Hello guys! I hope you're ready for this new chapter and I hope you like it. I'm SO SO SO SO SO SORRY for being late on this! Between being in a summer program and a temporary internship, I lost track of time! 3-)

And for our Mako Mermaid fans who happen to have Netflix, and to the ones in Australia who saw the season finale of MAKO MERMAIDS season 2 part 2B, let's give a standing ovation for Evie being the first land girl ever to receive a moon ring (AUDIENCE APPLAUSE) and the Mako pod finally returns to Mako Island (HUGE STANDING OVATIONS)!

P.S. Heads up! We are practically at 130 reviewers and I'm toying with letting anonymous reviewers back into my review section. So I'm just saying that I'm so proud of the people that have been with me with the start and I hope that you're with me when I continue into my next stories!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from H2O: Just Add Water and if I did, Charlotte would probably have had her own show or the absurd that was Charlotte's character wouldn't have happened!

ENJOY!

Charlotte's POV

I will NOT lie: I was glad to have found Alaine safe and sound.

But when I saw the swelling on the side of her face, I wasted no time running up to her and taking her into my arms. I felt Alaine return the hug as she started to cry into my shirt. Thankfully, I had something under it or else I would have sprouted my tail.

I pulled away and got a good look at her face. It seemed that she just needed to put ice on it so that the swelling went down, but that wasn't what was bothering me.

It was the fact that the bruise looked like someone punched her in the face.

"Alaine, what happened to you?" I asked.

I must have hit a nerve because she started to cry and become a blubbering mess. Now that I think about it, I had a pretty good idea of who hit her, and I swore that I would protect her.

"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down, Alaine! Listen, I want you to get your stuff and we'll go to my place and I can whip up a batch of hot chocolate! It's my mom's recipe!" I told her in a slight sing-song tone at the end. She nodded and went back to the table to retrieve her stuff.

I looked around the park and noticed that there were barely any people here. And now that I noticed, I also saw Alaine's bike nowhere in sight. How the Hell did she get here? On foot?

When I saw Alaine coming towards being calm again, she had her bag slung around her shoulder.

"Are you ready?" I asked her timidly.

She just nodded. So, I hopped on my bike and felt Alaine sit down behind me with both feet on the rear axles and grip my shoulders. I looked down at Thomas, who was attached to my bike, looked OK.

"Alright, Let's go!"

It was a little wobbly with 2 people, but once we were on the road, there was no stopping at my house.

At Charlotte's House...

By the time we got there, Alaine, oh-so-dangerously, jumped off the bike and grabbed her bag. She was fast enough to do it or else I would have fallen. I got off and safely walked next to her as we slowly walked to the front porch.

The sky was getting dark sooner than expected and I felt a breeze from the wind blow past us. I looked at my friend.

Her head was down and her usual aura of happiness that seemed to follow her had died along with it. The swelling on her face had seemed to go down a little on its own but still needed ice. And from how I saw her eyes earlier, the light in it had died as well. I always thought that maybe Alaine had some kind of eternal happiness reboot button on her, but I would truly be lying if I didn't remember what happened the last time I saw her...with her mom.

When we walked on to the porch, I placed the bike on the side took out the key that was hidden under the doormat, and unlocked the door. Thomas made no time rushing inside the house and I watched as Alaine made her way into the living room. I figured she needed a little alone time so I let her be.

I went into the kitchen and made Thomas's dinner first, to his delight, then pulled out an empty ice pack from the kitchen drawer and began to fill it with water. When it was full, I closed the top, and, looking over my shoulder, I raised my hand, and instantly, the water pack was frozen. After that, I made 2 cups of my mother's famous hot cocoa.

I looked back at the clock to see that my mother would be home soon and I needed to know what happened to Alaine. So, I picked up the ice pack and the coffee mugs and headed into the living room.

The living room was painted with blue walls. There was a bookshelf next to the TV and in the middle of the room was a small coffee table on a brown carpet. There were 2 sofas on both sides of the room, facing each other (one on the wall and the other in front of the windows) and at the edge of the room was my mom's sofa chair, where I found Alaine sitting.

I walked over to her and gave her the cup of cocoa and the ice pack, which she accepted gradually. I sat down on the couch in front of her.

