"We should NOT have let him walk out of this house." Rikki paced angrily, checking the front window before turning angrily to the others in the room.
"And whose fault is that?" Zane rolled his eyes. "I was on the phone with Will."
"Speaking of…" Lewis chimed in, trying to break up the argument. "Where is Will? Is he coming or what?"
"He said he'd be here within an hour." Zane shrugged, crossing his arms.
"Aaaaand it's been ninety minutes." Rikki said tersely.
"Will will be here." Cleo stood. "And Charlie will be home soon, safe and sound. We'll talk to him, lay it all out, and everything will be fine, ok?"
"We should have told him sooner. As soon as Lucy changed." Rikki shook her head, staring at her feet.
"But there was a chance he'd stay human, Rikki. Forgive me for wanting our child to live a normal life." Zane clenched his jaw, tired of having the same argument.
"He could have known about mermaids and still had a normal life, Zane." Rikki's voice raised slightly.
"No one who knows about mermaids has a normal life!" Zane shouted over her, standing.
Will burst through the front door, panting. "Sorry, late practice at work and I-"
"You were on a date, Will." Rikki sighed. "Bella's not here, now just sit down so we can go over exactly what we're going to say. We can tackle the other thing later."
"Where's Bella?" Will tried his hardest to act like he didn't care about the answer as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.
"She's on a date too." Cleo smirked.
"C'mon, guys, focus." Rikki snapped her fingers.
Zane slipped quietly out the back door as the group's chattering resumed, pulling it closed gently behind him. His head was pounding, and he couldn't stand to be in that room any longer. He needed air. He rested his hands on the wooden banister, letting his head drop as he took in a deep breath of oxygen.
A creak on the wooden porch behind him made him spin around.
"Charlie?" Zane frowned. "We've all been waiting for you, how long have you been home?"
"Hey Dad." Charlie spoke quietly, looking up from his seat on a corner bench. He was sitting there, cross-legged, staring at his hands in his lap.
Zane dropped down next to him, neither of them speaking for several seconds.
"I was at the beach with Callie." Charlie said blankly, his mind still racing. "We were just hanging out… talking."
"Yeah." Zane cleared his throat. "She called."
Charlie nodded, still looking down. "And did she tell you… what we were talking about?"
This time it was Zane who nodded.
More silence. The sun was just staring to set, its rays reflecting off of the ocean waves as they rolled across the sand.
"I don't want to have another drawn out, serious talk." Charlie's voice had slightly more energy to it as he raised his head to level a strong look at Zane. "Just tell me, so I know." He inhaled. "Is it true?" His cheeks flushed with a mixture of nervousness and embarrassment the moment the question left his mouth.
"Yes." Zane's answer was almost inaudible, but Charlie heard it loud and clear.
"And you just weren't going to say anything?" Charlie couldn't help but feel hurt as he raised his eyes to his father's, an anger building inside him.
"Your mother wanted to tell you a long time ago." Zane continued softly, staring down at the deck, unable to meet his son's eyes. "You were twelve when Lucy turned, and she wanted to explain the whole thing right then and there."
"Then why didn't she?" Charlie's voice felt choked as his heart rate picked up.
Zane let out a long sigh. "I-… we decided it was a better idea to wait. If you'd never turned, you would never have known anything about it. It would have kept your life normal. Simple."
"Seriously?" Charlie couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You don't think I would have eventually noticed that something weird was going on?" He couldn't keep the skepticism out of his voice.
"We hid it pretty easily from you for the last twenty years." Zane shrugged. "There were a couple close calls, but you didn't have a clue, did you?"
Charlie deflated. He was right. He hadn't had the slightest knowledge about any of this drama, aside from noticing when his parents were hiding something. Still, he never in a million years would have guessed it was something so out there. So totally impossible.
"So… Mom is a… " Charlie couldn't believe what he was saying.
"Yes she is." Zane looked at his son, hoping Charlie wouldn't hate him forever.
