Hello Lovelies! I have another chapter for you all! Enjoy!

Cody lay in his soft, cushiony bed that night. None of his decorations had changed in the past year. He gave a quirk of a smile as he stared up at the ceiling. He knew he could get up there again, this time knowing how to get back down. His tank of fish was thriving and he thanked his mom for that. All the familiar things in his room were gentle reminders of his underwater home and served to ease his out-of-place feeling.

Swimming with Sam and Jess had been exactly what he needed. They treated him the same as they had before. He was no different to them now and it meant the world to him. He flicked off his bedside lamp and sighed as his head sunk into the pillow. School would be easier tomorrow. He'd still be stared at by everyone else, but he would be more calm. He'd make sure of it.

-T-S-L-O-F-

Ringing and buzzing pulled Cody from his deep, restless sleep. He'd been out swimming by the buoy, someone in the distance screaming for him to swim as fast as he could. He had tried but his legs had felt heavy and awkward, unable to move correctly.

He shook his head and reached over to silence the alarm. A few small sparks flew from his fingers, but the alarm remained mostly undamaged. Laying there for a moment more, he tried to pull back more details of the dream The more he thought and focused, the quicker the vapors of sleep dispersed and he felt himself wondering what he'd been so worked up over.

The day went as usual as he could have expected. He got up and showered and dressed for school. His mom greeted him downstairs with pancakes for breakfast, and then his dad wished him a good day as he slipped out the door. The walk to the pier went as normal and he caught the ferry to the main land with the other students from his school.

He gripped the strap of his book bag tight as he stared overboard at the choppy water. Conversations floated around him and he tried to keep his thoughts to himself. Cody felt a twinge of jealousy as they laughed aloud and talked freely. They would never know how easily he could have communicated with them.

At school Jess greeted him like usual, and classes went like normal. Despite the snickers, he made an effort to use his tablet more. He had a voice and it was time he started using it, even if it was in this fashion.

When school was over, Cody walked with Jess to the pool. He knew the swim team would be there, getting ready to start their practice. The swim season for the year was winding down and they would be getting ready for the final meets. While it was too late for Jess to compete, Cody wanted the coach to at least see him swim so he could get him on the team for the next year. If they waited until the end of summer for tryouts, Cody feared Jess would have chickened out of the suggestion by then. Jess had already tried to protest, making excuse that he wasn't good enough or that he was too small. Cody wouldn't hear it and insisted he give it a go.

The coach was ecstatic to see the two of them. When Cody had suddenly left after the state finals, the previous year, Coach had been heartbroken. Jess was the one to finally speak up for the two of them.

"I'm the one who wants to join the swim team." Jess said, shaking slightly as the tall man stared him down.

"Sorry, what?" Coach looked at Cody, who looked down.

Cody considered himself the biggest idiot right now. With everything going on he didn't think that of course Coach would want him back on the team. He would never think the scrawny, nerdy Jess was there to compete instead. Cody had been the star, but now he would never compete on any swim team again.

Coach was staring at him and Cody finally realized he was waiting for him to say something.

'Jess, I don't think he knows.'

Jess's eyes widened as he came to the same realization. "Coach."

The older man looked back at the smaller kid. Wasn't he the one who had fallen into his pool last year?

'Tell him I can't swim because of a head injury.'

Jess took a big breath. "We thought you knew. Cody had an accident a few months ago…" He trailed off, not knowing how to best approach the subject.

Luckily, Coach was able to put the pieces together for him. "You mean that was this Cody?" He pointed at his former swim star. "Son, I'm sorry. You're mute now, right? Have some sort of problem with your head?"

Sighing, Cody nodded and finally looked up. His eyes met his former Coach's and he saw the pity there. He looked away again and took a step back.

"Well, just because you can't talk, it doesn't mean you can't swim." Coach crossed his arms.

"The doctors don't want him swimming until he fully recovers." Jess drew the attention back to him. "But both he and Sam have been teaching me, and Cody thinks I'm good enough to join the team."

"You want to try out this late in the season? Our meets are practically over and we're about to enter cool down practices. If you joined us now, you wouldn't know any of the routines or be able to keep up." The coach shook his head. "Sorry, but if you want to join, you'll have to wait for tryouts at the end of summer."

'Tell him I think now would be a good time.' Cody was determined.

Jess opened his mouth to protest, but the coach stopped him.

"Look, it's just too late in the year." Coach looked over at Cody again. "Perhaps, I could consider it if both of you joined the team. That way I knew Cody could at least help you out."

Shaking his head, Cody pulled his tablet from his bag. "COACH…PLEASE…GIVE…HIM…A…CHANCE…"

"Not unless you join with him." Coach sat back down behind his desk and nodded towards the door. "I'll give you both a week to think about it. If I don't hear from you, I'll assume that means I'll see you at tryouts for next year."

Jess had to drag Cody out of the office as he almost looked ready to protest again. Reluctantly Cody let himself be lead through the natatorium. He could feel harsh stared from his former teammates as they walked along the pool deck to the back doors. Sam gave them a small wave from her lane.

'Later.' Cody sent her a shrug and she nodded back. Cody knew from their faces she could tell their meeting didn't go well.

Cody took in a deep breath of the fresh air as they made their way outside. He hadn't realized how much the chlorine had been bothering his nose.

'It's not fair. You're just as good as the rest of the team.' Obviously the former merman was upset by the coach's decision.

