NOTE: So remember that break from writing I mentioned? Yeah, I had a mental breakdown today and needed to write! Ha! So I'm back! I will more than likely space out my posting this time around (every day was absolutely killer), but I am SO EXCITED for you all to read this! Hope you enjoy! And a very special thank you to ShinyVapor (her username on tumblr is shinyvapor26!) for helping me finalize the beginning of this story! Give her story "South Kingdom" on archiveofourown a read! It's absolutely killer!

The cool salt water felt relaxing against his fingertips as they rode out to sea. It was just like every summer of Craig's childhood: they spent most of it at the beach, often taking rides out on his Uncle's boat to go fishing and swimming. Craig loved the ocean. The vastness of it reminded him of space, which was his favorite thing of all time. He sat by his father near the back of the little boat, his hand hanging over the edge to feel the water rush past. He felt a tap on his shoulder, turning to see his sister. Tricia smiled, pointing towards their mother. She motioned for him to come to her, Craig happily making his way to the front of the sail boat. Everything happened so fast in that instance. He watched his mother's eyes widen, he heard a muffled scream, and then he felt a sharp pain in his head. He saw stars, and then he felt wet. Was he sinking? Or was he falling? He opened his eyes, noticing the ship disappearing as he sunk into the blue depths. He wanted to breath, but something in his fuzzy mind was telling him not to. He turned his head, blinking as he saw someone. Was he going crazy? Is this what you see before you die? No, it was definitely a boy. He felt hands on his sides, his vision clearing up. His eyes widened, seeing the pale boy in front of him. He had wavy blonde hair, piercing green eyes, freckles, slightly pointed ears. Wait. Pointed ears?! That wasn't normal! Craig blinked, trying to move away as he realized he was drowning.

"Shhh, it's okay," He blinked as he heard a voice. How could he hear a voice? He was underwater! The boy's lips were moving. "I'm going to help you," Craig tried to swim up to the surface, the boy helping by pushing him upwards. Craig blinked, looking down. His eyes widened. Did he just see a tail?! Craig gasped for air as his face broke the surface of the water, coughing as he whipped around to try and find the boy that he saw. He felt the hands leave his body, quickly diving back under to try and find the boy. Maybe he needed help, too! He twisted his body around, catching a glimpse of an olive-green tail as his family finally looped around to get him. Before he surfaced, Craig swore he heard the voice again. "Be careful next time!"

Craig gasped, sitting upright in his bed. He sighed after catching his breath, running his hands down his face to wipe the cold sweat that formed away. He glanced back, checking the time. Of course, Craig managed to wake up five minutes before his alarm for school. Grumbling as he turned his alarm off on his phone, Craig shoved the covers aside and made his way down the hall to the shower. He let the scalding water run over him, his eyes shut as he recalled his last few minutes of restless sleep. The dream didn't come to him every night, but it has always been a reoccurring dream for as long as he could remember. It wasn't a nightmare, but it always frightened him. The face of the boy that helped him always resonated within him. Had he seen this person somewhere before? Or was he simply the most beautiful person Craig's mind could come up with? He couldn't tell, and that's what frustrated Craig the most: that damn blonde-haired boy. Craig sighed as he stepped out of the shower. At least it's Friday. After getting changed for school, he stood at his mirror, adjusting his hair a bit before grabbing his hearing aids off the night stand. Yes, Craig Tucker had hearing aids. When he was three, he contracted an illness that left him with permanent hearing loss after nearly dying. As Craig got older, he found his hearing had continued to decline. He got his first pair of hearing aids when he was ten, absolutely loathing the things. They made him look stupid, but as Craig got older, the more he grew to like them. He was pretty much deaf at this point, and of course, no one in this fucked up mountain town knew sign language (except for his parents and sister). He let out a huff, tugging his blue chullo over his head. Craig appreciated the fact that the hat for hiding his hearing aids, his mother buying the ratty hat for him the first winter he had them. It's been his most prized possession since then (except for his telescope, maybe). Grabbing his shoes and backpack, Craig made his way to the kitchen for breakfast, his mother and sister already downstairs (his dad has since left for work).

"Good morning, honey!" His mother signed, Craig kissing her cheek.

"Morning mom." He said, often speaking at times once conversation has been initiated. Craig could read lips, but he still struggled at times.