"This is too weird, Dad." Charlie glanced back towards the house, dreading going inside.
"Trust me, I know." Zane shook his head, looking up at the night sky.
"Is the whole panel in there?" Charlie sank down on the bench. He desperately didn't feel like having any more serious talks today.
"Bella is out." Zane nodded. "But Cleo, Will, Lewis, and your Mom are in there waiting." He glanced at his son, a pang of disappointment pulling at his heart. "C'mon, I'll make sure it's quick. I promise. Then, you can get out of here for a bit. Call Kelli, see a movie, do something away from water."
"Really? Relief washed over Charlie. "Thanks. I think I can handle that."
"Sure thing." Zane patted Charlie on the back as he stood, ushering him towards the door. "Look who I found…" He called as he followed his boy inside.
"Charlie!" Rikki hurried over to him, wrapping her arms around him to pull him into a tight hug. "Thank god you're home. Now please, we've got to-"
"He knows." Zane stood at Charlie's right shoulder. "Everything."
"Well, Callie isn't exactly an expert, is she?" Rikki shot at him. "Charlie, have a seat on the couch."
"Whoa. Whoa, Rik." Lewis held up his hands. "Let's not interrogate him." He shoved his hands into his pockets casually as he walked over to Charlie. "Alright, tell us what you know."
Cleo and Will walked over as Charlie composed his thoughts. "I know… that you two and Bella are…" He shrugged sheepishly. "Mermaids." He finally said quickly. "Oh yeah, and Lucy."
Lewis nodded. "Anything else?"
"Well, I mean…" Charlie shuffled his feet a bit. "It seems like I might be showing signs of… y'know, changing too."
"Ah." Lewis nodded. "So we've heard. The symptoms?"
"Swimming really fast, not needing a lot of oxygen, making the water slow down, move, with my hand." This was the first time he'd revealed that he'd had control over the water. Charlie shot a furtive glance out of the side of his eye to gauge their reaction.
"No kidding?" Cleo seemed impressed. "Most of us didn't develop that kind of skill until after we'd already changed."
"Cool." Will raised his eyebrows. "Welcome to the club, Char."
"Congrats!" Lewis clapped him on the back.
"Wait." Rikki's voice cut through the others'. "Everyone, please, just shut up." She waited as the laughter died. "Charlie, you're going to need to be very careful now, do you understand that? That means no more swimming in public, you'll have to watch yourself around drinks, every time it rains-"
"I won't be able to go out, I know." Charlie nodded. "But, I mean, I haven't changed yet, or anything, so-"
"Doesn't matter." Rikki shook her head vehemently. "It could happen at any time, Charlie. You've got to start being careful now. You can swim here, in the pool, but that's it. Other than that, you don't go near water."
"He'll be fine at my house, too." Cleo spoke up. "Our pool should be safe, we've got the same privacy walls you do." All of them had invested in the highest quality shielding around their pools, so that the girls could swim without risk of being seen.
"Fine." Rikki rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Or at Cleo and Lewis's. But no more swim team, you understand?"
"But Mom, the finals are next week." Charlie pleaded. "C'mon, it's the most important race of the year, and I haven't changed. I'll stop right after that, I promise."
"No." Zane stepped forward, speaking for the first time in several minutes. "Your Mom is right, Char. This is too big a secret to take lightly. We can't risk it."
Charlie shot a dark look at his father. "Fine." He said sullenly. "Can I go now?"
"Absolutely not." Rikki said shrilly. "We've got to go over things, make sure he knows how to drink out of a water bottle, teach him where all the best hiding places in the Café are-"
"He's heard enough from us for one night." Zane said firmly. "Give him a break, we'll talk more tomorrow." He turned to look at Charlie. "Alright?"
"Sure." Charlie glanced to his mother. "We'll talk more tomorrow, Mom. I promise." Charlie waved towards the rest of the group as he hurried to the door. He owed someone an apology.
