A/N: So this is the story I told you that would probably have a sequel. In my other story, Secrets of the Deep, I said in there that this would be a mystery. So if you like mysteries, please read. I want this story to be detailed, so I have no idea about the rate of updates. For this story to work, Emma didn't leave during her senior year. She left a year before. Everything in H2O happened, but a year earlier. This story takes place during their senior year. Here is the summary:
Summary: A year after Bella Hartley vanishes; Emma, Cleo and Rikki all are separated. They don't talk to each other any more, and it is their senior year. They all begin to get mysterious messages from some anonymous source called, "B." Together they have to find out who is sending these messages to them and what really happened that night Bella vanished. Based upon "Pretty Little Liars."
So, this chapter will be a prologue. It is a year earlier than when the story takes place, and it is also the night Bella vanishes. This chapter will be in 3rd POV, but the remaining chapters will be in different people's POVs. The story will be based upon the books "Pretty Little Liars," because of the messages signed by "B." Don't worry; the endings are not the same. Read to find out more. I made a trailer for it, it's at: http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=FoIn6yKoyT4 Go and watch it please! Replace the (dot)s with actual dots (.)
PS: Pray for Japan! :(
Prologue: Bella and Emma, The Enemies
-Third POV-
"Hey, Bells," an ecstatic Cleo said, opening the door to reveal none other than Bella Hartley, suitcase in her hand. Her dirty blonde hair was tousled to perfection and draped on her shoulders, which really brought out the pretty blue color in her eyes, which, evidentially, matched her crystal blue tank top. Her ripped dark jeans were a simple touch to flair up her outfit. Bella Hartley looked good in anything.
"Come on in," Cleo said, stepping away from the warmth seeping into the hallway. "Rikki is already here picking out some movies we can watch tonight. We can go and help."
"Great," said Bella, stepping into the doorway. The surroundings were so familiar that she could have called it her own home. Cleo led her down the hallway, where Bella dropped her stuff on Cleo's couch. They then joined Rikki, who was quietly shuffling through the movies.
"Hey, guys," said Rikki, looking up to see the two figures enter the doorway. "Bella! Glad you could come."
"Of course!" said Bella, all smiles. "It's great to go to a sleepover that doesn't involve a full moon and getting moonstruck. Plus, it helps me get my mind off of..." Bella instantly shut up and her eyes trailed to the countertop as if she had revealed too much already. "Nothing."
"Get your mind off of what?" Rikki asked, her eyes leaving the huge stack of DVDs and going to Bella. "You can tell us. We're best friends."
"Okay," Bella said, looking up, her smile returning full center on her lips. "You're right. We're friends. See, I had a fight with Will today."
"What about?" Cleo asked, leaning on the table with her elbows, her hand cupping her chin in the right direction so that she was looking deep into Bella's endless blue eyes.
"Just something stupid. I'm sure we'll make up tomorrow." Bella instantly got off the touchy subject by directing her eyes to the two large pizza boxes sitting on the table. "What kind of pizza are those?"
"Uh," Cleo said, dumbly looking at Rikki. Rikki shrugged, signaling that if Bella didn't want to talk about it, they probably shouldn't bring it up. Cleo looked at the pizza boxes and pointed to the one on the right. "Cheese pizza," she said, and then pointed to the left. "Pepperoni and mushroom."
"Dibs on a slice of cheese," Bella said, smiling. She scooted closer to the cheese box.
"As long as I get pepperoni and mushroom!" hollered Rikki.
"You two are so full of it," Cleo said, grinning. She got out a huge stack of paper plates and some cups. She set them down on the table. "We can eat after we set everything up."
"What's there to set up?" groaned an obviously hungry Rikki.
"Our sleeping bags. And we still have to pick out a couple movies to watch," Cleo said, picking up the heavy stack of movies. "How about we each pick one?"
"Two," challenged Bella, laughing. "We're staying up all night, right?"
