A/N: First, thanks to all those that have read, reviewed and/or added me to their various alert lists. Please read, enjoy and if you like, review.
Second, I need to issue a bit of a warning about what I have written that if you don't read it all the way through it will probably not be liked by you my readers. I have a part where Rikki hits on Lewis. I am not breaking anyone up and it is not a full moon. There is a reason why that she is hitting on him and I assure you that it will make sense and be accepted by the hardcore Rikki/Zane fans. Want to know more? Read on.
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Chapter 6: Rikki
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A knock came at the door to the Sertori's house. Cleo's dad opened the door to see Lewis.
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"Lewis come on in, Cleo left instructions for me to send you upstairs to her room as soon as you get here." His tone was warm and friendly but changed in the blink of an eye becoming deadly serious. "You're not up to anything funny are you?"
"What? No." Lewis chuckled nervously and squeezed around Cleo's dad and headed up to Cleo's room while trying to pretend that he didn't know that he was being given deadly looks.
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When he got up to Cleo's room he knocked on the door and called in to her, "Cleo, it's just me, are you decent?"
"Umm… kinda…"
"What?"
"Dad and Kim aren't around are they?"
"No, they're down stairs."
"Then come in; quickly, and shut the door behind you."
Puzzled at Cleo's request he did as instructed; quickly slipping into the room shutting the door behind him and turned around to see Cleo lying on the floor with her tail.
"Cleo I know you love being a mermaid but don't you think this is going just a little far."
"Very funny Lewis." Cleo said mocking him, "Now get me a towel so I can dry off."
"How did this happen anyway?" Lewis asked as he headed for her bathroom to get a towel.
"I was cleaning my tank and accidently bumped the table with the bucket on it and some of the water in it splashed onto me."
"Why didn't you just use your power to raise the water and fish right out of the tank?" He asked returning with a couple of towels.
"Do you remember what happened the last time I did that when I wasn't home alone?"
"Oh yeah; but you know, you did learn a lesson from all that."
Lewis tossed Cleo one of the towels to allow her to dry herself off and as soon as she had the towel in hand she focused her attention on the bucket containing the fish. Twisting her hand quickly a tower of water rose out of it and shot forward at Lewis soaking him from head to toe. Letting up Cleo turned to drying off her tail
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"What was that for?" Lewis asked as he walked back into the bathroom to get a fresh towel.
"If I wanted to hear about my past mistakes I would ask about them."
Lewis came back in to the room, "Oh like…" Lewis paused a moment debating if he dared bring up what he wanted to. Ultimately and cautiously he took a chance, "Breaking up with me and not fighting for me when I started to date Charlotte." He said quickly.
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Cleo had dried herself off by this time and was now standing facing him and tossed her damp towel at Lewis as he ducked out of the way.
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"You know I'm suddenly thinking of walking to school by myself, or better yet maybe I'll tell Dad that you want me to stay out past curfew tonight."
"I never said anything like that…" Lewis' voice trailed off as he realized Cleo's intent. "That really isn't necessary." He chuckled nervously.
"Hey I got an idea," Lewis began quickly changing the subject, "Since we have some extra time before school why don't we go for a walk together."
"Taking me on a nice romantic walk does sound like a perfect way for you to apologize to me."
"Me? What about you?"
Cleo raised a tower of water out of her fish tank over Lewis' head and held it there. Lewis looked up at it and gulped.
"Right; shall we be off then."
Cleo returned the water to her fish tank, grabbed her bag and headed downstairs in a super chipper mood.
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Down stairs her dad sat at the table eating his breakfast and reading the morning paper.
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"Dad when Leis comes down would you tell him to meet up with me, he'll know where."
"Where are you going? It's a little early still to be leaving for school."
"I know but Lewis was misbehaving and I had to teach him a lesson and he's taking me a romantic walk to apologize."
"Misbehaving?"
"Relax Dad, it's nothing bad and I've already taken care of it." Giving her speechless Dad a kiss she headed out the door.
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A few minutes later Lewis came down looking for Cleo. Looking up from his paper Mr. Setori noticed Lewis was half soaked.
"Lewis, what happened to you?"
"Umm… long story and I don't have time to tell it since Cleo and I are supposed to be going for a walk before school. Speaking of Cleo; where is she?"
"She went ahead without you and said for you to meet up with her and that you'll know where to find her."
"Ok good seeing you then." Lewis turned and tried to make a dash for the door.
"Hold on a second." Cleo's dad halted Lewis before he could get halfway to the door. "Cleo said you were misbehaving."
"She did, did she?"
"Care to explain?"
"Didn't Cleo tell you?"
"No she didn't." Mr. Setori said sternly.
