Author: wow a third chapter in how many months? This sudden motivation has me wanting to make this the first fic I really finished. It definitely won't be as long as my Sunshine Kiss fic.
This chapter is super long. Super duper long. I wanted to squeeze this day at the beach in one chapter while including all sorts of bonding fun. I hope everyone will enjoy this long chapter as I had writing it.
A few review responses! I just love responding to these, okay? It's fun!
thesecret . writer: had to separate the words from the period because some reason it deleted it! Prollie cause I can't include links *shrug* Anyway, Emma is just imagining the worst case scenario. From Emma's point of view, Percy is really close with his mom (and he really canonically is) and she doesn't know what he'll do. And, when you think about it, it sounds like the likely thing Percy would do. He'd be like "you got demigods and mermaids in your family! how cool is that?"Sorta thing. Will he actually do it? Who knows! Hell, would Percy even find out Emma's secret?
TheOneandOnlyMe: very good point! Something I sorta rushed into writing so I didn't fully think it out initially, but here's my "reasoning" if you will: Percy usually always makes himself dry when in contact with water. He's done this so much so that he doesn't have to think about it anymore and it happens automatically. He's also incredibly powerful, and yeah, he's got those powers down, but something's bound to slip, right? Especially when something exciting is happening that really isn't fighting-related. Lewis, I feel, is an incredibly smart guy, but sometimes really dense too. He misses minor details sometimes. He really wasn't paying attention. He was sitting next to Annabeth, who he can't help but to find to be very pretty. Annabeth is pretty, nice, and smart, so he got a little captivated by her. As for Zane not noticing, he was being dense and stupid too, trying to find some personal flaws so Rikki can lose interest him, or so he thinks. But I will admit, I should have thought about that chapter a bit more too. Hope this is okay!
As always, thanks for reading! Please review!
-Spiz
Emma and Cleo simultaneously opened colorful beach towels and had the wind catch them to spread over the sand with ease. Slipping on a pair of sunglasses, Emma laid down on her towel. Cleo sat beside her on her towel.
"I wonder where Rikki went off to." Cleo said.
"She said something about meeting up with Zane. I think she invited him to the beach." Emma answered. Cleo nodded.
"And Lewis might be around here somewhere too..." Cleo muttered, looking around. She spotted three other familiar faces walking along. In that moment, the three people spotted Cleo and Emma, and jogged over.
"Emma!" Elliot called as he trotted to her side. He was dressed in his swim trunks and had goggles hanging around his neck. Emma sat up and removed her sunglasses. "I've been looking all over for you!"
"What's wrong? What are you doing here?" Emma asked. Following behind Elliot was Percy and Annabeth, also dressed in swim shorts and bikini respectively. Annabeth's blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Emma's face fell at the sight of the pair.
"Remember. Relax." Cleo whispered.
"Hey, Em!" Percy greeted cheerfully.
"Hi." Annabeth offered Cleo and Emma a smile, which was returned by both girls.
"I wanted to go bodyboarding today, but mum said I couldn't go alone. But you weren't home, and then Aunt Sally suggested I ask Percy so I had to wake him up, and he said he'll take me!" Elliot explained.
"Do you know how to bodyboard, Percy?" Emma asked skeptically.
"Yup! I'm great at it. And great at anything that involves swimming." Percy replied with a grin. "Which reminds me. We gotta race, Emma. Now that we're here at the beach, we can do it properly."
Emma smiled at him and remembered Lewis's idea.
"I don't think so." Emma said. Percy frowned. "I'm not swimming. But what if I gave you my best time and you race against that? We can do it when we get back and use the pool at the house. What do you say?"
"I really wanted to race against you! Not your time! It's more fun that way." Percy protested. "C'mon. Just one. Please? It'll only take a minute and then you'll be done!"
"No, Percy. I'm not swimming."
"You won't even get in the water?"
"She won't even touch it." Elliot chimed in. Emma shot him a glare.
"That's all behind me now, okay? I won't get in the water to race you and I won't get in the water for any other reason." Emma stated firmly.
Percy couldn't help but feel a little hurt. He loved the water and the ocean. It's in his blood. Literally. And to meet someone who hated swimming is like hating Poseidon, and that's like hating Percy. Okay, okay, that was a stretch and Percy knew it.
But still. Percy remembered when he did visit, Emma always swam. It was impossible to get her out of the water. And she was such a killjoy with her early bedtimes and strict diets because she took her swimming races so seriously. Emma used to tell Percy when they were little that someday she will be the greatest and fastest swimmer of all time. It was her dream to go to the Olympics and win the gold medal for swimming. That was the Emma Percy remembered.
