Days passed by slowly. After all of that excitement, life just seemed… bland. Every morning, Charlie would throw on his trunks and jump into their pool, hoping against hope that he'd feel something, and every morning he would be disappointed. It was all gone. The water just felt like… water, and he just felt like a man.
Enough days passed that Charlie began to convince himself that maybe the whole ordeal had been in his head. He felt like a fool for falling for any of it. It was ridiculous, really, and he knew it. He'd been withdrawn since that day in the pool, rarely coming out of his room any more than was necessary. He rarely spoke to his parents, and he avoided his team mates. Somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to accept that he was normal again.
Charlie's phone rang, lighting up from its place on the side table next to his bed.
"Callie." Charlie muttered, ignoring the call. In fact, he'd found himself ignoring most of her calls lately. He just couldn't bring himself to talk to her, he was too embarrassed. The first question out of her mouth was always, 'So, anything magic happen today?"'
He was embarrassed, and he couldn't help it. He felt like he must be somehow defective. He'd shown so many intense symptoms, and then right when it was time for him to make the change, his body had changed its mind.
He'd been avoiding his parents too, though that was a bit more difficult. His mother had tried several times to talk to him, though he'd tuned her out with each attempt. He knew that Rikki meant well, but he was too upset with himself to listen. His father seemed more than happy to forget anything had even happened, so Charlie found himself spending even more time than normal at Rikki's Café, where Zane worked.
Any time not at the café was spent training at the college pool. His parents didn't want him swimming, but Will had managed to convince them that he would keep an eye out. Charlie pushed his training harder than he ever had before, trying in vain to stay under water and swim with half the speed he'd once experienced. He'd seen Will watching him out of the corner of his eyes, and he knew that Will was on edge every time Charlie jumped into the pool, but it wasn't necessary. Nothing was happening. Nothing at all.
"Alright, two more laps." Will's voice echoed off the stone walls of the practice pool room as Charlie finished up the length of the pool lane.
It took him less than a minute to finish his last two lengths, though Charlie was frustrated with himself. He knew he could go faster, he just knew it.
"Good time, Char." Will called, clicking the stop watch.
"Yeah." Charlie grabbed a towel, not interested in speaking as he dried himself off.
Will shifted his weight awkwardly, unsure of what to say next. He knew that Charlie had gone through something, in the water, something drastic enough for Rikki and Zane to tell him the family secret, but Will didn't know what was going on now. Charlie was withdrawn, more serious than he'd ever known him to be. He was still decidedly human, as far as Will could tell, and was not interested in discussing it.
As his mind wandered to mermaids, his thoughts drifted to Bella, as they often did. The way they used to swim together, so far out in the ocean, much further than he could ever swim alone. Bella was the only person he'd ever met who enjoyed exploring the ocean just as much as he did. The pair could spend an entire day out there, only taking breaks every few hours or so. Will sighed, thinking back on what could have been for a few seconds before forcing himself back into the present.
"Charlie! Wait up!" Will jogged to catch up.
"Hm? What?" Charlie paused, turning back to look at Will, disinterest plain on his face.
Will composed his thoughts as he approached Charlie, suddenly unsure of exactly what to say. This wasn't the kind of conversation he had every day.
"What is it?" Charlie asked again, raising his eyebrows impatiently.
"It's just… if you ever want to, um, to talk," Will began, suddenly unable to look Charlie in the eyes. "About," He swallowed, lowering his voice as he moved in closer. "You know, about merman stuff, I-"
"Thanks." Charlie cut him off quickly, his eyes dropping to his feet. "But it's not necessary. I mean, I'm… just not interested. "
"Seriously, Charlie." Will's voice grew a tad stronger. "I've dealt with… well, I've dealt with a lot of this mer stuff. I'd be glad to talk you through it, or just listen, or I can answer questions. It helps to talk things out, and you know you can trust me not to say anything-"
"I got it." Charlie cut his friend off more harshly than he'd intended. He made an effort to soften his expression, taking in a deep breath before opening his mouth to speak gently. "Thank you for the offer. I just don't want to talk about it."
