Hey guys! I'm back with the next chapter! Thanks for your comments on the previous chapter, I'm glad you guys liked that I went back. Make sure to comment on this chapter as well! Enjoy!


Mimmi pointed me in the direction where we last saw her pod. We didn't speed swim because her tail probably wouldn't be able to handle it at the moment. As we were swimming, I saw a painful expression on her face. I bet she needed a break. Ahead of us, there was a rock that looked big enough for her to lounge on for a few minutes. I pointed it out to her, and she nodded. I used my powers to manipulate the wind and hoisted her up on the rock. She let out a sigh of relief.

"You good?" I asked in concern.

"Yeah..." Mimmi breathed heavily. "It's just a little difficult." I nodded in understanding. For some reason, Mimmi wouldn't stop staring at me.

"What is it?"

"Could you umm..." Mimmi said nervously. "Can I see your legs?" I could tell that she didn't want to freak me out. "It's just that I know mermen don't have pods nowadays, so they usually grow up on land and I've never seen a land person up close because the mermaid council..." she trailed off.

I chuckled a bit. She reminded me of how curious I used to be when I was younger. "Yeah sure," I smiled. I could see the excitement flood into Mimmi's expression. I grabbed the edge of the rock and lifted myself up onto it. Once I was on the rock, I held my hand over my tail. Mimmi watched in amazement as my tail transformed into legs. I stood up with a smile.

"That's so cool..." Mimmi said in awe. "I wonder what it feels like." she looked up at me. "The mermaid council makes mermen out to be so evil, but you're not evil at all. You're really nice!"

"Well, thank you," I laughed. "I was told that long ago, mermen attacked mermaids in an attempt to find the world's three tridents."

"Whoa... do you have one?" Mimmi asked curiously.

"As a matter of fact, I do," I said with a nod. The look on Mimmi's face already told me what she was thinking. "Yes, you can see my trident too," I rolled eyes playfully and summoned my trident. She was instantly fascinated with it. "Hey, we should probably get a move on," I said after a while. I looked at where Mimmi's gash had been, and now it was almost completely gone. "It looks like your wound is healing up fine," I said with relief. I guess merpeople heal a little faster than humans do.

Mimmi glanced at her tail. "I guess you're right!" she smiled. That's when I heard a voice. It was another mermaid, probably around the same age as Mimmi.

"Mimmi! There you are! We've been looking all over for..." she trailed off as soon as she saw me and backed away in fear. I still had the trident in my hand. I quickly made it disappear.

"Ondina, it's okay!" Mimmi reassured. "He's a nice merman!"

"Merman?!" I heard another voice say. When I looked behind Ondina, I saw a countless number of mermaids. All of them were glaring at me. I guess this was the pod.

"Yeah! He saved me from some land people!" Mimmi said, coming to my defense.

"Mimmi, get over here now," one of the mermaids said sternly.

"But he's not-"

"Now, Mimmi!" the mermaid shouted. Mimmi gave me an apologetic look as she slipped back into the water and swam over to the pod.

"Look," I said as I put my hands up in surrender. "I don't mean any harm. I was just helping Mimmi find her way back to you guys."

"Oh, I highly doubt that," the mermaid scoffed. "All mermen are the same. They're monsters."

"I'm not a monster, I promise," I said calmly. Suddenly, I felt my feet leave the ground. The mermaid had lifted me up with her powers. Before I knew it I was thrown back into the water. The force was so great, that I was momentarily dazed. When my vision refocused, I saw that the mermaids all had their fists out towards me. I saw a small blue glint on each of their fingers. Moon rings. When each of them started to glow, I felt a searing pain course through my body. "AAGGGHHH!" I screamed in agony.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" I heard Mimmi yell from behind the mermaids. The pain just kept getting worse. I wasn't going to be able to handle it for much longer. That's when I felt my eyes switch colors. Great. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen.

The mermaid leading the charge saw it too. "Poseidon's Curse..." she said in fear.

I smirked and summoned my trident. Its power easily disabled the mermaids' moon rings. They all froze. Damn right. I swam up to the mermaid who threw me into the water, and held out my hand. To my surprise, she ascended right out of the water. I wasn't manipulating the wind at all, but it seemed like I was actually... moving her with my mind. I guess this was one of my new powers. A few other mermaids tried to intervene, but when they got closer, I engulfed my trident with lightning and aimed it at them. "Don't even think about it," I said sharply as they backed off. I brought my attention back to the mermaid that was still levitating in the air. I pulled her closer to me.

"Now listen up, all I did was help Mimmi get away from those humans, and then I was trying to help her find you guys. No harm came to her. This monster that you're seeing right now," I said as I pointed to my yellow eyes. "Well, that's your fault. You made the curse awaken inside me. So technically, this is all on you." I smirked and held the trident up to the mermaid's neck. Before I did anything I could regret, I heard a voice.

