Trust Can Be Toxic
Zac was silently walking on the beach of the Gold Coast. He had a pretty rough morning and he needed to sort things out. He was more and more confused about his life. He enjoyed being a merman a bit too much to his liking and it had a big impact on his life. He was lying to his girlfriend who he really liked, but he enjoyed sharing the secret with Lyla. He did really enjoy her company and that's why he was so confused. He didn't know what he wanted anymore and he felt like he was betraying Evie, but he wasn't ready to tell her everything.
Principal Santos, Sirena and Lyla had tried to make him feel welcomed and wanted to help him control his powers, but Nixie ruined everything by saying what she really thought even though she was wrong. Zac didn't want to hurt the mermaids anymore. He just wanted to live at peace with them and he wanted to learn more about his new capacities. He felt like he didn't belong anywhere anymore and that was killing him.
He was walking slowly when he heard someone call his name.
"Hey, Zac." Lyla said loud enough for him to hear.
"I don't need your help, Lyla." Zac said as he dropped his shoulders. He wasn't really in the mood for a pep talk and especially not by her. He knew he'd do something he'd regret if he spent time with her. "All this time, I've had to work it all out by myself. I figured out my powers."
"You don't understand. Being a merman, it isn't just about your powers. There is so much more." Lyla said truthfully. "How do you feel when you're swimming out there?"
"I don't know." Zac answered trying to get into this deeply. She was making him nervous.
"Yes you do, tell me." Lyla demanded with a warm smile.
"It's just right." Zac said. "I feel free. Completely free. No homework, no parents. It's just me and the ocean."
"Exactly." Lyla added. "Have ever just, stopped swimming and hung there in the deep blue, close your eyes and felt that connection?"
Zac shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, maybe."
"You haven't felt it." Lyla said smirking. "Come on, I'll show you."
Lyla reached for Zac's hand that was resting in his pockets and intertwined her fingers with his. Even if she denied it, she knew she felt something special towards Zac. Zac, on the other hand, felt a bolt of energy ruin through him as her hand touched his. As much as he didn't want to feel what he felt, he had feelings for Lyla, but he tried his best to hide it. Something about her made him feel even more special than he already is.
The two merpeople ran towards the ocean and dove in. It became natural for them to dive in the ocean like that. They swam a pretty big distance and they were heading deeper and deeper. Lyla never let go of Zac's hand and Zac didn't want her to let go. It felt so wrong, but it made him feel a spark he hadn't felt with Evie in a while.
After swimming for numerous minutes, Lyla finally stopped swimming and motioned for Zac to close his eyes. She then touched his ears to tell him to concentrate on his earing. After a couple of seconds, he heard a whale.
Zac immediately opened his eyes and looked around him only to see a blue whale. He smiled at the sight of the mammal and smiled at Lyla.
After hanging in the deep blue for minutes, they decided to swim away and headed to the moon pool where they could just chat.
They surfaced in the moon pool and Zac immediately spoke up while looking at Lyla.
"That was so totally awesome."
"I know." Lyla answered with a genuine smile caused by the excitement of Zac. "Guess what, it gets better. Sometimes, they let me swim with them."
Zac just looked at her with his mouth wide opened.
"We can do that next time if you like." Lyla suggested. She couldn't stay away from him and she had accepted that now even if the pod, and especially Nixie, would be furious about this.
"Seriously? They'll let us do that?" Zac asked overwhelmed by what Lyla just told him.
Lyla nodded. "We're not separate from the ocean; we're part of it. We can sense things like the whispers in the current and tides and listening to sea creatures. Just by looking I can tell if a shark's friendly or not. Whether a dolphin will help us find our way."
"I never thought of it like that." Zac said still smiling and Lyla just smiled at him.
Zac was lost into his thoughts for a couple of seconds before he spoke again.
"Am I really the reason your pod left?" He asked suddenly caring about everything had gone through because of him. The more time he spent with her, the more bad he felt about everything he's done to get the trident.
"Not you personally, but the fact that you're a merman, yeah. Mermaids fear them more than anything else in the ocean." Lyla said to the merman.
"And there was really a war between them." Zac stated.
"That trident you found, that was the mermen's greatest weapon. Mermaids were powerless against it." Lyla explained to Zac.
"How did they survive?" Zac asked interested in the mermaid's origin.
"Because of one merman. He knew the war was wrong, so he took the trident and locked it away in a chamber where it could never be found." Lyla continued her explanations.
"Until I did and I used it against you." Zac said feeling extremely bad about his previous actions.
"Until you realize what you were doing. Then, you locked it away again just like he did." Lyla said trying to convince Zac that he's not a bad person.
"I guess I did." Zac said with his smile forming back on his face. He loved how positive and supportive she was.
"I never meant to cause a war between us." Zac said honestly.