"Alright." Will nodded. "I get it. Just, uh, you know, five me a call if you ever want to hang out."
"Will do." Charlie gave Will a mock salute before pushing his way out of the building and out into the brilliantly sunny day.
Will shook his head as the door closed, reaching in his pocket for his phone. It had been too long since he'd talked to Bella; it was definitely time to catch up with his old friend.
"So I was telling Becky about what I'd heard Julie telling John," Kelli chattered endlessly as they walked through the local mall. "And so Becky decided to put a note in John's gym locker telling him that she thinks she's in love with him, and…"
Charlie tuned her out, her voice fading to a lonely echo as he walked next to her. He was lost in thoughts of the ocean when she jabbed him sharply with her elbow.
"So?" She blinked at him. "Should I tell her we're going?"
"Going?" Charlie asked blankly.
"Oh my god, do you not listen?" Kelli rolled her eyes. "Are we going to Bree's birthday party next weekend?"
"Oh. You go." Charlie shrugged. He was finding it harder and harder to keep up this relationship with Kelli. In the past he'd been able to enjoy her company, shallow as it was. But now… now it was harder.
"Fine. I will." Kelli shot him an icy gaze before checking her phone. "I've got to dash, hair appointment. Are you alright with walking home?"
"Sure." Charlie answered, but it didn't matter, Kelli was already strutting towards the nearest exit.
Charlie sighed as he watched her go. Somehow, he hadn't been able to force himself to be interested in Kelli lately. All of her problems, her issues… they all seemed so childish, so high school. He couldn't help it. He'd been obsessed with the ocean. He'd tried not to be, but his thoughts of the water consumed him. As much as he was inclined to believe it had all been a made up , part of his imagination, he knew deep down in his soul that it had all really happened. But then… hadn't.
A familiar headache settled in behind his eyes as his brain worked. He just couldn't figure out what had happened. Worse than that, he worried about it starting up again. Sure, maybe when it had all started he'd briefly thought it might be cool to be a merman, or whatever, but did he really want to have to deal with this stuff for the rest of his life?
No. Things were better this way. Charlie's phone chimed again, this time with a text from Callie.
'Don't even think about it.'
Charlie dropped the phone into his bag without responding as he made his way towards his home. He knew exactly what she was talking about, just as he knew there was no way he was going to listen to her.
An hour later, Charlie pushed through the doors to the school's indoor swimming pool.
"Charlie Bennett." He told the man sitting at the front desk.
"Ah… Bennett." The man checked off his name. "And I have you competing in… 5 events today? Representing the home school, is that correct?
"Yup." Charlie nodded, keeping his head down. Callie had been hounding him about this for days, ever since he'd let slip that he was swimming in the finals despite his parents' rule about swimming in public. Charlie gritted his teeth as he headed towards the lockers. He'd worked hard to earn a spot on this team, and there was no way he was going to miss out because of some family curse that didn't even affect him.
Charlie picked up the pace as he noticed Will walking in from the far entrance. He ducked into the locker room quickly, not ready to talk to his coach yet. Sure, he knew that Will would see him eventually, but he was determined to delay that moment for as long as possible. Or at least until it was too late for Will to stop him.
Charlie hastily changed clothes and gave himself a quick stretch before throwing on a baseball cap and heading out to the stands to watch the ongoing race.
"Charlie!" Brad Lendy, Charlie's long-time friend and teammate, jogged up to him, grinning. "Man, I haven't seen you in forever, we didn't know if you were going to show or not."
"Well I'm here, aren't I?" Charlie shrugged nonchalantly. "Been sick." He wasn't interested in discussing what he'd been up to the past couple weeks. Truth be told, he'd been doing a lot more of his training out in the ocean, half hoping… no, not hoping. Charlie shook his head. He just… liked to make sure that all was as it should be. And it was. He felt utterly and completely normal.
