Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I walk along the shore of the island, waiting for Alberto. He said he would meet me here, but he’s late. I look at the watch on my left wrist. Oh God, he really is late. I bite my nails, knowing it’s a bad habit. I’ve only just got back from Genova, and I still haven’t seen Alberto. He was working as a lifeguard earlier today, maybe his shift just went late… Yeah, that seems right. He’ll still meet me here. I feel the rough sand between my toes as I take a deep breath. I wave crashes against my legs, and the tingling sensation of my scales being revealed calms me. I sit down and watch the sky turn orange and then red. By the time the sky is just beginning to look purple, Alberto still isn’t here. I sigh, grab the bag I had brought with me, and step into the deep blue ocean.
I greet my mom with a smile as I swim through the doorway of our house. She immediately gives me a huge bear hug that I am not ready for. Sometimes my mom can be a lot, but that’s something we have in common.
“Oh, Luca! You have no idea how much we missed you!” She says, her voice loud and firm as she prattles on about what they did over the school year. “But that’s just us! How was school?” At first, I don’t answer, stuck in thoughts about Alberto and how he stood me up. “Luca?” My mom snaps me back to reality.
“School was great!” I say, trying to keep my voice as cheerful as possible, "Giulia and I learned so much, but I’m really tired. It was a long train ride, y’know?” Mom rolls her eyes.
“Yes, I know, get to sleep, we have dinner with the Marcovaldos tomorrow, you and Giulia will have to tell us everything,” She tells me. I can’t help but feel upset when I remember that Alberto is basically Massimo’s son. I’ll have to tell him about how happy I was at school without mentioning how much I missed him. And, God, did I miss him.
Grandma is already sleeping when I come into our shared alcove. The kelp of my bed feels smooth against my skin, and I close my eyes until the next morning.

***

When I wake up, something’s not right. I’m still in my bed, but Grandma isn’t. And it’s light outside. I see rays of sun streaming down from the surface, only slightly distorted by the water. I sit up on my bed, looking around at the various plants and greenery in my underwater cave. I can hear the voices of my parents in the eating area. They’re talking about something, but I can't make it out. I slept in, didn’t I? That’s not something I usually do, but I must have been more tired than I thought. I swim my way to where my parents are, and I hear their conversation on the way.
“Are we sure we should keep letting him go there? It’s so far away and we barely got to see him over the holidays,” My mom says. They're talking about me, I know they are. I slow down, hoping to hear more of this conversation.
“It’s what he wants to do, Daniela; we can’t stop him from doing what he loves,” My dad explains.
“I know, Renzo… I’m – I just don’t like not knowing if he’s okay or not.” I hear her shuffle around. The words make me realize something I hadn’t before; maybe I was selfish to want to go to school. My mom made me promise that I would sleep in my room over the summer, and I never realized that she might need me here more than I needed to go to school.
I’m shocked back to reality when Grandma comes up behind me, “Luca,” She says, her voice gravelly but strong. She pulls me into a hug, “How was school?”
“It was okay,” I say, pulling back so I can see her face, “I missed you and the others, though.”
“I want to hear all about it, but first,” she says, pulling me back into our shared room, “Alberto dropped something off for you this morning.”
I pause, my heart racing. Grandma shuffles around her dresser drawer searching for whatever Alberto gave me, while she mumbles to herself about losing her memory. My mind searches for any sign of what he might have given me. A gift? No, he’s not the type to give gifts. Food? Why would he give me food?
“Ah, here it is!” Grandma says, " I shift my focus to her eagerly, “A letter.” My eyes light up. A letter! Of course, a letter! Alberto and I send letters all the time! Grandma hands me the piece of paper. It’s slightly crumpled, but since it’s waterproof, it’s fine underwater.
“I guess I’ll leave you to it,” Grandma says from the doorway with a wing before ducking out to join my parents in the dining area.
I open the letter that was carefully folded. My heart skips a beat when I see my name in Alberto’s handwriting.
“Caro, Luca
I’m very sorry I missed our meeting last night, and I want to make it up to you. I can explain everything if you meet me by the fountain two hours before dinner. Trust me, I won’t let you down.
Love,
Alberto Scorfano ♡”
I feel butterflies in my stomach, fluttering around as if they have no dignity. I reread the letter multiple times, just to make sure I’m not going crazy. I compose myself as I get ready for the day. When I meet my parents in the dining room, they're talking about something mundane that I can barely hear over the thoughts racing in my head. I tell my parents that I’m meeting up with Alberto before dinner, and they begrudgingly tell me to go before I’m late. I swim as fast as I can to land.
The sun is bright in the sky. I swim up the shore, dodging coral and fish. When I get to land, I shake off all of the water and straighten out my clothes. I wear a dark blue plaid flannel, similar to the shirt Alberto gave me a year ago. I also wear blue shorts that almost match the color of the sky. I look into my reflection in the water, checking if my hair looks okay. No matter how hard I try not to, I always want to look nice for Alberto. He just makes me want to be better, and I don’t know why. But that is not for me to worry about right now because I’m late.
I walk up the steps of the dock, feeling the cold stone underneath my feet. I pass Giulia’s house, where I can hear Massimo singing along to an aria. The fountain in the middle of the square is even more beautiful than I remember it being. The giant statue of a man killing a sea monster is replaced with a beautiful sculpture of two boys, a human and a sea monster, playing on the shore.
I walk up to the fountain to see Alberto on the other side of it, admiring every bit of the fountain. His eyes soften as he sees me approaching him. I look at the ground, suddenly aware I’ve been staring. When I meet his eyes again, he smiles and envelops me in a hug. His arms are strong around me, holding me as though he couldn’t wait another minute to hold me in his tight grip. I hold him just as tight. He smells like gelato and saltwater, a smell I never knew I needed.
“Luca…” Alberto whispers in my ear. Hearing my name on his lips makes my spine shiver and my heart pound against my chest. Why am I feeling this way?
When we finally break apart, warm summer air rushes into the space between us. I look into Alberto’s deep brown eyes.
“I’m sorry I didn’t make it last night,” He says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I really tried to get away, but Massimo had me go fishing right after I got home from work. He said something about the weather conditions. By the time I had finished, you weren’t on the island.” He looks down at the ground, fiddling with his hands and shuffling his feet. “So I brought a letter to your house. It really sucks we don’t live together anymore, right?” He chuckles nervously.
“Albert, I’m not mad at you,” I put my hand on his shoulder, “…Okay, maybe I was at first, but not anymore. I know it’s different for me to be living with my parents, but I think they need this.” I squeeze his shoulder before letting go.
“Anyways,” I say. “I was told you would ‘make it up to me.’” I take a step closer to him as his eyes light up.
“Of course! I have a surprise for you, but you have to close your eyes. I brought a blindfold because I know you’ll peek.” Seeing him this excited makes my smile grow even bigger.
I close my eyes, and he wraps a blindfold around my head. I hear some rustling as he takes my arm and starts leading me down the roads of Portorosso. Once we’ve passed the roads I remember, Alberto stops.
“Do you trust me?” He asks.
Without missing a beat, I reply, “Always.” Then he takes me onto a dirt path with him as my only source of direction.

