You and Me

You and Me
Based on a song by Lifehouse
By: Kat

What day is it
And in what month
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time


"Two extra-large tankards of grog light with them lil' umbreller-thingies in 'em!"

Garin blinked. He had been slumped at the bar of the Golden Dubloon while waiting for orders. No, he wasn't drinking; this blonde Usul was actually WORKING for the place. He gave up the pirate life a long time ago in favor of a more legitimate, lawful job, and unfortunately that was the only job he could think of - being one of the bartenders of the Golden Dubloon bar. Serving heavy-lidded, shady pirates wasn't exactly his kind of living.

Of course, the blonde ex-pirate missed his life, but he squelched the emotion by thinking of the gold he was making anyway. Still, there was one aspect of his piracy that he could never forget.

"Oy, Garin, get yer butt offa the barrel and start fillin' them tankards or else I be takin' five dubloons offa yer salary, matey!"

Sighing, he got up from where he had been sitting, and walked off to fill the orders. As he walked back to the bar with two overflowing mugs of grog light, the gentle simmering of the bubbles on the surface of the grog reminded him painfully of something. It was something that, if it weren't for piracy, he would never have experienced, or seen. And it was this same thing that made him settle down at the Golden Dubloon.

Isca.

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people
Nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you


Isca was a beautiful mermaid he had seen while he was a young boy, but their encounter didn't stop there. When Garin grew up to be the adventurous but slightly ignorant man he was today, a major run-in with the villainous Captain Scarblade while commandeering his ship caused him and the lovely sea Aisha to meet again.

And this time, the Usul didn't just see her as a friend, or a huge source of help during the past war between her people and the treacherous Scarblade's cronies. He began seeing her in a new light.

"Aye, they be askin' for lotsa grog light today."

Garin snapped out of it briefly to nod at the tubby boss bartender who was gaily wiping a glass and blowing into it. Shrugging, he returned to his thoughts about Isca.

Why did he have to throw away her magic necklace? It was a little gift from her, something that would help him explore the depths of the sea without having to come up for air. At first, the ex-pirate thought he had no use for the mystical artifact anymore, since he gave up piracy.

He was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Even his heart agreed.

All of the things that I want to say
Just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words, you got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here


"You seem a little green 'round th' gills, Gar-boy," said his comrade, staring at him with his huge, beady, bloodshot eyes. "What seems ta be th' problem? There be no more grog in thar barrels over at th' storage room place?"

"Nope," he replied, looking up and trying to seem as okay as he could possibly be. "Maybe...I...uh, need to take a little stroll outside. You know, get some fresh air and relax, since all these customers can really get on your nerves after a while."

The other bartender nodded. "I see. Well, g'on, get yerself some o' that fresh air you been talkin' about. From th' way you been speakin', I'da think we was underwater or somethin'."

Underwater. That word pinched Garin in the chest so badly that he recoiled slightly. Thankfully his chubby chum didn't notice, as he got off the stool he was sitting on and walked off towards the front door, passing by a group of pirates singing sea ballads over a huge meal of shrimp cocktail and greasy burgers.

He stared up at the sky. It was late in the afternoon, and the sky was taking on a hue of purple splashed with orange. The sun was about to set, and as it slowly began to sink, so did his heart.

There was no way to find Isca now, since he no longer had a way to go to Maraqua, the world beneath the waves. That necklace was probably washed up on another beach somewhere, probably mistaken for a measly piece of seaweed.

It's not just a measly plant, thought Garin to himself, gazing at the slightly choppy waves crashing against the beach, leaving impressions on the wet sand he was walking on.

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people
With nothing to do, nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off you

"Garin? Is that you?"

The Usul jumped nearly a mile in the air at the sound of his name. Shaking back his blond bangs, he followed the call and found himself staring at a rocky cliff, just a few steps away from the seaside. He walked towards it, and gingerly perched on one of the less mossy boulders.

"Who's there?"

"It's me! Don't you remember me?"

A splash of seawater in his face turned his attention towards a mermaid in the nearby region, looking at him with her hazy eyes. Her hair was a rich lavender color, and she looked extremely familiar.

But she wasn't Isca.

"Caylis? What are you doing here?" asked Garin. Caylis was Isca's sister, and one of his good friends. He had to admit, at first he didn't quite like her, because of her moody, turbulent attitude. Thankfully she had loosened herself up and was becoming more likeable, especially in the eyes of his best friend Jacques.

"Thought I'd swim up here for a while. You seem to be troubled. Want to go back to piracy?" She giggled, but he didn't smile at all.

Garin frowned. "I miss Isca. Say, have you seen Jacques?"

