I’m sorry but ShaMil is literally one of the funniest characters in the game. He’s traumatized. He’s a jester. He’s possibly one of the smartest characters in the game. He got gaslit and owned by a bitch eons younger than him. He’s also pining over said bitch. He’s a teacher. He’s weak. He’s a playwright and actor. A fucking theater kid. He’s also a terrorist.
Summary: (y/n) is hiding a secret from jj, her best friend.
CW: None!
A/N- I literally wrote this at 3am after binge watching h20 and having a dream about it and then gave up on the ending lmao... bare with me.
(y/n) (l/n) hadn't always been so weird about water.
growing up in the outer banks, she was surfing before she could talk, with saltwater in her veins. just another pogue riding the waves of kildare island, with no desire to do anything else.
so when she suddenly developed a phobia of water, jj and the other pogues were dumbfounded.
they assumed that she must've been sick, that perfect swell day in july, when she absolutely refused to so surfing.
"(y/n/n), what ever happened to listening to our sea mother? she's , like, begging us to take her for a ride right now," kie said, matter of factly.
jj chuckled at some dirty joke evidently crossing his mind. "take her for a ride-"
"shut up!" pope said, holding his finger against jj's lips.
"seriously though, (y/n/n), you're really not gonna come surfing with us? you've been waiting for waves like this for like, months. you feeling okay?" john b asked, earnestly.
"i'm fine!" (y/n) snapped, but quickly reigned it in. "guys, i'm really fine, i promise. i'm just not feeling up to it today, okay? have fun and catch a nasty one for me," she muttered, walking out of the front door of the chateau.
she barely made it past the hammocks before jj stopped her, calling out her name.
"(y/n), wait!" he yelled, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her in her tracks.
"jj, please..." she trailed off, getting lost in pale blue eyes boring into her own.
"you know you can tell me anything, right? like, anything. you sure you're okay, mama?" he asked, tugging on one of the braids hanging out of the front of her bandana.
the pet name made her heart flutter, and (y/n) had to stop herself from giggling like a school girl.
"yes, jayj, i'm fine. honest," she said with a reassuring smile, though her eyes told a different story. he knew it. and she knew he knew. but she couldn't tell him. she just couldn't.
he looked her up and down, debating pushing it further.
"alright. whatever you say."
(y/) walked away with the weight of the truth on her chest.
🫧𓇼
then it was the running away.
not surfing anymore was one thing, but trying to totally avoid all water on an island was the craziest thing jj had ever heard.
(y/n) was lying on the beach reading a book and enjoying the sun as jj emerged from the water, board in hand. the two teens had decided to spend the day together, enjoying themselves as they danced back and forth between friends and something more.
(y/n) smiled as he stuck the tail end of the board into the sand and stood over her, a matching smile on his face.
"hey maybank, you're blocking my tan right now, dude," (y/n) said jokingly.
"nah, i'm protecting you from skin cancer, mama!"
"oh whateverrrr, man," (y/n) said with a playful eyeroll.
"hey, how about you come for a swim with me," jj suggested, nodding his head towards the water.
(y/n's) eyes widened, and she adamantly denying jj's request.
jj sighed, kneeling down next to her, placing a wet hand on her thigh.
(y/n's) heart sank as jj started to say "(y/n), i really don't know what's been going on with you lately but-"
"actually!" (y/n) interrupted, "the water seems really great!"
tossing her book down, she suddenly arose and ran straight into the sea, diving down as jj called out after her.
he chased after her into the water, diving down to see why she'd run off so suddenly, but by the time he opened his eyes to find her in the salty water, she was gone with the tide.
🫧𓇼
(y/n) didn't even flinch as jj practically tossed himself through the window of her bedroom. he always did this when she stayed at her parent's house.
"hey jajy, you know that this place has a front door, right?" said (y/n), watching as jj dusted off the leaves that had stuck to him as he climbed the tree outside.
jj stared at her, flabbergasted, holding his arms out. "dude, what the hell?"
"what happened?" (y/n) asked coyly.
"bro, you literally ran off into the ocean and didn't come back up! i thought you'd drowned! or be swallowed by a bull shark!"
"sharks don't swallow people, jayj."
