Thanks for the encouragement, guys! Getting this one finished soon!
"Look, Zane." Lewis paced, carefully planning out what he was going to say as he eyed him carefully. "Just don't say another word for a while. Kay? We aren't taking any more risks right now; I mean it."
Zane nodded irritably, rolling his eyes as he scrambled for a pen and paper. He hastily scribbled an explanation for what had happened to Rikki before shoving it over to Lewis.
"So it's like we thought." Lewis looked up at Zane. "You accidentally gave her another order. Or something she interpreted as an order."
"You don't need to remind me." Zane broke, massaging his temples as he tried to stave off an impending headache.
"And so she took off." Lewis continued.
"Lewis for fuck's sake, can you-" Zane's eyes flew open as Lewis's hand slapped over his mouth. He continued talking angrily, though his words were muffled.
"No offence man, but you seriously need to stop talking." Lewis pulled his hand back, grimacing in sudden disgust. He wiped his palm on his slacks as he continued. "Seriously. We don't know enough about this. You cant say anything while any of the girls are around. In fact..." Lewis's eyes adjusted to the wall behind Zane's head as he got distracted by the possible issues with their situation. "We still haven't figured out why Bella showed up at the house when she didn't hear you make the command. So you may not be able to say anything anywhere-"
Zane hit the table hard, startling Lewis back into the room.
"Sorry." Lewis shook his head, his eyes darting to Cleo. "We need to start doing some tests. Now."
"We can go to the moon pool-" Cleo reached for her phone to message Bella.
"No." Lewis said quickly. "In fact, I don't want you girls anywhere near us for a bit, until I can get some preliminary work done."
"Preliminary work?" Zane ignored Lewis's frantic wave and continued talking. "Without the girls? What could you possibly want to work on without the girls there?"
"Zane, shut up." Lewis patted his pocket looking for his keys. "C'mon, bring the stone with you."
"The stone?" Zane frowned. "I figured you'd grabbed it; I haven't seen it since yesterday morning."
"You mean you don't have it?" Lewis's heart sank. "Zane, without that stone..."
"Oh come on, it's got to be somewhere." Zane shrugged. "Did you look around for it? It probably got knocked down or something."
"Ok, change of plans." Lewis spoke quickly, his mind racing as he mentally rearranged his plans. "We'll stay here today, you girls are going to Will's." Lewis began tapping at his phone.
"Wait, excuse me?" Zane's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "Why are they going there? I'm not ok with-"
"ZANE SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Lewis exploded, scaring and effectively silencing Zane instantly. He took a long breath to calm himself before continuing. "You seriously can not say anything else, man. We don't know how long this thing takes to wear off, or if it ever properly wears off. We have bigger problems on our plate than your issues with Will, got it?"
Wordlessly, Zane nodded.
"The girls will stay at Will's today. Or just stay with Will." He turned to Cleo. "I don't care if you guys want to leave the lake house, but you do it together and you do it with him, got it?"
Zane groaned before slumping into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of milk.
"Will will be able to make sure no one takes off under some kind of trance." Lewis continued. "I will stay here with Zane, find the stone, and try to figure out what it did." He sighed tiredly. "That's the one thing we know for a fact. That this all has to do with that rock we found out by Mako." Lewis's phone lit up in his hands. "Excellent. Will is in."
"I'll go wake up Rikki and tell her what's up." Cleo's eyes darted over to Zane before she turned to head up the stairs.
Zane didn't look up as she exited the room, glaring angrily at the floor in front of him. For just a moment, things had been fine. Barely a week they'd gotten, before they were fully dunked in another round of drama. And here he was in the middle of it. He kicked the floor in front of him as he waited for Cleo and Rikki to appear. Lewis seemed distracted, alternating between typing furiously on his phone and scrolling through endless lists of text.
Both looked up as two pairs of feet pounded down the steps. Rikki's worried eyes found Zane's as she hurried to him in the kitchen.
"Hey." She breathed, pulling him in for a tight hug. "Are you ok?"
Zane nodded, resisting the urge to say a word. He knew that Lewis was right. It was too easy to slip up and say something that could be interpreted as a command. Zane tilted his head toward Lewis, gesturing for him to explain.
"Zane isn't talking." Lewis clapped him on the back just a little too hard. "At all. We're not taking any risks."
