"What?" Jade said noticing us. "Are you two hiding something?" she eyes us both.
"Um..." Derek cleared his throat. "Ariana and I actually have a date tomorrow." He responded quietly. I could feel my cheeks grow warm.
"A date?!" Briar Rose and Jade yelled in unison.
"Aw come on you guys, don't tell me you didn't see this coming." Bella laughed at the two girls. Mags nodded in agreement.
"Ariana why didn't you tell me sooner?" Briar Rose asked dreamily. "We're friends aren't we?" I knew she was trying to make me feel guilty for letting her out of the juicy gossip.
"Of course. We all are. I was going to tell you girls, but then all this happened." I said pointing to the destroyed cherry blossom tree's. I sighed. "Look I wanted to tell you all last night, but I decided not to. You girls were there for me, now let me be there for you." I said to them.
"Ariana." Mags stated, "You are such a great friend, I appreciate everything you do for us, but you should have told us anyways. " she hugged me. I wrapped my arms around her.
"If you're happy redhead, then I am too." Jade smirked.
"Hey! What did we say about calling me Redhead?"
"Right. Sorry."
"I still think we should have a sailor scout meeting, if not tomorrow then Tuesday after school." Sebastian suggested.
Ugh school. I totally forgot about school. This four day weekend is definitely messing with me. "Sounds good to me." I said. My friends nodded in agreement.
"Then it's settled, we'll meet around 4 at Jade's." said Sebastian.
After the fight with the Geisha, the girls, Derek and I finished having our picnic. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but I was around the people I cared the most about. And that is the one thing that I did want.
Sebastian and I made it home a bit late. Mom and Dad were in their room. Jace was in the living room watching Full House reruns.
"Hey." I said to my brother, as I sat next to him.
"Hi. Where have you been?"
"I was with the girls, we had lunch at the botanic gardens." I responded.
"Fun." He said drawing his attention back to the tv.
I left Jace on the couch and headed to my room. I didn't even bother turning the lights on. I just slipped out of my clothes and put on my pajamas. I plopped into bed and fell asleep after a few minutes.
I awoke to the smell of pancakes. I jumped out of bed and ran to the kitchen.
"Good morning!" I said as I walked in.
"Good morning pumpkin." my mother kissed my cheek and gave me a plate of chocolate chip pancakes.
My dad got out of his chair, ruffled my hair, put his mug and plate in the sink and kissed my mother. "Good bye you two. I'll see you when I get back."
"Bye dad! Have a good day at work!" I yelled out to him as he ran out the door. I then continued stuffing my face. "Jace isn't awake yet?" I asked my mom who shook her head. "That's weird."
"I think he was up late watching reruns." mom replied.Oh yeah. He was watching Full House when I got home. "So how was the picnic yesterday?"
"It was nice." I said simply, taking a sip of orange juice.
"Did the sky turn dark over there, because at Jace's game it was sunny a few seconds and then the sky went completely black. But it didn't rain."
"Yeah it did actually. It got super windy too. I bet Briar Rose still has petals in her hair." I giggled at the thought.
My mom then took a seat next to me. "So what are your plans for today?"
Oh gosh. I haven't told her that I have a date today. Should I tell her? No, of course not. I'll tell her when I'm ready. "Um nothing, although the girls want to hang out later." I lied.
"Fun. Do you mind doing some chores around the house before you leave? Maybe clean your room perhaps?"
"It's not that dirty, is it?" I asked her.
"Well there are clothes all over the floor, and you need to dust your room." She opened the cabinet under the sink and took out a rag and some wood polisher. She placed it on the table beside me.
"Alright, alright. I'll do it." I finished another plate full of pancakes and placed my plate in the dishwasher. I grabbed the cleaning supplies and headed to my room.
I picked my clothes up from yesterday and threw them in the hamper. I then began to dust my drawers. I put all of the picture frames and trinkets onto the bed. I sprayed the top with the polish. I grabbed the old rag and wiped. There was a thin layer of dust on the rag when I was done. I then moved onto my desk.
"Well look at you." Sebastian said crawling onto my nightstand.
