Chapter 14

Hi guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while, life has been very hectic. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

I have made a promo for this fic on YouTube, it would be great if you could check it out. This is the link: watch?v=-VwMeL7ZqW4

After spending the rest of the afternoon at Ash's house, Emma went back home. She had been planning to do some work, but found herself unable to concentrate on anything but Ash. Emma had called Cleo and Rikki that she and Ash were going on a date, and they had excitedly talked about it while Emma was walking home. Emma was feeling so happy that she felt as though she was walking on sunshine, and couldn't stop smiling. Something that her mother noticed and she joined Emma on the sofa.

"What's got you so happy?" Lisa asked wrapping an arm around her daughter, and Emma leaned into the hug.

"Ash. I asked him out and he said yes", Emma replied excitedly.

Lisa smiled happily at Emma, when Emma first told her about Ash she had a feeling that she liked him. Even though she constantly complained about him trying to change things at the café, he was all she talked about for a long time. Lisa was glad Emma had asked him out, Lisa could tell how happy this made her, "I'm so happy for you honey".

"Thanks, we hung out all afternoon, and we're having lunch tomorrow at the Juicenet cafe", Emma said. Emma and Lisa spent the rest of the evening together, as Emma's dad and brother were out for the evening. They chatted about Ash, Emma's growing friendship with Rikki and Cleo, and when Emma was able to concentrate they talked about school.

Meanwhile, Ash was sitting in his room trying to read a book but like Emma was finding it difficult to concentrate. Ash was very excited and nervous at the same time. He had had feelings for Emma for a long time, thinking back he may have had them before they became friends and were arguing all the time. He was excited because he was finally going on a date with Emma, but he was nervous because his previous relationship had not gone well at all and had ended badly. Ash kept telling himself that it wouldn't be like last time, but he couldn't stop himself from worrying. To try and ease his worry, he thought of the memory of telling Zane and Lewis about his date with Emma.

Three hours ago…

Throughout the whole afternoon Ash had spent with Emma, he had felt a warm feeling in his stomach and felt content cuddling with Emma while they watched the rest of Inception. His phone pinging interrupted his thoughts. Zane had texted asking if he wanted to have dinner with him and Lewis at the Juicenet café. Ash smiled at the prospect of telling them about his date with Emma, and after checking with his parents he texted Zane confirming that he would join them.

Ten minutes later he joined Lewis and Zane at the usual booth in the café. During the start of the journey he hadn't been able to stop smiling, but then thoughts of his previous relationship entered his mind, causing him to worry about what could happen with Emma. But he reminded himself that they weren't in a relationship yet, they had only just started dating, and that he knew Emma very well; she was a good person. Ash was feeling happier by the time he had arrived at the café.

"Hey, guys I have some news", Ash said feeling excited again.

"What is it?" Zane asked.

"Emma, asked me out! We're going on a date tomorrow", Ash said happily.

Zane and Lewis grinned, "That's great Ash!" They said at the same time.

"Thanks, I can't wait for it", Ash said, though as soon as he said it his worries came back again, but he pushed them down. He wasn't ready to tell Lewis and Zane about them.

"What are you guys doing for your date?" Lewis asked curiously.

"We're going to have lunch here", Ash said replacing his worries with thoughts of Emma, he was excited to see her again.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? This isn't the safest place for you to be", Zane said.

"We come here all the time, we're here right now", Ash pointed out.

"Touché", Zane said smirking and causing Ash and Lewis to grin back at him, all thinking about their conversation together before their life changing transformation.

"I told you that's a good word", Lewis said.

"Yeah well, on some occasions you are pretty smart", Zane said.

"What do you mean some occasions?" Lewis said incredulously.

"You do make mistakes sometimes", Ash said.

"I don't make mistakes", Lewis said indignantly.

"Oh really? What about the time you accidently ordered me a super spicy pizza? You know I hate spicy food", Zane said.

"And last week when you made us tea with cold water, and it tasted horrible", Ash said and shuddered at the memory of cold tea.

"And the time you spilled water all over your maths homework and you had to do it all again?" Zane said.

"And the time you-" Ash started but was interrupted by Lewis.

"Okay, I get it", Lewis said irritably, causing Zane and Ash to laugh.

