To all of you wonderful and loyal readers, thank you so much for bearing with me. I've moved, been in and out of the hospital, and been busy with all kinds of things that have kept me too busy to update. But I make you a promise! This story will be wrapped up by the end of this month! We've got a long way to go, lots of chapters, so my goal is to get a couple up a week. Thank you so much for your patience, I truly hope this story is worth the wait!
The next few days passed by far too quickly for Rikki. She and her friends had agreed to have as much fun as possible during their remaining days in Florida, and that's exactly what they'd done. They spent nights laughing and watching movies, and the tension in the group eased considerably. Several times, Bella and Cleo tried to convince Rikki to talk to them about Denman, but Rikki refused. She insisted they not worry. She was handling Denman on her own.
Before anyone could be completely ready, the day arrived when her friends were to fly back to Australia. They walked together into the school, oddly silent for the first time in days. The school day seemed to be going by far too quickly already. The bell rang, sending the group hurrying to their first class.
"Is Rikki Chadwick in this class?" A small freshman girl poked her head into the classroom.
"Yes." The teacher walked to the door, taking the note the girl held out. Wordlessly, she brought it to Rikki and placed it on her desk.
'Meet me at 4pm at the university practice pool. Plan on staying at lease an hour, lots of data to collect. Dr. Denman.'
Rikki sighed as she crumpled the note into a ball and shoved it into her pocket. She would barely have enough time to get to the airport and back before she had to be at the pool.
"Hey!" Cleo whispered. "What was that about?" She nodded towards the desk.
"Nothing." Rikki whispered back. "Just from Mags." She felt guilty as she told the lie, but she couldn't bring herself to make Cleo's day even worse by telling her it was from Denman.
It would be fine. Rikki could see her friends to the airport as soon as school ended. The airport was only a few minutes away, she shouldn't have any trouble making it on time for her first meeting with Denman. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she questioned her decision once again. She still felt she'd made the right choice.
The ride to the airport was quiet. No one quite knew what to say as the car pulled to a stop in front of the terminal.
"I... I can't thank you guys enough for coming." Rikki managed to speak. "You don't know how much I appreciate it."
"Don't be silly." Bella pulled Rikki in for a bone crushing hug.
"We're going to miss you so much!" Cleo through her arms around both of them, squeezing them tightly.
Lewis stepped in next. "I'm sorry we didn't find more answers." He ran his hand through his blonde hair as he shook his head.
"No, you guys figured out more than I ever would have." Rikki hushed him. "And I'm going to continue running experiments."
"Just make sure you have someone to work with." Lewis reminded her. "You'll want someone with you to help you test it, and to make sure nothing goes wrong."
"I'll help her." Hadley stepped forward.
Rikki's stomach clenched uncomfortably as the boys talked about the blue stone. She couldn't help but think about how terribly she missed Nick, and how much she wished he was there. They hadn't spoken a word to one another in several days. Nick took care to avoid her in class, only speaking to her when he absolutely had to. Once, Rikki had tried to start a conversation with him, but she'd been shut down before she could get three words out.
Cleo seemed to be reading Rikki's mind. "Hey." She pulled on Rikki's elbow. "Tell Nick we said goodbye, alright?"
"Sure thing." Rikki nodded.
Cleo started to walk away, but paused and turned back to Rikki. "You know." She spoke quietly. "Lewis and I overthought our relationship." She swallowed before continuing. "We were worried that dating would ruin our friendship. But here we are, years later, and I've never been so happy."
"That's great." Rikki said dryly.
"Listen." Cleo's eyes darted over towards Hadley and Lewis. "All I'm saying is that I can see the way Nick looks at you. I don't know exactly what's been making him keep away, but I hope it doesn't last forever."
"Thank you." Rikki held Cleo tightly for a bit longer before stepping back to wave as Bella, Will, Lewis, and Cleo walked down the ramp towards the boarding area.
Zane let out a long exhale as he watched the rest of the group disappear inside. "I wish they could have stayed." He muttered.
"So do I." Rikki nodded, trying to retain her composure.
