I wave to my neighbour, and her grumpy husband, as I ride past. They don't try to talk to me in the afternoon since they knew I always wanted to go swimming in the ocean as soon as I got home. I park my bike in the garage, then quickly dash up to my room.

"Welcome home!" my mother calls. I thank her before closing my door and change into my swimming gear.

"Stay safe out there, hon!" my mother calls as I run past her again, out the door before she can even finish her sentence. I run down the beach, diving headfirst into the water, feeling the coat of dust and sweat I had worked up from the exam wash away with the tide. The cold temperature is like a refreshing slap to the face. A few people were still in the water, but they were hanging around in the shallows. I knew one of the kids and her parents, so I sneak up underneath the water, bursting out and scaring them in a shower of water drops.

"(Y/N)! How many times have we told you not to do that?!" the kid's father shouts, but he's laughing. I grin.

"I lost count after twenty six. How have you been? I haven't seen you out here for a while." I respond, laughing as the kid starts paddling up to me, latching onto my hands. I pull her around in the waves for a while, smiling as she laughs in delight.

"We've been planning a holiday to America. We're going to Disneyland, isn't that right, Jen?" the mother says, picking up her kid.

"Disneyland!" Jen shouts excitedly. I smile.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, but I just had a very long day and need a very long swim. I'll see you around!" I say, waving at them. They wave back and I dive under the water, swimming out to the shark net. Once I'm at the edge, I start transforming. My bones pop and crackle as they shift around, the feeling of it making me gasp. Fins sprout along my spine, the backs of my arms and my ankles. My human hands and feet become webbed, similar to duck feet. I activate the glow in my markings, illuminating the sand and the net around me in a royal blue light. My gills flare as I take a breath, then dive to the bottom of the net. Once I reach the sand, I propel myself upwards, breaking the surface of the water and launching myself clean over the net. I hear Jen shout in delight and glance back before I go under again, noticing her pointing at me and speaking excitedly to her mother.

"I saw her! I saw (Y/N)! Mummy, did you see?"

I go under the water again, smiling to myself as I swim out into the open sea. A small fish appears and swims next to me for a while before heading in a different direction. I keep going in one direction for about ten minutes before I come across a trench, then dive into it. I found this place a while ago, and nobody else in my family knows about it. It was almost like a maze once you reached the bottom, since the only way to get where I was going was through a network of sea tunnels. I knew the way by heart, though, so I hurry through and burst out of the water into the cave, reverting back to my human form. I sit on a rocky overhang, waiting for the others to notice me. For once, it didn't take long.

"Hey, (Y/N) made it!" Alex shouts. The other two look up, noticing me sitting above them with my glowing markings.

"Took you long enough! We were wondering if you had forgotten!" Lynn says, standing up and walking over to me. I grin and drop down towards them, turning off my glow. The glowworms above us illuminated the cavern perfectly already. Lynn grabs my hand and drags me over to my spot, then sits down beside Cole.

"Y-You wouldn't forget about us, right?" Cole says nervously.

"What? No! Never! How could you suggest such a thing?" I gasp dramatically, placing a hand against my chest in mock shock.

"So what made you take so long this time?" Alex asks jokingly, nudging me as I sit beside him. I nudge him back more forcefully and he chuckles.

"UA entrance exam." I say proudly, sitting up straight and placing my hands on my hips.

"Wow, really? How did you go?" Cole asks, leaning forwards.

"Pretty well, if I may say so myself. I got a grand total of... hold on... 46 points?" I say, not entirely certain that was accurate. I had already forgotten my score.

"You don't sound very sure." Lynn laughs. I glare at her playfully.

"It's been almost an hour since I last checked! Of course I would have forgotten about it!" I huff, crossing my arms.

"Almost an hour!" Alex wheezes, covering his mouth in an attempt to smother his laugh.

"YOU KNOW I HAVE A BAD MEMORY!!"

Needless to say, we all ended up laughing on the floor, holding our sides with tears streaming down our faces. I had missed these guys. We had all been friends since year one, right from when we first met. Since Alex and I went to a different school, we hadn't been able to see eachother much lately, but we would always make time to meet up in this cavern at least once a month. I found it by accident about a year ago, while I was swimming around. It had another tunnel on the other side of the cavern, which was how the others got in here. I had never used that tunnel, so I didn't know where it led out.

"How's your brother?" Cole asks once we had calmed down enough to speak without bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Edgy as always. He's starting to swim out into the ocean a lot more to 'get away from us', as he puts it." I say, laughing lightly.

"Well, he's thirteen, right? Not much you can do about it." Lynn says, draping her arm around Cole. They had become a thing a few months ago and it always made me happy to see them together.

"No, but I can annoy the heck out of him." I say, smirking devilishly.

"Hey, (Y/N), meet any cute boys in the exam?" Alex suddenly asks, his eyes sparkling. I grin.

"Hell yeah I did. Two of them. One saved me twice, I saved the other twice." I say. His face lights up. He was two months older than me, gay, and always looking out for an opportunity to get me in a relationship with someone.

"Do tell!" Lynn says, leaning forwards.

And so began the tale of how I saved mystery boy's ass and Kirishima saved mine.

~

I had been talking for so long that I hadn't even noticed how long I'd been down here with them. Cole glances at his watch and says they'd better leave or they'll get in trouble. I nod, smiling, and stand up. We group hug for a while before Alex walks with me over to the rock overhang and gives me a boost up.

"See you next time, guys!" I call, activating my markings and transforming.

"See ya!" Lynn calls.

"Bye, (Y/N)!" Cole says.

"See ya, and remember, catch those cute boys like fish on a hook!" Alex shouts, jogging to catch up with the others. I laugh as I dive into the water again, swimming home.

~

I take a quick shower in the outside bathroom and pull on some comfortable clothes, then walk inside with the wet towel draped around my shoulders.

"Welcome back, (Y/N)! Did you have fun?" my mother asks. I nod, smiling. I knew I probably should tell her I was meeting with my friends, but there was a sense of rebellion and freedom in going out by myself. My brother saunters into the room, his hands in his pockets, and asks what's for dinner.

"We're having (F/F) tonight, in celebration of (Y/N) trying out for UA!" my mother declares.

"Aww, you shouldn't have!" I coo, giving her a hug.

"Well, I can choose something else to make..."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!!"

~

That night, I fell into my bed with a smile. Sleep washed over me and stole me away moments later.