 ***

“Another big rock ahead,” Alberto says.
“That’s not very descriptive,” I say, out of breath from the many times I’ve almost fallen face-first to the ground.
“That’s okay, we’re almost there anyway. ”Alberto leads me to the right. “Okay, I’m almost done, but I need you to wait like one more minute so I can get ready.” He shuffles around, and I hear plastic and fabric rustling.
“Are you almost done?” I ask, knowing this was definitely more than one minute. I hear a few more things before it all goes quiet, and the only thing I can hear is mine and Alberto’s breath.
“You can take off the blindfold now,” He tells me. I reach up to my face and take off the blindfold. My eyes struggle to adjust to the light, even though the sun is about to set. I see green everywhere, only broken up by the red and white checkered picnic blanket and Alberto in front of me. He stands in front of a forest of giant trees with breaks in between them of grass and dirt. The greenery eventually gives way to a sandy shore. We stand on top of a hill underneath the shade of a tree. Alberto holds a bouquet of red carnations, one of my favorite flowers, mixed with white lilies, his favorite flower.
Alberto looks at me as if he’s waiting for my approval. I walk up to him. He offers me the bouquet with a shy smile. I take the small cluster of flowers and hold them to my nose to smell.
“What… do you think?” He asks. I gesture for him to sit down on the blanket; he does, and I join him.
“I think it’s perfect. Thank you, Alberto.” I look at the sunset, feeling his eyes on me. I set the bouquet down carefully and tuck my knees into my chest. “How did you find this place?” I ask, turning to look at him. He sticks out his chest with pride as he starts explaining.
“I had been working all day, and it was almost time for dinner. I told Massimo I was just gonna go for a short walk. He told me to be back soon because dinner was almost ready. I started walking around Portorosso, looking for someplace new that I hadn’t gone to before, and I found a dirt path that led to this giant forest that overlooks the sea. I really liked this hill when I found it because of the awesome view. There’s also a path straight to the sea just down the side of it. I ended up being late for dinner, and I told Massimo I got lost because I wanted to share this place with you first.” He blushes, “It’s kinda silly, now that I think about it.” He chuckles.
“Well, I’m glad you shared this with me. It can be our special spot, like the island!” I tell him. He smiles.
“Yeah,” A moment passes where we just look at each other, saying nothing. I start blushing like crazy. What is going on!? I decide not to linger on my feelings for long.
“So… Are there snacks in that picnic basket?” I ask to break the silence. He looks at the picnic basket as if he had forgotten it was even there. He opens it up.
“You do remember we’re having dinner with your family in about an hour, right?” He pulls out a small book from the picnic basket and hands it to me.
“What’s this?” I ask, opening the book to the first page. It’s the only page that has anything on it. Alberto wrote today's date and a short journal entry of what he had planned. I look up to see Alberto smiling at me.
“It’s a journal scrapbook. Giulia gave me the idea last night. We can both write in it or add pictures and stuff like that. We can even do it while you’re at school by mailing it back and forth. I already wrote in it for today, I figured you might want to do the same.” I close the book and put a hand on the front cover. I smile at him. I set the book down and shuffle over to where he is sitting, and I hug him. My arms wrap tight around his neck, my heart pounding. He hugs me back, and I can feel his bare arms graze the skin where my shirt rides up. The butterflies in my stomach flutter, but this time it’s not because I’m nervous, but because I’m happy.
I give Alberto a tight squeeze before letting go. I look at the rapidly setting sun and sigh. “I guess it’s time for us to leave,” I say, moving to get to my feet. He pulls me down by my sleeve.
“Wait!” Our faces are only inches apart. I feel heat rising to my cheeks as I glance down at his lips. I suddenly feel the urge to kiss him. What am I doing!? Why would I want to kiss Alberto? I back away from him slowly.
“What is it?” I ask as if I hadn’t almost kissed my best friend. He clears his throat.
“Oh! – um… It’s uhh– It’s nothing! Nothing at all, let’s just leave.” He nods, straightening out his tank top and messing with his hair. He mumbles to himself as he cleans up the picnic. I pick up my flowers and smell them again before following him down the path.