"Alright, I get that." Rikki was still examining her boyfriend, who looked more than a little miserable. "I'll see you tonight, alright?"
"Maybe." Lewis cleared his throat. "Night seems to be when you girls are most susceptible. Let's just see what we figure out first."
"Now Lewis, I'm not trying to move in with Will or anything-" Cleo began, her tone tight but cheerful.
"Look..." Lewis held his hands out, closing his eyes momentarily before addressing the room. "Everyone just go where you need to go right now. Trust me-" He took in a long breath. "I'm trying to figure this all out as soon as possible. I don't like it any more than you all do."
Zane grunted, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.
Lewis ignored him, continuing. "I'll be in touch." He gave Cleo a quick peck on the cheek before bustling downstairs to search for the stone.
Cleo watched him go, an increasingly familiar feeling of being forgotten settling into her stomach. "Alright then." She said unenthusiastically. "Rikki, shall we?"
Rikki gave Zane a long kiss before following her friend out the door. Zane watched the girls disappear into the canal before jogging downstairs to join Lewis.
Will opened his door, hardly looking to see who it was as he immediately began speaking. "Lewis was right, you girls should be staying her for a-" He stopped, caught off-guard by the face on the other side of the entrance.
"I guess you weren't expecting me." Sophie breezed inside without a second glance in her brother's direction.
"No, I wasn't." Will shoved his hands in his pockets, turning to face his sister but not giving her any indication that her presence was welcome.
Sophie dropped onto Will's couch, smirking up at him. "You're going to be so glad I came to see you today."
"Am I?" Will checked his watch. The girls would be there any minute. "Look, Soph, I'm actually all packed up today, so if you want to talk or something-"
"You remember that merman, or mermaid, whatever it was... that picture that made the rounds on the news a few weeks ago?" Sophie crossed her legs, her characteristic confidence dripping from her voice.
"Sure." Will shrugged, hoping his face hadn't betrayed him. The picture Sophie was referring to had been taken of Zane the first night he'd transformed. They'd thought enough time had passed for the town to forget about it, as it'd been chalked up to a malfunctioning radar imager. "Ah, what about it?"
"Well just listen to this." Sophie leaned forward, clearly enjoying the buildup. "So Ryan was telling me about this marine biologist who did these tests on a cell sample found right here, practically in our backyard." Sophie took in a deep breath. "And get this. The cell samples? They looked like skin. An then they changed. When they touched water they changed to scales." Sophie looked at Will expectantly, her eyes wide. "So let's look at this." She ticked the items on her fingers. "We've got a skin-like cell that changes to a scale upon contact with water, we've got eyewitness accounts of mermaids in the water." She rolled her eyes. "I mean, even Zane went on that crusade about how he got rescued by a mermaid, people love telling that story, man."
"Sophie!" Will got her attention. "What's your point?"
"And..." Sophie continued, unconcerned. "We have a damn picture! It was all over the news!" She held her hands out, as if to make an announcement. "I don't for one second think this is fake. I think there are mermaids in the water. And I'm going to prove it." She grinned.
Though Will's heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest, he forced himself to remain calm. "Sis, you're nuts." He rolled his eyes as he walked past Sophie into the kitchen. "You really think anyone will take you seriously?"
"I don't care if they do or not at first." Sophie ran her fingers through her hair nonchalantly. "Once I show them proof they'll all be embarrassed."
"And when you say proof..." Will frowned.
"I'm going to catch one." Sophie stood, her hands landing on her hips. "Catch one, show the world, yada yada, I'm rich and I get to retire at 29." She smiled, thoroughly pleased with herself.
"That is the dumbest plan I've ever heard." Will muttered, shaking his head bitterly.
"You're entitled to your opinion." Sophie raised a shoulder. "But you're a dummy if you don't consider my proposition."
"Proposition?" Will felt suddenly exhausted as his sister straightened her shoulders.
"Work with me." She said simply. "Take some underwater pictures for me. I know, I know..." She held her hands up as in anticipation an argument. "You don't dive anymore. But this isn't competing, this would be you making a couple of relatively shallow-water dives for photographs. Paid, of course."
"How are you paying people?" Will paced slightly as he listened.
"I'm going to get a backer." Sophie said breezily, waving a flippant hand in the air. "I have a couple meetings this week. Several interested parties willing to fund me. Honestly..." She sighed, brushing at a piece of lint on her sleeve. "People have way too much money to throw around."
