Hey guys! I am SO sorry it's taken me so long to update, life has been a little hectic. Thanks to everyone who is still reading, I really appreciate all of the messages and reviews. Hope you are all well! This chapter is short but the next one will be longer! :)
The drive was a short one but it seemed to stretch on for hours in the awkward vehicle. Cole sat, tucked in tightly between Will and Zane. Lewis, Cleo, and Bella sat silently together in the back row and Rikki rode shotgun next to Laurie up front.
Laurie pulled the SUV smoothly up next to Will's boat shed. It was close enough to the water for Cleo and Cole to make it straight to the water without attracting any attention.
Cleo stumbled clumsily out of the vehicle. She turned, waiting for Cole to join her.
Cole peered out nervously from the car. "Are you sure no one's watching?" He stammered.
"Yes, at least for the moment." Cleo answered impatiently. "But we probably shouldn't hang out too long, reporters could come by at any moment. Come on."
"Hey, Cleo," Lewis pushed his head through the doorway. "Are you sure I can't go with you two? I mean, I could meet you out there, maybe I can help some way-"
"Lewis," Cleo interrupted him gently. "Thank you, really, but we won't be long. I'm ok."
"Fine." Lewis's face darkened. He placed a hand on Cole's back and shoved him roughly out of the vehicle. "You two have fun."
Cleo hurried to the car. "Lewis, I-" She began.
Lewis slammed the car door shut with a sharp finality, not waiting for Cleo to finish her sentence.
Cleo closed her eyes briefly, letting out a long sigh. She desperately hoped that one day Lewis would understand why she felt she had to help Cole. She waved to Laurie, indicating for him to pull away, leaving them there alone. Cleo figured that if the paparazzi should come snooping at Will's house it would be a good idea for there to be no car parked outside.
"Ok." Cleo walked briskly to the wooden dock as the SUV disappeared down the road. "Jump in."
Cole looked longingly after the vehicle, wishing he were still seated inside it. "Uh, what?" He finally turned to face Cleo.
"Jump in." Cleo repeated, stepping aside and clearly waiting for Cole to dive off the dock.
Cole meekly stepped up to the edge and peered uneasily into the sparkling water. He gave himself a quick mental pep talk and tried to force himself to move, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to jump.
"I- I can't." He stammered, "I can't do it."
"Yes you can." Cleo stood beside him. "Just jump. It won't be any different from the other times you've changed."
"But I've only changed once." Cole panicked, his eyes slightly wild. "I'm not ready to do it again."
"Once?" Cleo's said in disbelief. "Listen, Cole, you're going to have to change again. Now, in fact." Her eyes darted up to the road. No reporters had appeared yet, but they could show at anytime looking for an interview with Will. Cleo nudged Cole gently toward the edge of the dock.
Cole broke out into a cold sweat. "Can we do this later? Maybe next week?"
"No Cole, now." Cleo said firmly. "Either you jump in or you're getting pushed." She placed a threatening hand on the small of Cole's back.
"Wait, don't push me." Cole darted backwards several feet. "Don't push."
"Ok." Cleo's tone softened slightly. "I'm not going to push you." Her eyes drifted over to Will's boat shed. "Come on." She hurried to the front door followed by a very reluctant Cole.
Cleo quickly located Will's spare key and let them inside, locking the door tightly behind them.
"Why are we in here?" Cole looked around in awe, mesmerized by all of Will's marine paraphernalia.
Cleo walked wordlessly to the sink and carefully filled a plastic yellow bowl with water. She carried the bowl carefully over to Cole, who backed away anxiously. With a sigh, Cleo set the bowl on the counter and put her hands on her hips.
"Ok, Cole." She said confidently. "We can either do this in here once and then swim to Mako or I can toss this water on you, drag you off the dock, and drag you behind me til we get there." Cleo took Cole's wrist firmly in her hands. "Your call."
Cole eyed the bowl of water uneasily. "I... just touch it?"
"Yep." Cleo grinned. "Three... two... one...-" Her voice trailed off as she tightened her grip on Cole's wrist.
Cole squeezed his eyes shut tightly and thrust his hand into the bowl of water. Cleo jumped backwards a bit as water splashed out onto the floor. Cole yanked his hand out of the water as fast as he could manage. He hastily checked himself up and down, running his hands all over himself. His eyes widened with joy as he spun around to face Cleo.
"I'm alright!" He shouted gleefully. "I-... I'm not changing!"
"Cole... you should really sit down..." Cleo counted to ten slowly in her head. "Or it's really going to hurt when you-"
Cole's face froze. He fell to the floor with a plop as a long tail unfurled behind him.