"All swimmers for the fifty meter breast stroke to the pool." A magnified voice echoed over the loud speaker.
"Go get 'em, champ." Brad slapped Charlie across the back before jogging up the steps to wait for his next event.
"CHARLIE BENNETT!"
The sharp voice startled him, making him whip around in surprise.
"I can not believe you!" Callie hissed at him, her face up close to his own. "Do you have any idea what a bad plan this is? Do you not realize that the absolute last place you should be right now is a public swim meet? What if something happens?"
"C'mon, Cal." Charlie tried to push past her but she grabbed ahold of his arm and refused to loosen up as she followed behind him to the starting blocks. "Char, seriously, you cannot go through with this." Callie jabbered as he practically dragged her along with him. "I mean, you could change at any moment-"
"I'm not changing, ok?" Charlie's voice was low, but strong, his eyes boring into Callie's fiercely as he spoke. "Nothing's happened in almost two weeks, Cal. And I'm competing today." He forcefully shrugged out of her grip, taking his place at the top of his lane. He took his opening stance, ready and waiting for the starting shot.
BANG
Callie slammed her fists on the guard rail in front of her as Charlie dove out into the pool.
"Idiot." She muttered to herself.
"Is that… Charlie" Will caught Callie's elbow as he walked past, his eyes suddenly locked on the water.
"Sure is." Callie replied bitterly.
"He promised me he would withdraw…" Will couldn't bring himself to look away from the pool, his eyes his eyes glued on nothing but Charlie's lane.
"Yeah, well, he lied." Callie crossed her arms tightly over her chest, clenching her jaw. "To both of us."
The pair watched grimly as Charlie finished the race in a comfortable first place. Charlie was grinning broadly as he jogged towards the stands, heading straight for his cheering friends.
Will cleared his throat gruffly before marching himself over to the man in charge. Callie watched, but couldn't hear what they were saying. Will was clearly speaking more than a little vehemently to the confused gentleman. A few moments later, Will marched back to Callie, his cheeks flush with anger.
"I couldn't pull him out of the relay." Will grumbled. "There's no time to find a replacement, the whole team would have to be disqualified. But he's out of everything else. I can't believe he would be so foolish." Will clenched his teeth, slowly shaking his head from side to side. "I can't believe he lied to me."
Callie felt a pang in her heart for Will. She could tell that Charlie's action had hurt him. Will had always seen himself as more of a friend to Charlie than an authority figure. He'd been the one Charlie had always come to, whether it be for girl problems or swimming tips.
"Don't take it personally." She patted Will's shoulder, hoping she was reassuring him. "He's all kinds of messed up right now."
"He hasn't…" Will examined Callie's face carefully as he spoke. "Changed, has he? Rikki and Zane don't want to talk about it."
"No." Callie answered quickly, lowering her voice before stepping in closer. "I mean, he kind of did, but then it, like, stopped. He went back to normal. And…" She gestured to Charlie, who was stretching and talking to his team mates as if he didn't have a care. "He's apparently decided that the best way to handle things is to tempt the hell out of fate."
"Brilliance." Will's monotone fell flat as he marched across the pool deck to face Charlie. "Mr. Bennett." His voice was sharp as a tack now, icy. "A word." He jabbed his finger towards the hall, waiting at the end of it until Charlie had caught up with his rapid pace before stopping and turning on him.
"I don't want to talk about it." He cut Charlie off as he opened his mouth to protest. "You'll swim the relay, then you'll go home. Or don't go home, I don't care, but you won't be doing any more swimming here." Without another word, Will spun on his heel to march away from Charlie.
Charlie took a couple staggering steps after his coach before stopping, his mouth hanging open in shock. A sick feeling grew heavy in his stomach. He wasn't sure if it was nervousness, guilt, anger, or a combination of all three, but he wasn't feeling very good about himself. That was for sure.
