Author's Note: I don't plan on making any more chapters for this. Let me know what you guys think on the plot and I might continue it!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer- Ally Carter is the creator of these characters! Not me!

Chapter One

Josh POV

As Josh walked through the spotless hallway, not another living creature in sight, he smiled, anticipating the crowds that would be lined up through the door. Abrams's Aqualand was a success before it had even opened. Tickets were sold out the moment they had been made available to the public.

The idea to make a more permanent venue had come to Josh late one night as he was watching his crew disassemble their tent. Before investing in a venue, Abram's Aqualand had been almost like a circus, traveling from place to place, disassembling and reassembling small rides and forms of amusement. He had always made an efficient amount of money, but after finally settling down, he could double the money he made from the foolish people who fawned to his attraction. With his own property in Roseville, he finally had the chance to invest in large aquatic animals and more thrilling rides. He had actually just recently purchased a pair of orcas, still in their prime.

Other than all of the rides, merchandise, and animals, Josh had captured something that the world had never seen. Something people would at any lengths to obtain. People like Josh. Josh had caught a mermaid.

Cammie POV

Cammie hummed softly as she brushed her long hair, even though there were barely any tangles to fix. Her sandy hair fell in loose waves to her waist. Her mother always used to say that her hair grew twice as fast as any normal person. But she wasn't a normal person, she thought bitterly. Not in this world.

She could still recall the days when she was free, ignorant, but happy. She'd never had to do anything against her will, and she was loved and adored by her mother and father. The city of Gallagher was inhabited by peaceful merpeople, and ruled by her father King Matthew. Cammie spent her days swimming among friendly sea creature and exploring with her twin brother Grant.

And then she met Josh Abrams. They had met on the shore, where she was collecting human oddities to show Grant. Of course, she had legs at the time, for merpeople could switch from legs to flippers at will. He had approached her with his soft smiles and charming words. Soon Cammie was coming to shore every day just to meet him. Of course, her parents never agreed with her going to on land in the first place, so she'd never fathom telling them that she was meeting a boy.

Then one day, Josh whisked her away to lock her in a cage, making it impossible for her to even think of leaving. None of her family knew where she was and no one could find her. From that day on, Cammie was shoved into a small glass tank, forced to entertain countless of people that found her amusing. Kids banging on the glass, adults jeering at her, Cammie had seen it all. The days of her sneaking out just to not go mad were far and apart.

There was a slight knock on the door before Bex peered inside, her long black her falling in a curtain around her face. Macey McHenry was only a few years younger than her and one of Cammie's favourite people. Their friendship had quickly grown once they had met for the first time. Macey knew Cammie's past and was one of the only friendly faces she had. They rarely got to see each other though, because Macey worked with the feeding and training of animals.

" Josh sent me to tell you your up soon. Need any help?" Macey said as she slid into the room, closing the door behind her.

" Not really. He told me last time that I should leave my hair down, to look more untamed." Cammie said, rolling her eyes. Macey chuckled as she took the brush from Cammie and continued stroking her hair, just as Cammie's mom had done for her so long ago.

" Well we wouldn't want to displease him, otherwise he might send Damian to you. There we go. Nice and pretty. Are you all dressed?" she asked.

Damian was Josh's right-hand man and for good reason. Cold and ruthless, Damian was in charge of keeping everyone in line and handing out punishments. He was very fond of the whip and you'd almost never see him without one attached to his belt.

Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, Cammie said, " Thanks for the help, Bex. I'm all set." With a sigh, she got up to follow Macey out of the room until they came unto a black metal door. They shared a quick hug, then bade farewell in hushed tones before Bex's figure retreated down the hallway and Cammie pushed open the door in front of her to see a dimly lit room with a wading pool in the far end. Josh stood conversing with Damian in a quiet voice and looked up when he saw Cammie. A devilish smile came upon his face as Cammie slowly made her way to the pool.

Before she could step inside, he called out, " Add something to your hair. People are paying money to see you, you know. Wouldn't want to disappoint all those people."

Cammie huffed out a breath before waving her hand over her head. In a shimmer, a water hawthorn was nestled behind each of her ears. Josh nodded his head in approval and Cammie slipped off her shoes before stepping into the water. It wasn't the same as being in the ocean, but it still brought her some relief to be in the water.

