The table is perfectly set. Every utensil has a place and wasn't served on a lunch tray. And the food, it was so organized. Not slopped on and unidentifiable...like the food served at her mother's Fish and Chip Shop. It freaked Uma out a little. Despite spending every summer here, Uma still felt like a fish out of water.

At that thought, she takes a sip of her water. Her cousin, Ariel asks her a question. Uma nods like she's listening, but she glances at Ariel who's expecting an answer. Uma gives a nervous smile, and luckily her other cousin, and best friend, Melody has her back.

"Mom, Uma's the best. Of course, she's always practicing. Knowing her, she'll turn our summer into a musical, again." Melody says, twirling around the eel-like spaghetti with her fork. Just earlier she made a big fuss about eating it, insisting it was her favorite breakfast food.

Obviously, it was a lie. Her not so subtle glances to everyone else's breakfast platter proving so. There were times Uma could really get Melody. And times when she couldn't get her at all. This was one of those times.

"I'm way over that phase. So how about we all agree to forget it ever happened?" Uma pleads, feeling a little embarrassed. Of all the things to bring up, why the phase where she constantly broke out into song? She still remembers all of her impromptu dance numbers...and she had to admit they were pretty iconic.

"You should be practicing too, sweetie." Ariel reminds Melody." I haven't heard you play your violin all week."

Melody drops her fork, groaning. "I knew this was coming. Mom, there's plenty of time for practice. Why can't you let Uma and I just relax?"

"Wouldn't it be more fun to relax after you practice? I heard Uma doing vocal warmups earlier. Why can't you put in as much effort as her?"

Uma hated it when Ariel compared her to Melody. They saw music in different ways. Uma saw it as an escape. Freedom from the life that kept her stuck forever working the late-shift. Melody saw it as fun. A way to pass the time. An investment she couldn't fully immerse herself into. Not without coming up for air.

"It's only been a week since vacation started. I'm not going to suddenly forget how to play if I practice tomorrow."

"Melody, please. At least practice for an hour before you go out?" Ariel encourages but with the motherly glare she's giving Melody it seems more like a command.

Melody huffs."I can't. Uma and I are going to the beach."

Ariel presses her lips together and they're close to forming a frown."A beach that will always be there for you because we own it."

"Well, hanging out on a beach alone won't be any fun for Uma."

Uma speaks up then. "I was planning on studying some vocal technique books. So I can easily wait an hour for you."

Melody shoots Uma a look of betrayal. The same time Ariel gives Uma a grateful look.

Melody sighs, saying, "I just had to be related to the world's biggest music nerd."

Uma couldn't deny it, so she responds with a shrug.

There was a trail leading to the beach, which Uma was thankful for. Without it, she'd definitely get lost. She follows every marker and finally, she arrives. But she wasn't alone. Someone else was there. A boy. She couldn't really see his face, only his side profile. He looked to be around the same age as her.

He sat in the sand, three piles of rocks next to him. Uma watches him for a few moments, her eyes peering over her sunglasses.

He would look at a rock, carefully analyzing every detail, then either place it on the other side of him or put it in a third separate pile from the main one. It looked like a boring task to do but Uma still found herself oddly fascinated while watching it but not fascinated enough to not get rid of this guy.

Uma starts walking towards him, her feet sticking to the hot sand. He stands up, and she wonders if he can hear her plopping footsteps. He doesn't acknowledge them. Instead, throwing a rock from one of his carefully sorted piles. It skips, making ripples everywhere it bounced. Until finally, it sinks, deep into the ocean.

Pumping his fist in glory, Uma decides to rain on his parade. "This is a private beach. And I'm sure you're not supposed to be here."

He throws a sheepish smile over his shoulder, revealing a handsome face. And when he finally speaks a Scottish accent. "Private beach? Oh, I didn't know."

Uma points to a large sign that declares the beach private. He spins around, facing her, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Well, would you look at that. It is a private beach."

Uma snorts, finally reaching him. "As if you didn't know."

He shoots her an innocent smile and stares at her with puppy dog eyes, hands interlocked underneath his chin. "You're not going to kick me out are you?"

She rolls her eyes, unaffected."That doesn't work on me."

"I'll have you know that this look is the same look that won me first place in my solo R.O.A.R. competition."

Uma didn't know a lot about sports. But she was an avid Swords & Shields fan. And there was one fact every fan knew. "They make you wear a mask for your protection, so how did that look help you win?"

"It didn't. I was just really really good. And hoping this look would help me stay." Harry admits, pouting." I finally found the best stones to skip and I just had to get caught. Luckily, for me, it's by a pretty girl."

Uma raises a brow at his compliment. "I'm sure you say that to all the people who catch you on private property."

Harry smiles at her and Uma swears she hears music buzzing next to her ears. It's a song she's never heard. A song she's curious to learn more about. Uma puts down the bag she's carrying and juts her chin at his organized rock piles. "Can I join?"

Harry bends down, picking up a rock. He hands it to her. "Sure, darling."

Uma doesn't know how long they skip stones into the ocean. Or how long it takes their idle conversation to start genuinely sparking interest in her. She finds out his name. Harry Hook. He works at his dad's shop, a fishing shop called Hook's Inlet and Shack. Uma tells him she works at her mom's shop, and he asks her the name of it.

"Ursula's Fish and Chip shop. I would not recommend eating there."

Harry taps his forehead, claiming it was forever forged in his memory. "So disappointing. Fish and chips are my favorite too."

"You can get Fish and Chips everywhere here. I swear, every two miles there's a seafood restaurant."

As much as Uma hated seafood, shrimp in particular. There were times when she would just sit alone in a dining booth, texting her friend Gil while chowing down on a fish patty. It was nice to have an escape from the perfection of Ariel and Melody.