"Charlie! C'mon!" Brad was signaling frantically to get his attention, Charlie realized. "They're calling places for the relay!"
Feeling numb, though the knot in his stomach was becoming more and more pronounced, Charlie followed Brad to the starting block.
"You almost missed it, dude. Where were you?" Brad tossed Charlie his swim cap before reaching for his own.
"Still a little sick." Charlie wasn't lying; he felt genuinely ill. Was he really feeling that bad about hiding the fact that he was competing from Will? Was that really what was making him feel so uncomfortable?
"Well pull yourself together, man." Brad stretched his arms over his head. "With you here, this one's in the bag."
"Sure as hell is." Charlie nodded at his other two team members before taking his place in the line. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. His stomach felt queasy, almost like he was flipping upside down. He felt his toes begin to tingle, as if they were asleep. For the first time since the meet had started, he thought that maybe this race wasn't such a good idea after all.
"Y'know…" He stammered. "I'm just going to run and grab some aspirin-"
"No you're not." Brad caught his elbow as the announcer gave the thirty second warning. "It's show time, pal."
"Right." Charlie nodded, slightly off-balance. "C'mon," He whispered to himself. "Pull yourself together."
The gunshot went off seconds later. Charlie could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he watched Brad dive out into the water. He would be up in less than a minute.
A cold sweat broke out across his brow as his stomach churned painfully. Was he really going through with this? Charlie swallowed hard as Brad completed his lap and tagged their next teammate, Collin. Charlie nervously stepped up to the pool's edge, regretting the decision to swim now more than ever. What if he changed? Could it really be happening? He'd never felt so out of sorts before a race before. Maybe it was just an intense case of nerves?
Charlie felt slightly dazed as he took his starting stance and waited for Collin to finish his lap. For just a moment he wanted nothing more than to stand up, pretend to be ill, and run out of there, but he couldn't make his body obey him.
This was it.
It all happened so fast. Charlie pushed off hard from the starting block, slicing into the water with speed. Immediately, he knew that something was happening, but it wasn't exactly what he'd expected.
He was swimming fast. He didn't think he was really going fast enough for anyone to be suspicious about, but he found himself moving much faster than he ever had during practice. Still, it wasn't as fast as he'd been when… well, it was still pretty fast. The pain in the pit of his stomach was still present, but it felt good to swim, to work his muscles. He forced himself to think of nothing but the water. Moving his arms, paddling with all his strength as the water seemed to fly past him. A feeling of excitement built in his chest…
And he was done.
Charlie was flush with exhilaration as he tagged the next swimmer and pulled himself out of the water. He was shaking slightly as he pushed through the waiting swimmers, not caring about the final score. He needed air; he felt ready to burst with exhilaration. He burst out into the hall, almost giddy with laughter.
He hadn't changed. Charlie shook his head. Of course he hadn't changed. The whole thing had been a big false alarm, a figment of his imagination. Nothing was wrong, his team was going to win the relay, based on the substantial lead he'd left the team with, and everything was going to be just fine.
"Charlie!" The voice echoed off the walls, making him jump.
Charlie whipped around to see a very angry Callie marching rapidly towards him. She wasted no time, latching onto Charlie's elbow with a vice-grip and dragging him down the hallway behind her. She wrenched open a hall closet door and threw him inside, slamming the door behind her as she faced him, breathless with anger.
"Relax, Cal." Charlie spoke immediately, cutting her off. "Everything is fine."
"Oh, is it?" Callie's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. She seemed almost to be shaking with anger as she grabbed Charlie's wrist and shoved it towards his face. "And did you realize that you dried off literally seconds after climbing out of that pool?"
"Wh…" Charlie realized that she was right. He hadn't noticed it happening, but he was bone-dry, as if he hadn't been swimming less than a minute ago. He pulled off his swim cap, rolling his eyes. "So I dried, Cal. It's not like skin doesn't dry."