"So...what happened? I saw you earlier today and you were just fine. And now, you were practically in tears by the time I got to you! Did something happen?" I asked.

Alaine just sipped her cocoa and kept her head down. When she was done, she slowly put her cup down and pulled the ice pack towards her bruised face. I scooted up closer to her and brought her face up for me to see. I saw sorrow and hurt coming from her eyes and, much to my displeasure, embarrassment? What could she be embarrassed for?

Suddenly, my mind wandered back to that day at choir tryouts. My first glimpse at her mother, the look of pleading in her eyes and now, I know I'm going to have to ask the dreaded question. I breathed in a sharp breath and felt the words roll off of my tongue as I spoke.

"Alaine...did your mom hurt you?"

And like that, she burst out in tears, which held no difference compared to a flood of water bursting out of a well-built dam. She used her hands to cover her face, but the tears just kept coming.

I jumped back a little to avoid her tears landing on me. The last thing I needed was to become a mermaid right in front of her. So, instead, I did as my grandmother used to when I was little, and placed my hands on her shoulders and rubbed them soothingly to calm down.

It worked. Within minutes of crying, she calmed down though I knew she had waaayyyy more tears to let out, I needed to know what happened.

"Alaine, please, I need to know what happened today. Not that long ago, this morning, you were as happy as lark, but now you're an emotional wreck! Did something happen once you got home?" I pleaded, "you know you can trust me...aren't we best friends?"

I looked towards the ground and have never felt more ashamed at myself than before. Oh how nice of me to play the "best friend" card, yet I can't even tell her that I'm a mermaid for Pete's sake!

I heard Alaine mumble and leaned my head back up to hear her better.

"Can you repeat that?" I asked.

"S-s-she w-wasn't su-supposed to be home t-today," she whispered.

It took me a minute to realize what she meant. Andrea, I think that was her name, wasn't supposed to be home when she left. But the didn't make any sense. She should have been home in general...right?

"Who? Your mom? What does that have to do with anything? Didn't she know about our little day out yesterday?" I asked. I waited a few minutes until she spoke again.

"No...I never told her at all. She was supposed to be away until Monday," Alaine confessed. She had stopped stuttering and had calmed down to speak in proper English.

"So, you lied to her? Sorry to sound disrespectful to parents everywhere, how is that a bad thing? You just didn't tell her," I said.

"Listen, you don't understand! She-she...I didn't understand how she knew about yesterday. But when I got home, I found her sitting on the couch, drinking a bottle of beer and she had a computer on her lap," she said as she started to cry again, "I asked her what she was doing home so earlier and she turned to computer around and on the screen were pictures from the other day at the mall. I saw that some of the girls must have posted the pictures on Facebook and somewhere under my name...Oh god, it just got ugly from there. She got up and the first thing she did was splash beer on my face and asked me how conceited I was. I told her I wasn't but she wouldn't listen to me and then she brought you up and all the sudden, I got defensive, and...and...all I know was that I was on the floor in seconds and then I was packing my stuff running out the house and calling you!"

I watched as Alaine returned to a sobbing-mess as she wrapped her arms around herself and started rocking herself back and forth. Against my better judgment, I pulled her close to my body and held her again. There were so many things going through my head that I felt a slight headache coming along. But now I was assured of 1 thing:

Alaine's mom is abusing her.

I mean, there was no other option to consider. To be honest, I was stupid enough not to suspect this after I had witnessed her hit Alaine in the girls' bathroom. Part of me felt stupid because I put myself in a bystander position when she needed help. But when she confronted me in the girls' locker room the night I found out I was a mermaid again, it was like she was used to this behavior.

Though it makes sense, seeing as I tried to bottle up my emotions as best as I can for a time before I have to let it out.

I pulled away and made her look at me.

"Listen, Al, you don't even have to ask. You can stay here as long as you need and after this, you and I can ask my mom to take us to the police station and-"

"Woah, wait a minute!" Alaine interrupted me, "my mom doesn't hurt me or anything. Well, badly. It just went too far today. That's all!"

Now, it was my turn to look flabbergasted. Was she seriously defending the woman that had no problem beating her down when she was angry?

