By the time the weekend rolled around, the air felt lighter.
Saturday morning arrived with clear skies and the kind of bright sun that made everything feel like it was meant to be outside.
Eri stood in front of the mirror for the third time.
“It’s an aquarium,” she muttered to herself. “Not a fashion show.”
Still, she adjusted her oversized hoodie again. It was light enough for the weather, loose enough to hide the base of her tails comfortably. She had tied her hair back so her ears could move freely without tangling.
Her phone buzzed.
Alex: Outside.
Her stomach flipped.
Of course he was.
She grabbed her bag and headed downstairs.
Mira was already waiting at the bottom step like a vilin in a cartoon.
“You’re going to the aquarium,” Mira said, squinting suspiciously. “With him.”
“Yes.”
“Alone.”
“Yes.”
“Public pce.”
“Yes.”
“Spsh zone?”
Eri paused.
“…Why would there be a spsh zone?”
Mira grinned slowly.
“Oh no.”
Eri narrowed her eyes. “What do you know?”
“Nothing,” Mira said sweetly. “Have fun!”
That was not comforting.
Outside, Alex leaned against his car, sungsses perched zily on his nose.
When he saw her, he pushed them up into his hair.
“You look nice,” he said immediately.
Her ears twitched.
“It’s a hoodie.”
“Still.”
She huffed lightly, but her blush betrayed her.
The drive was easy.
Music pying softly.
Windows cracked just enough for warm air to drift in.
When the massive building of the aquarium came into view, Eri felt a small spark of excitement.
“I haven’t been to one in years,” she admitted.
“Same,” Alex said. “I figured it’d be fun.”
They stepped inside, immediately greeted by the cool, dim interior and the faint scent of saltwater.
The lighting shifted blue.
Soft.
Underwater-like.
Eri’s ears perked.
“This is cool,” she murmured.
The first exhibit was a massive wall of fish.
Bright tropical ones darting back and forth in synchronized waves.
The second she stepped closer—
Every single fish in the immediate vicinity abruptly scattered.
Not subtly.
Not gradually.
They bolted.
Like something had entered the tank.
Eri blinked.
“…Did you see that?”
Alex squinted at the gss.
“See what?”
“They all just ran away.”
He looked between her and the tank.
“…They’re fish.”
“Yes. And they ran.”
As if on cue, a smaller group cautiously drifted back toward the gss.
The second Eri leaned closer—
They scattered again.
Alex stared.
“…Oh.”
Her ears slowly tilted back.
“You see it now?”
“Yeah.”
She crossed her arms.
“They hate me.”
He tried not to ugh.
“I don’t think fish can hate.”
“They can.”
They moved to the jellyfish exhibit.
Soft glowing bodies pulsing gently in the dark tank.
For a moment, everything seemed peaceful.
Then one jellyfish drifted toward the gss.
Paused.
And abruptly reversed direction.
Eri deadpanned.
“Rude.”
Alex ughed openly this time.
“Okay, that one was personal.”
She narrowed her eyes at the tank.
“I have done nothing to you.”
They passed sharks.
The sharks swam steadily—until one rge one turned, locked onto her direction, and slowly veered away.
Alex was losing it now.
“This is incredible.”
“It is not.”
“You’re like some kind of marine repellent.”
“I am not a repellent!”
She stepped toward the gss again stubbornly.
A school of silver fish scattered instantly.
She threw her hands up.
“See?!”
He leaned against the railing, ughing harder than she’d seen in days.
“You don’t even smell like anything!”
“That is not helpful!”
Despite herself, she started ughing too.
It was ridiculous.
By the time they reached the rger central tank tunnel, wordlessly illuminated overhead with rays and massive fish gliding above them, she had accepted her fate.
“Okay,” she sighed. “Maybe aquatic life senses something.”
“Predator energy?” he suggested.
She gred.
“I am not radiating predator energy.”
Above them, a rge ray swooped low.
Paused over her.
Then quickly swerved away.
Alex wheezed.
She shoved him lightly.
“You’re enjoying this too much.”
“Yes I am.”
Eventually, announcements echoed overhead.
“The orca show will begin in fifteen minutes.”
Alex’s head perked up.
“Orcas.”
Her ears twitched.
“…What about them?”
He smiled slowly.
“Nothing.”
Suspicious again.
They followed signs to the arena.
Rows of seating curved around a massive pool.
Bright blue water shimmering under the sun.
Eri paused when she saw the clearly marked section.
SPLASH ZONE.
She stopped walking.
“No.”
Alex blinked innocently. “What?”
“No.”
“What?”
“I see it.”
“See what?”
“The sign.”
“It’s just water.”
She turned slowly to look at him.
“You’re not putting me there.”
He held his hands up. “I would never.”
Five minutes ter, she was sitting squarely in the front rows.
Directly in the spsh zone.
She stared at him.
“You tricked me.”
“I said it was just water.”
“You downpyed the water.”
He shrugged.
“It’ll be fun.”
The show began.
Music.
Trainer introductions.
The orcas surfaced majestically, enormous and sleek.
Eri couldn’t help but be impressed.
“They’re beautiful,” she murmured.
One of the orcas turned mid-swim.
Locked eyes with her.
And submerged.
A second ter—
The trainer signaled.
The orca unched from the water.
Massive.
Powerful.
And smmed back down—
Directly in front of them.
A tidal wave surged over the spsh zone.
Eri barely had time to inhale before she was completely drenched.
From ears—
To hoodie—
To tails.
Soaked.
Dripping.
Silence.
Water slid down her face slowly.
Her ears drooped heavily under the weight.
Her tails clung to her legs like wet ropes.
She blinked.
Slowly.
Alex was not wet.
Not even slightly.
She turned her head.
He was crouched slightly behind her—
Half-hidden in the shelter of her drenched tails.
Dry.
Completely dry.
“…You used me as a shield,” she said ftly.
He looked up sheepishly.
“…Maybe.”
Her eye twitched.
The crowd around them ughed and cheered as more water spshed.
But somehow—
Every major wave seemed to hit her more directly.
Another crash of water drenched her.
Alex ducked again strategically.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered.
By the end of the show, she looked like she had jumped into the ocean fully clothed.
Alex stood up.
Dry.
Smiling.
She stood slowly.
Water dripped from her sleeves.
From her ears.
From her tails.
“You,” she said calmly.
“Me?”
“You are walking home.”
He ughed.
“It was worth it.”
She lunged.
He barely dodged as she tried to grab him with her wet sleeves.
“You’re a menace!”
“You’re dramatic!”
She swatted at him again.
He retreated, still ughing.
But when they finally stepped away from the arena—
He paused.
Her hoodie clung slightly now.
Her hair damp around her ears.
Her tails heavy and dripping.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
She looked at him.
Still annoyed.
But smiling.
“…You’re lucky I like you.”
His grin softened.
“Good.”
She flicked one soaked tail at him intentionally.
Water spttered across his shirt.
He gasped.
“Hey!”
She smirked.
“Spsh zone.”
