Will opened his eyes slowly as the morning rays of sun hit his eyelids. It took a few seconds for the memories of the previous day to come flooding back to him. He felt Rikki stirring sleepily at his shoulder.

Rikki!

'That's right.' Will remembered. Rikki had stayed with him last night because… he'd asked her to. Will's stomach flipped, but not in an unpleasant way. Suddenly, he felt better. Not completely, but he found that he could now breathe easily. He allowed himself to breathe in the scent of Rikki's hair as she slept, and she held him tightly as she dreamed, pulling Will close to her.

Will's eyes popped open. He shifted in the bed, suddenly becoming very happy to be facing away from Rikki at the moment.


"I told you, Zane." Cleo said wearily. "Rikki isn't here." She listened, shaking her head while rubbing her temples. "And it's not any business of yours if she came home last night or not. Sorry, Zane." She hung up with a sigh, "That's three calls in the last two hours and it's only 6am. Rikki better show up soon."

"How is Bella?" Lewis grabbed a pair of jeans from the floor and pulled them on as he spoke.

"Not good. I mean, she's really upset." Cleo leaned against the bedroom door. "I mean, let's face it. Rikki wasn't here last night." Cleo ran frustrated fingers through her curly hair. "And she clearly wasn't with Zane either, or he wouldn't be looking for her." Cleo crossed her arms, turning to face Lewis. "Where do you think she was? Who do you think she was with? I'll just bet his name rhymes with Dill…"

"We don't know that, Cleo." Lewis pulled a t-shirt over his head as he stood. "She's Bella's friend too. Have a little faith."

Cleo wasn't convinced. There had been signs for a long time that Will and Rikki might be more than just friends. Looks shared between the two that lasted just a hair longer than they should have. They'd always been close. Will had saved Rikki from the kidnappers and Rikki had saved Will's life with a kiss. Cleo's brow furrowed in thought. She had no idea how Bella would handle it if Will announced that he was in love with Rikki.

Cleo groaned. "Everyone just needs to grow up and talk to each other. I don't know how anything is ever going to get fixed if no one ever speaks to anyone else."

"I know." Lewis pressed a kiss to the inside of Cleo's neck before grabbing his shoes. "Sorry, I know I'm rushing."

"No, it's fine." Cleo bit her lower lip as she watched Lewis packing. His plane was in a few hours. He'd be headed back to his work in America. Apparently, something awesome in the world of biology had occurred, because all of the scientists affiliated with the project had been called in.

"You know, really it's good that I'm going back." Lewis attempted to sound cheery by failed. "I mean, if Sophie does decide to go public it'll be good to have connections in the scientific community. They may have access to information that we could use to our advantage.

"That's true." Cleo said miserably as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's waist. "I just really wish you didn't have to go."


Bella fumed as she pulled on her clothes that morning. She'd not heard the first thing from Will since he'd left Mako Island.

Bella huffed as she pulled her blonde hair into a ponytail at the top of her head. Sure, she'd refused to talk to him when Will had asked to speak with her, but he hadn't tried too hard, had he? Not one text, no phone calls, nothing.

Bella tied her shoes angrily, mentally scolding herself for the third time this morning. If she'd just agreed to meet and talk with Will then she wouldn't be going through this right now. It was hardly fair of her to be mad at Will for doing exactly what she'd told him to do. She'd told him to leave her alone, and he had. Stupid pride.

With newfound determination, Bella picked up her phone, made up her mind, and typed a text to Will.

'We should talk.'

Bella took a deep breath, hit 'send,' and waited nervously as the message completed sending. Proud of herself, she headed to the kitchen to make breakfast.


Rikki jerked awake as a phone chimed next to her ear. She sat up sleepily, looking around for Will. She could hear him moving in the kitchen. Rikki grabbed his chiming mobile and stretched before heading into the other room.

"Your phone went off." Rikki slid it across the counter to Will, who caught it. Rikki waited awkwardly as he read the message, not quite sure what to do with herself.

"Bella wants to talk." Will read aloud.

Rikki's face flushed scarlet. "Oh." She stammered. "D-does she know I'm here?"

"I didn't tell her." Will shrugged. "So I don't know how she could know."

"I need to go." Rikki whisked her hair into a messy bun as she hurried around the room to collect her things.