***

When we get back, the sun is fully set, and there’s an awkward silence between me and Alberto. Massimo, Giulia, and my parents are all waiting for us when we arrive. Alberto tells them that he has to put the picnic basket away and leaves for his room. Which leaves me alone with everyone else. I sit by Giulia, leaving a seat for Alberto on my right. They had already started eating by the time I got there. Massimo had cooked trenette al pesto for our first dinner at home.
“How was your picnic with Alberto?” Giulia whispers in my ear. My eyes widen.
“He told you what he was gonna do!?” I whisper back.
She rolls her eyes, “Of course he did! Did he give you the flowers?”
I blush, remembering the flowers I gave to Alberto to put in a vase because I couldn’t bring them underwater. I nod. Giulia smirks, turning back to join the adults in their conversation. Alberto joins us a few minutes later, and that is when the questioning begins.

***

“What was your favorite thing that you learned?” Mom asks, and I figure that since Giulia answered almost every question, I should probably answer this one.
“I really like learning about the stars and planets,” I say timidly, “Did you know that sunsets on Mars are blue?” I ask, gaining confidence. I look at Alberto, who’s looking at me with curiosity. “Yeah, and all the other planets in the solar system could fit in the space between Earth and the Moon.”
“That’s really cool!” Mom says, “What about you, Giulia?” And just like that, the conversation moves on. Alberto is still looking at me, though. I try to ignore it and eat my dinner, but my heart skips a beat every time his eyes flick back to me. I answer a few more questions before my parents say it’s time to go. I hug Giulia and Massimo goodbye before pausing at Alberto. I squeeze him extra tight and whisper in his ear, “Meet me on the island for lunch tomorrow.” I let go and wave as I walk out the door. I smile as I see Alberto’s confused face, then the door shuts.

Chapter Text

I wake up to the sound of banging on my window. What the hell? I think. My vision is still blurry from sleep, but I see a blur of a person. I hear my name being called, but it’s muffled by the window. When my vision adjusts, I see Luca outside my window trying to stay balanced on the tree branch. I open the window and he falls in, “Luca? What are you doing here? What time is it?” Luca stands up and dusts himself off.
“Giulia, I have a problem,” He says as he starts to pace around my room. I cross my arms.
“What is it this time?” I ask. He scoffs at me.
“This time!? What do you mean this time?” He looks around, “I don’t come to you for my problems that much, do I?” He crosses his arms and looks up at me through his messy hair.
“Let’s just say you’ve had a lot of problems that needed my help,” I say. I know it's mean to tease him, but he makes it so fun!
“You’re making me not want to tell you,” He says.
“Ugh, fine. I’m sorry, blah, blah, blah. What’s the problem?” I sit on my bed and pat the spot next to me for him to sit down. He looks at me warily, then begrudgingly moves to sit down.
“You promise you won’t laugh?” He asks. Oh, wow. This must be serious; he never thinks I’ll make fun of him.
“I promise,” I hold my pinky up to him. He links his pinky with my own and nods.
Luca takes a big breath, “I think… I think I like Alberto! Like like him. I know it’s weird and you must hate me, and I almost kissed him yesterday, and I’m meeting up with him for lunch, and I don’t know what I’m going to say!” I can’t tell him that I already knew, can I? That would be wrong. So instead, I say the first thing that came to my mind
“Oh. Good for you.” He looks at me, surprised, as if he expected me to say that I hated him or something, but I don’t.
I want to say more, but I don’t know how to without revealing Alberto’s secret. Alberto told me at the end of last summer, after we won the race, that he was in love with Luca. He told me that he had been ever since he taught Luca how to walk. At the time, I thought he was just crazy; he was only fifteen; how could he be in love? Alberto was right, though. He is in love, and so is Luca.
“Is that all you’re gonna say? Good for you!?” Luca stands, his arms flying wildly.
“What do you want me to say?” I ask, calmly.
He stammers for a second, “Well… I don’t really know.”
“I’ll never hate you, Luca,” I say, standing and putting a hand on his shoulder, “You’re my best friend, just because you like Alberto doesn’t mean I think you’re bad. Sure, I think your choice in boys is a little weird, but that’s a problem for another time.” I smile.
“Hey! My type in boys is not weird!” He objects, “And… Thank you for saying all that. It really means a lot.”
“Anyways,” I say, shifting the topic, “You’re meeting up with your little ‘Prince Charming’?” I nudge his shoulder.
Luca groans, flopping face-first onto my bed. I sit down next to him, rubbing his back. His groans are muffled by the pillow.
“Sit up, Luca. It’s not that bad,” I say, scooting away to rest my arm on the bed frame.
He rolls over onto his back and rests his hands on his stomach.
“You don’t get it, Giulia. I was the one who stopped us from kissing yesterday. I don’t know if I’m ready to kiss him, or even tell him how I feel. I don’t know how I feel. I think I like him like that, but I’ve only ever liked girls. Do you think that's weird?” He asks me, and I’m not sure what to say. He knows I don’t think his liking boys is weird, because I like only girls. He’s the only person I’ve ever told, except for Alberto (but he guessed that, so it doesn’t really count).
“I don’t think it’s weird, you’re just trying to figure yourself out, and that’s never wrong, it’s just… You.” Just then, I hear Alberto’s door down the hall open.
“Giulia! Are you awake!?” Alberto shouts. I motion for Luca to go out the window. He nearly falls out, and I close the window as fast as I can. Alberto opens my door. He looks at me skeptically while I try to look ‘natural’.
“Oh, you are awake.” He shrugs. Alberto holds up two shirts, still on their hangers. One of them is a shirt he bought over the summer, which he thought made him look stronger due to its short sleeves and loose material. The other was a basic brown tank top that he loves wearing because of its nice fabric.
“Which one do you think Luca would like more?” He asks. His hair is still a mess from sleeping, and I think he has bigger problems than his shirt.
“That one,” I say, pointing to the first shirt.
“Really? You think so?” He looks at the shirt and nods back, “Yeah, this one definitely makes me look better.” He throws the other shirt to the ground and jumps onto my bed, his legs criss-crossed as he looks up at me. “Can you do my hair?” He grins. I sigh and nod at him while he takes hair gel and a comb out of his pocket. I start putting gel in his hair and styling his curls when he speaks up.
“I’m meeting up with Luca later today,” He says. I almost forgot that I’m not supposed to know and feign a surprised look.
“Oh, really.” I smirk, “So you finally asked him out?” His hair is a tangled mess in my hands. “God, why is your hair so long?” I whisper under my breath as he lets out a long, dramatic sigh.
“No, I think it’s just as friends. He’s probably not into me like that, anyway.” I almost choke when he says that. “You okay?” He asks.
“Yeah, just got something in my throat, continue,” I lie.
“You know that ever since I met him, I’ve liked him. But last night, I took him up to the hill, and… We almost kissed, Giulia. He’s just sending all these mixed signals, and I can't tell if I’m going crazy, or if he’s just… Straight.” He deflates with his confession. I want to make him feel better, but I can’t violate Luca’s privacy. I just want to say the right thing. When did I become a therapist? Luca also didn’t go into much detail about their almost-kiss and the fact that Alberto brought him to the hill, Alberto’s safe space, shows how much Alberto cares.
I finish styling Alberto’s hair and set down the products, “Look, I don’t know what to tell you, but what I know is that you’re a great guy. Any boy would be lucky to date you.” I sit down next to him, my legs dangling over the edge of the bed.
“You’re right,” He laughs, “Like always… Do you think Luca might like me back?” He asks. I look at him, scared I’ll reveal too much.
“I think – I think that if he’s smart enough to see you for who you truly are, he’d be stupid not to fall for you,” I tell him, “Now get out of my room, I need my beauty sleep.” I tug at the blanket he’s sitting on and shove his shoulder.
“Okay, okay, I’m going!” He’s almost out the door, “Thank you, Giulia,” He says softly. The door closes with a soft click. As his footsteps fade away, I open the window to see if Luca is still there. He isn’t, and he doesn’t respond when I call out to him, so I decide to actually go to sleep.

