v.
Rikki could hardly contain her excitement. It was rare for her to have something even worth breaking into a grin for, but finding out she had the ability to heat water to ridiculous degrees with the flex of a hand merited a triumphant chuckle, at least.
She'd been practicing all morning; on the liquid from her canned peaches, the clothes on the line, and finally on the puddles from the sprinklers. She could get it so hot that the water would evaporate. She could make stewed fruit without using the only pot they had in the trailer. She could burn anything that had been touched by water.
She had to tell the guys! This was going to blow their minds!
She'd catch them at school, right before classes, and corral them for a demonstration.
Zane was easy enough to locate. He ambled his way to the building at a snail's pace; probably hoping they'd start without him and forget he was a student there if he dilly-dallied long enough. It was even easier to get him to follow her than it was finding him. Of course, the way she said "Follow me" in a slightly suggestive tone may have been a manipulative tactic, but Zane was only mildly disappointed when she said they needed to find Lewis next.
"Why? We don't need him to get our own party started," he said with an eyebrow raised.
"This isn't about partying. Something weird is happening to me, and I need him to explain why with his science stuff."
"Please," he scoffed, "Lewis isn't as brilliant as he acts. Why don't you just tell me over dinner? I can be an excellent problem solver."
"Are you a scientist?" she combated.
"No, but if you go out with me I'll hire one to tell you whatever you want to know."
"Flattering, thanks," she smirked. "But I'd rather not be captured as a circus freak and put on display."
"Oh, I don't know. A lot of people would pay to see what Lewis and I have," he said cheekily. It took her a second to realise what he was talking about.
"Is that why you're asking me out? You feel a sense of responsibility for seeing me topless? How adorably old fashioned of you."
"Not exactly. But I wish the thought had crossed my mind, now that you mention it."
"Whatever," she said with a shake of her head. "Just help me find Lewis. Save your money to buy me a bather."
Zane shrugged, still smiling from their banter.
Lewis was much harder to drag away for a conference as he was intent on being awkward with a girl. They chattered on for what seemed like forever until finally Rikki broke it up to have Lewis join them. He reluctantly shuffled over, glancing back at the girl he'd been talking to.
"I didn't know you could talk to girls," Rikki said. "That's impressive."
Zane let out an insolent guffaw. "When he talks to a real girl, then I'll be impressed. That's just Cleo."
"You don't have to be such a jerk!" Lewis snapped, surprising Rikki with his ferocity. "Cleo is a perfectly nice girl, and I won't hear any stupid jokes made about her."
"Touchy, touchy," Zane complained, but he said nothing more about her.
"Okay, guys," Rikki broke in, wanting more than anything to steer the conversation in a less heated direction. "Can we bring this back to me, please? Something incredible but slightly bizarre happened, and you both need to know."
"Incredible... how?" Lewis questioned warily. "Is this one of those female problems?"
"No, genius," Zane said, "This is to do with our collective problem."
Lewis's expression spoke volumes of his confusion.
Rikki's face fell. "Seriously? You don't know what I'm talking about? The water problem?" she shaped her hands like two fins and spread them out downward to make the shape of a tail.
Lewis blinked. He processed it for a second or two. And then, "OH! Right. Yes. The... that problem. What's up?"
"Well, I found out this morning that I have powers," she said in an undertone.
Zane burst out laughing. "You're on something, Chadwick."
She sent him a deadly glare. "You grow a tail ten seconds after touching the water, and you're going to discredit the thought that I have special powers?"
"What kind of powers are we talking about, here?" Lewis interjected.
"Well..." Rikki answered Lewis, but hadn't broken eye contact with Zane. "Meet me somewhere safe after school and find out."
"I know just the spot!" Lewis announced. "It's my super secret fishing spot!"
-x-
The rush was incredible! Rikki was boiling a whole portion of the ocean before Lewis made her stop in concern for the sea creatures. It was amazing, feeling the changes in the water with her sixth sense. She wondered if she could someday do it solely with her mind, and not even need to reach towards the water in order to heat it.
Zane was petulant because he hadn't discovered any powers, yet. Lewis was more curious, but still a bit wounded. "I wonder if powers don't develop in the male specimen. Or maybe they develop slower, but therefore are more intense. It might help to be touching the water..."
Before he could finish, Zane was already knee-deep in the waves. Lewis plunged after him, meaning to warn him that it might still be hot from Rikki's experimentation. Without thinking of the consequences, Rikki dashed after them both, and soon all three were topless, and in merfolk form together.
"Well, this is great," Rikki said sarcastically. "I'm naked again."
"I think I found my superpower after all," Zane said with a brash wink.
Lewis shushed them both. "Guys, it's not the time for that! I hear someone coming!"
"Get behind those rocks!" Zane hissed, pointing. "Those and the waves should hide our tails pretty well."
Rikki managed to wedge herself up on the rocks, between both of them. She snorted to think of the position she was in; trapped in the ocean between two guys, and totally naked.
The intruder was the sad brown-haired girl that was in love with Lewis. Poor Cleo could not have chosen a worse time.
She was trudging sadly towards the waterline, hugging herself as if it was cold.
Rikki tried to hold it in for as long as possible, but finally she couldn't help but sneeze.
Cleo's head snapped up to witness Lewis's hand going to Rikki's face in order to cover the sneeze. But it was too late. From her vantage point she saw three heads, three bare shoulders, and the left side of Rikki's breast. Zane sent her a friendly wave which only confused her further.
Her eyes went wide. "What are you guys doing?"
"Uh..." Lewis fumbled. "Just... enjoying the water."
"You're swimming? In your special fishing spot?"
"Weeeell... more like... wading and sunning. But, sure!"
"Are you... are you all naked?" she quivered.
"Sort of!" Zane grinned. "Rikki's the most naked, but..." she jabbed him with her elbow to shut him up.
Cleo looked as if it was her Rikki assaulted in the gut. Lewis was frantic to repair the damage done, but the words that tumbled out of his mouth were not in the least bit helpful.
"Why don't you join us, Cleo?"
"No!" Rikki hissed, "Are you insane?"
"No... no thanks," Cleo stuttered. "I think I should head home now."
Lewis shrugged, frowning. "The offer was there."
Rikki imitated his voice in mockery once Cleo was safely out of earshot, "'Why don't you join us, Cleo?' How stupid can you be? Do you want her to find out about us?"
"I wouldn't mind. Cleo isn't a blab."
"If you tell anyone about this, I will personally remove your head from your shoulders, Lewis," Zane warned.
Lewis shuddered. "Alright! Fine! I won't tell Cleo. Happy?"
Zane sent a sideways glance Rikki's way. "Perfectly."
Author's Notes: Soooo... I know I never set a real posting schedule when I began this (good thing, since I'm all over the place with my story updates) but I still feel like this is late, even by my standards. I was having the hardest time wrapping up a future chapter and I don't like to post unless I have a good store of back up chapters ready to go in case of emergencies.
But hey, the good news is that the Beta and I finally have a grip on where things are going! And it's all downhill. I mean, it's fun for us! But the characters aren't going to be thrilled. Personally, I can't stop giggling. :P