"Well then let's just call it tasteless jokes." Lewis said nervously.
"I've got my eyes on you, so you better be treating her with respect."
"Don't worry Mr. Setori, I am." With that Lewis was allowed to leave.
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Lewis quickly made his way down to the beach where the girls often left from for their swims. Cleo liked to wait for him there that way if she got tired of waiting she had a fairly private and secluded spot to leave for a swim from. When Lewis arrived he could see that Cleo was nowhere near ready to leave for a swim, plus there were a few people around making it unsafe to go for a swim anyhow.
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"So what took you so long?" Cleo asked as Lewis came up to her.
"Your Dad actually; first he wanted to know what happened to me since I was still half soaked and then he detained me for questioning about my "misbehaving"."
"What did you tell him?"
"That I told some jokes that were in poor taste."
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Hand in hand and allowing their conversation to drift form one topic to another Cleo and Lewis began to stroll along the beach right by the water's edge just beyond the reach of the tide. After about ten minutes they stopped and turned to face each other. With her back to the ocean Cleo looked right into Lewis's eyes and he looked right back into hers as they leaned in for a kiss.
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Perfect timing; only a few people around so nobody will notice her escape into the water. Now I just have to wait until they are about to kiss… and now!
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Just as our lips were about to touch a bolt of lightning came striking down right between us from out of nowhere. It didn't touch either of us, but its sudden appearance and closeness shocked us both so much that we jumped backwards and lost our balance as we stumbled backwards. I managed to regain my balance but Lewis was not. He fell over backwards landing on the soft warm dry sand. As he landed he looked up at me wide eyed with fear and I realized that while I did stay on my feet I was in the water.
Thinking quickly I tossed my bag to Lewis and took off into the water diving under as soon as I could. When you are perfectly safe and want to go for a swim those ten seconds take forever to pass and your tail to appear, but when you are in danger of being exposed those ten seconds pass on the blink of an eye and before you know it you have your tail. I made it under with a few seconds to spare and was able to relax as I felt the change take place and my tail appeared. Now able to spend a lot longer time under the water before I had to come up for air I began a search and destroy mission; my target, another mermaid.
By time Cleo found somewhere safe to dry off she had just enough time to get to school without being late. She found Lewis waiting for her with her bag; a semi-worried look on his face that turned into relief when he saw her.
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"Hey, what took you, I was getting worried."
"I couldn't find a safe place to dry off, plus I probably spent too much time searching for Rikki."
"Rikki? What does she have to do with what happened?"
"Think Lewis; a single bolt of lightning on a bright clear sunny day. Who do you know that could create a lightning bolt like that?"
"Ok, but why?"
"That I'll explain later at lunch. Right now I need to get to class." She gave Lewis a quick kiss, "I'll see you later." With that Cleo turned and rushed off to class.
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Like so many other times I stood their staring and feeling like a bomb had just gone off in my head. The girls had an ability to do that to me without even trying. It had already been a crazy morning with the rest of the day to go. Something told me I was in for a crazy day.
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Lunch time came around and Lewis met Cleo at her locker.
"So how is your day going; you know, aside from that whole unexpected swim this morning."
"Not too bad."
"So you gonna tell me how Rikki figures into that?"
Cleo explained the whole thing, how the challenge came about, how it worked and the rules surrounding it. He could only imagine the sort of fun he could have over the next week.
"When Cleo finished explaining it he had only one thing to say, "That would explain why I haven't seen Rikki at all today." He didn't want to reveal his plans just yet; he wanted to develop them better before he told Cleo what he was thinking.
"She's probably hiding from me. She must know I want to kill her."
"Why, because she got you wet?"
"No, because first she almost hit us with a lightning bolt. A centimeter more and one or both of us would have been hit. Second, her attack almost made me late for school. And third, she interrupted our time together. We were out for a nice romantic walk and she interrupted that and cost us all our time together."
"So how do you plan to find her? I suppose you could stake out Mako."
"I don't know, but right now I'm not concerned with that. Right now I just want to spend my lunch break with you."
Hand in hand they strolled off to find a place to sit and enjoy lunch and their time together.
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I had work later that day, but I had a few hours after school before I had to be at work. My options were limited as to what to do. I didn't want to go home since Dad would've been there. He had been very busy during the weeks prior and was behind in his paperwork and probably would have taken over half the living room by then and did not need any distractions, plus I knew that when I saw him again I would be questioned about Lewis' "tasteless jokes". Going for a swim sounded inviting but instead I opted for the Juicenet and hanging out with Lewis since it give us a little more time together. He sat over at one of the computers checking his e-mail while I sat at a nearby table reading a magazine and enjoying my drink. I was so distracted that I didn't notice Rikki come in. When I did see her I just ignored her since I still wasn't the happiest with her despite having cooled off considerably. I had pushed revenge to the back of my mind for the time and just wanted to relax, enjoy my juice, read my magazine and enjoy a little time with Lewis before I had to go to work. It didn't matter though, Rikki didn't come over to me; instead she headed over to Lewis.