"Mind if we take a moment?" Zane shot Hadley a pointed look.
Hadley raised his eyebrows before reluctantly moving away. Rikki turned to Zane, a curious look on her face.
"I'm going back as well." Zane said quickly. "Tomorrow."
"Oh." Rikki couldn't hide her surprise. "I didn't know."
"Neither did I, not until today." Zane shoved his hands in his pockets. "Listen, Rikki, you know I still love you."
Rikki looked down at her feet, not wanting to have this conversation. "Zane..."
Zane held up one hand, silencing her. "We've been through a lot together. A lot." He lowered his voice. "I've kept your secret. And I'll never tell it." He looked deeply into Rikki's eyes, seeming as if he were holding back exactly what he wanted to say. "I need to go back home. And so do you." His eyes flickered in Hadley's direction. "You've made... friends here."
"Zane, you don't need to go." Rikki tried to speak but Zane hushed her once again.
"I need to get back home, back to work. I hope that you'll come back soon as well. I'll be there waiting for you." Zane took one of Rikki's hands tightly in his. "My flight leaves tomorrow morning. Once you get done with all of this madness maybe we'll be able to be together again."
"Maybe." Rikki tried to feel the same spark of excitement she had once felt every time she looked at Zane, but it was oddly missing. Instead, she pulled him in for a tight hug.
"All done here?" Hadley walked back towards them, frowning as he looked at the expression on Rikki's face.
"Yup, all done." Rikki took a step back and turned to walk out towards the parking lot.
Rikki took a deep breath as she opened the door at the practice pool. She didn't know exactly what to expect, and she was more than a little nervous. Still, she felt this was the right way to handle things. The contract was iron clad. If Denman violated it she would be in legal trouble for the next several years.
"Right on time." Denman's cool voice echoed off the walls as she walked towards Rikki.
"You said four oclock." Rikki crossed her arms over her chest.
"And here you are." Denman pulled a clipboard from her case and made a quick note. "All right." She nodded towards the water. "Stand over there."
"What are you doing first?" Rikki couldn't help but ask.
"Rikki, today we'll be monitoring your change from human to mermaid." Denman spoke into a digital recorder. "I want you to sit right on the edge, with your legs out straight in front of you."
Rikki obeyed, keeping her eyes peeled for a camera or other type of video recording device, but she didn't see anything other than the research equipment.
"Alright." Denman crouched beside her, setting up a large piece of equipment right over Rikki's knees. "This will take a high resolution image as you change. She unceremoniously splashed pool water onto Rikki's legs, peering through the lens in the machine as Rikki's tail appeared ten seconds later. She took several long seconds to write in her notebook before looking up. "Now dry." She commanded.
Rikki rolled her eyes as she did what Denman said. A few seconds later she was once again sitting with her two legs extended in front of her. "Now what?" She asked.
"Again." Was all Denman answered.
Rikki was exhausted by the time she left the training pool. Denman had done nothing but record her changing, over and over and over again. Rikki felt drained, as if she'd just finished running a marathon. She hadn't known she could be this exhausted simply from using her powers, but it looked like it took a lot out of her body.
Rikki unlocked her front door, breathing in the heavenly aroma of whatever Mags was cooking for dinner. She found her Aunt in the kitchen stirring a pot of something on the stove.
"What's for dinner?" Rikki dropped into a chair at the kitchen table.
Mags jumped, clearly unaware that Rikki had entered the room until that moment. "Rikki!" Her voice sounded a bit strained. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in." She took a step towards the table, but stopped quick. "I'm making chicken noodle soup." Suddenly her face twisted into ann odd expression. "I forget, is that something you can eat?"
Rikki sighed. Mags had been acting weird ever since Hadley had told her Rikki's secret. She was constantly asking questions, and she spent most of her free time either out of the house or shut up in her room. Try as she might, Rikki couldn't convince her that she was still the same old Rikki Chadwick she'd always been, but Mags never seemed to hear her. Life at teh house was strained, with Mags sometimes pretending everything was absolutely fine, and sometimes treated Rikki as if she had an infectious desease. It looked like today was an infectious disease day.