"Whoa, Rikki, wait." Will reached out to clutch her as she rushed past. "You don't have to leave so soon-"

"No Will, really I do." Rikki's tone was brusque and and formal. "Look, Bella's my friend, Will. I had absolutely no business staying here with you last night."

"Nothing happened." Will moved quickly to take Rikki's hand in his, his voice quiet.

"But something could have." Rikki's tone matched Will's. "And I was out of line. Look," She took a step back, holding her hands up in surrender. "I'm not angry with you, ok? I stayed her because I wanted to." She sighed. "I liked it."

Her words hung in the air for several seconds before Will replied.

"I liked it too." His eyes searched Rikki's, looking for a hint as to what she was thinking.

"We both liked it." Rikki stepped in so close she could smell Will's mouthwash on his breath. She stood still for a moment before lifting her face to his. "And that's why this is so wrong. That's why this is such a terrible thing for us to have done." She swallowed, pulling back and swinging her bag over her shoulder. "Let me know how today goes." She said before slipping out the front door.

It hurt Will to watch her go. His one ally now seemed to have turned against him. He couldn't argue with her, though. Last night had crossed some kind of line, but Will hadn't minded it. Apparently, Rikki had.

Will sighed as he stared at the phone in his hand. Yesterday, he'd been dying to speak to Bella. Today…. Well, he knew he had to talk to her before too much longer, he just wasn't sure what to say anymore.

Eventually, he pulled out his phone, dialed it, and held it to his ear. "Hey, Bella." He heard himself saying. "Want to meet me at Mako in an hour? We, um… should talk."


"You seem awfully chipper this morning." Cleo tilted her head in curiosity as she walked from her bedroom into the kitchen.

"I'm going to talk to Will." Bella announced, shoveling cereal into her mouth.

"Bells, that's great!" Cleo crouched to wrap one arms around her seated friend, pulling her into a makeshift hug.

"When and where?" Lewis dodged the twosome and reached for an apple from the pantry.

"Mako Island, noon." Bella swallowed. "It's going to be really good. We can talk through some things, lay everything out, start fixing problems… It's going to be really really good."

The sound of the front door squeaking open drew the eyes of all three of them.

"Hey guys." Rikki hesitantly stepped inside.

Cleo exchanged a look with Lewis before forcing a cheery smile to her face. "Rikki! We've missed you, where have you been?"

The tension in the room was palpable as the question echoed off the walls. Though Bella was still staring at the bowl of cereal in front of her, her knuckles were white around the spoon handle as she waited for Rikki's answer.

"Oh, I went to my Dad's house." Rikki answered quickly. "I just missed him, you know? Thought I'd visit for a night."

Rikki cursed herself for lying to her friends. She just wanted to pretend last night had never happened.

Cleo crossed her arms over her chest, clearly not convinced. "You're wearing the same clothes you had on yesterday."

Rikki shrugged. "I'd figured my dad would have left my room as it was, with my clothes still in the dresser. Turns out, he wanted to use the space for gym equipment, so all my stuff got boxed up."

Cleo exhaled, sharing another look with Lewis, who didn't seem particularly concerned by the exchange.

"I'm, y'know, going to get changed and then I thought I'd go for a swim, anyone want to join me?" Rikki looked at each of her friends hopefully.

"I can't, Lewis's flight is soon." Cleo was glad for the excuse.

"I can't either." Bella spoke up. "I'm meeting Will. We're going to work things out." She said the words emphatically, shooting Rikki an almost triumphant look.

"Oh?" Rikki's voice caught in her throat, which she quickly cleared. "Bella, that's great." She gestured down the hall. "Alright then, I'll see you guys later." Rikki closed her bedroom door behind her.

"So…" Cleo was anxious to change the subject. "You said you're meeting Will on Mako Island, right?"

"Right." Bella pulled her attention back into the conversation. "In fact," She seemed to be regaining control of herself. "I should probably be going. I want to swing by the café to pick up tonight's set list before heading out there. Safe travels, Lew. When do you get to come back?"

"Ah, they'll let me out again in a month or so." Lewis grinned as Bella hugged him tightly.

"You get him to the plane on time." Bella pointed playfully at Cleo, forcing herself to sound perky.

"Sure thing." Cleo waved goodbye as the door swung shut loudly behind her roommate.