" Let me know if you need any help with your dress. I'm here to assist after all," Josh said with a wicked smile. Rather than answering, Cammie continued wading into the water until it was deep enough for her to dive in.

It only took one thought for a swirl of bubbles to encase her body and when they finally dispersed, her legs had disappeared. In their place was a beautiful dusty cyan tail. The scales slowly turned into a rich royal purple as the got towards the end of the fin. Where scale and skin met at her hip bone, a few stray scales continued upwards. Scales had also sprouted to cover her chest with the same blue and purple tones as the bottom. It wrapped around her almost like a sports bra and it was more comfortable than Cammie liked to admit.

Cammie swam a few more feet until she came upon a metal grate that led to her tank. With a creak, it opened, and Cammie swam dejectedly inside. The tank was quite spacious compared to the matchbox of a tank she was forced into last time. There was enough space for her to swim back and forth, and one side was decorated with different species of coral all hanging off the rock wall. On the opposite side was glass that was covered on the outside with a rather dark curtain, so Cammie couldn't see outside and nobody could see in. But as she swam closer to the glass, she could pick up murky voices, that were being blocked out by the water. People were already lining up to see me, she thought with dismay.

Zach POV

The little girl could barely contain her excitement, as she ran around the room, pulling her mermaid covered blanket behind her like a cape. Zach chuckled and smiled a smile that he saved only for his little sister, Charlie. Charlotte and Zach's parents had died in a fatal car crash when Zach was 23, thrusting a business and the responsibility of raising his sister into his arms. Two years later, Charlie was now 7 years old and adjusted to it being just her and Zach.
The moment Zach heard that Abram's Aqualand was opening up in Roseville, he knew that nothing would stop Charlie from going for the grand opening. For as long as Zach could remember, she had been obsessed with mermaids, insisting they were real. Her room was covered in them, and she had a bookshelf filled with stories and myths about their existence and the location of Atlantis. Of course, Zach knew it was all nonsense but he let Charlie hang on to her beliefs, knowing that she would grow out of them with time.

" When your done zooming around like a firecracker, we might be able to get there on time," he told her with an amused smile. He loved seeing her face light up with excitement and did whatever he could to make her smile like that. Even if that meant taking her to see some lady dressed up in a fake tail.

" Really? Well, then what are we waiting for? Come on Zach, I want to be there early to see her!" Charlie said, dropping her blanket to the floor and rushing out the door, dragging Zach behind her.

Charlie talked nonstop during the ride across town, jabbering in about the mermaid at Abram's. Zach nodded his head as he kept his eyes on the road. In no time at all they arrived outside of the gated amusement park and already there was a crowd gathering outside the entrance. People had apparently come from all over to see it and Roseville had been bursting with tourists waiting for the grand opening of the biggest attraction in the small town.

Right on time, a voice came over the speakers, " Welcome people of all ages and races! I'm proud to present you the first and only, Abram's Aqualand!" and at that, the gates swung open and the crowds surged forward, voices overlapping one another. Zach kept a tight grip on Charlie's hand, not wanting to lose her in the frantic crowd.

Apparently, they weren't going to reveal the mermaid till a little while later, so Zach and Charlie strolled around the park for a while, looking at all of the rides and games there were to try. Charlie, of course, wasn't interested in any of them and soon enough dragged Zach straight to the indoor part of the park, where the larger aquatic animals were kept. After a little bit of walking, they came up to a crowd surrounding a section of the wall that was covered by a curtain. The mermaid must be behind it.

Through the crowd, a man stepped up onto a small stage beside the curtain. Charlie was too short to see so Zach hoisted her on top of his shoulders to get a better view. Being 6'2 had its advantages.

After tapping the mic a few times, the man with blonde hair and icy blue eyes began to speak. " Hello everyone, my name is Joshua Abram, owner, and founder of Abram's Aqualand!" At that, the crowd erupted into applause and cheers. Smiling slightly, Joshua raised his hand to silence them.

"I know you are all eager to see a very special exhibit I have. She is the first and only one to have ever been caught! So now, I present to you, Abram's Mermaid!" With a flourish, the curtain dropped to the floor, revealing the tank. A rocky wall was behind it, covered in different colored corals, anemones, and sea sponges. Zach couldn't see the mermaid itself very well due to the number of people who were pushing ahead to get a better view. Photography was prohibited so people wanted to see as much for as long as possible. He heard Charlie gasp from above him.

