doesn't! It's eyes are on the top of it, it's mouth and nostrils and gills are what's underneath it. It only has one face, its eyes, nostrils and mouth are just placed weird."
"I don't like it! It's creepy!" Finnley whimpered.
"Alright, alright, calm down, kiddo! Let's go look at something else, I think they have sharks here somewhere."
"They have sharks too?!" Finnley seemed to be in awe, making Davey smile.
"Mhmm! I think they are right over here, somewhere... Oh, there they are!" After a few moments, they arrived in front of another tank.
"According to this sign here, these are leopard sharks! Pretty cool, eh? They aren't great whites, but they are still pretty neat." Davey explained. Finnley looked amazed, despite the fact he had been expecting to see bigger sharks.
"They look so cool! The patterns on them look super cool too!" Finnley spoke excitedly.
After looking at the sharks a bit more, and then looking at a few other fish, Davey decided it was time for them to head home. It was almost 4 PM, and he still needed to make dinner for himself and Finnley.
As they started to leave the aquarium, Finnley still riding on his father's shoulders, Finnley suddenly gasped, seeming really interested in something. Looking to see what his son was so interested in, Davey saw that he was looking at the aquarium's gift shop, which sold various souvenirs, including plushies, books, and other random fish themed merchandise.
"Whatcha see, Finn?" Davey asked curiously. He genuinely had no idea what Finnley seemed so interested in, he had several plushies at home already and a bunch of books, most of the stuff in the shop didn't look like it was stuff that'd interest him.
"They have shark teeth!" Finnley sounded amazed. Shark teeth...? Him and Finnley were both half shark, and their own teeth were pretty similar to actual shark teeth, although definitely with some differences due to them being human.
"Do you want one?" Davey asked him. Finnley nodded eagerly. But then, Davey suddenly had an idea. Finnley's birthday was only two months away, and he was always a bit upset that Davey didn't have much time to spend with him until the weekends. What if he bought a shark tooth, gave it to Finnley, and told him he fought a shark to get a real shark tooth for him? Davey would look cool then, and he might not have to worry as much about Finnley one day feeling like he's unloved due to Davey having to work so much and not having much time to spend with him. Sure, it'd be a lie that Davey fought a shark, but what the kiddo didn't know wouldn't hurt him...
"Hmm. Well, how about this? We don't know whether or not those shark teeth are real, so how about for your birthday, I fight a shark and get one of it's teeth for you? That way, you know it's real! I'll even put it on a string so you can wear it as a necklace!" Davey suggested. Finnley eyes widened.
"You'd fight a shark just to get me a real shark tooth?!"
"Of course, kiddo!"
"You promise?"
"Yep! Here, I'll even make a pinky promise with you!"
"Yay!"
---
True to his word, two months later, during Finnley's birthday party, Davey gave Finnley a real shark tooth as a birthday gift, attached to a string so it could be wore as a necklace. He even soaked himself from head to toe with the water hose several days before Finnley's birthday party, before picking him up from the babysitter's house one night, to make it seem even more like he actually fought a shark. When Finnley had asked him why he was all wet that night on the way home, Davey simply laughed and said it was a secret.
It was difficult to find a real shark tooth, and he might've lost a couple extra hours of sleep each day looking for one, but in his opinion, it was worth it to see how happy and excited Finnley was to receive his birthday gift. He wore the necklace everyday, and for months he didn't miss a single chance to show it off and explain how his dad fought a shark to get it for him.
~~~
"You sure you'll be okay? I'm sure we can always call the school and tell them you're sick, and switch back to homeschooling you when I have the chance..." Davey asked, sounding worried. A now sixteen year old Finnley sighed.
"I'll be fine, dad. I'm not too thrilled about the idea of going to a public school, but it's too late to turn back now, and eventually I need to learn how to stop being so awkward around other people anyways. I'd really like to actually make a few friends, so I'm not stuck at the house all day bored out of my mind." Finnley said in annoyance.
"Well, alright then. But if anything happens, just call me, okay? I'll leave work and come pick you up."
"Okay. See you later, dad." Finnley picked up his backpack and got out of the car, waving to his father as he pulled out of the parking lot to go to work. Turning to face the school, he began walking to the front door, anxiously holding the strap of his backpack. There were other teens walking to the door as well, along with some still arriving, and he felt more nervous than he thought he should. It was his idea to begin going to an actual school, so he felt like he shouldn't be so nervous and worried.
"Heeey, nice hair!" A guy called out to him from the steps of the school entrance, before entering the school. The guy suddenly calling out to him startled him, but hey, at least he got a compliment? Finnley had started growing his hair out awhile ago, wanting to be able to pull it back into a short ponytail like his dad did with his hair, and it was now slightly past chin length, not quite long enough for a ponytail yet though.
He noticed a girl waving to him as she walked past. It seemed like these people were friendly, and like it'd be easy to make friends with them, so maybe high school wouldn't be as bad as he thought after all...
By time the final bell rang and it was time to go home, Finnley was exhausted, and it didn't seem like people were too interested in talking to him and making friends with him, despite what the boy and girl from earlier made him believe. In fact, he had been cornered by three boys two hours earlier, who began picking on him and shoving him around, laughing when Finnley did nothing to stop them besides politely asking them to stop. Thankfully a teacher had walked past and noticed what was going on and stopped the boys, but Finnley still was ticked off nonetheless from the experience.
"So, how was your first day of high school?" Davey asked as Finnley got in the car, seeming curious, but also concerned.
"It was... Fine. A kid told me I have nice hair." Finnley chose to leave out the part that some boys were picking on him, knowing it'd worry his father.
"Make any friends yet?"
"Nope. It's only the first day though, so."