Chapter Text

I. AM. FREAKING. OUT.
Every bone in my body is sore from God knows what, and I can barely breathe. I shake my hands, hoping that will calm me down like it usually does, but I’m too worked up to even notice that it’s not helping. I pace around my bedroom, occasionally checking my appearance in the mirror and the clock on the wall. I still have an hour before I'm supposed to meet up with Luca. I flop onto my bed and scream into my pillow. When I’m done, I decide to take a walk into town to hopefully calm my nerves.
I grab my hat off the coat rack by the door, “I’ll be back later, Massimo!” I yell out, just in case he wonders where I am. I step out into the front courtyard of the house and feel the summer breeze touch my skin. I can smell the morning mist fading into the strong scent of ocean water. I open the door to the courtyard and step out.
People are bustling around, searching for stores to buy whatever groceries they need. At this time of day, it seems like there’s a constant flow of people in the gelato store. Children play with a ball by the fountain, and some older people play chess near the supermarket. I say hello to everyone I recognize, my worries forgotten for a short time. I stop to talk to Guido and Cicco, some of my friends. They turned out to be nice without Ercole around to boss them around. We talk about how their trip to Rome was and how they plan to spend the summer. All of my thoughts eventually lead back to Luca. I tell Cicco and Guido that I have to go, but in truth, I just want to be alone for a second.
I sit by the fountain – the one of the two boys – and I see its reflection in the water. I’ve always liked this statue. Ever since they put it in place of the statue from before, it’s reminded me of Luca and me. One of the boys is looking ahead, pulling the other boy along, while the other boy looks at the first. He reminds me of myself, always searching for something I’ll never receive in return. I’ve tried to stop liking Luca, but I never could.
I take a breath and stand, composing myself. I search my pockets for a coin to make a wish in the fountain. I find a 20-cent coin and hold it in my hands. I pray to whatever god is listening that this will go well, then I throw my coin in the fountain and watch it sink to the bottom and find its place among other wishes. With one last look at the statue, I head off to meet up with Luca.

