Summer Soul, Summer Heart
Summary: Summer is a feeling and the only word to describe this time. Happily Ever After might be thought to far but each one of them has found her heart. OneShot.
Warning: Contains spoilers for season 3
Set: At the end of season 2
Disclaimer: Standards apply.
Blue sky and golden sand and clouds, white like snow.
Even on the Pacific coast there is bad weather but this summer has been presenting itself in its glorious beauty. Warmth seeps right into the bone, melting even the icy hearts of the most passionate pessimists. And the sea is trying to outdo the sky, shining sapphire blue and emerald green, infinitely beautiful in its magical attraction.
Summer nights are especially beautiful. Warm and calm and quiet, and when all tourists are fast asleep in their hotel beds the beach belongs to them alone.
Summer days seem to be taken right out of a book: swimming and picnicing and boat trips, laughter and conversations and time to simply relax.
And then, there is the ocean.
It's not only blue and not only beautiful. It's far more: It's a part of their souls, a piece of their hearts. Rikki, Emma and Cleo enjoy these days which taste like a stolen piece of chocolate: the more delicious, the sweeter. Everything's fine in school. Parents and teachers seem satisfied. Siblings seem only half as annoying and idiots on jet skis only half as idiotic. Instead, the sky is even bluer, the sea even more wonderful and the boys even cuter.
Zane, Ash and Lewis.
There has been a lot of trouble this year. Zane's and Rikki's somewhat-but-not-quite relationship. Lewis and Cleo's conflicts. Emma's back and forth with Ash and the trouble with her secret. Charlotte. Rikki's guilt, Emma's fear, Cleo's loneliness. One year they have been together now, one year they have lived as mermaids and have taken everything fate has pushed into their ways. They've managed everything: Parents, stress in school, love-sickness and a would-be-super-mermaid. An almost-separation, an almost-fight and an almost-end.
But they're still together.
They're still best friends and the world is exactly the way it is supposed to be.
Perhaps even better.
Since Cleo and Lewis are together again and Emma told Ash about their secret the summer seems perfect. Rikki's guilt is gone as entirely as Emma's fears and Cleo's loneliness. It shouldn't be possible but it is and they all feel the same: They are whole.
One heart, one soul, exactly three times and once.
Three mermaids and their boyfriends and three mermaids.
And while Emma, Cleo and Rikki share their happiness silently, almost afraid to talk, much less even think, about it in case it would shatter otherwise, the boys follow their own train of thoughts.
Zane, untypically, is wondering about the future.
The summer will end soon and then he'll have to decide. Back to the boarding school where he has everything he can wish for – except for Rikki? Or fight his father, stay here and risk being disinherited? Zane won't be poor from one day to another, there is enough money he has put back for cases like this. But what is he supposed to do, how is he supposed to earn his living after his money runs out?
Strange.
In the past he never wondered about things like that. In the past, his life consisted of Just-live-today, of And-have-as-much-fun-as-you-can-get. Now he sees how much damage he has done by only caring for himself, even though he doesn't like to admit it. Is he becoming more sensible? Maybe. Maybe he's becoming more responsible.
It's Rikki's fault. And perhaps – to a certain extent – Cleo's and Emma's.
These girls just can't stay out of problems. They always have to be involved, always have to help. And the danger they put themselves into suddenly gets clear to Zane this summer. Especially as strange tentacles and suspicious sport divers and odd scientists seem to pop out from underneath every stone. Maybe it's because he's really with Rikki now. Whatever that might mean. But suddenly it's not a mere adventure when they go treasure-hunting. The outcome of his last attempt still haunts him. Suddenly, every person getting close to her is a potential threat – and water receives a similar meaning to acid. How does Lewis stand it, Zane wonders sometimes, when he takes Cleo for a boat trip or invites her to the Juice Net Café for a shake or for a walk on the beach? Isn't he afraid her secret might be revealed?
But Zane is sure about how Rikki would react (definitely not happy) if he would start to get over-protective. Therefore, he doesn't say anything. At least he doesn't say anything overly suspicious because he's a macho anyway, if he can believe what Emma says. Nevertheless, his heart starts beating painfully as soon as other people get too close to Rikki and he represses the urge to pull her away. Only when he kisses her his heartbeat calms down again and he savors her taste and her warmth. He forgets everything around him.
Okay. He has changed.
