Hello everyone! Sorry, I haven't updated in a month, I've been busy. Well, from what I see so far into the story, there is a new number of reviews: 125 reviews.
125.
THAT. IS. AMAZING! And judging from what I also see, there are 14 favorites and 20 followers! To be honest, I honestly didn't expect many people to like a Charlotte story, much less follow it, but I want to thank you all for giving me a chance!
ENJOY!
P.S. I have a new one-shot called '' I'll Swim Faster ''. If you're a Mako Mermaids fan, especially an Evie fan, go check it out!
P.S.S. It's my birthday this month! March 29th to be exact! Feel free to leave or write me something:
Charlotte's POV
Really? Out of all the guys I seem to attract around here, much to my displeasure, I have to run into the ONE guy I didn't want to see right now! I swear, if there's a god up there, he hates me right now.
Riley looks down at me for a moment before remembering his manners, like he has any, and helps me off the ground.
"Oh, hey Charlotte. How's your day?" he asks me with a smile. Oh, would he like to know...
Just then, all the anger I had towards Brendan went directly towards him!
"Well, let's see: I'm hiding from Laguna and Jonathan because I skipped work, I was forced to do some heavy lifting as my punishment, and last but not least...YOU TOLD BRENDAN THAT I WAS INTO TWILIGHT!" I screamed. I knew I probably just gave away my location to the Coves, mainly Jonathan, but I was too mad at Riley for this.
He paled in front of me, clearly signaling that he was caught. I considered using my powers on him as payback but I had to use my "Think About Australia" mantra to stop me.
"Now listen..." he started to say as he was backing away from me, but I cut him off.
"No! YOU listen to me! I honestly don't know what your game is but I want no part of it!" I exclaim as I stalk towards him, "I mean, first, you act all nice, for a beach boy, then you go off and be a jerk to me not that long afterward! Next, you practically pull me from my job to ask me to be friends with you and now you're acting like a jerk again! Honestly, what the hell is wrong with you!?"
Alright, I'll admit, I am waaaayyyy too close to using my powers on him! And if my business is on some worldwide poster, which it is NOT, he had no right to say anything at all!
"P-p-please let me explain what I meant! It wasn't for any crude purpose or anything, but-" he stammered until I cut him off again.
"Any crude purpose?! Brendan is the SON of my BOSS! Did it ever occur to you that he might tell them what I say?!" I exclaimed, "so what on Earth could have made you talk to him in the first place!"
"I wanted to ask you out on a date!" he said quickly.
That stopped me in my tracks, or at least what I was about to say next, which wasn't pretty.
There was silence between us, well as silent as it could get on a beach, and we just stared at each other. Riley, despite how hard he tried, was now blushing beet-red with his hand over his mouth. Probably shocked that those words came out of his mouth at all.
"Excuse me? Am I hearing right? Did you just say you went to Brendan to ask me out on a date?" I asked him, "please tell me this is some sick joke and not the real deal?"
I wasn't embarrassed. Shocked, yes, but not embarrassed. But I'll admit that aside from Jason's gang, back in Atlanta, there were at least 1 or 2 guys who asked me out only to see if I would say yes and laugh at me afterward.
Leading reason number 2 of why I don't want to date!
Riley seemed to have broken out of his embarrassment and realized what I just asked.
"What? No! That's not why I went to him! I swear, you two worked together, so I assumed that he would know a lot about you that I could say to get you to go out with me!" he said, "and I just happened to let it slip about the whole Twilight thing."
Now fully calm, I told him "And didn't I tell you that I have no interest in dating and we were only to be friends? Wait no! You practically begged me to be friends with you and then you avoid me a while after! Seriously, who does that?"
"Someone who sits at the back of Math class and can't help but stare at you," he said, only to have his eyes widened again and cover his mouth. He only uncovered it to say "You did NOT hear that from me!"
"Well, too bad so sad, BadBoy! I told you once, and I'll tell you again: I will NOT go out with you! It was just pathetic of you to ask!" I yelled before covering my mouth.
Once again, the old me showed up.
