A/N: Vacation was awesome, but as always way too short. How is it possible that school is back on already? Okay, enough of my complaining, I have to live with it either way and complaining about it to you won't change anything. Anyway, back on track, thanks to everyone who reads my story. My birthday is this month and as a present from me to you here is chapter 12. Enjoy!
Previously... Amber is tired of simply running from their hunter and is able to convince the others to hunt their hunter. However it backfires when Cleo arrives and is pulled into the drama. Her baby comes and Ethan is born. Now on to the chapter.
Chapter 12: Explosive
Sarah stifled a yawn as she walked home from school along with her friends. Her friends looked at her as Amber asked, "You alright, Sarah? You look really bad."
"Thanks for the compliment," Sarah answered, dryly as she rubbed her eyes, which had bags underneath them, "I love Ethan and all, but waking up in the middle of the night every night because of his screaming isn't easy."
"If you would have said something, you could have stayed with us, any of us I'm sure for that matter," Emily pointed out as the rest nodded.
Sarah however shook her head, replying, "It's unfair to leave mom and Lewis to do it all themselves. Not to mention what kind of big sister would I be, if I just left when things got tough."
"You might get some sleep tonight," Taylor told her, "Remember the full moon is upon us."
"Right. Whose house are we staying at tonight?" Rachel asked, looking around the group. Although neither she nor Taylor needed to worry about the full moon, they had decided, out of solidarity, to join the three mermaids.
"My house," Emily replied, "Don't worry. Everything is ready. The good thing that came along with James knowing I'm a mermaid. No more hiding from him during the full moon or locking myself up without an explanation."
"I can imagine," Sarah smiled, "Finally I'll be able to get some sleep."
"No that would mean no fun for us," Amber complained, jokingly.
"I'll see you later then. The usual time?" Rachel questioned as she turned towards her home and the others nodded. The usual time being one hour before the rising of the full moon. With that the group dispersed, making preparations for the night.
Later that day Taylor listened from the comforts of her room to the sounds in the hall. Nothing. Emily's parents were both out of the house so that they had it for themselves during the full moon and Emily was preparing for the full moon. Seeing it posed no threat to her, Taylor had nothing really to prepare for. Carefully she opened the door and snuck down the hall. With a knock Taylor entered James' room. James, who stood in front of his wall covered in photos, looked up and a smile spread across his face. "I'm not interrupting anything, I hope," she said, stepping up towards him.
Instead of a reply his arms wrapped around her and he gave her a kiss and only then did James reply, "You're never interrupting." He held up a hand full of photos. "I'm in the middle of updating my wall," he explained, "I just can't decide which should be hung up and which should be taken down."
Taylor looked at the pictures in his hand and answered, "I think they're all great."
"I would much rather put up a picture of you as a mermaid," James whispered into her ear.
"No way. First of all you don't have one. Second of what if one of your friends sees it?" Taylor retorted.
"I'll say it's cosplay or something," James suggested, "Or at least I want to put up this picture." He held up a picture, which she recognized instantly. It was the picture of her at the airport. The first time they had met.
"Are you crazy? If you put that up, Emily will know something is up," Taylor told him, "She'll clearly be able to tell this is the airport."
"You're no fun at all," James murmured, his arms still around her.
Just then there was a knock on the door and Emily came in. The two were barely able to separate in time before Emily saw them. "There you are, Taylor. I was looking everywhere for you," Emily said as she stepped up to them, "What are you doing here?"
The two froze for a moment before Taylor answered, "Pictures. James asked me for my opinion of what picture he should put up."
"Really? He never asked me that," Emily told her, obviously a bit hurt.
"It's just that Taylor wanted to see them and I was in a pinch, cause I couldn't decide between two," James lied.
"I see," Emily whispered.
"So what did you want from me?" Taylor asked, trying to get the blonde's mind off it.
"Right," Emily said, remembering the real reason she was even here, "Come with me." Emily took Taylor's hand and led her out of the room, so that she could simply wave good bye to James, who only smiled after her. Taylor was pulled downstairs and into the kitchen.
There on the table stood a small cake with a candle burning on top of it and surrounding the table was Amber, Sarah and Rachel. "What is going on here?" Taylor asked as Emily walked over to the rest.
"Surprise!" the four girls exclaimed.
"Haven't you realized? It's been exactly one month since you came here," Rachel told her.
"You arrived on the day of the full moon," Sarah added.
"I can't believe you remember," Taylor said, "I didn't even remember."
"Well, to be perfectly honest, we didn't either," Amber replied, "Actually it was James who reminded us." She motioned towards the entrance.
"You're welcome," James said as he stepped into the kitchen.
It took all of Taylor's restraint not to hug him. "Thanks," Taylor smiled.
"So why don't we close the rest of the curtains and enjoy this cake," Emily suggested and the rest nodded. After they had sealed up the house, so that no light had a chance of getting in from the outside they sat down at the table, the only light being from the candle.
"This kind of feels like a date," Sarah said as she ate her slice of cake.
