Brendon's POV
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I felt Dallon's arms tighten around me, and I imagined it was to make sure we didn't stray far from each other. I didn't mind though, cause I could easily keep us both up with the help of my tail.

I notice that something catches Dallon's attention, and I cock my head, unsure of what had so suddenly distracted him.

When I turn my head, my eyes widen, but I immediately recognize what, and even who, it was.

I kissed Dallon again quickly, knowing he would need oxygen, before I pushed him up to a place in the water where he could easily reach the top if he needed to get air, yet I made sure he was still close to me, so he could grab onto me. I then focus my attention back on the thing that has moved closer.

I keep myself in front of Dallon, in case it's not who I think it is, but thankfully it is. I smile widely and I giggle, the muffled noise making little bubbles rise up beside my face.

"A-Atlas!" I giggle out, and suddenly I'm tackled into a hug, something that makes me sink down a little, but I didn't mind.

Atlas was one of my merman friends who lived pretty close to where I did. He has an electric blue tail, and eyes that almost match. His hair was fluffy and about the color of mine, and he was one of the better looking mermen that I knew.

"Brendon!" He says, laughing, and he finally lets go of me, pulling away to actually look at me.

"How've you been?! It seems like it's been forever since I saw you! You were here one day and gone the next!" Atlas says, and he swims around me, his tail almost blending in with the water.

I giggle a lot as I watch him, and I have to keep turning my body to be able to face him.

"I've b-been go-good! And g-guess what!" I say, and I see Atlas cock his head as he looks at me, suddenly stopping in the water and swimming in place like I was.

"What is it? C'mon, you gotta tell me!" He says, and he swims upside down, something that makes me giggle even more.

"I got a b-boyfriend!" I say, and I see Atlas stop for a second, most likely to take in what I had just said.

"Excuse me what? You got a boyfriend? Who?! Is he a merman?! Which one?!" Atlas suddenly exclaims, and he floods me with questions.

"Ch-Chill Atlas! And h-he's not a m-merman.. he's ac-actually right there!" I say, and I point to Dallon who has found himself some rocks to sit on that were above water so he could breathe.

Atlas pauses, and he frowns slightly.

"A human? Bee, you know how dangerous they are!" He says, and he swims up and grips my shoulders, shaking me a bit as he tries to get his point across. He then gasps as he sees my neck and chest, most likely seeing the marks.

"Did he do that to you?!" Atlas almost yells, and I shove him a little, rolling my eyes a bit.

"At-Atlas it's f-fine! I'm fi-fine! He's not d-dangerous! He ma-makes me re-really happy! St-Stop freaking out!" I say, and I grab his shoulders.

Atlas was a lot bigger than me, and a lot stronger too. He was very protective of me, and he was one of the only mermen that paid any attention to me at all. Really, he was always the only one that paid me any attention and he actually tried to be my friend.

"You realize how mad Kai would be right?" Atlas says, and I nod a little.

Kai was one other merman that I knew, and like Atlas, he was also very protective over me. He had a bright purple colored tail, and his hair was a light brown color. He was also a lot bigger than me, but I still didn't care.

"A-And that's wh-why you ha-have to promise m-me you won't t-tell him! Please, A-Atlas.." I say, and I let go of his shoulder slowly as he nods. "N-Now please, wi-will you just c-come meet him? His n-names Dally- D-Dallon! His n-names Dallon.."

"Dallon?" Atlas questions, and I nod gently, giggling quietly which I see makes Atlas smile. "Fine, I'll come meet him, and I won't tell Kai.."

I cheer, and I swim over to where Dallon is on the rocks, popping my head out the water. I smile as I pull myself up on to the rock fair enough to where I can lay on my stomach since it was pretty smooth.

"D-Dally, I w-want you to meet so-someone," I say as Atlas swims up beside me, his gills flaring. I see Dallon's eyes widen a little, and I reach over and grab his hand.

"Da-Dally this is A-Atlas, my fr-friend! And A-Atlas, this is m-my bo-boyfriend, D-Dallon!" I say and I move closer to Dallon, resting my head on his lap as Atlas moves and pulls himself up onto the part of the rock I was just on.

I smile and giggle as I look up at Dallon and then to Atlas.

I really loved Atlas as my friend, but sometimes he was a little too protective, and I knew Dallon was the same way too so I didn't want them to get into an argument or something.

I really hoped they liked each other, since they both mean a lot to me.

Dallon's POV
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I stared at the other merman, trying to not make it too awkward. I had seen a merman before, but that was Brendon, and he was my boyfriend. This merman had a very, very light blue tail, and he had dark hair. He was also Brendon's friend.