"Take a picture it lasts longer." I answered sarcastically.
"Maybe I will." He said.
My nightstand then vibrated, informing me that I had just received a text. I grabbed my phone and swiped the home screen. I opened the text message. It was from Derek.
Can't wait for our date. See you at Marina Park at 1:30.
I smiled like a doofus when I opened it. I played it cool and sent him a text saying
Sounds good to me. See you soon :)
I hope I didn't kill it with the smiley face. I looked at my clock. It read 12:00. I need to hurry. I cleaned the rest of my room in a heartbeat. I placed the cleaning supplies back, and ran to the shower. By then it was 12:20.
I washed my hair and body, shaved my legs, and got out. The clock read 12:35. I wrapped a towel around me, and placed a towel on my head. I got out of the bathroom, and walked into my room. Now came the hard part-deciding what to wear.
I felt like I stood in front of my closet for an eternity, but really it was only 5 minutes. After contemplating what to wear, I decided to go with some white capris and a purple and pink floral shirt. I quickly changed and ran into the bathroom. I checked the time on my phone. It was 1:08. I just curled my eyelashes, put a bit of mascara and just a tad of blush. I didn't have time to blow dry my hair so I just brushed it so it looked presentable. I hope my bangs don't poof out so much.
I sprayed on perfume and ran to the door. I put my shoes on and grabbed my purse. "By mom!" I yelled out.
"Bye Ariana, be home for dinner!" she called out.
"You got it!" I shouted, slamming the door behind me. I grabbed my phone from my bag and texted Derek.
On my way.
Luckily the park was only a 10 minute walk from my house. When I got there, I began to look for Derek. I spotted him sitting on a park bench reading a book. The moment my eyes laid on my my heart began to race, not because I was nervous, but because this was finally happening.
He wore khaki pants and a melon colored buttoned down shirt. He always dresses so nice. I creeped up behind him, and placed my hands over his eyes. "Guess who?"
He chuckled, as he grabbed my hands. He gently pulled them away. "Hi you."
I took a seat behind him. "I'm sorry I'm a bit late."
"Hey no worries, I actually got here a few minutes ago myself."
"Really?" I asked a bit surprised. Derek always seemed like a punctual type of guy.
"No." he sighed in defeat. "I've been here for the past half hour. I just... well... you know.. I didn't have anything else to do."
I gave him a peck on the cheek. "That's sweet."
He smiled at me warmly. He got up from the bench and gave me his hand. I took it without hesitation. I got up from the bench. "Come on." he instructed.
"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.
"You'll see."
We walked around the park, until Derek made a stop in front of the pond. He led me toward the dock. There was a small yellow rowboat for us. Derek let go of my hand, and got inside. "Give me your hand, I'll help you in." I placed my hand and his and took a step inside. The boat began to shake under my weight. "I've got you. I promise I won't let you fall." Derek reassured me with a smile that warmed my heart.
I knew he'd catch me if I were to fall. I then took my other foot and quickly stepped inside the boat. I saw something on the floor. I let go of Derek's hand and reached for it. It was a loaf of bread. "Are you planning on making sandwiches?" I asked him with a laugh.
"No, they're for the swans up ahead." He responded as he placed the rope off the dock. He pushed off, and we were out into the pond. He began to row, and I couldn't help but stare at his strong arms. I quickly looked away, since I felt my face grow pink.
As he continued to row, I looked at the water under us. It sparkled with the suns rays hitting it. I could see tiny fishes swimming to the boat. I saw a duck with her ducklings swimming to the shore. There were lilypads with frogs sitting on them. It was all so pretty.
We passed under a low branch that had a seagull perched onto it. As we went under, the seagull began to cry out. I flinched when I heard it.
"Someone should find that poor animal and put it out of its misery." Derek said, unaware of the creature above his head.
When he said that, I felt a bit nostalgic. As if this has happened before. I shook my head to get the thought out of my mind. "Oh look theres the swans!" I pointed excitingly.
We got to the flock, and I took a few slices of bread out. I broke off pieces and began throwing them. The swans swam to the floating bread pieces and pecked at them. Derek and I did this until the bag was empty. By then the swans were just gently floating on the water.