"There isn't between us." Lyla said to reassure Zac.
Zac smiled at Lyla and then it seemed like the world stopped. It seemed like time froze and everything happened in slow motion. Zac's subconscious kicked in and he shifted closer to Lyla and started to lean in without even realizing what he was doing. Not quite sure how to react, Lyla did the same thing until their lips almost touched. She had seen land people do this before and she knew what it meant. She knew he was about to kiss her and she wasn't complaining. SHe knew what kissing meant and she felt that towards Zac.
On the other hand, when Zac realized what he was doing, he immediately pulled away before doing something he would regret. He already did in a way and he knew he wouldn't be able to look at Evie the same. He was in so much trouble.
"I'm sorry." Zac said to Lyla and he swam away as fast as he shifted away from Lyla.
"What just happened?" Lyla asked herself staring at the rippling water in front of her.
Zac was sitting on one of the sofas in his bungalow with his head between his hands. He could not take this anymore. He wished he could talk to someone about what happened, but he wasn't exactly on speaking terms with Cam and he could not talk about this with Lyla either. At that moment, he really wished he and Cam would make up, but what's done is done and he's not ready to forgive his ex-best friend.
Did he want to kiss Lyla? Yes. A hundred percent yes.
He knew what he was feeling was unfair to Evie and he knew what he had to do even if he did not want to admit it.
"I'm an idiot." He murmured to himself. "How could you fall in love with another girl when you have a girlfriend?"
He groaned at his stupidity.
Maybe he just needed to be by himself for a while, maybe he should break up with Evie.
Why did it have to happen to him? He did not ask to get a tail and fall for another mermaid. It would be simpler if he chose one of those worlds: land or sea. The only problem that if he chose sea, he would never see his family again and that if he chose land, he wouldn't be able to go in the sea and see Lyla anymore.
"Ugh." He groaned as he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." He said.
The door opened slightly and it revealed Zac's girlfriend, Evie.
"Hey." Zac said to her, but the damage was already done; he felt like he betrayed her and he did in a way.
"Haven't seen you since the incident at school." Evie said referring to his almost-fight with Cam earlier that morning. "What's wrong, Zac?"
Zac looked down as if he was ashamed of himself.
"It's just- I'm going through a lot right now and it's hard to keep up." Zac admitted vaguely.
"It would be easier if I knew about it. That way, I could help you." Evie offered.
"That's the thing, Evie. I need to sort this out alone." Zac said trying not to sound too harsh.
"Okay, I trust you." Evie said even though she felt like Zac wasn't telling her something very important.
Both of the teenagers stayed quiet for a while and it was Evie who broke the peace.
"Are we still going out tonight?" Evie asked hopefully.
Zac looked down and he knew what he had to do.
"I'm sorry, Evie." Zac said.
"It's okay, we can reschedule." She said with a warm smile.
"It's not that. I think I need to be alone, alone right now." Zac said without even looking at her.
"What are you saying?" Evie asked knowing where this was going and honestly, she had seen it coming.
"I think you're a really great girl, but I am very confused right now. I think it would be better if we separated. It's not fair for you that I can't really tell you what's happening." Zac said truthfully. At that point, Evie's eyes were filled with tears. "I'm so sorry."
"I cannot say it doesn't hurt, but I saw it coming. You've changed in the last couple of months. You're not the same person. You lie, you keep things from me and you spend more and more time with her." Evie said like it was venom. "Oh my gosh, are you cheating on me?"
"What? No. Of course not. I would never ever do that. I might be confused right now, but I'm not stupid." Zac answered.
"But you have feelings for her?" Evie asked raising an eyebrow.
Zac suddenly felt very ashamed of himself.
"Maybe. I don't know. I just don't want to do something I'd regret. I think I'm better off alone right now." Zac answered.
"Zac look at me." Evie demanded. "As much as it hurts to know you like someone beside me, I can see that you really like her." Evie said even though she was angry about all this.
"I don't." Zac said.
"Come on, Zac. I know you do just by the way you act around her. It would take a fool to not notice. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm happy you broke up with me if it's because you like her. You were honest about this." Evie said retaining sobs.
"I'm so sorry Evie, I feel so ashamed right now." Zac said.
"At least, you told me the truth." Evie said.
Both of the teenagers stayed quiet and tears were slowly rolling on Evie's cheeks.
"Goodbye, Zac." Evie said as she opened the door to his shed and closed it behind her. That was exactly when Zac broke apart.
"Why am I so freaking stupid?" He asked himself.
Lyla was sitting alone in the grotto thinking about what just happened in the moonpool with Zac. He had tried to kiss her and she had let him. The truth was, she wanted him to kiss her, so bad much to Nixie's disappointment. Nixie was the only one who refused to believe Zac had changed and that he did not want to hurt the mermaids anymore even though Zac had shown compassion to the other mermaids and helped save Lyla's life. Sirena saw the best of any situation and she could tell Zac was trying to change.
