Chapter 5: Young Love & War

A few things became abundantly clear to Liv over the next few weeks. Rikki was indeed a mermaid, a skillful one at that. They had been walking to the pier to dive into the ocean one cloudy day. Liv hadn't felt the rain drop on her and she felt herself transform and flop on the grass. Rikki helped her up and continued to use her powers to keep herself dry until they got to the pier. Liv splashed into the water very uncharacteristically while Rikki was able to dive in. Liv was annoyed as she knew Rikki was going to make her swim despite the rain.

Rikki was different from anyone Liv had ever met. Liv didn't understand how Rikki and Zane were friends when they were younger. She knew her dad's friends and they were nothing like Rikki. Rikki also handled Liv's attitude and tantrums better than nearly anyone else she had met. Still, Rikki never talked about herself. She was so reserved it scared Liv. Anytime Liv asked Rikki about her life, Rikki would change the subject and bring up something about their mermaid lives Liv should know.

The pair had been out in the ocean for ages now. Liv was exhausted and just wanted to go home. They had been practicing every day for hours. Liv was currently working on speeding through the water. Rikki had demonstrated her ability to do so the day they first met. Liv was becoming frustrated, knowing she was a slow learner to this mermaid stuff.

"Why don't you try swimming as fast as you can?" Rikki suggested. "It might kick in."

"I've already tried that." Liv huffed. "I'm exhausted, Rikki."

"You've said that every time we've been out this week." Rikki replied.

"Maybe we should take a break then." Liv suggested.

"We don't have time." Rikki replied. "These are life-saving skills I'm teaching you. What if a shark comes after you? Or a person captures you?"

"Have you ever been captured?" Liv asked the older woman.

Rikki put on a stoic face. Liv knew she got what she wanted. Rikki wasn't going to answer her.

"Never mind." Rikki said. "Let's just go back."

Liv smiled as she ducked under the incoming wave and followed Rikki home. She rolled her eyes as she noticed Rikki was checking behind her to make sure Liv was with her. Liv wasn't a baby, she could handle herself in the water. Her dad and Rikki had told her it was too dangerous for her to swim on her own. Not that Liv wanted to, she still wasn't in love with this mermaid life. Still, she wanted the option. What was the worst that could happen?

The pair finally arrived at the shore near Liv's home. They beached and then Rikki began drying the pair off. This was the most convenient part of having Rikki around. It would take Liv ages drying off getting out of the bath and such. The teen didn't wait for Rikki as she ran up to the back door, knowing she should leave for school soon. She had already bathed but knew her early swim with Rikki had made her smell like sea water. Liv groaned as she knew she didn't have enough time to take another bath and would have to settle going to school like this.

"How was your swim?" Zane asked from her bedroom door, just as Liv threw her backpack over her shoulder.

"It was… whatever." Liv said as she pushed past her father.

"Oh, come on, love." Zane said, following her as she walked down the stairs. "I'm sure you'll get a hold of all of this stuff in no time."

"That's what you said weeks ago." Liv sighed. "I'm going to school."

With that, Liv closed the front door and was off. Zane sighed and leaned against the closed door. Liv was handling her mermaid life better. Her stage of denial seemed to come to a close. Still, Zane could tell she hated it. On one hand, she had gone out to Mako Island on her own. Liv was old enough to make her own decisions and handle the consequences. No one forced her on that boat and she knew the island was dangerous. On the other, Zane wondered if his choice to banish her from Mako was the right one. Maybe he should have been more open to it, allowing her to attend in his company. Maybe he should have told her and Hannah the secrets of the island. Liv was obsessed with mermaids and the water when she was younger though, that might not have been the best idea. He did remember a little girl, no older than five, begging him to play The Little Mermaid over and over. Zane smiled to himself as the girl in pigtails was instantly captivated by the television. Times were so much simpler back then.

"She's getting better." Zane heard from the main room. He opened his eyes to see Rikki standing in the door frame.

"She still hates it." Zane said as he shook his head and pushed off the door.

"It took Cleo weeks to just get in the water." Rikki said. "It's hard at first but she'll cope."

"I hope so." Zane replied. "Thank you again for all you're doing. It means the world to me. And to Liv, even though she doesn't show it much."