Now it was Riley's turn to be mad. "Excuse me, I'm not pathetic! You should be glad I asked your bitchy-self out anyways!"
Now THAT struck a nerve there.
Realizing what he just said, he started to apologize. "I-I-I didn't mean it like that, I swear. God, I'm sorry I-"
Too late!
"Oh, you think I'm the bitchy one? You've been off your rocker since the day we met, from nice to mean, to apologetic to jerk face, and now from a beggar to a complete asshole! No wonder they call you the "Heir"! You carry the aura of a spoiled prince!"
I felt no pain calling him the "Heir, but his reaction surprised me. I expected him to be mad, but instead, he looked like he let down his defenses. His arms slumped, his head down, and, for a second, I was worried about the change of posture.
"Y-y-you know about that?" he asked in a stutter. I honestly didn't think he had it in him.
"About you being called an "Heir"? Yeah, when I told my friend, Alaine, about how we met, she kind of filled me in on what your story was," I said, "I don't believe it, but your tough-guy act and bi-polar-ness now have me second-guessing."
Riley looked up at me with sad eyes, which now had me confused.
"I-I honestly didn't think you would find out about that," he said in a low voice.
"So what? This is the high school we're in. Stuff like that is bound to be found out. And why does that matter to you anyway? I assumed you were the type to ignore stuff like that."
He was now giving me an embarrassed look and to be honest, I was done with it.
"You know what? I am going to 1.) Stop wasting my patience with you and walk away and 2.) Pretend you don't exist for the rest of my life. Sound okay?"I asked in sarcasm.
Alright, now I am just being mean, but if he's going to keep playing these games with me, then he's not worth my time. But in my life, a lot can change.
I turned around and started walking away from him until I felt his hand grab me and spin me around until our faces were just inches apart. Would this be a bad time to slap him?
"Listen, I'm sorry okay! I know that probably doesn't mean much to you and I know that for a friendship to work, there needs to be communication and...I haven't done a good job at that," He admitted.
I pushed him away from me. Really? Communication? Friendship? Has he been talking to a parent or a therapist because he's off his rockers now?
I sighed. "Listen, I have to go. I should have left Paradise earlier but I had to make it up to Laguna for skipping work. Can we have this...conversation another time? I think this isn't the best place to talk and-"
"CCCCHHHHAAARRRLLLOOOTTTEEEE!"
Riley and I jumped and turned to see a raging, like Hulk-level raging, Jonathan marching towards them. OH GOD!
I looked to see Riley's head was still in Jonathan's direction and, though I know I'm going to get an earful for this, I grasped my hand in the air, turning myself invisible, and ran away like mad.
Just at that moment, I swear I heard Jonathan roar!
This will not end well for me...
I ran to the front of the cafe to see Thomas tied to a post near my bike, looking as miserable as ever, before ducking into the parking lot and became visible again behind a car. Then, I ran back to Thomas, untied him and re-tied him to the bike, put my helmet and pads on before hopping on and speed off the onto the road.
Boy, and I thought Laguna was mad earlier. Now, she'll kill me.
My mind must have been somewhere because I didn't remember the trip home until I came up my driveway. I hopped off the bike and untied Thomas as I pulled out my phone to call Alaine to tell her I made it home...in a sense. But first, I had to see my mother.
I opened the front door and said "Mom! I'm home!"
I was met with silence.
"MOM!"
It was still silent and I was starting to get worried. I went to the kitchen and found a note on the refrigerator. I took it off, opened it, and read:
Charlotte,
If you're reading this right now, then I know you're home and safe. I left the house for work today, despite it being a Sunday. Someone was out sick and I had to fill in. I might be home for dinner though.
I hope you and Alaine had a great time at your little get-together! I look forward to hearing about it when I get home.
Love you,
Mom
I sighed as I put the note on the counter.
Honestly, I love my mom but these were just the times when she wasn't home and it bugged me. Yes, she could be great and supportive at times but that doesn't mean it was nice to come home to an empty house. And then I thought about what happened to Alaine last night and it quickly brought me back to what Marana had said.