BREAK
Callie checked the time when she heard the knock at her from door. She stood up, stretching. Her parents weren't home yet, they were still over at-
"Charlie?" Callie was surprised to see him, but she waved him inside and shut the door behind him. "And just what are you doing h-"
"I'm sorry." Charlie blurted out, unable to contain himself.
A small smile did a good job of brightening Callie's face slightly. "Grovel." She commanded, dropping onto her couch, an expectant grin on her face.
Charlie couldn't help but laugh as he dropped to his knees, crawling over to her. "Oh Callie, I sincerely apologize for being a complete douche bucket earlier today. Can you ever, ever forgive me?" He dropped dramatically across her lap, resting his forehead on her tanned knees.
"Oh, get up, you jerk." Callie laughed as she tucked a strand of wavy hair behind her ear.
"I really am sorry though." Charlie crawled to sit next to her on the couch. "I didn't mean to flip out on you, I was just-"
"Overwhelmed?" Called raised her eyebrows. "I mean, you'd only just found out that you're probably going to be half-fish for the rest of your life, what's the big deal?" She shrugged sarcastically. "So how did you get out of there so quickly? I'd have thought they'd have you locked down until morning at least."
"I got the rundown, but my Dad helped me make an escape." Charlie grabbed Callie's beer off the side table and took a swig. "I figured I'd come here. You're kind of the only person I can talk to."
"Gee, you sure know just how to make a girl feel special." Callie snatched her beer out of his hand, taking a long pull for herself. "Ain't Kelli a lucky one."
Kelli… Charlie shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I'm going to have to tell her…" He said after a moment.
"What?" Beer sprayed out of Callie's mouth. "No, you can't tell anyone, champ. Anyone." She swallowed. "And that definitely applies to that brick-dumb priss."
"Hey, she's not dumb." Charlie elbowed Callie in the ribs.
Callie snorted. "Char, I've actually heard her ask how to spell the word 'alphabet.' But it wouldn't matter if she were Einstein's daughter, you can't tell her about all of this." She waved her arms in the general direction of Charlie's legs. "I mean, it's pretty much the number one rule."
"Our Dads know." Charlie shot back triumphantly. "Which means our moms told them."
"Oh, come on, they're also married." Callie shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth. "It's not like you're going to end up married to a superficial princess like Kelli. You're better than that."
"Bella and Will!" Charlie jumped to his feet. "Will knows that Bella is a mermaid, and they aren't married." He jumped feet-first back into his place on the couch, a smug expression on his face.
"Charlie, get this through your thick skull." Callie spoke firmly. "This is about more than just you; it involves all of us. You don't say a word to anyone, including Kelli. Got me?"
"Fine." Charlie pretended to sulk, but deep down he knew that he would never say a word about any of this to Kelli. He didn't want to. "So…" He rolled his head to look at Callie. "You really are the only person I can talk to."
"And my parents, your parents, my sisters, Bella, Will," Callie ticked the names off on her fingers. "Oh, hey! At least you won't have to come up with some super bogus reason for quitting the swim team, Will will cover for you."
"Will…" A realization dawned on Charlie. All day, he'd been wondering how his parents had known he was showing 'symptoms.' Will must have told them what had happened at training. A sadness settled inside him. He rolled his eyes to Callie. "You're sure I have to quit? Right now?"
"Well, yeah." Callie said bluntly. "I mean, you totally have to. Better sooner than later, you don't want to end up all fishified in the bottom of a public pool during a meet, y'know?"
Charlie watched her, envious that she could speak so easily about something that terrified him so much. "Do you think you'll turn?" He spoke the question almost before he'd finished thinking it.
"I have no idea." Callie gave a half-hearted shrug. "One sister did, one didn't. It could go either way."
"If you could choose…" Charlie began, but stopped when Callie sharply held up one hand.
"I'mma stop you right there." She said confidently, holding her pointer finger high in the air.
"C'mon, you're only two years younger than me. You must have thought about it." Charlie pushed.