"Will, stop!" Mimmi pleaded. "Hurting her will only give the pod more reason to hate mermen. You said you weren't a monster, so prove it." I saw the look of desperation in Mimmi's eyes. That was enough to make my eyes revert back to their normal brown color. I immediately dropped the mermaid.

"I... I'm so sorry..." I said to the mermaids as I came back to my senses. The mermaids said nothing. I sighed and turned around. This curse was really getting in the way of my life. As I began to swim away, I felt someone tug on my hand. Before I could react, Mimmi pulled me into a hug.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I knew you weren't a monster."

"And thank you for helping me remember that," I smiled in return. "I should probably go now before your pod does anything else."

Mimmi frowned a bit. "Will I see you again?"

I chuckled. "I have a feeling our paths will cross again," I reassured her. "And make sure you stay out of trouble this time," I scolded her playfully.

"I will, I promise."

I smiled and ruffled her hair. "I'll see you soon kid." After we exchanged looks one last time, I dove underwater and sped back towards the mainland. I know that I've only just met the kid, but Mimmi left a lasting impression on me. She defended me in front of her own pod. That definitely took a lot of guts. I sincerely hoped that I would see her again sometime soon. I slowed down as I approached my docks, and pulled myself up. After I dried off, I saw that it was starting to get pretty late. Maybe it's time I gave Lauren that call.

I walked inside and both my mom and dad were watching TV. My mom had Lucy in her lap, and my dad had Sierra in his. "Hey Will. Where have you been?" my dad asked.

"Just out," I said simply. I didn't really want to tell them about the whole mermaid fiasco earlier. I suddenly remembered what happened with Kaylie earlier. "How's Kaylie?" I asked softly.

"She still feels horrible," my mom frowned. "You need to go upstairs and talk to her."

"Yeah... I know," I sighed and went upstairs. Kaylie's door was open, so I knocked on the wall. "Can come in?" I asked while I leaned up against the doorway.

"Yeah," Kaylie said with a nod.

I entered her room and took a seat on the bed next to her. "Listen, I know I was a bit hard on you earlier, and for that I'm sorry. I just don't want you going out and putting yourself in danger." I took a breath. "If you still want me too, I'll help you out with everything, I promise."

Kaylie smiled. "Thanks Will. And I'll be careful, trust me."

"I do," I said as I got up and walked back towards the door. I snapped my fingers and pointed at her. "You're still my favorite twin."

"I'm your only twin," Kaylie chuckled.

"Exactly," I laughed as I walked out the room. Once I was back in my own room, I sat down at my desk and gave Lauren a call. The phone rang twice before she picked up.

"Hey Will!" Lauren said cheerfully. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," I said with a smile. "What have you been up to all day?"

"I have this big project due for my biology class tomorrow, so I've been working on that all day. Sorry I didn't give you a call."

"It's all good. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." For some reason, I felt like she wasn't telling me the whole story, but I let it slide for now. "Well I'll let you get back to work. I'll see you tomorrow at school. I love you."

"I love you too," she replied before I heard the beep that ended the call. I tossed my phone on my bed and opened up my laptop to work on a few things for school. While I was typing away, I couldn't shake the feeling that Lauren was keeping something from me.


The next day, as I was leaving one of my classes, I saw Lewis and Cleo talking to this redhead I've never seen before. I decided to see what was up. "Hey guys!" I called as I walked up to them.

"Oh, hey Will!" Cleo said with a smile on her face. "I'd like you to meet... uhh..."

"Charlotte," the redhead chimed in. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too! I'm Will." That's when I noticed that charlotte was soaked. "Why are you all wet?"

"The sprinklers," Lewis began. "Jumped out at her." Judging by Lewis's secret glare towards Cleo, I could already guess what had happened.

"Man, that's a bummer," I said.

"Well, we'd better get going," Lewis smiled as he put his arm around Cleo's shoulder.

"Maybe I'll see you around?" Charlotte said to Lewis.

"Sure!" Lewis said as he and Cleo began to walk away.

"Oh yeah, the art room!" Cleo called back to Charlotte.

"Don't worry, I'll find it," Charlotte reassured. Cleo nodded as her and Lewis began acting all cute and cuddly. They went off to their next class. I looked back at Charlotte and saw the longing look in her eyes. She was staring at Lewis. Sorry, but he's taken.

"So you're looking for the art room?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah," Charlotte nodded.

"I've got time to kill, I'll show it to you," I smiled warmly.

"Thank you so much!"

"No problem," I shrugged. "Follow me." I began leading Charlotte to the art room. Along the way, we struck up a conversation. "So what brings you to the Gold Coast?"

"My mom's job requires her to move around a lot," Charlotte explained. "And it brought us here." I nodded in understanding. "My friend Bella used to move around a lot for her dad's job."

Charlotte and I kept the conversation going. She seemed like a good person to me. As we were walking, she showed me some of her drawings. They were unreal. It felt like they should've been in a museum or something. When we finally arrived at the art room, Charlotte spun to face me. "Thanks for showing me where to go, it was nice talking to you," Charlotte said with a friendly smile.

