Cleo, Bella, and Lewis were waiting on the front porch step when Rikki eventually came home. At least, Cleo and Bella were waiting. Lewis was sound asleep, his head resting against the cool wood of the deck railing.
Cleo gave Lewis a rough elbow to the ribs as Rikki approached.
"I'm awake!" He sat up like a shot, eyes blinking rapidly.
"We could tell." Rikki dropped exhaustedly on the step beside him. "It is after 2am, you guys. You didn't need to wait up for me."
"We know." Bella scooted a bit closer to her friend, wrapping one arm loosely around her shoulders. "But we thought you could use a talk."
"How did you know this is where I'd end up?" Rikki dropped her head onto Bella's arm, closing her eyes sleepily.
"Well we didn't figure you'd go back to Zane's." Lewis said matter-of-factly.
"You figured right." Bitterness crept back into Rikki's tone as a familiar wave of anger swept through her once again. "I just can't believe him. What was he thinking?"
The other three exchanged a look with one another as Rikki continued.
"I mean, we work so hard to keep this secret." Her blonde curls bounced as she shook her head. "Even if he did think this was the best solution, why wouldn't he talk to us about it first?"
"Would you have talked to him about it if it were you?" Lewis asked gently.
Rikki froze, her eyes darting to each of her friends' before she opened her mouth to speak. "Excuse me?"
"He just means..." Cleo was quick to jump in. "...That we have kept one or two things from each other in the past, and-"
"I don't believe this." Rikki clenched her jaw, dropping her head to look at her feet as she became suddenly guarded. "You're on his side?"
"No." Cleo said immediately, turning to lean closer to Rikki. "We're not on his side, Rikki. But let's look at it from a different angle."
Rikki huffed and tapped her fingers irritably as Lewis took over.
"You guys told me the secret." He raised a shoulder.
"Only because we had to." Rikki shot back. "It's not like we wanted to."
"Alright thanks, that hurts, but moving on." Lewis nodded as he ticked the next name on his fingers. "Emma told Ash."
"Yeah, and both of them moved away right afterwards." Rikki's voice rose an octave, as it always did when she thought of how much she missed Emma. "Plus, you've only brought up you and Ash, the poster boys for trustworthiness. How about Charlotte?"
"Now, that's not fair. No one told Charlotte anything-" Lewis defended himself.
"Or Denman?" Rikki raised an eyebrow, daring Lewis to argue with her. "Want to tell us about how she isn't your fault either?" Rikki jumped to her feet, her voice just under a full yell.
"Rikki, Rikki..." Bella stepped in, placing on hand on Rikki's back. "C'mon, we're not arguing about that stuff right now."
"Well he brought it up." Rikki tossed a hand in Lewis's direction, stopping just short of an eye roll. She dropped back onto the step with a sigh. "I just don't understand why Zane would do this."
"I do." Bella spoke up, turning to face Rikki's seat on the step. "He did it for me, Rikki. He did it to get Sophie's focus away from me."
"Is that true?" A quick glance at Lewis and Cleo's faces confirmed Bella's statement. Rikki opened her mouth to speak, but nothing quite came out.
"Of course we're upset with him." Bella continued speaking. "But we've had a few hours to talk through it already."
"I've had hours too, and I'm still furious." Rikki collected herself.
"And we understand that, ok?" Cleo spoke carefully. "Take your time. You'll get there. But-" She took a deep breath, sneaking a quick look at Bella before continuing. "We're on the other side of it now. It happened. It's done. There's nothing we can do about it except accept it and decide how to handle it."
"I don't want to talk to him." Rikki shook her head firmly.
"You got it. Not talking." Bella nodded. "But you'll get there. in time." She sat back down next to her friend.
"Don't count on it." Rikki murmured as she dropped her suddenly sleepy head onto Lewis's shoulder.
Sophie had gotten little sleep that night. The sun had not yet fully risen by the time Sophie was packing the last video monitor into its padded casing. it was the last of the interior receiver monitors. All that was left was to get the cameras out of the ocean, which shouldn't be too hard with the right help. Sophie paused to yawn, stretching her arms high over her head. She hadn't been able to stop her mind from racing through the endless hours of the night. She'd spent most of it tossing and turning as she relived the events of the day before. She a contented sigh, Sophie propped her phone between her ear and her shoulder as she listened to it ringing.