'Bren met your friends, you can meet his.' I said to myself, looking over at the merman. "Hi, I'm Dallon, Brendon's boyfriend.

The merman narrowed his eyes at me. I think his name was Atlas? Was that right? I think it was. I gave him a small smile, interlocking my fingers with Brendon's.

"Hi, I'm Atlas." He said. "Why'd you leave those marks on Brendon?"

Wow, this guy wasn't joking around. I had thought he was gonna be at least a little bit more chill, or even shy like Brendon, now I could see these two were polar opposites.

Brendon was smaller, shy, and curious. He was also adorable, cute, and so damn amazing, but that was because he was my boyfriend, and sadly that didn't count.

Atlas was much bigger than Brendon, I could see the muscles in his arms, and it wouldn't surprise me if he had a six pack or something. He definitely wasn't shy in any way, and in the water, which we were right by, he could without a doubt take me down right here, right now.

I sighed again, looking up from gazing at Brendon. "Those are called hickeys, or love bites. I have them on me too." I said, pointing to the fading marks on my neck.

Atlas moved a little closer to see, but kept his distance. "Why? And how? How did you meet Brendon? Did you hurt him? Brendon, did he hurt you? Did you do something to him?"

"Woah, woah, woah, dude, calm down for two seconds." I said, holding my hands up in defense. "I-"

Atlas didn't stop. "He looks weird, I don't trust you, you're way too tall, can you swim? Why were you holding Brendon so close earlier?"

"A-ATLAS!" Brendon shouted, sitting up suddenly. "L-let him t-talk! He's t-trying to t-tell you!"

Atlas rolled his eyes, propping his head up on his hands. "Fiiiiiine, I'll listen."

"Th-thanks." Brendon said, turning to smile at me. "G-go ahead, D-Dally!"

I kissed the side of his head, then turned back to Atlas. "I left these marks on my boyfriend, and he left them on me cause we love each other, and it shows our love. It sounds cheesy, but it's true."

Atlas nodded. "They don't hurt, right? They're just marks?"

"It f-feels r-really good, A-Atlas!" Brendon piped up, giggling a little. "It f-feels weird th-the first t-time, b-but I g-got used t-to it!"

"Okay, as long as he's not hurting you." Atlas said, then turned back to me. "I asked you some other questions, Dallon."

"Right....what were they?" I asked, chuckling a little. "Sorry, I was kinda surprised by your tail."

Atlas smirked, flicking his blue tail. "Yeah, it's pretty cool." He paused, then focused back on me. "Anyway, how did you meet Brendon?"

"I got sucked out in a riptide and almost drowned, and this amazing guy came to save me." I said, smiling and Brendon, who smiled back. "Then he stayed with me to make sure I was okay, and we kept seeing each other since!"

"You stayed with him!?" Atlas exclaimed, turning to Brendon. "Dude! He could've killed you!"

"B-but he d-didn't!" Brendon exclaimed. "I-I love h-him!" Atlas nodded, telling Brendon he was done in his own, silent way.

"Brendon, has he hurt you, you can tell me, I'm your friend." Atlas said. "Your best friend."

"H-he's never h-hurt me, a-and never w-would." Brendon said, wrapping his arms around my chest. I was so proud of my boyfriend for finally sticking up for himself, and to top it all off, he was beginning to try and protect me.

"Okay, Brendon, I was just worried about you!" Atlas said. "He could've hurt you! I don't wanna lose my best friend to a human!"

"I-I don't w-wanna lose y-you either!" Brendon said. "D-do you t-trust D-Dally now?"

"Yeah, he seems like a good guy." Atlas said, winking at Brendon. "So, how do you breathe underwater? I don't see any gills on you, and you obviously don't have a tail."

"I....I don't." I said. "When we're underwater and I need air, Brendon and I kiss so I can breathe."

"So, you're breathing the same air?"

"Pretty much yeah." I said, thinking of the many times Brendon and I had kissed so I could breathe. The first time we had expressed ourselves that way was because I was running low on air.

"That's kinda gross, but sweet." Atlas said. "So, how do you spend time together?"

Brendon and I looked at each other, wondering what to say to Atlas. I knew we couldn't talk about the necklace, cause he would get upset or ask too many questions. I also couldn't think of a good thing to say as an answer.

"W-we visit." Brendon lied. "H-he comes t-to see m-me."

"Aw, that's cute!" Atlas said. "But you know, Brendon, you're a terrible liar. Tell me how you see each other, please."

Brendon and I looked at each other, not knowing what to do.