"Of course I can eat soup." Rikki said with a smile, though her heart felt like it was sinking. "I can do everything you can do."
"Except the dishes." Mags turned back to the stove. "Or shower. Or, oh my, Rikki, how will you ever dye your hair? Or tye dye a shirt? Or-"
"That's a funny story, actually." Rikki forced herself to sound chipper. "You know, my friend Emma tried to dye her hair once, it was the weirdest thing, everytime she changed-"
"Another mermaid." Mags cut her off.
"Yes, but-" Rikki realized she shouldn't have brought up the others.
"You know, I think I'll get some work done before bed." Mags looked distracted as she edged out of the room, pausing by the door. "Huge case tomorrow." And with that, she was gone.
Rikki listened to her Aunt's footsteps as the disappeared up the stairs.
The next day came far too quickly for Rikki. She laid in bed for a long time before finally pulling herself to her feet. As had become the norm, Mags was already long gone by the time Rikki made it downstairs. It felt like her first day of school in America all over again. No friends, no one to talk to.
A note was delivered to her as soon as she walked into her first class of the day. She was to meet with Denman again today, this time right after school.
The day crawled by, and it seemed ages later when Rikki finally sat down in her last class of the day, Hadley's. Hadley had been acting slightly strange ever since her friends had arrived, but Rikki just chalked that up to Zane's presence in the group.
Zane.
Rikki's eye's darted up to the clock. Zane's plane had left an hour ago, pointed back towards Australia. Rikki waited to feel pain, or lonliness at his leaving, but the feelings never came.
"Enjoy your free time while you have it." Denman remarked as she made a note in her folder. "I'm scheduled to have a meeting with the head marine researcher of this university in two days. After that the secret will officially be out."
"But not my name." Rikki said quickly.
"Or your face, I know." Denman raised an eyebrow as she continued writing. "I do know our terms, Rikki."
"Just making sure." Rikki swam in a circle, keeping an eye on the doctor. Two days. She hadn't realized Denman would be taking her information public quite so quickly, she'd thought she would have more time to test the blue stone and form a more solid plan of action. A new idea crosssed her mind. "You know..." Rikki said slowly, carefully watching Denman's expression. "The full moon will be here in a week or so."
Denman visibly stiffened at Rikki's words. She knew that the full moon had a certain effect on the mermaids, though she'd never been told exactly what it was. "Will it?" She tried to sound casual.
"Yes." Rikki could tell she'd gotten her attention. "I have a proposition for you."
"I'm listening." Denman set her pencil down and gave Rikki her full attention.
"Don't go to your meeting with the marine biologist. Not yet." Rikki said calmly. "Wait until after the full moon. I can show you things you''ve never seen before, you'll have even more material to show around."
Denman shook her head. "Sorry, Chadwick. You're not talking me out of anything."
"And I'm not trying to!" Rikki rested on her elbows at the edge of the pool. "You can still meet with him, just wait until after the full moon."
"And what exactly will you be showing me? " Denman crossed her arms over her chest. "You'll have to convince me it's worth the wait."
"Oh, it is." Rikki nodded, closing her eyes. "But I can only show you on the full moon."
Denman's eyes narrowed as she examined Rikki. The only sound in the room was the lapping of the pool water on the edge of the concrete. It seemed to be an eternity before she finally opened her mouth. "Alright. But it better be worth it."
Rikki swallowed her argument in her throat. She'd been more than ready to have to argue, to really beg Denman to wait til the moon, but she'd agreed relatively easily. In fact, Rikki frowned slightly, this all seemed to be far too easy. She watched as Denman packed her bag, tucking her notes into the front folder and zipping it up tightly.
The drive home was long and slow. Rikki couldn't seem to rid herself of the feeling of being completely alone. More than ever, she missed her friends. She'd gotten so used to seeing them everyday, it was a fresh new pain to miss them again. Rikki picked up her phone, trying to convince herself to call Hadley. Try as she might, she couldn't make herself dial the number.