So then why the sudden change?
"Okay, fine. I'll race against your best time, I guess." Percy said, defeated. Emma gave him a sympathetic look.
"Thanks for understanding."
"So you guys are going bodyboarding?" Cleo questioned, suddenly changing the subject. Immediately, Percy's expression lifted.
"Yeah! Percy said he would take me!" Elliot responded. "Can we go now? I can't wait to start!"
"Yeah, we can go now. Do you guys wanna come?" Percy offered. He already knew Emma's answer, so he kept his gaze fixed on Cleo.
"No thanks. I'm just going to lie here and relax." Emma said nonchalantly.
"I want to sunbathe a little, but thanks for the offer." Cleo explained. Percy looked at Annabeth.
"I think I'll stick around here, if that's okay." Annabeth glanced at Emma and Cleo, as if asking for permission. They gave her a slight nod. "Do you mind? I'll come join you after, but you two go have some fun."
"Alright. I'll see you guys around then." Percy and Elliot turned away to head further down the beach.
"Percy!" Emma called. Percy looked over his shoulder with a hopeful look. "Be careful! And watch out for Elliot and make sure he doesn't get hurt!"
"Don't worry! He'll be fine!" Percy reassured.
"Yeah, Em! I'll be fine! Watch me go out there!" Elliot added. Percy and Elliot exchanged grins and walked away.
"There was this one time I went bodyboarding," Elliot began with a kick to the sand. "There was this wave that knocked me off my board. I couldn't swim too good and the water was really deep! But then all of a sudden, Rikki was there! She showed up out of no where and brought my board to me. She had me get on it and then she pushed me to shore! She swam so fast! The fastest swimmer I've ever seen before!"
"Faster than Emma?" Percy asked.
"Yeah! It was amazing. Rikki is the coolest. She saved my life and I'll never forget that." Elliot said. "And then afterward, we went out for a bit but it didn't work out."
Percy almost laughed out loud but stopped himself before doing so. It was just the idea of someone as tough and outspoken like Rikki dating a young boy like Elliot seemed impossible.
"Yeah? You did?" Was the best Percy could come up with.
"Yeah. Well, kind of. I really wanted to, but she wasn't too interested in me so it didn't work out with us." Elliot paused and then looked up at Percy. "How'd you get Annabeth to be your girlfriend? How do you get girls to like you?"
Percy stopped in the sand. He stood motionless with a stupid expression because he was caught off guard. He asked himself almost everyday how a guy like him could be so lucky to have a girl as amazing as Annabeth. And now he's getting asked relationship advice? Percy loved Elliot and he was like a little brother, certainly more normal than Tyson, and wanted to look out for him as best as he could.
"Well, you see, kid," Percy said. "I've been asking myself that question everyday, to tell you the truth. It helps that Annabeth and I have known each other for a few years before we started going out. We're best friends. And I guess...I guess the only way to get girls to like you is to be yourself. Be honest. Always be honest because they know when you're lying. And don't be an idiot. Girls like it when you're smart, but don't do things you don't know how to do or will make you look stupid. And be nice to them and treat them right."
"I feel like I already do that and it's not enough, though." Elliot protested. Percy chuckled and put his arm around Elliot's shoulder.
"Elliot, you're still pretty young. I wasn't dating when I was your age. There's absolutely no hurry. Take your time. Enjoy these simple years now. Trust me, it gets crazy when you get to high school. So don't worry too much about getting girls to like you, okay? You're a catch and anybody would be lucky to have you as their boyfriend. But don't rush it." Percy explained. Elliot nodded.
"Thanks, Percy! You're much better at giving advice than Lewis, and he dated more girls than you!" Percy laughed.
"Thanks, I guess."
"Will you come back and visit me again?" Elliot suddenly asked.
"I don't know when my mom plans on coming back, but I hope so."
"That's good. I want to see you and Aunt Sally more often. Uncle Paul seems like a nice guy too. And Annabeth is really cool too. I wish you guys would move down here." Elliot admitted.
"Hey, I wish you guys would move up to New York with me." Percy countered playfully. "It's hard to see each other with having families live on opposite sides of the world, but I will promise you one thing: we'll definitely keep in touch."
"Really?"
"Definitely. I'll write you letters and call you and send you stuff from America."
"Wow! Cool! I'll send you stuff from here too!" Elliot said gleefully. Percy grinned.
"Now how about we hit those waves?"