"Any plans today?" She asked, Craig watching her mouth move.

"I think the guys wanted to go to the aquarium tonight." Tricia hummed, looking up.

"I miss the aquarium. I always liked to see the manatees." Craig furrowed his brows.

"The what?" Tricia thought a moment.

"Manatees." She spelled out for him with her hands, Craig nodding after she finished spelling.

"Oh! Yeah, they're fun to look at." Craig thanked his mom as she handed him his breakfast, humming in approval at the fresh food. Laura Tucker always spoiled her children with a nice breakfast, and Craig and Tricia Tucker were always thankful. After they finished eating and kissing their mother goodbye, Craig and Tricia climbed into the car, Tricia tapping Craig's shoulder to get his attention.

"Can I try driving?" She signed, Craig glaring at her. He flipped her off, Tricia groaning as she flopped back in her seat. The middle finger was also Craig's way of saying "no".

Craig stared intently at his teacher, having to close his eyes to stop himself from screaming. Why are you talking so fast?! He thought, trying to write down the notes as quickly as possible. South Park High knew of Craig's deafness, but did they have the money for an interpreter? Nope. So, Craig was forced to struggle in reading the lips of his inconsiderate teachers and growing more and more frustrated by the day. Thank god it was the last half of junior year and senior year was on the horizon. He looked around as everyone started packing up, sighing in relief as this now meant he could finally get lunch. After waiting way too long for food that was way too gross, Craig plopped down at his lunch table where Clyde, Token, and Jimmy were waiting for him.

"Craig! Are you still coming to the aquarium tonight?!" Clyde asked, Craig blinking as he thankfully was able to read the word aquarium on Clyde's lips.

"Yeah, dude. It's not like I have many other things to do on a Friday night."

"Can you drive us?" Token said with a grin. Craig glared.

"Why?!"

"My car is in the shop, Jimmy can't drive, and Clyde doesn't have his license yet."

"You didn't give me much of an option there, did you?"

"I-I-I'll h-happily try-try my hand at driv-driving. D-Don't know if-if I want the deaf g-g-guy driving me a-around." Craig flipped Jimmy off, causing Token to snort.

"You heard all that?"

"Barely, but I got the jist of it." Craig chuckled, taking a bite of what he thinks was a hamburger. Or maybe it was a chicken patty? He wasn't sure, but it filled the emptiness in his stomach.

"Did you hear the rumor that the aquarium has a new exhibit?" Clyde looked way too excited.

"What do you mean by new exhibit? How many more creatures can there be in the ocean?" Token snorted, sipping at his water.

"That's the thing! Apparently, they found mermaids!" Craig furrowed his brows.

"What?" Clyde thought a moment.

"M-E-R-M-A-I-D-S!"He shouted slowly, Craig rolling his eyes.

"Got it," He blinked. "Wait, really?" Clyde nodded, a grin on his face.

"I hope she's hot!"

"Clyde, i-i-it could v-very well just-just be a woman in-in a c-c-costume." Jimmy said, taking a bite of his pizza. Clyde snorted.

"If it is, I'll sue the aquarium because that's so lame! That's fraud!"

"Clyde, need I remind you that mermaids don't exist! And even if they did, it's cruel to put them in an aquarium! They're literally humans with a tail!" Token said, Craig following along as he read his lips. Craig jumped as someone slid into the table next to him.

"Oh, Jesus Christ." He grumbled, Kenny McCormick tossing his arm around Craig as Kyle, Stan, and Eric slid into the table as well.

"Hey dudes, we heard you were going to the aquarium." Stan said, taking a bite of his apple.

"Can we join?" Kyle asked, batting his eyelashes. Craig snorted at the notion.

"I mean…why not?" Token said. The two groups had some troubles in the past with Craig and Stan having some unsaid rivalry, but as they matured, they came to realize that they were the most normal group of guys in South Park (despite having done some not so normal things in their youth).

"Aw gee, maybe we can find Craig here a boy toy!" Kenny teased, Craig's face turning bright red. It was no secret that Craig was gay, hell, he came out in sixth grade. However, the problem was that there were no gay dudes in South Park. Well, Kenny and him fooled around last year, but there was no romantic connection, and Craig never told a soul that that's what he really wanted: romance.