***

The cold water hits my face, calming me down and revealing my scales. I take a deep breath through my gills, enjoying the salt water in my body. The island isn’t too far of a swim, and every time I make the trip, I’m reminded of the first time I came to Portorosso. I was with Luca, and we were getting away from his parents. I was different then; I was jealous and greedy. I don’t know what Luca saw in me. I swim past schools of fish and other sea monsters, living without a care in the world. When I finally make it to the island, I have to take a few steadying breaths before I’m ready.
I walk onto the beach where I first taught Luca to walk. Where I fell for a boy I had just met. This island used to remind me of my dad and the mom I never got to meet, but now, it only reminds me of Luca Paguro. Luca Paguro, I smile at the thought of him and his goofy grin. Him and his soft hair that’s always messy. Just him.
Speaking of Luca, I can see him pacing next to the tower. He looks like he’s talking to himself. I smile. I don’t want to interrupt him, but I also don’t want to be late. I walk up to where he’s pacing and hear him talking to himself about his parents and what they would think, but he notices me before I can figure out what exactly he’s talking about. Luca’s ears turn red as a blush creeps up his neck.
“Oh! You’re here! Uhh – How much of that did you hear?” He asks, looking at the ground with an embarrassed smile. I put my hands in my pockets.
“Not much,” I say, “I just got here a couple of minutes ago.” I smile, but he’s not meeting my eyes. “What were you talking about? I heard something about your parents…” He blushes even more, somehow. He looks adorable in the summer sunlight. His brown hair looks almost red in the bright light.
“It was… nothing.” He says, still not meeting my eyes. “I have a surprise for you up in the tower, so whenever you want that…” He points to the tower, his eyes following the motion. I put my hand underneath his chin and turn his face towards my own. I’m blushing now. I didn’t know I could be that bold. I search his eyes that match his hair, turning red in the light.
“A surprise, huh?” I ask, letting go of his face, “I guess you’re returning the favor from yesterday.” He nods and starts climbing the ladder I installed over the school year.
He yells down to me, “I just have to finish setting it up, wait down there for a sec!” He disappears into the top room of the tower. I lean against the rocky wall. I hold a hand to my racing heart and let out a deep sigh. Being with him makes me feel like I’m running a marathon. I love the way he makes my heart race and makes me lose my breath. He is a dream come true.
“Okay, it’s ready!” I look up to see Luca ducking back into the room. I climb the ladder to find Luca sitting on a blanket on the floor. Next to him is a mason jar filled with little scraps of paper of different colors. On his other side is a gift basket with more papers that I’m not close enough to read, and snacks. On a table in the corner is a bunch of food and breads that make my mouth water even looking at them. The gramophone from when we first met plays music softly in the corner with the food.
I look at Luca, who smiles back at me. He gestures around him in surprise at the human junk I used to collect. “Soooo, what do you think?” I think I’m in love.
“I think it’s perfect,” I say, repeating what he said to me the day before. He grins. I walk up to him and reach down to take his hand. He looks at me skeptically, but takes my hand anyway. I help him to his feet and wrap my arms around him in a hug. I hope he can't feel how fast my heart is beating or how heavy I’m breathing. “You’re perfect~” I say in his ear. Luca makes a strangled noise and returns the hug. I don’t even know what’s written on the papers, but I know whatever it is, Luca put a lot of thought into it.
I let go of Luca to turn up the volume of the gramophone, which is playing classical waltz music. He comes up behind me, peeking over my shoulder.
“What are you doing?” I look down at him. His brown eyes are wide when I take his right hand in my left and lead him to the open space of the room. I put my right hand on his hip, which earns a gasp out of him. For a moment, he’s just frozen there, not moving. I gently take his left hand and place it on my shoulder.
I lean down and whisper, “Do you know how to waltz?” I start swaying to the music. He nods, looking at my chest, not meeting my eyes again. I start with a basic waltz step. He follows my lead. Soon, we’re twirling around the tower room, not worried about anyone seeing us. I twirl Luca into a dip, our faces only inches apart. A beat of awkward silence passes, and the song ends. We stay in that position as a new song starts to play. Our heaving breaths mingle in the tiny space between our mouths. My heart races from the physical exertion of dancing (and maybe being close to Luca).
I look at his lips. I desperately want to kiss him, but I don’t want to cross a line if he’s not comfortable with it. He backs away from me, walking towards the food table. He grabs a roll from a bowl at the end of the table and takes a bite out of it. I reach around him to do the same, and my arm grazes his side. Luca turns away to look out the window and finish his bread roll.
“I didn’t really see what those things were,” I tell Luca as I walk to the blanket on the floor. He follows me, the blush on his face evident in the light. He sits down first, picking up the mason jar.
“This…” He twists the lid off the jar, “It's full of ideas of things we can do this summer. The blue papers are things that we can do all day, and the yellow ones are for when you have to work!” He radiates excitement as he shares this with me.
“What are the pink papers for?” I ask. He smiles, turning his face away, shyly.
“We have to look at the basket first.” He points to the basket to my right. I grab the basket and set it in his hands. He digs in it for a second, handing me some snacks and papers while he searches for something. He makes a proud noise when he finds a paper at the bottom of the basket. He motions for me to set down what I’m holding, and he gives me the paper.
I’m not the best at reading, especially when it’s handwriting, but I see my name on the front of the letter in Luca’s neat penmanship. He looks at me expectantly and starts talking.
“I wrote this letter when I first left for Genova. After only a few days, I missed you so much. I was so upset, and everything was just so new. All I wanted was to talk to you, but every time I called, you were busy.” I open the letter carefully.
“Caro Alberto,
I got to Genova, and I don’t know if I’ll like it here. I know I’ll enjoy learning, but without you, I’m not sure who I am. In the short time I knew you, you changed my life in ways I never thought were possible. You are the reason I am who I am. If I’ve learned anything in my time here, it’s that life without you is terrible.
I hope to talk to you soon,
Ciao, Luca.”
I look up at Luca. Then I look down at the other letters in the basket.
“What are all of those, then?” I point at the various sizes of paper that I now see have my name written on all of them. Luca blushes.
“Writing to you kind of became a way of expressing my feelings, even though I never thought you would read them.” He picks up an envelope and fiddles with the corner, “Some of them are full-on journal entries, and others just have things I wished I could have told you.” He looks at me. “I thought it was finally time for you to read them,” He says.
I move to hug him, but he puts a hand on my chest, stopping me from coming any closer. I hope he can’t feel my heart beating at the sudden touch.
“We still have one last surprise,” he says, grabbing the mason jar and pushing me back into a sitting position. “The pink slips of paper are prompts for letters we can write to each other whenever we’re apart.” He looks at me, “I don’t like being without you, Alberto,” He says, a tear sliding down his cheek, turning his eyes yellow and his cheeks blue. I reach my hand over to wipe his face. He leans into the touch and smiles. I feel my hand changing from skin to scales with his tears, but I don’t care. I love him, I just wish he loved me in the same way.
“I don’t like being without you either, Luca. You… make my life better,” I tell him. I don’t want to ruin what we have as friends, so I won’t tell him how I feel until I know he’ll never leave me.