"There's nothing wrong with letting her be like you. You say she doesn't understand the ordeals you went through, right?''
I felt a shudder roll down my back as I remembered her that I think about it, they seemed more like a threat than a statement. But Alaine is my friend and my mom is my mother, meaning I have to protect them no matter what.
Sighing, I opened the refrigerator and grabbed two water bottles. I unscrewed the caps and poured one into Thomas's drinking bowl, much to his relief. I drunk the other one as I went into the living room and turned on the answering machine.
"You have 1 voicemail," the machine said.
I figured that it was a bill collector or something and went to turn it off until I heard a familiar voice. TOO familiar...
"Charlotte! It's me..."
LEWIS! It feels like ages since we last talked to each other.
"Sorry, if I haven't been available to you in a while but...let's just say the moon pool over here as been causing some problems. Speaking of which, how's it going over there? I think we need to talk. Bye."
"Voicemail ended," the machine said.
Don't get me wrong, Lewis and I are JUST friends (or secret friends at best), but to hear from him, let's just say I raced to my bedroom and pulled out my computer.
I logged on and went to Skype and immediately started asking for him.
BING!
Just my luck, it was accepted and in 10 seconds, Lewis's face appeared on the screen.
"You do know that if my mom was the one to listen to the voice mail today, she would have grilled me on why you were calling," I said with a smirk on my face. Lewis rolled his eyes.
"Haha, very funny Char. Now how are you doing?" he asked.
"Oh, pretty good! I just went to the mall with my friends yesterday, beat up a few goons with my powers to stop them from raping me and beating me up, went to the beach, saved my ONLY friend from becoming a mermaid and did mermaid drills as a punishment for skipping out on work. Nothing much. How about you?" I asked casually.
Lewis stared at me like I grew two heads, which was the reaction I was hoping for because I always found it hilarious on his face.
"Excuse me WHAT?! Let me make this clear: You used your powers in public, risked exposing your tail, saved your 'ONLY' friend from becoming a mermaid, and got punished for missing work," he said carefully. I shrugged my shoulders and nodded.
He gave out a funny laugh and said "Well if there's one thing that won't change about you, it's the fact that you always seem to use your powers whenever you get the chance. Care to explain?"
"Yeah, and- Oh! I almost forgot! I have a new trick to show you!" I said. He gave me a look and nodded as he took a sip of water from a cup he had. I smirk, feeling very rebellious today.
I made my hand into a fist and pulled it into my chest, rendering me invisible.
Lewis's response was hilarious! His eyes bugged out of his sockets, he had to force himself to swallow the water in his mouth to avoid doing a spit-tank and dropped his jaw to the ground when he was done. I am not sorry to admit, but I started laughing my head off.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!" I guffawed at him. I must have dropped my hand because I was now visible again but I couldn't help it. I honestly need to shock him more often.
Once I calmed down, sort of, I looked at Lewis, who was now flabbergasted and flustered at the same time.
"Charlotte, when on what time on Earth, have you developed Invisibility as one of your powers?" he asked.
I smiled. "Well, when I was having a lesson with Laguna, she decided to become invisible and surprise me. However, I have a technique: Invisibility Detection, which allowed me to see her!"
He gave me a small smile. "Well, to spare me a heart attack, is there anything else you need to tell me?"
I decided to not tell him about my attack from the Water Snake, but I guess he should know what happened over the weekend.
I started with how I got ambushed by Jason and his gang (and the little backstory of our first run-in) and how I used my powers to get them away from me and Damon (Lewis nearly had a hissy-fit that I turned into a mermaid) and skipped ahead to how the girls and I got to the beach. By the time I got to the tunnel entrance, Lewis looked like he was having a moment.
"You do realize that you nearly exposed your secret at least 5-6 times, whether you used your powers or sprouted a tail. I swear if I was over the-"
Lewis stopped when he caught the glare I was giving him, my pretty clear warning to tell him to keep his butt back in Queensland.
"-and all I'm just saying is that you need to be more careful! At least no one followed you when you went in," he said.