"I guess," said Cleo. "I don't really think it matters."
"Then we'll stay up all night." Bella's word was final.
The girls all scooted closer together and pawed through the thick stack. Once they were almost done choosing movies, Cleo's dad walked in. "Hey, girls, I have a big surprise for you."
"What is it, Mr. Sertori?" Rikki asked, backing away from the movies.
"Come with me," he said, and the girls followed him upstairs, down the hall, and found themselves facing a wooden door.
"The closet, dad?" Cleo said. She shifted her weight to her other foot. "That's nice and all dad, but I know what the inside of the closet looks like."
Bella and Rikki laughed lightly, not wanting to hurt Cleo's or her dad's feelings.
"Cleo, why don't you look inside?" Don said, pushing his daughter lightly towards the closet. Cleo looked back at the others, confusion clearly written across her face. But Cleo obeyed her dad, and swung open the closet door.
Gasps came out of all of the girl's mouths; not expecting what was in the closet. The most they were expecting was a new vacuum—it wouldn't be that unusual, because adults seemed to usually get worked up over nothing. What they didn't expect was a real live human standing there!
She was holding a suitcase in her hand, which brushed up against her beige long pants. She was wearing a sky blue T-Shirt with yellow cursive written on it, advertising some swim academy. Her blue flip flips with yellow Hawaiian flowers printed all over them matched her shirt. The girl's straight blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and a blue barrette was pinned in her hair. Her blue eyes danced with excitement as she looked over Cleo, Rikki and Bella.
Cleo let out a high-pitched squeal that made everyone jump. Rikki blinked rapidly, as if trying to decide if the person in front of her were real. Bella was just plain confused; who was this girl and why was she lounging in Cleo's closet?
"Emma?" shouted an excited Cleo. "Is it really you?"
"You think I'm some illusion?" Emma asked, and spread out her arms for a hug.
Cleo ran into her arms and with a few ounces of adrenaline she gained from being shocked at the sudden appearance of Emma in the closet, she lifted Emma into the air and spun her around until they were both dizzy.
Once Emma was lowered onto the ground, Rikki stepped up to Emma and looked over her, not saying a word. It was obvious that she was intrigued by how Emma had changed: she had gotten tanner, taller, and her hair was about two inches shorter. Her freckles appeared darker and stood out more on her cheeks, and her blue eyes seemed to get even bluer, if that we even possible. Emma's hair had also gone from her bleach blonde state to a little dirtier with some dark highlights.
"Rikki," whispered Emma, looking at Rikki. Rikki nodded slowly, not sure how to react to the arrival of Emma. Could it be true? Was Emma really back? Had it really been a whole year?
"Emma," Rikki whispered back, and then broke out in a full out grin. Rikki stepped forward and squeezed Emma so tightly that Emma had to signal to her that she was running out of air. When the two were done hugging, Emma, Cleo and Rikki all formed a little circle, each girl jumping up and down and excitedly chatting about the events that had occurred without each other, leaving Bella completely out of the conversation.
"I'll let you girls catch up," Don said, slowly backing away from the circle of girls.
Emma also stepped back and waved to Don. "Thanks so much for setting this up, Mr. Sertori!" Emma called giddily. "I owe you one!"
"Don't mention it," Don said, waving her off, and went to his room, clearly having no interest in their girl sleepover.
That was when Emma realized that there was a strange girl that she didn't know, just standing there, watching them with silent curiosity. Emma pushed a piece of her now shorter hair behind her ear and, turning to the mysterious blonde, said, trying to be polite, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Emma Gilbert." Emma extended her hand to Bella.
Bella examined her hand, as if examining it for germs. After a while, seeing as Emma would not put it down, she grasped it with a little more firmness than needed. "I'm Bella Hartley." And if claiming territory, she added, "Cleo and Rikki's best friend."