It was late, around ten o'clock, when the doorbell rang. Rikki had already put on her pajamas and was getting ready to climb into bed when she heard the chime.
"Who could that be?" She asked herself. Mags hadn't come home yet, maybe she'd forgotten her key?
Rikki pulled the door open, surprised to see the familiar face waiting on the other side. "What are you doing here?"
Nick didn't look happy to see her, he just held out the box he was holding. "Case studies." Was all he answered.
"Thanks." Rikki grabbed the box from him, not in the mood to deal with his moodiness. "Is that all?" Her voice cracked slightly, against her will, as she said the words.
"That's all." Nick's eyes seemed to linger on Rikki's for a moment.
Rikki didn't wait for him to say anything else. Seeing him was just too painful a reminder of how much she missed him. She slammed the door closed, dropping the box of case studies on the floor beside it.
Completely against her will, Rikki felt herself become overwhelmed with lonliness. She missed Nick, almost more than she missed her friends. She missed his no-nonsense attitude and his dry humor. She missed being able to talk to him about the things going on in her life. Before she could stop herself, her hand flew to the doorknob and she pulled the front door open, calling "Nick!"
She needn't have shouted. Nick stood right on the other side of the door, meer inches away from her. He had been leaning against the doorframe, but he now stood straight when he saw the look on Rikki's face. "Come here." He said quietly.
Rikki fell into his arms, grateful to be held by someone so strong. Within minutes they were up in her room. Nick listened patiently as Rikki unloaded, telling him everything about the last few weeks that he may have missed. She told him all about her contract with Denman, and how she hadn't told her friends about it. She told him more about what Lewis had discovered about the blue stone and how she might be able to use it. Then, haltingly, she told him about Zane leaving, and how she no longer felt like she was in love with him.
Rikki took a deep breath, willing herself to say the words she was thinking. "I miss you." She said finally, not looking into Nick's eyes as she spoke. "I know you don't want to be friends anymore... but I really miss you, Nick."
Nick's expression was thoughtful as he listened to her. "You're right. I don't want to be your friend anymore."
Rikki closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she listened. Then, with a deep breath and a mental pep talk, she forced a wry smile onto her face. "Thanks for listening and letting me vent. It's getting late, you should really be going." She pulled open her bedroom door and stood aside, clearly waiting for him to walk through it.
"Oh." Nick stood, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I mean, I think you misunderstand what I'm trying to say, I'm not good at this kind of thing."
"Nick..." Rikki gestured for him to leave, then dropped back onto the bed.
"Ok. Here it goes." Nick paused awkwardly in the doorway, turning back to face Rikki, his expression unreadable. "Listen, feel free to say no, I mean, I won't be offended or anything if you don't want to, but if I don't ask I'll hate myself..."
"Yes?" Rikki tilted her head to one side as she stood and took one step closer to Nick.
Nick took in a long breath. "Would you, I mean, do you think you'd consider... I don't know, going out with me sometime?" His eyes glued themselves to the floor as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
Rikki's heart leapt into her chest, but she forced her face to remain calm. "Go out?" She asked casually as she moved a little closer.
"On a date." Nick nodded, his face dead serious as his eyes pierced hers.
Rikki took one more small step towards him, letting a smile play at the corners of her mouth. "I think that's something I could handle." She answered lightly, hoping she appeared cool and collected.
"Good." Nick exhaled forcefully as he scuffed his feet on the carpet.
"But let's wait until after the full moon, ok?" Rikki heard herself jabbering. "I don't want to have anything else on my mind, especially not Linda Denman." She tried to hush herself, but her nervous energy was spilling out of her in the form of idle chatter. "Not that I'm not excited," She continued. "I mean, I'm not over excited or anythi-"
Nick wore an odly focused expression as he listened to her speak. Suddenly, without a word, he reached out and took Rikki's face in both of his warm hands. His skin felt slightly rough on her smooth face. Before she could respond, Nick pulled her close to him and pressed his lips onto hers. He released her a second later, looking deep into her eyes. "I don't just want to be your friend anymore."
Rikki smiled as he kissed her again. This time she completely understood.