This summer has brought forth a better side of him, or maybe a worse one. They will have to wait and see. In the meantime he's confronted with the fact that the future doesn't seem as far away as it always had before. On the contrary, it's right here. Here, in a tiny village at the coast that is just in sight of the skyline of the next big city and still a world of its own. Here, in this place in which he has found friends despite his earlier problems (face it, Zane: despite your own, damn arrogance). Here is the place where the girl who was supposed to be his next conquest and then his next trophy somehow has developed into a part of him. Here, the world doesn't seem to be the way it has before.
Sometimes his feelings are so intense they scare him.
It can't be normal, the fact that he, who has always believed in a globalized, technological world, thinks he can't be whole without her ever again. But it's a fact. It's a strange feeling, carrying a heart that is split in two. But when Rikki is close all those thoughts seem unimportant.
Only the question remains what he can do in order to stay by her side.
The whole summer has been something like to a dream for Ash and now it has become even stranger.
Mermaids.
But, at the same time, it's a good dream. He only has to look at Emma and he immediately knows he wouldn't exchange this time for anything in the world. The beach, the sun in her hair, the water on her skin and the smile in her eyes are more than enough to anchor him to reality. No, he's not dreaming. No, this is no illusion. This is real, really, and it's the best thing that ever happened to him.
Suddenly, everything makes sense.
Why Emma always is hanging out with Cleo and Rikki. Why she fears water as if it was poisonous. Why Zane and Lewis behave so strangely sometimes. Why curious things happen all around her – exploding water cranes and flying girls and sudden disappearances in water and locking themselves in garages and cooling rooms. Everything he had classified in between grades of Really Strange and Extremely Suspicious now suddenly seems sensible.
Mermaids.
Also, the reason why Zane and Lewis appear to be overly protective of the girls is clear. Ash can understand now and he feels like them, too: He wants to spend his entire day with Emma, always being there for her and protecting her against any harm that might come her way. Emma probably wouldn't even mind, Rikki would definitely. And, besides, he'd never be able to follow her as soon as she reached the ocean.
Emma is a mermaid.
The words feel less strange with every time he whispers them to himself or turns them upside down in his head. They feel less weird, more natural. This summer, they'll become as normal to him as the softness of her skin when he touches her, the light in her eyes when they argue and the taste of her lips when they kiss. Ash had liked her the instant he saw her for the first time. The fact that she was only acting had been clear to him immediately only he couldn't be sure how much of her arrogance and haughtiness had been merely an act. Now he knows that a part of her truly was arrogant – a tiny bit – but he only loves her more for it. She might be difficult. Their dates either don't take place or end in catastrophes. They fight about which movies they want to watch. She's with Rikki and Cleo so often he sometimes gets the feeling he doesn't exist in her world at all. And then, again, she presents him with a day, sometimes by themselves, sometimes with the other four, and he feels that she is special and that she loves him, too.
He dives into her world head-first.
Max was right.
Lewis often thinks about the old man who shares so much with him. And whenever he does so, he remembers the man's tales.
It was the best summer of my life.
How can he describe what can't be put into words? This summer, this time with Emma, Rikki, Ash, Zane and Cleo, is something he cannot define. A feeling, too deep to analyze it the way he analyzes everything else. A feeling of forever. Cleo's words, a silent whisper in a moonlit night, the shine of her eyes, water pearls on her skin like diamonds. Lewis divides this summer into Cleo-moments which he seals away in his heart carefully, never wanting to forget them: Her face when she falls asleep in the shadow of a palm tree. The warmth of her hand when she takes his on their way home. Her happy laughter when they watch a movie together. Her eyes, mirroring the moonlight, and he can see himself in them. Her smile that blooms like a precious flower as soon as she sees him.
It is as if everything they already shared before now gains intensity because they have lost each other in the meantime. As if the time of their breakup and his relationship with Charlotte haven't only doubled their feelings but increased them tenfold. And he knew, had been sure of it since Max had told him the words. She's the one who always smiles whenever she sees you. Cleo was there whenever he needed her. She believed in him. She was Cleo.
It's not like they are sticking together like love-sick teenagers. This, too, seems to have changed after their separation. They are able to spend a day without each other and they, too, behave most normal whenever they spend time together and with the others. Their relationship isn't like Emma's and Ash's anymore, in which Ash extends a hand again and again to make sure Emma is still there (so cute) or like Zane's and Rikki's, in which Zane doesn't seem to be able to enjoy their time together whenever Rikki isn't there.
