A/N: Hey guys, Friend of Fawful here! I'm sooooo sorry it took this long to update, but school really got in the way. By the time this chapter was half-done, it was time to study for finals. DX Please forgive us; it's really hard for us to get together to write!
Anyway, we hope you enjoy!
Cleo, Emma, and Rikki were surprised to be added into a group message by Will. Emma wasn't even sure how he got her number, although she assumed Cleo or Rikki gave it to him. They were just about to go home when all three of their phones buzzed.
Guys, come 2 my house quick...Bella's really sick
Emma had to stop herself from laughing at the rhyme in the text by biting down on the pad of her thumb.
"Guys, let's go to Will's house! It could be really bad." Cleo advised, wringing her hands after she finished speaking.
"I thought they broke up!" Rikki exclaimed, totally missing the point.
"Oh yeah...well, at least that's what Bella implied." Cleo replied. Emma really didn't want to face her enemy, but she knew that at this point she herself had the advantage; Cleo, Rikki, and she just had a great time! There was no way they'd believe that Emma would hurt their friend...and that's assuming Bella has the intelligence to figure out that Emma was the one who both gave her the illness and broke her air conditioner. The blonde mermaid kept quiet in fear of laughing out loud.
"I just don't understand her sometimes..." Rikki trailed off, not really having anything else to say. Cleo hit Rikki in the ribs with her right elbow.
"It's none of our business...let's just see her. What do you think, Emma?" Both of the girls turned their head to see Emma who was shaking with quiet giggles.
"S-sorry," Emma cleared her throat and composed herself, "I just forgot how funny it was to watch an argument. Usually I was the one in Cleo's position." Emma lied about why she was laughing.
"Haha, oh yeah...we used to go at each other day and night when we were mad! Remember that time when Zane and Ash got involved?" Rikki remembered, and started to laugh as well.
"Yeah, oh that was so bad!" Emma exclaimed.
"Hey!" Emma and Rikki turned to face Cleo, "Guys, we should still see Bella...what if she were on her death bed?" Cleo's voice became hysterical, which made the other two stop laughing.
"C'mon, Cleo! Lighten up a little, she was only a little sick when we saw her yesterday. I'm sure they're exaggerating...if you ask me, she's probably throwing a pity party." Rikki replied, offhandedly moving her right forearm up.
"Rikki, she's our friend...she'd see us." Cleo argued, frustration becoming evident on her face.
"Let Emma decide...she just met the girl!" Rikki exclaimed, pointing her finger at Emma. Oh no, I have to choose between the two of them..actually this isn't too bad...I wonder if this was what Cleo went through when Rikki and I argued. Hmm, strategically, my friendship with Rikki is stronger than Bella and Rikki's, although I'm about equally as close with the two. I think Cleo thinks of Bella and me as equal in friendship...I can afford to challenge Rikki, since our relationship used to be based on fighting...whoops! I'd better answer!
"I guess we could see her...but can we keep the visit a little short, because I promised my family I'd come to dinner on time?" Emma answered, trying to appease Cleo, but not burn Rikki.
"Ugh, fine!" Rikki sighed, exasperated, "But I'm telling you...she's fine!"
"No harm in double checking."
Ok, we'll b there ASAP
Sweat slowly began to stop trickling down Bella's forehead, as she got accustomed to the normal temperature of Will's house. Despite the fact that Will carried her halfway to his place, she was still tired and slightly dizzy. Bella had thrown on the blandest, bulkiest sweat pants and t-shirt she owned, especially in comparison to her usually-bright clothes. She remembered how Will asked her why her clothes were so heavy, and how she was embarrassed to admit that she was a little cold even in the intense heat.
She barely looked up from her place on the couch when Rikki, Cleo, and Emma opened the door. Bella grimaced, but then smiled; she had the advantage. Surely Rikki and Cleo wouldn't leave after seeing how sick she was! Emma, however, would leave the second she got the chance! She'd finally be alone with the two...she just has to make this good. She interrupted her own thoughts with a small coughing fit. This is gonna be easy.
"Bella! Oh my gosh; are you okay?" Cleo hovered over her friend after Bella dragged out a slightly unnecessary groan.
"N-not really. The air conditioning i-in my house broke." She croaked in response.
"Geez, Bella; you look awful." Rikki emphasized, raising her eyebrow, "How long have you been here?"
"About twenty minutes."
"But you left the cafe like three hours ago! What'd you do, wait in your house the whole time?" Cleo further interrogated.
"Yeah." Bella said, somewhat lamely. Emma shot her a smirk when Cleo and Rikki facepalmed.
"If it was that hot, why would you-"
"It doesn't matter!" Cleo interrupted Rikki. Bella started hacking again in the background.
Then Will came back into the room with a bottle of water with a straw.
"Oh, you guys are here! I thought I heard voices." He greeted, handing the bottle of water to Bella.
"Did you need something?" Cleo asked Will. The boy rubbed the back of his neck in response.
"Er...not really." He admitted, "I just was gonna ask if you'd stay here while I go and pick up some medicine." Bella looked indignant, but said nothing.
"And you need all three of us here?" Rikki muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Well, it's also a full moon tonight, and Sophie just left to go to my aunt's house for the weekend. I wasn't sure if it would affect you tonight." Will defended, crossing his arms.