"They're so beautiful."
"Yes, you are." He responded quietly.
I looked at him unsure if I heard him correctly. "What?"
He cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. He quickly changed the subject. "This must be weird for you huh?"
I furrowed my brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"You being on top of the water, rather than in it."
"Oh." I said understanding what he was trying to say. "Not really. I love water, whether that means I'm in it swimming, or floating on top of it."
"Our next date has to be at the beach then. Maybe you can teach me how to hold my breathe underwater for seven minutes." He smiled.
"It would be my honor. Although you seem more of the boating type."
"Don't get me wrong I love boating, but swimming is another strong skill I have. That's one of the reasons I'm always at the beach."
"One of the reasons? What are the other reasons?"
"You."
"You went to the beach for me?" I asked in pointing at myself with disbelief.
"Yeah, when I first met you, I felt like I had known you. You felt familiar. Anyways from that moment on I felt drawn to you." His blue eyes met mine. "I still feel drawn to you." He finished.
"I can reassure you that I feel the same way." I said grabbing his hand. Smooth Ariana, way to be romantic.
"Good." He gently placed a small kiss on my cheek. "How does ice cream sound?"
"Yummy!" I responded with glee. He rowed back to the dock. When we got there, he placed the rope on the boat and got out.
Derek helped me up onto the dock. Of course me being the klutz that I am, I tripped. I fell right in the middle of Derek's chest. He instinctively wrapped his arm around me to steady my balance.
He looked at me with a small grin on his face. I went up on my tippy toes, and he leaned down. I closed my eyes, and felt his warm lips on mine. He placed his hand gently on my cheek. I kept my hands on his chest. I didn't want this moment to end.
Next thing I knew I was on the wooden flooring of the dock. There was a pulsing pain on the back of my neck. I got up and realized a little girl clutched onto Derek. Her lips on his. Derek immediately pulled back.
"Hey!" I yelled, rubbing the forming bruise I knew was about to form.
"Sorry sir, I didn't mean to land on you." The girl said to him, her back facing me, not acknowledging me at all.
"Didn't your parent's teach you any manners? You can't just jump on people like that." I said to her.
She finally turned around. I gasped. She had cerulean blue eyes like me. Her hair was the exact same shade as Derek's. It was styled in a low ponytail, and had her bangs like mine, all poofed out. She wore coral capris and a creme tank top.
"Look lady, I don't have time to waste. Now hand over the Sparkling Sea Diamond." She walked toward me, and stuck out her hand.
Even her voice had a little song to it, like mine. "Excuse me?" I asked shocked. Was she one of the sisters Leila mentioned? Is she our new enemy? "How do you know about the Sparkling Sea Diamond?"
"I know all about the Sea Diamond. I want it, so you better hand it over Redhead."
"Hey." Derek said drawing her attention. "Hey little girl, can we help you find your parents? Are you lost?"
She never lost eye contact with me. "This has nothing to do with you. So leave your nose out of it." she responded a bit rudely. "Now for the last time, hand me the Sparkling Sea Diamond."
"But who are you? Where are you from?" I questioned. There was no way I was going to give her the Diamond.
She wasn't going to give me answers. "I have other ways of getting it." she said and ran off, with her little floating ball that looked like a walrus. After a few seconds later, she was out of sight.
Derek came and stood behind me. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, my neck hurts a bit. But I'll be alright."
"Here, let's sit down."
We took a seat by the pond. We composed ourselves after that confrontation. "Derek where do you think she's from?" I asked as I kept wondering about that little rascal.
He placed a hand on his chin and thought about it. "I don't know, but her facial features look so much like yours. Maybe she's related to you Ariana. She could be your family."
I looked at him skeptically. "My family?"
"From Atlantica, your past."
"There's no way. I would have recognized her." I shook my head. "I'm going to have to tell the scouts about her tomorrow. Maybe we can find something out."
"Make sure to have your locket on you at all times." He advised.
"Will do." I saw the sun about to set. "Hey what time is it?"
"Quarter to 6, why?"
"OH NO!" I yelped, zolting up from the bench. "I have to be home for dinner."