"You're taking risks you shouldn't be." Callie lowered her tone, though her voice intensified. "It's not just your freedom you're jeopardizing her, Char. Did you think of that?" Her hands flew to her hips in exasperation. "Did you think of what could happen to your mom? Or mine? Or my sister? You go swimming in public, with an audience, no less, you risk changing and don't even think about how many lives you might complicate. Now get your act together, stop playing around, and stop acting like a damn idiot." She then spun on her heel, hitting Charlie in the face with her ponytail before slamming the door behind her on her way out into the hall.
Charlie let out a long exhale, his heart beating a mile a minute. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so thoroughly put in his place like that. And worse…
She was right. And he knew it.
"Cal-" He called loudly, pushing his way out of the closet to jog after her. "Callie, I'm sorry." His words echoed off the tile floor.
Callie paused but didn't turn around, waiting for him to catch up to her at the end of the hallway.
"I get it." Charlie faced her, hoping she knew how much he meant the words. "I'll be more careful from now on." He lowered his voice, clapping both hands on Callie's shoulders. "Believe me?"
"Make me." Callie challenged, crossing her arms over her chest as she raised an eyebrow.
"Alright." A grin played at the corner of Charlie's mouth as he stood up straight. "But Cal, I'm not changing. Everything is normal."
"When you're the kid of a mermaid," Callie whispered the word. "Life is never normal."
"So I'm learning." Charlie laughed as he heard a pair of feet jog up behind him.
"Char man, where'd you go?" Brad slapped him on the shoulder as he ran past. "Whatever you're doing, keep it up, man! Good race!" He grabbed a towel on his way into the locker room, drying his dripping skin.
Callie rolled her eyes. "He has no idea." She started towards the exit.
"I'm just glad everyth-" Charlie stopped in his tracks, a sharp pain socking him deep in the gut. He hunched over resting his hands on his knees as he breathed deeply. "W- wait, Cal…"
Callie turned, immediately concerned when she saw the look on Charlie's face. "Char?" She rushed to him, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Are you ok?" Realization hit her as she took her hand off of his shoulder and looked at it closely. "Um… Charlie… Brad's hand was wet when he touched you..."
Charlie's whole body shuddered uncontrollably as his legs suddenly felt weak. His shoulder began to feel tingly, the feeling spreading towards his chest before moving down towards his navel.
"Holy shit." He paled, feeling things inside shift in a way he'd only felt once before. "Cal- I know this is ridiculous timing… but I think I'm changing." He grimaced, keeling over to the ground on his hands and knees.
"Come on. NOW." Callie said firmly, gripping Charlie around the shoulders tightly, trying to drag him with her as she searched for the nearest escape.
Charlie couldn't take another step as a stronger wave of electric pain rippled down his spine and into the tops of his thighs.
"Charlie, we've got to move." Callie grunted as she supported most of his body weight.
Charlie grimaced, trying to breathe and walk, but finding both difficult. "Is it supposed to hurt this much?" He was finally able to get out.
"You can ask Lucy later." Callie wrenched open the door to the training pool, relieved to find it empty. "Everyone's at the meet. In here, quick."
Charlie's forehead broke out into a cold sweat as he practically fell through the door. His stomach was flipping as if he were on a roller coaster as he felt his body beginning to shift and change. It was the strangest sensation he'd ever experienced, as if he were being molded from the inside out.
"Shit." He managed to say before pitching forward onto the cool tile floor, his legs no longer willing to hold him up. He caught himself hard on his hands, flipping himself over onto his back as Callie hurriedly locked the only entrance. She ran to his side, crouching next to him.
"It's happening…" Charlie panted. He could feel it, the changing. Suddenly, the pain disappeared, though the tingling only intensified. He gripped Callie's hand tightly as he felt his legs go numb. Charlie's eyes widened in shock as he watched his legs elongate several inches, connecting as they morphed. He groaned, letting his head drop back as the electric tingling shot down to his toes… but they didn't feel quite like toes anymore.