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"Hi Lewis." Rikki said in an affectionate voice with a slight hint of flirting. It was enough to make Lewis stiffen.
"So what are you up to?" Rikki's tone became even more flirtatious as she started to let her hands begin to massage his shoulders.
Completely speechless and puzzled Lewis sat frozen in place afraid to turn around and see with his own eyes if it was indeed Rikki that was coming on to him.
"You know I was thinking, we don't spend nearly enough time together." Rikki was moving in closer to Lewis who still refused to turn around and look.
While Lewis was afraid to look Cleo wasn't; she had begun to take notice.
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I didn't pay any attention to Rikki when she walked in or when she approached Lewis, but once she said that they didn't spend enough time together that got my attention and wondering what she was up to. While Rikki and Lewis were friends she tried to limit her Lewis exposure for the most part. She barley ranked more time with Lewis above having our secret exposed on her list of least desirable things.
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"In fact, why don't we go for a walk along the beach right now?"
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Is she hitting on Lewis?
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Reluctantly Lewis finally turned around to face Rikki. "Um, Rikki, what are you doing?" His voice trembled nervously.
"What, I can't admire a nice attractive young man?"
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She's hitting on Lewis.
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Cleo sat at her table watching the events unfold before her. Rikki, one of her best friends was hitting on her boyfriend. Slowly a flame began to ignite within her; a flame of hate and anger. As Rikki flirted more and more with Lewis that tiny flicker of a flame grew more and more into a roaring fire. Rational thought was flying out the window quickly and all that was left was what she saw and the obvious interpretation.
Ash was already on shift at the time and had stopped what he was doing and watched unable to believe what he was seeing. Watching the whole scene unfold before him he grabbed a chair and pulled up next to Cleo.
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"Please tell me I'm imagining this. Please tell me that this is all just a horrible dream that I'm having."
Cleo remained silent. Her anger was beginning to show.
"What is she up to?" Ash asked straight up hoping for, but not expecting a response.
"I'll tell you what she's up to," Cleo had seen enough. Even though Leis kept trying to back away and push Rikki away she kept throwing herself at him and Cleo couldn't stand it any longer, "She's trying to steal my boyfriend."
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Slamming her fists on the table she stood up, Ash tried to grab hold of her and hold her back but was unable. Cleo brushed him off and shoved him backwards on to the floor and stormed over to Rikki.
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"Rikki, we need to talk." Cleo said firmly and evenly.
"Not now Cleo, I'm kinda busy with Lewis right now." Rikki replied nonchalantly.
"Fine, why are you hitting on Lewis?"
"I'm just going after what I want." She answered innocently.
"What?" Cleo said giving Rikki a deadly glare.
"I'm tired of hiding it and covering up my true feelings for him."
"EXCUSE ME!" Cleo said with as much astonishment as anger.
"What about Zane?" Cleo was holding back her desire to rip Rikki to shreds right then and there.
"Who?" Rikki pretended not to recognize the name.
"Zane, your boyfriend."
"Oh, him." Rikki said carelessly, "You can have him, I don't want him anymore," she turned her attention back to Lewis, "I want Lewis."
"That's it."
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I snapped, and with my adrenaline pumping I launched myself at Rikki ready to tear her apart. It hadn't been that long ago that I nearly lost Lewis to Charlotte and barley made any effort to get him back for myself. I had essentially sat idly by while they dated; I had made a few small moves to win him back, but they had been small and I never followed up on them.
I wasn't about to make that mistake again; I would fight for him every step of the way, especially if I was being betrayed by someone who I thought was a friend.
The sting I was feeling was enough to drive me insane. In my mind Rikki had gone from one of my best and closest friends and like a sister to me to a two-timing whore. If I was going to be betrayed by a friend, I sure as hell wasn't going to let her take Lewis too.
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Ash had regained his footing and scrambled to get between the two girls. It was more of an effort to keep a furious Cleo from ripping Rikki to shreds than anything else, and he had his hands full with that. Having the girls take their troubles outside was out of the option now; all that could be done was hold Cleo back until she cooled off however long that took; and that was not going to be easy.
First Cleo's adrenaline and rage were pumping so hard that it was if she had super human strength that was pushing Ash to his limits. Second was the fact that a crowd had now begun to gather to watch a fight.