Callie finished the rest of her beer. "That's a very personal question. I don't get a choice, so there's no point thinking about it. It might happen, it might not."
"Personal?" Charlie raised one eyebrow. "I'll tell you, I'm not overjoyed, I don't want it. I'm not even completely sure I believe all of this yet."
"You will." Callie stood, stretching her arms over her head. "Wanna test it out? Mom and Dad will probably be at your place until late." She turned her head coyly. "C'mon, fish man. Let's work on getting some scales on ya." She winked at him before bouncing down the hall to the towel closet.
"Ugh, Cal, shut the fuck up." Charlie laughed. She was right, their pool was safe, even his own parents had agreed on that.
Callie was waiting for him as he walked through the back gate.
"So…" He stood there awkwardly, glancing around the familiar pool. "What, should I just jump in?"
"I don't know, do whatever makes ya happy." Callie pulled off her sundress, revealing a blue bikini. She settled into a large blue floating raft, bring a new beer with her. "I did always think swimming at night was under-rated. I brought you a beer, it's on the pool ledge over there." She rolled her shoulders, getting comfy.
Charlie took a deep breath as he walked up to the edge of the deep end. Before he could talk himself out of it, he took one big step off the concrete ledge and plunged into the water.
Callie raised her eyebrows as she watched him disappear beneath the surface. "Not bad." She mused. "I'd give it a nine."
Charlie felt his whole body shiver as his feet hit the twelve-foot deep pool floor. He was used to spending time at this depth; it was part of his training as a deep sea free diver, but it felt even easier for him now. He bent his knees, lifting his feet so that he could sink down until he was laying flat on the cool tile floor. He found strangely safe. Almost like the sea was holding him. He felt like he could close his eyes and sleep down here, deep in the blackness of the pool.
His feeling of security instantly changed into one of fear and surprise. This was another symptom, he could feel it. Things were still changing in him. Was he about to transform? Did he want to? Kicking hard, Charlie swam along the tile, following it into the shallow end. His heart slammed inside his chest as he realized that he hadn't come up for air. His lunges didn't even feel pressured. This was comfortable.
Charlie forced himself to be calm. Well, as much as he could. Sure, he'd been under the water for he didn't know how long, but he still had legs. He was in the shallow end, he could stand up and breathe any time he wanted. Or just climb out altogether, he thought to himself. Flipping over, he settled onto his back, letting himself sink the few feet down.
It was an odd sensation. He had never had an easy time sinking; his lungs held too much oxygen. But now… He closed his eyes as the water moved over him. It felt like a hundred cool hands running all over his body, soothing him.
He drifted, not paying any attention to the passing time. Eventually Charlie surfaced, blinking as he shook water out of his hair.
"Hey, look who isn't dead." Callie hopped off her raft, wading over towards him.
"How long was I under there, a couple minutes?" Charlie rubbed at his ear, trying to shake the water out.
"Char…" Callie grabbed his wrist, looking at him carefully. "You were under there for just over six minutes."
Charlie froze, his breath suddenly shallow. "S- six minutes, huh?" He grabbed his towel, throwing it around his shoulders.
"Yeah.." Callie couldn't tell how he was handling the information. "You ok? Still… excited about all this?"
"I'm great." Charlie hopped out of the pool, reaching for his shirt. "I mean, I don't know what I am. Callie, I literally don't know what I am. Excited? Am I supposed to be excited about turning into a fish? About having to change my whole life? I-" He paced anxiously as he spoke.
"Sit down." Callie patted the concrete pool. "C'mon…" She said as he continued pacing. "Now, how am I supposed to make you feel better if you're actually going to make me get out of the pool to do it?"
Charlie reluctantly obliged, sitting on the edge of the pool in front of Callie, his feet dangling in the water. "Okay. Fix it." He looked at Callie as he slumped back to rest on his hands.
"You told me the water moved." Callie propped herself up on her elbows. "Right?"
"Yeah…" Charlie remembered. "It was like it was falling in slow motion, kinda. And it was like I had control of it."