"So what your telling me is that you can to me in a blubbering mess and confessed that your mother lost it, yet you don't want to file a report?" I asked in a serious tone.

Alaine nodded. "There's no law saying that the fight was an act of child abuse, which it wasn't, and, besides, it was just a parent disciplining their child. There's nothing to report."

If that was her way of saying no and stating the facts why, well now I could understand. But if she was just defending the woman who raised her and is abusing her, we were going to have some issues.

I was about to say something when I heard the front door open and saw Thomas rush out of the room. Then, I heard my mom's voice.

"Charlotte, I'm home! I hope you don't mind if I brought Chinese, your favorite!" I heard her say, "and yes Thomas, I see you, yes I do!"

When she finally came into view, I saw her smile and in her hands was a big, brown bag filled with Chinese food and her purse. However, my mom's smile faded when she saw what was in front of her. Not wanting to fully explain everything, I got up and said,

"Mom, Alaine needs a place to stay for a while. She'll be staying in the guest room for now. Will that be a problem?"

I saw my mom eye Alaine and study her features. My guess was the bloodshot eyes from the crying and how tired she was that made her silently nod, approving of our new house guest. Turning towards Alaine, I held out my hand, which she accepted, and helped her out her seat.

"C'mon, let me show you to your room."

Later that night, I was sitting on my bed, looking up abuse stories and the California law system with Thomas sitting beside me, when my mom came in.

I looked up at her and sighed. Part of me knew she would want some detail about why Alaine was staying with us and why she looked like she had cried a river as well. To be honest, I wanted to tell her my suspicions, though I felt that I had enough evidence for child abuse as it was, I was going to have to wait for Alaine to come clean to herself before I told anyone.

Great, another big secret I have to keep.

"Alright, normally, I would have no problems if you wanted to invite a friend over, believe me when I say this. But what happened to Alaine? When I saw her with you yesterday, she seemed as polite and happy with herself. And though I know a lot can happen in a day, her swollen face and her tear-streaked eyes just say that something all new! So can you tell me what happened?" my mom asked.

I quickly looked to my computer and exited out of any evidence that I was looking at earlier. I didn't need her to go snooping on this when I went to school the next day. And don't think I'm lying about this because I and my mom have our honesty code and allowing her to go through my computer at times goes with it.

I looked up at her and said "I'm sorry, mom, but that's not my secret to tell. To be honest, she called me and I rushed to get her. By the time you got here, I had just calmed her down. All I know is that she needed a place to stay for the night and I'm letting her stay if you'll let me."

"Of course she can stay, but I know you Charlotte. Before we moved to the States, you were always to yourself and only speaking to me when you needed to. Now, it seems like you only need me when you need parental permission for something. You're 17 going on 18 and you have responsibilities, not only to me but to yourself. And after you graduate, you're going to college and...and...you won't need me anymore. But it seems as if you never needed me at the beginning," my mom confessed. It didn't take me long to see her eyes starting to swell.

Part of me felt like I was going to cry. Not many people know this, but two years and two months before Gracie's death, I witnessed how my father died in a dolphin incident. That's mostly the sole reason why I'm terrified of dolphins majorly, though I learned that not all dolphins are like that.

And coming with being a mermaid, this secret comes with sacrifices. And like the girls, one of them was lying to their parents. I mean, when I lost my tail, I lost every reason to tell her everything, especially about Gracie (that one was practically a family secret). But now that I have my tail back, I was given the responsibility to trust a few people with my secret.

And to make it worse, it was hurting the only family I had left: My mom.

I quickly leaned in and wrapped my arms around my mom's neck as tightly as I could and I felt her do the same. I had to let her know that I was here and that she would always have me. When we pulled away, I spoke.

"Mom, I'm so so sorry if I made you feel that way! I...I honestly don't have any excuse for treating you that way. It's just that, it's hard coping with trying to get a fresh start because of...The truth is that I'm not the person you think I am. I can't always tell the truth but I always have a good reason why, and I know I'm not the perfect daughter but I can try to make you proud. But the truth is that I love you and I don't want us to be apart because of that.

So what if I go to college? Whether it's 3 hours from here or 3,000 miles from here, I'll always come back to you, no matter how happy or stubborn I am to admit it. You don't have to worry about me leaving, you'll still have me no matter what."