"Did you guys hear about the new mermaid shit?! It's gonna be fucking rad as fuck!" Eric slammed his heavy fists on the table, Craig rolling his eyes.

"Christ, Cartman, I'm deaf and I can hear you!" Craig hissed, Cartman's brows furrowing.

"Tucker, I'll kick your-HEY! Don't take your hearing aids out!" Craig snorted, tucking his hearing aids in his pocket. Sometimes being deaf had its perks, such as being able to tune Eric Cartman out whenever he wanted.

The aquarium had vastly improved since the last time Craig had been there, a plethora of bright colors, exhibits, and activities to do. They wandered past a bunch of fish, Clyde most excited about the tunnel that was under water and had sharks swimming over top of it.

"Look at that one! Fuck I want to pet one!" He practically squealed, watching the sharks swim above and besides him.

"Do us all a favor and pet one with your head." Kyle teased, Craig letting out a laugh a few seconds after Kyle finished talking as he processed what his lips read. Kyle smirked at that, glancing back at Craig.

"That's rude as shit, Kyle." Clyde whined, turning around to look ahead. He stopped, grinning slowly.

"Dude what-"

"Touch tank!" Clyde rushed ahead, kneeling down next to a little girl as he rolled his sleeves up.

"Dude, sweet!" Cartman shouted, rushing over next to Clyde. Craig snickered, walking over slowly with Jimmy.

"Want me to hold you up a bit?" He offered Jimmy, who shook his head.

"N-No thanks. S-Sting-sting rays f-freak me out." Craig nodded after he processed everything, walking over and rolling his sleeve up. He hummed, sticking his hand into the water. It felt good against his warm skin, relaxing him.

"Shh it's okay, I'm going to help you!" Craig whipped around, hearing that voice that was in his dreams. Was he daydreaming? How long had he had his hand in the water? He shook his head, smiling softly as the stingray swam under his fingertips. He hummed, the animal stopping momentarily to let Craig rub it's back.

"Hey buddy." Craig whispered to himself, the stingray continuing on.

"Where's this so-called mermaid exhibit at?" Stan asked, pocketing his phone as they all stood up. Kenny looked around.

"The arrow points this way!" He said, leading the way down the hall. Craig sighed, tugging his hand out of the water as he felt Jimmy nudge him with his crutch. He wiped his hand on his pant leg, stuffing his hands into his pockets as they made their way down the hall. He wasn't in any rush. It was more than likely, like Jimmy said, some busty woman in an outfit that they were trying to sell as a mermaid. Craig, to be honest, was more interested in everything but this so-called mermaid exhibit. He made sure to stop every now and then at the tanks, watching the way the sea turtles moved or the jellyfish float or the way the manatees seemed to meander through the water. As Craig turned his head around from the manatees (after taking a picture of them and sending it to Tricia), he noticed a big crowd pressed against a particular tank. He assumes this is the "mermaid" that the aquarium has been hyping up. He let out a sigh, staying towards the back of the crowd. Why are we at this phony exhibit?

"Craig!" Clyde waved at him, Craig shaking his head.

"It's just some woman-"

"It's not a woman!" Kenny shouted, Craig blinking as he read his lips. Not a woman? Craig didn't want to admit it, but he was now slightly interested. He made no effort to move, however, not until Token walked up to him.

"You…you're gonna want to see this." Craig blinked. Token was the most intelligent person he knew; how could he fall for such bullshit?!

"Token, it's just some person in a cos-"

"It isn't, dude. It…it's actually a mermaid." Craig sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Grumbling under his breath, he pushed his way through the crowd.

"This better be fucking worth my god damn-" Craig froze, his eyes widening as he finally saw the entirety of the tank. It wasn't the largest tank, maybe about the half the size of the gymnasium at school? He wasn't sure, but regardless, it was a small tank for the contents inside. There were rocks all over the sandy floor along with seaweed and other fish swimming around. There, plain as day on the rock, laid a mermaid. However, Craig is taken aback by the fact he's seen him before. Those bright green eyes were unmistakable, those pointed ears were so unique, his freckles were as beautiful as ever, and the olive-green tail. It was longer than the last time Craig saw it. Wait. It was all a dream, though. That day…the ocean…it was a dream! Craig felt like he couldn't breathe. He had been so convinced it was a dream! He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands until he saw stars, the images flooding his mind. You're losing your mind, Tucker! He tugged his chullo off, the felt lining making him sweat. He froze as the mermaid looked up, his green eyes widening slowly. He made his way over to the glass, his body moving with such grace and ease in the water. Craig could see where his pale skin morphed to meet shimmering olive-green scales, hints of a purplish silver reflecting off the edges of each scale. Craig took a step to the glass, the mermaid pressing his hands against his side of the tank. Craig noticed his finger nails were pointed, he had two earrings in his cartilage on his left ear and one in his right cartilage, and he had a small septum piercing, but the gold color of it blended in against his pale skin. The mermaid's eyes looked Craig up and down, smiling a bit as he noticed the hearing aids in Craig's ears. He has a nice smile.