I bit my lip and looked away.
"Charlotte, were you followed?" he asked me suspiciously. He gave me a look and I caved.
"My friend, Alaine, woke up and entered as well, but don't worry! I wasn't in my mermaid form, but she nearly became a mermaid because of some type of mind control Marana put on her. BUT we did get out safely!" I blurted out.
"Charlotte, really you need to be-Wait? Did you say mind control?" he asked.
I nodded. "Well, not exactly, but she put me and Alaine under some kind of trance and I nearly allowed myself to let her get turned. She said how I was practically all alone and I needed someone who could understand me. And, to make it worse, I felt that way. Alaine is my best friend, my only best friend aside from Thomas, and I nearly allowed her life to change for my sake! Thankfully, I levitated her off the ground and placed her near the exit but what's wrong with me?! I have lost it or something?"
''There's nothing wrong with you, Char! I guess it's like how the girls handled it, only they had each other to lean on. You, on the other hand, have two adult mermaids and a preteen merboy on your side, but you want someone to lean on as well. But, I have to say, I'm proud of you for saving her. Did she remember anything the experience?" he asked.
I shook my head. "She remembered going into the tunnel but nothing else. I told her to pass it off as a dream though. And you want to know something, the moon pool collapsed after the moon passed over. To be honest, it's clever. You could trap anyone who didn't come out but once you made it out of the tunnel, it solidifies itself back to rock like it wasn't even there. And then, Thomas managed to grab something from the cave. I don't have it with me now but I could describe it to you."
Lewis nodded, telling me to continue.
"Well, it was an oval-prism shaped, sea-blue crystal. When I held it, it gave off so much power, an evil, sinister power, that I couldn't help but drop it. Ever heard of something like that?" I asked.
He was quick to reply. "Yeah. Remember the new girl I was telling you about?"
I nodded. By now, I had calm down from the whole "Emma replacement" thing, but that didn't mean I wanted to learn the girl's name quite yet. I probably will when I know accept it for what it is.
"Well, she wears a similar crystal around her neck. Turns out, Mako has similar crystals in the cave walls. I believe they were there when the comet, the one which created the pools, crashed and embedded themselves into the wall. She got her own from Ireland though. I believe you found a similar one, only yours belongs to an evil mermaid," he said, the last part sounded weak though.
"So what now? I don't know what to do next. Karen's husband is coming after me for whatever reason, I now need to juggle the fact that I'm lying to my best friend, and also, let's not forget an evil mermaid who now has a moon pool with, possible, a billion crystals embedded in it but also goes into self-destruct mode whenever the moon passes! Let's face it, I'm on my own over here!"
Lewis shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you can't get rid of your tail, though what else do you plan to do? Go through Laguna's spellbooks and try to reverse the effect or are you planning on taking Marana's tail as well?"
To be honest, he struck a nerve harder than Riley ever will. I know I can't forget that night, but that doesn't mean I'll do it again when I get the chance.
"Oh, so that means that I'm evil myself then huh?"
Realizing what he said, Lewis was quick to try to back up what he meant. ''That wasn't what I meant Char! I just mean that you can't get out of your situation no matter what happens! And even if you tried, there would be consequences for your actions and a lot of people could get hurt and-"
"And you don't think I know that! Well, news flash: It has already happened! For example, just the other weekend, I just had a giant snake come into my room and try to kill me! And as a result, I now have 3 ugly scars on my back! Tell me, my actions had to have been so bad that I nearly died. And then, my mother didn't hear the whole thing! You think I was able to sleep with that on my conscious? I knew she was OK afterward but that still killed me! So tell me, Lewis, I already know I need to be careful with what I do but I refuse to be some pawn in someone's game! I think you're lovely girlfriend and her friends made that kind of clear!" I yelled, crossing my arms.
That must have set Lewis off. "HEY! I'm sorry, but last I check, it was YOU that lost control! You got jealous and look where that got you, a bitter harpy in the first place!"