***

We stay in the tower, eating and dancing. When the sun sets, the food is almost gone, and we’re tired from dancing. It was so great to finally spend time with Luca after months of not seeing him. I try not to be too obvious about how much I care, but I can’t help but stare at his big brown eyes and freckled face.
Luca grabs my hand and pushes me up the ladder to the roof of the tower. I climb up behind him. He says, “I may have lied about that being the last surprise earlier.” I furrow my eyebrows.
“What do you mean?” I ask, but he doesn’t have time to answer when I step onto the smooth wood of the roof and see a blanket circled by lit candles. Luca stands shyly to my right. He gestures for me to sit down on the blanket, and I do. He joins me, crossing his legs in front of him and tilting his head up to look at the sky. I rest my head on my hand and look at him. His face is beautifully illuminated by the candles that surround us. The sun is still setting, but some stars are visible where the sky is darker.
“Today was wonderful,” I say. Luca looks at me. I smile, “Thank you.”
“I’m really glad you liked it. I wanted it to be perfect after what you did yesterday.” He looks back up at the stars that are starting to dot the sky. I lay down, putting my left hand behind my head. Luca is too distracted by the stars to notice, I chuckle. What a sight he is to see. He notices that I’ve lain down and smiles, joining me. My pinky brushes his as I look at anything but him. I don’t want to see his reaction. His hand stops moving, and I hear his breath hitch. After a moment, he gently flips my hand over and traces the lines in my palm. My heart beats faster. I look at him. He faces the sky with a proud smile on his lips. I desperately want to kiss him, but I know he would probably hate me for it.
After a few minutes of being together, the sky is dark, and Luca’s hand stops moving. He rests his hand in my own, and butterflies flutter up to my throat. His breathing starts to even out, and I realize he’s asleep. I look at him, wanting to stay like this forever, his hand clasped tightly in mine, but I know his parents. They would want him home as soon as possible. I sit up, assessing Luca’s small body. I’ve carried him before, but he’s grown a few inches since then. I decide I can do it and begrudgingly let go of his hand to scoop my arm under his legs. He’s lighter than I expected, but still not light. He mumbles as his head rests on my shoulder. His hair tickles my neck. His arms subconsciously wrap around my neck. He keeps mumbling and grunting as I take him as delicately as I can down the tower.
When we get down, he mumbles my name, “Alberto.” I’m surprised. I laugh to myself, he’s so cute when he’s sleeping. “Alberto,” He says again. I entertain his groggy mind.
“Yes~” I say, not expecting him actually to respond.
“I love you.” Blood rushes up my neck and into my face. I’m suddenly glad he’s not awake to see how much I’m blushing. I know he’s asleep, but Giulia told me that the subconscious can reveal things about you that you never knew. He’s probably just exhausted and spewing nonsense, right? It doesn’t mean anything, I tell myself.
I walk into the water, carrying Luca in my arms bridal style, something I never thought would happen. His house is only a few minutes from the island, so it doesn’t take long for me to get there. I swim through the door in his room. His grandma is already asleep in her bed. I can hear his parents in the other room. I can tell they’re talking about Luca, but I can’t make everything out. His mom is very clearly worried. I set Luca down on his bed. He curls into a ball on his side. I’m still flustered from what he said earlier, so I look away.
Just then, Luca’s mom walks into his room. I look at her surprised face and chuckle. She crosses her arms.
“Why did you bring him home so late?” She asks, “He said he would be home by ten; it’s eleven thirty.” Dammit, did we really stay out that late?
“Well, uh, he fell asleep, and I didn’t want to wake him, I mean, look at how cute he is when he’s sleeping,” I trail off, “Shit,” I whisper under my breath, I just called him cute in front of his mom. She looks at me, her eyes narrowing.
“Okay, Alberto. I’ll let it slide this time, but I don’t want it to happen again.” She motions for me to leave, and I do so, happy to get out of there.
I go back to the tower to get the gifts from Luca, and at the bottom of the basket, I find the picture I drew of us when we had just met. I smile at the paper. Luca is too good to be true.