In the following months, Finnley quickly decided he did not like high school. He wished he'd never decided to try it, because it sucked. He was too shy to talk to people, so he had made very few friends so far, the two people he did manage to befriend seemed scared of him for being a shark. He had also been bullied and picked on almost everyday by the three boys from before, and a few other kids had slowly started messing with him as well.
The only upside was that his grades were good, and today, he had met a girl with short pretty auburn hair and gold colored eyes. He had been planning to go to the school's library, but the three boys had once again cornered him to taunt him. Then, she walked by, and upon seeing what was going on, had decided to intervene.
"Oi! What do you three think you're doing?! Leave him alone, he's not bothering you!" She had shouted at them. Surprisingly enough, after mumbling some things that Finnley couldn't quite make out, the boys left. The girl had introduced herself as Eliza, and left just as quickly as she'd appeared, saying she was in a hurry to meet a friend.
Finnley felt like he was walking on air after she left, and couldn't stop thinking about her the rest of the day. He wondered why.
For the next few months, the two continued to run into one another every few days, and quite quickly became friends. And after awhile, Finnley had to admit that he had a crush on her. She was so kind, and pretty, and she even liked sports and stargazing like him! It seemed as though she liked him too, as she seemed to be quite affectionate with him, often hugging him, leaning against his shoulder when they sat together, and even holding his hand sometimes when they walked together. Eliza would often call him cute and handsome as well, making his face go red.
Though he still kept getting bullied by the other kids, and hadn't made many other friends that he was close to, he began to feel that maybe going to a public school wasn't so bad after all. His socializing skills were improving somewhat, and he had met Eliza.
~~~
Today was the day, Finnley decided. There were only three weeks left before him and his fellow classmates would graduate, as it was their last year of high school, and it seemed like now might be a good time to confess his feelings to Eliza. They had continued to be good friends, and it genuinely seemed like Eliza liked him as well. There were a few moments between the two where it seemed like Eliza was about to kiss him, however they were interrupted every time, and Finnley had realized a year after meeting her that she seemed to be flirting with him a lot.
So, today was the day. Even if he ended up being awkward, or getting too nervous, he would confess his feelings. He had even bought a few lilies to give to Eliza when he confessed, as those were her favorite type of flower. She was usually in the school's garden around this time of day, so that was where Finnley was heading, flowers in hand.
As he entered the school garden, he smiled upon immediately locating a head of auburn hair
near the back of the garden, where Eliza usually hung out with a few of her friends. He noticed her friends seemed to be with her now as well. Oh well, he'd just ask Eliza if he could talk to her in private for a moment, and hide the flowers behind his back.
As Finnley approached, he couldn't help overhearing Eliza's conversation with her friends, and stopped dead in his tracks when hearing something he really wished he hadn't, but later would be thankful he had.
"Ey, what happened to that one guy you've been toying with?" One of Eliza's friends had asked her.
"Oh, that shark boy, Finnley? I'm just waiting for him to confess. When he does, I'm gonna have SO much fun crushing his poor little shark heart. He definitely likes me a lot, and I've been playing along this whole time, so he thinks I like him too. I'm definitely gonna record it when he does confess, I'm gonna make him look like such a fool! He's handsome, but he's so timid I just can't stand him." Eliza had answered.
...Was this what it felt like to have your heart ripped in two pieces? Because if so, it freaking HURT. Finnley had never felt so much pain before, even when he was stung by a sting ray as a child he didn't feel nearly as much pain as he did now.
He dropped the lilies he was holding, and turned to leave, not even registering that tears were forming in his eyes.
"Oh, hey, Finnley! Didn't see you there, how long have you been there?" He heard Eliza call. He ignored her and began walking away, and continued ignoring her when she tried calling out to him again.
---
After that incident, Finnley avoided Eliza completely. Anytime he saw her walking in his direction in the halls, he would turn and go the opposite direction, even if it meant he was late for class a few times. He was never so glad and relieved as he was when graduation day rolled around.
Eliza was distracted by her friends the whole time, so he was able to avoid her. And afterwards, he hoped he'd never have to see her again. His heart still hurt when he thought about what he had heard Eliza say three weeks ago.
After graduation, Finnley decided to go off to college. Thankfully the town him and his father lived in had one near the edge of town, so he was still able to stay with his father during his college semesters.
Nothing particularly interesting happened during his college years. He got his ears pierced, along with his tail fin, and at some point started painting his nails, though he wasn't too sure when he started doing that.
A few of his classmates had tried to bully him like the ones in high school had, but this time, Finnley had had enough, and might've decided to smash one of their heads into a wall, punch the second one in the face, and kicked the third one where it definitely hurt, and he doubted that one would be having kids now. He learnt that as long as he appeared cold and intimidating, people would usually leave him alone. At some point, he ended up getting in a fight with a half cat person, resulting in his tail fin getting some nicks in it.
~~~
After finishing college, a now twenty-three year old Finnley started working at a cafe that, lucky for him, was pretty close to the beach, and after getting a few paychecks he had moved out of his father's house, and into a small apartment.
Though it was annoying working at the cafe sometimes because of certain customers, he had to admit that it was actually pretty nice. It was oddly satisfying to make drinks, and his co-workers, a half tiger girl named Akira, and a girl who was part dog, named Goldie, weren't too bad, and he had begun to think of Akira as a little sister.
As he stood at the cafe's counter, waiting for customers, while carefully watching to make sure none were being creeps to Akira and Goldie, or any of the other customers, Finnley wondered what his life would be like a few years from now. Would he still work at the cafe? Would he eventually have an actual house? A partner? Who knows. Finnley knew he certainly didn't, and to be honest, that made the future seem very terrifying. But he supposed it probably couldn't be too bad...