"Well, since I will always be the evil one in this, whatever we have, why do you even bother talking to me! I'm pretty sure you've been dying to tell the others about my predicament!"
"I wouldn't because, unlike you, I care! We may not be dating anymore but that doesn't mean we can't be friends! But of course, it's all about Charlotte, always has been, always will be! She'll always care about nothing but herself!" he countered back.
"AND YOU THINK I HAVEN'T TRIED TO CHANGE THAT! I STILL CAN'T SLEEP PEACEFULLY SINCE THAT NIGHT! I MAY FEEL COMFORTABLE AT TIMES BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I DON'T FEEL GUILTY! I COULD PROBABLY SAVE THEIR LIVE ONE DAY AND EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T FORGIVE ME, I HAVE TO LIVE THAT THEY WOULD NEVER ACCEPT MY APOLOGY! I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT OTHERS BECAUSE, NO MATTER WHAT, THEY CAN BE CONTROLLED AT ANY TIME AND IT WOULD STILL BE MY FAULT BECAUSE I WILL BE THE MAIN CAUSE OF IT NO MATTER WHAT!" I screamed. I felt tears coming from my eyes, but I refused to feel weak and shed the last of my pride.
Lewis was calm and quiet for a moment. His face was unreadable but I guess, in the direction we were headed, it was expected.
"So, I guess that if you feel that way, this is our last goodbye huh?" he asked. He said it more like a statement, but it was also questioned as well.
"I guess it is. It wouldn't be fair anyway to continue talking to each other in the first place," I said. I won't admit it, but I felt a piece of my heart breaking off, but it was for the best. I had to grow up, and let go of my past was further proof.
"Goodbye Lewis."
"Goodbye Charlotte. Have a nice life," he said. And with that, he logged off just as I closed my laptop.
I laid on my back and looked up at the ceiling. I knew I had not only just took away the closest thing I could get to help from an outsider, but I cost myself a friend. I should apologize for the way I talked but I had a feeling it wouldn't work.
Huh, it's funny how a casual talk ended up with us forever not talking in general.
I closed my eyes and was about to go to sleep until I heard my phone ring.
RRRRRRIIIINNNNGGGGGG! RIIIINNNNNGGGG-
"Hello?" I asked as I answered my phone. I didn't even bother looking at the caller I.D. to see who it was.
"C-C-Char?" I heard a teary voice call. I raised myself as I recognized that voice.
"Alaine, what wrong? Are you OK? Why are you crying?" I asked in full panic mode. I swear if something happened to her...
"L-l-listen...d-do y-you s-still have the t-the bike I g-gave you?" she asked, now on a full-time sobbing.
"Yeah! Did something happen? Alaine? Al, did something happen?" I asked repeatedly. It took a few minutes for her to answer and I was now worried.
"C-can you c-c-come and p-pick me up p-please?" she asked. "I-I need a p-place to stay for t-the n-n-night."
Before long, I grabbed Thomas and my helmet, rushed outside to hop onto the bike, and rode off with my dog running beside me. Dear God, what was going on today?
3rd POV
Alaine had told Charlotte to meet her at Valencia Heritage Park. It took a total of six minutes to get there and by the time she got there, it was 6:30 pm. She had no idea how much time had passed since earlier that morning.
As Char hopped off her bike, she attached Thomas to a leash and started walking around to find Alaine, but it was a big park. Charlotte couldn't help but ask around and look around the playgrounds to find her.
WOOF!
She looked down at the dog and then looked at the direction Thomas was barking at and saw a petite figure sitting down near the picnic tables. Instantly, Charlotte knew it was Alaine.
"Alaine!" she yelled as she and Thomas ran towards her. Alaine looked up at them.
Charlotte smiled in relief as she ran towards her but stopped when she noticed two things wrong when she got close enough.
First off, she had a huge duffle bag beside her on the ground. It was big enough to have at least 4 weeks' worth of clothes, she guessed.
The second thing, she was sporting a black eye and a huge bruise on her right cheek. No, it was big enough to the point it was swollen to the point that the whole right part of her face was puffing out.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, WHAT HAPPENED!?