"Yes, yes, I'll be there as soon as I can. And so will Bella." Rikki nodded, pacing as she talked on her cell phone. "Thanks, Nate. Bye." She sighed as she tossed her phone onto Will's couch. "Alright, we owe Nate free smoothies for a week, but I talked him into managing the café for us tonight."

"I never thought I'd see the day when we were glad to have Nate running the café for us." Bella said tiredly from her place in an armchair.

"I know." Rikki's hands fell to her hips as she surveyed the room.

Cleo and Will were on the couch, deep in conversation over what courses of action to take next.

"Look, all I'm saying is that as long as we stay completely away from water any time Sophie is around." Cleo raised a shoulder.

"Zane too." Will put in.

"Zane too." Cleo nodded. "She can't prove that any of us are merpeople without proof. We stay away from water, she never gets that proof."

"Yes, but we can't really do that forever, can we?" Will leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I mean, you work at the marine park. Bella, Rikki, and Zane work in a juice café right by the ocean. Can we really conceivably completely eliminate any risk of being found out? My sister is-"

"-a bitch." Rikki dropped onto the couch next to Cleo.

Everyone froze as Will's cell phone rang. "It's Sophie." He muttered as he held the phone up to his ear. "Hey sis. No, I don't know when Zane will be back." Will's eyes darted over to Rikki's. "Why?" He frowned. "I don't think- ok. Bye, Soph." He shook his head as he dropped his phone. "My sister is looking for Zane?" He told the room. "I guess she's trying to be manager again? I don't know."

"And it's reasons like that for why I need to get down there." Rikki whined. "Can't we all go down as a group?"

"Lewis is worried about nighttime." Cleo spoke up. "He thinks we're more susceptible to Zane's commands or something."

"Well, the band will kill me if I bail on them again tomorrow." Bella crossed her arms. "Have the boys found anything yet?"

"Nothing." Rikki tapped her foot in irritation.

"And have we learned anything about this blue stone yet?" Cleo asked.

"Not yet." Bella replied.

Will's hand slid into his pocket out of habit, pressing the blue rock against the center of his palm.

"So we've learned nothing, we can't test the stone because we can't find it, and we're all just holed up in here like animals in a zoo." Rikki said testily. "Until when, exactly?"

"I don't know." Will stood, stretching his arms over his head, not quite meeting anyone's eye.

"Well I do." Rikki made up her mind, quickly grabbing her phone and sliding it in her pocket. "I'm out of here in the morning. I'll help Lewis and Zane or go to the café, but I'm not sitting on my ass indefinitely. This is torture."

Will tried not to react to Rikki's statement, though it caught him by surprise. Bella noticed Will watching Rikki. Though she tried not to think about it, the look in his eyes was one she never saw him give to Cleo. Until now she'd chalked it up to general paranoia, but this wasn't her imagination. Will was acting strangely, and she couldn't shake the feeling that he knew something he wasn't telling her. The question now was, what?

"It's hopeless." Lewis slumped down on the sand, exhausted and covered in dirt. "Zane?" He leaned over the edge of the pool to shout into the water. "You hear me? Hopeless."

Zane surfaced, almost hitting Lewis in the face as he shook water out of his hair. "What?"

"I can't find anything." Lewis dusted off his shirt, squinting as he sat cross-legged next to the pool. "Nothing. Not a speck of blue anywhere."

"I don't see anything on the ocean floor either." Zane sighed wearily before pulling himself out of the water.

"That was the only one." Lewis shook his head. "That has to be it. Three stones for three mermaids, a fourth for you." His eyes flickered over to Zane. "There isn't going to be another one. We have to find it. The original. It's all we can do."

"Alright." Zane shrugged, frowning in concentration as he held his hand out to dry himself. "I know I didn't leave your house with it."

"Then that's where it has to be." Lewis rubbed his temples.

"Maybe it's gone?" Zane raised a shoulder. "Maybe it disappeared or something?"

"The girls' stones never vanished." Lewis countered, resting his head on his hand wearily.

"But this isn't the girls' stone, it's mine." Zane's frustration boiled over slightly. He clenched his jaw, swallowing before continuing. "Lewis..." He looked at his old friend. "I don't know what to do next. But let's get out of here. Let's go home. Let's get to the girls."

