Sinking Woman || Yandere!Siren X F!Reader

Uncharted Waters

You found yourself watching the sunset from the rock jetties, lantern in one hand and bucket in the other. You were on the hunt for mussels.

"Upon one summer's morning, I carefully did stray, down by the Walls of Wapping, where I met a sailor gay, conversing with a young lass, who seem'd to be in pain, saying, 'William, when you go I fear you'll ne'er return again,'" you sang as you worked.

It was an old sea shanty that your grandma had taught you. The two of you would sing it together while dancing in the living room. She let you stand on her feet until you learned the steps.

You wanted to take Jenny crabbing tomorrow. You'd done so yourself as a kid, and you remembered loving every second of it. You wanted to share that joy with her.

If you were hard pressed, you could always use a piece of raw chicken or hotdog as bait, but a freshly opened mussel or clam worked best. The scent carried further and the crabs came running.

You had a pretty good haul so far, but they were all pretty small. You were sure there had to be larger mussels further down the jetty, but the tide was coming in and water made the rocks slippery.

You decided to risk it. Jenny and Nick were drinking on the back porch and would surely see you if you wiped out. After having a good laugh at your expense, they would fish you out. Probably. You toed off your flip flops, leaving them on the last dry rock, and took a step forward, into the water.

You shivered. It was the first time you had set foot in a body of water in years. You meant to go swimming today, but you ended up laying out with Jenny all day. Gay thoughts could be awfully distracting.

Careful footing was your best friend in this situation. You didn't hop from rock to rock the way you had before. Instead, you set down your foot, experimentally put some weight on it, ready to catch yourself if it was slippery or unstable, before taking your next step.

You were up to your knees in water, with a few more mussels for your troubles, when you heard something further out on the jetty.

"My heart is pierced by Cupid. I disdain all glittering gold. There is nothing can console me, but my jolly sailor bold," a woman sang in return. It was the chorus of the song you'd been humming to yourself. Her voice was gorgeous but odd. You could feel it resonating in your chest.

You swung your lantern in the direction of the singing, but saw no one else on the jetties besides yourself. Then something started to rise from the ocean surface.

First a head, next shoulders, then torso, but no legs, as if she couldn't get them under her. Which she couldn't because she had no legs. It was the mermaid from the other night.

You must have collected mussels so long that the memory pervaded your mind. The mermaid grinned up at you. The lantern light caught on all her enormous, sharp, white teeth. Her eyes, eyebrows, and freckles glowed all on their own.

"You were singing for me," she sighed happily, almost dreamily.

Wake up, you told yourself, pinching your thigh fiercely.

"But you don't look happy to see me," she added before pouting. You didn't think fish lips were capable of pouting. Then again, you didn't think they were capable of kissing, either.

"I'm sorry," you said automatically. Something was telling you that you did not want to upset her. Could be your instincts. Could be your gay panic. You couldn't deny she was pretty in an alien sort of way. "I just thought... I thought you were a figment of my imagination."

"And now?" She asked, climbing further up the rocks, closer to you. You felt goosebumps start to raise on your arms and legs.

"I think you're a very persistent figment of my imagination."