By the time I was done, I felt tears running down my face and saw the same running with my mom.

I wasn't lying though. I promised myself that I will be a different girl than I was in Australia, and that meant trying to make due on my promises. And by cutting Lewis out, no matter how much I might need him, I can at least work out the rest with the Coves.

Now as a daughter to a parent, I had to do my best to be the best as I can be and make my mom proud. Over the years, there may have been some distance between us due to her working and me being bullied and all, but since this would possibly be my last year living at home with her, I had to make it last.

"I am so glad you feel that way, because, if I had it my way, you would be locked in this house with me forever!" my mom said with a teary laugh. I joined in.

It was nice to have these talks, and I know it may be a while before I get the chance to tell her the truth but I guess if spending time with the people I care about helps, then so be it.

When my mom got up and left, later on, I saw the clock and decided that I needed to head to bed. So I put my laptop away and turned off the lights before getting under the covers.

I won't take what I have for granted any more than I did before, but as I turned on my side to get some sleep, I realized...

Maybe, just maybe...some deep, sick part of me can't help but feel glad at being better at something the girls already aren't: A better daughter to our parent(s).

September 21st, 2009, Monday...

3rd POV

When Charlotte woke up the next morning, her nose picked up a few familiar smells.

Eggs. Bacon. Pancakes...with cinnamon?

What on earth was her mother up to? She better not be experimenting again. She may be a chef, but when it came to creating new recipes from scratch, not everything comes out well and tasty.

Charlotte threw back the covers quickly and dashed out of her room. She then went running down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen.

"Mom, please tell me you're not trying to create a new pancake recipe because you didn't listen to me last time and the green bell peppers..." she trailed as she took in the sight in front of her.

Looking back at her, there was Alaine and Annette, both in aprons, with perfectly baked pancakes and sausage in their hands, looking at her with wide eyes. And on the floor, Thomas was eyeing the sausage with what one would call "food-lust".

Alaine turned to her mother. "You tried to cook green bell peppers in pancakes? How well did that turn out?"

Annette shrugged. "Not well, especially if you also add red bell peppers, bananas, and eggs to it. To be honest, I think it came out as some messy pancake-omelet hybrid instead."

Alaine gave Charlotte a smiled and said: "OK, now I know I need to be in the kitchen with you if that happens."

"HEY!" Annette exclaimed with humor in her voice.

Charlotte smiled. Seemed that this living arrangement would work out well.

"Alright, since I am practically in my PJs, I'm gonna head upstairs and get dressed," Charlotte said, wanting to give them some alone time and get her bath over with.

A tail and an hour later, Charlotte came down again with her hair in a curly body wave and wearing a purple skirt, white sneakers, and the white top, a little joke shirt Charlotte made earlier, with "THE SECRET SOCIETY OF EX MERMAIDS" on it.

"Fashion statement much?" Alaine said with a smile when she saw the outfit, "what did Ariel ever do to you?". Charlotte knew that she was joking and that was the whole point when she created the shirt.

So, she put her hands on her hips with a smile and said, "You have no idea and I should probably say the same thing."

Then, Charlotte looked over at Alaine's look. Her black her was braided into a waterfall and she had on a pink, lace flowy dress that was short in the front and flowed in the back. And as for the shoes, were white gladiator shoes.

Alaine beamed in pride. "Hey, for me, looking this good, every day, 365 days a year, is more of a goal than a chore."

"Well, unless you want to look good on an empty stomach, then let's eat," Charlotte said with another smile as the two went to eat breakfast.

Turns out that Alaine got up earlier and started to make breakfast when Annette came in. It was revealed that they both loved cooking and were trading cooking tips when Charlotte came in.

However, it was time for them to leave and at Alaine's insistence, they decided to take Char's bike to school.

"You know, you never told me where you got the bike," Charlotte said.

"Oh, it was my old one. I needed a new bike and I sort of had to do some odd jobs to get my new one," Alaine responded.

"Which is where...?"

"At my house."

Charlotte rolled her eyes as she finished adjusting Thomas to her bike and climbed on with her satchel on her shoulder and Alaine, with her floral backpack on her, hopped on right behind me.