"C'mon Zane, pick up." She pursed her lips as Zane's voicemail clicked through for the third time.
She took a deep breath, looking at the neatly packed boxes. She felt a butterfly flutter in her stomach as she relived yesterday for what had to be the hundredth time. She still couldn't believe it. Zane was the merman. She shook her head, taking a moment to catch her breath. This changed everything. If there was anything more rare and miraculous than a mermaid, it was this. Sophie took in a long breath. She had a merman to market. One that would have the world eating out of his hand. Good looks, charm, her as manager... she couldn't wait to get started.
Sophie grabbed her things and skipped out the door. It was time for Zane to wake up; they had too much to do.
Ryan Tate squinted as he recognized a familiar face walking down the street towards him. "Sophie!" He called to get her attention. Hey!" He jogged to catch up with her.
"Ryan?" Sophie looked up, preoccupied, as she placed the face. "Oh, hey. Long time no see."
"Not since Mako." Ryan adjusted his biologist's badge as he walked quickly to match Sophie's brisk pace.
"Not since Mako." Sophie echoed, not interested in stopping for a chat.
"Did you find that information you were looking for?" Ryan didn't seem to take the hint. "I hadn't heard anyone ask about Linda Denman in a couple years."
"Denman?" Sophie paused, trying to remember what he was talking about.
"You wanted to know about that scientist that thought she found mermaids, right?" Ryan spoke slowly, looking at Sophie as if she had a screw loose. "Remember? You called me? I told you-"
"Oh right." Sophie cut in hastily, screwing her eyes shut as she popped herself on the head. "Silly me. Right, I'm over that. Dead end. It was dumb."
"Oh." Ryan shook his head. "You seemed so curious about her."
"Well, I'm not now." Sophie's terse tone signaled an end to the topic.
"So have you been out there since? Into that cavern?" Ryan couldn't help but bring it up. In truth, he'd been doing a lot of thinking about Mako Island recently.
"Nah." Sophie lifted a shoulder. "Don't suppose there's much to see."
"You're right about that." Ryan clenched his jaw. "But it's weird, though." He glanced side to side briefly before continuing. "I borrowed a boat from work on my day off and finally got to go out there and have a peak at what was left. I thought maybe some of the stones would be salvageable, you know? But get this... it looks like someone's been out there cleaning it up."
"So?" Sophie didn't spare him so much as a glance.
"So, someone else knows about that place." Ryan didn't understand why Sophie wasn't more interested. "Which means someone else knows about those stones, and-"
"They've been cleaning it up." Sophie stopped short, freezing momentarily in place before picking back up. She'd been such an idiot. She knew exactly who they was."
"Right, so I'm betting within a few months we start to see blue gem jewelry make a comeback; I think we might be able to sue for a piece of the profits." Ryan kept jabbering. "I mean, we found them and made them easily moveable-"
"That's why they're out there all the time." Sophie murmured to herself, realizing why that place had meant so much to Will. "It's like, their clubhouse..."
"What?" Ryan leaned in, frowning.
"What? Nothing." Sophie shook her head, pushing on.
"Ok..." Ryan wasn't an idiot; he never had been. "Are you alright? You look... preoccupied."
"I'm fine, thanks. Hope you are!" Sophie waved absently as she made a turn down a side street, not so much as glancing behind her.
Ryan stopped, watching her disappear into the morning light. "Talk to you later, I guess."
Lewis had been up for hours, pouring through book after book in search of anything about a blue stone.
"There has got to be something." He gritted his teeth as he flipped a large blue-bound volume closed. He knew what he had to do if he wanted to do any testing before the next full moon. "We need to make our own moonlight." He exhaled. He'd avoided using the girls' necklaces in combination with the stone up till now. It was too risky; things could get out of control. Lewis was far from sure he was ready for that kind of responsibility. Still... What other choice did he have?
Lewis looked up as a quiet knock at the door broke the silence. He frowned as he looked through the peep hole, pausing just a moment before pulling the door open.