Lewis can't describe it – it's like they aren't two individual people anymore but one. He doesn't need to touch Cleo in order to know she's there and she's fine because he senses her. He doesn't need to hear she's busy and hasn't got time to meet him because he knows whenever something happens. One way or another, a piece of him is always with Cleo, and it is the other way round as well.
Was it the same way for Max and Gracie?
This one question he never asked the old man, has never told him anything about the depth of the connection between him and Cleo. He is afraid – afraid Max might get sad when he hears they have what he and Gracie only had for one, glorious summer. But when he listens Max tell stories about his great love he knows what he feels. The parallels are almost scary. Gracie's and Cleo's doubts and loneliness. Lewis and Max's research. And their one wish to never, ever let go of her.
Zane probably would laugh – or maybe not? What would Zane say? Like Lewis, Zane has known about the girls' secret almost from the beginning. Ash doesn't really count yet, he's too new in their group. But does Zane feel the same? This strange feeling of I'll-never-let-go-of-her-again? They are only seventeen, for heaven's sake. So much can still change.
And yet.
Cleo's breath is warm on his skin. This is the person he has known since he can remember. His best friend – and so much more.
This is the woman he wants to spend his life with.
And while the time passes like warm honey, sweet and golden, the girls know that there isn't anything like eternity. There are things they talk about and don't share with the boys and things they only tell their boyfriend. Cleo and Lewis have a secret, Zane has a one and the three girls share something, as well. But having secrets isn't bad. Soon everyone will know what those secrets are about and they will understand why those things had to remain unsaid for a time. Their friendship doesn't suffer and their love even less. Six in three and three in one, and the summer continues, seemingly endless and infinite.
Cleo knows Lewis has applied for a scholarship of one of the most famous American Science Institutes. Both have talked about it, hesitantly at first, then determined. Whenever they had time: at the beach, at the pier or in the water. Cleo knows this is what Lewis always wished for. Lewis knows he will have to break his promise always to be close to Cleo at least for some time. Whether he takes up the opportunity or not and whatever Cleo feels concerning his decision they will tell their friends as soon as there is a reply.
Emma is worried. And Cleo and Rikki share her fear since they have gotten to know what Emma knows: her parents are making plans. Flyers and advertisements have been coming for a long time now but for the first time, their dreams are gaining substance. A world trip. What are we supposed to do without you? Cleo asks, tears in her eyes, and even Rikki, who never loses her countenance quickly, can't find words. Emma feels the same pain but she shakes her head. It's no use to talk about it now, while it isn't set in stone yet. They'll have to watch and see what will happen and then, they'll have to tell the boys.
For some time now Zane has thrown an eye on a certain ad in the newspaper. He has only seen it by pure chance. He doesn't believe in fate but what if there is something like it? Whatever it is, this could be the opportunity to show his father that he really is able to create something by himself, that he can do something. And he is pretty sure the girls will like his idea. None of them would be happy to lose their favorite café.
So much pain, so much happiness.
Summer presents itself in the most beautiful colors. Rikki and Zane, Emma and Ash and Lewis and Cleo spend every minute with each other and try to remember every single one. Nobody wants to miss a second. As if their souls and hearts are one they breathe as one, laugh as one, cry as one, fear as one and love as one. A happily ever after might be thought too far but for a moment, time stands still. The beach, the moon, the water, the warmth – they breathe in and hold the air, listen for their mutual heartbeats and close their eyes and every single one of them wishes for the same thing.
They don't wish this summer might continue endlessly.
They just always want to remember it.
And as autumn colors the leaves and the wind brings the first cool air, as the sea becomes wilder and summer visibly comes to an end, Zane buys the Juice Net Café and names it Rikki's. Lewis sends his formal application to the United States and Cleo and Rikki help Emma who's packing her luggage, and all three of them cry while doing so. Then they leave for a long, long swim. And somewhere else, anywhere else, a girl realizes she has gained a strange ability.
Summer passes away. They are left behind and with them, the memories remain: memories of a Soul of Summer, a Heart of Summer, and one season of life and beauty.
And in twenty years… Who knows.
A/N: I know Cleo doesn't actually know about Lewis' scholarship until the letter of acceptance comes... Yeah. Humor me, I beg you. And... I have no idea what Zane does whenever he's not being Zane... I thought my sister told me something about a boarding school but I'm not sure.