Will jumped as someone knocked firmly on his front door. "The girls." He remembered. "Sophie, I'll... I'll think about it. But I need you to leave right now. But don't-" He froze, catching Sophie's elbow and speaking a little louder than he intended to. "Don't do anything yet, ok? I want to... be involved."
"I'm not cancelling my meetings." Sophie pulled her arm from her brother's grip. "But sure, I'll be in touch." She blew Will a quick kiss before throwing open his front door. She marched past Rikki and Cleo without a word, leaving the girls to redirect their confused attention to Will.
"What was that about?" Rikki spoke first, gesturing towards the door Sophie had just breezed through.
Will sank, exhausted, onto his couch. "Get comfortable. The stress isn't letting up anytime soon."
"Where could it fucking be?" Lewis was red-faced and sweating as he collapsed onto the basement floor. He and Zane had torn the room apart top to bottom, but hadn't come up with the stone. It had been hours at this point, and they hadn't even been able to do a single test. "It has to be here somewhere, right?"
"The last time I saw it was on the shelf." Zane repeated wearily as he climbed out from under a table he'd already searched under three times.
"I don't know what to do if we don't find it." Lewis said, suddenly feeling very helpless as his eyes scanned the room. "Zane, what will we do if we don't find it?"
Zane stared at his shoes for several seconds before answering. "We learn how to manage it."
"I don't want to manage it, I want to get rid of it." Lewis said, his tone slightly angry. "Zane-" He turned to face his friend. "We can't all go one hanging out and being friends if there's always a chance that you could put the girls under some kind of obedience spell, or whatever it is. We'd never be able to let our guard down, it wouldn't be a healthy situation... it..." Lewis ran out of steam, needing to take in a long pull of oxygen before continuing. "We wouldn't be able to spend time with each other any more. At least..." He paused awkwardly. "Not with you."
"I know." Zane surprised even himself with his automatic answer. "We've got to figure this out."
Seconds of silence passed as each of the men stared out into the distance, each lost in their own thoughts.
"What are we going to do about Sophie?" Lewis's voice was barely more than monotone as he remembered Cleo's phone call from earlier that morning.
"She's such a bitch." Zane answered after a moment, his tired voice not doing a convincing job.
Lewis laughed in spite of the situation, overwhelmed with pressure and stress. "She is though."
A small chuckle escaped Zane as he looked towards Lewis. "Come on, let's run some tests." He pulled himself to his feet, turning to offer a hand to the scientist.
"Tests on what?" Lewis flopped his arms, looking lost. "This is happening because of the stone, we can't find the stone, so what are we supposed to do here?"
"You said it yourself." Zane tapped his watch. "The girls are more susceptible at nighttime. So far, that's when it's hit them. It wears off in the daytime."
"...It's daytime now.." Lewis wasn't following.
"Right, so the girls are probably fine, and we can't find the rock." Zane's hands landed on his hips. "Let's go out to Mako and look for another one."
"Another one.." Lewis echoed him, his voice drifting.
"You know what? You stay put." Zane patted Lewis on the head. "You can, uh, wait here in case the rock comes back. I'm going out to Mako." He dropped his phone on the counter before heading up the stairs and out the door.
"Mako." Lewis was still wallowing in thought and self-pity. He barely registered the door slamming behind Zane as he jogged out down the lane. Zane was going out to Mako, which actually wasn't such a bad idea. As long as the girls weren't out there.
Scrambling, Lewis lunged for his phone, dialing Cleo's number.
"Cleo, where are you guys?" He asked breathlessly once she'd answered the call.
"We're at the café, where are you?" Cleo sounded confused over the speaker.
"Just checking." Lewis sighed. "Don't go out to Mako today, ok?"
"Sure thing." Cleo felt more than a little worried as she listened to Lewis's stressed tone.
Lewis clicked the phone off without another word, grabbing his boat keys as he dashed up the stairs after Zane.
"Are you sure?" Will asked Rikki for what had to be the tenth time.
"Absolutely." She answered firmly. "If you're Sophie's right-hand man then you can tell us what she's up to. Warn us. And Zane." She added, wanting to make sure he was represented.
Will cleared his throat, not eager for Zane's name to enter their conversation. "I get that, but won't that bring her closer to you guys?"
