"Remember," I said taking her hand with the brush in it, "Small decisive strokes."

"I can't do it," Cleo protested irritably. She had been like this since her mum left, and to add even more stress on her newly acquired powers refused to be controlled.

"Yes you can," I urged. The only way I could help her would be to be there for her. Isn't that what every girl wanted in times like these? A boyfriend who stuck by their side and helped them through it all, that's why I thought everything was going great, "I'm here to help you."

"That's it." She threw down the brush. Oh no. Something was wrong. Was it something I said? "I give up." She tore away from me. I bent down and picked up the brush, "Lewis leave the brush" Cleo demanded, pointing at me. I dropped it, not knowing what else to do, "This is too weird." She said shaking her head and sinking onto her bed.

"What is?" I inquired staring at her. Oh how I wished I could have helped her. Nothing would be beyond my reach if it was for her. Heck I would have locked her mum in the house if it would have helped.

"Doing everything for me" I sat down on the other side of her bed, preparing myself for a tantrum, "Being with me every minute of the day."

"I'm just trying to help." It was the truth. Anything I could do to make her feel better I would gladly do.

"Well it's making me feel worse." What did she mean by that? Seriously didn't girls like when guys were supportive?

We stared at each other. My heart was racing. Had I been doing something wrong? Watching her I hoped that everything would be alright. This would be a normal talk, and we would get over it. That was our thing. No matter how much we fought, which was rare so this was a shock, we always came back together. She just needed to vent was all.

Cleo looked away and I shifted on her bed in order to look at her. "I'm just, really confused right now." I could hear the tears in her voice. Knowing it probably wasn't the best idea to hug her right then I kept my distance, "First mum and dad split up, and then I turn into some power freak.

"Hey. You still have me." I tried. Gosh how many times had I said that in the past couple of weeks? Looking at me like I was completely nuts Cleo took a deep breath in.

"I know," uh oh this looked like something big, "And if things were halfway normal that would be great." She looked away again.

My heart rose in my chest. I felt sick. This couldn't be… she wasn't… was she? Did she know how much she meant to me? How much it would crush me if she…

"But you can't help me right now Lewis," my thoughts were cut off. What was she saying? I would always try to help her.

"I can! I can fix it." I pointed to the painting. I was certain this was the way to go in order to help her control her powers. If you want to fly like a butterfly, don't flap like a crow.

"Why are you always having to 'fix' everyone?" I could see it coming. My face scrunched up. She would just vent right? "You can't fix us this time. This is up to Emma, and Rikki, and me. You're not one of us Lewis." Ouch. Even if I wasn't a mer-man I was still part of the 'club' right?

"I almost am." I tried to say happily. This would all go away right?

"No. You're not." Double ouch. "I don't know how to say this Lewis," I think at that point I stopped breathing. That line was almost always followed by, "But I think it would be better if I were alone for awhile." That didn't necessarily mean 'break up' did it?

"That's a good idea." I tried to play it cool. Once again Cleo looked at me like I was completely insane. Then came the eye roll. Triple ouch.

"I mean really alone," My heart stopped then started up again. This time it was in my stomach and it was speeding up. I just looked at her woefully, "As in by my self. Without a boyfriend."

This wasn't anything like how they described it in books. My heart wasn't breaking in two. Instead it was swelling, suffocating me. I could feel the tears behind my eyes being pushed by my swelling heart. Was this the end? I thought we had been great. Suddenly I saw our whole relationship flash before our eyes. The time when we were five that we pretended to get married. That moment in 7th Grade when we had been each other's Valentines because we couldn't find anyone else. Walking on the beach holding hands. Our first kiss at Mako Island. The picnic she put together just for me. Each kiss seemed to flash before my eyes and stab at my heart. We stared at each other for what seemed like an endless moment. Cleo looked just as torn up as I did. Was this really happening?

"Alright… well. You know…" I stood up trying to breath evenly again and not cry infront of her, "you know where to find me." I blurted out and sprinted down her stairs and out of her door.

"Hey there Lewis forget something?" Her dad called after me with a laugh, but I just kept running.

I ran until I couldn't breath anymore. When I looked up I was on the beach. But not just any beach. It was the beach where she, Emma and Rikki too, had first shown me that they were mermaids. As if my mind wanted my heart to suffer even more I flashed back to that sight of her joyfully embracing being a mermaid. Sitting down on the rocks I buried my head in my knees and cried. She was the only one. I was convinced. And yet even though she had just broken up with me it didn't seem final. Like something was dangling. A shimmer of hope that maybe… when she finally could control herself and understand herself… just maybe she would want him back. Or maybe I was just being overly optimistic. Letting out a moan I stayed there, motionless until night fell. It was a nice feeling, hearing the waves and feeling nothing. As each crash of the waves resounded in my ears I remembered a little more. I only wanted to remember the good times. That would help wouldn't it? Or would it just sting even more? Regardless of the consequences I thought of them. I thought of them and hoped. Lifting my head I looked out over the ocean.