Cleo was calling Rikki every horrible name she knew. Lewis was trapped up against the computer terminal unable to see anything other than Rikki's back and some small portions of the crowd. Rikki continually taunted Cleo aggravating her all the more.
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Come on Zane, hurry up before I end up having to kiss Lewis or she slips past Ash and kills me.
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The confrontation was coming to its peak. Any moment now either Rikki would do something to totally enrage Cleo and Ash would be unable to hold her back or Cleo would simply tire and Ash would get her out of the Juicenet and away from Rikki.
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"Here let me help cool you down." A voice from behind Cleo said and suddenly she felt water going down her back.
She screamed and froze in terror as she realized she was in trouble. Ash turned around to see a horrified look on her face.
"Help." Cleo mouthed to Ash.
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Wide eyed Ash realized what happened and thinking quickly he grabbed Cleo's arm and began pushing his way through the crowd dragging Cleo behind him as he made his way over to the cool room. He made it just in time and breathed a sigh of relief.
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That's one crisis averted
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"Okay, I'll be right back with a towel."
As Ash left Lewis came in.
"You okay?" He asked Cleo.
"Yeah, fine." Cleo was still agitated.
"Cleo you have to know that I knew nothing about that, and I don't think of her the same way at all…" Lewis began to ramble nervously.
"Lewis, it's alright. I know you didn't do anything wrong. It was all that bitch Rikki."
"So what happened? One second you were trying to get passed Ash the next you screamed and Ash was dragging you back here where I find you with your tail."
"Someone poured water down the back of my shirt."
"Who?"
"I don't know, all I heard was something about cooling me off and then it was all a blur as Ash helped me escape; I didn't get a chance to look at anyone."
"So what happens now, I mean with you and Rikki?"
"It's simple, if she ever comes near me again or you, I kill her."
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The crowd that had gathered hoping to see a fight went back to what they had been doing before the confrontation between Cleo and Rikki. As the crowd scattered Rikki began to look around for one person in particular, spotting Zane she walked over to him with purpose in her step.
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"Great performance." Zane greeted his girlfriend.
"What took you so long?" She quickly responded.
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I knew that tone, it was the tone she would use when she was mad at me; the times when I had done something wrong. My mind flashed back to an incident less than a month after we had gotten back together; I was supposed to have met her at the beach and showed up late only to receive a half mocked scolding.
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Oh no, what did I do wrong?
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Swallowing hard and in fear of Rikki's wrath Zane spoke "What'd I do?"
"You took too long to get Cleo. If I had to sell that bit about liking Lewis any longer I would have had to kiss him and I don't have nearly enough disinfectant to wash my mouth out with after that, plus that probably would have put Cleo over the edge and Ash wouldn't have been able to stop her and I'd be dead now."
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As Ash re-entered the main room just in time to hear Rikki scolding Zane. With a thousand thoughts and questions running through his mind he didn't know where to start. Sifting through everything going on in his head he found a starting place.
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"Someone want to tell me what is going on here, a few moments ago I saw Rikki throwing herself at Lewis and then I come back out here and I hear you to discussing how that was all a bit, and Zane, when did you get here?"
"I snuck in while everyone was paying attention to Rikki and Cleo. Sorry to put you through all that, but that is what allowed me to sneak up behind her and pour water down her shirt. We knew you'd get her to the cool room in time and if you didn't I was ready to rush her back there myself." He paused a moment realizing that Ash may not know about the girls' competition. "You do know about the challenge right?"
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Ash was still trying to process everything that had just happened in the last few minutes, "Uh… yeah, Emma phoned me last night to talk and she mentioned it. So we're involved in it?"
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"Yep, we get to help."
"So that whole Rikki, Lewis thing was an act?"
"Yep."
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Now I know how Lewis feels.
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Picking his jaw up off the floor Ash turned and headed back towards the cool room.
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He knocked on the door and announced himself before slipping into the back room.
Cleo lay on the floor with Lewis right beside her.
"You two okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine, I know he did nothing wrong and it was all that bitch Rikki."
"Yeah well… you may want to re-think the names you want to call her. It was all an act." Ash paused a moment to let that register in Cleo and Lewis' minds.
"WHAT?" Cleo and Lewis said in unison.
"The whole Rikki hitting on Lewis was a distraction so Zane could get you wet. She wasn't actually hitting on Lewis. When I was just out there they explained the whole thing to me."
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Suddenly it all made sense, and I began to feel sick to my stomach. All the names I had called Rikki, all the mean things I had said to her, and I had wanted to kill her. All because I jumped to conclusions that were all wrong instead to trying to think it through logically.
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"Um… Could you go get Rikki for me?" Cleo asked Ash tensely, "I have some apologizing to do."