"It hasn't been an issue yet." Rikki shrugged, leaning back to see if Cleo was still on the phone with Lewis. "At least, not any more of an issue than it is with anyone else. Cleo, you in there?"
"Yeah, I'm here." Cleo was staring at the screen of her phone as she re-entered the room.
"And? Is everything ok?" Rikki looked to Will, who wore a matching expression of curiosity.
"Fine." Cleo changed the subject, taking a breath as she readjusted her face into a grin. "How much longer will the sound check go, do you think?"
"No idea." Rikki tilted her head back and forth as counted songs. "They've still got seven or eight to go if my math is right."
"That works." Cleo waved at Bella, who gave a somewhat sarcastic wave back as she batted Nate away from her microphone. "We aren't supposed to go out to Mako. I guess that's where Lewis and Zane are headed."
Rikki eyed her friend closely. "You ok?" She knew that tone; she'd only heard it from Cleo a couple times, and it'd always been when she was terribly unhappy.
Cleo dropped into a seat next to her best friend, leaning her head against Rikki's shoulder. "Sometimes I just wish Lewis would be a scientist second, you know?"
"Be careful what you wish for." Rikki joked, wrapping an arm around Cleo for a quick hug. "Especially nowadays."
Cleo gave a half-hearted laugh, trying to make herself sound chipper. "Don't remind me." She reached for her pocket as her phone buzzed urgently. She flipped it open, reading its screen. "You girls ALL, that's all caps, guys..." She muttered as she read from the phone. "You girls ALL should stay with Will until further notice. We can't seem to locate the stone. We're heading to Mako; get somewhere safe soon."
"You're kidding..."Rikki checked the time, more than ready to take control of her own day. They needed to be conducting interviews, picking up produce, making appearances... they couldn't afford to both disappear for a prolonged period of time.
"I guess that's that." Cleo shrugged, looking between her two friends. "We hang with Will until further notice? I guess we head to the boat shed and lock ourselves in for the night?"
"Yeah, sure." Rikki murmured as she pulled herself to her feet to follow her friend. Her eyes met Will's for a few seconds as she walked to meet Cleo at the corner before the pair disappeared down the hall and through the door leading outside toward the boat shed.
Will had noticed Rikki looking at him and he had tried not to react to it, though his heart had given an involuntary flutter at the attention. He quickly redirected his thoughts, suddenly noticing the heavy lump in his right pocket. He reached down, tracing his fingers over the edges of the cool blue stone as he watched Rikki talk with Cleo. He knew he should give it to Lewis and Zane, or at least return it from where he'd taken it, but he couldn't make himself do it just yet.
Sophie stood several yards away, watching the group as they held their odd meeting. Her eyes flickered down to the picture from the paper in front of her and back up to the booth, silently measuring things up. "None of them." She muttered under her breath, silently scolding herself for even considering that the group of kids might know something about such an important subject. She watched her brother as he looked carefully from side to side before leading the girls out of the café; Bella left before she'd even finished her last song.
They'd each cast eyes up at the darkening skies as they'd made their way to their temporary shelter, Will waiting for each of the girls to scoot inside before pulling the door closed behind them.
Sophie stood on the deck of the café, breathing in the salty ocean wind as it whipped over the wooden slats and watching everyone moving around her. She squinted as she caught the last glimpse of Will before he disappeared. she turned her head just in time to catch a look at a familiar shirt as it ran across the beach.
She stepped forward, holding one hand across her eyes as she watched Lewis's boat pull off of the dock and out into the somewhat stormy waters. Though the skies hadn't opened up yet, they were definitely getting ready to. Lewis's small boat had just pulled away from the shore when a familiar shape appeared, running from around the far corner.
Sophie watched as Zane ran around to the edge of the dock and, with hardly any hesitation, dove straight out into the choppy water. She gasped slightly, surprised to see Zane go out for what, a swim? What was he doing?
Sophie stepped forward, craning her neck to see out into the water, but she couldn't even make out Lewis's boat anymore. She never saw Zane come out, thougb he could have simply been swimming down the shore...
Checking her watch, Sophie decided to sit in the café. Zane had connections to mermaids; she knew that. He used to be very vocal about the existence of merpeople. He was the perfect person to interview, and she would be right there waiting for the second he got back.