"Hey Lewis." Will spoke first, though his tone was soft. His eyes could hardly meet Lewis's, making his normally tall build appear diminutive.
"Will." Lewis didn't know what to say next. Awkwardly, he stepped aside. "Want to... come in?"
"Yeah, actually." Will forced himself to breathe as relief washed over him. The hardest part was over; Lewis hadn't sent him away. "I'm sorry for coming over so early, but I figured you'd be up.
"You figured correctly." Lewis gestured to the room. "Trying to figure things out before the next full moon. We haven't been able to get much done." Lewis ended the sentence with an unintentionally pointed glance in Will's direction.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Will knew it was time to get to the point. "I'm sorry, Lewis."
"You don't owe me that." Lewis looked up at him through blonde hair in his eyes. "You owe that to the girls."
"I know." Will said quietly, kicking at his shoe. "Believe me, I feel like I'm going to owe them for the rest of my life."
"Good feeling." Lewis reached for his microscope, tuning it in on the rock in front of him. "Is that it?"
Will felt as if he were falling apart as he watched his friend working. "I wish I could go back in time and not take the stone, Lewis."
Lewis looked up, his tone mocking. "I'm not the wish-granter, nor is the stone powered up right now, if that's what you're trying for-"
"No, I-" Will shook his head, trying to express what he was thinking. "I wasn't trying to make a wish or anything." He sighed. "I'm trying to explain myself." He began pacing as he spoke. "The thing is... I don't even really know why I did it. I didn't want to use it, I knew that wouldn't work."
"Did you want to keep us from working on it? Was that it?" Lewis cast his eyes back through the lens.
"No, not at all." Will shook his head. "Maybe... I just wanted to make things difficult for Zane."
"Because you still have feelings for Rikki?" Lewis didn't look up, but his words made Will freeze in his tracks. Lewis closed his eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath before looking up at Will, who stood paused mid-step.
"Your silence is freaking loud, man." Lewis tapped his pencil on the table, feeling like a professor lecturing a student.
"I can't help it, I-" Will started to launch right in, but stopped when Lewis held up a hand.
"Stop." Lewis's voice was surprisingly firm, a different sound than his usual lightness. He stood, looking Will dead in the eye. "I'm not upset that you have feelings for her." He shook his head slightly. "I'm not. It's your life." Lewis took a step closer to Will. "But stop yanking Bella around. She doesn't deserve it. You know how things work in our group." He lowered his voice out of habit. "They're special. They already have enough on their plates without this brand of bullshit."
"But I-"
"I don't care, Will." Lewis yelled, surprising himself with how angry he suddenly was. "I don't care what you're here to tell me. I don't care that you feel bad. I don't care that you don't know what to do with your love life, Will. Want to know why?"
Will raised his shoulders, not daring to try to say anything.
"Because your sister knows what Zane is." Lewis said flatly. "Because she's going to go public with him. And because the full moon is right around the corner and I still haven't figured out a way to prevent this stone from turning Zane into a master merman again." He angrily dropped the rock onto the table.
All color had drained from Will's face as Lewis spoke. "Sophie... she knows knows?"
"She does." Lewis nodded once, looking tiredly at Will. "Zane told her about himself to protect Bella."
"She knows about mermaids." Will needed to sit down. He sank into a kitchen chair, leaning heavily on the table in front of him as he looked up at Lewis. "Zane just... told her?"
"Then he had her throw a cup of water at him, I believe." Lewis made a couple of notes on his paper, frowning as his pencil tip broke on the page. "Fell right down in front of her."
"I can't believe it." Will breathed, fear creeping into his voice as a thought occurred to him. "Is she still-"
"Yup." Lewis sat back down with a freshly sharpened pencil in his hand. "She's still taking him public. Agreed to give him time to plan it and get ready, so I guess that was pretty nice of her."
"Zane..."
"Zane." Lewis looked at Will across the table in silence for several seconds before standing and moving towards the front door. "We've got a lot on our plates right now, Will. Please go."
