"I didn't think I'd ever see you again. I mean, when Sirena told me you and Nixie had gone to live with the pod…" Zac says as he sits down on the couch.
"I didn't think I would see you again, either." Lyla admits as she follows Zac and sits down.
"So… are you going to stay this time?" Zac asks "Or… are you just… visiting?" he continues, a slight amount of hurt in his voice, as if the thought of her leaving causes him pain.
"I would like to stay. I just couldn't live with the pod anymore, not after my time on land. I felt so different, like I couldn't relate to them." Lyla explains, looking down like she is ashamed that she no longer relates to her friends in the pod.
"I'm sorry." Zac says with an amount of sympathy in his voice that surprises Lyla. She simply shrugs, brushing it off.
"Are you going to live with Rita again?" Zac asks.
"I guess so… I am not sure. I don't want to be a burden. I don't know."
"You know… you could live with me. I mean, if you needed a place to sleep. Only if you want to. It could just be temporary, or not, I mean… whatever you need." Zac rambles.
"Really?" Lyla asks, surprised.
"You don't have to. If was just an idea. Forget about it-"
"I would really appreciate it." Lyla interrupts him with a smile.
"Yeah?" Zac asks with a grin.
"Yeah." Lyla nods, still smiling.
The two mer-people sit on the couch in comfortable silence for a moment, both of them still surprised that they are in each other's presence.
"What is like to live in the ocean, all the time? I mean, compared to life here on land." Zac finally asks.
"The ocean is magical. It's full of secrets and mysteries that can fill you with so much joy, or fear. You know that, though." Lyla is silent for a moment, thinking "I don't know… it is so hard to describe. After living in the ocean… well, after a while you just feel connected. You feel like you are a part of the rhythmic tides and the constant current. It is… amazing."
Zac nods, satisfied by her answer. He is almost afraid to push her further, for he fears that she will change her mind and return to the sea.
"What has it been like for you the past month? Anything new with life on land?" Lyla asks with a teasing smile.
"Nothing. Nothing new. Not since you left. I feel like I have been waiting for something. But now… now you are back." Zac speaks looking straight ahead, as if he is shy to admit this to Lyla.
"Oh." Lyla says, though it is more of a soft release of air.
The two are quiet again, feeling like they can finally relax now that they are in each other's company.
Lyla breathes in, and then out, and then carefully lowers her head to rest on Zac's shoulder. She hears him inhale and tense up. She thinks about pulling back, but then he lets out a breath and relaxes.
After a while, they both fall asleep.
There are three knocks on the door of Zac's room. Zac and Lyla are both very much asleep, peacefully resting and ignorant of anything but their dream world.
"Zac?" Evie calls out, finally opening the door.
Evie's voice and the fresh sea air sweeping in jolts Lyla and Zac awake. Lyla practically jumps away from Zac in her haste to remove her head from his shoulder.
"Evie!" Zac says, surprised but groggy. He rubs his eyes in a way that makes Lyla smile at his boyishness.
Lyla thinks back to the last time she saw Evie. For a while, they were pretty hostile towards each other. They ended things on good terms though, once Evie found out the truth about Zac and the girls.
Evie takes in Zac and Lyla on the couch. They are now feet apart, but when she first came in…
"Evie… it's not… we were just…" Zac stutters, not sure of what to say. What can he say?
"Don't try and explain, Zac." Evie says with a look of acceptance on her face.
Before Zac can say anything else, Lyla leaps to her feet and is sprinting out the door. She races to the water and gracefully dives in, sending drops of water like expensive crystals flying into the air behind her.
What was I expecting? I figured he would still be with her.
I shouldn't have showed up.
This was all a mistake.
He doesn't have feelings for me.
He probably never did.
I had to get out of there. I couldn't listen to him say that we weren't doing what Evie thought. True, we weren't doing anything more than resting, but it sure as shellfish wasn't nothing.
Not to me, anyway.
"Evie… I'm sorry." Zac says as he rises to his feet.
"How long have you been seeing her? Behind my back?" Evie shakes her head, a hurt expression on her face.
"I haven't. Really, I would never cheat." Zac spits the word out like the worst thing he could do.
"Then what did I just walk in on?"
"She really did just show up today, I haven't seen her in weeks." Zac pauses, "You walked in on what could be… the beginning of something." he admits, although his face has the look of a child caught red handed doing something they are not supposed to be.
"I'm sorry, I have to go. I have to go after her." he says, upset, but determined.
"Are we breaking up?"
"You feel it too, don't you? Nothing has been the same between us since I first became a merman."
Zac looks at Evie, anxiously. He worries that with each passing second he is losing his chance with Lyla. Evie waits, unsure about this turn of events. She is thinking about the past few weeks, and how little time they have spent together.
"You would have broken up with me today anyway, right?" Evie asks, her eyes starting to tear up.
"Of course! I would never have pursued anything with Lyla behind your back. It's just… it's time."
Evie nods, sad that their relationship is over, but not bitter. She and Zac haven't done any of the things couples are supposed to do since those two mermaid girls left. He has seemed even more distant than he was before.
"I have to go." Zac says, already moving towards the door.
"I know. You do." Evie walks towards Zac, and embraces him for the last time.
"Be happy, Zac. I haven't seen you happy in… a while." Evie whispers in his ear before she pulls away.
Zac sighs guiltily, but he knows that he can't go on calling Evie his girlfriend. You are supposed to do things and go places with your girlfriend. The only time he has seen her lately is in the halls at school. It's unfair to her, to keep her trapped in a relationship like this.
"Thank you." Zac says before he turns and runs towards the water, towards Lyla.
