Her tail fin stiffens at his words, and a shudder runs through her body as she realizes the implication of what he's asking. "Yes," she whispers, feeling tears well up in her eyes once more. "But I don't know how much longer I can last without it." Her voice breaks on the final word, her despair palpable even to herself.

The storm outside begins to die down, thunder rolling off into the distance as if in mockery of their plight.

"No," she whispers hoarsely. "I can't." Her tail fin twitches nervously, anxious energy coursing through her body like an electric current. She feels like a fish out of water, torn between two worlds and belonging to neither. The thought of having to live the rest of her life as a human, cut off from the waters that sustain her... it's unbearable.

But if Abhi will have her, if he'll accept her for who she is beneath the scales...

I can't believe how messed up tonight is turning out to be. I just want to go home and forget about all this craziness...

But where am I supposed to go? Back to the dorms? That won't work. They're already on lockdown with security guarding the doors.

Maybe if we could find someplace nearby to lay low until things blow over... But even that seems risky. If they're looking for us outside of campus, who knows what they'd do?

Ugh, why did I have to come back here tonight?

No, Ray! It wasn't just your fault. Those boys were harassing me, and I know you only wanted to protect me. We can't split up. We need to figure this out together. Let's keep moving and try to find a safe place to hide before anyone finds us.