"It would be the weirdest date I've ever been on," Amber muttered between bites. Taylor and James sat next to each other. Taylor glanced over to him, wanting to hold his hand, but that was impossible.
Emily looked at her watching and reported, "The full moon is up now. As of now no one leaves the house." The others nodded.
"I guess we finish up here and head to bed," Rachel suggested.
"You won't find me complaining," Sarah yawned as she got up, collecting the plates along the way to the dishwasher.
"Let me help," Taylor volunteered and hurried to help Sarah put them in.
Suddenly there was a gurgling sound coming from the faucet. The six teens stared at it and a second later the faucet exploded to reveal a tentacle. The tentacle lunged for Sarah and Taylor, seeing they were closest to it. "Watch out!" Taylor exclaimed as she pushed Sarah out of the way, only to be caught full on by the tentacle and flung across the room. With a crash she landed in the debris of the former sink. The tentacle seemed to freeze as Taylor slowly got to her knees before it suddenly disappeared.
The five stood there for a moment, frozen to their spots, before hurrying to Taylor's side, James making sure to have a safe distance between them, so that he would not accidentally do something that would reveal their relationship. "Are you alright?" Emily asked, crouching down beside her.
"I'm fine, I think," Taylor answered, rubbing her head as she transformed into a mermaid, "Nothing major."
"Thank god," Sarah whispered, "Thanks for saving me."
"Your arm!" Rachel suddenly exclaimed as she saw red drops fall to the ground. Blood. Indeed a long, nasty looking cut ran down Taylor's arm, where a piece of the faucet must have scratched her.
"We have to get that bandaged," James said, "Amber, dry her off." Amber was already on it, her fist balled towards Taylor's direction.
"I'll…," Emily began, but James interrupted, "I'll bandage her. You guys need to stay down here in case something happens." Emily thought for a moment and then nodded. "Can you stand?" James asked as Taylor regained her legs. Taylor nodded as she slowly got up and was then led off.
Upstairs in the bathroom James opened a cabinet and pulled out bandages. "It doesn't look that bad," he assured her as he placed gauze on the wound and then started wrapping it. In silence they just sat there for a moment. "Why did you save Sarah?" James finally asked.
"I don't know. It was a reflex," Taylor shrugged.
"Honestly...," James sighed as he finished tying the bandage, "I'm just glad you're alright." Then he kissed her, drawing her in.
"Oh my god," a whisper interrupted them. Startled they turned around to see Emily in the doorway.
"Emily, it's not what it looks like," Taylor said, getting up from her spot on the bathtub's edge.
"Really? So you were not just kissing my brother!" Emily yelled, making Taylor flinch, "How long?" The two remained silent. "How long?!" Emily demanded to know.
"We fell in love on the day that I arrived," Taylor admitted, weakly.
"I don't believe it. So you didn't just lie to me about James not knowing about your power, but that you're together," Emily concluded, angrily, "What else did you lie to me about?"
"Emily, I'm so…," Taylor began, but Emily interrupted, "Really? Cause it didn't look like you had any guilty conscious while you were kissing him." Taylor stared at the enraged Emily for a moment and then stormed past her, running downstairs.
James watched her and then walked past his sister. "Good job," he muttered sourly as he went into his room.
Sarah, Amber and Rachel, who had busied themselves by picking up the pieces of the faucet, looked up when Taylor stormed downstairs. "Taylor, are you alri…," Sarah began, but stopped when she saw Taylor hurry to the door, pull it open and leave.
"Taylor?" Amber asked, but the door was slammed shut.
"Oh no," Rachel muttered, realizing what had happened. The three just stood there, unsure of what to do.
A moment later Emily came down the stairs. "I don't believe it," Emily muttered, still angry.
"What happened?" Sarah asked, "Why did Taylor run away?"
"She is going out with James," Emily answered.
"What?" Amber questioned, astonished, "You're joking right?"
"She's been going out with James pretty much ever since she got here!" Emily yelled, "I can't believe her! She lied to me, to us, the whole time! She knows I hate lying. I want nothing to do with her anymore!"
"This is exactly why she didn't tell you," Rachel snapped, speaking up for the first time. Instantly the three mermaids' heads shot up to look at her.
"You knew?" Emily questioned, jumping towards Rachel.
"I found out by accident a while ago," Rachel answered, keeping her ground.
"How could you not tell me?" Emily inquired.
"You have to ask when you act like this? It wasn't my secret to tell," Rachel retorted, quoting her friend, "Taylor was scared that exactly this would happen, if she told you. She didn't want to put your friendship on the line. I'm going to go look for her. It's still dangerous out there. I would tell you to do the same, but you're stuck inside. I hope you use the time to think things through." With that Rachel turned on her heel and left.
Emily stared after her. "Do you think I overreacted?" she finally asked, softly as she slid down onto a chair.
"I think you might have been a bit too hard on her," Sarah rephrased it.
"I think Taylor should have to you either way," Amber objected. Emily looked from one of her friends to the other. It kind of felt like a devil and an angel that sat on her shoulder, whispering into her ear. With a sigh she rested her head in her hands.