"Wait!" Alaine quickly said before taking off and coming back with a helmet. "You honestly think I'd let you go without protection? HA! Then you don't know me!"

Rolling her eyes again, she felt Alaine climb back on and wrap her arms around her before they set off to school.

Charlotte's POV

Surprisingly, the school day went very well for me and Al. We had class, met up with the other girls, had choir practice since softball practice was canceled for the day, and I hadn't run into Riley at all.

I found out from Domonique that Damon was grounded for getting involved in a fight, which he didn't blame me for and had said he would do it again if he had to.

Yeah, well unless he wants me to "save" him again, I'll take the offer, I thought.

So before school ended, I called my mom to pick Alaine up while I decided to call Karen and have her pick me up.

RRRRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGG!

As everyone left the school building in a hurry, I saw my mom in her car, waving at me and Alaine as we were getting out of the building.

"Are you sure you don't need a lift? I mean, I've never seen the cafe before, well except the internet, and you need some sleep for softball practice tomorrow," Alaine said to me as we waved over to my mom.

"Don't worry, I have a ride and if I do remember right, you and my mom were talking pollen and all sorts of stuff to do in the garden my mom's planning on trying to start this morning," I said with a smile, "I'll be fine. The worst that can happen is me running into Riley today."

Alaine shook her head. "Wait? He's pinning for you? Still? Why?"

"I have no idea. We bump into each other once, just once, and since then, he's been trying to ask me out to no avail," I explained.

"And when do you plan on saying yes?' she asked.

"When I don't have any choice," I said, signaling the end of the topic for now. Alaine had been on my back all day since I first opened my locker and a note fell out.

And here's what it said:

"Charlotte,

I know you probably still hate me or at least feel some dislike towards me, but I am determined to get your hand and rush off into the sunset on my trusty steed with you as my princess. So, once again, I WILL ask:

Will do me the honor of going on a date with me?

From your favorite Paradise lifeguard,

Riley Byrnes"

Not only was the note as cheesy as heck, but did he call me a princess? Sorry, but no matter what anyone says, there are 3 girls in the land down under who win that title!

And to make it worse, he had the nerve to say that I disliked him! I'll admit that I don't hate the guy, but he's pushed so many buttons already that I feel the urge to freeze him alive!

"Well, at least let him down gently. I doubt you have the inability to make a grown man cry," Alaine said sarcastically with her arms crossed.

"Are you kidding me? The first time I told him, I let him down gently. The second time, I added a little more force. Now, I'm sorry, but if I have to be a bitch to get the message across, then I have no choice but to go with it," I admitted. Riley's persistence is starting to annoy me and part of me is worried that it will be too much.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

We both looked ahead to see my mom honking her horn at us.

"Well, as much as I'd love to see how THAT will go down, I have to go. See you at your place!" my best friend exclaimed as she ran off to the car.

"Yeah, since you're staying there!" I yelled at her.

Alaine turned around right quick, stuck her tongue out at me, and ran back to the car. I watched as she got into the passenger seat of my car before it sped off. It didn't bother me that she had many things in common with my mother, but I have a feeling that she may get her very own bedroom if she keeps this up.

Chuckling at the thought, I went to untie Thomas from his tree as usual and silently waited for Karen.

Which wasn't that long as Karen pulled up in front of her. I put Thomas in the back seat and took my seat next to the driver's seat before pulling off.

I didn't know what to say exactly, considering that Brendan and I practically blew Jonathan's top off by ditching him and, if Karen and Laguna knew, almost blew my secret by turning invisible in a public place. To be honest, I was worried more about hearing Laguna's Dolphin tongue than doing drills, which I highly doubted I would get to do again.

"So how was your day?" Karen asked, her tone as bright and happy as always. This made me more nervous.

"Um, nothing much. My best friend is staying at my house for a while and is already best friends with my mother," I said, trying to lighten the mood like Karen.

She laughed. "Really? How? I remember how I used to bring friends home from school and after a while, they stopped coming because they felt my mother giving her annual glare from behind them. And it was creepy furthermore because it was similar to those shark movies where you think you're alone and then...BAM! The shark comes and eats you alive!"