"You go." Lewis stood, stretching his arms over his head. "I'm gong to keep looking a while longer. But just go straight home, alright? No communicating with Rikki."

"No, Lewis-" Zane caught Lewis's arm. "Come on, man." His tone softened. "Cleo will want to hear from you. I've got to swing by and close up at the café. Then, let's go to your house and search it one more time. If it doesn't turn up... well..." He tilted his head to one side. "We'll cross that bridge if we have to."

It was late by the time Zane jogged through the entrance to the café. Someone was behind the counter wiping up, though the customers had long gone.

"Nate?" Zane recognized his friend. "Did you close?"

"Your girlfriend is paying me in free goodness, mate." Nate winked as he tossed the cloth into the sink. "Everything is pretty much done, but your juice lines are super clogged, they're all sticky or something-"

"Thanks." Zane cut off his friend, but he actually meant it. Most of the work was already done, he'd be able to get to Lewis's before long.

"Glad you're here, though." Nate continued. He leaned in as if he were telling Zane a secret. "She's been driving me insane asking when you'll get back."

"She?" Zane furrowed his brow. "Who she?"

Nate nodded towards Zane's office. "I told her to wait in there. At least it shut her up for a while. She's been asking a million questions about you."

Zane's guard was more than up as he apprehensively approached his office. He took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

Nate watched as Zane disappeared inside before turning back to work on the juice hoses for Zane. Something seemed... off about that chick.

"Sophie." Relief flooded through him as he recognized her. "What are you doing here?"

"Not the warmest of greetings, but it'll do." Sophie was seated comfortably behind Zane's desk. "You're here really late."

"Right back at you." Zane wasn't in the mood for this discussion. "Go home, Sophie. Whatever it is, we can talk tomorr-"

"I've been waiting to talk to you for hours." Sophie cut in, shrugging almost nonchalantly. "I'm not going anywhere."

Zane sighed, resigning himself to the conversation. He closed his eyes briefly, remembering what Rikki had texted him a short while ago. "So I hear you're drinking the kool aid." He forced his mouth into a smirk. "I thought you were smarter than all this mermaid stuff."

"It could be a merman." Sophie shrugged, clearly unfazed. "Plus, who are you to talk? You believe in them too."

Zane snorted. "Believed in them. I was a kid."

Sophie's eyes narrowed. "Then you're saying you don't think that anymore."

"Look, Sophie." Zane shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked down at the seated redhead. "I was dumb when I was younger. Plus, I loved the sound of my own voice, y'know?" He raised a shoulder. "I made it all up. It was a joke."

"Now, I don't believe that for a second." Sophie rose, leaning over the desk with her weight on her hands. "I've talked to people who knew you then. They all say that you were obsessed..."

"Then I guess the joke was on me." Zane looked bored as he checked the time. "Mermaids don't exist, Soph. You can keep looking if you want, but you're only going to end up embarrassing yourself."

"We'll see." Sophie crossed her arms as she examined Zane. Her heels clicked as she made her way to the office door. She turned back to look at Zane just as she reached it. "Multiple sightings over the years... more than one picture... eyewitness testimony... I'm just saying. If it looks like a mermaid and sounds like a mermaid..."

Zane watched the door click shut behind her before hurrying to his desk. He didn't have time to worry about Sophie right now. One problem at a time.

The atmosphere in Will's place had long staled. Rikki, Cleo, and Bella were blearily watching something on TV, though no one was paying attention to the plot. Every time a phone chimed all three would check anxiously in hopes that it was Zane or Lewis telling them they could all go home now.

Will was alone in the back room, sitting on a folding chair and looking at the blue stone he held in his hands. Sweat dripped down his temple as he turned it over and over. Guilt ate at him. He knew he needed to give the stone to Lewis so that he could test it. But still, something inside him wanted to hold onto it.

Will started as his phone buzzed in his pocket, sighing when he saw his sister's name on the screen. "What?"

"I need you to send me coordinates." Sophie launched.

"Coordinates for what?" Will frowned.

"I'm going out to drop some cameras. Out in the ocean." Sophie sounded distracted. "Little motion-activated things; I got an amazing deal on-"

"What is it you need?" Will cut in, his head starting to throb.

