Michael stares over the edge of the boat, where the sirens had gripped Luke's hands and pulled him over into the dark, murky waters. His pale hands grasp the wooden boat, green eyes searching underneath the waves. There is nothing. Not even the slightest bit of movement. Even the sirens have disappeared, all swarming over where Luke's body had been tugged underneath the ocean.

Calum joins Michael at the edge, distress etched into his face as he peers over the side.

Ashton has his hands in his hair. "We have to go in and get him," he says.

Calum shakes his head in a single, solemn movement.

"They were mermaids, they were beautiful, how could they...?" Ashton trails off. He gains his composure. "We can't leave him down there, we have to go in." Calum sends him a poisonous look. His glasses reflect the tossing waves underneath him.

"Can't you get it through your condescending mind?" Calum snaps. "If we go in, we'll just be pulled under as well." A mix of helplessness and anger covers Ashton's face.

"Well. You don't have to be a bitch about it," Ashton says lowly. Calum shakes his head and pushes away from the edge. Michael remains at the side, his eyes still staring at the waves. Waiting. Waiting for Luke to thrash up to the surface of the water, gasping for air, but otherwise unharmed. Michael would pull him up. Luke would turn his big blue eyes at him and catch his breath. He would--

"He's gone," Calum says. He defeatedly sits down on the bench. "He's just gone."

"I'm praying to my father," Michael tells them, even though he doubts his father would have much say in something like this. He's a nice guy, but he doesn't necessarily bother with keeping people alive that are supposed to be dead.

Michael sits down beside Calum. He laces his hands together and ducks his head, twisting the black rings on his fingers. And he prays.

"Do we-- do we pray to Poseidon?" Ashton asks. Calum breathes out a sigh.

"We have a better chance with Hades. Poseidon isn't necessarily... well. He can be arrogant, right alongside Zeus."

Ashton looks hurt. "Hey. That's my dad you're talking about."

"I'm aware."

Michael scrunches his nose. He drops his hands. "I can't get through to him. It's like there's a block between us. Why isn't it working?"

Calum swears. "I forgot about the block. There's been some sort of disconnect between us and the gods. Nobody can get through to them spiritually."

Ashton collapses onto the bench and dramatically lays a hand on his forehead. "Now we're really fucked."

Michael curls his knees to his chest and hugs his arms around them. His chin rests on his knees as he blinks up at the two boys around him. He watches Calum and Ashton bicker to each other from under his long eyelashes. He can feel the sun start to pink his skin.

Without Luke on the boat, Michael can see the strict ties between the four of them start to loosen, things starting to become less orderly and more chaotic. Luke would have stopped Calum and Ashton from arguing. He would be with the sails, making sure they were taut and tilted in the right alignment with the wind. He would be the glue between them. Without him, everything seems to be falling apart.

"...all you do is bitch about every single thing. You're never serious. Always making sarcastic jokes--"

Ashton cuts Calum off. "Oh, and you're so much better? You're wearing a sweater and a button up collared shirt. On a quest. To save mankind."

"Oh, don't be dramatic," Calum scoffs. "You're just like Hercules and Perseus and Jason. You think you're better than anyone else."

"Actually, I am quite aware of how untalented I am," says Ashton. "Self-deprecating humor is my favorite."

Michael presses his hands in his ears. Their voices fade into a low hum. He pushes himself away from the two boys and instead looks over the edge of the boat again. The water is now very, very still. He can't see anything underneath the waves. Michael's stomach wrenches.

He closes his eyes and focuses deep on the thought of Luke. He thinks about him and everything he knows about him, which is, inevitably, very little. He has only known him for a couple hours, after all.

So Michael thinks about his blonde hair, slightly curly and falling over his forehead and ears. He thinks about his long limbs and fair skin. He thinks about his minty scent and his blue eyes that match the ocean. He focuses on Luke's heartbeat, and he tries to hear it deep in that separate world between life and death.

He listens. At first he hears nothing, and he wonders if maybe he was right, and the sirens drowned Luke. But then he hears it. Steady and solid, alive and real. Michael releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. Luke's alive. He's still alive.