"I hope it's okay with you guys if I join you." Annabeth said. She sat on the towel she brought and laid out on the sand.
"Of course. We're not into swimming that much." Cleo replied.
"Thanks. I wanted to give Percy some time to spend with Elliot and his family. I think Elliot seems to idolize him a bit." Annabeth suggested.
"Yeah, he probably does." Emma agreed with a laugh. "You think those two will be okay out there?"
"Percy's definitely not the brightest bulb, but he will never let anything happen to Elliot out there." Annabeth assured. "I truly believe there's no better person to be with him. Except for you, of course."
Emma smiled a little.
"Oh no." Cleo groaned. Emma faced the direction Cleo was looking. Lewis was walking barefoot in the surf, in his swim trunks, and holding hands with Charlotte dressed in a bikini.
"Great. He brought her here." Cleo grumbled.
"Who's that?" Annabeth asked.
"Charlotte." Cleo replied with obvious distaste in her mouth.
"She's Lewis's girlfriend."
Annabeth guessed Lewis was Cleo's ex-boyfriend, but decided against asking and bringing it up. Lewis spotted the girls, said something to Charlotte, and then the couple strolled towards them.
"Hey, guys!" Lewis greeted brightly. "Fancy seeing you here. How's it going?"
"Fine." Cleo muttered.
"Oh, sorry. Uh, Charlotte, this is Annabeth. Annabeth, this is Charlotte." Lewis introduced.
"Hi."
"Nice to meet you." Charlotte smiled, but then looked away from Annabeth. "Are you American?"
"As American as can be." Annabeth replied with a shrug.
"I used to live in America. I lived in California for a little while, but I never picked up the accent there." Charlotte informed.
"Oh, nice. I have family there. It's nice and sunny, kind of like how it is here."
"Yeah. Which is good. I'm not a fan of cold weather." Charlotte paused. "So what brings you to the Gold Coast?" She questioned, eyeing Emma and Cleo who were trying not to pay attention.
"I'm on family vacation. My boyfriend is Emma's cousin so we came out to visit."
"Is Percy here?" Lewis asked.
"He went bodyboarding with Elliot."
Lewis couldn't help but feel slightly relieved. He never liked it when Cleo spent time with guys other than himself, but he supposed he should work on getting over that.
"Shall we get going, Lewis?" Charlotte looped her arm with Lewis's like a vine.
"Well, we just came by to say hi. We'll be around." Lewis gave a small wave and then left.
"Don't trust her." Cleo warned. "She's evil and manipulative. She came onto Lewis when we were dating. We broke up for other reasons, but then she just swooped in and put him under her spell."
"Noted." Annabeth also noted that Cleo seemed the jealous type. Cleo was a sweet girl, but seemed protective of what was hers.
"Just relax, Cleo." Emma returned Cleo's words, giving her friend a look. Cleo ignored her and remained tense.
"This beach is great." Annabeth spoke up in eagerness to keep conversation light. "All the beaches seem amazing. Must be nice to live here."
"It is." Emma agreed.
"We come here all the time." Cleo added.
"You guys have beaches in New York, right?" Emma asked. Annabeth nodded.
"Yeah, but not as many as you guys do. Or as nice. If we had beaches like these, I'd be there every day. It's so relaxing." Annabeth replied as she ran her fingers through the soft white sand. "And there's lots of islands around too to visit, right?"
Emma and Cleo exchanged nervous glances.
"No, not really." Emma said. Annabeth furrowed her brows.
"Really? Elliot said there were. He told us that there was this one island called Mako that was nearby."
Emma's heart dropped in her stomach. Her throat dried and stopped any words from coming out. Quick, Emma, think. She can't give Annabeth or Percy any ideas.
"Well, Mako isn't a very good island." Cleo quickly said. "Nobody goes there."
"Mako is this really tiny island. Hardly has much to see there except a volcano that hasn't erupted in hundreds of years, but that's no sight either." Emma added. She hoped she didn't give too much away. "Besides, around the island is nesting areas for sharks. The sharks are everywhere and they're extremely territorial of their young. So nobody can even get near the island. Not that they would want to anyway."
Well, it's not like sharks would be a problem for Percy and I, Annabeth thought.
"If it's deserted, there must be a lot of wildlife there where no people can interfere." Annabeth suggested. Emma and Cleo internally groaned.
"No, not really. Maybe some mountain lions that could attack you, but there's not much there at all." Cleo said.
Wow, they really don't want me to go to Mako Island. Not like I've faced worse, Annabeth thought.