Chapter Text

When I wake up, I’m in my bed. I almost expected to wake up next to Alberto, holding his hand and lying on his chest. I should know better than that, though. Alberto only sees me as a friend and nothing more. It doesn’t matter that my heart beats crazy fast whenever he touches me or that we’ve almost kissed twice; he doesn’t like me. I know I should stop before I get my feelings hurt, but I can’t.
I start getting ready for the day. When I eat breakfast with my family, my parents give me looks like they know something I don’t. I think my dad even winks at me. I feel like they’re sharing a secret that I don’t get to be a part of. I’m surprised my mom doesn’t bring up my curfew. I know I broke it last night when I hung out with Alberto, and, strangely, she doesn’t say anything. I tell my parents I’m going up to the surface, and they share even more looks before saying goodbye.
I walk into town, saying hi to the people I know. I walk up to the fountain, where kids are playing with a ball. The fountain looks amazing in the morning sun, the ripples in the water illuminated by the pink and orange hues in the sky. I take a breath of the damp air as I walk towards the Marcovaldo house. Massimo is in the front yard, prepping his nets for fishing later. I wave to him when I walk in. I go inside the house to see that nobody is there. I hear Giulia talking to Alberto upstairs. Alberto.
I walk up the winding stairs to the second floor, where Giulia and Alberto’s rooms are. I start down the hallway and stop when I hear my name.
“Luca is the reason I wake up, Luca is the reason I’m here right now! I love him! Why can’t you see that!?” My eyes widen. I hold my breath, not wanting to make a sound.
“How do you know that? You’re only sixteen, for God’s sake! I’m not saying you can’t love him, but.” A moment passes, “I need you here. I don’t know what I would do if you were gone… I just don’t want you to get your heart broken,” Giulia’s voice is slightly muffled, and I can hear it crack as if she were crying. They are silent for a moment.
Alberto says, “Giulia, look at me.” I hang onto his words, “I’ll be careful, but Luca wouldn’t break my heart. You know that.” There’s some shuffling and muffled tears.
“I love you, Alberto,” She says.
“I love you too, Giulia,” He replies, “Oh, shit. Luca’s gonna be here soon.” I look around as the door handle rattles. Thank God Giulia’s door sucks. I race down the stairs and into the kitchen, already coming up with a lie about me waiting here because I didn’t want to intrude or something. I’m standing awkwardly next to one of the chairs when Alberto comes into the kitchen. He smiles at me.
“You’re already here, huh?” He grabs his hat off the rack and ruffles my hair as he puts it on. I blush.
“Yeah, Massimo said I could come in, well, more like he nodded at me when I walked into the front yard, but that’s just how he is.” I’m rambling. I laugh at how stupid I’m being. Alberto puts his arm around my shoulders.
“Do you want to go to the beach? I have something I need to tell you,” He says, leading me out the door.
“Um, okay,” I say.
The walk to the beach is short, and nearly nobody is there. We sit down on the edge of a wooden boat dock, our bare feet dangling over the edge. I feel the scales start to show on the balls of my feet, and for once, I don’t care. I don’t care if people see me as a seamonster. I don’t care if people see me and Alberto together. The only thing I care about is that the people I love are happy.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” I ask, looking at him. He looks upset and as though he’s gonna be sick.
“I never told you what happened with my dad.” He says. My eyes widen. To be completely honest, I thought he was going to confess to me. I chastise myself for being so selfish, “I told you how he left me alone when he said I was old enough to be alone, but that wasn’t the whole story. When I was born, my dad didn’t know my mom was a sea monster. She had tried to hide it because she always thought people would hate her for it… I guess she was right. She tried to protect me for as long as she could, but when I was born, she couldn’t hide it anymore.” He takes a deep breath. I put a hand on his shoulder.
“When my dad found out about her, he did horrible things to her. He hated me. He was waiting for the day I would be old enough not to die when left alone. He always told me that I was a mistake and that he would never be able to love me if I were a sea monster. One day, he just… Left. He said he had gone fishing and never came back. My mother had left long before him, though. After one of his ruthless beatings, she told me she loved me, but she couldn’t do it anymore. She said where she was going wasn’t safe, so I had to stay. Eventually, though, my dad started hitting me, too. I couldn’t stop it, I was just a kid. I would spend hours hiding from him under the water.” I pull him into a hug. His tears start flowing, and sobs rack his body. I don’t know what to do except be there for him. I don’t know how long he’s been keeping this secret, but I hope he knows I’m there for him.
“I’m sorry, Luca,” He says, wiping his face, “I didn’t mean to trauma dump on you.” He laughs. For a moment, I see the vulnerable child from his past in his eyes. Behind all the masks he puts up, behind all the lies he tells, is a boy who was broken by the very people who were supposed to love him. I pull him into another hug, holding him tighter. My arms wrap around him, and I can’t let go. Our hearts beat in sync, and we just hold each other. He cries in my arms until his tears have run out. I remain silent until Alberto pushes away and looks out to the sea.
“Thank you,” He says, “For listening and being there for me.” He looks at me, his eyes and face red with bits of purple scales showing.
“There is nowhere I’d rather be when you’re upset than by your side.” I hold his face in my hands and press our foreheads together. We spend a moment together with our foreheads against one another and our breaths mingling in the space between us.
“Y’know it’s funny,” Alberto says, a light smile teasing his lips. I peek my eyes open more to look at him.
“What’s funny?” I ask. I bring my forehead away from his.
“We’re water creatures,” he grins, “But we haven’t gone swimming once since you got back.” He grabs my wrist and pulls me over the edge of the dock and into the warm water. I blink my eyes open as he drags me along with him. He laughs as I struggle to keep up with how fast he’s going.
“Where are we going?” I ask, finally catching my bearings.
“Who said we were going somewhere?” He teases.
We hold hands as we swim through schools of fish and sea monster villages. We have no destination in mind as we swim on and on. Soon enough, the people and fish we see are left behind, and they give way to a beautiful scene of a coral reef. Colors are everywhere. I see vibrant reds, purples, blues, and yellows. There are colors I never thought I could imagine everywhere. I swim above the coral, in awe at the beauty in front of me. Alberto trails behind me, watching my reaction. I think about the pictures of coral in books I’ve read, but none of them even come close to this.
“Whoa,” I say as I sit down on a rock that juts out of the coral. I look at Alberto.
“So, how’s the view?” He asks as he swims up next to me. He sits down. I look at the coral, then back to him.
“Perfect,” I say, not thinking about the reef. Alberto blushes. I rest my head on his shoulder. “How did you find this place?” I ask.
“I actually found it when I was a kid,” He says.
“Really?” I ask. Alberto wraps his arm around me.
“Yeah, it’s pretty far from the island, so I felt safe here,” he chuckles, “I actually sat on this very rock the day my mom left.”
A few moments where the only noise is our breathing pass before I say, “Thank you for sharing this with me. Not just the place, but the story too.”
“Any time,” He says, smirking.
“Have you saved up to buy a new Vespa yet?” I ask.
He scratches the back of his neck, “Not really, most of the money I make goes to your school fund.”
“What!?” I turn completely to look at him, “I shouldn’t be the reason you can’t get what you want.”
“That's not it at all. I want you to be happy more than I want a Vespa. It’s as simple as that,” He says, not batting an eye.
“But you’ve wanted a Vespa for as long as I’ve known you. I don’t want to keep you from that dream.”
“You’re not,” He says, “Sometimes dreams change, and right now, making you happy is my dream, not a Vespa.” He points a finger at my chest when he says, You. He puts his arm back around my shoulders and pulls me into him. I wrap my arms around his waist, and we sit in silence. I find that I don’t mind the quiet, as long as I’m with him.

Chapter Text

I’m making dinner with my dad when there’s a knock on the door. I look at Papa.