"There is. But you're right. In fact, I'll probably have fish and chips when I get home. It's the only thing, my sister, Harriet knows how to make."

Uma laughs, "Well good thing it's your favorite."

"I don't know, she might swipe your mother's award for worst fish and chips."

"Trust me, that's impossible."

The conversation changes frequently until finally, an alarm blares from Harry's phone. He sadly tells Uma he has to go. Uma offers him her number, something she'd never usually do. For fear, it could end up in the wrong hands, but she was far from her old neighborhood, the isle of the lost.

Harry looks at her positively delighted at the idea of talking to her again. He puts her number in his phone, and they exchange goodbyes. And as Uma turns to look away, she swears she sees Harry fondly kiss the screen of his phone.

They meet again over the weekend. Harry comes to the beach, and Uma's sitting on a blanket alone. He sits beside her, and they both watch the waves roll in.

Uma's the one who breaks the ice. She asks Harry about his dad's shop, wondering if he had any new stories. Harry nods, enthusiastically talking about this new product they got in. An electric fishing rod. He talks about begging his dad to invest in it, and his happiness when he opened the latest shipment to see it there.

Then he starts talking about the customer that was interested in buying it. He tells her of the customer's cluelessness and starts ranting about how they knew nothing about fishing. Something Uma was starting to realize, Harry was very passionate about.

Uma chuckles, saying. "I didn't know you were a fishing elitist."

"I'm not. He just had no respect for the art of fishing."

"Fishing is art?"

Harry starts to explain his reasoning for this thought but Uma wasn't getting it. His phone lets out a booming ping, and he lets out a loud groan.

Closing his eyes, he softly asks, "Next Time?"

"Sure, I'll be free."

And so they meet again, and again, and-well again. Everyone was noticing a change in Uma. Mostly, the change in her voice. Her voice became more tender when she sang of love. And her passion more intense when she sings of longing.

Melody's the one who points it out. Blurting out, "You sound like, well a girl in love."

"That's how I'm supposed to sound, Mel," Uma notes, putting down her sheet music on Melody's desk.

Melody observes her, curling her fingers up, and rubbing them intensely in thought on her chin. "You're in love." She concludes, dropping her hand. "And not with a song. It's a boy. I wonder, is it that guy you've been meeting on the beach?"

Uma starts to refute Melody's claim, but her eyes narrow as she fully takes in what Melody said."How do you know about that?"

Melody blinks at Uma innocently, and says, "Oh, come on. We're usually attached at the hip all summer. Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

"That doesn't explain how...Melody. Unless you've been spying on me?"

A laugh catches in Melody's throat and she quickly clears it, saying, "I haven't. You and lover boy haven't noticed the security cameras."

"Gods, wait, does this mean..." she lets her question trail off.

"That everyone knows you've got a boyfriend? Yeah, pretty much. I've never been prouder of you, cuz."

Uma's head falls, and she brings her hands to her face. She couldn't even squeak out a response to Melody because she was so mortified.

"You should really bring him over for dinner, one of these days. We'd all really love to meet him." Melody says, giving Uma a mischevious grin that fills Uma up with dread.

Uma brings up the possibility of meeting her family to Harry the next day. She's laying on his shoulder, their fingers playfully intertwining. He doesn't seem turned off by the idea, which brings her some relief. But he wasn't exactly looking thrilled by it either and oddly enough it's not for the reason Uma suspects.

"Does that mean you'll have to meet my family?" His voice slightly quivers at the end. Uma gives his hand a concerned squeeze, sending the message there was nothing to be afraid of. He continues talking, "because trust me, Harriet is not someone you'd want to meet."

His tone is light, joking. Uma starts pulling her hand away, but Harry reels it back in. Bringing it to his lips. Her body feels hot, and she jolts her hand away. Sitting up, Uma slightly moves away.

"She can't be that bad."

"No, she's not." He agrees. "My sisters. Both of them, Harriet and CJ are just very annoying. They'll spill every secret I have. And make you think I'm a total sea nerd."

"Are you a total sea nerd?" She wonders aloud.

Harry brings his hand to his heart, placing the other atop of it, feigning hurt."Wow. That's private information, Uma."

"I'm gonna take that as a yes."

"Can you classify it as a maybe? And still, see me with an air of mystery."

"Yeah...I've never seen you with an air of mystery."

Harry's jaw drops in mock offense, and he declares."I'll start dressing like a pirate. You'd probably think I'm mysterious then."

"Or I'd think I need to stay three feet away from you."

"Touché."

Uma voice lowers, and she goes back on topic. She presses her hand in the sand, enjoying the squishy feel."You don't have to come but I'd really like it if you did."

"Alright, just promise me you'll never meet my sisters."

Uma puts on an amused smile, answering. "There's no way I can keep that."

"Well, can't say I never warned you." He croons, getting up. Harry starts to stretch and Uma couldn't help but stare, even as much as she tried not to. Which admittedly wasn't much trying on her part. "There's something I want to show you."

"And that is?"

"You'll know when we get there. But for now, we have to swim."

Harry makes his way to the shoreline, walking into the ocean, swimming when he's deep enough. Uma's hesitant, still sitting on the blanket he'd abandon. He shouts her name, and she makes her decision then. Taking a deep breath, trying to calm the fearful part of her mind. Uma gets up, her feet dragging, till finally, she reaches the shoreline. And there she walks in, ready to follow him anywhere.

A.N. I've been wanting to write a Huma summer themed one-shot all summer. And the idea came to me when I was like wow summer is almost over. But anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this. Till next time everyone!