It was long past nighttime when Charlie, Zane, Lewis, and Will walked out of the building, dodging hoards of flashing cameras on their way to the car.
"Charlie! Can we get an interview?"
"How does it feel to turn into a merman? Does it hurt?"
"Charlie, catch!"
Charlie winced and Zane moved to block, but the open bottle of water thrown in his direction sent drops of water streaming into his hair, his clothes, everywhere.
"Jesus...' Charlie muttered as he felt the spray hit his skin.
"Hurry, come on." Zane all but shoved Charlie into the car, which was thankfully only a few feet away. "Get in."
Charlie made it inside barely a moment before he changed. "Damn it." Charlie cursed. He hadn't anticipated just how much space he would take up in the vehicle once his tail appeared. As it was, he was bent in the most awkward position possible with his tail wrapped in half around the seat next to him. Grunting as he crunched his ab muscles into gear, he managed to hold himself up with one hand so that he could manipulate the water off of his skin and into a coffee mug up front. He sighed with relief as his legs reappeared, knocking on the window to let the others know he was done.
"All good?" Will poked a cautious head inside.
Charlie pointed at his knees, feeling sheepish. What if the car hadn't been so close by? He knew how to pull water quickly using his powers, he should have been able to handle that without jumping into the vehicle.
Zane and Lewis climbed in up front as Will took a seat opposite Charlie.
"Those sons of bitches." Zane was fuming. "How would they like it if they were having bottles of water chucked at them, huh? Why would any human think that kind of behavior is acceptable?"
"They want headlines." Lewis said dryly. "And pictures."
"Well, they'll have all the pictures they want after today." Will couldn't keep the bitter tone out of his voice. "She must have taken a thousand."
"Two thousand." Charlie groaned, dropping his head back onto the headrest. "But, guys... I'm still feeling pretty good about this."
The silence in the car was deafening as Lewis and Zane exchanged looks.
Cleo had been pacing worriedly as the car pulled into the drive at her home. She watched nervously as Lewis, followed by Zane guarding Charlie, and followed up by Will hurried up the walk. She shut the door quickly behind them, locking it as she cast an anxious glance out the closed window shade.
"Did anyone follow you?" She asked, trying unsuccessfully to stop wringing her necklace.
"They tried." Lewis reached for her hand, but Cleo darted away towards the kitchen, worry plain on her face. "But no!" He called after her, though she hardly seemed to hear.
"I'm just going to let Bella know we're here." Will pointed to his cell phone awkwardly as he stepped out front to make the call.
"I feel like it's been a week since we left here." Lewis exhaled, rubbing his temples as he leaned on the counter.
"Preach." Zane fell into an armchair, dropping his head back in exhaustion.
"Is Callie home?" Charlie's eyes darted hopefully around the room but didn't spot her.
"No, sorry." Cleo reappeared, bringing Lewis a cold beer and squeezing his shoulder reassuringly as she met her husband's eye. "She, ah, went out with some friends a bit ago."
"Oh." Disappointed, Charlie clenched his jaw as he turned to face the room. "So... what now?" He shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked from face to face.
"When's the next time you see Denman?" Rikki appeared from the back room, where she'd been on the phone for what felt like forever.
"I'm back tomorrow at noon." Charlie dropped onto the couch. "That's when the real testing begins."
"I can't believe all she did today was take pictures." Rikki shook her head, crossing her arms angrily. "For hours."
Charlie raised a shoulder, letting it fall a moment later. "I dunno, I guess I get it..." He paused, realizing that the room had fallen silent at his words. "I mean, no one has believed her in twenty-five years, right? She's just covering her ass, making sure no one can call her a liar ever again. I get it."
"Well I think she's sick." Rikki tousled Charlie's hair. "Picking on a kid the way she is."
"I'm twenty years old, mom." Charlie said quietly. "I'm not a kid anymore."
"I know." Rikki sighed, dropping back to rest on the couch. "But you'll always be my kid."