"Oh, Christ, is Craig gonna become a fish fucker?" Stan snorted, Craig not even reacting. The mermaid pushed off from the glass, but still stayed close. His tail moved to keep him in place, Craig's eyes widening as he did the unthinkable: use sign language.

"Do you remember me?" Craig felt like he was going to faint. Had this dream been real this entire time?! It couldn't be! Mermaids aren't real! Even with one right in front of him, Craig knew this couldn't be real. He noticed the mermaid had shaky hands, but he was still able to communicate effectively.

"Are you real?" He signed back slowly, ignoring the feeling of a hundred eyeballs on him. The mermaid laughed a bit.

"Of course. I was real back then, too." Craig let out a shaky breath, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"That was real? I thought it was a dream!" He frantically signed, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Dude, what the fuck is happening?" Kenny whispered to Token, who stared at his friend in disbelief.

"Craig…Craig is having a full-blown conversation with a mermaid." The mermaid grinned at Craig.

"It was real! Your head was hit pretty hard."

"How long were you watching us?" The blonde blushed, sitting on a nearby rock, his long tail tucked to the side.

"I had been following your boat. I saw your hand in the water and I just…I was so interested." Craig ran his hands down his face, trying to process everything. So much was happening in his mind. One: the dream he thought was a dream turns out to have actually happened! It has been eight years since that "dream" started occurring and it turns out to be real!? Two: he was talking to a mermaid! He felt like he was going crazy.

"This isn't real. How is this real?" The mermaid frowned.

"Look, I know this is hard to take in. You humans just assumed we weren't real after that rumor of us singing to lure sailors took over. Those are sirens, not mermaids. However, I can assure you that there are just as many mermaids out there as there are humans." Craig's eyes widened, his fingers tangling into his hair.

"Fuck." He hissed between his teeth.

"What?! What is he saying?!" Cartman begged, Craig ignoring his friends yet again.

"Oh, God dammit!" Kyle groaned.

"Why did you leave that day? After helping me?" The mermaid thought a moment.

"My father had warned me about getting too close to humans…I mean…look where I am now…" Craig frowned as the mermaid smiled sadly, his heart clenching in his chest. This was someone who was just as human as he was, if not more (despite the entire tail thing). He sighed, biting his lip.

"I'm sorry you're here…"

"Me too…will you…visit more? No one seems to know sign language…"

"Why do you know it?"

"All mermaids know it. We can talk underwater to each other, but when people are swimming near us, we don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves. If we need to talk to each other while humans are swimming, we use sign language." Craig thought a moment before shrugging.

"Makes sense." The mermaid smiled a bit.

"What's your name?"

"Craig." He spelled out. The mermaid pressed his hands against the glass, ignoring how everyone took pictures of him as if he was some wild creature. Sure, not many people have seen a mermaid before, but he was also half human.

"Craig, dude, talk to us!" Clyde whined, crossing his arms. Craig didn't break his eye contact with the mermaid in front of him.

"We've met before…" Craig murmured, Stan furrowing his brows.

"What the fuck does that even mean, dude?!" Craig ignored his friends once again.

"What's your name?" The mermaid smiled, Craig's heart fluttering as he slowly spelled out his name.

"Tweek."

NOTE: Wowie! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! To clarify: any text in italics that is in quotation marks is them using sign language! Also: I know very minimal sign language despite having deaf grandparents (I know how to spell my name, say "I love you", thank you, and grandma/grandpa)! But I do know a lot about deafness! If you haven't already, give my other stories a read and follow my tumblr! .com and any and all feedback is appreciated! :)