"Do you want me to walk you home." he offered.
"It's ok, don't worry about it." I said. "I'll call you later." I gave him a soft kiss and ran home. He just laughed and waved.
I made it home with 15 minutes to spare. "Dinner's almost ready Ariana." mom yelled as I walked inside. I went to my room to put my purse away. As I opened the door, my mouth dropped. I ran to the living room where I knew Jace was.
"What did you do to my room? I just cleaned it and now it looks like a twister flew through there!" I yelled at him angrily.
"Ariana calm down." dad said trying to cool me down.
"Dad he totally destroyed my room. It was spotless when I left." I turned my attention back to Jace. "Were you looking for something?" But as I eyed Jace, a floating ball appeared behind his head. I did a double take, and realized that it was the little girl from the park. "What is she doing here?" I whispered to myself, hoping my eyes were deceiving me.
In that instant my mom walked into the room. "Ariana I expect you to clean your room, since we have company staying over."
"What?!" I yelled in frustration. "WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON? WHAT IS" I pointed to the girl. "SHE DOING HERE?"
My dad blinked and laughed. "Oh Ariana don't tell me you forgot."
"Yeah you doofus. This is our cousin Melody." Jace informed me.
"Since when do we have a cousin named Melody?" Confusion laced my voice.
"She came to stay with us last year." Jace grabbed a book from the table, and handed it to me. "She even brought her photo album."
I flipped through the pictures. There was one with the family on the beach, my mom hugging was one of me and her drinking tea on the porch. There were pages and pages of pictures. How come I don't remember any of this? Am I going crazy?
After dinner I decided to treat myself to a bubble bath. I mean after all I did clean my room twice today. I brought in my IHome into the bathroom, so I could listen to music and talk to Sebastian without raising any questions. As the tub filled, I told Sebastian everything.
"That's impossible, kids don't just fall from the sky." He said once I was done.
"That's what I keep telling myself." I told him. "I just want to know who she is and what she wants from me."
"Are you sure she said she's looking for the Sparkling Sea Diamond?" Sebastian looked like he didn't believe a word I said.
"Uh huh. And I'm absolutely positive she was the one who trashed my room looking for it. How did you sleep through that anyways?"
"I guess I'm starting to pick up on your weird habits." He mumbled. "Anyways are you sure she isn't your cousin, and you're just going completely bonkers?" he asked.
I thought about my answer, but I know what I saw this afternoon. LYeah Sebastian. There is no way that brat is related to me."
"If you say so. I'll keep an eye on her."
"Thanks." I said. Sebastian crawled away. I sunk deeper into the warm water. This should help me relax after Melody's craziness.
When the water had turned lukewarm, I decided it was time to get out. I dried myself off and put my pajamas on. Since I had school tomorrow I decided I should go to bed early.
After saying goodnight to my parents, I was off to bed. Before I turned the light off I grabbed my phone and texted Derek.
I had a lot of fun today. Hopefully next time I won't have to cut it short. Good night.
A few minutes later I got a reply.
I'm just happy that there will be a next time. Goodnight Redhead!
I was starting to warm up to his nickname, It sounded nice when he said it. I turned the light off, and curled into my bedsheets.
Not even an hour later I began to feel something against my side. There was something in my bed that kept bothering me. I lifted the sheets and screamed. I jumped out of bed.
"Get off me!" I yelled at Melody who was clinging onto my pajamas.
"Not until you give me the Sparkling Sea Diamond!"
I managed to loosen her grip on me and throw her onto my bed. "That's it you little-"
I was unable to finish my sentence because my door was thrust open. My mom and dad were standing by the door frame. Mom had her arms crossed. "Ariana how dare you speak to your cousin like that."
"But mom she attacked me." I said turning my head back to Melody. "Go on tell them."
Melody's eyes began to water. "I'm sorry, I was having a bad dream." she lied to them. Melody ran to my mother who gently lifted her into her arms.
"Ariana if you keep on misbehaving we're going to have to ground you." my dad said shutting my door.
"Unbelievable, you saw that didn't you Sebastian."