He could feel his legs becoming one, knitting together. It wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as he'd ever expected it to be; it almost felt… good. He pulled his head up, forcing himself to watch as delicate golden scales began forming a few inches below his navel before travelling down his legs, or what had been his legs.
His shirt and swimsuit seemed to vanish into thin air as the rest of his skin shifted and transformed. His skin took on a glittery, almost glowing quality to it as he watched his feet expand to flare into a delicate fin at the end of a beautifully powerful-looking tail, his transformation finally complete.
Both Charlie and Callie were breathing heavily as the he completed the change. For the first time, Charlie allowed himself to take a long, close look at what he had turned into. He pushed his upper body into a kind-of sitting position, finding it slightly more difficult to support himself while bent at the waist.
Hesitantly, he ran his hand down what had been his legs, delicately touching the beautiful scales. He gave his tail an experimental flip, surprised at how easily he could control it.
"Wow…" Callie breathed, her eyes glued on Charlie's new body. "How do you feel?"
"I feel … different." In truth, Charlie wasn't sure what to say, there was no way to put it into words. "This is strange." He ran his fingers along his hips where the scales melded into his skin, marveling at how seamless the connection was.
"You look… pretty great." Callie admitted. "You rock the fin, man."
"How do I change back?" A pang of panic hit Charlie like a truck as he flopped back and forth in search of something to use to hold himself up.
"Oh, just chill out, it's easy." Callie grabbed a dry towel from a nearby bin and threw it around Charlie's shoulders. "Just dry off."
Hastily, Charlie scrubbed at his shoulder, still wet from Brad's touch. Seconds later, he could feel himself changing again. Changing back happened a lot quicker, the rush of tingling passing over him in just a few seconds this time. His legs reappeared, as did his clothing. "Whoa…" He murmured, entranced.
"There ya go, human again." Callie dropped down beside him. "You feeling ok?"
"Actually, I feel good. Really good." In fact, Charlie would have been embarrassed to admit just how good the change had felt. It was the most amazing feeling he'd ever experienced, and it made him feel things he hadn't realized were possible.
The pair sat in silence for several seconds, each breathing hard in excitement.
"I changed." Charlie said out lout, still trying to wrap his brain around what had just happened. "Cal," He looked at her, meeting her eyes. "I changed."
"You bet your mer-ass you did." Callie nodded approvingly. "We should tell your folks, they'll want to start training you up."
"Training?" Charlie shakily pulled himself to his feet.
"Well, duh." Callie helped him get his balance, offering a steadying arm. "You've got to learn how to control your powers, how to handle a water emergency, how to get to Mako…"
"That island?" Charlie frowned as he took a hesitant step, testing his weight. "What's out there?"
"It's where our moms changed for the first time." Callie unlocked the door and opened it a few inches, checking to make sure the hall was clear."There's this weird cavern out there, they call it the moon pool. It's super special to mer-people, I've heard them talking about it. I've never been allowed out there."
"Ok." Charlie tried to compose his thoughts as he took a couple unsteady steps out into the hall, but they were still wild with excitement. "So…" He lowered his voice. "Am I, like, officially a merman now?"
"It sure looks like it." Callie followed him, watching him closely to see how he was handing things.
"Alright…" Charlie was waiting for panic to set in, but it never came. Instead, he felt almost content. There was something about finally knowing that comforted him. No more uncertainty, no more waiting for something to happen every time he touched water. It had happened, and it felt good. He looked at his friend, feeling suddenly grateful.
"I missed you." He said, realizing just how lucky he was that Callie had been there that day.
Callie stopped, surprised at his unexpected gentleness. "Um… of course you did. I'm awesome." She shrugged, two spots of pink appearing on her cheeks. "So… we'll swing by the café and break the news to your Dad, then I'm sure he'll want you to get straight home.
"It's a plan." Charlie said confidently, following Callie down the steps and out of the building, his legs feeling stronger every step of the way.
