A/N: It's been so long since an actual update. I've barely had time to write, and in the rare moments that I did, my mind came up with a solid nothing. Simply put, it was rough couple months. But, as I was thinking of how to write my other two stories, my mind suddenly came up with a storyline for this new story! I was up all hours of the night writing this, so let's hope it was well worth it! :)

For my Eva's Story and The Battle for Bennett readers, hang in there. I'm seriously trying my best. I can't thank you enough for your continued support and amazing reviews! For that, I love you guys!

Also, to all of those who are wondering, the Mako Mermaids (H2O spinoff) official trailer has been released within the past few days. It looks really good, but I wonder if it can live up to the wonderful H2O... :)

Anywho, enjoy the story and review! :)

The blazing summer sun shined down on the beautiful beaches of the Gold Coast. The clear blue ocean was exquisite and had just the right waves for a perfect surf. A crisp and salty breeze complimented the heat and somewhat cooled down the hot sands.

Taking advantage of the luxuries of summer were Cleo, Rikki, and Bella. The trio held their shoes in hand and crusaded across the hot beach. They finally stopped at a vacant area to place their towels and shoes down. Sitting down, Rikki lazily sprawled out across her towel while Cleo continued to read a book. Bella, on the other hand, relaxed and lay on her back to sunbathe.

Cleo then tossed the book aside and sighed happily. "I just can't believe it. Me, Cleo Sertori, a high school graduate—"

"With a science honor!" Bella added with a smile. "Plus having to save the world."

"I mean, just look how far we've come! Uni, here we come!" Cleo squealed in pure excitement and she happily beamed.

Rikki groaned and rolled over to face Bella and Cleo. "Oh, please. We just got out of school and you still bring it up?"

Glaring at Rikki, Cleo continued with her thought. "This is exciting, Rikki, believe it or not. Lewis is staying here, because of his winter holiday…"

"Will and I are doing better than ever…" Bella said. "Not to mention Sophie is accepting the idea of us as a couple."

"I'm happily single and free from school." Rikki added.

Cleo smiled. "See, everything is falling into place. I swear, nothing can go wrong." She paused, thinking for a moment. "Now, about those uni applications…"

Rikki threw her hands up in defeat. "There. Moment ruined. Nice one, Cleo!"

She looked at her confused. "What did I do?" Bella started laughing at her two friends lightly arguing.

"The whole uni thing. Give it a rest for a while." Rikki playfully bumped her shoulder into Cleo's. "Come on…" Both of their smiles grew. "We're mermaids! We could do something fun and, I don't know, go swim somewhere."

"She's got a point, you know." Bella agreed with Rikki. "You've earned some fun, Cleo. We all have. Just the three of us."

Cleo slowly began to give in. "But what about—"

"Nope." Bella dismissed.

"I was just going to say—"

"Well don't." Rikki warned.

"But—"

"Cleo. We can defer for a year. One year away from school won't kill you." Rikki reminded as Cleo rolled her eyes.

"Think of it as a mental health day." Bella smiled. "But it's just a really, really, really long one."

"Alright, alright." Cleo gave in. "Since I get to spend more times with my two best friends…" Rikki and Bella smiled in excitement. "…And Lewis!" Rikki groaned at the end of her sentence.

"Oh, shush." Bella looked at Rikki and cracked a grin. "Don't be jealous." Rikki snorted a laugh.

Just then, Cleo's phone buzzed. "Who's that?" Rikki asked.

Cleo rolled over to see who it was. "I don't know. Let's see." Entering her passcode into her iPhone, she quickly unlocked the message. Her expression suddenly became unreadable, causing some concern towards her two friends. She then brought her free hand to her mouth.

"Cleo, is everything alright?" Bella asked, sounding worried.

With Cleo not answering, Rikki tried to get her attention. "Cleo? Say, Cleo, are you still in there?" She waved her hand in front of Cleo's eyes.

Suddenly, Cleo came back to reality and looked like she was going to explode with excitement. Her eyes lit up and she was practically squealing with excitement.

"Must be really good, yeh?" Bella asked hopefully.

"EMMA!" Cleo shouted with delight. "Emma's coming back!"

"What?" Rikki asked happily. "She is? How—what—when?!" She took a deep breath trying to control her excitement.

"Whoa, wait a minute. Emma?" Bella asked, taking in a few seconds to process the name. "Is she the other mermaid?"

"As in the girl we transformed with? Yes!" Cleo beamed.

"What did Emma say exactly?" Rikki questioned. "I mean, it's been so long!"

"Umm…" Cleo scrolled down the message in her phone. Bella and Rikki looked over her shoulder to see the message. "Basically, she just said she was coming back to the Gold Coast in a couple of days!"

Although Bella was still somewhat confused but what was going on, she remained excited to meet yet another mermaid. "What's she like?"

"You'll love Em." Rikki told Bella. "I'm sure she can't wait to meet you either. We've told her about you and she's seemed pretty keen on meeting another mermaid." Bella couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Ooh! This just made my day! Emma's coming back!" Cleo announcement with a bright smile. "This calls for a celebration swim. Shall we?" All three of them smiled even bigger and they dove into the ocean headed straight for Mako.

Meanwhile, Lewis was kneeling down on the docks, untying his boat from one of the wooden posts. He was about to go fishing, his gear and signature hat already placed in the boat ready to go. Stepping in, he put his hand on and jerked on the pull start. The motor gave a promising start but died down soon after.

"Oh, come on…" He grumbled in annoyance. Lewis stood up and took the cover to the motor off. He was just about to check it when his phone beeped. Hitting the open button, he immediately realized it came from a blocked ID. The message was even more baffling and simply read: Hello, Lewis.

He didn't know what to make of this. Cautiously looking around the docks, he wondered if this had been some sort of prank. There had been no one there or anyone even near the neighbouring boats.

"Miss me?" Lewis swirled around with chills rolling up and down his spine. He became scared, getting the inner feeling that someone was watching him. The eerie voice had been so distant and easily could have been the wind playing tricks. Nevertheless, Lewis just wanted to get away from the area as quick as he could. He scrambled to get the motor running, and as soon as it started, he sped off hoping to leave what he had apparently heard behind. In the process of speeding, his hat was swept off his head and landed at the edge of the docks. Lewis didn't go back for it or even bother looking for it.

As Lewis' boat sped off, a figure walked closer. It watched Lewis' boat grow smaller and smaller until it was too far away in the distance. Walking closer to where the boat just was, it stopped at Lewis' hat. It chortled sinisterly, picked up the hat, and disappeared as quickly as it came.