Jessy watched Porter as he swam. He was totally immersed in the water, as if he belonged in it, which he sort of did. She looked at his leg, which was still wrapped in a bandage, even though he was swimming. Despite Nia telling him not to walk for at least another few days, he had been limping around the place, checking out the whole cave with Jessy. They had been having a great time exploring.

Maybe he doesn’t have a tail because his leg is injured? Jessy thought as she splashed around. She hadn’t been swimming in ages and it felt amazing. She ducked her head underwater and immediately regretted it. She rubbed her eyes frantically, trying to stop the stinging. “Ow. I forgot that this was saltwater.” She groaned. Porter popped out of the water as if he had heard her.

“Are you alright?” he asked as he rubbed a hand over his face to get rid of the water. His hair stayed Blue despite him not being in the water anymore, since it was still wet.

“Yeah. How did you hold your breath for a whole five minutes?” Jessy asked him before he got the chance to go back under.

“Five minutes? I didn’t even lose any breath.” He gasped. “This whole mermaid thing is starting to freak me out.” He shivered before going back under.

He was so distracted. Jessy turned away from him, her cheeks brushing profusely. Porter had forgotten about her confession. Either that or he usually took his shirt off in front of random people.

After a while of playing around in the front half of the pool, averting her eyes whenever Porter came into view, she realised that it was normal for men to take their shirts of while swimming.

The thought of her doing that when she had fully transitioned made her day. She couldn’t wait to feel happy when taking her shirt of. All she felt while looking at her own body was dread. She hated the way she looked; on bad days it was painful to even get changed.

She felt a tear run down her face. Soon I can be myself, she tried to reassure herself. One day, I’ll be as free as Porter. She ducked her head underwater in an effort to hide her tears.

“You okay?” Porter’s hand was suddenly on her shoulder.

“Yeah.” Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just working myself up.”

“You can talk about, if you want.” He said as he sat on one of the steps and turned his attention toward her.

“I’m just getting sick of waiting for my 18th birthday.” She pulled at her hair.

“Why don’t you cut it off?” he pointed to her head. “I think, even if you were a girl, it would suit you more than long hair. And I’m sure you’d feel great.” He smiled at her encouragingly.

“My parents would get mad if they ever find out.” She winced at the thought. They weren’t exactly the kindest parents a kid could have.

“You said you live with your aunt? I assume that she’s supportive, and you probably don’t see your parents much.” Porter told her. “And besides, I heard that your hair grows fast when you’re a werewolf. So, you can let it grow out if you want to.” He convinced her. Maybe he was right. It would make her feel better.

“Okay. Are you any good at cutting hair?” Jessy asked Porter as they got out of the pool.

“No but I heard Nia used to be a hairdresser.” Porter said excitedly.

Jessy looked for a towel. There were none in sight. “We forgot the towels!” she kicked herself. She didn’t want to get the floor wet. Nia had been nothing but nice to her, even supportive, she didn’t want to be a burden by making a mess.

“Don’t worry. I remembered how to use some of my powers while I was in the water.” Porter explained as he held his left hand out towards Jessy. Slowly, the water from her clothes seeped out and created a ball in front of Porter’s palm.

“Woah, that was so cool!” she grinned as he threw the ball of water back into the pool as if it were any old solid ball.

Porter did the trick on himself and then they began walking toward Nia’s office, which took at least five minutes to walk to from where they were.

Once there, Porter asked Nia to cut Jessy’s hair. Nia beamed at the chance to help her. In these moments, Jessy always thought that Nia would make a great mother, she might already be one. She was kind and patient, and always listened even when she was busy. All the things Jessy’s parents weren’t.

Nia guided them to a bathroom, not far from the office. She pulled out a whole bag of hairdressing supplies. She told Jessy to stand in front of the mirror and squat down a little, since Jessy was a bit taller than her.

“How do you want it? I’m presuming you want it short?” She grabbed a pair of scissors out of the bag.

“Yes, do what ever you think will suit me.” Jessy beamed as Nia brushed the knots out of her hair. After this, at least her head would look boyish.

After Nia finished, Jessy stared at her reflection in awe. When she just looked at her head, she felt amazing, better than she had felt in years. After Nia put all her equipment away, Jessy buried her in a hug. She tried to keep her tears at bay. “Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Jessy let go and brushed her hands through her hair. She loved it.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve done this sort of thing, but you’re the only one to get that excited.” Nia laughed. “I’m glad you like it.”

“How often are there people here?” Porter asked Nia. Considering the amount of rooms, he was sure it was quite often.

“There’s normally about a hundred at all times.” She laughed at the faces they were pulling.