Karen started laughing so hard that she was snorting at her own joke. And now that I think about it, Laguna did have some pretty scary faces that would make anyone run for the hills. It just so happened that I rarely tried to provoke it and Laguna only needed a reason to use them.

"Well, apparently, by their love for food and cooking, and possibly gardening as well, it seems that school is the only way to keep them apart," I said with a laugh, "in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if my mom is now considering making the guest bedroom her bedroom now."

"So what's wrong then?" Karen asked me suddenly. I looked at her with wide eyes.

"What makes you think anything is wrong?"

"Easy, your mouth says one thing but your eyes say another. You're not happy about them being together?" Karen asked.

"No no no! It's s not like that! It's just...last night, me and my mom had a little heart to heart last night and she thought that I never needed her at all, but that's not true. I told her that I can't always tell the truth but I have good reasons why and...Karen, I need to ask: Is it possible to tell my mom about me?"

Karen nearly stopped the van at that question. She just kept staring at the road, but I knew that "NO" was the answer.

We didn't talk much during the rest of the drive. I knew that being a mermaid and exposing yourself was a huge risk, and not only to yourself but to anyone else who shared the secret as well. But then again, 3 girls in Australia can get away with telling their boyfriends.

But the question still eludes me: Why don't their parents know?

Maybe that's why I strive to be a better daughter so much to my mom. They can't tell their parents because they're afraid of how they'll react, but you can't fear the people who created you, feed you, love you with their whole hearts, and expect anything bad from them.

This is my last year in high school and if I'm going to repair the damage I put on her, I have to come clean, or at least to the point she knows that everything is not what it seems. I trust her enough with my heart, though I now wished I showed it more often, plus my secret is practically the game-changer.

I could live a normal life with the possibility of being caught or I can be studied by scientists and/or be on display in an aquarium.

Like a normal girl, I'll take the one that is great for me!

At Paradise Cove Cafe...

When we pulled up into the cafe parking lot, I let Thomas out and decided to let him roam free for the day. I know I'll get in even more trouble, but I trust Thomas not to get caught!

"You do know the consequences if he gets caught right?" Karen asked me as she watched me take the collar off of Thomas before he ran down the beach.

"Yeah, but I trust him, and technically, you, your husband, or Laguna have to call him in for the pound," I said slyly. Knowing what I was talking about, Karen smirked at me before we entered the restaurant.

By the time we got in, the place was packed as usual and Karen made no problem putting on her work shirt over the maternity shirt she was wearing and started taking her shift as a host. Meanwhile, I made no problem dashing to the back of the restaurant to change into my uniform as well. I clocked in for me and Karen wouldn't be called in as late.

As I came out and started to wait tables, I felt a little uneasy, seeing as I could bump into Jonathan at any given moment. Here I was, out in the open and the guy is pretty much the human version of the Hulk when angry!

Just as I was about to go take orders from another table, I felt someone grabbed my arms and I jumped up in fright...

Only to see it was Riley.

"Don't scare me like that!" I quietly exclaimed before regaining my posture. Of course, rather than the guy I'm scared to see, I'm brought to the guy I'm so annoyed with rather. You know what, I'll take Jonathan any day!

"Sorry if I scared you," he apologized, though I doubted it, "but considering you left me with a raging man yesterday, I'm more frightened than you!"

Though he meant it as a joke, I couldn't help but slap him on the shoulder for it.

"Ow," he said rubbing his arm. "Alright, so I may have deserved that but I'm here because-"

"You're hoping I got the note that you slipped into my locker at school. And once again, I decline!" I said as I moved away from him.

I've been more than nice once, harsh to no return and yet he's still pining after me! What was his problem? Couldn't he take a hint?!

"Charlotte, please, I know I've asked you more than once, but now I'm going to have to ask why? Why do you keep on rejecting me 'cause I'm starting to get that there's a whole other-"

"LOOK!" I said in my most menacing voice, practically in his face, "you don't know me and quite frankly, I'm done trying to read you! This has nothing to do with my personal dating life, which I don't have time for, or anything else to put it clearly: I. Do. Not. Want. To. Go. Out. With. YOU!"

Finally hoping my thorough yet harsh words told him to leave me alone because as of now, I'm done being nice. Walking away from him, I skipped the table I was planning on going to and walked further away from him, keeping the distance as long as possible.