"I need you to send me coordinates for where to drop them." Sophie spoke slowly, as if Will were a child. "Where would you recommend? You know the seascape better than I do. Some can go on the ocean floor, but there are others I can mount virtually anywhere."

"Sophie... can we talk about this tomorrow?" Will felt exhausted. The stone glittered out of the corner of his eye; cold in the shade of the dark room. "I'll think about it; I'll have a list for you tomorrow morning, kay?"

"Fine." Sophie whined the word. "I get up at seven."

"I don't." Will grunted. "Goodnight, sis."

A faint knock at the door made him spin around, the stone disappearing into his pocket.

"I didn't mean to scare you." Rikki said sheepishly, stepping inside. "You've been gone a while, are you alright?"

Will's answer caught in his throat as he looked at Rikki. It didn't seem to matter how much he tried to talk himself out of it. He couldn't get over her. "I'm fine." He eventually forced himself to speak. He held his phone in the air. "Sophie just called. She's got underwater cameras."

"Jesus." Rikki crossed her arms, shaking her head. "I guess we knew that was coming. When your sister has the idea to do something-"

"-She doesn't give up." Will finished, a rare smile appearing on his face. "I know. But it's ok, she asked me where to put them. I'll just make sure you girls know exactly where they are."

"Great." Rikki nodded.

The floor creaked under Will as he shifted his weight, trying to come up with something to say to keep the conversation going. "So... anything from Lewis?"

"Not yet." Rikki shook her head.

"Have he and Cleo set a date yet?"

"Not that they've told anyone." Rikki pulled her hair into a high ponytail, smoothing it down as she talked. "I think someone needs to remind them that they're engaged."

Will met Rikki's eye. "How have you been?"

"I'm alright." Rikki answered, somewhat reserved. "And you and Bella? Doing well?"

"Yes." Will's eyes dropped to his feet as an uncomfortable silence rolled over them. "I'm sorry." He said eventually, running a hand through his hair. "I guess... I just don't know how to talk to you anymore." He raised his shoulders.

"I know what you mean." Rikki held her elbow, nervously flexing her fingers as she tried to figure out what to say. "I guess we just-"

"I think we-" Will paused as they talked over each other, both breaking out into involuntary smiles.

"Go ahead." Rikki nodded, gesturing for Will to take the lead.

Will didn't know what was wrong with him. He didn't want to be this breathless when he looked at her. He had tried to move on, to refocus, but when he looks at her his heart starts pounding. He opened his mouth, but couldn't make himself form the words he wanted to say. What did he even want to say?

Will let out a long exhale, deflating as he calmed himself down. "I just... I want us to be friends again." He stopped himself from saying anything else. He didn't tell her that he thought he still had pretty deep feelings for her. He didn't tell her how much he'd missed talking to her over the last few weeks. He was kind of proud of himself, even if his perceived selflessness was a little self serving. He knew that Rikki would never trust him again if he didn't give her time to fall in love with him on her own.

"Of course, we're always going to be friends." Rikki shrugged, crossing her arms.

"No, I mean-"

"I know what you mean." Rikki gave a crooked smile as she held her hands out to quiet him. "And I agree. Just like we used to be. Let's be friends again, ok?" She held out a hand, nodding towards it.

Will smiled more easily than he had in days as he took Rikki's hand in his, shaking it. "Friends."

"What am I missing back here?" Bella startled the pair as she appeared in the doorway. When neither Rikki nor Will seemed able to form coherent sentences, Bella held up a hand and continued. "Whatever. You two missed a call from Lewis."

Zane pushed a stamp onto the last envelope and tossed it on the edge of his desk. "All paid. Everything ordered." He muttered as he flicked through the stack one more time. This should get them through the next couple weeks, or the next 10 days at least. If they could just find someone to manage the café they'd be in for a pretty easy time.

Zane packed his bag, shutting down his computer for the night. All he had to do was drain the lines and he'd be clear to go home.

He threw his things onto the counter, flipping the switches to plunge 3/4 of the place into darkness. He grabbed a pair of elbow-high rubber gloves and slid them on as he opened the cupboard that stored the syrup for their juices.