"I know, mom." Charlie groaned as his phone rang for the hundredth time that day. "Oh." He sat up, looking at the phone screen. "Right." He looked up to the others, a somewhat sheepish expression on his face as he held up the phone. "Kelli. I had kinda forgotten about her."
"So I guess no wedding invitations any day soon, huh?" Lewis ducked as Cleo jabbed an elbow in his direction.
"I'll, uh, be right back." Charlie ducked out of the room to take the call. "Hey, Kel-"
"What the fuck, Charlie?" Kelli's screech was so loud that Charlie had to hold the phone away from his face. "You're a fucking fish?"
"Kelli, listen, I-" Charlie couldn't get another word out before Kelli cut him off.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Her voice was still shrill enough to make Charlie wince. "You didn't think maybe I deserved to know that I was dating a damn fish creature?"'
"You're not anymore." Charlie ended the call, dropping his hand to his side with a long, relieved sigh. With everything going on in his life right now, Kelli was the last thing he wanted to deal with. His phone lit up as Kelli called him back, but he wasn't interested in talking to her, maybe ever again. Charlie turned the phone off; he was done talking to people today. "Well," he spoke as he walked back to rejoin the group, who had been trying very hard to pretend they weren't listening. "That's over."
"Aw, honey, I'm sorry." Rikki looked at him closely. "Am I?"
"I'm not." Charlie shook his head, laughing for the first time in a while as Will and Bella walked in the front door. "She's probably still screaming."
"Who, Denman?" Bella appeared from the kitchen.
"Girlfriend issues." Will met Bella's eyes, holding her gaze for enough seconds to draw the attention of the others.
"She took the deal, I take it?" Cleo broke the silence, raising her eyebrows at Rikki, who winked. "Denman?"
"Sure did." Zane didn't think he'd ever felt this exhausted. "Agreed to our terms, she is to actively protect you guys. We were pretty vague; I don't know what she really knows or doesn't, but at least she knows we're ready to fight back.
"You think it'll work?" Rikki stood, one hand automatically gluing to her hip.
"I think it was our best shot." Zane stood, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling Rikki in to kiss the top of her head. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens next."
The next two weeks flew by in a hazy blur for everyone. Charlie began to get used to his new normal, which meant battling fans and cameras the second he stopped foot out of the house until the moment he walked back in. The whole family got used to keeping the shades drawn throughout the house, something they didn't think about much until determined reporters began snapping pictures from outside. The media was fascinated by everything 'Charlie.' His first television interview had felt more than strange. He'd done the first part of the spot in a chair, answering questions, but had quickly realized that that's not the real reason he was there. After answering half a dozen vague questions, he's finally given everyone what they'd come for.
It was so surreal, diving into a tank of water in front of a roomful of strangers, with the full knowledge that everyone anywhere could be watching. The thing that surprised Charlie the most, though, was that the reaction was definitely not what he'd expected. His initial fear that he would be viewed as some kind of freak evaporated when he surfaced and saw the faces of the viewers. No, it wasn't disgust. It was pure glee. They loved every second of it, and instead of being afraid of him they clamored to be around him.
Reporters practically fell over each other asking him questions during his short walk from the car to the door of the testing facility, one of the few opportunities they had to catch him outside. They shouted questions over one another, asking Charlie what it felt like to change or to swim out in the ocean. More and more often, he was asked how it had happened and how they could become merpeople themselves, to which Charlie only ever laughed and shook his head. Instead of being revolted by his scales, people wanted to touch them; to know what they felt like.
Girls screamed his name when he made appearances, he received love letters and marriage proposals daily. At first it had felt weird talking about himself so much, but Charlie acclimated to fame relatively quickly. In all honesty, Charlie found himself becoming more and more comfortable managing fame and talking freely about his changes, something he hadn't expected to be possible, much less occur so quickly.
The marine park had put up a house-sized billboard of a smiling Charlie posing next to a park dolphin. Laurie had all but danced when Charlie had agreed to the shoot, though he hadn't been able to convince Charlie to appear in one of their shows yet.