Sophie had only just powered on her laptop at Rikki's Café when Bella breezed inside. Sophie watched as the blonde headed for Zane, who was working the front counter. She leaned in, appearing to ask for something. Sophie frowned as she tried to figure out what it was. The pair began a hushed, semi-heated discussion before Bella spun on her heel and started for the door. Then, before she could leave, Zane darted out from behind the bar and caught her firmly by the elbow. The pair were just close enough for Sophie to make out what they were saying.

"I told you, Zane." Bella was saying irritably. "I just came in here for our set list. I am not here to discuss Rikki."

"Come on, just tell me if she came home last night." Zane half whispered, half spoke.

Bella sighed, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before speaking. "Look, she was at her Dad's house last night, ok?" Bella tried to move past Zane.

"No she wasn't."

The words stopped Bella in her tracks. She turned to face him. "How would you know that?"

Sophie couldn't believe the expression on Bella's face. What was she so freaked out about?

"I called. Asked him." Zane waved his phone in the air. "I was trying to find her, Terry told me he hadn't seen her."

"Well, maybe he lied to you." Bella was grasping at straws.

"Or maybe I've been right for months and no one took me seriously." Zane shot back. "Bella, you know she was at Will's."

Sophie almost flinched at his tone. She watched as the pair stood in electric silence, each glaring at the other.

"We don't know anything, Zane." Bella's tone was flippant, but Sophie could see her cheeks blushing a deep red. Bella yanked her elbow from Zane's grasp and marched out of the café.

Zane watched her go, his hands planted angrily on his hips.

Sophie immediately glued her eyes onto the laptop in front of her, praying Zane hadn't noticed her staring.

Zane stormed back behind the counter, resting his weight on his hands on the counter top in front of him.

He couldn't quite make himself believe it. What further proof could he need? Rikki had told Bella that she'd gone home to her father. Zane really had spoken to Terry, Rikki hadn't been thee. Rikki had lied to Bella, and Zane could only think of one thing that would have made her do that.

Zane felt ill. Rikki had spent the night with Will. Zane felt the familiar burn of jealousy shoot through his chest. He glanced over to his right and noticed a familiar redhead seated in the corner.

Sophie.

He hadn't noticed her until just now. Without stopping to come up with a plan, Zane marched over to Sophie's table and plunked down into the seat opposite her.

"So you know what happened to Will." Zane made more of a statement than he'd asked a question, but Sophie answered him anyway.

"What's right," She said haughtily. She leaned back in her seat, arching one eyebrow. "So who told you?"

"Will did." Zane crossed his arms, matching her eye level. "Well," He shrugged one shoulder. "And then Rikki filled in the details."

So Rikki knew all about it. Sophie nodded, things starting to make more sense.

Suddenly, Zane's earlier conversation with Bella had become a lot more interesting. Rikki knew about Will, Rikki hadn't come home last night, (and had apparently lied to Bella about it,) And Zane thought that Rikki had spent the night with Will. Had she really? Sophie eyed Zane, who was clearly preoccupied with his own thoughts.

"So…" Sophie folded her hands as she leaned across the table. "How are things going between you and Rikki?"

"Shut up." Zane glared thoughtfully at Sophie for several seconds before continuing. "So how are you coping with having a fish for a brother?"

"He's not a fish." Sophie retorted automatically. "I mean," She cleared her throat. "He's just the same as he's always been. He just can't go swimming in public, is all."

"Yeah, right." Zane leaned back confidently in his chair. "I've dated Rikki for years and let me tell you, dealing with merpeople is a gigantic pain in the ass. She was constantly changing our plans, showing up late or cancelling because of mermaid business, it sucked.

Zane continued talking, but Sophie's own thoughts drowned out his words. Rikki was a mermaid too. Sophie gritted her teeth. Sure, she'd had her suspicions, and sure, she couldn't honestly say she was shocked at the news, but anger was building up inside of her.

Really? Even after everything, after all of her brother's pleas for her to trust him, after his pledges to be honest, here was another lie. She shook her head. Will had had countless opportunities to tell her the truth about Rikki, and yet he'd lied once again.

Sophie took in a long pull of oxygen as the wheels in her head spun around and around. Her eyes locked onto Zane's. One eyebrow arched as her other eye narrowed. "You and me, Zane." She folded her hands on the table top as he leaned in. "We need to have a little chat."