Dried off and back to normal Cleo sat at a table with Rikki, Lewis and Zane. All was forgiven all around with only an increased desire for revenge left lingering in Cleo. The group hung out for little while longer before Cleo got up to go to work and Lewis to go fishing. Rikki looked at her watch to note the time, she still had another five minutes or so before Emma would be showing up for her shift; it was the ideal time to set a trap for Emma. She went up to the counter and purchased some bottles of water and then when nobody was looking she slid into the back room.
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Emma walked through the curtain of beads that always hung in the doorways of the Jucienet Cafe just like any other day. She said hi to a few people and greeted Ash with a quick kiss before dropping her bag off behind the counter and took her work clothes out of it and went into the back room to get changed for her shift. As she slipped off her shoes she stepped right into a puddle of water that she had not seen.
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"Ash!" Emma called out hoping that he could hear her and come to her aid in case she couldn't think of a way to get dried off quickly.
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Can't use my work clothes; that would just get them wet. Maybe I can get my pants off in time and use those to dry off.
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I would have been better off trying to get my shirt off in time and using it to dry off, but in my panic stricken mode I did not think of that and attempted the first idea that came to my mind; I never stood a chance. As I rapidly tried to get my pants off I lost my balance and fell backwards landing in the puddle.
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Hearing Emma's call Ash finished up with his current customers and went to the back room to check on Emma. When he got back to her he found her lying on the ground with her tail.
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"This must be the work of Rikki." Ash stated plainly as he looked down at Emma. "So would you rather I get you a towel or get Rikki?"
"Rikki; there's a small puddle of water that a towel won't be able to help with."
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Walking back out to the main room Ash looked around trying to find either Rikki or Zane but could spot neither one. Turning and going back he took out his cell phone and dialed Rikki's number.
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"Hey Ash, what's up?"
"I think you know, and if Emma isn't able to come on the clock on time I'm going to make you work for her and I'll pay Emma for the shift. She's due to be coming on in three minutes so I suggest you come out of hiding and dry Emma off." Ash promptly hung up not waiting for a reply.
"You really think that's gonna work Ash? This is Rikki we're talking about. She knows that in order to force her to work you have to find her, and even then you can't force her to do anything."
"Trust me, after what she out me through with her whole hitting on Lewis act she owes me and she knows it."
"Her what?"
"Before you got here Rikki caused a scene by pretending to hit on Lewis right in front of Cleo. It turned out to be an act and the point was to enrage Cleo so that she would be too distracted to notice Zane sneak up behind her and get her wet. And let me tell you this; that girl has got some serious muscle when she's ready to kill someone, it took everything I had to keep her held back."
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"I got the idea from you actually." Ash turned around to Rikki standing in the room her comment directed at Emma. "Remember when Ash named you employ of the month? You had seen me hanging around talking with Ash and you jumped to the conclusion that there was something happening between us."
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So that is what she had been thinking, we may not have been dating that long back then and she really didn't know me that well, but still, how could she think I would do something like that.
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"What? I never…"
"Don't deny it Emma, you were as easy to read then as you were when you had that crush on Byron."
"Ok, enough of this, let's just get me dried off so I can finish getting changed and get to work."
Ash left to go back to work as Rikki began to dry Emma off.
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Emma emerged from the back room and went right to work ignoring Rikki who sat at the counter waiting for service.
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"You know I still am a paying customer." Rikki yelled over to Emma. The only response was silence from Emma who went over to Ash and the other couple of girls who were working at the time and whispered something to them.
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Unable to get service from anyone, Rikki surrendered and returned to her table with Zane. She resigned to just sitting at her table with Zane minding her own business. Emma refused to believe that Rikki wasn't up to anything more and kept going about her shift constantly keeping an eye on Rikki; she wasn't going to let her guard down around Rikki again.
It didn't manifest itself visually but Emma believed that her constant attention to Rikki was affecting her work and that manifested itself in the form of numerous apologies and proclamations from Emma to her customers that she was having an "off-day". The customers didn't think they were receiving bad service at all and even her regulars couldn't see any difference in the service they received from Emma (aside from her apologies for the bad service) but it was of no consolation to Emma. While she could have said something to Rikki and probably have gotten her to leave she didn't want to be rude towards her friend and fellow mermaid; and she had no right to kick her out since she wasn't doing anything that bothered anyone else.
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As the day rolled on it began to look like Emma was simply paranoid, and I began to wonder if that wasn't Rikki's true intention, or if she was still there just because the Juicenet Cafe was a popular hang-out for teens all along the Gold Coast and she just had nowhere else to go. The truth of the matter was that Rikki was hanging out waiting and looking for another shot to get Emma before she left to go carry out another "attack" on Cleo. The shot she was looking for came along. A rush of customers came in and while that in itself did not provide Rikki with her opportunity it was the aftermath that worked in her favor.
