With the knowledge that someone had discovered his secret, Marcus was too restless to sleep. He leaned on the wooden gate in his backyard, gazing out over the small river that emptied into the ocean. It ran right by his yard and he had often enjoyed the view by day. At night however, he realized how truly beautiful it really was. The moonlight danced across the surface of the water, throwing odd glimmers of light all across the waves. He chewed at his lip as he considered his interaction with Rita. Her demand that he continue to join the meetings was a reasonable one, and what's more it wouldn't be that hard to sell to the others. He believed her when she told him that she wouldn't tell the others, but he was still wary of her. Marcus wasn't entirely sure why she would have agreed to keep his secret. If their roles had been reversed he would have certainly told the others, most likely that very night. Things were going so well too. Marcus thought despondently, growling angrily into the air as he pushed against the railing and used the momentum to spin around, walking back to his house. Ah well. Not much I can do about it now. No sense in stressing myself out.

Before he went inside he glanced up at the moon and smiled. It was truly captivating. In fact, Marcus realized, it was more than that. It seemed to call to him, or at least the merman half of him. He closed his eyes and let its power wash over him, washing away the emptiness he had felt after using so much magic in a single day. When he opened his eyes he was shocked to see that somehow he had wandered back to the river. He stood at its edge, overlooking the water. His bare feet were only inches from the wet sand and Marcus felt a strange compulsion to throw caution to the wind and leap into the water. The temptation wrestled with his logical mind for a long, tense moment before his caution won out and Marcus was able to take a step back. But the temptation didn't go far. He felt it at the back of his mind, constantly gnawing at his thoughts. It was hard to ignore, especially since Marcus wanted nothing more than to swim through the seas as a merman. He had seen how easily Erik and the girls had moved through the water and wanted desperately to try it out for himself. But at the interest of keeping his secret just that, a secret, he knew he had to resist. At least for the time being. In less than three weeks school was being let out for twelve days. Marcus had already booked tickets to his family's private island in the Caribbean and he had every intention of spending every waking minute with a tail. The island was so remote that food had to be brought by boat from the nearest town. Marcus knew from experience that no one would be there to intrude on his personal time. His parents hadn't visited the island in years, in fact Marcus suspected that the island had slipped past through their notice. They had so many land deeds that a single island would not be much of a concern to them, which was exactly why Marcus had secretly managed to place the island under his own name. He wasn't particularly concerned even if his parents noticed his theft. He hadn't seen them in well over two years, and their only communication had been via an occasional email or phone call. They were inseparable from one another, but Marcus had grown tired of the constant traveling and business meeting life they led. They had dropped him off at the boarding school in an effort to placate him, but he found that the school was not at all to his liking. He had purposely got himself thrown out of the school, forcing his parents to give into his wishes and letting him choose his own school. They had bought him the house and given him his credit card and said no more on the issue. They had also arranged for a supply of groceries to be delivered every week to the house, which Marcus had been pleasantly surprised by. All in all, Marcus found the situation to his liking.

The walk back to the house was riddled with temptation as he continually cast longing glances over his shoulder at the water. He walked inside and took his frustration out on an apple that he had set on the counter earlier in the day and forgotten to eat. He glared at the green fruit and gave a lazy flick of his wrist. He expected the fruit to roll over a few times, but instead it shot off the counter and shattered against the wall. Thoroughly surprised by this, Marcus gazed down at his hand. He went into the refrigerator and pulled out several more apples, placing them side by side on the counter. He backed up several steps and raised his hand again, folding all but two fingers against his palm. He pointed the two fingers at the first fruit and flicked them hard to the side. The fruit met the fate the first apple had, shattering against the opposite wall. Marcus grinned, thoroughly enjoying the free use of his powers. The next apple he floated several feet into the air before raising his other hand. He imagined grabbing onto the apple with his other hand and tried to pull the fruit apart. The fruit shook in the air, but it remained whole despite Marcus's best efforts. He let the fruit fall to the floor and lowered his hands. He surveyed the mess he had made before shrugging and walking past the counter, snagging the last apple as he passed. He bit into the juicy fruit as he walked, careful not to get any of the liquid inside on his skin. He jumped into his bed, throwing the apple core skillfully into the waste basket in the corner of his room. He put his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling for a long while. He thought of how much his life had changed in the space of just a few days and how dull it had been before. Money did not buy happiness, particularly when the people who you were supposed to be closest to could not have been more distant. Meeting the Mako group had already given Marcus more happiness than he had experienced in a long time. That was in part why he was so angry when they had tried to steal away his memories. He had few enough happy ones, and he was damn sure going to keep ahold of the ones that he had managed to accumulate.

