H2O: A Summer's Tail
By Jeune Ecrivain
Rating: T
Chapter 2

Rikki's Café, formerly known as the Juicenet, had been closed for approximately a week, and the youth of Gold Coast were already growing apprehensive about the fate of their favorite hang-out. More than one passing comment had been made about the possibility of the popular juice bar becoming one of those ill-fated local businesses trapped in a cycle of buy-outs and sell-outs. Zane Bennett, until recently the owner and co-manager with his ex-girlfriend Rikki Chadwick, knew how important the restaurant was to the community because he himself had been one of its boisterous teenage patrons not so long ago.

So he had inwardly jumped at the chance to pass the proverbial torch to an acquaintance just a year or two older than him who had himself established roots in Gold Coast and knew the place well enough to preserve its character. Still, the thought of Ash brought a ́slight frown to his face. Zane's father was a successful entrepreneur. Business was in his blood. So what did College Boy have that he didn't? Perhaps what he was really bitter about was not so much Ash's managerial finesse (although he much preferred the term "one-upmanship") as the seeming ease with which he had weaseled his way into the close-knit group composed of Rikki, her friends Emma, Cleo, and Bella, and those trusted with their mermaid secrets.

Then, Bella's boyfriend had also wormed his way into the Mermaid Club, and Zane found it harder to repress his resentment the second time around. Both Will and Ash insisted that it had not been that easy by any means. The latter even claimed that it had almost cost him his relationship with Emma. Considering that Zane actually had lost his girlfriend due in part to his apparently souring attitude and wounded ego, he had trouble sympathizing. Still, Rikki meant enough to him that their break up had left him with a nagging compulsion to re-examine his outlook despite his own raging pride.

Thus it was with very mixed feelings that he found himself in an empty Rikki's Café on an otherwise lazy afternoon making last-minute preparations for the transfer of ownership. Personal matters aside, he wanted the restaurant he and Rikki had rebuilt together to resume with a running start. He had reorganized the freezer and was now replacing a recently defunct light bulb that hung inconspicuously above the bar. As it clicked into place, a knock sounded at the front door. Wiping his brow, Zane descended the rusting step-ladder he had brought with him, made the familiar trek to the entrance, and swung one of the twin doors open.

Bella Hartley stood with her hands in her pockets while Will Benjamin peeked over her shoulder in idle curiosity. "Hey, Zane," she said. "Word's gotten out that you sold the café, and the girls are wondering if you know anything about the new owner."

Will flashed a crooked smile. "I think they're just worried that he's going to totally remake the place or something, 'cause that would totally bum them out."

"Well, can you blame us?" Bella chuckled. "You and I have only been here for one semester, and we already have some fond memories here. Who knows how many the others have!"

Will shrugged. "Can't argue that."

Zane nodded and gave a slight smirk, viewing the exchange as an opportunity to show that he hadn't just capitulated to the highest bidder. "Actually, the new owner is a guy who used to work here named Ash."

"Ash?" Bella repeated. "As in Emma's boyfriend, the stable boy?"

"The very same." Zane stepped aside and let his companions' curiosity draw them in, which it did immediately. "He came to me a couple of weeks ago and made an offer. I wasn't counting on being able sell it to someone who actually had a history with the place, so it seemed too good to pass up. We hashed out a deal pretty fast."

"Where'd he get the money?" asked a quizzical Will.

"Apparently, he convinced the bank to take him up on a venture loan or something."

"Wasn't he the manager before?" asked Bella, mentally reviewing what Cleo and Rikki had told her about Ash.

"Yeah," confirmed Zane. "In fact, that's probably how he and Emma got together. They actually met at the stable where her little brother went for horseback riding lessons, but they didn't really spend a great deal of time together until he came to the JuiceNet."

"Cool!" chimed Bella. "I have to confess, though, I did come for a reason. I was wondering what's going to happen to the band, you know, with the new owner and all. Cleo and Rikki told me they never had live music when Ash and Emma were here."

He shrugged. "You'll have to ask him that, but I don't see any reason he'd cut you off. In fact, he should be here shortly. I'm meeting him to hand over the keys and get him oriented." A sigh accentuated the finality of his words. "The end of an era, I guess."

No one seemed sure if he was referring more to the era of Rikki's Café or to the era of Rikki herself. Will cleared his throat. "So, what are you going to do with yourself now? Your ol' man sending you to college?"