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The crowd had came and left in large numbers and while Emma and Ash managed to get the luck of the draw and most of their tables left little or no mess behind allowing them to clear their tables quickly and properly dispose of the garbage from them; the other girls that were that were working at that time were not so lucky. They had messy tables and in order to clear them quickly to make room for other customers they just piled the garbage onto trays and sat them behind the counter and quickly went back out to clear other tables with the intent to take care of the garbage as soon as the craziness ended.
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Rikki had watched the hustle and bustle going around her and as tables began to leave with more people coming in she saw what was going on and saw her opportunity. She lived in a trailer with a gas stove and that morning she had gotten up early and needed something to get her going.
Pouring a pot of water for some tea she couldn't simply heat the water with her power since her dad was also up and had to use the stove. When she went to light the stove she found the electronic ignition was broken and used a small lighter to light it. Without thinking she had placed the lighter in her pocket where it had stayed throughout the day. Sliding over to Zane she filled him in on her plan and what his role was going to be.
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Zane got up and went over to the counter to purchase a bottle of water and returned to his seat. At that point Rikki got up and went over to the counter and waited until Emma came back behind the counter to make a series of drinks. While Emma was focused on the task of making drinks Rikki checked around to make sure nobody else would see her slip the lighter out form her pocket. With nobody noticing she lit some of the used napkins and other paper trash. Returning the lighter to her pocket she returned to her seat. It wasn't until Emma went to get a glass for one of the drinks she was making that she noticed the fire.
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"ASH!" Emma called out making sure to get his attention as she tried to find a way to put out the growing fire.
Ash turned to see the fire behind the counter and Emma frantically trying to find a way to put it out. He hurried back towards the counter unintentionally making a scene as he went. Rikki knew Ash would go into a half panic and that would be the ideal time to strike.
Zane pretended to notice the fire for the first time and with his recently purchased bottle of water in hand he leapt up and dashed for the counter like he wanted to help. He twisted off the cap of the water bottle and began to splash it around.
To someone not suspecting it appeared to be careless splashing with no control as to aim. The reality though was that he was trying to aim to a certain extent, and it worked. As Zane began splashing the water Emma tried to jump back out of range but was not in time as a small bead of water splashed onto her hand.
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Yes!
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Oh no.
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Emma grabbed some nearby napkins and wiped it off straight away and got clear as Ash came through grabbing the spray hose form the sink, turned the water on and began spraying. As all this unfolded Rikki got up and slid around next to Emma.
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"That counts."
"What?" A confused Emma replied.
"Zane got that small splash on you; I saw you wipe it off."
Suddenly it became clear to Emma what had just happened, "You didn't?"
"Yep," Rikki was proud of herself. "I started it, and Zane intentionally splashed you."
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Grabbing Rikki Emma dragged her friend into the back room.
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"Are you crazy?" Emma shouted at Rikki.
"What?" Rikki defended herself completely clueless to Emma's problem. "You were perfectly safe; you had plenty of napkins and such around to dry off with and a clear shot into the back room, it would have taken you three seconds tops to get back here. There was no real chance of exposure."
"YOU STARTED A FIRE!"
"So?"
"Could you be any more carless? Do you realize the damage you could have done?"
"Relax Em, it was a small fire, it wouldn't do any real damage, plus Zane and I wouldn't have let it get even close to out of control anyhow."
"And what if you had been wrong, what if you and Zane couldn't control it and it had gotten out of control and it couldn't be stopped."
"It wouldn't, that was part of the plan."
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Frustrated Emma threw her hands up in surrender and walked away to return to her shift. She returned to find the fire extinguished and Ash cleaning up the mess. She called Ash over to her and explained quietly what had just happened. Ash simply gave her a nod of approval and she went over to the table where Rikki had returned to with Zane and simply said one word to them.
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"Out."
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Rikki was all set to put up a fight but I simply grabbed her arm and gave her look that told her to let it go. We had caused enough trouble for one day and I didn't want more, plus after Rikki had started the fire I had begun having second thoughts about the plan. By then though it was too late and since the deed was already done, and there was no sense in wasting the opportunity to get Emma; so I let it go. But when Emma took Rikki aside I knew what it was about, and when she told us to leave I knew we deserved it.
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Packing up their stuff Rikki and Zane went outside and went their separate ways for the time not thinking anything of it since they would meet up again in a few hours for dinner.