"I'm just saying, Charlie, it would mean so much to the kids, you know? A real merman swimming with the dolphins?" Laurie pushed hopefully, holding up a mock-up of a poster advertising the performance. "Think it over?"
Charlie couldn't help but grin slightly at the CGI-ed image of him diving through a hoop next to the park dolphins. "I'm not a dog, Laurie. This feels a little..." He tilted his head side to side. "Trained seal, you know?"
"I do." Laurie sighed. "But you can't blame a guy for trying."
"Tell you what..." Charlie checked his phone as it chimed from his pocket. "How about a meet and greet, yeah? Maybe with a demo after, okay? But no dolphins." He glanced out his office window out to the curb of the research facility, where he could see Will pull up.
"That would be amazing." Laurie thrust his hand out to shake Charlie's. "I'll set it up with your people."
"Hey, Charlie, you ready?" Hannah popped her head inside. "Will is here."
"Yeah, I'm on my way." Charlie bid farewell to Laurie, who was already on a phone call to Charlie's marketing director as he walked out the door.
"Everything good?" Hannah lingered in the doorway, pausing in her notetaking to look up.
"Everything's... fine." Charlie shrugged, still feeling like the other shoe had to drop sometime. "Tell Linda I'll be back tomorrow by 9am."
"Consider it done." Hannah tapped her pen on the metal clipboard. "Take care, friend."
"See ya." Charlie waited for the door to close behind her before dropping tiredly in his chair. His desk was cluttered with paperwork, which he left in place as he clicked his laptop closed and packed up. After he'd zipped his case he leaned back, stretching his arms over his head as he enjoyed the rare moment of silence. His eyes slid to his phone, which lay silent on the desk. After a brief moment of indecision, he reached for it and dialed a familiar number.
It rang three times before she picked up.
"Hey, Char." Callie's familiar voice made Charlie feel happy and sad at the same time. "How are things going?"
"Hey, Callie." Charlie was glad she'd picked up, she so rarely did anymore. "Things are going ok, how about over there?"
"Oh you know, mom is always freaking out about being outed, dad is always freaking out about mom being outed, the usual." Callie cleared her throat. "I mean you know, the new usual."
"I know." Charlie smiled as he pictured Callie giving her signature eye roll. "Hey, are you busy? I've got the night off and-"
"Sorry." Callie cut him off almost immediately. "I have plans tonight."
"Oh." Familiar disappointment thudded in Charlie's chest. He wasn't sure why he'd expected her to take him up on it; Callie had been hiding from him since the full moon half a month ago. "Well, I hope you have a good time."
"Thanks." Callie answered somewhat stiffly, but didn't hang up.
"I'd... I'd really like to see you soon." Charlie couldn't help himself. "I don't know what's been wrong, but if we could just get together and talk-"
"There's nothing wrong, I'm just busy." Callie closed her eyes as she said the words.
"I miss you."
Charlie waited, hearing only Callie breathing on the other end of the line.
"I miss you too."
The phone clicked off after she'd said the words, leaving Charlie's phone with her smiling picture on the screen. He shook his head, standing to pick up his bag and head through the building to meet Will.
After pushing through the throngs of fans seemingly permanently camped out next to his home, Charlie made it through the front door.
"They're getting worse." Will locked the door behind him, shaking his head. "I swear, one of these days someone is going to lunge at you."
"Can't do anything about it, the sidewalk is public property." Charlie raised and dropped his shoulders as he followed Will into the kitchen. "They'll get tired eventually and go home."
"You guys are late." Zane paused in the hall. "Hurry up and eat something, we're going to Cleo and Lewis's in about fifteen minutes."
"Why?" Charlie reached for a piece of garlic bread, shoving it in his mouth. They hadn't been going over there lately for safety reasons. His parents also got their share of attention, and drew it anytime they went out. The family motto had become: the less attention they could draw to their friends, the better.