Zane shook his head. "He wants me to stand on my own two feet, and shockingly, I can't say I blame him. To get the ball rolling, I actually still have a job here as a waiter. One of the conditions of sale."

"So, you start off as the owner and end up a waiter. I'm no expert, and you're the one who comes from a business family, so correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the goal to move UP?"

"Will..." Bella admonished despite the amused twinkle in her eye. "Be nice."

"Ah, you know I'm just ribbin' you, mate," chuckled Will, his smug smile turning sincere. "I know we've had our differences, but I actually respect you for trying to make it on your own."

Zane's glare faded, and he nodded again in silent acknowledgement as the sounds of a car door opening and closing sounded from outside. "Speak of the devil..."

Bella and Will turned their heads, saw a parked Sedan through the window, and watched. Not only did a dark-haired man emerge from the car, but so did a blonde girl with her hair pulled into a neat ponytail and a younger boy with blonde curls.

"He brought Emma and her kid brother," observed the former restaurateur in mild surprise. "Strange. I thought she wasn't due back for another weak." He leaned against the doorframe and let his eyes meet Ash's as he and his two companions reached the entrance, a half-polite/half-sincere smile gracing his face. "Welcome back, mate."

Ash grinned as he led Emma and Elliot into what was now his café. "Great to be here! Summer never does seem to come fast enough, does it?"

"No argument there." Zane rolled his eyes in genuine agreement before turning to Emma. "We weren't expecting you for another week. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Emma smiled. "I decided to hop an early flight home to surprise the girls. They're not here, are they?" She scanned her surroundings anxiously.

Zane shook his head. "Nope. It's just me, Will, and Bella." He pointed to each of them sideways with his thumb. "Guys, this is Emma, Ash, and..." He drew a blank.

"Elliot," the younger male supplied. "Hi."

Bella shook each of their hands with characteristic cheer. "Hi! So great to finally meet you! Cleo and Rikki talk about you all the time!" she said while Will finished his own round of handshakes.

"You too! It's great to meet you in person after everything I've heard!" Emma replied with a sincere smile. "And Will!" She shook her head in awe of said male. "Wow! Cleo and Rikki weren't kidding, were they? Another five years or so, and I might actually have trouble telling you and Elliott apart!"

Will laughed, partially to conceal a mild blush. "I know! Rikki and Cleo noticed it out of the blue about a couple months ago, and they still bring it up every now and then!"

Elliot scrutinized his supposed doppelganger. "We don't look that much alike."

"Actually, you do," Bella teased as she looked at each of the two blonde males from various angles. "Cleo and Rikki knew what they were talking about!"

"Sorry, mate. There's definitely a resemblance there," Ash contributed with a chuckle before turning his attention to a visual survey of the establishment. "I gotta admit, Zane, I like what you've done with the place."

"Thanks, man," his predecessor nodded. "You should probably know we got new controls for the freezer. I can show you if you like."

"Fine by me."

Emma, Bella, Will, and Elliot hardly noticed their comrades' departure. "Anyway, Elliot, you two do have something in common. Cleo and Rikki told me Will's a free-diver. In fact, I heard he won the national championship!"

Will's interest was piqued. "You into free-diving?"

"Well, not diving really, but I am thinking about joining the swim team at my school," answered Elliot.

The older boy nodded. "That's cool. How'd you get into it?"

"He's hoping to outdo his big sister," Emma interjected, throwing her sibling an impish glare. "I used to be on the team, and I got pretty good at it."

"She was a champ," her brother clarified. "I figure someone has to pick up where she left off."

"Can't let a reputation like that go to waste," Will concurred.

"Right. So, what is free-diving anyway?" inquired Elliot.

"Basically, it's diving as deep as you can with nothing but a mask and a mono-fin. It's really great! You learn how to slow your heart rate so you can hold your breath for a really long time and also how to swim more efficiently so you don't use up too much oxygen on the way down."

"What's a mono-fin?"

Will bit back a laugh and slipped his arm around the shorter youth's shoulder. "Okay, dude, if you're going to be a champion swimmer or diver, there are a few things you have simply got to know!"

Bella only had a brief moment to be amused at the exchange between the blond quasi-twins before Emma pulled her aside, letting the boys drift off into the intricacies of diving. "So let me get this straight. You've been a mermaid for longer than Cleo, Rikki, and I put together?"

The more wavy-haired blonde laughed. "You could say that. When I first told them when I turned, they seemed to get a little self-conscious about the fact that it'd only been two years for them, but I got the truth out of Lewis soon enough."