"She reminds me of you when you were a teen." Rikki said. "I could handle it then, it's pretty easy now."

"You are good with her." Zane said with a bit of a laugh. "She's… Liv's just…"

"She's a teenager." Rikki said once she realized Zane was having trouble finishing his sentence. "Her whole world is crumbling around her and now she's a fish. It's a lot to deal with."

"Yeah, I reckon you're right." Zane said. 'Her whole world is crumbling around her.' If Rikki only knew how true that was. He hadn't told her about Hannah yet and Zane doubted Liv had told Rikki either. Liv wasn't just a teen who might be going through her first fights with her friends or experiencing the highs and lows of romantic love, she was a girl who had been through hell the past half year. Zane had been there with her so he hoped that helped. Still, he wished he could take all of her pain and suffering on his own.

"I've got to head to work." Rikki said. "I'll catch you later."

"Yeah," Zane said. "I should probably do the same. See you around."

Rikki gave him a small nod before she exited the home. Zane let out a deep breath he hasn't realized he was holding and walked up to his office. He was copping with his wife's death more and more each day but some days were harder than others. He had a feeling today wasn't going to be an easy day. Zane walked past Liv's room on his way to his office, deciding to stop there to grab something. The albums he had given her were placed on her desk. He grabbed the few on top, leaving one behind he didn't recognize. He took the few into his office, took a seat on the ground and began to flip through the images. He hadn't realized he was crying until he saw a tear hit an image of Hannah and Liv at a fair, Liv holding a bushel of cotton candy that was the size of her. Zane threw the album aside, dropped his head in between his knees and began to cry.

"Liv!" She heard as soon as she closed her locker. Liv looked down the corridor to see her best friend, Leah, coming towards her. Leah had been on nearly every dive team with Liv and the two had bonded over their love of the sport quickly. They talked about other things too but diving was the foundation of their friendship. Now that Liv had effectively quit diving, she wasn't sure where their relationship stood.

"Hey, Leah," Liv said once the girl approached her. Liv noticed Leah was wearing a bright pink tank top and a floral skirt. It was the exact opposite to Liv's Nirvana shirt and black jeans. "What's up?"

"Not much." Leah replied as the two walked to their next class. "Just school and diving. The usual."

"Right, the usual." Liv said, hanging her head.

"You know, if it makes you feel any better, no one on the team likes Emily." Leah told her best friend. "She just manipulates girls into quitting or challenging another for their spot."

"Yeah, I heard she didn't make captain either." Liv said. "Serves the bitch right."

"You know I could always talk to coach and our captain to see if you could try out again." Leah said. "I'm sure once they see how you dive, they'll want you on the team."

"No, that's okay." Liv stated with a sad smile.

"Come on, Liv," Leah exclaimed. "You're better than half of the team! You could be captain by next year if you were on the team this year!"

"No, I'm fine." Liv replied, hoping Leah would drop the subject.

"It's really not that big of a deal." Leah continued. "I think coach really likes me and-"

"Leah, I don't want to be on the diving team, okay?" Liv exclaimed. "Just drop it."

Leah was a bit shell shocked by Liv's response. Liv continued walking, leaving Leah behind for a moment. It didn't take long for Liv to hear footsteps running from behind her.

"Liv," Leah had started in a much calmer voice. "Is this about your Mum? You know she'd want you to keep diving-"

"Oh, my God!" Liv exclaimed, stopping in her tracks and facing Leah fully. "Why does everyone keep bringing that up? Maybe this has nothing to do with my mum. Maybe I'm just tired of diving. Maybe I want to explore other sports or hobbies. First my dad and his new… friend and now you, Leah? I'll say this once, butt out of my life!"

If Leah looked shell shocked before, Liv wouldn't know how to describe this new look on her face. A moment later, she noticed Leah's bottom lip start to quiver. Liv had barely noticed her outburst had caused nearly everyone in the hall to turn to the two girls. Yes, Liv was frustrated and yes, Leah was pushing a bit too much but Leah didn't deserve to be embarrassed like this.

"Leah…" Liv started.

"No, it's okay." Leah said as she choked back tears. "I… just… I'll leave you alone if you want. If you need to talk to anyone, just let me know."