"Exactly the question I've been asking." Zane muttered under his breath as he disappeared into the back office, passing Rikki on her way out.
If she'd heard what he'd said, she didn't bat an eyelash. "Because we have to start getting back to normal at some point." She said, holding up her hands. "It's been days since I've left the house, I'm starting to feel like a kidnap victim."
"Bella feels the same way." Will flushed slightly. "She's, um, been staying with me. For safety."
"Thank god she's safe." Rikki smirked in his direction. "All I'm saying, is at some point we have to be able to live our lives, we can't hide forever."
"You can if you don't want to get found out." Zane reappeared, leaning in the doorway. "I mean really, Rikki, here we are breaking our backs to keep Denman from exposing you guys, and you want to have a mermaid hangout sesh?"
"I've got to get out of this house, Zane." Rikki said firmly. "And I'd rather go to the home of a person I know and trust than a restaurant or movie theater, which I have no protection. Get it?"
"Got it." Zane slammed the office door behind him.
"Well we walked right into a party." Charlie muttered sarcastically to Will. "I wonder if..."
"Hey, so I'm having a thought..." Charlie spoke up, hoping his father couldn't hear him. "There isn't anyone camping out over at the McArtney's, what if I go for a swim in the ocean this evening? They'll all follow me to the water and you can walk right out." He daren't meet his mother's eyes, hoping the plan might work. "They won't know where you've gone, or even if you've gone."
Will cleared his throat, leaning forward slightly. "You know, I could help him get down there an back. Then... I could get Bella and meet you guys there."
Rikki hadn't moved, her brain whirring in overtime at the idea.
"I do have to get into the ocean sometime, mom." Charlie knew she was the only one in the room who knew how he felt. "I've never gotten to... change out there." He swallowed, feeling suddenly exposed but unable to stop talking. "I need the ocean."
Rikki shot him a long look. "You're playing the merman card already? You really are my son." She exhaled as she gave Charlie a long look. "I know. I guess I just wasn't ready for it to be now, with everything going on." She turned to face Will, a stern expression on her face. "You'll make sure he gets down there safely? No deranged fans clinging to his fin or anything?"
"You bet." Will nodded. "No sweat."
"And you." Rikki turned to her son. "You'll be careful out there. Let's say Will will meet you at the dock out by his old boatshed at..." She checked her watch, timing things out. "Nine sharp, ok? He'll help you out and drive you home."
"Do you think dad will go for it?" Charlie couldn't help but ask.
Rikki and Will exchanged a look.
"He'll deal." Rikki closed her eyes as she shook her head. "You can't swim in medical tanks for the rest of your life."
Charlie threw his arms around his mother impulsively, pulling her in for a tight hug. "Thanks, mom." He practically ran upstairs to put his things away.
"Sending him into the ocean?" Will crossed his arms, careful to keep his tone neutral. "Bold move."
"He'll be faster than any following boat." Rikki ticked the item on her index finger. "He's twenty years old, Will, he can handle it."
Will listened, nodding with a bemused grin. There was an awful lot of 20 year old Rikki coming through in her parenting of Charlie, and it was fun to see.
"Alright, I'll see you outside the boatshed at 9, ok?" Charlie leapt down the last six stairs at once, grabbing his cell phone off the counter to shove it in his pocket. He stopped in front of the back door, impatiently turning back to face Will. "Are you ready?"
"Sure thing." Will patted Rikki on the back as he walked past her to join Charlie. "Head out, chief."
It was far easier to get to the ocean than Charlie had expected. He and Will had walked briskly out the back door, and several seconds passed before any of the campers noticed. Once they did, they made a beeline for the pair, but the walk wasn't a long enough one to give them time to catch up. Charlie left Will in the surf as he dove out into the water amidst a sea of camera flashes and shouts.