Cleo's shift had been a short one and after work she met up with Lewis who was out fishing. They had been planning on this so he had brought an extra pole for her to use. They were at their favorite fishing spot; it was one of the many public docks around the area. It was a fairly public spot on a small lake with many boats and people just passing by. The spot offered a spectacular view and on a clear day it was hard to find any better view. A short way up one side sat a very small island with many trees; being too small to develop it provided some natural beauty to the area. Along the same direction jetted out more piers some with boats docked and minimal development of any kind allowing the green grass to provide a perfect complement to the beautiful blue water. The other direction saw much of the same. Out in the water a few markers stood out to guide boats as they passed by. Across the way a few skyscrapers from the nearest major city decorated the skyline of a more developed residential area of the city itself. A few boats could be seen across the way docked at their private landings but they were little more than the size of a kid's toy to those looking across at them. This spot had been Cleo and Lewis' fishing spot since long before she became a mermaid, and it was one of the spots they liked to go to for their dates.
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Cleo was telling Lewis all about a new trick that Ronnie was learning and all the other happenings of the marine park. Their conversation drifted form topic to topic and at one point they found themselves laughing hard and looking deeply into each other's eyes they leaned in for a kiss. It was at that moment that the sound of fishing line going out caught their ears.
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Out under the waters of Cleo and Lewis' fishing spot two fishing lines hung in the water. One had a normal lure attached to it, the other some sort of spring.
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Well now I see what Cleo's been talking about. She's right; no fish in its right mind would want anything to do with that thing.
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Up on the dock Cleo glanced out of the corner of her eye to see whose line had the bite, and when she saw it was hers she instantly jumped up and grabbed hold of the rod and began to try and reel the line back in, letting Lewis fall forward. She intended to get the fish in close then have hand the rod over to Lewis and have him finish reeling it in while she stayed back to avoid being splashed by the fish as it flopped around since this was a semi-public area. She started making progress and then the line began to get tense and she was having a hard time with this battle. Lewis came up beside her and grabbed a hold and together the two of them were slowly making progress but it was soon lost and they found themselves on the losing side of the battle. Lewis slid in front of Cleo to get a better grip on the rod and reel and to shield Cleo from any splash that may come as they reeled in the fish since he would need her help to pull it in. Then without any warning Cleo felt a sudden sharp hard tug on the line that started pulling her forward as she let go of the rod.
Lewis on the other hand had a death grip on the rod and as it lurched forward he went with it, flying into the air. While in fight and screaming the whole time –a whole second and a half, though to him seemed 100 times longer- he let go and landed a good three meters away from the end of the pier. Cleo came to the edge and looked at him with her mouth covered as she tried to hide her laughter. Lewis swam over to the side of the dock and floating in place looked up at Cleo.
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"Rikki, or Emma?"
"I'm guessing Rikki." Cleo said trying to contain her laughter. "It's still a little soon for Emma to be off."
"I'm glad you think this is funny, now how about a little help."
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There were no ladders along the way and the pier was a little too high up for him to reach and while it wasn't that long the bank at the end could have been troublesome and it was probably be easier and quicker to have me help him.
I looked around to make sure it was safe then I created a geyser to lift Lewis up high enough that he could crawl onto the dock.
The whole gang gathered at the Gilberts house for dinner. Emma's parents had invited her friends over for dinner just as a nice gesture -something they would do on occasion for their children. It was the first time that day that all six friends had been in the same place at once and while the atmosphere was light and friendly there was a small degree of tension between the girls. Throughout the course of the night subtle hints and threats were made every so often. Emma's parents were left wondering what was going on. The girls offered up that it was nothing more than idol threats regarding a private competition between the three of them.
After dinner Mrs. Gilbert did the dishes while everyone else gathered in the living room to watch a movie. After she finished the dishes she joined the others to watch the movie. Not long after she had sat down Zane decided to get up to get a drink.
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"Since you're up would you mind grabbing me a bottle of water please?" Emma called over to Zane as he reached the refrigerator.
"And one for me too please." Cleo added.
"Sure, no problem."
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Zane didn't mind doing such a small favor for the girls, but as he grabbed the bottles of water an idea came to him. He walked over to the sink and very carefully turned on the water so it drizzled a very small stream of water out of the faucet. Such a small stream made little noise as it came out of the fountain and hit the sink basin so nobody heard anything as he ran the bottles underneath the stream of water. He turned the water off and dried all the visible signs of moisture off the bottles and grabbing a couple of straws he took them over to Emma and Cleo.
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"Here you go." Zane offered one of the bottles to Emma with a mischief smile on his face.
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The last time Emma remembered seeing that smile was over a year ago when he had brought over a tray of drinks to the girls claiming they were frozen colas that Cleo found out first hand were really Prune Juice. Of course at that time Rikki hated Zane and he knew nothing of mermaid's existence.
