Begin!

~Mari's POV

It's nice that Fiona has a new friend, god knows she needs it. But I wasn't expecting the captain to be so ok with it. Quigley is definitely an interesting kid. I've never seen a boy with a bigger ego. And that's saying something. He brags a lot, but I think Fiona can see right through it. Guess that's why she likes him.

They spend time together daily, whether they're doing their jobs or just reading in the library. The captain appears to be oblivious, or maybe he's choosing to ignore it I can't tell. Captain Widdershins is a weird guy, very eccentric; I don't know how Fiona puts up with him.

But as cute as they are together, they do still have to follow the rules. V.F.D. doesn't have any kind of workers handbook or anything of the sort but there are certain regulations that we are taught anyway and are expected to remember. One of which is that flirting with other volunteers while on a mission is frowned upon, but unless there's a volunteer with authority around there's no real way to enforce such a rule. And with these two teenagers: enforcing it was quite hard. They sort of blurred the line between flirting and not flirting. True the captain can't see it to call them out on it, but I can see it clear as day. But I'm also not a snitch.

Quigley is nice to have around though, not just for Fiona's sake, it's because he's a fun guy. He gets along fine with the captain too. I was cleaning up the kitchen when I overheard the two kids arguing about the existence of mermaids.

~Fiona's POV

"So you're telling me that mermaids aren't real?"

"That's right."

"But how would you know for sure?"

"I would have seen one of course."

"But what if they're like invisible to the untrained eye. Like you need to know what to look for! There could be a specific marine oddity you'd have to stumble upon to discover mermaids!"

I laughed at his strange logic. "You're the only oddity here, Quiggles."

He scowled at my choice of nickname for him. "Don't call me that! It's not a cool name!"

"I'll call you whatever I want," I replied.

"Well you could have picked a cool name!"

"Nah, I like Quiggles better."

Quigley grumpily pouted at me and conceded to my decision. I bet it's all an act and he secretly likes it.

"Alright, doll, but I still think you're lying about the mermaids..."

"Oh my god Quigley, I'm not lying." "Did he just call me Doll? I don't mind, but that's new..."

He shrugged, "I just wanted to meet a mermaid that's all! I like to share my awesomeness with all girls."

That comment irritated me. Why does that comment irritate me?

"You certainly talk yourself up a lot..."

He smiled. Damn his smile. "Because I'm awesome that's why." He leaned against the table behind him as he continued. "Quigley Quagmire is a gift to the world, and I like to share that gift."

"You do have an unusual amount of confidence."

He tilted his head in confusion, "So?"

"If you ask me, it seems fake."

"What?"

"Hmm... You have an ego bigger than Jupiter, you're arrogant, and your over confidence has probably gotten you in trouble in the past. It's all a ruse, isn't it? I think you tell everyone you're the greatest thing on earth to hide your very low opinion of yourself."

Quigley stared at me with his wide green eyes and didn't reply so I continued.

"Your false confidence gets you girls, and they give you comfort, but what you really want is someone who will love you despite your flaws. Have I got it right?"

Again, he didn't respond. He just stood there staring at me as if I had said something insane.

I smirked a little at his speechlessness, "Cat got your tongue? Or are you just not going to answer me?"

He finally broke eye contact with me and sheepishly said, "You know things... you're pretty smart."

"I read, a lot," I replied modestly, "I live on a submarine, not much to do but read."

With that I turned around and went back to reading my maps. We did have jobs to do after all, and Quigley's questioning me about things I've seen in the ocean was distracting. While I was working I heard my stepfather call Quigley to another room for his own assigned tasks.

"That was quite a conversation you had."

I looked up to see Mari had joined me. She was leaning against the wall and smirking.

I pushed my glasses up my nose and replied, "It was definitely something alright. You heard all that?"

"If you don't mind my unintentional eavesdropping; where did you learn psychology?"

"Like I said, I read a lot. Our library is made up of all sorts of books, and I've read almost all of them."

Mari nodded. "I understand... and his comments about dating other girls are fascinating. Do they bother you?"

"Why would that bother me? It's not like he said he's still with any of them. He told me he hadn't dated anyone in the weeks before his house fire."

Mari was giving me a skeptical look. Why should I care who Quigley has dated? I've only known him for a couple weeks so far. We're still getting to know each other. Mari is usually very forward, she's friendly enough with me and professional enough with my stepfather to keep her job. She's not usually one to beat around the bush.

"Why are you looking me like that," I finally asked.

She stared curiously at me for a moment with the same skeptical look before smiling. "You like him."

"I do not."

She snorted. "Yeah you do."

"Mari you're going to get me in trouble," I replied quietly.

Stepfather doesn't really approve of me trying to meet boys. Not that he thinks I shouldn't ever; it's just distracting from volunteer work.

"I'm just being honest, which is something you should try doing with yourself. You like him."

I sighed, "Mari, I don't like Quigley. At least not the way you're thinking. He's nice and all, but he's a bit too conceited and less than intelligent for my tastes."

"Fine... by the way I noticed you've started parting your hair differently. I think Quigley likes it because he can't stop staring at you when you're around."

Ok now my face felt uncomfortably hot. "What I do with my appearance is my business."

Mari rolled her eyes and turned to leave, and I heard her softly chanting a tiresome rhyme about me and Quigley which I won't dare repeat. I'll admit Mari can be a little jerk-ish sometimes, but that was a new low.

"I don't like him."

"I don't."

"He is nice... I guess he's kind of cute. If I take off my glasses and squint hard enough..."

"Damn it; do your job or you'll get in trouble."

"I don't know why Mari scoffed at Quigley liking his hairstyle. I think it's rather charming in a roguish sort of way. Why am I still thinking about this?"

"Dates a lot of girls... I wouldn't ever be one of them. I'm not pretty enough."

"I wonder if he was really staring when I changed my hairstyle... which I absolutely did not do for him. If he likes it fine but I didn't do it to please him! That's just absurd!"

"I don't like him that way. There now keep repeating it to yourself in your head and it might end up being true..."

~Quigley's POV

No girl has talked to me like that before! I don't even know what to say to her now! How am I supposed to tell her she's amazing and I like her? I'm not the dumbest guy on earth, but I am definitely not smart enough for her. A girl like that needs a guy with a brain to match his good looks. I'm all looks and only partly brains. She might be my toughest challenge yet.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. Who the hell am I kidding? She's not a challenge. She's a goddess. Fiona is perfect. I love girls with brains and I've never met one with more than her. She could have an intelligent conversation with anyone, even me. But she's not just brains, she's also gorgeous, though she seems to be one of those girls who doesn't realize she's pretty.

What number was I on before the fire? 15? Yeah... well it's about to be 16 and I think that's a good number to stop on.

~End of Chapter!

Mari is so unintentionally evil... I love it. See you in the next part!