There were few boats out on the coast as Charlie navigated out into the open water. One boat seemed to catch him on a radar of some sort and made as if it wanted to follow him, but Charlie found that they were no match for his speed. It felt like nothing was a match for his speed. Not out here. This was so different than swimming in a pool. Charlie felt as if he were stretching muscles he'd never even flexed before. The amount of speed he could amass in very short term was incredible. He positively flew through the water, practically creating a ripple on the surface far above him.
Charlie was amazed at how well he could see and control where he was going. This was nothing like opening his eyes in the pool. He saw schools of fish dozens of feet away swimming in perfect formation, completely undisturbed by him. He was easily able to avoid coral and gauge how near the surface he was. It was like he could feel it, the way you feel it when an unseen person enters the room.
He flew through the water, twisting and diving in a way that made his stomach flip. Before, he'd felt freer as a merman. Now, he didn't know how he'd even stood it. This was so much more empowering.
As he swam he felt something drawing him towards the east, towards a place he knew held significance, and somehow didn't surprise him with the pull. It was Mako, standing silhouetted in the moonlight, that called him. He allowed it. Somehow he knew there was no reason to fight it. He knew the significance it held, and that it wasn't going to cause him any harm. He pushed himself toward the far side, where his parents had described the location of the moon pool. It didn't take long for him to spot the underwater entrance, a slightly illuminated patch of water bordering a particularly rocky path.
He surfaced inside the shadowed moon pool, barely lifting his head above her surface to look quietly at his surroundings. He gazed around the cavern, letting his eyes flicker over the scarred stone from one side to the other, pivoting slowly to face the other directions.
"Ah!" He jerked, shocked to see another person there with him in the cavern.
Callie shrieked, jumping to her feet in surprise as her eyes met Charlie's.
"What are you doing here?" They asked the question simultaneously, though Charlie's tone was far friendlier than Callie's, which came off slightly cautious.
"My parents went to your house." Charlie swam to the rocky edge, propping himself up on his elbows so that his upper body could be out of the water. "Mom said I could go swimming."
"Wow." Callie seemed stumped. "I'm surprised."
Charlie raised a shoulder. "Secret's out. I guess there isn't as much to worry about anymore."
Callie grunted, brushing lingering sand off of her shorts. "Hardly."
"Do you come out here a lot?" Charlie couldn't help but ask. "I didn't know you knew where it was."
"I've been coming up here a lot lately." Callie's tone was still vague. "It's a good thinking place. Plus, it's away from my mom. She's really spazzing over being found out. Things in the house are pretty tense." She couldn't keep her eyes from sliding down Charlie's tail. "So how is it being a celebrity?"
"Weird." Charlie rested the side of his head on his forearms. "It's really weird. But I'm getting used to it; it's not too bad."
"I saw a couple interviews on the news." Callie sat cross legged on the sand. "You weren't awful."
"Gee, thanks." Charlie chuckled. "You know, Cal, I'm really glad I bumped into you tonight. We haven't been able to talk lately."
"Yeah, I know." Callie couldn't meet his gaze, her eyes dropping to her lap. "I've just been... busy."
"I get that." Charlie could tell something was bothering her, he felt like he could read Callie like a book, and she'd never been very good at keeping secrets. "It's just, we seemed so close back before I changed, and now we never see each other."
"Look, Charlie, I'm sorry." Callie checked her watch, practically jumping to her feet. "I've just been busy. And now I've got to get going, it's late. Mom will freak out if I'm not home before 9:15, and I'm going to need a miracle to make it back in fifteen minutes.
"Shit, it's nine? Already?" Charlie's eyes flew to her watch which, sure enough, was flashing 9:02 brightly. "I've got to go! I've got to meet Will, and..." He trailed off, looking back at Callie and wanting to say so much more to her but knowing that he needed to get back. "Can we talk soon? Please?"
"I don't know about that, Charlie." Callie's expression was unreadable. It was as if she didn't like saying the words, but was determined to sound like she meant them. "I'll be in touch, ok?" She nodded towards the cavern's entrance. "Now get out of here."