"Oh," Emma said, not shocked at all. Emma wasn't stupid; she had realized that if some other girl was there, than it was because they were friends. But the way Bella said best friends, as if telling her to back off, and that they were hers, really made her a little bit mad. "Ah, I was their friends also," she said, as if Rikki and Cleo weren't standing there. "We went through...a lot together," continued Emma, not wanting to give out their secret.
Cleo, oblivious to the awkwardness, laughed. "Guys, it's okay. Bella, Emma is a..." Cleo started, but then turned her attention to the door at the end of the hall that held Cleo's dad. Not wanting to say the word, "mermaid," and risk their secret being blown to Don, Cleo finished, "Uh, why don't we talk about this elsewhere? Like, downstairs? I have pizza, snacks, and movies!"
The girls all reluctantly agreed and went downstairs. When they were all situated on Cleo's comfy couch, Cleo said, "Like I was saying, Bella, Emma's a mermaid."
"Cleo!" Emma shouted, instantly bolting upright. "How could you?"
"Don't worry," said a too joyous Cleo. "Bella's a mermaid too."
"Really?" Emma said, obviously a little too curious. It seemed to upset her a bit that once she left, the girls found another mermaid friend. Or as Bella put it, another mermaid best friend.
"I didn't know you were a mermaid," Bella said. "Or that Cleo and Rikki knew a mermaid before me."
"Well, it just so happens that we all turned into mermaids together. We've been through everything," Emma said, smiling. This Bella chick was starting to get on her nerves.
"Obviously not everything, since you abandoned them," Bella retorted, batting her eyes innocently as if Emma had brought these cruel things upon herself. Before Emma could say anything else, Bella added, "I'm also positive that you guys didn't save the world from a comet that was hurtling towards Earth. Because Cleo, Rikki and I did."
Emma, not buying the phony innocent façade that Bella put up against her true center, shot back, "We were actually captured by a scientist. But, together, we escaped."
"Caught by a scientist? That's a big no-no of being a mermaid," said Bella, as if talking to a child. "How reckless of you."
"It wasn't my fault," Emma said, raising her voice a bit. Emma hated heated arguments like this, but someone stealing your best friends and then calling her "reckless," did not go in her book. "I'm just saying..."
"Guys!" screeched Rikki. "Stop it! Okay? You guys are both our friends! We aren't going to choose one over the other, and you guys need to accept that and learn to live with each other, okay? Now can we please just watch a movie or something?"
Both girls crossed their arms angrily, each wanting nothing to do with each other. But for Cleo and Rikki, they agreed.
Darkness quickly fell as they changed into their pajamas and ate pizza for dinner. When they all situated themselves onto the Cleo's couch (Rikki and Cleo in the middle between Emma and Bella, of course) Cleo slapped herself on the forehead. "How could I be so stupid?"
"What?" Emma said, worried for her friend.
Bella, not wanting to be excluded from the conversation, asked, "Yeah, what is it Cleo?" followed by a glare from Emma.
"I forgot the popcorn! How could I be so clueless? Popcorn is essential to a sleepover!" Cleo said, racking her brain for what she did bring: soda, candy, pizza, movies...how could she forget the popcorn?
"Oh, don't worry Cleo," Emma said. She turned and rummaged through her cute purple suitcase that she had bought while in Japan during her world tour. When her hand came out of the suitcase, she was clutching a few bags of un-popped popcorn. "I brought some just in case we needed any more."
"Ah, that's out Emma," Rikki said, jokingly elbowing her. "Always prepared."
When Cleo and Rikki weren't looking, Emma shot a smug smile in the direction of Bella. Bella just narrowed her eyes at Emma and shook her head, as if saying, You may think you've won, but the battle isn't over until someone comes out a winner.
Cleo went and put in the popcorn in the microwave. She listened to the steady hum of the microwave and as the faint popping of the popcorn began to become a loud uproar of hard brown kernels turning into deliciously lightly buttered popcorn.