"It's just not safe. There are plenty of other things to do downtown. Like shopping or we can go to other beaches."
"Oh, okay. Yeah, I guess we can do that." Annabeth muttered. She's intrigued by Mako and wondered if Emma and Cleo were hiding something from her. It's not like the world is going to end if she goes to Mako anyway, right?
"Hey! You guys! Annabeth!" A voice called.
The three girls turned to see Percy waving from the ocean, sitting on his bodyboard that floated alongside Elliot's. Elliot waved too with a big grin on his face. The girls all chuckled and waved back at the two boys. Percy and Elliot started to paddle themselves away from the shore and closer to the waves.
"Listen, I'm going to walk around a bit. See more of the beach, if that's okay." Annabeth announced, standing up.
"Yeah, sure." Emma said.
"It's not like you need our permission anyway." Cleo added with a smile. Annabeth returned a small smile. She then turned and walked away. Emma and Cleo watched in silence.
"Okay, you did not tell me how good Percy looks in a bathing suit." Cleo quickly said once Annabeth was out of earshot.
"This is my cousin we're talking about. He must have been working out in the past four years I haven't seen him."
"Honestly, I don't think I've seen a hotter guy." Cleo admitted. "Except for Byron. And Ash. And you got both of those guys. And now your cousin...I wish I could attract guys like you do."
"Byron moved away. Ash is my boyfriend. And Percy is my cousin who lives in New York."
"I know. It's not fair." Cleo whined. Emma and Cleo giggled.
"Cleo, you're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever met. On the inside and out. I'm lucky to call you my best friend and I know any guy would be lucky to have you."
Emma had to admit, she couldn't help but wonder if Percy has been working out. It has been four years after all, and he just looks so different. He didn't seem the type to be into sports, but Emma guessed he could have changed. She had, after all. But she's happy if Percy is healthy, even if he used to tease her about staying fit when they were kids.
"I think I'm going to take a walk too, if you don't mind, Em." Cleo stood up. "Maybe I can find Rikki around here."
"Sure. Go ahead." Emma assured. "I'm just going to lie here and try to get some sun."
"Alright. See you around, Em."
"So I was thinking," Rikki said. She was dressed in a bikini, walking through the sand with her hand linked with Zane's. "Maybe we could head up to Mako later today."
"Just the two of us?" Zane asked. Rikki smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. It'll be private. Cleo and Lewis broke up. Ash doesn't know our secret so it's not like Emma will be meeting him there anytime soon. So I thought maybe that could be our private spot. We don't have to worry about either of our dads or anything." Rikki explained. Zane stopped and pressed a kiss against Rikki's lips.
"I think that is a great idea." Zane said. Rikki grinned and kissed him. It was brief, because she heard someone making a noise nearby. With a scowl, Rikki turned to see Nate, shirtless in swim trunks, trying to impress people walking around.
"Ugh. Why did you bring him here?" Rikki asked.
"He invited himself. And he's not that bad." Zane protested.
"He's harassing the girls again."
"He's just trying to impress them."
"With his fake martial arts?"
Rikki and Zane said nothing and watched Nate practice his martial arts, complete with his own dramatic sound effects.
"Hey, I think that's Annabeth." Rikki observed. Annabeth happened to be strolling past Nate, a few meters away from Rikki and Zane.
"Hey, blondie!" Nate called to Annabeth. Annabeth turned to face him.
"Don't call me that."
"Hey, you're a hot babe and got an American accent there! Nice! You must be new. I'm Nate." Nate stepped forward and took Annabeth's hand in his.
"Don't touch me, Nate." Annabeth commanded, pulling her hand away. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"How about I show you around? Maybe you and I can grab a bite to eat for dinner? Your treat, of course. Or maybe I can show you some of my amazing moves?"
"Amazing moves?"
"Nihon chi. It's a kata. I do it for discipline. Focus. To attain a oneness with mind, body, and spirit." Nate recited. "I can teach you, if you'd like."
"No thanks." Annabeth turned to walk away. Nate jogged alongside her.
"That's cool. Girls shouldn't learn anyway. They need to leave it up to the real men who can protect them. So how about-"
In an instant, Annabeth twisted Nate's arm he tried to slink around her. A second later, Nate was flipped over on his back in the sand.
"The only person who protects me is me, got it? Now leave me, and every girl here alone." Annabeth snapped.
Rikki and Zane exchanged dropped jaws and surprised expressions.
"Oh my god." Rikki laughed. "Be right back." Rikki patted Zane before pulling away to jog towards Annabeth. "Annabeth!"