"Are you okay?" A soft voice asked the troubled mermaid.
Lyla turned around to see her blond mermaid friend with a compassionate smile.
"Honestly, not really." Lyla answered.
"What happened?" Sirena asked like the caring-person she is.
"He almost kissed me." Lyla blurted out.
"Who?" Sirena asked oblivious.
"Zac." The fiercy mermaid answered trying not to show any emotions.
"What?" Sirena asked almost choking on her word. "Like actually kiss you?"
"Yes." Lyla said simply.
"But he's with Evie." Sirena added.
"I know." The taller mermaid said.
"And that's why you're not okay. Did you want him to kiss you?" Sirena asked expecting an honest answer.
Lyla just nodded kind of ashamed of her feelings.
"You don't have to be afraid of your feelings. It was obvious that you liked him." Sirena said as a-matter-of-factly.
"It was?" Lyla asked clearly confused by what her blond friend said.
"Yes, it was. It was showing by everyhting you did to try and convince us that Zac was not a bad guy." Sirena said with a faint smile. "And I do believe he's turned good."
"Me too." Lyla added.
"But he's still dating Evie." Sirena added carefully.
"I know and I know things are never going to work between us." Lyla said with a lump in her throat. "I need a swim."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Sirena asked.
"Alone." Lyla said and Sirena nodded. "Oh, and Sirena, don't tell Nixie about this, please."
"My lips are sealed." Sirena said and she smiled at her friend.
Lyla was wandering around the reefs of Mako Island like she always did when something was on her mind. She was not swimming fast and she was not swimming slowly either. Any mermaids or sea creatures that looked at her could immediately know that she was upset. She was swimming, but staring into space at the same time.
Zac dove off the jetty behind his house as soon as Evie left. He needed to clear his thoughts and swimming was the best way to do that for him. He swam in the open ocean before he decided to swim around Mako Island the underwater scenery was always so magical and he loved the fact that it made him forget about his life on land, well, that was before he crossed paths with Lyla.
When the two teenagers saw each other, Zac motioned for her to go to the surface.
"Hey." Zac said to the mermaid
"Hey." Lyla answered trying to avoid his glare.
"Can we talk?" Zac asked her.
"Sure, but let's do this somewhere more private as in not in the middle of the ocean." Lyla answered thinking of the one place where she always felt comfortable : the moonpool.
The swam over there in a matter of seconds and luckily for them, no one was there and by no one, mainly Nixie.
"I'm really sorry about earlier today." Zac said in all honesty,
"It's okay." Lyla lied.
"No it's not. I've been doing a lot of mistakes lately and this is one of the worst beside getting the trident and hurting you, because I hurt you again, but in a different way." Zac explained to the mermaid he had a crush on.
"Don't worry about it, Zac. It was nothing." Lyla tried to reassure her merman friend.
"No, it was not nothing." Zac said looking down. "It meant something to me."
Zac raised his eyes and tried to find hers. At the same time, he reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers, but Lyla quickly pulled her hand away.
"Zac, you're in a relationship, you cannot do this." Lyla said even if she loved the feeling it gave her.
"I'm not. Not anymore. I broke up with her earlier today." Zac explained.
"You did?" Lyla asked a bit suprised.
"Yes, because it's not fair to her to date her if I have feelings for someone else." Zac said as he intertwined their fingers again and looked into he eyes.
"Is that someone else me?" Lyla asked.
"What do you think?" Zac asked looking at their joined hands. Lyla smiled at his confession.
"Maybe I do like you too." Lyla admitted shyly and Zac's smile grew bigger.
They just stared at each other and smiled like two lovestruck people.
"Now, I'm gonna do something I've been wanting to do for a while." Zac said confidently.
"And what is that?" Lyla asked the merman knowing where this was going.
"Kiss you." The merman said bluntly.
He shifted closer to Lyla and leaned in. This time though, he did not feel guilty about his actions.
Their lips met and it was like the world stopped. Both merpeople smiled into the kiss and both were positive everything would work out eventually.
When they pulled away. They stared into each others' eyes and they both had huge smiles on their faces. Zac then reached for her and she wrapped her arms around him. Being in his embrace made her feel safe, comfortable and happy.
Even if his relationship with Lyla felt so wrong at first, it felt so right, now.
Thank you all so much for reading this other one-shot I wrote. When I first watched the first season, this is how I wanted things to turn out. I wanted Zac and Lyla to be together, because I didn't like Evie. I do like her now and I do understand that her actions where totally normal since it looked like her boyfriend was cheating on her. I do a hundred percent ship Zevie now, but I did ship Zyla at first :)