Sleep snuck onto him before he knew it and his alarm was buzzing him awake before he was even aware that he had drifted off. He readied himself for school and headed out the door, already grateful that it was Friday. Zach was waiting for him on his porch, lounging casually on one of the many ornate metal chairs that lined the hardwood. "Morning." He said cheerfully, waving at Marcus as he lurched to his feet.

"It is." Marcus agreed. "Didn't feel like stalking me out of your window today?"

"I don't stalk you…." Zach frowned, matching Marcus's pace. He saw Marcus's grin and shook his head exasperatedly. "Not funny."

"Very funny." Marcus disagreed, yawning hugely into his hand. "Besides, your girlfriend kidnapped me yesterday. I am entitled to say whatever I want about you two for the next twenty-four hours."

"Wait, is that a rule somewhere?" Zach laughed, thinking that Marcus was joking.

"No." Marcus shrugged. "But I am going to anyways so I'm just giving you fair warning."

"Don't you just say whatever comes to mind anyways?" Zach pointed out.

Marcus inclined his head, accepting the argument. "Valid point." He agreed. "So you shouldn't be too upset then."

"Zach! Marcus!" Evie called, jogging to them when they rounded the corner. "Good morning." She said breathlessly, stepping in close and pecking Zach on the lips.

"Good morning to you too." Zach grinned, claiming her hand in his own.

Marcus rolled his eyes and looked away from the couple, granting them a few private moments. When he deemed that he had given them quite enough time he looked back to them and nodded to Evie. "Morning." He told her. He paused and his lips twitched as he fought off a smile. "What, no kiss for me?"

Zach reddened and Evie laughed, albeit a tad uncertainly. "Sorry Marcus," She told him. "Not for you. You could ask Ondina if you'd like." She added slyly.

"I'd rather gargle acid." Marcus said cheerfully. He then sighed and shook his head. "It's no fun to make fun of her if she isn't here."

"So what did Rita want to talk to you about?" Zach asked curiously. "We waited up for you at the gate for a little while but you never came out."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Marcus said dismissively. "Long story short, she liked having another body to help out with the lessons. She asked me if I would mind coming to lessons from now on to help her out. I told her I would think about it." The lie was believable enough, all the best lies had some truth after all, but Marcus knew he had to sell the story if he was going to avoid being questioned further.

"You should come!" Evie told him excitedly. "Ondina actually had fun last night. Actually, having you there made it a lot more fun. I actually feel like I accomplished something."

"Me too."

So that's three of us. Marcus said, smiling inwardly. He shrugged noncommittally however and put on an airs of uncertainty. "I don't know." He told them. "It was fun, but I'm not sure I should be around Mimi and Ondina. They don't really seem to like land people."

Evie snorted and Zach scowled in unison. "If Mimi didn't like land people, she would be the biggest hypocrite I know." Evie confided to Marcus. "She's dating a guy at the marine park who works with dolphins. A human."

"Really?" Marcus was intrigued. "Hm. I figured that there would have been rules against that."

"What made you think that?" Zach asked.

"Well, mostly when I saw David and Serena the other day." Marcus said. "Serena freaked out the first time that I saw them together. I thought she must have thought I was a merman from your pod."

Zach shook his head immediately. "I doubt it," He chuckled. "Considering that the pod is gone for a little while, and I am the only merman in the pod."

Marcus filed that bit of information away for later consideration, but he chose not to pursue the subject for the time being. "Isn't it dangerous for her to be dating a guy like that?" Marcus asked. "I mean, he works in the water after all."

"It isn't easy," Evie agreed. "Mimi has to make a lot of excused to both the pod and to Chris, but they make it work."

"Good for them." Marcus said. "Some things are worth extra effort. Having someone special in your life is one of those things."