"Taylor never had the intention of deceiving you," James said, suddenly appearing before her, "We first met by accident at the airport when she first arrived. We hit it off. When we found out who the other person really was Taylor wanted to break it off. She didn't want to risk your friendship." Emily looked at him as he told the story, her expression unreadable. "It was me who kept trying to get together with her," James continued, "Emily, I love her." With that he handed her the picture of Taylor that he had taken at the airport. Emily stared at it and then at him.
"You really love her?" she finally asked.
"More than I ever loved anyone else. I don't want anything to happen to her," James answered.
With a sigh Emily got up. "Then I can't get in your way," Emily smiled as she handed back the photograph and then turned to her friends, "Lets find her. I have someone to apologize to."
"I'll come with you," James volunteered.
"No, you can't," Emily objected as they walked to the door, "You have to stay here in case she comes back."
"But what about the full moon?" James protested.
"Taylor is more important than that. The full moon should be right overhead. If we keep our heads low, we won't have a problem," Emily retorted as she pulled her hood over her head, the other two following suit. With a wave the three left.
Outside Emily pulled her phone from her jacket and dialed Rachel's number. When she picked up, Emily asked, "Rachel, have you found Taylor yet?"
"So you got over your tantrum?" Rachel smiled, "No, sadly I haven't. Are you outside?"
"Yeah, just by my house, but I doubt we'll be of much use. We're like blind mice," Emily replied, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground.
"Get back inside. I have an idea where she might be. I promise I'll bring her to you," Rachel told them.
"No, I wan…," Emily began, but suddenly only heard a scream and a moment later the line was dead.
"Emily? Emily!" Rachel exclaimed, but there was no reply, "Damn it." She picked up speed, now sprinting to the spot where, hopefully, she would find Taylor.
Meanwhile Taylor had ended up on the beach, just staring out at the dark ocean. Thousands of stars shown down on her, but it didn't interest her today. The words that Emily had said still echoed in her head. Maybe she should have told her earlier, but would the reaction have been different? Taylor could only guess. It hurt being accused of lying to her so many times, but it hurt even more knowing that it was true. How she wished she could just come clean. Wouldn't that however cause even more hatred towards her?
Feeling watched, Taylor's head shot up. Something was out in the ocean. Squinting her eyes, she tried to figure out what it was. "Taylor!" a voice exclaimed, making her look away. It was Rachel. "So you were here," the brunette said out of breath.
"How did you find me?" Taylor asked, surprised.
"I know you," Rachel smiled, but then it quickly disappeared, "We have to hurry. Something has happened to the others."
"What?!" Taylor exclaimed as she jumped up. No matter how hurt she felt by Emily, how mad she might be at her, Taylor could not and would not allow a friend to get hurt. She hurried after Rachel, looking over her shoulder to the ocean one last time, but nothing was there.
Nearing Emily's house the two girls could see a small dome of water being continuously being assaulted by a tentacle. Inside the dome Emily, Amber and Sarah cowered, the strain of keeping the shield up was clearly taking a toll on Sarah. Rachel and Taylor could tell that the shield wouldn't last much longer. "Hey!" Taylor yelled, "Pick on someone your own size!" Instantly it let off on its attack and turned to her. In unison the two raised their hands and activated their power, ice and solidifying respectively. Slowly the tentacle was being iced over, turning hard.
Suddenly it shook itself, blasting all the frozen bits off, and then disappeared. They just stood there for a moment and then hurried to the three mermaids. "Are you alright?" they asked as an exhausted Sarah dropped the shield.
"We're fine," Amber replied, "Lets get inside first." Building a human chain the two led the rest to Emily's house.
Inside they sank to the ground. Finally Emily looked at Taylor and asked, "Why?"
"I couldn't let you get hurt," Taylor answered.
"But all that stuff I said to you," Emily objected.
"You were upset. I understand," Taylor retorted, "I know it wasn't right of me to lie to you, but what else should I have done?"
"I honestly don't know," Emily whispered, "I'm sorry for everything I said."
"Sorry? What should you be sorry for? You went outside during a full moon to find me, if that doesn't prove something what does?" Taylor retorted, "It should be me apologizing. If I hadn't run away, you wouldn't have gotten into such danger."
"Okay, how about you agree that you're both sorry," Amber butted in, tired of the sorry festival.
"Anyway if my brother loves you and you love my brother then go ahead. I can't stand between you," Emily told Taylor with a smile.
Taylor stared at Emily. She hadn't expected that. "Really?" she asked, stammering a bit. Emily nodded.
Just then James appeared in the hall. "Thank god you're alright," he said.
Taylor looked from Emily to James and then suddenly jumped up and kissed him. "Okay, that I don't need to see," Emily interrupted them and everyone burst out laughing. Taylor smiled up at James in his arms.
A/N: Now all the secrets are out. No more hidden lovers or untold powers. We could end the story here, if it wasn't for their attack still on the loose. Will their hunter make a mistake or will the girls continue to be the hunted? Please review.