"Orange juice..." He talked to himself as he found the right hose. Orange juice was one of their best sellers, and consequently, it always got clogged before the end of the day. He untwisted the nozzle at the end of the line, standing up to reach for the spigot on the sink. He twisted it, jumping back as orange juice shot out of the hose in front of him. He narrowly missed getting hit, twisting the knob back quickly before jumping out of the way. He reached out to catch himself, realizing after his hands had hit the counter that it had been wiped down only moments ago, and was dripping wet.

"Hey mate, I already cleared the line, that chick, she gave me some serious no-way feelings, you know what I mean?" Nate appeared from around the corner, drying his hands on a paper towel. "I figured I'd wait and lock up with ya-" He froze, looking hard at Zane. "You ok?"

Zane felt paralyzed. It had already been what... 5, 6 seconds? Could he make it anywhere? Could he dry himself? MOVE, Zane! He rubbed his hands hard down the sides of his pants, desperate to dry them as he tried to dart down towards his office. He made it halfway before the transformation swept over him. He fell hard, his body smacking into the floor as the momentum tried to keep him moving.

"Zane?!" Nate didn't know what had happened to scare his friend so much, but... did he just fall down? Nate darted around the corner, freezing when he saw what had happened to... "Zane?"

Zane's heart was pounding so loudly in his head that he didn't think he could stand it. He'd never known terror like this. For the first time, he fully understood what the girls went through when someone new found out about their secret. He felt exposed, and he didn't like it. He could feel the eyes on him as Nate breathed heavily. He flipped himself over, letting his long tail unfurl in front of him as he looked up at a stricken Nate.

"What... the fuck..." Nate couldn't look away.

"It's not a big deal." When overwhelmed with stress and indecision, Zane reverted to his cocky, carefree self. "Look, alright?" He rubbed his hands together, creating enough steam to dry them. Moments later, he transformed back, jumping immediately to his feet to walk over to the still-shocked Nate. "I'm still me, I just... turn into a kind-of fish sometimes-"

"A mermaid." Nate said emotionlessly, eyes wide.

"Well, merman if you're getting technical." Zane rolled his eyes. "So... we cool?" He held his hand out to his buddy, waiting for him to accept.

"So you like..." Nate mulled, not moving. "Swim? Underwater?"

"For a long time." Zane's hands fell to his hips.

"How long?" Nate asked immediately.

"Haven't tested it." Zane could feel a grin settling in as Nate gave him a long look up and down.

"So... you're... magic now?" Nate gave Zane's shoulder a shove as he walked past him to pick up his keyboard case. "Damn, man."

Zane paused for just a second, appreciating his best friend for a moment before raising his eyebrows and continuing as he grabbed his keys to lock up. "Yeah. Happened a little bit ago. It's weird."

"I hear that. So can you, like, hypnotize the ladies now?" Nate pestered as Zane pushed the door closed."

"I haven't tried yet." Zane raised an eyebrow as he laughed for the first time all day.

"Because that could seriously work out to my advantage." Nate was laughing as the keys twisted the door's lock.

Sophie's phone buzzed from her bedside table. She sat up sleepily, pulling it open. "That was quick." She whispered to herself as she looked at the list of coordinates Will had just sent her. She frowned as she skimmed the list, fumbling to turn on the light so she could reach a clipboard resting on her desk. She flipped through pages, holding the texted list out in comparison. "What the hell, Will?" Sophie hadn't asked only Will for his recommendations. In fact, he'd been almost an afterthought. She'd also gotten the opinions of the local marine institute, the dolphin trackers school, and a couple marine biologists. And... looking at where they'd told her to drop cameras... the places that they all said were the places with the highest likelihood of abnormal activity, all of the others told pretty similar stories. They were virtually identical. Specifically, they targeted a path between the mainland and Mako Island. Each one was the same picture, the same pathway. But Will's... Sophie shook her head, eyes narrowed. His was completely different from the others. In fact, it almost looked like he'd gone out of his way to avoid a single location the others had recommended. Nothing near the shore, not a single spot near Mako...

Sophie swallowed hard, suddenly wide awake. Her brother was smarter than this. What didn't he want her to find?