Will sat for a moment, trying to process everything Lewis had just told him. He felt a combination of relief that Bella was in the clear and terror over what his sister was going to do with this new information. This was just what she'd wanted all her life. A once in a lifetime never-have-to-work-again opportunity...
Lewis cleared his throat, leaving the front door open and walking back to sit at the table. He resumed his testing, making it clear that he would not be speaking another word to Will.
"Let me know if I can do anything." Will said weakly, jumping up and pulling the door shut behind him.
"So I was thinking-" Sophie began speaking the moment Zane opened his front door. "Since I'm not talking to my brother right now, nor do I want to call the installation company back out so soon, you can retrieve them for me." She bustled past him, setting a stack of books on the counter.
Zane squinted, still rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Retrieve what exactly?"
"The cameras, what do you think?" Sophie rolled her eyes. "From the water, just like you suggested." She flipped back around to begin sorting through books.
Zane couldn't help but smirk as he shut the door and headed towards the kitchen. "So I'm a dog now?"
"Nope, just a fish." Sophie pulled a face as Zane switched on the coffee maker.
"Watch it with that." Zane nodded towards his dad's in-home office. "He gets back today. And he doesn't know."
"Gotcha." Sophie appeared to take the news in stride, though her pride swelled a bit as she took a certain privilege in knowing Zane's secret. "So I was thinking we'd go out to the ocean today. You can get the cameras, and I get to watch you in action some more." She popped her eyebrows, grinning as she grabbed a mug.
"Y'know, Sophie..." Zane paused, deciding how best to continue. He knew he needed to keep Sophie happy, but he really needed to talk to Rikki; work things out with her.
"I know, I know." Sophie held up her hands. "I won't take any pictures or anything, and the cameras are off, ok? I just... I want to see you, you know?
"It's not that." Zane took a deep breath before deciding just to push on. "I really need to talk to Rikki about all this. You know how angry she is. Soph. And I need to get to the café to-"
"The café, exactly." Sophie cut in. "I wanted to talk to you about that too. I really think you should re-install me as manager. Not because I'm angling for a job or anything like that-" She said firmly. "But you need me, Zane. That place is just one big water trap waiting to catch you. I mean, you pour juice all day, it's only a matter of time before someone catches you."
"That's how..." Zane began the sentence before he could stop himself, trailing off almost as soon as he started to speak.
Sophie shot him a pointed look, raising her eyebrows. "That's how what?"
Zane cleared his throat, casting his eyes downward. "Fuck it. Nate knows too."
This time Sophie's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. "About you being a you-know-what?"
"Yeah." Zane said sheepishly, running a hand through his hair to work out a major case of bead head. "He caught me just a couple nights ago, at the café. Juice gun."
"See!" Sophie jabbed a finger in his face, immediately switching courses. "Exactly my point." She screwed up her face. "Nate knows? Jesus, Zane, is there anyone in town who didn't know before me?" There was a somewhat bitter tone under her words as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"What can I say?" Zane lifted and dropped one shoulder. "I guess I haven't done the best job keeping this secret." A pang of guilt reminded him that this was completely true.
"Well, you're going to have to step it up." Sophie tapped a manicured nail against the granite countertop. "Neither of us are going to make money for a big reveal if you've already done the revealing all over town. It's only a matter of time before someone slips up. I mean, look at Rikki." Sophie leaned in, making a face that Zane almost believed was concerned for him. "You guys had a massive fight last night. How sure are you that she isn't mad enough to tell people about you?"
"Damn sure." Zane answered immediately, shaking his head. "She'd never say anything."
"Look, just be careful." Sophie said quietly, falling into a somehow comfortable silence as each of them sipped coffee. She shook herself a bit, getting her brain back on track. "I'll be coming to the café today after we return the equipment; it needs to be merman-proofed."
Zane almost choked. "Merman-proofed? Excuse me?"
"I can think of three things right off the top of my head to make working there safer for you." Sophie said confidently. "And once I get in and take some measurements I'll be able to come up with more than that."
"You really don't need to do that." Zane furrowed his brow, thinking about what Rikki would say. "I've been fine here-"
"You literally just told me that Nate found you out." Sophie propped her elbow on the table. "That's not fine. For so many reasons."