Michael just doesn't know for how much longer.

When he opens his eyes, it takes him a moment to figure out what exactly is wrong. One look at Calum and Ashton's identical distressed faces makes it clear that it has less to do with their bickering and more to do with something that's eminently very, very wrong. Michael sits up, and the air hits him. Cold, windy air. His black hair flutters violently in the wind. He wonders if maybe it's him, if he accidently dropped the air temperature without realizing it while he looked for Luke's heartbeat. But it isn't him.

He feels rocky waves and churning water move underneath the boat. Ocean water sprays in their faces. Calum leaps up and grabs the ropes for the sail, but the boat starts crashing through the waves anyway. Calum pulls at the ropes, but nothing he does has any effect, at least none as dramatic as when Luke handled them.

"The ocean is trying to kill us!" Ashton hollers over the wind.

Michael wants to duck underneath the bench again. He feels salty water drip over his white skin. He starts to shiver uncontrollably. He tries to think of any powers he could use to stop this, but nothing he thinks of would be any match for whatever this is. An earthquake would make it worse. Lowering the temperature and increasing darkness would also make it worse. Not even the dead can help them now.

Calum abandons the sails. He dashes to the edge of the boat and looks out. Michael sees Calum's face visibly pale.

"What is it?" Michael asks. His shivering increases. He hates the ocean with a living passion.

Calum, for once, seems at a loss for words. Beneath them, the water shakes and twirls and crashes against the boat, all sucking towards one spot in the center of the ocean. The water seems to be falling into the wide gap, anything and everything being sucked into it with incredible strength.

"A whirlpool," says Michael hastily. Calum's jaw tightens.

"Not just any whirlpool," Calum breathes. "Charybdis."

Michael can see now the tiny, spiked teeth in the center of the hole, swallowing the water with unquenchable thirst. Michael backs away from the edge of the boat, shaking his head. Water drips down his face. His blood seems to run cold.

"Our only chance is to swim to those rocks over there, on that shore." Calum points to the island a little ways away. The wind roars in Michael's ears.

"Is that not where the mermaids just drowned Luke?" Ashton yells. Calum grimaces.

"It's our only chance!"

Calum pushes himself over the edge of the boat. Ashton swears colorfully and follows shortly behind.

Michael shuts his eyes. He takes a deep breath in, and he braces himself on the edge of the boat. He sees Calum and Ashton fighting the strength of the waves, swimming towards the island. They seem to be drifting slightly towards the whirlpool.

But not as fast as the boat is. Michael swallows thickly and with one swift push, he tosses himself into the water.

The water is cold. Icy cold. It sends shivers down his spine, momentarily freezing his muscles. He has to fight in order to get his limbs moving, swimming in the opposite direction of Charybdis. His muscles scream for rest. He gasps for air every chance he gets. Water fills his eyes and blurs his vision-- he can't see Ashton or Calum ahead of him.

He swims until his feet brush against sand, and he blindly reaches out to grasp the rocks. He grabs one, slick and wet underneath his grip, and holds on tight. He feels blood trickle from his leg where it got cut on a sharp edge of coral. It stings sharply in the saltwater, and then he sees Calum and Ashton.

They are both flopped on the rocks, catching their breaths. Calum's sharp brown eyes meet Michael's, and he breaths a sigh of relief. The water slowly starts slowing down.

"Holy shit," Calum says.

"Holy shit," Ashton agrees.

Michael catches his breath. His skin is cold and slick with water, and he starts shuddering. His clothes stick to his body, black and dark.

Under them, the water smooths into a gentle wave, splashing harmlessly against Michael's legs, as if nothing strange had happened in the first place.

---
A/N: charybdis fuck ya

does anyone watch skam??? because i'm watching it right now and it is so fucking incredible like i'm in awe

hope you enjoyed reading. everyone tell me your favorite ship!! doesn't have to be 5sos.

thanks for reading. please vote and comment!! i love you all to the moon

byee