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"Thanks." Emma took the bottle hesitantly unsure of Zane's intention.
As she took it she instantly felt the moisture on the bottle. Her eyes widened and she immediately dropped it and ran for the stairs.
"Emma." Her mother cried out shocked at her daughter's sudden and rude departure.
Ash was just as shocked as Emma's parents but quickly deduced what had happened and remained seated so as not to arouse more suspicion.
Zane simply turned and offered Cleo the other bottle. She took it and she too instantly felt the moisture and dropping the bottle she ran for the stairs in hot pursuit of Emma. And again Mrs. Gilbert was left puzzled and this time she was all set to get up and go check on the girls when Zane stopped her.
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"It's all right Mrs. Gilbert. I know what's going on and right now they're going to want their privacy."
She was hesitant, but she listened to Zane and sat back down. Zane then flashed a look to Ash; Lewis too knew what was happening and neither one moved.
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Emma rushed up the stairs and headed straight for the bathroom. She didn't realize that Cleo was only a few seconds right behind her, so as soon as she shut the bathroom door she locked it and ran over to the tub where a towel lay draped over the side. It was no help to her though; the towel was damp and a second later she found herself balancing momentarily on her tail before falling forward.
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Outside in the hall Cleo was racing up the stairs. She reached the bathroom door only to find it locked.
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"Emma." She called through the door as she pounded on it.
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Not having time to wait for Emma to open for the door for her she raced further down the hall to Emma's room getting in with just enough time to shut the door before her tail appeared and she toppled backwards.
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Zane sat down along side Rikki and gave her a look as if saying, "Well are you going to go dry them off?"
"Oh, right; gottcha."
Rikki got up excusing herself hand headed up the stairs to tend to her friends.
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Expecting to find both girls in the bathroom she knocked on the door and announced herself before trying to open it only to find it locked.
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"Cleo, Em; it's just me, Rikki; it's safe, everybody else is downstairs."
"Hold on," an annoyed Emma called through the door, "I'm trying to get to the door right now."
Rikki kept a watch while she waited for the door to be unlocked. Finally she heard the click of the lock and she slipped into the bathroom. Once inside she looked around only to see Emma.
"Where's Cleo?" Rikki asked surprised and concerned by Cleo's absence.
"I don't know; I heard her banging on the door panicked. I had no idea she that she was coming; that's why I locked the door, and by time I heard her it was too late and I was too far from the door to reach it."
"Yeah, I don't think Zane was counting on you two getting separated. So what happened anyway?"
"Zane must have run the bottles under the faucet before giving them to us."
Rikki tried to hide her amusement, but Emma could tell Rikki was trying to hide her laughter.
"Why didn't you get a towel from the kitchen?"
"I couldn't be sure that there were any dry ones and turning into a mermaid in the middle of the kitchen for my parents to see wasn't exactly an option. Now can you dry me off please so I can get downstairs before my parents get worried?"
"Don't worry about them; Zane's got things under control down there. He told them that he knows what's going on and you and Cleo are going to want your privacy."
Emma wasn't fully convinced that was going to work, but it was good enough that she could work with it to ease her parents.
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"So any clue where Cleo would have gone?" Rikki asked as she finished drying off Emma.
"Probably my room; that seems like the next logical place."
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The two girls left the bathroom; Emma headed downstairs to rejoin everyone and Rikki in search of Cleo. She headed further down the hallway to Emma's bedroom and knocked on the door.
"Cleo, you in here?" No response came but Rikki thought she could hear some noise coming from inside the room.
"Cleo, it's just me. I'm coming in."
"Just a second." Cleo's voice called from the other side of the door.
A moment later Rikki opened the door only to have hit something large enough to block it form opening any further.
"Ow!" Came a cry from Cleo and Rikki realized that she had hit Cleo's tail with the door. "I said just a second didn't I?"
"Sorry."
Rikki waited patiently until Cleo told her to come in and doing so she slipped in and set to work on drying Cleo.
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As the movie finished everyone got up to say goodbye to those leaving to go home. Ash was the last of the guests to leave sticking around a moment or two longer to share a goodnight kiss with Emma before leaving. Emma was glad to be rid of Rikki for the night. Rikki had gotten her a few times that day but it didn't trouble her too much. If she just played it safe and careful she would be fine and Cleo and Rikki would naturally take care of reversing the score over the remaining days.
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Finally returning home Cleo breathed a huge sigh of relief as she relaxed after closing the front door. It had been a long day and Rikki had driven her right to the edge of exhaustion.
Despite their exhaustion Cleo found their mind pondering what she could do to get even with Rikki and how to get Emma.
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One day down, six to go.