Hey guys! You're long lost author here! I am sooo sorry for not updating in weeks, but, you know, life happens! Plus, I've been working on some other fictionpress stories, and I wasn't getting enough love to satisfy me! But, because I'm nice, (and having writers block for other stories) I decided to update. I'll try to update every two weeks, so keep the encouragement coming!

Just to refresh your memory, Bethany is avoiding Alex and she and Thalia are in the moon pool, and Bethany just showed Thalia her power, and Thalia is trying to discover hers. Amanda is still stuck at home, but with her new power to freeze. Noelle is on her way to the moon pool in search of the others.

POV: Thalia

I slowly curved my fingers outward, in a circular shape. I don't know why I was doing it. It was sorta like the first time I changed, and I knew it had something to do with Swallow's Cove. I rotated my wrist. And the water beneath my hand moved. It moved! It followed my hand! Shocked, I glanced over at Bethany. Her red hair stuck in wet clumps to her neck, but she was grinning.

"Wow" She whispered in a hushed voice. "That's cool." I fought a grin of my own, but lost. The water followed my hand, my every move.

"Uh, how do I stop?" I asked nervously. Bethany shrugged.

"I dunno, just relax your hand, I guess." I followed her instructions and curled my hand into a fist. The water in the air splashed back into the pool. We exchanged looks of awe.

"This is…" I began.

"Too cool for words." Bethany finished. "I thought just having a tail was cool, but powers too? This is beyond awesome." She bubbled.

"I've never heard you say so much in one sentence." I joked.

"Oh yeah?" She challenged. "More than you!" She said teasingly.

"So what about the others? We need to find Amanda and Noelle." At that precise moment, Noelle emerged from the surrounding ocean. "Talk about good timing." I muttered.

"I am sooo glad I found you guys here! You will never ever guess what happened to me, and you won't believe it!" Noelle gushed.

"Oh really?" Bethany said playfully, "try me." With a not-so-poker face, she clenched her fist, and instantly, the water in the moon pool felt like a hot tub. Noelle's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"You're kidding!" She shrieked.

"Nope!" I said, and with that, demonstrated my new power by attempting to splash in the face. "Guess I need some more practice, huh." I said, when it didn't go so well.

"What were you gonna tell us?" Bethany asked, oh-so-innocently. Noelle dimpled, and oozing confidence, pulled her fingers together. Suddenly, the water we were submerged in turned to jelly. This time, my mouth dropped in surprise. I turned to Bethany, who shared the expression. "That's not all!" Thalia said, and repeated the gesture. The water hardened to a weird glassy substance.

"Noelle, now we're stuck here!" I wailed. But, with a laugh, she did the fingers thing again, the water turned into water again.

"Isn't this cool!" Noelle cried, beaming. "We HAVE to find Amanda." _

Noelle, Bethany, and I walked towards the bookstore in search of Amanda. We'd tried her house, but no one had answered the door. It felt strange, walking with…friends. But it felt, well, nice. I hadn't ever really had any before. Noelle chattered happily about out new-found powers, lowering her voice or changing the subject whenever we passed someone.

"I wonder if Amanda's found her power yet." She said. "I wonder what it is. I haven't seen her for a few days. I don't know why." I offered up a shrug, and Noelle proceeded to talk about a boy she met named Christian. I hadn't told any of them about rescuing Ryan, or that other boy, come to think of it. Unconsciously, I bit my lip. I'd never kissed anyone before, well except for Ryan. You didn't actually kiss him. You just…touched lips with him. I snorted inwardly. Yeah, like that's not kissing him. You had your first kiss, and the boy wasn't even awake to realize. I bit my lip harder. I didn't actually kiss him! I just…I guess I did kiss him. But it doesn't count. Or does it? I gave up, and focused on Noelle's conversation with Bethany.

"So do you guys have history?" Noelle asked.

"Who, me and Alex?" Bethany said, rather nervously. "We've just always been friends." She furrowed her brow. "But he moved away so his family could take care of his grandfather, and now he's back, and I just…I don't know. I ran into him today, and things had just changed so much, I was so confused!"

"Hey, that's the second time I've ever heard you say that much!" I joked. Bethany playfully swatted my arm.

"I'd like to hear you say that much about something."

"Yeah, come on Thal, tell us something!" Noelle chimed in.

"Um, okay. What should I talk about?" I asked, feeling awkward.

"Boys, what else!" Noelle said happily.

"Oh, look, there's the bookstore." Bethany said, and hurried towards it. Saved by the book store. Noelle and I followed her. The bright sunshine and faintly salty air faded, and was replaced by the dimly lit, crowded bookstore, and the musty smell of books. Amanda was the only one there, behind the register. Her feet had been propped up on the desk, but she had hastily dropped them at the sound of the door.

"Hi, Amanda!" Noelle bubbled. "We haven't seen you in forever." Amanda jumped to her feet.

"I can't believe you guys are here! I've been grounded, and practically dying of loneliness!"

"Are we your only friends? What about all those kids you hang out with at school?" Bethany commented, an air of almost bitterness had suddenly replaced her earlier openness. Amanda just waved it off with a toss of blonde hair.

"Oh them, nah, they aren't nothing special. I only hung out with them because I didn't know who else to hang out with. Besides, they aren't mermaids like you guys!" She looped her arm around Noelle's neck. "Guess what! You will never believe what happed! Watch!" She dug a half empty water bottle out of her bag, and set it on the desk. Noelle, Bethany and I exchanged knowing looks. Amanda pointed her palm at the bottle, and it froze.

"Isn't that cool?" She shrieked excitedly. In response, Bethany clenched my fist at the bottle, and the ice melted and steamed. She gave Amanda a smug smile. I nudged Noelle and she jelly-fied the water, and then hardened it. She gave us a triumphant glance. I reached for the bottle and unscrewed the lid. I took a step back, and pulled a small glob of water out.

"Watch this." I said, and with a little too much confidence, I guided the water towards my lips, intending to drink it. Lips. You've kissed Ryan. At that moment, my concentration broke, as did the water glob. The four of us were showered with droplets.

"Thalia!" Amanda wailed, as we plummeted to the carpet and dissolved into giggles.

Aww, cute cliché ending there! Okay, so finally getting to the plot! I introduced at least two plot twists, could you tell? I'm pretty sure I'll start writing in third person, as un author-ly as it is. RosemaryAlysse and DeGuddi, where have you guys been? I miss you two! Hope to hear from you guys, and anyone else who's reading this.

See you in two weeks!