"Oh, she's wonderful Zach. She's so pretty!" she gushed in a hushed tone, eyes glazed with wonder.

It took a while, but Zach finally convinced Charlie that it'd be better to wait until the crowd left, reasoning that she would be able to get more time to see the mermaid. Reluctantly, she followed her brother out into the park. They had a blast, going on some of the rides and watching the dolphin show. Jace even won Charlie a stuffed orca. They battled at the water gone range and ate cotton candy till their stomachs ached and honestly, for once Zach didn't care. He was here to have fun with his sister, and nothing was going to stop that.

Finally, they decided that they had waited long enough and went back to the mermaid exhibit. The crowd had definitely thinned out compared to what it had been in the morning. So it wasn't long until they were in front on the glass and Charlie had her faced right up against it, mesmerized. Finally, Zach had a chance to get a look at this so-called "mermaid".

Wow, she really is beautiful. Was the first thing that popped into his head. And that was saying something. Zachary Goode didn't do pretty. Sure, he'd occasionally throw in a hot, or gorgeous when he had a girlfriend, but beautiful was a word strictly for Charlie. Well, until now.

But Zach meant it. He really did. Her hair floated around her in a tawny cloud, the long strands moving slowly through the water. Her tail was blue, slowly fading into a rich purple. He didn't know how, but they slowly faded away at the dip in her waist. Zach had thought that with the mermaid hoax they would have gotten a girl with blue eyes but not her's. Her's were the colour of amber and onyx. Instead of holding the depths of the sea, hers had the magnitude of a black hole. And what did Zach Goode do when he saw her. Naturally, the only thing he could do was stare.

By then the lady in the tank had noticed them and swam over to them. But something in her expression had changed. Before she had a small smile on her face, but now she was gazing intently at Charlie. She had a puzzled look on her face as if she were deep in thought.

Cammie POV

She felt the presence as soon as she stepped up to the glass. The little girl with the bright green eyes. Cammie could feel it deep within her. This little girl was special. She had her hands pressed up against the glass as so many had before her. But this time, Cammie raised one of her own hands to meet the little girl's. She smiled at her, for it had been so long since she'd seen anyone even remotely close to a mermaid. But the young girl had a faint aura that Cammie could trace. Just to make the little one happy, she waved her arm in an upwards motion and a swirl of bubbles sprouted out of nowhere in front of the girl. Her eyes were as big as saucers and her smile was so contagious that even Cammie caught it. Her eyes just happened to slip past the girl and she saw him

He wasn't standing as close to the glass as the girl, but near enough that she could tell the came together. His arm muscles rippled through the water as he folded them across his chest, the fabric tight to his defined arms. As her eyes rose above the sharp jawline and high cheekbones, her eyes met two emerald orbs, gazing intently at her. Cammie had always hated her boring brown eyes that could only be described as muddy and chocolate. But his were captivating. They were solid emerald and warm summer days in a meadow and seemed to be hooded by judgment at the moment. Her cheeks heated up at that gaze that was trained on her. She could already tell he thought she was a fraud. A "phony' someone had called out not too long ago.

She held his gaze for quite a while until someone on the other side banged on the glass, frightening her. Cammie jerked away from the glass, her back scraping against the rock wall and rough coral behind her. Sighing because she knew that was going to leave a mark, she threw a small smile to the man with green eyes and the little girl before gliding over to the other side of the not so big tank.

The next time Cammie spared a glance in their direction, they were gone. Cammie wished so badly she could meet them. This shocked her. Never had she willingly mingled with humans, except Macey and a few others.

After what felt like an eternity, Aqualand finally closed. It was only once most of the staff had left, did Josh let Cammie out of the tank, of course as soon as Cammie emerged from the tank, she darted out of the room and made her way to her own residence.

Already sitting on her bed was were two of Cammie's only other friends, Elizabeth Sutton, and Jonas Anderson. Lizzie and Jonas had been dating since before Cammie knew them and they were honestly two peas in a pod. They both were into hacking and loved a good book. Both of them were also crazy smart, though they tried their best to deny it.