They sat down in their seats for class and Evie immediately turned to examine Marcus closely. He stared calmly back at her, crossing his arms. "Has someone caught your eye?" Evie asked bluntly. "A certain blonde mermaid you enjoy teasing?"

"First off, I do not tease. I torment relentlessly. Teasing is what people with no gift for sarcasm do." Marcus said, slightly affronted. "Secondly, this isn't some wayward love story. I'm not the type to fall in love at first sight. Besides, I think that Ondina is still a little broke up after Erik. She's going to need time. She's not the type to rebound within a few weeks."

"You seem like you really get Ondina." Evie told him honestly. "Are you sure you aren't interested at all?"

"I get Ondina because she is a lot like me." Marcus told them. They looked at him blankly and he clarified his statement. "She doesn't trust easily. The people she does trust are the ones she holds most dear. I doubt there are more than a dozen people she actually fully trusts. Erik was one of those people. Right now, Ondina doesn't know how to trust someone else. She wants to, but she can't remember how."

Cam had taken a seat next to Marcus midway through his explanation and now all three of them were staring at Marcus with their mouths hanging open in shock. "What?" Marcus asked defensively. "I know how she feels is all."

"Why can't she trust anyone else?" Zach asked, still looking at Marcus intently.

"Because Erik betrayed her." Marcus said simply. "She trusted him with what she held most dear, her pod, and he nearly destroyed it. Right now she thinks that she is the one to blame for the whole merman chamber incident. She's punishing herself by not letting others close."

"You think she really thinks she caused it?" Evie asked quietly.

Marcus frowned at them, not sure if they were pulling his leg. They looked genuinely confused at his rapid summation of Ondina's mental state. "You all have realized this by yourselves… right?" Marcus asked. It was possible they hadn't, judging by their stricken expressions. Marcus had seen the pain so clearly etched in Ondina's eyes the first second they had met and Erik's tale had written in the story behind that sadness.

"Ondina…. Never really told anyone what she was feeling." Cam said delicately. "She's not that kind of girl."

"Of course not." Marcus muttered to himself, though the others definitely heard. "Listen, she probably thinks that her feelings for Erik got in the way of her protecting the pod."

"So why does she stop acting like that whenever you make fun of her?" Evie asked. "Because she at least acts like she's normal then."

"Because someone is taking an interest in her." Marcus said, suddenly both furious and tired of this conversation in equal amounts. "Let me guess, you thought she needed her space right?"

"I tried to talk to her!" Evie said, raising her hands as if in defense of a blow. "We all did! She told us that she didn't want to talk about it."

"Of course she didn't-." Marcus bit off his words and shook his head. He got wearily to his feet and picked up his bag just as the school bell rang. The teacher walked into the classroom just as Marcus walked out.

"Excuse me, Mr. White." The teacher said sternly. "Any particular reason that you are leaving class early?"

"Nope." Marcus said as he looked over his shoulder and waved. "I'm taking today off. I've got something to do."

"If you do not come back right now I will be writing you up and then you can explain to Principal Santos why you thought cutting class was a good idea." The teacher warned, clearly expecting Marcus to come back with his tail tucked between his legs.

It wasn't the teacher's fault for such a method. On almost any other student it most likely would have been effective. Marcus, however, merely shrugged and grinned at the teacher insolently. "I got thrown out of a several million dollar a year boarding school," He told the teacher frankly. "If threats made an impression on me, they would have gotten to me there. Have a good day, see you Monday."

The teacher sputtered for a response, clearly thrown for a loop by the simple sincerity behind Marcus's words. Eventually he strode back into the classroom and slammed the door behind him. By that time Marcus was already out of the school and moving purposefully for Rita's house. He wasn't certain that Ondina would be there, but he had all day to find her. If she wasn't at Rita's he would then check the café. If she wasn't there, well, he was beginning to enjoy climbing the cliffs that led to the Moon Pool. He looked up at the clear blue sky and took a deep breath. Marcus was a good person, and though Ondina might not like him very much he just couldn't bear seeing someone in so much pain.

Bit of a longer chapter today, but I enjoyed writing this. Some insight into Marcus the person here. As always, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your reviews. You are the best. -Hallowed