Now…

Ash smiled at the memory, he had already been good friends with Lewis and some classmates, but he felt happier now that he had this stronger friendship with Lewis and Zane. He never thought he would be friends with someone like Zane, but the merman secret had brought them together and he realised that Zane was a much deeper and caring person than he appeared to be. Ash was also happy, that the secret brought him and Emma closer. He hoped this new stage in their relationship would work out, he didn't want to lose Emma. When Ash went to bed he fell into a restless sleep, still feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

The next morning Ash got up an hour earlier than he needed to, but he did that whenever he was nervous he couldn't help it. He spent the extra time getting ready for the date, and the rest of the time watching TV. Just as Ash was about to leave, his phone pinged a couple of times, and he smiled when he saw they were from Zane and Lewis wishing him luck on his date. He felt more confident than he had when he fell asleep, and after thanking them he put his phone back into his pocket.

When Ash arrived at the café, Byron came up to him.

"Hey Ash, if you're free can you help me with my homework?"

Ash wondered why Byron looked so nervous, he was only asking help for homework, "I'm sorry, I actually have a date with Emma now. But I can help you another time", Ash said.

Bryon felt his heart constrict at those words, he couldn't stop his smile from falling. So Ash liked Emma, his heart ached even more when the thought sank in. Byron had really hoped that Ash would like him, but it looked like he had been wrong.

"O-Oh I see, actually nah that's fine, I'll just ask Jason to help me", Byron said, trying to hold back his pain, and smiled reassuringly at Ash, Jason had been his best friend since they were little kids, and was the only one he could show his pain around, he had to wait until he could speak to him. He couldn't let Ash know how much he was hurting.

"Ah cool, I hope you manage to get your homework done, I'm sorry I couldn't help you", Ash said and after saying goodbye he left.

"Not as sorry as I am", Byron said sadly after Ash was out of earshot, and hurried off to find Jason.

On the way to the café, Emma had texted Ash to let him know she was at the café and had gotten them a booth. Ash searched the café, trying to ignore his racing heart. He spotted Emma waving at him, and walked over to the booth. Ash sat down and smiled at Emma, and thankfully she smiled happily back.

"So, how's your morning been?" Ash asked trying not to sound nervous.

"It's been great thanks, I finished the biology and physics homework", Emma replied and told him what she had managed to do, part way through her explanation Emma realised she had been babbling and smiled sheepishly at Ash. She hoped she hadn't bored him. "I'm sorry I have been going on for quite a while".

"Don't be sorry, it's interesting. I actually like science".

"Really?" Emma said.

"Yeah, I've grown up around science. My siblings love science, so they have made me help them with their experiments growing up. So science has grown on me", Ash said smiling.

"Oh, I didn't realise that. What is your favourite science?" Emma asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, it was marine biology, and it actually helped me and Lewis bond when we first met as it was his favourite too. But since the whole merman situation, we have had to give it up".

"I'm sorry", Emma said sympathetically, she understood how Ash felt she would have been devastated if she had had to give up her swimming competitions if she had been in Ash's position.

"It's okay, at least we can still do the other sciences", Ash said.

Emma was about to reply, when Max rushed up to them looking very worried.

"Max, what's wrong?" Ash asked, his heart sinking. The date had been going so well, but now it looked as though a crisis was going to stop them from finishing their date. This was one of the down sides about being a merman, there always seemed to be a crisis that they had to deal with that interrupted their lives.

When Max had caught his breath he said, "All my photos of me, Bobby and Henry as mermen are missing! I've searched my whole boat three times".

Ash and Emma shared a fearful glance, Max and his friends weren't mermen anymore but Ash, Lewis and Zane were. What if someone knew, and were looking for proof of mermen existing?

"Oh, this is bad", Emma said anxiously, "We need to meet up with Zane and Lewis to talk this".

"Yeah, we should meet at my boat. Maybe if you guys search it, you'll look in places I've missed".

Ash and Emma agreed, and messaged Lewis and Zane on the way to the boat, they agreed to meet them there.

When they arrived outside Max's boat, Zane and Lewis were already there. Zane was pacing and Lewis was trying to calm him down, despite looking scared himself.

Zane finally stopped pacing when he noticed they had arrived, "Guys, what are we going to do?"

Ash put his hands on Zane's shoulders, "We're going to search the boat again. I'm sure with five of us searching we'll be able to find the photos".

Zane sighed, "I hope you're right".

The group began their searching, but unbeknownst to them they were being watched. The sound of a camera clicked, causing the young woman to grin. She looked at the photo and her grin widened, "You boys better make the most of your days of freedom, because they are running out", She whispered.