Cleo dared a glance at the oven: 12:52 pm. Had it really been that long? She hoped that the microwave going wouldn't wake her dad or Kim. If Cleo even cared about Kim that much.
Once the flat bag had turned into a fluffed out steaming bag of popcorn, she opened the bag and let the steam roll out of the top. Funny, it kind of reminded Cleo of Rikki's heat ability.
Cleo went to popping another bag of popcorn—there were four girls, after all. Once that bag was done, she dumped that into a bowl, and then took the first bag that was newly cooled and threw it in another. She decided that two girls could share a bowl, but wouldn't have Emma and Bella share a bowl.
Cleo returned to the girls with the bowls in her two hands. She gave Rikki and Bella a green microwave safe bowl filled to the brim with popcorn. She then nestled the remaining blue bowl between herself and Emma.
"So, what movie should we watch first?" Rikki said, revealing that she had had the movies with her the whole time they'd arrived on the couch. "Breakfast at Tiffany's or Sixteen Candles?"
"Anything but Breakfast at Tiffany's," groaned Emma. "That brat Charlotte loved that movie. I never really cared for it. Let's watch Sixteen Candles."
"Hey now," Bella said. "Breakfast at Tiffany's is a great movie, thank you very much. I hate Sixteen Candles."
Emma, her anger now boiling to a high, which was unusual for such a calm and well-mannered person, said, "Well, I hate you."
Gasps escaped the lips of Cleo, Rikki and Bella. Rikki and Cleo knew how calm Emma could be, and that was unexpected and not Emma-like. Bella, now angry and not backing down, said, "Take that back." Her tone really scared and sent chills down Cleo and Rikki's spine.
"You make me," Emma said. The fight was unusual, no yelling, no violence, just soft and hurtful words. But sometimes those hurt the most.
Bella couldn't take it anymore. If that was what it would take to keep Cleo and Rikki's long lasting friendship, then it was just not worth it. Hot tears rolled down Bella's cheeks as she got up, and stormed to the back door. The girls followed in hot pursuit.
"Fine," Bella whispered, her face towards the back door. The girls were a few feet behind her. Bella turned around, her tears smudging her mascara and making it run all over the place. "Then remember this, Emma Gilbert: I hate you too. I always will. Nothing will change that." With that, she spun around and wrenched the door open, so fast and hard that Cleo feared that it would come off at its hinges. She turned back to the girls. "Enjoy your friendship, bitches, because it won't last," Bella hissed venomously. She stepped into the cold and eerie night, the silence as strong as the silence between Emma and Bella. "I will always hate you! Always!" chanted Bella, and she slammed the door, stomping off into the night.
"Oh my God," Emma said, falling to her knees. She cupped her face in her hands, and choked sobs escaped. "What have I done? I usually wouldn't do that, but I was so mad, my emotions were just—"
"No, shh, Emma," Cleo said, kneeling down to Emma. She stroked her hair comfortingly. "Don't worry. I don't blame you or her for acting the way you guys did."
Rikki kneeled down by Emma, also, and started to rub her back. "Exactly. By tomorrow, we will get you guys together, and you can sort out your differences—if you're willing, that is."
"You sure?" said Emma, taking her hands off her face. She had stopped crying.
"Definitely," Rikki said. "You just watch."
At that moment, a clap of thunder and a roll of lightning was heard and seen out the window. The girls shrieked in terror, and hoped that Don and Kim hadn't heard them. No rain fell from the heavens, though. Yet.
"God, Bella's out there," Emma said, finally standing up. "What if she gets struck by lightning or something? It would be all my fault!"
"No, it wouldn't," Cleo said, trying to sooth the still distressed Emma.
"Well, I have to go and find her. I don't care how much she hates me, I have to at least try and persuade her to come in." Emma stood and swiped a yellow flashlight off of Cleo's table that had a few cracks in it, and looked like it had been through a lot.