"That's tonight? I thought we'd have until tomorrow!" Cleo complained, "Great, now I have to ask my dad...or maybe Sam." After all, Sam seemed to be more lenient toward her sleepovers.
"Yeah...it's tonight." Will answered, for some reason feeling the need to sleep.
"Well, I'm gonna go to the store, too! If we're staying here, I want to get some snacks to hold us over all night." Rikki scowled, normally she didn't mind hanging at Will's house, but that was when it wasn't germ-infested.
"Alright...are you two staying with Bella?" Will questioned the other two mermaids as if Bella wasn't in the room.
"Yeah, I might have to run home, but I'm staying." Cleo replied.
"Of course I will," Emma said after Cleo finished, her voice sugar-sweet, "That's what friends are for!" No one else seemed to notice Emma's tone except for Bella.
"Right. See you later, Bella!" Will leaned over and patted her arm lightly before leaving with Rikki.
"Bye." Bella spoke to the closed door. She closed her eyes and she seemed to rejoice that she and Emma weren't alone; there was no telling what Emma might do, otherwise! The three of them began making small talk, each of them feeling the slight awkwardness in the room.
After about ten minutes of chatting, Cleo who had been texting her dad and step-mom suddenly glared at the phone and stood up.
"Guys, I'm really sorry...I have to run home. I thought I could wait until they got back, but they want to talk to me in-person." She paused to sigh, "So much for being treated like a young adult!" Emma felt both confusion at her friend's parents and smug for the fact that she and Bella would be alone. Perhaps she had felt some guilt, but she shoved it down deeper into her stomach.
Emma watched as her enemy stiffened when Cleo left. A brief silence suffocated the room.
"Y-you...you froze my airco'ditioder...didn't you?" Bella asked, although it was more of a statement. Emma froze (no pun intended) in slight surprise; she clearly hadn't expected that she would figure it out.
"What a terrible thing to accuse me of, Bella! And I thought we were friends!" Emma feigned hurt, smirking as if to say: what are you gonna do about it?
"Thad's low...eved for you." Bella spoke through congestion.
"Well, at least I didn't drag my boyfriend into this!" Emma accused, shocking Bella. Emma had finally figured out why Will had kissed her, a girl he barely knew. She knew she hit a sore spot in Bella, when she tried to cover up her grimace, by getting a tissue and clearing her sinuses.
"Maybe if you stayed wherever the heck you were, we'd all be better off!" Bella returned.
"I could say the same to you!"
"You know what?" Bella paused to clear her throat, "It doesn't matter...they're my friends, now! Do you really think they like being bossed around by the ice queen?" A deep glare settled in Emma's eyes.
"Do you think they care for your constant boy drama? Or your little pity parties? Please! You're nothing but a temporary replacement. Like that cheap-o spare tire only used to get the car to a repair shop for a real one!" Emma seethed, becoming more vicious with every word, "Now I'm back...there's no reason for you! They'll toss you aside once they see what a hindrance you are. You cut our little moonpool time short, caused a huge drama with me and your boyfriend, and now you're sick, and wasting their time. Rikki sure didn't want to come today."
Bella was speechless at the huge attack from her enemy; there was no way she could retaliate to all of that!
"It's not my fault I'm sick," Bella defended, still trying anyway, "I bet this was your fault, too!" Of course, Bella was fairly sure she got it from Lewis; she still needed some accusation to counter Emma's.
"And how would it be mine?" Emma asked, keeping a poker face; there was no way Bella could know about this...she hadn't left a trace to follow.
"Y-you...uh, you stressed me out?" It came out as a question. Emma burst into uncontained laughter at the statement; Bella was bluffing! At that moment, Will and Rikki opened the door.
"Hey guys, we're back...what's so funny, Emma?" Will asked, bemused.
"O-oh, ha-ha, Bella just said something funny." Emma composed herself.
"What?" Rikki asked, wanting to get in on the humor.
"Oh, it was just one of those things that seemed funny at the time..." Emma trailed off as Rikki lost interest.
"Oh, I guess Cleo ran home." Emma just nodded at Rikki, who was putting food in the fridge. Looking around, Emma saw that all the windows were already covered with a thick, dark cloth. A brief flashback of their last full moon together passed through her mind. She quickly excused herself to the bathroom, fighting tears.
As soon as she locked the door, tears streamed down Emma's cheeks. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing anymore. She remembered how each full moon had been a sleepover where they shared secrets and hid from the full moon. Sometimes Lewis would be there, which although annoying, was fun. The last one, Lewis, Zane, and Ash had all been there with the three. She sighed at the memory, and giggled at how hard it was for her parents to let the three boys inside. They had all promised to stay in the living room with an open door so that her parents could check on them at all times. Eventually the six of them got bored and played a game of truth or dare. She remembered some of the ridiculous things she got dared to do, and laughed through her tears.
Her flashbacks didn't stop there; a few more came to mind: Cleo's lame birthday party, defeating Charlotte at the moonpool, getting rid of Dr. Denman, and the first time they transformed together. Pulling herself together, Emma decided that she would continue to make these memories: without Bella. She wiped the tears off of her face, and quickly flushed the toilet, realizing it would be suspicious if she didn't.
All she had to do was get Bella out of the picture.
Emma put on her best poker face; she could do this.
A/N: Please read and review if you get the chance!