Was I like this back in Queensland? Even if I hadn't been abusive, Lewis, no matter how nice, would have dumped me so fast for being as needy as hell towards him.

I brought out my pen and notepad, getting ready to serve to costumers in front of me when I heard Riley yell.

"CHARLOTTE WATSFORD!"

Oh boy, he better not be doing what I think he's doing!

I slowly turned around and, as I predicted, there was Riley, in all his glory, standing on top of a table, catching the attention of not only me but the entire fricken restaurant as well! I saw that our "audience" cleared a path between me and Riley as they waited to see what happens next.

"CHARLOTTE WATSFORD!" he repeated, "I HAVE HONESTLY BEEN UNCARING, SELFISH, AND A JERK TOWARDS YOU SINCE WE FIRST MET IN THIS VERY RESTAURANT..."

Oh man, he's making it sound like he's proposing to me! I can practically feel all the looks behind my back as I did my best to stare blankly at him.

"...BUT AS FATE WOULD HAVE IT, YOU WERE A SPITFIRE AND YOUR ENDLESS FLAME ATTRACTED ME AND BURNED ME AS ALWAYS. MORE THAN 3 TIMES, I HAVE ASKED FOR YOUR HAND IN A DATE WITH ME, BUT YOUR REFUSAL HAS ALWAYS BROUGHT ME DOWN TO MY LOWEST!"

Oh, talk about dramatics! Is he seriously doing this?

"NOW, I ASK YOU, WITH ALL THESE FELLOW WITNESSES, WILL YOU PLEASE GO OUT ON A DATE WITH ME!" he exclaimed loudly, with his hands closed together in a begging gesture.

I looked around and nearly deflated at the sight of the Coves. Karen had on hand over her mouth as she tried to suppress a laugh, Brendan had the nerve to smile like the Joker while recording this entire thing on his phone, Jonathan just held a glare at me, and even Laguna was having trouble looking at this scene with a straight face.

"Riley, this has gone on far enough! And as repeated as many times as I said it, the answer is NO!" I shouted.

I saw him falter in his eyes. He expected me to say yet just like that. Then, he grew a smirk on his face. Oh no.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BURNING FLAME THAT HAS PLAGUED MY DREAMS FOR MANY NIGHTS CONTINUES TO REFUSE ME! I LIE AWAKE AT NIGHT, DREAMING ABOUT HER, FROM HER VOICE TO HER FIRE, FROM HER LONG, SILKY HAIR TO HER GORGEOUS BROWN EYES! SHE IS ALL I THINK ABOUT, DAY AND NIGHT! SO I BEG OF YOU, ALL OF YOU, PLEASE LET MY FAIR MAIDEN SEE REASON IN LETTING ME COURT HER AND BEHOLD LIFE AS IT IS!"

I felt the blood rise to my face as numerous people started shouting things at me.

"C'mon, the guy is begging for ya! Accept the damn thing!"

"He's a keeper! No man has ever done that for me."

"SAY YES! SAY YES! SAY YES!"

"This is something that happens once in a lifetime. Take it as it is!"

"Just say yes already! I'm starving!"

It was was the numerous voices and shouts that quickly filled the room that drove me to the end of my sanity.

"ALL RIGHT!" I yelled.

The crowd quickly silenced at my voice and I looked up at Riley. This guy better keep his word or else I'm done.

"All right, Riley Byrnes, I will..." I trailed getting my remaining dignity together,"...I'll go out on a date with you."

It got silent now, almost to the point you could hear a pin drop.

I watched him as he stared at me in shock, then started to mumble. At first, I couldn't understand it until he dropped to his knees on the table he was on, threw his head back with both fists in the air and screamed,

"SHE SAID YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!"

The entire restaurant burst into cheers and, knowing good and fully well that my face was red, I ran to the back of the restaurant, the staff's changing room, hiding my face. I passed the Coves, only to see Brendan jumping up and down like a monkey while saying he has officially 'created memories' to look at over and over again.

HAHAHAHAH! I decided to end this here and make it a two-part (bet you're sick of them already) and reply back on your favorite parts and Riley's very interesting proposal!

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