"I did. Come now child go to sleep, we'll talk about this later." and with that we slept peacefully throughout the night.
After school Mags, Bella, Briar Rose and I walked over to the Garnet Temple for our scout meeting. Jade met us by the stairs, we all took a seat there. I then told them everything about Melody. I mentioned how she appeared out of thin air and demanded the Sparkling Sea Diamond. I told them how she is now staying at my house.
"You brought the picture right Ariana?" Jade asked, when I was finished talking.
I nodded as I sifted through my backpack to grab it. I gave it to Jade.
"Let's do a fire reading, and see what comes up."
We followed Jade into the room where she performs this ritual. She grabbed a box from the back of the room and placed the photograph inside. She gently pushed the box in front of the beginning flames, The girls and I took our usual spots on the blue mats and closed our eyes when we heard Jade chant.
After 5 minutes she stopped. I opened my eyes and noticed how her shoulders stooped. "Nothing, not a clue." Jade said in defeat.
"The fire gave you nothing?" Mags asked surprised.
"The fire can only tell me so much. Either that or this picture is a fake. If we want the scoop on Melody we're going to have to bring her in." She stood up, we followed closely behind.
When we got to her room we sat around her table and begun our study session. I couldn't focus because all I could think about was Melody. I looked at the picture over and over again "Maybe you did it wrong Jade." I said after a while.
"Not a chance." She responded.
"Ariana maybe you're overreacting to this whole thing." Briar Rose spoke up
"How can I not overreact, we just got out of a tough battle, and now this weird stuff is happening"
"She's right. We have to be careful around this girl." Bella defended me.
Just then Jade's dad came into the room "Snack time girls!" he held a tray of food. "I have tea and muffins." He carefully placed the tray on the table.
"Thanks dad." she said as he walked out.
Jade's dad is adorable. He's short, and has a killer beard. Plus his baking skills are just as good as Bella's.I grabbed a warm muffin and devoured it. I haven't had anything to eat since lunch. I went to grab another one till Briar Rose cleared her throat.
"What? I left you all atleast one each." I said my mouth stuffed with muffins.
The girls instead grabbed the tea. They drank it, and one by one they dropped their mugs spilling the tea on the table. They seemed to have pass out. "Hey you guys. This isn't funny," I poked Bella and she didn't stir. "Wake up." I began to freak out. I looked around the room, and saw a shadow coming towards the room "What's going on?" I hid behind one of Jade'a bookcases.
The door slid opened and Melody walked in. She held her ball under her arm and walked towards Jade. "This is the girl who can read fire." she said, as if talking to it.
I creeped up behind her and grabbed her from her waist. "Hello Melody." I said completely surprising her. "What are you doing here?"
I really must have caught her off guard. She began to sob, and then full out cry. Her wails were so loud I was sure she popped my eardrums. All of a sudden there was a beam of light that flooded Jade's room. I tried to quiet her down. "Lower the decibels kid." I let her go and she slowly stopped. "What was that all about?' I asked, as the blinding light dissappeared.
We were soon interrupted by laughter. "I finally tracked you down, let me tell you it wasn't easy."
I turned to see who was talking. I realized it was that chick, Leila. How did she figure out I was Sailor Sea. "What do you want?"
Leila didn't even notice me. She looked at Melody instead. "Now princess. Give us the Diamond and we'll be on our way."
I stood in front of Melody, shielding her from Leila. "One. the Diamond isn't hers to give, and two, your dress is out of season."
Leila drew her eyes back to me. "You're talking to me?"
"Yes, where did you come from?" If I questioned her maybe she'll reveal some information that might help the Sailor Scouts.
"From the Negasea, now butt out school girl."
Negasea? What the hell is that? She threw some weird blue fire at me, while I was momentarily distracted. Luckily I got out of the way in time. "Run Melody! Get out of here!" I yelled at her. Melody slipped through Leila's legs and ran off. Leila then followed in pursuit. I knew there was only one thing to do. "Sea Diamond Power!"
When I was done transforming I ran to the sound of Melody's voice. When I arrived at the scene, she was on the ground clutching her ball. "Get away from her!" I ordered Leila.