Annabeth stopped walking away from the recovering Nate. Zane walked past the two blondes to go check on his friend.
"Hey! That was so cool. Could you teach me how to do that?" Rikki asked. Annabeth blinked.
"That? Okay. We can work on it. You're not being harassed by anyone, are you?"
"No! Not at all. People know better than to mess with me. But I'm always eager to learn new things." Rikki replied. She was prepared for anything. She would love to use her powers on people like Nate, but she knew it would get out of hand too quickly. "Do you use that move on Percy?"
"Only when he's being an idiot." Annabeth said with a giggle. "C'mon. Let's go down here and we can work on it."
You know, Percy's really not that bad. I just don't have to let him get to me. He was able to understand that I don't like swimming anymore. He seemed disappointment, but that happens in life. Besides, he seems to be enjoying himself swimming with Elliot.
Emma let out a sigh of relief. She sat up and glanced at the ocean, meters away. She could see Percy and Elliot's figures moving with the waves. All was well. Emma leaned back and relaxed against her towel.
I should do something to make it up to him. I don't know what, but I'll find something. Maybe I'll buy him something. Or bake something. He can be such a glutton sometimes. Maybe I'll just cut him some more slack. Although he could use the scoldings, I probably have been harder on him than I should.
Actually, maybe it's best if I apologized...I don't think I owe him an apology too much. If anything, he should be apologizing for harassing me. But he did cut back, so maybe-
Emma's thoughts were interrupted when she felt a sudden coolness descend upon her. She sat up and removed her sunglasses. There was an ocean wave stretching across the beach and heading towards Emma. Emma was in shock at the odd sight, but there wasn't time to think.
Immediately, Emma scrambled away from the water. She ran to the edge of the beach into the shade of trees. The wave hit where Emma was lying previously, but then receded and left behind all her belongings.
Breathless, Emma tried to pull herself together. She had never seen anything so bizarre. Well, there was mermaids, but she has never seen water behave like that. Like it was...going to attack her? Emma had a feeling this was an attack against her. But who? Why? How?
Rikki had to dry everything off for Emma. Emma had to find her and Cleo and figure out what just happened. No, she had to find Percy and Elliot. The wave came from the ocean, obviously, so could it have hit them? Were they okay?
Emma walked briskly across the beach. She scanned the water for Percy and Elliot, which she was able to find eventually. Percy was sitting on his board with his back to Emma. Elliot was near Percy, happily catching as many waves as he could.
Along the beach, Emma spotted Annabeth and Rikki, who were walking together in Emma's direction.
"Hey, guys!" Emma called, jogging up to the pair. "Did you just see that?"
"See what?" Annabeth asked.
"There was a wave! A really odd wave that came up all the way to where I was on the beach. I was meters away from the shore, but it tried to get me." Emma explained.
"No, but I wish I had!" Rikki joked. "That sounds ridiculous, Em. Even for you."
"You might have been in the sun for too long and imagined the whole thing. Maybe you should sit in the shade for a while." Annabeth suggested.
"No, guys. I'm telling you what I saw. It's like the ocean attacked me." Emma protested. Rikki laughed.
"And the sky tried to fall on me yesterday!" Rikki teases. Emma rolled her eyes. "And the day before that, the earth tried to swallow me up and kill me!"
Neither Emma or Annabeth found Rikki amusing.
"Rikki, all of my things are wet." Emma sternly said, trying to give a hint. Rikki frowned in disappointment that no one was appreciated her humor.
"Yeah, they'll probably dry." Rikki muttered.
"I need to find Cleo. Have you seen her?"
"Nah. She might have gone for a swim. You know how much she loves swimming." Rikki grinned with a twinkle in her eye.
"I thought she didn't like swimming." Annabeth pointed out. Rikki's face fell and Emma scowled.
"I was being sarcastic." Rikki quickly responded. "Of course she wouldn't be swimming. She probably is hanging out with Lewis. Or maybe not since I saw him with Charlotte. I don't really know, but she can't get very far."
"I'll go look for her."
"I'm going to go for a bit of a swim." Annabeth announced. "Wanna come?"
"Thanks, but no thanks. Not my kind of thing. Besides, I have my boyfriend, and you have yours." Rikki answered. She smiled at Annabeth before rushing to catch up with Emma.
Annabeth walked into the water. It was cool, but definitely warmer than she expected. She waded deeper until it reached her knees. She stopped and dug her toes into the sandbank.