"He didn't really care." Zane told her the truth. At this point, he had no reason not to. "I think he's bored with it already."
"He'd get bored with himself if he wasn't attached to him." Sophie finished her mug, setting it down before standing. "You ready? Camera retrieval?" She gestured expectantly to the door.
"Soph, I really do need to talk to Rikki-" Zane began, looking at his watch.
"Did you not ask me to remove the cameras?" Sophie tapped her foot. "I'm not a diver, Zane, and I refuse to pay for one when I know someone who could get it done in no time and for free."
"Fine." Zane knew she was right. Plus, he needed to keep her happy. He still didn't know how to approach the fact that he had no desire to go public. Ever. At this point, it seemed inevitable. He was going to put it off as long as he could. He forced his face into a half-smirk half-grin. "Let's go for a swim."
Rikki woke up to her phone buzzing in her ear. Sleepily, she flipped it open, blinking as the sun shone directly in her eyes through her bedroom window.
Cleo knocked on the door as she opened it to pop her head inside. "Rikki? Are you awake?"
"Did you just get the same text I did?" Rikki sat up, yawning.
"From Zane?" Cleo nodded. "Yup." She dropped next to Rikki on the bed. "At least he's getting rid of the cameras. Maybe we'll be able to finally swim again."
"Don't bet on it." Rikki said tersely, dropping her phone so she could rub her temple. Yesterday's headache was already sinking back in. "Sophie knows now, Cleo." She looked at her friend, feeling suddenly like she could cry. "She knows, and she can't un-know it. She's going to tell the world about Zane."
"You woke up on the heavy side of the bed this morning." Cleo tried to keep her tone light. "I'm being optimistic. Maybe she'll have a change of heart."
"Sophie doesn't have a heart." Rikki said darkly as she stood, sliding her feet into her sneakers.
"Are you coming to Lewis's?" Cleo asked her before she reached the door. "He wants to do some more testing with the stone after band practice."
"The stone..." Rikki paused. In truth, she'd forgotten all about that.
"The full moon will be here before we know it." Cleo reminded her gently. "We should be prepared. Bella just left for the café; I told her we'd catch up to her."
"Band practice? This early?" Rikki frowned, double checking the time.
"Battle of the Bands is in just nine days." Cleo shrugged. "They've been working pretty hard. You coming?"
I'm right behind you." Rikki scooped her phone off the bed, sliding it into her pocket before whipping her hair into a messy bun. "Promise. Give me thirty minutes."
"You got it, chief." Cleo mock saluted the blonde as she disappeared into the hall.
Lewis swooped Cleo up in a kiss the moment she walked in the cafe's front door.
"Good morning to you too." She laughed. For hair of a second, everything felt normal again. Cleo wrapped one arm around his neck, not wanting it to end.
"After band practice wraps up I want to use your necklaces to test the stone." Lewis murmured just beneath her ear.
Cleo visibly deflated. "That didn't last long." She muttered to herself.
"What?" Lewis pulled back, tilting his head in towards her.
"Nothing." Cleo sighed, forcing a smile to her face. "You were saying?"
"We've got to use artificial moonlight." Lewis repeated the words he'd been thinking all morning. "There's nothing in the books, Cleo. Nothing. We've got to test this ourselves, and I'm not willing to wait for the full moon to give it a run."
"Alright." Cleo nodded, casting her eyes around the room. "I'll spread the word." She reached to squeeze Lewis's hand in hers, but he had already dashed off towards the stage. He spoke quietly to Bella, earning a nod of agreement before he took his place behind the drums.
Cleo felt a familiar loneliness settling in as she took a seat by herself in the corner. She held her left hand in front of her, watching her ring glittering as it caught the light. For the first time, an unwelcome feeling twinged at her mind.
It was doubt.
"The Will apology tour continues." Rikki wasn't surprised to see the familiar face making it's way towards her as she walked towards the dock. "I talked to Lewis. He told me you'd been by his place."
"Yeah." Will said sheepishly, caught off-guard by Rikki's usual bluntness. "Did he-"
"He told me what you said." Rikki didn't slow her pace, keeping her eyes glued straight ahead as she walked. "And what you were trying to say."