"Wait," Rikki said, running up to Emma, who was heading out the door. "Let us come with you."
"No," said a firm Emma. "This is my fault, and I have to pay the price by going to find her. I have to hurry guys, she's getting away!"
"Please, Emma," Cleo said. "It'll be better with three people. We can find her faster." Cleo grabbed a hot pink jacket that was hanging up on a coat rack by the door. "Just give us a second to get on our shoes."
"No!" Emma howled, which made Rikki and Cleo stop cold. "That will take too long! Please guys, I have to do this." Without waiting for so much as an answer, Emma took off.
Rikki and Cleo went over to the side window to see Emma slicing through the dark of the night, with only the light of the flashlight guiding her way. They watched her mouth repeat a word over and over again that they could only guess by lip reading as much as they could in the dark: it looked like she was saying Bella. They watched as she went farther and farther away from the house, her figure growing smaller and smaller and the light growing dimmer and dimmer until they could no longer see either.
"I can't see her anymore!" cried an exasperated Cleo as she shut the blinds: what was the point of keeping them open? She couldn't see Emma so keeping them open would only make her more distressed.
"She might be a while; Bella's a hard character to persuade," Rikki said soothingly. "Let's look on the bright side: she's probably convinced Bella, and they are heading here right now!"
"I hope," Cleo said, and stuffed a handful of popcorn into her dry mouth to stop the feeling of dread starting in the pit of her stomach.
Ten minutes later, Cleo was really anxious, and was seconds away from bolting up and running out into the blackness of the night to find the girls. Even Rikki, the calm and sturdy one, was getting antsy.
"That's it!" cried Cleo, jumping up. "I can't take it anymore!" Cleo ran to the door and swiped the last remaining flashlight off the countertop. "I'm going to go find them!"
The back door then suddenly swung open. The girls screamed, watching a dark figure stagger into the house and switch off her flashlight.
"Shut up!" barked a hoarse Emma. She seemed really different from when she left, as if something out there changed her.
"Well?" asked anxious Cleo, ready to claw into the details of where Bella was.
"I couldn't find her!" admitted Emma, picking a dry brown leaf out of her dirty blonde hair. She brushed her hands together, trying to get some sticky mud off her hands.
"What happened to you?" Cleo asked, looking Emma up and down. She looked like a train wreck. Emma was caked in mud, grass and leaves, as if she was looking for Bella underground. Cleo also noticed a bunch of bleeding scrapes on her hands, and a cut on her arm.
"I fell," said an embarrassed Emma. As she observed herself, she added, "Multiple times. It's slippery out there."
"I see," Rikki said. "Here, Cleo and I will go look for Bella a bit more. If we can't find her, we'll call the police, 'kay?"
Emma shifted uncomfortably. "What about me? I can help."
"Not now. You go and clean up, okay? You need to get the dirt out of those cuts," Cleo said. She flickered on the light and asked Rikki, "Ready to go?"
"Not without me," said Emma firmly. "Remember? It's my fault! So I go too. I'll risk an infection in the cuts if it means finding Bella."
"Alright," sighed Rikki. She turned to Cleo. "Got another flashlight?"
"No, sorry," Cleo apologized. "You want to make a torch or something with your powers?"
"Nah, I can go with Emma," Rikki said. "Just in case she has a concussion or something for falling so much."
"Thanks," said Emma sarcastically, even though deep down she was touched that Rikki cared so deeply, and didn't disagree with the fact that she might have a concussion. "Well, are we going to go, or wait around here for Bella to get struck with some lightning?"
So the girls set out to look. Rikki did end up lighting a torch with her powers to provide more light, but she didn't leave Emma's side. And Emma didn't attempt to leave Rikki's side.
They searched for about an hour, just until Emma was about to collapse for exhaustion and maybe even a possible concussion. But they still trudged ahead.