It didn't take long for Percy to notice her and make his way towards Annabeth. He had a large, stupid grin on his face, but Annabeth was not smiling. She crossed her arms.
"I know what you did."
"Did what?" Percy asked innocently.
"Did you make a wave to get Emma?"
"Maybe."
"Percy!"
"What? She won't get in the water, so I'll bring the water to her!" Percy protested.
"You're lucky nobody saw it. Emma's not an idiot. You could have blown our secret."
"Listen, Annabeth, it's no big deal. Nobody got hurt. Nobody saw. I don't see a problem here."
"Just don't do it again, okay?"
"Only if you come swimming with me." Percy grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "I'll get you your own body board. Or we can share mine. Or I could even use my powers and you wouldn't need a board at all!"
Annabeth smiled and moved deeper into the ocean. Percy floated alongside her on his bodyboard. Without warning, she splashed Percy. The couple burst out laughing at the surprise attack, but Annabeth wasn't laughing after she was knocked over by a sudden wave. She surfaced and spat out saltwater.
"You really wanna go there, Wise Girl?" Percy taunted. Annabeth smirked. "I'm the King of the ocean! Well, actually, my dad is, but Emma and them don't know about that so to them I am king-"
Suddenly, Percy's board was flipped completely over, and Percy rolled under. Annabeth burst out laughing at the sight. Percy surfaced with a frown.
"How'd I flip over?"
"Maybe your head was too big to keep the weight balanced." Annabeth teased.
"You think my dad was mad I called myself the king of the ocean? Did he miss the part where I said that he was?" Percy complained. Annabeth laughed and splashed him in the face.
On the beach, Cleo, Emma, and Rikki were all laughing amongst themselves as they watched Percy and Annabeth. Emma and Cleo high fived each other.
"Want me to turn the ocean into a giant hot tub?" Rikki offered.
"No, that's okay. Flipping him was enough for me." Emma assured. Percy and Annabeth continued to splash each other and laugh. "It's a good thing someone can stand him."
"They look so cute together." Cleo murmured. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't a mermaid so I could have that."
"What? Really, Cleo?"
"Not all the time. Only sometimes. I just can't help but wonder if my life would be any easier if I wasn't a mermaid anymore." Cleo admitted.
"How much more boring it would be." Rikki said. "Cleo, that's crazy talk. This is the best thing that's ever happened to us. Sure, you hit a few bumps in the road with romances, but Emma and I are in decent relationships, so you can find that too."
"It helps when your boyfriend knows you're a mermaid." Emma grumbled.
"Are you going to tell Ash?" Cleo asked.
"No way. He keeps prying, almost as bad as Percy, but I'm never going to tell him. Too risky."
"It might make your life easier." Rikki pointed out.
"Em, do you want to go to Mako later tonight?" Cleo suggested.
"Sorry, I can't. Family dinner. I never miss dinner with my family, and it's more important to my mum now that Aunt Sally is here."
"That doesn't sound like fun."
"Last night was a little awkward. Aunt Sally's new husband, Paul, told Elliot and I we could call him Uncle Paul if we wanted too, but it's still a little weird. I didn't even call Gabe 'Uncle Gabe.' Actually, Percy and I used to call him 'Smelly Gabe.' He smelled awful and was an awful person. I'm glad Aunt Sally divorced him."
"Sounds terrible. But it's good your family is together and happy now." Cleo said quietly, looking away. "Rikki? You wanna go to Mako?"
"Sorry, Cleo. No can do. I got dinner plans myself tonight. Zane's dad invited me to have dinner with him."
Emma and Cleo winced.
"That sounds worse than my family dinner. That'll be so awkward. Best of luck to you." Emma said.
"Why does he want to see you?" Cleo asked.
"He's worked things out with Zane and now he wants to work things out with me, since we are dating and everything. And because of the Denman incident. Hopefully he doesn't irritate me, but hey, at least they're will be free food." Rikki shrugged. "Besides, Zane didn't tell him I got my powers back. All he knows is that I gave up my powers, so I don't have to worry much about him."
"Maybe this will be a chance to put the Denman incident entirely behind us." Emma suggested.
"It already is. We don't need to keep talking about it anymore." Rikki reassured.
"Let's just hope we don't run into more people who want to exploit us again." Cleo said. "Right now, the closest person finding out our secret is Charlotte, so we have to be careful."
"I agree. She can threaten our existence if she found out. We don't know what she's capable of." Emma agreed.
"What about Percy? Weren't you worried about him?" Rikki asked.
"Got him to back off finally. Now we can focus on Charlotte."