Leah pushed past Liv, being sure to bump her shoulder with Liv's. Liv sighed as she watched her best friend walk away with her head down and the crowd in the hallway take their attention off of them and return to their normal conversations. Although Liv's life was crumbling, she had one good thing going for her and that was Leah. Now, she may have just wrecked that too.

It was Liv's turn to feel her bottom lip quiver. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep the waterworks at bay for long. She dashed down the hallway, trying to make it to the girl's bathroom as quickly as possible. She didn't even care if she drew attention to herself, she had just bursted out in anger at her friend. That was way more embarrassing than running off crying. The whole school knew about her mum, maybe some of her peers would just think she was crying about her.

Liv was in a dead sprint down the halls. She was hardly paying attention to where she was going, just hoping people would move out of her way. She turned the last corner before the bathroom when she ran into someone with so much force, they both went flying and fell on their backs.

"Oh, my gosh." Liv exclaimed as she stood to help the person she ran into. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine." The boy said as the pair gathered their books that had fallen on the ground when they crashed. "Are you…"

The boy faded out as he and Liv made eye contact. He was cute, very cute. He had brunette hair tied back in a bun, tanned skin and bright blue eyes. He looked like he worked out or played a sport. He completely caught Liv off guard and she did her best to remember who this boy was. She thought she would remember seeing someone as handsome as him.

"Hell of a first day." He finally muttered. Liv didn't know if they were staring at each other for a second or a full minute. He was new, that explains why she didn't remember him.

"Is it your first day?" She asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "I'm Drew."

"Liv." She replied, shaking his outstretched hand.

"Nice to run into you, literally." He said. Liv replied with a chuckle and got lost in his dreamy, blue eyes yet again.

"Well, I've got to go to class." Drew said. "I'll catch you later."

"Yeah," Liv mumbled as he moved past her. "I'll see you later."

Liv watched him walk around the corridor. She instantly knew she would have to find out more about Drew. What were his hobbies? What was he into? Did he like blondes or brunettes? She might be able to convince her dad to let her dye her hair if he only liked blondes. What the hell was she thinking? Since when did Liv fall this hard for guys? Not to mention, Rikki and Zane would probably blow her off and tell her she didn't have time for boys now that she was a mermaid.

Liv snapped back to reality, realizing she had to get to class too. She groaned as she realized Leah was in her next science class. Liv prayed they didn't have to partner up for a project again. That would be so awkward.

As luck would have it, it was simply a note taking day. Liv sat further from her friend than usual. She was happily surprised to see Drew was now in their class. She sat somewhat close to him but not close enough to where she made it obvious. The bell finally ran and Liv ran out of the classroom, ready for her next class to come, all the way until her final class so she could go home where she knew she wouldn't run into Leah.

The day dragged on but finally came to a close. Liv sprinted out of the school, deciding to leave her backpack in her locker. She didn't have homework and she didn't want to go home yet. Her father would be there and surely ask how her day was. She wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Rikki was going to be there too, they had a lesson after school. Liv wasn't in the mood. She was more than a mermaid and she was tired of it taking over her life. Did they really have to train everyday? This wasn't the Olympics.

Liv finally reached the beach and began walking along the shore alone. She felt tears sting her eyes every now and again. She thought back to her life a year ago. She had a loving mother and father. She was captain of her club diving team. She had the best best friend anyone could ask for. Hell, she had the best life anyone could ask for. She figured things weren't always going to be easy, something was bound to go wrong eventually. She didn't expect everything to spiral out of control so quickly. This wasn't the life she wanted, this wasn't the life she deserved.

Liv looked out to the ocean after she nearly came into contact with a large wave. She had jumped out of its way just in time. She might have been crazy but she felt as if the ocean was calling her, luring her into it's depths. If she had more to care about, she might ignore it. Now, she felt as if she had nothing to lose. Liv looked around the beach to make sure no one was in sight before she took off running towards the water. Once the waves came up to her knees, she felt the transformation start to happen and dove into the waves. Liv enjoyed the feeling of the water engulfing her completely and the feeling of it running through her scales. Something else began to call for her. Liv shook her tail up and down as quickly as she could, heading for the moon pool on Mako Island.