"-Fall." Cleo finished, crouching on the floor next to Cole. "It takes ten seconds for the change to happen."
"Damn it." Cole muttered as he flipped himself over to lay on his back. He took in the changes to his appearance, flipping the tail gently from side to side. "I guess I thought... maybe..." His voice drifted off.
"I used to feel the same way." Cleo spoke up. "No such luck."
"Yeah." Cole stared straight ahead."
"Well," Cleo stood and held a hand out towards Cole, twisting it gently. The water clinging to him instantly flew off and back into the yellow bowl. A second later Cole's legs reappeared. "How did you do that?" Cole gazed up at Cleo in amazement.
"I guess you didn't get all the info you needed from Laurie's research, huh?" Cleo extended a hand to Cole and helped him to his feet. "WE figured it was best not to go public with the fact that we have powers."
"No kidding, powers?" For the first time Cole looked interested.
"Yup." Cleo nodded. "Now come on. We're all warmed up and ready to go now, yeah?"
"So... we're swimming now? All the way to Mako Island?" Cole followed Cleo outside, tripping over his feet as he walked.
"Exactly." Cleo said confidently, marching right up to the edge of the dock.
"But I can't swim as a merman ." Cole freaked out slightly.
"Yes you can." Cleo said patiently. "Now are you going to jump or am I going to have to push you?"
"I'm going to jump." Cole said, completely focused. Impulsively, he reached for Cleo's hand and squeezed it tightly in his.
Barely a second later he jumped off the dock, pulling Cleo into the water with him.
Cleo took a moment to herself to enjoy the cool rush as the water overtook her. She changed forms a seconds later. Then, she almost gasped in pain as Cole's grip on her hand tightly into a vice-like clench. Cole had changed as well and he was floundering as he tried to steady himself.
Hesitantly, Cleo reached out under the water and took Cole's other hand in hers. The pair locked eyes instantly and a few seconds later Cole could feel himself relaxing. Cleo flicked her tail a few times and brought the pair to the surface.
"You've got this." Cleo said firmly, as if she were teaching a child.
Cole nodded, rubbing his thumbs gently over Cleo's knuckles. Hesitantly, he leaned in for a kiss.
"Hey now." Cleo pulled away from him roughly. "I'm helping you, don't you dare try to make this more than it is."
"I'm sorry." Cole's face flushed.
"Good." Cleo nodded. "Now follow me."
Cleo dove under the waves and headed toward the familiar island, making sure Cole stayed close behind her. Minutes later, the pair surfaced in the moon pool.
"So what now?" Cole looked to Cleo, waiting to be given direction.
"First we dry off." Cleo hoisted herself out onto the edge of the pool and held one hand out over her fin. A second later she stood and walked to Cole, who hand finally managed to pull himself out of the water. Cleo dried him quickly and gestured for him to stand.
"Ok, and now?" Cole waited impatiently for his next instruction.
"I think now we have to figure out what your power is." Cleo decided. "We don't want you to accidentally discover it in front of a camera or anything."
"Fair enough." Cole nodded. "And how do we figure out what my power is?"
"Ours were all discovered by accident." Cleo explained. "So I guess we just try a few different things until we figure yours out." She smiled. "And then I'm heading home to Lewis."
"That soon?" Cole pleaded.
"Cole, I only promised you one hour." Cleo checked her watch. "And that'll be up in... about ten minutes. I don't mind spending a little extra time, but then I'll be going home."
"Ok." Cole muttered reluctantly. "So how do we figure this out? My power, I mean."
"Start by holding your hand out over the water." Cleo suggested.
Cole obeyed her.
"Okay, do you feel anything? With the water?" Cleo crouched down beside him on the sand.
"Kind of." Cole said, unsure. He rolled his hand back and forth over the water. Suddenly he pulled back and shot his hand forward as if he were throwing a baseball. A fast one.
A grapefruit sized ball of water flew up from the pool and shot at the wall of the cavern with incredible force, shattering a piece of the rock.
"Whoa." Cleo and Cole murmured in unison.
Cleo turned to look at Cole, her eyes wide. "Um, wow." She laughed nervously. "Did you, um, do that on purpose?"
"Not really, no." Cole seemed shocked. "It just kinda... happened."
"I see." Cleo said uneasily. "Well, why don't you just try it again."
Cole repeated the motion. Once again, water shot at the wall of the cave, this time landing with even more force. Cole shook his hand, looking at Cleo with a smile. "I guess we figured out what my power is, huh?"
"Yeah." Cleo couldn't look away from the cannon ball sized broken chunk of rock that had been broken. "I think it's a good idea if we don't let the press find out about this one."