"And you feel the same way he does." Will finished for her.
"That depends." Rikki increased her speed slightly. "Does he feel pretty damn pissed at you?"
"I'd say so." Will matched her step for step.
"Then yeah." Rikki nodded firmly. "I do feel the same way he does."
Will slowed, letting Rikki outpace him before raising his voice so she could hear him. "I'm sorry about Zane."
Rikki stopped, her hands balling at her sides at Will's words. She whipped around to face him, a mixture of anger and pain clear in her eyes. "What do you know about that? Did your sister say anything?"
"Lewis did." Will shoved his hands in his pockets as he took a cautious step closer to her. "I don't know anything... just that Sophie knows about Zane."
"He did it for Bella." Rikki crossed her arms angrily, betrayal still hot in her chest. "So that Sophie wouldn't expose her."
Will nodded, remembering that Lewis had mentioned that as well. "I'm sorry." And he meant it. His stomach flipped uncomfortably at the thought of his sister watching Zane transform. "Do you... know when she's doing it? Going public?"
"No." Rikki said darkly, checking her phone. She looked up to meet Will's eyes for a fraction of a second before huffing and resuming her walk. "Goodbye, Will."
Will watched as Rikki disappeared around the corner. He wished he could follow her. He missed his friends; wished he had somewhere to go.
"We only have nine days until the full moon." Lewis muttered to himself as he set up his latest experiment. "Nine days..."
"...and that's plenty." Cleo reassured him for the umpteenth time. She held her blue stone in the air before dropping it onto the counter. "We can handle this."
"Hey guys." Zane burst through the front door, panting slightly as he jogged over to join them at the table. "Sorry I'm late. Had to go with Sophie for a bit, but we got all the cameras out of the ocean."
"Are you sure you got all the cameras? She didn't leave any?" Cleo crossed her arms worriedly.
"Twelve boxes, twelve cameras." Zane held up his hands. "Nothing else out there."
"That great." Bella exhaled, running her fingers through a tangle in her blonde hair. "I am in desperate need of a swim. I don't think I've gone this long without transforming since I was a kid."
"We're all still being very careful, though." Lewis addressed each of them. "Just keep an eye out, guys."
"So..." Zane's eyes darted quickly around the room. "How is... everyone?"
"Rikki's not here." Cleo handed the blue stone to Zane. "NO talking." She held one finger up to emphasize her point before continuing. "She's angry, Zane. She's just going to need more time."
Zane nodded, not daring to say a thing whilst he was holding the stone. He snapped his fingers in Lewis's direction, waiting for his attention before lifting his shoulders impatiently.
"Just chill right there for a minute, bud." Lewis nodded towards the kitchen table, but he was clearly preoccupied with the gizmo he'd rigged up. "And just like that..." He used a toggle on a remote control to move two flat robots towards each other. "We've got it."
He picked up the two blue stone necklaces that belonged to Cleo and Bella, fitting each of them into place on the mechanical pieces. He was able to use the controller to move the necklaces close together, nearly touching. He pulled them back before they could connect.
Lewis's stood tall, looking around the room for some appreciation, or at least acknowledgement. "Tada?" He said finally. "Now you girls won't have to actually hold the stones." He held up the controller. "I can. It'll be safer this way."
"Couldn't you have just done it with your hands?" Bella raised a shoulder.
"Not if we want to document anything." Lewis waved his fingers at Bella before grabbing a camera and a pencil. He stood over his notepad, taking a couple preliminary notations.
"What should I do?" Zane held up the stone. "Should I-"
"Shhh!" Lewis hissed, swatting at Zane. "Don't say anything."
Zane snapped his mouth shut irritably.
"You can just hold the stone." Lewis answered the question. "In the past it's never made you moonstruck, so I don't expect it to start now."
Zane nodded. Cleo patted his shoulder reassuringly as she took a seat opposite him.
"So what do we do?" She gestured to herself and Bella.
"We're going to start off by activating your necklaces and having Zane give you a simple command." Lewis decided firmly. "Ready?" He moved the stones so that they were just a breath from touching.
Everyone nodded. Zane could feel his pulse racing with nervousness.
"Go."