“Were we expecting someone?” I ask. He grunts and shakes his head. I put down the bowl I’m stirring and walk to the door. When I get to the door, I look out the peephole. There’s a girl who goes to Genova, standing on the porch, crying. Her hair is long, brown, and very tangled. Her dark skin is pink around her eyes. I remember that she and I weren’t very good friends. In fact, I think she bullied me when I first came to school. I open the door hesitantly. The bright summer sun is warm on my skin. She looks up at me, her eyes red and glossy.

“Giulia! It’s you, thank God,” She says. I look at her quizzically. “Um, I know you probably don’t know me, or maybe you do.” She hesitates and puts a hand out to shake mine as she wipes her eyes with her other hand. “My name’s Gloria, Gloria Fontana,” She says, shaking my hand. I remember my first week of school when she made fun of my pants because they were dirty. My mom was too poor at the time to buy me a new pair.

“Why are you here, Gloria?” I ask, the bite in my voice clear. She looks down, another tear rolling down her cheek.

“I saw your last name on the sign outside for your pescheria, and I really needed someone I knew because… My parents kicked me out while we were on vacation in the town a few minutes inland from here.” She rubs her arm subconsciously. I rub my temples, thinking. I wonder if Papa would want to take in someone else. If he didn’t, he probably wouldn’t want to tell me.

“Do you need a place to stay?” I ask. She nods, and as much as I hate her from before, I can’t help but want to help her. She reminds me of Luca when I first met him. What breaks me is Gloria’s tears. When I first saw her, I thought she was gorgeous, and seeing her with tears running down her cheeks and her pouting lips makes my heart pump faster than I think is physically possible.

“Let me talk to my dad,” I say. I don’t particularly want my old bully to stay in my house, but I don’t think I can leave her alone on the streets. I walk into the kitchen, where my dad is finishing making dinner.

“Who was it, Guilietta?” He raises an eyebrow.

“It was this girl from school. Her parents kicked her out while they were on vacation, and she has nowhere to stay.” I look at him. He kneels to meet my eyes.

He sighs, “She can stay here for the summer, but I don’t have the money to pay for another person’s school.” I hug him.

“Thank you, Papa,” I say, “I’m sure she’ll really appreciate this.” I give him another good squeeze, then run off to tell Gloria. I bring her in, as well as her luggage that I hadn’t noticed before. She introduces herself to my dad when she walks into the small kitchen area. He tells her to have a seat and sets a plate in front of her.

“Giulia,” he says, “When were we expecting the boys to be back?” I finish the bite of pasta I was eating.

“Alberto said he was taking Luca ‘Somewhere Special’ and that’s all he said. They left a while ago, so I wouldn’t expect them to be too long,” I tell him. I really hope they got together wherever Alberto was taking him. I’ve always thought they would look good together.

“Who’s Alberto?” Gloria asks across the table. I keep forgetting she’s there since she’s so quiet.

“He’s my brother – well, not really – but kind of. He and Luca are sorta a thing,” I say. Her eyes light up at this.

“You mean the quiet kid who always hangs out around you?” I look at her.

“Yeah… Him,” I say, hesitantly. “He and Alberto like each other, but they are too stubborn to tell.” She continues eating with a smile on her face, and I realize I probably shouldn’t have told her this. I don’t remember much about how she was at school, but I remember she was mean to Luca when he first came to Genova.

A few minutes later, when the table goes quiet, Luca and Alberto walk in. They are talking about what they want to do tomorrow, but Luca stops when he sees Gloria. Rage fills his face. His nostrils flare.

“What is she doing here?” He says. Alberto places a hand on his shoulder, just as confused as anyone else. Luca never gets mad, so this is odd to say the least.

“She was in town… and needed a place to stay.” I stand up and walk over to him. I look at Alberto, signaling that I’ve got this. He nods. I bring Luca down the hallway while he furiously whispers to me.

“Don’t you remember what she did to me?” He asks, “She called me a fag in front of everyone! And she didn’t even know I am actually gay.” Tears well up in his eyes. He points to the kitchen, and I realize I messed up big time. “But she didn’t stop there. Every day, she would taunt me for being friends with the poor girl. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she poured water on all of my textbooks! I had to save for months to replace them. How am I supposed to forgive her!?” He whispers, and I realize Gloria was much worse to him than she ever was to me.

“I think she’s better now,” I say, and I see him prepare to say something. “And I know it’ll be hard to accept, but her parents kicked her out.” His eyes soften.

“I just! – Don’t know if I can forget what she has done,” He says softly. I put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not asking you to forget it, I’m asking you to try to forgive her. From what I’ve seen, she’s not so bad.”

“What if she bullies me again?”

“If she says even a word about you, I will personally make her pay.” He takes a moment, then nods. I lead him back to the kitchen, where Alberto is introducing himself to Gloria with a dramatic flair. He hesitates when Luca walks in. I roll my eyes at the heart eyes they’re shooting at each other.

“And this is Luca, but from the looks of it, you two already know one another.” Luca takes a seat next to Alberto. They whisper for a few seconds, and Alberto holds Luca’s hand under the table while they eat.

***

“This is where you’ll sleep for the time being,” I say, leading Gloria onto the tree platform where the boys slept last summer. I set down the pillows and blankets I’m holding. “I hope you enjoy,” I say. The tree is green, even in the dim light. Gloria’s face is framed perfectly by her dark curls. The fairy lights give her an ethereal glow. She’s beautiful. “Good night!” I spin around, hoping the dim light hides my blush.

I start to leave when she calls to me, “Giulia.” I turn around, almost falling off the flimsy steps that lead into my room. “Thank you,” She says, “You have no idea what this means to me.”

My heart thumps, “Yeah. No problem. I’m just inside if you need anything.” I spin around again. When I make it to my room, my heart is pumping blood at an ungodly rate. I can feel how warm my face is. What am I becoming?