"Wow! We had a hard enough time coping with it at sixteen but you were nine, for cryin' out loud! And there weren't any other mermaids in Ireland to share it with, were there?"

Bella sighed, recalling the loneliness that had often plagued her before moving to Australia. "Not that I knew of, and if there were, I sure wish I'd known, 'cause that would've made it a whole lot easier!"

Emma gave her a sympathetic look, her eyes bearing into her fellow mermaid's. "It must have been hard."

"It was definitely an adjustment, to say the least, but by the time I had a decent grip on everything, it had sort of become a part of who I was."

"What about the full moon? How the hell did you ever survive that every month for eight years?"

"It took me a couple times to figure out that the moon was even the reason for the whole thing. The first time, I woke up floating on my back in my moonpool with no memory of how I got there. I could only guess that I'd sleepwalked there in the middle of the night. My parents freaked out, the police went out searching, and it was a whole big mess. I was grounded for a month! That was also when I got my gelatinizing power, by the way. I first noticed it later on the following day." Emma nodded in understanding. "The second time, when I was eleven, I woke up in the woods close to the moonpool and managed to get back home before my parents panicked again. They did catch me sneaking in, though, and grounded me again." Bella swallowed. "The third time was the worst. I was fifteen, and a friend of mine caught me lurking around the moonpool acting, as she put it, 'loopy and a little mean.'" She let out a small chuckle that quickly faded. "The unspoken conclusion was that there was alcohol involved, and of course I was in no position to set anyone straight. My parents haven't really trusted me since then."

"Damn," Emma sympathized, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, it was tough. Actually, it was one of the reasons I filed for emancipation so I could move out on my own. I know it wasn't their fault, but the having them suspicious all the time just got to me. You know? Plus, it was getting harder and harder to keep the secret. And I knew it was hurting them too. I just...thought it was the best thing for everyone."

"Do you keep in touch at all?"

"Yeah. We talk on the phone about once a week or so. I tried my best to make it clear that I still loved them, and I think they're believing it more and more now, even though they still don't completely understand."

"Wow!" Emma breathed. "It's amazing you're not depressed or anything. Rikki and Cleo always told me how much of a positive person you are."

"Well, moving to Australia had alot to do with that. Just about the time when it probably would've pushed me over the edge is when I met Rikki, Cleo, and Will. I don't know, they...gave me a sense of belonging, I guess. I didn't know how bad I needed it before I came here, but now, I wouldn't trade their friendship and camaraderie for anything!"

"Neither would I," Emma smiled. "And now you have me too!" she added in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Bella smiled back. "Thanks! And I'm sorry for dumping all that on you," she chuckled. "I haven't even told Will all the sordid details yet."

"No, I'm sorry for bringing it up!" Emma furrowed her brow at the last statement. " And of course you haven't told Will. You'd have to tell him you're a mermaid first."

The response was a confused narrowing of the eyes. "He already knows. He found out a while back."

"What?"

Bella's eyes widened. "Oh, crap! Cleo and Rikki didn't tell you?"

"No, they conveniently left that part out!"

A sheepish grimace followed, blended with what the wearer hoped was a reassuring smile. "He's been a big help in dealing with everything and keeping it all secret, if that helps."

Emma's face softened as she closed her eyes for a moment to absorb this bit of information. "Well, if Rikki and Cleo trust him,...

"Which they do."

"Fine. I guess I can live with that." A heavy sigh escaped her lips. "But wait! Does he know I'm a mermaid too?"

Bella shook her head. "I don't think so. I don't think Cleo and Rikki would've told him without your approval, and they would've had to tell you he knows in order to ask you, which they obviously didn't. Plus, he only knows about you second-hand through me, and I don't recall ever mentioning it. I'm pretty sure all he knows is that you're a good friend of Rikki and Cleo who went off traveling for a year."

"Good. I'm probably going to tell him anyway, 'cause there doesn't seem to be much point in hiding it from him. Even so, I'd like it to be on my own terms."

A/N: Firstly, I am SO sorry for taking ages to update, but I spent a fair portion of the intervening month playing Elmer Fudd to my muse's Bugs Bunny. The chapter took on a life of its own in certain parts. For example, I never intended to delve into Zane's psyche in the beginning, and Lewis was originally involved but ended up getting written out halfway through. The bit about Bella being an emancipated minor popped into my head as a possible explanation for the conspicuous absence of the elder Hartleys on the show. Constructive critique is welcome, especially regarding characterization.