"What direction was she headed in?" asked Rikki, flashing the light of the torch towards the east.
"I don't know, straight!" Cleo said, shining her flashlight ahead. "Do you think she went to the ocean?"
"No, she's smarter than that," Rikki said, looking behind some trees to where she might be hiding, watching them. Or maybe someone else was watching them. That thought sent shivers down her spine.
"Smarter than what?" Emma asked, her tone unusual and different from her usual tone.
"Than to go swimming in this pitch black nothingness," Rikki said, looking at Emma.
"Guys, are we going to be looking much longer?" Emma asked.
"I don't know," Rikki said, flashing the light from her torch to get a good look at Emma. "Why?"
Emma winced from the sudden brightness that hit her eyes, and covered up her eyes with her hands, in a sort of 'stop' position.
"Wait, Emma, don't..." Rikki started, but it was too late. Emma had put out the fire accidentally with her freezing abilities.
"Great," Rikki groaned, but re-lit the torch.
"Sorry," Emma said, her words a little bit slurred. "I just have a headache, and that didn't help."
"You have a headache?" said a surprised Cleo. She rushed over to the others, and asked Rikki, "Do you think she has a concussion or something?"
"No, I don't," Emma said matter-of-factly. "I'm just...just..." The words didn't seem to come out correctly. Emma stumbled forward a bit, her footing wobbly. Then, she came crashing down.
"Emma!" cried the girls, their screams piercing through the night like and arrow. They rushed and kneeled down by the woozy Emma, who was on her knees.
"I'm...fine," she said. "I just have a headache, is all."
Rikki turned to Cleo. "Let's get back to your house, okay? This isn't worth it. We can call the police and they can take care of it. We need to get Emma back to the house."
"I'm fine," repeated Emma over and over again as Cleo and Rikki lugged her back to the house. Between her repeating that, she kept saying, "Bella. We must find Bella."
"Not tonight," Rikki said, helping Emma back to the house so she wouldn't fall again. "She probably was just trying to hitch hike back to her house. The police will make sure everything's okay, don't worry." It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than Emma.
"But I'm fine. We must find Bella," insisted a confused Emma for about the fifteenth time that night.
Ignoring Emma fully now, Cleo said, "Her stuff is still at my house. We can give it to the police." Rikki quickly agreed.
When they reached Cleo's house, Rikki put out the torch, and threw the thick charred stick out into the yard. They then brought Emma into the safe, warm house.
Emma, now realizing that they wouldn't be searching anymore, snatched Cleo's phone. "Let's call the police, then."
"She really feels guilty," Cleo said, looking at Rikki.
Rikki looked back and nodded sadly. "I wish that she didn't feel that way, though."
Cleo went over to Emma and took the phone from her hands. "I'll do that," she said. "But first you need ice."
Together, Rikki and Cleo washed Emma's wounds so that no more dirt got into them. Then they bandaged them, and gave Emma an ice pack, which she gratefully took and held to her head.
Emma soon fell asleep about a half an hour later, around three in the morning.
"You going to call the police?" Rikki asked, motioning to the phone that was sitting on Cleo's table.
"At three in the morning? I don't think dad would appreciate the police at our front door at this time in the morning," whispered Cleo, not wanting to disturb Don and Kim. She was amazed that they hadn't woken up yet. "I just said that so Emma would fall asleep easier. I'll call the police tomorrow. She's probably at her house, asleep while we're still up. And if Emma is still bad, we'll tell her mom to take her to a doctor. Trust me Rikki, everything will work out just fine."
"Okay," Rikki said, deciding to trust Cleo. "Let's just go to bed, okay? I'm exhausted."
So the girls spent a sleepless night on Cleo's couch.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the (long) prologue! The next chapter will kind of be a conclusion to the prologue, because you need to read what happens after that night. Remember that in this mystery, even the smallest things could be a major clue. So thanks for reading! Next chapter up IDK when. Ciao!