"It's fine." Jess was honestly grateful for what the coach had decided. While it would have been nice to see what it was like being popular, he didn't really care. "I'd rather just swim for fun with you and Sam. You know I'm not really the competitive type."

'I know.' Cody was still clutching his tablet in his hands. Coach had treated him so differently.

But he was different. He'd almost been ready to accept Coach's offer with a little arguing, but Jess had saved him. He looked down at his shoe clad feet where his webbed toes were hidden. If he swam in public, everyone would see. He knew he could never risk it. Ever.

'Want to head to my house?' Cody put his tablet back in his bag.

"I can't. My dad brought in a big salvage yesterday and I promised him I'd help him go through it with today's haul." Jess turned to go. "I'll see you tomorrow at school." He waved and disappeared down the road.

Cody stood silently outside the natatorium as he watched his friend go. After a few moments he shook his head and turned to catch the ferry back home. He still had piles of homework to catch up on.

"Well, well, well. Look who's decided to finally come crawling back."

Sean and two other burly guys from the swim team stood in front of him, their arms crossed menacingly.

Oh, he was glad Jess had left. His friend may have gotten a little taller and added on a little bulk, but these guys meant trouble.

Silence spread around them and Cody sighed.

Sean gave a curt laugh. "Come on Cody. You and I used to be friends. Why are you still hanging around with that nerd?"

All Cody could do was shake his head and take a couple steps back.

Sean was waiting for a response. Despite the rumors around the school, he didn't believe Cody couldn't speak. He'd seen him the night before. Sam and Jess had seemed to talk back and forth with him just fine. It was all an elaborate lie for him to gain back his popularity after being caught as a cheater. Sean wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"If you think you can just come back here and join the team again, you're wrong. We've gone a whole season without you." Sean sneered again. "We don't need a cheater like you."

The three swimmers moved around him, backing Cody into the brick wall behind him. Anger was overwhelming him as he stared at his former teammates. It hadn't been his choice to leave. He clenched his fists and felt a few sparks fly through his fingers. His electric current was acting up with his emotions. He needed to either calm down or get away. If not, something unexplainable was going to happen.

Underwater, with his own kind, he had learned how to use his electrical current. He could concentrate it then send it out in bursts to stun prey or the occasional threatening predator that got too close. With the energy that was gathering in his hands now, he knew he was minutes away from getting dangerously close to sending out the same kind of pulse. It had been so long since he'd used it, he couldn't control it as well anymore.

"Come on Cody, say something. Tell us where you really disappeared to." Sean took a step closer. "I don't believe what Sam said about you being home-schooled. We would have at least seen you around town."

Taking a deep breath, the former merman tried to block him out. Physically he could tell him nothing, and for the sake of his family and his life as a human, he never would. But if he didn't get away, his own nature was going to tell everything. The electricity was starting to spark as he thrust his hands behind his back. He looked around the three guys, trying to find an escape route. If he ran, one of them would catch him.

"You know what I think? I think you made everything up. I think you got caught doing drugs and now you're trying to cover it up with some lame story."

Cody watched Sean take another step forward, only a foot left between the two of them. The slightly taller boy's eyes were full of menace and hate. How had it grown to this? Would it have been any better if Cody had told him the truth before he left?

Without warning Sean reached for his shoulder to shove him. On instinct Cody threw up his hands and pushed him back. His electric current kicked into overdrive and he felt the pulse leave him before he could stop it. His hands slammed into Sean and threw him back nearly fifteen feet, taking out the other two boys with him. Not stopping to see their reactions he took off toward the pier.

Almost immediately shouts echoed behind him as the boys recovered and began to give chase. The yells continued as he raced down the few streets that lead him back to where Pete's ferry would take him to safety. The crowds near the edge of town were starting to pick up as early season tourists flitted about to do shopping and get ready for dinner.

He was slowed to stop as he reached the ferry port. The draw bar was down and Pete's boat was gone. He could see it far out on the water, slowly chugging away from him. He had missed it. A small group of people stood around him. Most were locals waiting to head back to the island they all called home. Cody heard Sean holler for him as they finally caught up.

Heads were starting to turn and he knew he was about to be the center of a huge scene. Sean wasn't going to let this go now. Especially not after what just happened. How in the world was he supposed to explain that? He could have lived with Sean thinking him a cheater. But if the guy started spreading rumors that he was some sort of freak, then he was done for. He would never be able to go back to school again.

Cody glanced at the ocean in front of him and quirked a smile at the water. He always ended back at the ocean. It was almost comical that the water would always be his escape, even when he was trying to escape it.

"There's nowhere else to run, Cody! Why don't you face us?"

Heads were definitely turning now to look back at Sean and then back at Cody. He would need to create a distraction of his own or he was going to be found out here. This time he concentrated and brought his energy to his hands again. He felt the sparks gather as his current built.

"Face me Cody!"

As the heads turned once more, Cody focused his hands up and sent his energy at the light poles around them. One by one the lightbulbs glowed brightly and then burst. Screams and shouts littered through the crowd as everyone ducked as the lights sparked and small showers of glass rained down. Quick as a marlin, Cody dropped his back, slipped under the cross-bar and dove into the water. His bag and the tiniest of splashes was all the evidence left of his retreat.

Remember, reviews are love! I've already started on the next chapter so stick around. Happy swimming!