"it's just the principal dude!" jj practically shrieked, sitting down at the end of her bed. "what the hell was that all about?"
(y/n) shrugged, trying and failing to come across nonchalant. "i just decided to go for a dip! is that a crime?"
"(y/n), i literally have been trying to get you in the water all summer and you haven't wanted anything to do with it."
"jj, please just drop it. it's not that big of a deal," (y/n) said, pulling away from him.
before she could get too far, jj grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. (y/n) could feel butterflies hammering in her chest as she stared up at her closest friend, who, in moments like these, felt like more.
"listen (y/n/n), i don't know what exactly's been going on with you since we got back from the island, but i know it has something to do with water. i don't know what you're so afraid of, but i promise i'm gonna help you." he gave her hand a squeeze.
(y/n) couldn't help the soft smile that graced her face at her friend's words. his eyes looked so blue in the light of the sun creeping in through her window. she was so distracted by his beauty, that she didn't notice as he grabbed the glass of water on her nightstand and dumped it all over her hand.
panic mode.
she instantly snatched her hand away from her closest friend, betrayal in her eyes.
"i trusted you," she said, shaking her head at him before rushing out of the room.
she practically flew down the stairs, counting the seconds before it would happen. she rushed out of the door without closing it behind her, running to the doc and diving headfirst into the water, without ever looking back to realize that jj was hot on her heels.
she made it into the water in the nick of time, the water around her beginning to bubble immediately. the change didn't bother her anymore, and she allowed herself to become one with the ocean.
jj had dove in just after her, and watched in confusion as the water around her began to bubble like it was boiling just from being in contact with her.
confusion turned to shock, and perhaps a touch of fear, as he watched (y/n) swim through the bubbles, with, in place of her legs, a long tail of blue and purple scales flowing behind her.
jj nearly choked as he let out a scream underwater.
(y/n) turned, her hair floating around her face, her mouth falling agape as she realized that jj was, at last, truly seeing her. before she could even react to what was happening, jj was swimming back towards the surface, leaving the little mermaid alone on the ocean floor.
🫧𓇼
(y/n) could tell the pogues were trying to act natural when she entered the chateau the next day. but she knew her family like the back of her hand, and so she instantly knew that jj and told them about what happened the previous day.
"hey guys..." she said sheepishly.
"hey babe," kiara said, grabbing (y/n)'s hand and giving it a squeeze.
jj stared silently.
"so, judging by the tension in this room right now, i'm guessing jj told you all what happened?"
there was silence for a beat. pope was the first to speak up. "he told us some pretty crazy stuff that didn't make sense."
"yeah... so..." (y/n) started, her voice shaking. "it's all true. all of it."
"okay, so you say. but like, how does that make any sense?" asked john b, his eyes shut.
(y/n) exhaled shakily, before coming out with all of it. how she'd wandered off on her own on poguelandia and stumbled upon a strange pool in a volcano. the way the water began to bubble as the full moon's light began to illuminate the water. and how she'd been changed forever. she told them about how she'd first realized what had happened when she tried to take a shower after they'd returned to kildare and she fell to the ground after sprouting a tail. she told them about how she'd swam with dolphins and sang with whales. she told them about how hard it had been to keep it a secret for so long.
the room was so quiet you could hear a pen drop. jj was the first to react, getting up and rushing out of the room.
(y/n), only caring about him, rushed out after him, chasing him down the dock.
"jj! jj please talk to me," she called.
he turned around so suddenly that it startled her a bit.
"why wouldn't you tell me?" he asked, probably the most serious she'd ever seen him.
"jj... i didn't think i could tell anyone," she said, shaking her head.
"okay, yeah, i get that, but i'm not just anyone (y/n/n), i'm me- and you can trust me because i love you and i don't-" jj shook his head, before grabbing her face and pulling her into a rough kiss.
(y/n)'s eyes widened with shock, before she allowed herself to be consumed by it, by him, her arms wrapping around his neck.
the pair didn't release each other until they couldn't breathe anymore, still holding each other close.
"don't... ever..." jj breathed into her mouth, his hands tight around her waist, "keep anything from me."
(y/n) looked at him, her pupils blown wide with admiration. "i love you too, jj maybank."
and the two teenagers knew that, land or sea, their love could survive anything.
