The next morning, Porter awoke to strange sounds. It sounded as if wind was hitting the sides of the cave. Loud howling and crashing could be heard in every room.

Porter tried to sit up, only to realise he was held down by a strong arm. He looked behind him and saw Kyte, very close. He was sleeping soundly while he spooned Porter.

Porter wondered how they got like that. He wasn’t complaining, it felt really nice, especially in the cold. He must have had a part in ending up like that since he was hugging Kyte’s hand to his chest.

Porter enjoyed the warmth of Kyte’s body for a little while longer before he got up and got changed. Kyte had been letting him wear his clothes this past week, since they were similar sizes. His clothes were a little loose on him so he was glad that they would be going to get his and Jessy’s stuff today.

Jessy had decided to stay here. She was going to explain everything to her aunt and hoped that whether or not she still liked her after she would get to live here.

“You’re up already? It’s only 6 am.” Kyte rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock.

“I didn’t look at the time. I got up because I wasn’t tried anymore.” Porter said before picking up his phone.

Joel, his roommate, had been texting him nonstop since he got to the cave. He Had asked him multiple times where he was, but Porter never answered which led to the text he had gotten this morning.

‘Since you haven’t shown up, I got a new roommate and dumped all your stuff out the front of the house.’ It read. Porter was relieved since it meant he didn’t have to interact with Joel again. Porter had hated living with him ever since he moved in and finally, he never had to see his ugly face again.

“What’s up?” Kyte asked after he saw the thoughtful look Porter had as he continued to look down at his phone.

“I just got kicked out of my house.” He told him. “Good riddance.”

The lights flickered on and off then on again. “That storm must be really bad.” Porter said as Kyte got up and got changed.

“That storm is the only reason Nia is letting us go out of the house. No one will be walking around today so we’ll be safer.” Kyte said as he led them out of the room.

They walked to the dining hall, where only a few people were lounging around. Breakfast was laid out of the bench at the far end. Jessy and Kylie, along with Anti, were already at a table eating. Porter and Kyte joined them after they got their food.

“You guys are up early.” Anti said. Her plate was stacked full of food, enough to feed a family of four.

“I guess we can head out when everyone finishes eating, since this is the group going.” Kylie said as she enjoyed her bacon, which was all she had on the plate.

“I really hope my aunt doesn’t react bad.” Jessy ate her food very slow compared to the others, who had at least ten times more than her.

“It’ll be fine.” Porter told her.

“So, the plan is to drop Porter and Kyte off at his house then Anti and I take Jessy to her aunt’s.” Kylie told them.

“No need for that. My roommate kicked me out and threw all my stuff outside of the house.” Porter told her before taking a sip of orange juice.

“Harsh man. He doesn’t sound like a good guy.” Anti said to him. She was already nearly finished her food.

Thirty minutes later, they were all in the car. Kyte was driving and Kylie had taken the front seat, so Porter, Jessy and Anti were stuck in the back seat. It was very squishy; Anti took up most of the room.

“How’s your leg?” Jessy asked Porter, just to create conversation.

“Actually, it barely hurts. I think swimming in the saltwater yesterday helped a lot.” He told her.

“That’s because saltwater heals us.” Anti informed them. “That’s why I prefer to fight in the water, I guess all Merpeople do though.”

“Cool.” Jessy said. “Can you control water?” She asked Anti. “Like, can you create a tidal wave if you wanted to?”

“I couldn’t. I’m not strong enough, but Porter is.” She told them.

“I could?”

“Yeah. Royals are more powerful than any other merperson.”

“Your even stronger than most werewolves. We’ve learnt that from experience.” Kylie laughed.

“Once you beat the alpha of a rival pack in one hit.” Anti laughed with Kylie.

The group started to talk about funny moments in their lives. Porter and Jessy sat their and listened. They laughed along, but neither of them could help feeling left out.

By the time they got to Porter’s house, it was nearly eight o’clock. The storm was getting harsher and the road in front of the car was barely visible.