The sea Aisha nodded. "Heck, lots of times. See, he's part of the Sea Patrol League now, and still sails around. Only this time, he looks out for the stranded, the lost and the seasick. Jacques still comes to visit every now and then, sometimes stays for quite a long while, since not many people these days are stupid enough to get themselves into trouble out here."

The Usul chuckled softly. He had been one of those stupid guys once, and vowed never to be again.

Something about you now
I can't quite figure out
Everything she does is beautiful
Everything she does is right


"Caylis?"

Another voice interrupted the two friends' conversation. A turquoise-haired head popped out of the surface, and two shining eyes peeped from underneath the flowing tresses of this newcomer. First she glanced at her sister, and found a pirate - or in this case, an ex-pirate - talking to her.

"Garin?"

"Isca?"

Isca narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, so you're going for my sibling? I'm sorry, she's taken. Jacques once professed his love for her by giving her a whole bouquet of colorful sea anemones."

"Of course not! No offense," said Garin quickly. "Isca, I just want to say..."

"I know, I know," she said grumpily. "You don't want to see me again, or go back to Maraqua. That's why you threw away my necklace." The Usul could see the shining seaweed sticking out of one of her pockets. It must've found its way back to her, he thought.

"NO!" cried Garin. "No, it's not like that! And I don't NOT want to see you again."

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people
With nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of


"So...you mean..." Isca's voice trailed off as she inched closer to her long-lost comrade.

Garin gently crawled over to the nearest rock and stroked her cheek. "You haven't changed a bit," he whispered. "You're as beautiful as ever."

Her sister giggled again, but Isca continued to stare. Her eyes shone with tears. "But...why did you get rid of my gift to you, my necklace? If I'm not mistaken, it's your only way to visit our world."

He held her hands and looked deep into her eyes. "I wanted to give up piracy. I wanted to settle down in Krawk Island and have a good life. Living in Maraqua just isn't my style - it's often too stuffy and formal for me to live there. Plus, all that trouble in the past happened simply because I strayed into your world. I thought we were never meant to be, Isca."

She kept silent, but her eyes seemed to say a lot more than words could convey.

"You...you're not a pirate anymore?"

"No. I have a job now at the Golden Dubloon. But..." Garin stared up into the twilight sky, watching the purple color darken and the sun dip deeper into the horizon. "...I was wrong about us. We were NOT never meant to be. Every time I'm at work or when I'm around here, I always think of you. I was so mad at myself for leaving your necklace behind. And I waited for that fateful day, the day that you would come back for me. I thought you had left me."

Isca bit her lip, and a tear slowly flowed down her right cheek. "I thought YOU had left ME," she said. Letting go of one of Garin's hands, she dug into her pocket and produced the seaweed artifact, still glittering with magic, and placed it over his neck. "I was wrong. Very, VERY wrong. And that is why I give this back to you."

"So we can still see each other, no matter how far we are?"

You and me and all of the people
With nothing to do, nothing to prove and
It's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you

"Definitely." Isca flung her arms around Garin, and they hugged together, just as the light completely turned into night, and Caylis was left examining a seashell idly. But when she saw her sister and her friend locked in a beautiful embrace, the other sea Aisha smiled.

"So...does this mean you two are back together?"

The ex-pirate smirked. "We were never even apart to begin with."

"Garin and I were still together, only both of us were blind to the truths," added Isca. Then she turned back to him. "I missed you so much."

He nodded. "So did I, Isca. So did I. Well, I'm due for the night shift at the Golden Dubloon, and this job is really eating up my life, but I will try to visit you two sometime. And just so you don't feel lonely..."

The Usul reached into his own pocket at the front of his shirt. Drawing out a glistening golden dubloon, he placed it in his long-lost friend's hand. "Remember me by this. When you are alone, know that I am with you, no matter where you are, and no matter how dirty, smelly or sweaty those customers at the restaurant are. This coin is worth a hundred dubloons up here, but you're worth much more to me than that."

"We have to go too," whispered Isca, smiling even widely. "King Kelpbeard might be worried. I mean, surface folk are okay to him now, but that whole incident with Scarblade still has him slightly traumatized. I hope to see you again." She kissed Garin on the cheek before diving back into the waters with Caylis, who simply offered a casual wave.

Stars began to appear as the ex-pirate made his way back to the Golden Dubloon, definitely in much lighter spirits than before.

"Aye, ye 'ad yer fresh air, matey? Better get back in there, or else we both get fired or somethin'." One of his fellow workers at the restaurant beckoned him back for the night shift, but before Garin could return, he looked back at the sea.

For some strange reason, it was much calmer and prettier than before.

What day is it
And in what month
This clock never seemed so alive

THE END.