"Thanks for showing me those drawings!" I replied. "They were awesome! You could definitely make money off of those!"

"Maybe one day," Charlotte laughed. "I'll see you around."

"Catch ya later," I waved as I walked away.

I headed to my locker. Once I got there I shoved a few books back in. That's when I saw Lauren walking across the courtyard. I hastily shut my locker and jogged over to her. "Hey Lauren!" I said as I approached her. Then something weird happened. She flinched.

"Oh Will," she breathed. "You scared me."

Maybe I just surprised her, but I'm positive that she saw me before I called her name. "I'm sorry about that babe," I apologized as I kissed her on her forehead. "So how was that biology project?"

"Huh... Oh that!" Lauren said quickly. "It was good! I finished it!"

I smiled. "Good. Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to come over after school. I got all my work done so I'm free."

Lauren hesitated. "Actually, my mom told me that I had to help her clean around the house today. Knowing her, it'll take all day."

"Oh," I sighed. "Another time then." Suddenly, the bell rang. "Don't wanna be late for class," I said after the bell stopped ringing.

"You're right," Lauren nodded. "I'll see you soon, okay?" Lauren said as she placed a quick kiss on my lips. She then began walking to her next class. As I was going to mine, I thought about Lauren. Something was definitely off about her. What was she not telling me?


At the end of the day, I met up with the girls and Lewis, save for Lauren. Guess she wanted to go straight home. "Where's Lauren?" Rikki asked curiously.

"I think she went straight home," I said with a small frown. "Something's going on with her. There's something she's not telling me. Do you guys know anything?"

"Nope, she hasn't said anything," Emma shook her head. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"What is going on with her?" I asked as I scratched my head.

"Probably just a girl thing," Cleo said. "Give her time. I'm sure she'll come around."

I nodded, even though I wasn't really satisfied with that response. "Well, does anyone wanna hang out?"

"Homework," Emma said simply.

"I gotta help my dad with his bike," Rikki chimed in.

"And Lewis is helping me study for an exam," Cleo gestured to her and Lewis.

I frowned in disappointment. That's when Bella spoke up. "I'm free," she said.

"Sweet!" I smiled. "Wanna walk with me then?"

"Sure!" Bella returned the smile. We both said our goodbyes to the gang then went on our way. On the way to my house, I couldn't stop thinking about Lauren. Did I do something? I mean, I thought we forgot about that whole incident when I was under Poseidon's Curse. Maybe this is something else?

When we walked through the front door, I saw my mom in the kitchen. "Hey guys!" she smiled. "I'm just starting to make dinner! Can you stick around Bella?"

"Of course!" she nodded happily. "I'll just text my parents and say I'm having dinner here."

"Wonderful!" my mom said in her usual upbeat attitude. "By the way, Will I think your sister needed your help. She's in her room."

"Probably mermaid stuff," I guessed. "Well, let's go help the newbie," I said to Bella with a chuckle. She laughed at my remark and we both headed up to her room. "What's up?" I asked.

Kaylie had a glass of water in front her. "I'm trying to figure out my powers, but nothing's happening!" Kaylie whined a bit.

"Relax," I said. "The hand motions just need to be a bit more precise." I sat down next to Kaylie, while Bella took a seat in her desk chair. I slowly did the hand motion for hydrokinesis, demonstrating it to Kaylie. "Now you try. Remember to concentrate."

Kaylie took a deep breath and executed the hand motion exactly how I showed her. In less than a second, a never ending coil of water rose from the glass. Kaylie gasped in surprise. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "This is awesome!"

After a few more lessons, we discovered that Kaylie also had Bella's power, gelidkinesis. "You can use that power to make jewelry for yourself," Bella smiled.

"This is too cool," Kaylie said, barely containing her excitement.

"I'm glad you're happy," I smiled. "So, need any more help?"

"Nope, I think I'm good!" Kaylie replied.

"Alright, we'll be in my room if you need us," I said as Bella and I walked towards the door.

"Roger that," Kaylie said, mimicking a soldier's salute.

I chuckled as Bella and I headed to my room. Once there, we both sat on my bed. I placed my elbows on my knees and ran my hands through my hair. "I know that something's going on with Lauren. I can feel it. Am I overthinking it? Maybe it's not like how I think it is. What if-"

"Jay," Bella cut me off. "Calm down. Give her time. If she still keeps acting weird after a while, confront her about it. But for right now, don't worry about it," Bella smiled warmly.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess you're right," I shrugged.

"I'm always right," Bella smirked.

"Oh please, I laughed. "That's not true."

"You know it is," Bella playfully shot back. Our little jabs at each other became a full on banter. It was nice. Hanging out with Bella helped me forget about my dilemma for a while. She always knew how to get my mind off things, and she's awesome for it.

I'll worry about Lauren later.


What's going on with Lauren? Should Will be worried? Anyway, thanks for reading, I really appreciate it. Stay tuned for the next chapter!