"Okay then." Callie snagged a pool raft and held it up high over her head. The water rolled off of it, cascading in front of her face in thousands of tiny drops. "Go ahead." She nodded. "Make it fall in slow motion."
Charlie let out a long exhale as he focused his full attention on the waters. The first time this had happened, it had been by accident. What had he done? His eyebrows knit together with effort as he raised one hand, almost touching the water. He bit his lip as he concentrated, forgetting to feel self conscious about using his powers in front of another person.
Callie couldn't help but smile to herself. It was a nice change to watch Charlie take something so seriously. He was usually so flippant, like he had to act too cool to care about much. Here, he seemed focused… strong. She liked his side of him.
Charlie gasped. "C-Callie!" He gasped out. "Look!"
He was holding one hand extended barely a millimeter away from the droplets. Sure enough, the water was falling down, floating on the air before eventually making it to the pool below. It moved even more slowly than it had earlier. He could feel a sort of power flowing through his hand, allowing him to have control.
"Charlie… wow." Callie breathed, mesmerized.
Charlie closed his eyes tightly and focused all the energy he could summon onto the water in front of him.
"Holy shit." He heard Callie speak. "Charlie, you're missing it."
He hesitantly pulled his eyes open, then gasped as well. The water was all frozen, handing in midair without moving. It glittered in the moon light, reflecting like tiny diamonds shimmering in the night sky.
"Char…" Callie set the raft down and held one hand out, waving it amongst the drops. They moved at her touch, but remained hanging unmoving in mid air.
"Whoa…" Charlie mouthed. He dropped his hand down at his side a moment later and, with a great splash, the rest of the water fell down into the pool all over Callie.
Callie sputtered, wiping water out of her eyes. "That was too cool." She laughed. "Man, you're going to be so good at this."
Butterflies kicked up in Charlie's chest. "When…" Charlie paused to clear his throat. "Ah, when do you think I'll… you know… change? Like, all the way?"
"No idea." Callie propped herself back up on her elbows, resting her head in one hand. "I've only got one case to compare it to, and you're already way better at controlling water than Lucy was when she turned. She showed symptoms for a full month before her first transformation, but her symptoms were much more subtle, not even close to how intense yours have been. And there was a lot of time between symptoms. Yours have come on awfully quick. Not long, I'd guess. But who knows?"
Charlie frowned. "How did she convince your parents to let her go to college?"
"She didn't give them much of an option." Callie chuckled. "She had had her heart set on going to university, and she'd been saving for years to pay for it herself. She turned a month before the fall session was starting and absolutely refused to withdraw her registration. Pitched an unholy fit when Dad tried to convince her to stay home. They did try to stop her, but eventually they just had to accept it. They trained her like crazy, and it seems to be going pretty well. She hasn't had any closes calls or anything, no one's found out about her secret."
"So…" Charlie thought out loud. "I can probably go on leading a relatively normal life, right?"
Callie flicked at his knee. "You're not growing a third arm or anything, dork. Just stay away from water, you'll be just fine."
Charlie leaned back, straining to see the clock that hung on the side of the pool shed. "Damn, it's late." He stood, shaking the water from his feet as he pulled them from the water. His feet were completely dry before he could even put them down on the pavement. "Hey, check it out, this happened earlier." He gestured to his legs. "Completely dry. Instantly."
"Your power amazes me." Callie rolled her eyes as she climbed out of the water and reached for her towel.
"Hey, don't be jealous of my mer-skills." Charlie screwed up his face. "Is that what we're calling them? Mer-skills? Sounds dumb."
"Sure does." Callie nodded in agreement, tying her towel around her waist. "Don't you go getting all cocky just yet, my friend. I haven't even told you about what happens on the full moon." She popped her eyebrows up into her hairline as she walked calmly back into the house.
"Full moons?" Charlie hurried to grab his things before chasing after her. "Callie, tell me what happens on the full moon!"