"Sailor Sea , we meet again." She circled me. Her eyes full of annoyance. "Last time I was unable to show you my powers, but that's about to change." She then threw her blue fire at me again. Except this time it created a wall between me and her. She had blocked me away from Melody.
I looked around to see what I could do. I climbed onto the side of the wall that acted like a fence and ran on the roof towards Leila. I jumped in the direction of the 50's disaster. I managed to elbow her face.
"How dare you!" she voiced angrily. She lifted her hand, trying to create her blue flame, but was stopped when a rose hit her hand. "Who threw that?" She searched.
Tuxedo Mask landed swiftly on the ground and make his way to Melody. He lifted her up into his arms. "Thought you could use some help Sailor Sea."
"Stay out of this masked man." Leila told him,laying her eyes on him.
I was growing tired of her, and decided to finish her. "I've had enough of you." I took out my trident . "Oceanic Trident Elimination!" I pointed it at her. There was nothing left where she stood. "Gotcha." I shouted in triumph.
"Not quite." I heard her voice. How had she managed to get away from my attack? No one has done it before.
"What?" I screeched.
"This isn't over Sailor Sea!" she yelled from the roof, and disappeared.
I rolled my eyes at the thought of me facing her again. Luckily Derek distracted me from that thought as he walked towards me.
"She seems to be alright, just overwhelmed.." He informed me. He looked down at her. There was a sort of familiarity in his eyes, and admiration.
I don't know if he was still looking at Melody, or thinking about something else, because for a second he seemed to be somewhere else.
"Derek? Are you alright?" I asked him. "You look pale. Is something wrong?"
It seemed that I took him away from his train of thought. "No, I'm alright." He reassure me.
We both changed back before Melody saw us. Derek and I walked back to Jade's room, where the girls were still out cold. He placed sleeping Melody onto the bed. He carefully examined Bella. "They should wake up soon."
"Thanks for the help." I thanked him.
"I'm here for you." He then looked back at Melody. "So why do you think she's after her?" He asked.
"No idea." I said walking towards him. "They're both after the same thing. The Sparkling Sea Diamond. I have to be extra careful now since she managed to trick my parents into letting her stay at my house." We were interrupted by a beeping sound. "What is that?" I asked
Derek took out his phone from his pocket. "It's an alarm to remind me that I have an evening class."
"You better go so you're not late." I said to him.
"Me? Late? Never." he winked at me. He placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. "I'll catch you later." and left.
My eyes laid on Melody. As I watched her, I suddenly felt protective of her now. I stuck around and waited for the girls to wake up.
"What happened?" Mags asked clutching her head, as she woke up.
"Little Melody over there put some sort of sleeping potion in your tea." I informed.
"But why?" Bella questioned.
"I think she was looking for the Sparkling Sea Diamond." I told her.
"That girl has determination, I'll give her that." Briar said looking at the small figure resting in Jade's bed.
"Did we miss out on anything?" Jade wanted to know when she looked at how messy her room had become.
"Well..." I began. "That chick Lelia came here and she too was looking for the Sparkling Sea Diamond. I managed to transform and stop her, with the help of Tuxedo Mask."
"How did she find out where you were?" Briar looked puzzled.
"I surprised Melody, and she began to cry. But when she began to wail, there was some sort of light beam she created. I think that's how she tracked us down." I finished.
We then heard the bed screech. It was Melody, she was waking up. Good thing too, it was getting late.
"Where am I?" she asked rubbing her eyes.
"We're at Jade's. But I was just waiting for you to wake up. Come on it's time to go home."
After a long day, Melody feel asleep in my bed. I didn't have the strength to move her to the guest room. I sat on the floor looking at her. There was something about this munchkin. . . But what?
Sebastian crawled over to me. He looked at Melody with a surprised expression. "Wow, who would have guessed she was such a hyperactive kid."
Melody's face was so serene. "You know she isn't so bad. My mom said I use to be like that at her age." I gently wiped a piece of her black hair away from her face. I got up from the floor and scooted into bed. "Good night Sebastian." I said to him as I turned the light off."Goodnight Melody." I whispered.